After Ithor: The Return of Corran Horn

Part Three

This story is set seven months after the events of Dark Tide: Ruin. Because this contains many spoilers, do not read this unless you have already read the book. These characters and situations belong to Lucasfilm, Ltd. No money was made off of this, as it was created solely for entertainment purposes. Do not repost anywhere without the permission of the author!

The author would like to gratefully acknowledge Davina Jeffrey for all her help in writing the first lightsaber scene in this story.

Two weeks later, the EV exited hyperspace near the planet that once housed the "Hand of Thrawn," a military base that had been taken out a few years before by Mara Jade's personal ship, the Jade's Fire.

A week before, Ganner had made contact with the Chiss leader, Admiral Voss Parck. Parck was none too thrilled with having Jedi on the planet again after the fiasco with Luke and Mara, but eventually he agreed to at least listen to what they had to say. Apparently, with the Vong attacking the rest of the galaxy, Parck felt the Remnant had been neglecting him and his planet. Ganner agreed that the New Republic would, on receiving any valuable information from the Chiss, see to their protection.

Early that morning, Corran and Ganner met in the docking bay of the EV, Corran arriving last. Ganner, who already had been warming up the Lioness's engines, stood outside the ship.

"Well, we're set to go, Corran," he said. "Or should I start calling you Keiran again?"

Corran shook his head. "Not this time, Ganner. I've given this a lot of thought, and I've got to go into this as myself."

"Are you sure? You think this is what the vision was all about?"

"Yes. You might think it's risky, but it's a step I've got to take. Besides, the Chiss might not even know about Ithor. And even if they do, I've got to trust that the truth will prevail. I can't go on as Keiran Halcyon forever."

"Well, this is your mission, so you call the shots. Admiral Parck is waiting in his ship to meet us."

"Then let's not keep him waiting," Corran said.

* * * * *

After docking with Parck's small battleship, Corran and Ganner stepped off the Lioness to meet the Admiral. They were met in the docking bay by a blue-skinned Chiss named Stent. Looking the two Jedi over sternly, Stent finally said, "Welcome to our ship, the Remnant. Admiral Parck is waiting for you in his office."

"Thank you for allowing us to meet with him," Corran said casually.

"Don't thank me," Stent replied coolly. "It was not my decision. If you would follow me, I'll take you to the Admiral's office."

With that, Stent lead Corran and Ganner to a small office just beyond the docking bay. The office was sparsely decorated with a small desk and two chairs in front of it. Behind it sat another Chiss with gray hair. The Chiss was wearing a white Imperial Grand Admiral's uniform. Corran figured that since he was so far in the Unknown Regions, the Admiral didn't realize the Empire was all but dead.

"Admiral, these are the Jedi," Stent said, stepping over to the Admiral's side. "Ganner and Corran Horn," he said, adding emphasis to Corran's name. Corran tried to ignore it. Admiral Parck had no intention of letting him ignore it though.

"Corran Horn? Aren't you the Jedi that killed Ithor?" Parck said. "Surely you know my sentiments concerning Jedi who destroy. It was your Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker who destroyed my precious base down there," he said pointing to the planet below.

Corran took a deep breath. He hadn't been grilled about Ithor in a while-mostly because he avoided it. He really didn't know how to justify it yet himself, even if Elegos insisted he was not in the wrong about it. He struggled for clarity of mind...and an answer.

"Corran had nothing but the best intentions for Ithor when he faced that warrior," Ganner put in.

"Let Jedi Horn speak for himself," Parck said evenly.

"I made a bet for Ithor because I knew that many lives were at stake," Corran began. "I can't deny that in fighting that Vong warrior I wasn't seeking some revenge for my friend who was brutally killed by him. But even Jedi make mistakes..." Suddenly it hit Corran...had he been expecting himself to always make the right choice ever time all along because he was a Jedi? He was no less human just because he was a Jedi...and Ithor would have died regardless...

So I see. But, Jedi Horn, you still lost a planet as a result of your error. How can I be sure that the same won't happen if I offer you my help?"

This wasn't going well at all. Corran's mouth was going dry. Parck wasn't going to like the answer, but he had to be truthful. "I can't guarantee it won't happen. But Ithor was a test of Vong honor. I won the duel, and in doing so, I should have saved Ithor. But Ithor was lost regardless of the conditions of the duel. And Ithor would have been taken into Vong hands without the duel for certain. There comes a time in every person's life when they must decide whether to stay inactive and save themselves or to take action and risk losing themselves in the process. I took that chance, and while I defeated the Vong warrior, I still lost. But no one can say I never tried. Now the choice is yours. You can stay inactive and perhaps protect your planet a little longer, or you can take action and tell us what you know of the Vong so we might have a chance of saving the galaxy. We'll continue to fight the Vong regardless of your decision, but should you accept our request, you can be assured no one will ever accuse you of not trying to help, just as they can never accuse me of not trying to help. So what do you say, Admiral?"

Parck looked Corran over measuringly. "Perhaps I have misjudged you, Jedi Corran Horn. And from the reports I've been hearing of you, it is likely I'm not the only one. You admit your faults, and yet you still fight the cause. The Chiss have not always made the best decisions nor have we always been perfect. But we have always taken action. We too have been misjudged, Jedi Horn. I will accept your request for information. What we know of the Yuuzhan Vong, you shall know. And I can guarantee you, it will be enough to send you on your way to further pursuing them--and hopefully defeating them."

* * * * *

"I don't like it, Corran," Mirax said from her perch on the bed, looking her husband over from across their quarters on the Errant Venture. "How can you believe anything the Chiss say?"

"Mirax, it's the best lead we've had. Besides, the Chiss have never been untrue to their word as far as we know. And Thrawn was never one for lies either, regardless of his station as a Grand Admiral in the Empire."

"That's true enough," Mirax agreed. "But I wish we could be more certain, and I wish I could help."

"You've already been more help to me than you could ever know," Corran said, gazing at her solemnly. "This has to be done fairly, no trickery included. Ganner and I originally discussed sending a second party in to scout, but it is extremely dangerous and we must not do anything to jeopardize our mission. The best thing you can do for me is keep your father and the Errant Venture in system so we can bust out of here if we must."

"You needn't worry about that. I'm not leaving the system without you. What are the final arrangements?"

"Well, Ganner and I are going to go in the Vong camp on Yuran 4 as ambassadors. We have already arranged to meet with the leading authorities on the camp with the help of Admiral Parck, but we were made no promises on the possible outcomes of the meeting. Although these Yuuzhan Vong are said to be less hostile and militaristic as the ones now invading us, they still have enough of the warrior background for this to be a dangerous mission. Parck even mentioned an 'honor duel' that the Vong sometimes fight with new visitors to establish their credibility. If we must fight, we will, but I am hoping this visit will allow us to tap into and further understand Vong society."

"And if it doesn't, we are back to square one."

"But at least we'll know we will have tried."

"True enough," she said, biting her lip thoughtfully. "Corran?"

"Hmm???"

"About...the honor duel...if that should happen, are you going to let Ganner fight, or are you going to take that responsibility? I know you've had that vision of Elegos, and you told me what he said. I know you'll make the right decision and I trust you fully, but I would really like to know before you leave."

Corran thought a moment. "I wish I knew the answer to that one too. I don't want to go into this thing with any preconceived ideas. I'm truly hoping the Vong will leave an honor duel out of this. If they choose to go through with an honor duel, and I have a bad feeling that they might, I'll make the decision then. Elegos did tell me there would be another confrontation and that I would face another Vong, and that prediction has already come true. I'm not going to assume just yet that I should then also pursue a fight if one occurs. I'm going to let the Force guide me to an answer, and if I must choose, I will choose based only on what the Force leads me to do. This is the only way I can be certain that I haven't crossed the line between the good side and the bad, once and for all, because once I make that decision, there is no turning back..."

* * * * *

Early the next morning on the Errant Venture, Corran Horn sauntered into the docking bay area in a deep green flight suit, carrying a helmet between his hip and right arm. He wandered over to a XJ class one-man fighter with green panels painted on it. The hatch was open and a ladder placed on the side of the ship, waiting for him to climb in.

Ah, back to the good old days, Corran thought to himself. He hadn't wanted to go in as a fighter, but considering the threat the Vong carried, he needed to go in at his best, and he could only be his best in an X-wing. Besides, impossible is what Rogues do best, he remembered, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Sighing and pushing the memories aside, Corran climbed up the ladder to his X-wing and vaulted into the pilot's chair. He positioned the helmet on his head and adjusted the goggles to a comfortable position, then punched the release to lower the hatch. As Corran ran his hands across the controls, warming the fighter's engines up, he was welcomed by the familiar tooting of an R2 droid.

"Nice to see you again too, Whistler," Corran replied, grinning. "Think we can remember how to run this fighter?"

The droid blatted back harshly, the words "Speak for yourself" scrolling across the translator screen.

Corran laughed. "Let's see if Ganner is ready to go yet," he said, switching his inter-ship comm unit on. "Ganner, you with me yet?"

"I copy, Corran," came Ganner's formal reply. "I'm to your left, by the old beat up YT-1300."

Corran scanned the docking bay and spotted the other fighter. "I see you. Warmed up?"

"Just about. Give me another couple of minutes and I'll be ready to take off."

"Good. Ganner?"

"Yes, Corran?"

"This is going to sound odd, but I think we need to hold back on calling each other by name from ship to ship over the comm. I don't care about them knowing who I am, but this is standard comm frequency, and anyone could be listening."

"You're the boss. What do you suggest?"

"Well, I've been Rogue Nine, so I'll answer to Nine. What number do you want?"

"If you are going to be Nine," Ganner reasoned, "I'll be Ten."

"Sounds good," Corran stated.

"Okay, I'm ready to go," Ganner said at last.

"Good. Do you have the hyperspace route locked into your nav computer?"

"Yes, I'm all set."

"Then let's get to it," Corran said, firing up his converters and preparing to retract the landing gear of his fighter. In only a few minutes, Corran guided the fighter outside of the EV's docking bay with Ganner at his left. "Hyperspace on my mark," Corran said through the comm.

"Copy that Nine."

"Three, two, one, MARK," Corran said, pulling his hyperspace lever. The two fighters simultaneously dissolved into lightspeed as Mirax and her father watched from the deck of the Impstar Deuce.

Booster looked over at Mirax, who was staring at the place where Corran's starfighter disappeared intently.

He smiled softly at her. "He'll be back," Booster told her. "Corsec never goes away," he added kiddingly.

Mirax looked over at him and managed a smile. "Thanks, Dad."

* * * * *

In the solitude of his fighter about forty-eight hours later, Corran woke up to the tune of Whistler's wake up call. Slowly, he floated back into consciousness while Whistler continued beeping and blurping at him. "I'm awake, I'm awake," he managed groggily.

Whistler bleeped what sounded like a statement at Corran. The pilot shook his head to clear the last of the drowsiness of sleep from his brain and read the translator. "Ten minutes till reversion?" Corran muttered at the droid. "Why'd you wake me up so soon?"

The R2 unit tootled at him indifferently. Corran chuckled softly. "I told you to wake me up in enough time to let me think, not in enough time to make me panic about the whole thing."

Whistler squawked rudely at Corran, clearly put out.

"Take it easy, Whistler, just log it in your memory for the next mission that five minutes is plenty of time for me to collect my thoughts. That is if there IS a next mission," he muttered to himself.

The droid bleeped again, this time more softly in a questioning manner. Corran bit his lower lip. "I don't know, Whistler. This mission is about as indefinite as it gets. I know the Force is with me. But that doesn't mean that everything will work out in the end."

The R2 tootled a bit more, and Corran read the translation. "No, I'm not going into this with a negative view. I just need to be down to earth with this...completely realistic and ready for all possibilities. That's the only way I'll succeed."

As Corran sat and thought over what he had just said, the one-minute reversion warning began to bleep. "Okay, Whistler. Here goes nothing."

As the counter clicked down to zero, Corran felt his mouth go dry. Why did he have such a bad feeling about this? Finally, starlines faded to stars and the picture became clear. Corran's heart sank into his stomach. "Ten, report in..." he said hesitantly.

"I'm here, Nine. Please tell me I'm imagining that worldship out there."

"Negative, Ten, unless I'm in your imagination," Corran said, gulping.

As Corran stared at the Vong worldship, not knowing what to do or how to react, the Vong suddenly decided that for him. Without warning, the worldship opened on the underside and a squadron of coralskippers emerged, the "hatch" closing behind them.

"Escorts?" Ganner said hopefully.

"Either that or 12 to 2 odds. I'm not picking up any negative tremors in the Force. Then again they are Vong, so we really can't say what they are intending."

The lead coralskipper circled the two X-wings once, and his squadron members followed him. Corran and Ganner were surrounded. Corran tried to look at things positively. At least they hadn't been fired on. Yet.

Finally, the lead Vong skip positioned himself in front of the two X-wings and pointed what looked like the nose of his ship away from them, as though preparing to lead the two unfamiliar fighters to the surface of the planet below. Two of the remaining skips positioned themselves in a similar manner, only this time placing themselves directly in front of each X-wing.

Corran knew this set up well. "Ten, I believe we are to follow."

"Escorts," Ganner repeated.

"I've heard that somewhere before."

"True, Nine."

"But it's always nice to have all your bases covered. No use getting vaped for having huttpuss for brains," he observed, following the coralskippers, who were now moving forward.

"Niiiice Nine," Ganner replied sarcastically.

"Sorry, Ten. Rogue Squadron pilot personality is acting up."

Ganner chuckled. "I'm not surprised, Nine."

"They're taking us to atmosphere," Corran stated. "Better break up the comm chatter and keep our eyes and ears open. They haven't established contact so far, but they just might. I want to be ready for them if and when they do."

"I copy, Nine. Ten out till we reach the surface."

* * * * *

The coralskippers led Corran and Ganner to the surface, only the lead skip remaining after they broke into the atmosphere. The other coralskippers broke off and headed back to space, back to the worldship above the planet.

The coralskipper guided the two X-wings to the surface near a large building seemingly made out of mud, and then he soared off to the skies once more as well. Corran shut down his engines upon landing on the planet ground, and surveyed the area.

Like many of the worlds the Yuuzhan Vong had invaded, this world seemed colorless, and devoid of the life that it should have known. The trees were an odd sickly shade of brown, as were their leaves. The ground was covered in green grass, but the texture of it seemed to be soft and mushy. Corran wondered what the Vong now invading the galaxy would do to its planets, if these "less warlike" Yuuzhan Vong could harm this planet in such a way.

"Nine?" Ganner called through the comm.

"I read you, Ten," Corran responded through his thoughts.

"Air is breathable. Shall we proceed?"

Corran nodded. "Yes, we should. I'm preparing to open my hatch."

"Got that, Nine. "I'm already out and on the surface, switching to Jedi garb."

"Garb indeed. I'll be there in one minute," Corran said, shaking the last of his thoughts away and switching the fighter's comm unit off. "Whistler, lock down the ship as soon as I get out. If I need to make a break for it, I'll let you know."

Whistler tootled what sounded like a war cry. Corran smiled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Whistler bleeped a "your welcome." With that, Corran released the hatch of the X-wing and pushed it open, grabbing his travel satchel with the other hand. Once the hatch was ajar, Corran sat the satchel in his lap long enough to pull his helmet from his head. He sat the helmet in the place of the bag, and stood up, tossing the satchel over his right shoulder. He vaulted out of the X-wing, and hit the surface of the planet softly, barely feeling the pull of gravity on him. Whistler lowered the hatch of the ship behind him.

Corran sat the satchel on the ground and began to unzip his flight suit, revealing a civilian outfit beneath, the typical attire of a Jedi. He untangled himself the rest of the way from the flight suit, and folded it up, picking up the satchel and preparing to put it inside. As he unhooked the closure to the bag, someone came up behind him and touched him on the shoulder.

He turned around, nearly jumping, but avoiding the urge.

"Chill out, man, it's just me," Ganner's familiar voice explained.