Star Nomad Cast (starnomadnpc) wrote in starnomad, @ 2015-10-30 21:39:00 |
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Jacen Solo sat in his living room, his elbows on his knees and his hands templed above them so he could rest his chin in them. It was the sort of position that should not have been comfortable long-term and if he were honest, it really wasn't that comfortable but then that was kind of the point. The entire day had turned into one of those uncomfortable positions that was now being played out on the giant viewing screen the family had and Jacen shouldn't be here - he should be out there with his brother and his sister and he ought to have known when his Aunt sent Ben with his parents, that this was the sort of thing that could happen at any moment. He should have stayed at Eclipse Station, rather than come with his parents and Lyric to Coruscant. But even second guessing himself he knew that he'd had the opportunity here to help his mother and Lyric with supplies that he couldn't have done there. And he'd hoped maybe there would be some talking to the Senate directly, but his mother seemed to have given up on them entirely, and despite the win at Tafalgio, and Fey'lya's very public siding with the Jedi, as best as Jacen could tell, Leia seemed to have washed her hands of most of the New Republic political machine and had started working elsewhere. Maybe it was SELCORE's inefficacy, or maybe it was something else, but Jacen could tell that she was through. Right now though, he wasn't certain any of that mattered. Space battles from the ground simply weren't something that Jacen had tons of experience with. Normally he was up in a star-fighter, and his leg twitched into a bounce as he was reminded that he really should be up in one here. But when the planetary shields had gone up, they weren't going to open them up for anyone, and Jacen couldn't blame them for it. His one starfighter was unlikely to shift the entire course of the battle enough that it was worth the risk of a potential breach for the trillions of people on this side of those shields. Still, as bright flashes noted the death of New Republic ships, and he could feel both his brother's and his sister's determined sense in the Force, it was difficult to not jump up and take an airtaxi over to New Republic Defence to talk to someone about getting him up there to help. The screen in front of him switched to what appeared to be an internal Senate feed and he turned his head for the first time in what had likely been fifteen minutes to find his mother standing behind him with the controls. "We're not going to change the course of the battle watching it," she said softly, but there was a tightness to her face that Jacen was certain came from knowing both her brother and two of her kids were up there in it. He supposed she'd had more practice at this - watching from a control room while others were out and in danger, knowing that the danger could come to you if they didn't succeed. "I should be up there." The statement earned him his mother's hand on his head, in a gesture that felt like it should have been granted to someone about fifteen years younger. In any other circumstances than the one they currently found themselves in Jacen would have probably shaken it off, but right now even if he couldn't feel his mother's worry as strongly as he could feel his siblings determined fighting mode, he could see it etched in every line of her face, so he stayed still. Despite the feeling that the gesture should have been granted a child, there was comfort from his mother's fingers curled through his hair against his scalp that was undeniable. "I'm going to make us some caf," Leia said as she removed her hand and then she glanced across to the room's other current occupants. "Lyric, I forgot you still had Ben - are you two all right? I'll bring him some milk as well, he's probably about to get hungry." "We're fine." Lyric answered easily as he looked up at Jacen's mother. It was easier to focus on the tiny human in his arms than it was to see the battle playing out in front of them. Rikki's insistence that they leave now made sense. If the shields fell, when they fell if he was being honest, the undercity might as well be molten rock. Even now they likely were starting to make platitudes about evacuation if necessary but there would be no chance someone from the undercity would manage to slip through. They were watching coruscant a death sentence and he'd managed to find himself back just in time. "At least Elix is way up there." Lyric cooed gently to Ben, watching the small hand wrap around his finger. When they fell with the Solos around they might have a chance at escape. It was better than nothing and despite the danger jacen had put him in, his Solo was also his own personal lucky charm. A lucky charm that was staring out with that blind determination that Lyric was almost certain would get him killed some day. "Jacen, come over here?" he beckoned gently. Jacen looked over to Lyric as his mother left the room. The sight of his fiancé - and the thought that it was his fiancé - with Jacen's cousin in his arms was enough to pull his attention away from the immediate thought of the battle. For an instant his gaze fell on Lyric, the way his hair fell soft across his cheeks, and the obvious ease at which he had been holding Ben for much of this time. Bringing Ben with them had been intended to keep him safer - away from the battlefields - but they hadn't realized the battles would come to them on Coruscant. Jacen wondered briefly if Rikki had known that Coruscant would fall - if it hadn't been her way of protecting Lyric and Elix to send them with the Solo's. But things had changed, and Coruscant hadn't fallen yet and maybe for once the New Republic could hold this. If there was anywhere in the galaxy they could, it seemed Coruscant had the best chance, with planetary shield that were strong, the attention and headquarters of the New Republic Defense, the seat of the New Republic government and many of its representatives. If they could hold the Yuuzhan Vong back, it would be here. But for how long? The Yuuzhan Vong wouldn't give up on Coruscant because of all of the things Jacen had just reminded himself of. It was too important to the New Republic, therefore it would need to be destroyed and taken by the Yuuzhan Vong. It didn't take a military or political genius to understand that. He pushed the thoughts away and stood, crossing the room to be by Lyric. His hand fell gently against Lyric's side as he met Lyric's gaze with one of his own. If it came down to it, the Falcon was parked within walking distance and his Dad had flown them all out of worst situations than this one currently was. But that really wasn't the point here - Jacen wasn't the pilot his sister was, or probably even his brother if you came down to it - but he could pilot, he could help, and the three of them could actually work with a strength together that they might not have individually. He breathed out, closed his eyes, and his arm pushed to wrap around Lyric's waist so that he could gently fall against him. "It's my home, Lyric," he said softly. "I should be out there defending it." Lyric gently pulled his hand away from Ben, slipping his arm around Jacen and holding him steady against him. The tiny young Skywalker turned closer to his chest, pressing in and while Lyric had the sneaking suspicion that Leia was correct about Ben being hungry at least for the moment it made it easier for Lyric to hold both of them close. Jacen secured against him he pressed his lips against the top of his head, resting his cheek against him afterward. He knew exactly where Jacen thought he should be. A battle like this had all the makings of a last stand, the hope of the galaxy threatened. "You were." Lyric pointed out softly. "You were trying to defend the people that depend on Coruscant." Jacen breathed out, reaching a hand up to replace the one Lyric has shifted around him where Ben was concerned. His cousin was still small, so small and vulnerable in the Universe and Jacen wasn't used to seeing that. He knew that his Uncle and his Aunt were hoping for Ben's safety here when he wouldn't be able to be safely with them. "You'll be fine," he murmured to Ben as he reached a finger out to stroke his cousin's. What sort of galaxy was he going to grow up in? "I was, but right now I'm sitting in an apartment, watching Viqi Shesh say a lot of bantha shit that she has no intention of following through on," Jacen said, remaining calm only by practice. "And Fey'lya and the lot of them say comforting words that won't mean anything if the New Republic Defence Force can't hold the line." He was silent for a moment and then he straightened. "And even if they hold the line - this is too important to the Yuuzhan Vong. It doesn't take a genius to know, that Coruscant is of huge strategic importance to them - it's more than an emotional defeat, the government, the military, the capital. Even if we fight them back today, what then?" He lifted a hand to run across his face. "I just - this is doing nothing. I should be doing something." "You know there's nothing wrong with patience, Jacen." Lyric pointed out, raising an eyebrow momentarily. The Solo's were always so quick to throw themselves into danger, even Jacen for all his family seemed to think he hesitated. That hesitation was something else entirely though. Any of the siblings could have easily been in this position, though perhaps the other two would be more forceful about it. There wasn't really a doubt in Lyric's mind that Coruscant would fall now. Every other world had and instead of actually investing the time to protect their planets the politicians had spent it scoring points against one another as if this were all a game. Well the enemy had called their bluff and they didn't have a winning hand to back it up. "Don't you believe that the Force has some kind of meaning or whatever?" Lyric sighed as he turned his head to watch Jacen. "Maybe up there isn't where you're going to need to be." Jacen turned his head to look at Lyric and raised an eyebrow. "When did you get so invested in Jedi beliefs?" But Lyric did have a point even if Jacen didn't really want to admit to the point. He had nearly stayed back on the base with this last trip, but he'd decided to go with his parents after he'd realized that he might be able to help there and it hadn't been until after that the Jedi had realized how close all of it was to the countdown. He glanced over at the screen which had shifted back to a view taken from one of the orbital security platforms. The ship that had come into view wasn't Yuuzhan Vong nor was it New Republic Military and Jacen frowned. The image distracting him from his conversation with Lyric for a minute. "What the hells are they doing?" The image was brought back to one of the Wookiee senators, the rumbles of Shiriiwook quiet from the screen as the translation in basic came across the bottom, unnecessary for Jacen as he stepped forward to place both hands on his hips. "They're using refugee ships as shields," he managed before a couple of choice Corellian swear words followed the statement. Lyric had exactly no interest in Jedi beliefs. Somehow he ended up surrounded by people who seemed to hold them in high regard though, which was a mistake that he was evaluating in his life. Still there were worse people to be surrounded by and he knew that, even if the Jedi were too idealistic and mystical for his own personal tastes. That conversation was derailed as they watched the newest development on the screen. He watched Jacen get up, indignant with rage. But all Lyric could feel was resignation. If they were using the refugee ships that meant the shields weren't going to hold all that much longer. Unluckily for the upper city they could throw the lower city up there as well to protect themselves. Still Lyric knew that sacrificial move. Give a target to try and draw out the inevitable a little longer. It happened on a smaller scale in the Undercity. Which likely was about to be wiped out. "Of course they are." Lyric gave a resigned sigh, pulling himself up to his feet. "They'll save themselves before they save anyone else. But if they're resorting to that, I wouldn't put much faith in the planetary shields." "That's not us. It can't be us - there weren't even that many in orbit here. Not-" Jacen frowned. The battle from down here was pieces of the whole, what the people or Coruscant were getting as well as the odd piece that the senate was getting. Which - the views on that had broken as the Senate seemed to suddenly become aware of what was happening around the planet. Regardless of whether someone from the New Republic had sent them up or not - the end result was the same. A madness that was going to end with millions if not trillions of beings harmed. Ben's whimper caught his attention and Jacen turned around to look at Lyric for an instant wondering if there was any safe place left in this galaxy for him, for Ben, for Elix... With a sick weight in his stomach, Jacen reached forward silencing the vid feed and instead turning on the military channel that he knew his father had turned on in the comm room. The chatter came across, call signs and pilots talk, commanders, the voice of Antilles breaking up against his Uncle's response. "Here's some milk," Leia had returned to the room and she crossed to give it to Lyric. "Any sense of things, Jace?" "They just lost the outer defense perimeter," Jacen said grimly. "There are refugee ships up there they're trying to fire around - if one of our people sent them in ..." There was a quiet fury to his voice. "And they seem to have let the senators out..." He glanced towards the now muted but clearly emptying senate floor. Han had seen a lot of planets fall in his time, and that included Coruscant. But the last time this had come along he had been on the other end of the fight, taking the planet back into the hands of the rebellion. But today it looked like the cards were falling into the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong, just like they always seemed to. And while the rebels had sought to preserve the people of Coruscant he knew for sure that the planets new inhabitants had no similar ideals of preserving life and freedom. "Of course they have the senators out." Han spat as he walked into the room. "And if we're smart we've got to follow suit." His eyes flickered up to Leia's, a quiet glance of pain that didn't even approach a second before he pulled back and looked to his son. "Luke's made the call, the shields aren't going to take much more of this. Which means now's our best chance to get to the Falcon before we're stuck here." Lyric had taken the milk and offered it up to Ben, soothing the soft whimpers for now. Maybe it was a little sooner than he'd thought but it make sense. The senators would only be moving if they were actively in danger. Protecting Coruscant only mattered as long as the powerful were on it, after all. "I'll get Threepio and Ben's Nanny droid," Leia said quietly, meeting her husband's eyes. Just because she had been anticipating these results in the recent weeks with the actions she had seen from the Senate didn't mean that this was any easier for her to swallow. And it wasn't just the New Republic that would burn, it was the trillions of people on this planet who would be left behind. But right now there was nothing she could do for any of them, except to keep fighting. She had told the Senate earlier - the rules stood still - she couldn't help anyone if she did not help herself and her family now. She glanced to Lyric, but he looked fine with Ben, the milk already feeding the infant, so she didn't offer to take him now. Fortunately most of what they needed was on board the Falcon, and Leia had put a small bag with essentials packed near the door. So she left, her hand grasping Han's gently, just briefly, as she walked past him. Jacen watched his Mom go and turned to his Dad, but there wasn't anything really to say except to go. If his Uncle said the shields were going, if the Senators were leaving, then it was time to go. He stepped across and picked up his datapad, sliding it into his pocket. "We're ready then, we should go." Jacen nodded. It would take time to close the distance between their house and the docking bays no matter how close the facility they'd chosen was. He crossed the room to come to stand beside Lyric and ask quietly. "Anything you need that's not down here already?" "Oh dear, this is most distressing," Threepio had shuffled into the room, his voice sounding alarmed, even for the protocol droid. "Elix has everything." Lyric replied with the slightest shrug, avoiding altering the grip he currently had on Ben who was content in his arms. Hopefully the kid ate quick because holding a bottle while they tried to get through to the Falcon wasn't exactly something that Lyric was planning on. But he knew the manifest on the Falcon, they'd stocked with supplies and even what he'd managed to scrounged up from the undercity in the short time they'd been here. All those contacts would burn with Coruscant though, people who just had the misfortune of being born on the wrong side of the divide. "Hey, it'll be in my pocket you won't starve." Lyric shushed Ben quietly as he slipped the bottle away. There was a quick whine as the baby settled but at least there was something in his stomach for now. He didn't have a ton of experience holding an infant in crowds but it had to be less of a problem than a toddler and he'd managed that with a foot and a half missing from his current height. Han cast a quick look over to the kids and then over to Threepio. Right now he wished that they'd kept the droid on the ship at the very least, it'd have been less of a problem. "Yeah we got that, Goldenrod. Just be ready to book it." There were things, but none of them were truly important. Despite the trappings of the apartment, and the generally affluent life that the Solo kids had grown up with, the Jedi had sort of de-emphasized anything of any importance. Pets had been gotten rid of a long time ago when Jacen hadn't really had the time to be here consistently. Still, there was a glance around the room, and the knowing that they wouldn't be back - not like this - not unless there was some miracle. It was the briefest of glances, because the only thing that really mattered, the only thing that ever mattered, was his family's safety. He'd learned that after Sernpidal and on Myrkr the hardest of ways. "Let's go," he said quietly to Lyric, reaching one hand out for his lover's hand - the one that wasn't wrapped around Ben - to guide him towards the door. As he reached it his mother came back into the room and handed over a shoulder duffle which Jacen slung over his shoulder to follow her out. There were skybridges to the docking area, which was the easiest way considering that the skies seemed to be mad with air buses and taxis most of which seemed to be full. Threepio shuffled out after them, the doors locking automatically. A couple of the noghri joined them outside the doors, and Jacen fell into step behind his mother and the noghri, keeping step with Lyric and Ben, his eyes alert as they walked quickly towards the Eastport docking facilities. In the sky overhead, there were flashes, but they were nearly to the last skybridge when a distant crack made Jacen look up. In the far horizon something sped towards the planet's surface and Jacen's hand tightened against Lyric's as he picked up the pace. If one shield was gone they didn't have much time. At least Lyric had Jacen. With a quick breath he squeezed onto Jacen's hand and stepped out with them. He could hardly say that he had been through worse but he had almost died and Jacen had managed to pull him through. If anyone was going to get them off this planet then it would be the Solo's. Add in that he had taken over nanny droids role in caring for Ben at this moment and the selfish part of his mind knew he had the best shot possible. A shot at actually living through this war. But if he died, Elix would live, Jacen would be by his side, there were worse ways to go really. "All right everyone stick close." Han took the lead, the crowds out in full force in a way he had never seen on Coruscant. One of the most populated planets in the galaxy and everyone was trying to find a way off of it at the same time. How many billions of people wouldn't make it out alive? It wasn't a pretty thought and it wasn't one he could focus on because right now he had a family to get on a ship and out. The noghri helped keep them all together, keeping those who might push them apart at bay. Still his hand sought out Leia's, the other ready to do whatever needed to be done to get them out of here. Panic never helped anyone. The going was slow and when they made it to the bridge it was the definition of a choke point. Too many bodies and not enough space and all they could hope for was to keep pushing their way through. The low roar of panic was possibly the most horrifying sound Han had ever head. At least it was until the debris began to call. Millions of voices were screaming out at once, a mad rush pushing as Han tried to keep an eye on everyone in their party. A building was hit by a falling ship, crashing down. "Hold tight. Jacen stick close!" he shouted as his grip on Leia's hand nearly made his own feel numb. It was a pointless warning but it felt more like doing something. The snap of whatever it was that had hit the building was a sound more fitting a battlefield than the upper levels of Coruscant, but then, Coruscant was turning into a battlefield - something Jacen hadn't ever experienced in his lifetime. But the danger instinct pushed him to push Lyric down, out of the line of any falling debris, their two bodies shielding Ben's together. The previously solid duracrete of the skybridge shook severely enough that for an instant Jacen thought that it didn't matter if they shielded themselves from the debris, they were all going down, but the impact was behind them, and he turned in time to see the nanny droid that had been trailing the rear sliding over the jagged edge that had been clipped by a portion of the nearby building. Ben's nanny was not the only one, and several people were holding onto the edge. The fear and panic palpable in the Force even without the screaming of the people. "She'll be smashed," Threeipo exclaimed with horror. "Keep moving Threepio," Leia exclaimed as one of the Noghri pulled her forward. But Jacen pulled himself to his feet again. "Come on," he managed to Lyric as instinct and adrenaline kicked in, and with it a determination to get them all to the bay and off this planet. They could take their chances in the skies with coral skippers and Yuuzhan Vong military - at least they knew how to fight against that. The Eastport Docking areas were straight in front of them and people were streaming into the entrance, it couldn't be more than a few meters away - they just had to get there, and to the Falcon before anything hit the bay tower. Han could feel his heart drop into his stomach. Still he knew that for now his family was fine and that all he could physically do was to keep pushing forward. Luckily they had the noghri on their side, helping push them all forward and to keep everyone's feet moving. A droid was lost but there were a hell of a lot more people worse off than they were right now. Lyric hushed the small wail from Ben instinctively as he maybe held onto the baby just a little too tight. If he hadn't have been holding on then the baby would have been in that abyss of rubble and death. The realization was numbing, with Lyric's only choice to continue pushing forward as he followed the directions Jacen pushed on him. This was all autopilot and Lyric's instincts were saying to run. But he didn't know this part of the city well enough and the crowd was crushing even for what he was used to. "Something's stalling them up ahead." Han called out to the group as they pushed closer to the hangers. Jacen's hand wrapped around Lyric's free one, determined to not lose him in the crowds. As they reached the entrance it seemed that they were bottlenecking, even as other areas seemed free and clear. Jacen couldn't help a quiet swear at his Dad's words. It would do them no good to get to the docking center and not get to the ship - but the Falcon was very much inside in a quiet, unmarked bay, and if they couldn't get through to it, the ship wasn't going to do them any good. He frowned, reaching out in the Force to try to find the source of the problem. The problem seemed to exist in pieces, but he was having a difficult time getting through all of the pieces. "Cakhmaim," Jacen addressed the Noghri to his mother's right. "Can you get me through along the walls?" Part of him hated to use the relative privilege that he had in order to survive this - that was what every being here was attempting to do - the other part of him knew that there were people here who had no ships, who had no ability to get out other than if they got lucky enough to get on someone else's ship. They had a ship. They could even take some of these people with them - potentially - but they couldn't do that if they couldn't get to the ship. The Noghri had nodded, raising himself up to his full height, and using the strength and appearance to push along the edge. Jacen squeezed Lyric's hand and pulled him to fill the space behind Cakhmaim before others could fall into place. Threepio fell into shuffling behind Jacen, and as they reached the entrance Jacen pulled out the passcard to scan it - only to be stopped by a man. "IDs and travel documents?" "What?" "IDs and travel documents please." Jacen stared at him, looking at his parents and pulling out his own cards. Lyric had them, of course, Jacen had made certain of that early on even though there was very little need for them most of the time when he was traveling with the Solo's. "What's going on?" Leia peered around Threepio's shoulder as they pulled up to the entrance behind Cakhmaim, Jacen, and Lyric. "He wants travel documents," Jacen shot back, trying to keep the edge that accompanied the unstated 'at a time like this' out of his voice. Han had half the mind to just shoot this idiot and get it all over with quickly. Checking over documents while the planet was being bombarded had to be the epitome of useless bureaucracy. Pulling out his own, he held them up with a stern glare. "Are you going to move out of the way now?" he snapped as the ground shook again, another building plummeting down behind them and screams rising up from it. Meanwhile Lyric just gave a labored sigh, letting go of Jacen's hand to fish out his own. His hand nearly shook touching them, he'd gone his entire life without any real form of identification except for quick forgeries when needed. And this was a forgery as well, which was all well and good given that he didn't think he actually existed as far as the government was concerned anyway. He passed the cards over to Jacen before occupying himself with keeping Ben quiet. The infant fussed, burying deeper into his shirt and lyric was just content with the fact that he hadn't begun screaming. "And for the baby?" Jacen turned to glare at the man. "He's with us," Leia said firmly, stepping up to brush Ben's hair in Lyric's arms. "Children fly on their parents identification until six months." It was a lie and she was bluffing, but she was counting on the guy to not know the truth. "You cannot pass without any identification for him," the man persisted although there was a note of doubt in his voice. Jacen's glare turned almost incredulous. What sort of idiot...? "The baby doesn't need identification." He reached out in the Force to add a little additional emphasis to the words and it was there that he realized he couldn't feel the man in the Force at all. A sinking sense that wasn't so much a surprise as it was a realization of naturally the Yuuzhan Vong had agents on Coruscant. They had before and it made sense that they would be here - keeping people on planet. At least this one didn't seem to have realized who he was dealing with and Jacen could possibly use that to his advantage. His hand moved for the lightsaber at his belt trying to think through options that were least likely to end up with anyone hurt when the voice of Calrissian's anti Yuuzhan Vong droid was behind him with a calm statement to not panic. Jacen put his arm out to step Lyric back and out of the line of the droid - not nearly as surprised as his parents or anyone else around them when the droid drew weapons on and fired on the Yuuzhan Vong agent. Jacen bent down, pulling the human looking masquer from the Yuuzhan Vong agent's face and looked up at his dad with a unhappy expression. As he straightened and waited for his parents, Threepio and Lyric to go on through the check stand he turned to the people behind him. "If you've got pass codes you can get through here." It wouldn't help all of them - but there was no need to check any identification -- Not right now anyway. Leia ran the codes through the doors and motioned her family through them. The building shook but the space behind the locked access was less crowded. "Come on," she motioned to Lyric. "Jacen!" Jacen was the last through the door with the exception of the Noghri bringing up the rear and he quickly sidestepped a family of Twi'leks to catch up with Lyric, his hand on his elbow for support as they approached the bay with the Falcon. "Huh." Han assisted Leia in getting the family through, taking point back to lead them to their hanger. It shouldn't have been a surprise really but having Yuuzhan Vong in positions like this likely meant that the fall was going to be even worse than he had initially anticipated. Of course there were spies, there were always going to be spies, but at least one of them had been taken care of. With less of a crowd to pass through now that the bulk was behind them getting to the hanger was quick work. Han pushed in their code quickly and ushered the family past the doors and towards the Falcon. And there she was, exactly where she was supposed to be. The old girl had gotten them out of bad situations before and he had to believe that she was going to do it again. "Leia, co -pilot. Jacen get to the guns." he gave orders quickly as he swung himself into the seat. "Lyric if you've got it, hand Ben to Goldenrod and get into a gun. We're going to be going out hot and you can bet they're going to be trying to shoot us down." With no time for diagnostics Han went to pushing the old girl into flight as fast as he could, transmitting commands to get the doors open and them into the air. And getting into the air made it all just look worse, the entire planet seemed to be shaking as buildings and bridges crumbled. He could only imagine how many lives were flashing to Leia and Jacen as they died below them. It was moments like this where he was glad he didn't have the force and just got by on instinct. Lyric quietly followed commands, gently handing off Ben and securing Threepio into place. He wasn't great on the turrets but Jacen had shown him enough that maybe he might help. Leia had made her way to the cockpit as soon as she came on board, anticipating Han's instructions before they happened. The droids and the Noghri were on board and she was starting through systems checks as soon as she entered and took her seat in the co-pilots chair. She was grateful at the moment that she didn't have the Force sensitivity trained that her brother or her children had. It allowed her to focus in on what she was doing. Jacen likewise gave Lyric a quick look before climbing up into the top torrent and he focused in on what was happening around them. The atmosphere was full of ships, of flying platforms, of pieces of debris from the upper atmosphere and his dad was avoiding most of them with the skill that Jacen knew to expect from his father. Only his sister could come close to flying the Falcon with the skill that Han Solo could but right now he was glad he had his dad on board as they shot upwards. There was no clearance, no typical wait for the shields to be brought down, just avoiding coral skippers and refugee ships and a hundred pieces of orbital platforms. Jacen switched his headset to Lyric. "In front, Lyric, see the skippers? Let's clear them out." "Give me good news, kid." Han attempted the patch in to Luke. There was no good news here but Jacen and Lyric seemed to be keeping as much fire off them as they could while him and Leia focused on making sure they weren't hit. Luke had to give them something, anything otherwise he'd be jumping without a set destination and just putting the first coordinates he could think of in. With how much of the galaxy that had fallen it could take a while. But the coordinates flashed through finally and Han punched in for lightspeed the moment the were high enough in atmosphere. He had no idea when Luke would manage to pull Anakin and Jaina back but he had to hope that his kids were going to be following them soon. "Hapes. Fun." he sighed, rubbing a hand against his face. Lyric couldn't help the weak feeling in his legs as he got out of the turret. Hand out against the wall as his stomach rolled in a mixture of adrenaline and sickness, he leaned heavily against it and closed his eyes. The overwhelming urge to simply vomit was ever present and it took a focused effort not to. Jumping to lightspeed to rough enough usually, but Lyric wasn't sure he would ever get used to the rougher jumps. Jacen pulled the head-set off and put it down for an instant before he moved out of the turret down into the Falcon's main hold. Hapes made sense. It might not have been where he would have thought of, but the Hapans had managed to spend most of the Imperial timeline out of the Empire's reach, and they were allies. It was at least a place they could regroup for a short period of time that wasn't headed back into the Maw - which wasn't some where they could meet everyone that was coming from Coruscant. Possibly they couldn't do that at the Hapes Consortium either, but it would be better than any other options, Jacen could see that. Right now though all he wanted was Lyric. He knew his siblings were still in battle around Coruscant, but probably not for much longer. The planet had fallen to the Yuuzhan Vong, despite a valiant effort by the New Republic Defence Forces, and there wasn't going to be any re-taking it. Not now - maybe not for a long time depending upon the status of the fleet and the New Republic. Both had been headquartered around Coruscant so who was to know what losses they had suffered. Thankfully the shipyards were still elsewhere - so there was still that - but it would be little comfort to the millions of people who hadn't made it. He passed his hand over his face as he stepped down onto the steel of the ship, hurling through space and hopefully it would stay that way. "Lyric," he said softly, his arm creeping around his lover's waist gently. He knew how much Lyric liked space travel, and after everything that had happened even Jacen felt a little ill. Lyric shifted his weight to lean into Jacen. But everything came at once and he pulled away sharp, pitching forward as his stomach heaved against himself. There wasn't much there but Lyric couldn't stop the reaction, his knees shaking as fire ran along his throat. Throwing up didn't help if anything it made him feel worse. Everything was gone, everything he had ever known, the life that he had left behind and everything that had made sense in his life before meeting Jacen. There was no going back, he was going to be stuck on ships until the Yuuzhan Vong caught up with them. Everything was gone and all he had left was Jacen and Elix. If he had lost them too, Lyric wasn't sure he would even be able to move. "Sorry. I'll clean it up." he whispered, his throat raw. Jacen's own stomach lurched with the sound and sense of Lyric, but he was able to pull his own reaction back and instead he pushed his own uncertainties and sense of loss away in concern for Lyric. Jacen's life had disappeared much as Lyric's had. His childhood, his home, the planet that he considered his home planet in nearly every sense of the word, had just been over-run, and it would be destroyed in one way or another. Coruscant was a glittering gem that shone because of technology - technology that the Yuuzhan Vong hated, and they would tear it apart. But Jacen had always had this ship too - his parents, his siblings, the galaxy at large could be his home so long as family was there, and that had always been a truth of home almost as persistent as his claim of Coruscant as his home planet and culture. He placed his hand gently on the back of Lyric's neck, seeking the warmth of his skin, and the ability to soothe - at least as much as he could when it felt as if the galaxy had just fallen apart around them. "I've got it," he said quietly. "Go lay down. I've got this, and I'll come find you." |