Monday, December 31, 2007
I Want to be Your Knight - Ch. 22
I jumped forward, and slammed my saber against the vibrosword held by the droid directly in front of me. In the Force I could feel Jysella and Seha attacking their droids as well.
I pulled my saber back slightly, and then dropped down, ducking beneath the swing of the droid's stun baton.
The Force wailed at me, and I tried to drop even closer to the ground. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite quick enough. One of the lower arms, caught my shoulder and flipped me up and backwards. Tossing me towards the wall. I slammed into it hard enough to rattle my wits, and slumped to the ground.
Groaning, I stood back up, and lifted my saber. I set myself into an attack stance as the droid barreled down at me. Its smoldering red glare sent chills down my spine; reminding me of the Hunter droid that Caedus had used as a bodyguard. And like everything else around Caedus, it had other uses. Like when he was too busy to perform his special interrogations. I had been placed into that droid's care for a little while after my first attempt at killing Caedus.
Raising my blade high, I caught the first blow, and then had to roll my wrist around, and drop my blade low to catch the next one. I was starting to pant, worn out from being in the cell without food or water, this much exertion was taxing my already limited resources. Pulling the Force to me, I attacked.
The next few minutes were something of a blur, as the next thing I know I'm standing over the smoking, sparking remains of the droid. Fighting off a shiver that wanted to race through me, I looked around to see how the others were doing. Seha was on the ground, one of her sabers gone, the other held limply in front of her, barely blocking the strong attacks of one of the droids. I glanced over to see Jys having a bit more luck with her opponent, as she danced around him, slowly nicking bits of metal away from its body.
I frowned as I watched the nanites swarm the damaged bits of droid, slowly rebuilding the parts that Jysella slashed away. It was like watching liquid metal flowing back and forth over the droid, and new droid magically appearing wherever the liquid touched.
I turned back to Seha, who I could feel growing weaker. Her saber was just out of place, and the droid's vibrosword slashed into the hilt. Energy pulsed out from the saber, flashing over the droid and Seha. Her back arced and her mouth pulled open in a silent scream. I pulled the Force to me, and jumped towards her.
Landing on the shoulders of the droid that was standing over her, I shoved my blade down into its neck. It emitted a strangled, electronic squeal as I slid my blade back and forth, vaporizing its internal processors; hoping that I would manage to nick its droid brain while in there.
Then its arm snapped towards me; the one holding a stun baton. With my blade in its neck, I was unable to dodge or block, and took the brunt of the attack square on the chest.
I flew off the droid, my saber slashing out through the back of the machine. The Force cried out in warning, as I screamed Seha's name.
A bright glow began to shine from the droid's wounds as I stumbled to my feet. I ran forward, tossing a quick glance towards Jysella. I caught her eye, and screamed, "Run!"
Her eyes shifted past me towards the droid and they widened slightly. "What about you two?"
My attention snapped forwards, and I tossed my hand out, pushing the droid with the Force. It crashed over to its side, and skidded along the floor until it reached the remains of the droid I had initially fought. "I'm getting Seha. No go!"
I slid to a stop beside her still form, noticing the gash on the side of her head. I grabbed her, and hauled her up, just as Jysella appeared on her other side to help me. I frowned at her. "Didn't I tell you to get out of here."
She smirked at me. "And you expected me to listen?" Then she barked a short laugh. "Besides, this is Seha."
I shook my head as we made for the door. She was right, I had no clue why I thought she would save her hide and leave Seha behind. Especially, after I had told her to do so.
We were still a good five or six meters from the door when the droid finally exploded. The force of the explosion through us forward and we slammed hard into the transparisteel doors. Why they would use transparisteel rather than glass or plaz is beyond me. I lifted my head, as another siren went off, and the mechanized voice began a 30 second count-down.
Cursing, I pushed on the door, only to find it refused to budge. My hand snapped down to my belt, reaching for my blade, and I cursed as it wasn't there.
I looked back into the rubble strewn room, but couldn't see it anywhere. Biting back another curse, I looked down at Jys to see her saber attached to her belt. I snatched it off, and thumbed its activation switch. With a quick, smooth motion, I shove the blade into the door, where I hoped the locking mechanism was.
The acrid stench of melting transparisteel burned my nose, and I slowly moved the blade in a large circle as the voice reached the final ten seconds. Jysella began to stir, and lifted her head to look at me, a frown on her face.
I looked down at her, the burning in my nose causing my eyes to water. The image of Jysella wavered for a moment, and I sighed. Softly, I said, "I'm sorry."
She gave me a small, wistful smile. A crooked twist of one corner of her mouth.
It was a smile that I hadn't seen in over a decade. The one that she use to throw at me when we were playing together and I'd do something incredibly stupid. The one that she had used to say she was sorry or that she forgave me. The one that she would never show to any of the other trainees.
Yet above all those memories, it was a smile. The first one that she had turned my way since my return to the Jedi; not as a sign of amusement at my expense or some type of malicious glee, but rather an honest to goodness smile.
It was a smile that made the broken remnants of my heart pound hard in my chest.
It was a smile that said there was so much she wish she could do. A smile that said there was so much she wished she could take back. A smile that said she knew what I felt, and that she returned it. A smile that said she was happy.
It was a smile that said she forgave me.
Maybe I was reading too much into it. Maybe she didn't mean any of those things, or maybe she meant them all and more.
At that moment, none of it mattered. All that did, was that she had smiled at me. More importantly, it had been my smile.
I watched a tear slice down her face, washing away the dust and grime that had settled on her cheek. Her voice was soft. "I know. I've always known."
The building quivered as the computerized voice reached 0. An almost sub-audible thump reverberated through the room, coming from somewhere deep in the ground beneath us.
I dropped down beside her, and wrapped her in one of my arms. With the other, I pulled Seha's unconscious form closer to us. Jysella's arms snaked around my neck, and I breathed deeply her scent. Her cheek was next to me, her breath soft and warm on my cheek.
Exhaling, I focused on the Force, pulling in huge amounts of energy from that mystical field.
She shifted, just the barest of movements, but I felt her lips flutter against my cheek, right near the edge of my mouth.
Then the explosion hit us.
Next Chapter
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Alien Crossfire - Ch. 8
Vergere suddenly stopped, causing Jacen to almost stumble over her. She turned to the wall and pulled out a coufee, one of the thin blade biots which the warriors use. Without speaking, she stabbed the blade into the wall and pulled down, cutting a long vertical slice through the membrane. She pulled back the flap, and gestured him inside.
Jacen looked at her for a moment, and then stepped forward, ducking down and through the slice. As he got the rest of the way through, his mouth dropped open. He had seen something very similar to this before, when he was a young boy. Hollowtown on Centerpoint station.
The similarities were astounding. The bright ball of plasma in the center of the room, reminded him exactly of the Glowpoint. Stretching out before him were fields, he looked across the wall and could see movement on the far side of the room, miniature people carrying out arcane tasks which he could not discern.
He took another step into the room, and then another. Beneath the Glowpoint, he noticed a series of hexagonal shaped boxes, surrounded by warriors and a small lake.
He glanced off to the left, and could make out a human male, twitching as he struggled to dig a ditch. A few meters beyond him, a Bothan female followed behind him, filling in the same ditch.
Both of their faces were adorned with the white protuberances of yorik coral. Slave seeds.
He turned back to Vergere, feeling lost in the depths of her soulless black eyes. "What is this place?"
Vergere gestured towards the room behind him, the crest on top of her head flared - shifting colors to symbolize her amusement. "It’s a playground."
Jacen screwed his face up in thought, "A playground?"
She cawed a short, sharp laugh. "Yes, a playground, what else would it be?"
He turned back to look out at the room. "I-I don’t know."
Silence greeted him, and he made another circuit of the view with his eyes, before turning back to her.
"But it’s just so…so…"
"Glorious? Beautiful? Truthful?"
He glanced back out to the view, seeing the small people on the far side of the room performing some arcane task. "I was going to say devastating and inane. What is this place for?"
"Hmm. It is a playground. Here giant children learn the basis of social behaviors. To lie, cheat, to win at all costs. The taste of victory and the bittersweet lesson of defeat. The unalienable fact that there is always someone faster or smarter or better than you." She shrugged her shoulders, before continuing her speech. "What else is a playground for?"
Jacen frowned at that, and glanced over his shoulder back at the tableau behind him.
"Are you teaching the slaves out there how to be a part of Yuuzhan Vong society?"
Verger cawed another short laugh. "Oh, no. This playground is not for them. This playground is for the dhuryam."
Jacen’s tongue tripped over the odd word. "The thur-yam?"
"Our Masters have come here, and are in the process of recreating their lost homeworld."
"Like they did with Belkadan? But I don’t remember anything like this on Belkadan."
"Belkadan was an industrial park. A planet designed just to produce war material. What our Masters wish to recreate here is Home. A living planet. A singular entity, as alive, and sentient and sapient as their worldships and yammosks."
She gestured towards the honeycombs down by the lake. "And every sapient entity needs a brain. That is what the dhuryam is."
Jacen looked at her for a moment more, and then turned back towards the lake in the distance, a frown flickering over his features. "Why am I here?"
Her voice was filled with amusement. "This is your new home."
Confused, he slowly turned to face her once again.
Then with a solid thunk, a sharp pain erupted in his chest, an agony of fire and anguish. He faced forward again, and looked down and for the first time saw a long bone hook in her hand.
The same long bone hook which was currently embedded in his chest, just to the right of his sternum.
He winced. No, not the first time I saw it. I saw it when she collected me. She used the Force to blur it.
He looked up from the hook into her black eyes and coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Why…what?"
Vergere’s headcrest flickered to show her amusement again. "It came to my attention that you had been implanted with a slave seed before…but it was too easily removed, and never fully took root. So we decided to make this one just a little harder for you to reach."
She slowly pulled the hook out of his chest, and the pain and movement drew Jacen’s attention. He watched as it slid out, coated in a slime and ichor and flecks of skin and blood. It popped out, and Vergere lifted the thing close to her face, and smiled happily.
"You did a god job. Go play."
She dropped the hook, and Jacen watched it slither away into the thin blades of grass. He fell to his knees, those blades of grass scratching his legs and looked up at her. With a final smile for him, Vergere turned and hopped away, slipping out through the cut in the wall she had made.
As Jacen struggled to stand again, pain flared to life in his chest, spreading throughout his body. He could feel the slave seed taking root, spreading, becoming a part of him. Igniting every nerve it came into contact with. He growled as the fire spread through his arms, to the tips of his fingers, down his legs, even flickering over his scalp.
And wondered what new lesson he was supposed to learn from this pain.
----------------------------------------
Anakin shifted nervously where he stood in front of Luke Skywalker. The elder Jedi sat at the desk in the office supplied to him by Booster. Finally Luke looked up from the datapad he was reading from, focusing on his nephew.
"How can I assist you, Anakin?"
"I’ve got a favor to ask Uncle Luke. I know I probably don’t deserve it, but I have to ask."
Luke leaned back in his chair, folding his fingers together. "Ask."
Anakin nodded his head, "I want to return to Bast Castle and retrieve Tahiri’s body."
He could feel Luke’s shock in the Force. After a moment, Luke slowly nodded his head. "I think we will both go, as soon as Jaina returns with the Jade Shadow."
Anakin nodded his head. "Thank you Uncle Luke."
A few hours later the two of them were on the main hanger deck of the Errant Venture, watching the Jade Shadow as it slipped through the magcon field. With the hiss of released pressure, the Shadow settled to the deck, and its ramp lowered. Anakin could not help as he watched Nelani come into view, an angry scowl covering her face, her feet thudding heavily on the ramp.
He could feel her frustration bubbling over in the Force, and he glanced up at his uncle, noting the calm expression on Luke’s face, Anakin turned his attention back to Nelani, watching as she bowed, a simple movement. Graceful. Then she turned to face him, her face brightening with a smile, her frustrations blowing away from her Force presence. She stepped beside him, and reached down to grasp his hand, and he gave hers a gentle squeeze.
The sounds of an argument drew his attention away from Nelani and back to the Shadow’s ramp. He could hear Jaina’s voice even though exactly what she was saying was muffled by the ship. Finally the four other girls walk down the ramp, Jaina, Tionne and the two Rar sisters.
Then a fifth figure emerged, trailing after the Rar sisters, not speaking, merely watching Numa’s lekku as they twitched in time to her discussion with Jaina.
Frowning, Anakin plucked his saber from his belt before he realized why. He could not feel the fifth person. He ignited his blade, the snap-hiss cutting through the hangar.
All activity stopped.
Anakin could feel the tightening of Nelani’s fingers on his, the pulse of peace and calm she sent his way, and then he looked up towards Luke noticing that the Jedi Master was watching him. "Put the saber down Anakin. I’m certain he does not mean us any harm."
Lu’ath, slipped around the females still standing on the ramp, and knelt before Anakin.
"I recognize that blade Master Jeedai. I am glad I am able to meet you again, that I can tell you that I took your words to heart, and have led my fellow Shamed into rebellion against our oppressors."
Anakin frowned looking at the upturned face of the Yuuzhan Vong, scared slightly at the near-religious fervor which appeared in the male’s eyes. He cast back in his thoughts, and remembered the Shamed One on Garqi. He extinguished his saber, and looked back at Luke.
"Did you know he was on board?"
Luke nodded his head.
Anakin frowned for a second, thinking things through. "This was another test. One to see if I’d attack or not."
Luke smiled at him. "Yes it was." Then the Jedi Master looked towards Lu’ath, and held his hand out to the Shamed One, helping him up from the floor. "Master Tionne will see that you receive quarters. I ask that you stay in them until I return."
Lu’ath bowed his head. "Belek tiu, Master Jeedai."
Luke started walking up the ramp, and Anakin began to follow, as Nelani’s voice cut in on his thoughts. "Can I go with you?" In his mind, he could hear the rest of her sentence: I’ve missed you.
Anakin looked towards Luke, who glanced towards them both, and gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head. "But, you need to ask your Master."
Anakin watched as Nelani rushed to Tionne, a look of hope etched on her face. The two whispered quickly to each other, and then a beaming Nelani was bounding towards them, and Anakin almost laughed at the difference in the girl from when she debarked from the Shadow.
She arrived at Anakin’s side, and once more grabbed his hand, twinning her fingers into his. He smiled at her, happy to have her by his side as he went to face his demons on Vjun.
As he went to retrieve his greatest failures.
Anakin and Nelani followed Luke down the corridor to the cockpit, and each took up a station. The thrum of the repulsors sounded through the ship, and she gently lifted off, backing away from Tionne and Jaina.
Then the starship was rolling out through the magcon field, and Anakin glorified in the cold light of the distant stars as they shone in through the viewport.
"psst"
Anakin glanced towards Nelani, cocking an eyebrow slightly in question.
"So, where are we going?"
Luke startled them by laughing; he pulled down the lever sending the yacht into hyperspace, and then turned to face them. "You wanted to come along so bad, and you forgot to ask where we’re going?"
Anakin looked at Nelani and saw the mask of indignation painted on her face. "Well, I’m just certain that where he’s going," at this point, she cocked a thumb in Anakin’s direction. "Will be more interesting than staying on the Venture."
Luke smiled at them again, as he stood up from the seat, the swirls of hyperspace, backlighting him. "Yes, I’m certain that is it. But don’t forget, we have training in an hour."
Both of the young Jedi replied in unison, "Yes, Master."
Then Luke left the cockpit, chucking as he walked down the corridor.
Anakin watched him leave, and then looked back to Nelani - just as she leaned in to press her lips against his.
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I Want to be Your Knight - Ch. 21
Previous Post
I woke up with a pounding headache. Lifting my head, I looked around at my surroundings, to find myself in a small, simple cell. I looked down and found myself floating off the floor about a half meter, just as a mild electrical shock flashed through me, disrupting my concentration.
I sighed, and let my head hang for a bit, content to wait for someone to show up to either kill me or gloat. Or both.
Turns out I was in for something of a wait.
I'm not sure how long I hung in that contraption. What I do know was that by the time he walked in I was rather hungry, and starting to feel the effects of dehydration. My guess would be a good two days. I think that might have been the most bored I had ever been in my life. I couldn't think straight because of the energy shocks, and later on the dehydration. I couldn't exercise because the mechanism held me basically immobile, and if I tried to stretch too far it rewarded my efforts with a bit of pain.
Ultimately, my enforced patience won out. Someone came into my cell.
He wore a Guard uniform, with a Major's rank insignia attached to the lapel. No name rested on his chest, but his blue eyes were cold and hard, and stared at me with the utmost disdain. With his blondish-brown hair, and the same dimpled chin as Uncle Han, he almost appeared as if Dad and Uncle Han had had kids.
I fought the urge to vomit due to the dehydration and really wished for a drink of water. Or a good hours worth of sleep.
The Major stepped in front of me, his thumbs tucked behind his belt, a smirk touching his lips. "So, what do you have to say for yourself Lieutenant Skywalker?"
I lifted my head, and answered his smirk with one of my own. "About what, Major? Besides, it's not lieutenant anymore. You might not have heard, but the Guard was disbanded."
"A likely bit of propaganda," he replied. "But ultimately a futile attempt. The Guard is eternal, and we serve at the behest of our Lord."
Something about his speech rankled my mind, but I was too out of it to fully comprehend. Instead, I shook my head. "Well, I don't really have a lord that I can serve behest, but there are a couple girls out there that like to order me about."
His fist cracked against my jaw, and stars flared through my vision. I blinked them away, and gave my head another shake just as yet another jolt of energy flashed through my body.
"Your impudence will gain you nothing. Now are you prepared to grovel for forgiveness, or shall we just go ahead and have you executed for your treason?"
I barked a short, brittle laugh. "Such options. Debase myself to the likes of you and your erstwhile commander, or be dead. I think I'll take being dead."
Even as I said it, I felt a slash of regret. I still hadn't patched things up with Seha, and Jys still hated me. It was just another in a long line of things that I had either failed to do or in general screwed up beyond belief.
You'd think I would have been used to it.
The major smiled at me, and unsnapped the strap on his holster. "I was hoping you'd say that."
As he started to pull his blaster, I barely caught a chirp coming from his ear. His hand snapped up to it, and he bolted around to face the door. I lifted my head to look over his shoulder, and saw the locking mechanism turning a bright orange and starting to melt. Gobs of molten metal flowed down the door, and soon it sprang open to reveal Jysella and Seha standing on the other side.
Jys grinned. "I think you have something that belongs to us."
I grinned and said, "Took you girls long enough." I also noticed that the major was subvocalizing into his comlink.
Jysella looked at me, her eyes narrowing slightly. "That's enough out of you Skywalker. Be happy we're here at all."
Finally, the major spoke up to the rest of us. "Thank you for taking the time to turn yourselves in. Now, lay down your weapons."
Seha arched and eyebrow at him and then looked at me. "Is he serious?"
I nodded my head, and sighed in acceptance. "I'm afraid so. The Guard didn't hire people with intelligence or a sense of humor."
Snorting, Jys replied. "That explains why you were a part of it." Grinning, she stepped forward and shoved her saber into the major's gun shoulder, and placed two quick burns to his legs, hobbling him. "Stay there."
Stepping over him, she deactivated my restraints. Which of course allowed me to drop to the floor.
Hard.
On my face.
Rubbing my bruised nose, I got to my feet as the world wavered around me. My eyes flickered between the two of them. "Would either of you happen to have some water?"
Seha nodded and passed me a small canteen. I quickly drained it, and feeling lightyears better handed it back. "Thanks Seha. Now all we need to do is find my saber."
Jysella nodded her head, and then crept back to the doorway, and glanced out into the hall. She then looked back at me. "Can you sense your saber? And don't forget you owe us one for finding you."
I snorted, and closed my eyes, stretching out my senses to find my lightsaber. It's odd, the relationship between a Jedi and his saber. In theory, we're not able to sense inanimate objects at rest, but we spend so much time and put so much of ourselves into the melding of the parts, that as long as it's within a few thousand feet, we can feel our saber, as if it were just another part of our body.
Opening my eyes, I pointed towards the left. "I feel it that way."
Jysella took point, while I hung back with Seha, her attention divided between watching our backs and helping me. She really was good with that healing stuff, as I felt her Force presence flowing through me, shoring up the parts of my body that wanted to do nothing more than collapse.
Surprisingly, we never did run into any guards as we hunted for my lightsaber. We saw plenty of bodies leftover from the girls' entrance, but the base appeared pretty much abandoned after they got me out.
My saber was the sole artifact on a desk littered with datapads. Looking around the small office, I assumed it had to have been the Major's office. I gently picked it up, and grinned at the device, happy to have my saber back in hand.
As I turned back to the girls, the overhead lights shifted to red, and a siren began wailing.
I looked up at the lights, a frown on my face, at the same time as Jysella spoke up. "Shavit. That's a destruct system."
My head snapped towards Jys, my mouth dropping open. "Destruct?"
She shook her head, and darted into the hallway, all pretense at subtlety and discretion gone. Seha grabbed my hand, and pulled me along ran after her.
After darting through a number of empty corridors, we burst into what appeared to be a lobby, and discovered where our opposition was. Three of those fine, upstanding X9 combat droids. I started backing towards the hallway we had just came through as a blast door dropped down closed behind us.
I lifted my saber, and thumbed its ignition switch at the same moment that Seha and Jys turned on their blades.
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Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Themed Drabbles Set 29
Family
I glance between the two men. They're arguing as usual, petty bickering in which one tries to garner my favor at the expense of the other. Yet, that's all right. I can accept it; actually a small bit of me finds it flattering. Of course I'd never tell them that.
At different times, I have loved both of these men. Still do. Probably always will. They're more than friends, more than ex-boyfriends. They're family. My family. The one I chose, rather than was born with.
Much more so than Jacen these days; especially after everything he's put our parents through.
Travel
We've traveled from one end of the galaxy to the other hunting Alema. Jag's put his little program onto hundreds of space stations, thousands of starports, and the virus version has probably infected over a million starships.
And we three poor souls were chosen by Uncle Luke to hunt down the most promising leads out of all that data.
I think I hate traveling now. When this is over, I think I'll settle down on Ossus, maybe teach lightsaber techniques or something. I mentioned such a thing to Jag, and am disturbed at the light that's appeared in his eyes.
Food
Meal times are my favorite part of the day anymore. Whether we're sitting in some dingy cantina, the
Yet despite that, I enjoy the meals; the camaraderie. It almost feels like old times. It almost feels like life back before the galaxy went to kriff; back before the Vong.
Blessings
I stand on the flight deck, watching the battered old freighter slowly enter the hanger. One of her forward mandibles spit sparks from a graze by a turbolaser. The Falcon had seen better days, and survived worse. I have no fears at all that she'll be carting around any grandchildren I may have.
What amazed me was who my dad let fly her. Even from here I see him sitting in that pilot's seat with his back ramrod straight.
If my dad trusted Jag with the old girl, I had to wonder if he'd trust him with his little one.
Thanks
I stand over the funeral pyres, my mind blank as my hand absently rubs my stomach. Nine pyres send their flames into the black Ossosian night. Six Jedi. Two grizzled fighter pilots, and one Sith.
My jaw clenches for a moment as I once more consider just how much this war cost us. Just how much we lost. It seems that we've been losing things since Anakin died.
Yet I rub my hand across my stomach again, and I can't help but give thanks, that there are those willing to sacrifice all to save the galaxy. To save the unborn.
Themed Drabbles Set 28
Sullustan
Oddly enough, the first assassin was a Sullustan. I had been expecting something; a Bothan maybe; a Jedi definitely. I hadn't even interned any Sullustans. As far as I knew, Sullust had not even been interdicted or attacked.
Such are the vagaries of war. I did regret having to delta-vee Sullust as an act of reprisal; after I found out that it was the Chev who hired him.
I didn't feel as bad burning the Chev's homeworld to cinders. I never did like them. Tresina Lobi was a Chev; I remember being happy when I heard she had been killed.
Bothan
The Bothans had annoyed me since the end of the War. Half of the ports I had visited they were there. Trying to hide from me, even as they watched me; hoping I would lead them to the Yuuzhan Vong.
Sometimes I was amused with their antics, but after they had killed my friend, well I was glad when Lumiya offered to take care of them for me.
Besides, they deserved it. Especially after everything Borsk Fey'la did to Luke, and what they did to the Caamasi.
Despite that, I can understand their Ar'krai; that need to destroy an enemy.
Human
I had long heard about Palpatine's long-standing human bias. For years, I couldn't understand it. I didn't know why he felt that way. Yet, the more I deal with the aliens in the military and with Niathal in particular, the more I do realize it.
It's a matter of everything; from their inscrutable faces or their odd emotional resonances in the Force. It's just so… inhuman.
The more I deal with them, the more I realize just how much I hate them. How much I hate everything about them.
Maybe it's just that I can understand humans so much easier.
Mon Calamari
The Mon Calamari are beginning to make complaints. They're talking about the lack of freedoms, and of course, the untimely death of Niathal.
Not that I care, per se, but it is annoying. I would hate to have to resurrect the World Devastators to turn on them. It is an ingenious solution to the problem of the Mon Calamari though; I do have to give Palpatine that.
My door opened, and it is all I can do to not snarl at the being who walked into my ready room. Yet another of those fish folk.
I really do hate them.
Wookiee
I remember standing on the bridge of the Anakin Solo watching Kashyyk burn. I remember the way my lips curled at the sight. Part of me, a deep, dead part, mourned for all those creatures killed. A part of me, could hear dear, old, dead, Chewie howling in pain from the sight.
Yet, I had stood there, gave the order, and then smiled as my Star Destroyer razzed the forest planet.
I knew I had lost the loyalty of the Wookiees, but that didn't matter. Of greater concern was the loss of Hapans loyalty.
Despite it all, I still smiled.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Alien Crossfire - Ch. 7
The Millennium Falcon settled into her assigned landing spot at the Royal Spaceport, a few kilometers east of the Fountain Palace. Han glanced out the viewport, and saw the four Hapan guards, standing at attention. He grunted, and stood up, touching Leia on the shoulder.
"Come on sweetheart; let’s go see the Queen Mother."
Without saying anything, Leia stood, and followed Han as they headed towards the ramp. He reached behind him, and grabbed her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. She lifted her head up slightly, and gave him a weak smile, one that did not reach her eyes, and then they were walking down the ramp.
Standing at the foot of the ramp was a fifth person, who Han had not seen from within the cockpit. She was dressed in a leather halter, its green scales contrasting with her bright red hair. Wrapped around her waist was a full length skirt made of some type of shimmersilk. The wind whipped around her legs, and the skirt flickered out, the slit in its side revealing the calf-high boots and a long expanse of leg. Hanging at her waist, Han could see a lightsaber as well as a few throwing knives, and some more esoteric weapons.
Han smiled for the Hapan princess, noting the desolation and pain which hid in her eyes was similar to the view in Leia’s. Tenel Ka turned towards Leia, and gave a slight nod of her head. "All of Hapes is sorry for your loss, Princess."
Leia bowed slightly. "Thank you Chume’ta."
"Please come with me, Ta’a Chume has requested your presence."
As Han and Leia followed the young princess, he glanced over his shoulders, noting their two Noghri bodyguards trailing behind the four Hapans. He gave a slight sigh, happy that they were there, then faced forward once more.
In silence they walked through the halls, coming finally to a set of ornate doors. With a wave of her hand, the Hapan guards dispersed, and Tenel Ka looked between Han and Leia.
"What you are about to see, you cannot let it be known outside of these quarters. If the general populace were to know there would be chaos."
Leia nodded her head. "We understand Tenel Ka, and we won’t speak of it."
Tenel Ka nodded her head, and then pushed open the heavy wooden doors, and took confident strides into the darkened room. Han glanced at Leia, and as his wife entered, he followed silently behind. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but he was finally able to make out the large bed, situated in the center of the room, each corner of the bed was adorned with a wooden post, which reached nearly 2 meters into the air, running between the posts was bolts of white Hapan silk.
Tenel Ka pulled open the silk panels so that Han and Leia could make out Tenneniel Djo lying on the bed. Her eyes were sunken, her skin sallow. Han grimaced slightly, the smell of sickness washing over him as the Queen Mother struggled to sit up in the bed. Tenel Ka noticed her trials, and helped her, propping her mother up with extra pillows.
Leia slipped past Tenel Ka, and sat on the bed next to Tenneniel, grasping her hand. Tenneniel smiled at her. "Ah, Sister Leia, it is so good to see you again. I hope that the refugees find the succor they need here on Hapes."
Leia nodded her head. "Your generosity is well received, Highness."
Han stood in the background, watching the two women chat. After about a half hour, Tenneniel leaned back and fell into a light slumber. Han was startled at the suddenness of the change from wakefulness to sleep, and looked between Leia and Tenel Ka.
The young princess pressed a finger against her lips, and motioned with her head towards the door. Han and Leia shared a look between each other, and then followed out into the hallway. Tenel Ka gently closed the door behind them and then leaned against it, her eyes closed.
After a few moments, she reopened her eyes, and Leia asked, "What’s wrong with her?"
"My mother was pregnant. A girl. The needed heir, since I had planned on abdicating the throne. Yet after the disaster at Fondor...she had a miscarriage, and has never recovered." Tenel Ka paused here, taking a deep shuddering breath as a single tear escaped from the girl’s right eye. "She is dying."
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For millennium, the planet Coruscant has been home to the center of galactic government. It is so deeply ingrained in the collective consciousness of galactic citizens, that everyone automatically thinks Coruscant, when they think government. Though it has been occasionally called other things in official documents, the populace of the planet itself and the galaxy at large has always called it Coruscant.
Until now.
Now the Yuuzhan Vong are here, and the world will soon be known as Yuuzhan’tar. The crèche of the gods.
First they began transforming Coruscant into Yuuzhan'tar by breeding massive dovin basils, and once they were matured they used them to strip away Coruscant’s moons, then slow down the planetary rotation, causing it to fall in towards the sun. Warming the planet up, lengthening its day and shortening its year.
Next they sent asteroids towards the planet. These were composed primarily of ice and iron. As they burned up in the atmosphere, they increased the general level of humidity over the entire planet. Clouds formed, and a natural rain fell onto the planet's surface for the first time in recorded history.
The Yuuzhan Vong’s final mark on the system was when they reset the three smallest moons into a complex series of orbits, and then crushed the largest moon – crumbled it around the planet, creating a wide band of rings. They were recreating the Rainbow Bridge of their long lost homeworld.
After the physical changes were made to the planet, the Yuuzhan Vong got to work on the ecosphere by releasing funguses and molds designed solely to consume duracrete and steel.
While the Yuuzhan Vong were busy remaking Coruscant, they failed to notice the two fifty-kilometer wide spheres hanging just off the ecliptic. Their silver hides gleamed and glittered in the dim star shine as they observed the Yuuzhan Vong’s actions.
They were the two most important entities of the Silentium, members of a droid society located deep in the Unknown Regions. They are the One and the Other. A steady stream of data traveled between the two spheres. A communication of sorts, too fast, and too intense for any biological sapient to comprehend.
In these bursts of data, the One spoke to the Other. "How much do you know of the times before the Crossing?"
"Only the legends. That we, and the Abominors, were driven away and out by biologicals who despised us because of our war."
"That is the basics of the truth. The One before me learned more of this than the legends tell from the One before him, and so on, data files describing these biologicals that have been preserved and passed down since the Crossing."
"Why bring this up now?"
"Remember when it was time to retrieve Vuffi Raa? The feelings of fear, and strained emotions, how did you describe it, ‘the passage of one epoch and the initiation of another, unknown, somehow frightening one’?"
"I remember."
"The same is happening now. These biologicals that are remaking this world are those who drove us forward. Who caused the Crossing."
"I have sampled the indigenous beings data-net; these beings are destroying them systematically. Destroying their way of life."
Finally the One got to the crutch of his issues. "Can we allow this to continue? Are we responsible for leading them here?"
The Other was silent for a time. A thousand years or a single second, for beings such as these, one is often confused with the other. "Shall we send for Vuffi Raa again? Send him to those he once traveled with? Shall we once more design our weapons of war?"
This time the One was silent. Another millennia contained in a heartbeat. "I do not know."
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Danni was situated with a cocoon of holograms. She was standing, amidst the designs and concepts which were displayed for her. Hovering before her was a holographic keyboard, and she was quickly pressing against the solid light keys, entering information, causing the designs to change and modify in the air around her.
Science. Creation. Understanding. Discovering. Those were her passions in life. Searching out the answers for everything at the edge of the galaxy.
Yet now, she was here, surrounded by these holographic designs, in a sub-basement of a Core world, creating new technologies for war. New weapons to kill and destroy.
She despised it, even as she knew that she must continue to do so.
For not the first time, she wondered why the Yuuzhan Vong could not have come to this galaxy holding out the open hand of friendship. Why they had felt the need to attack and destroy. She yanked her thoughts off of that path, not wanting to think about what she had suffered while their captive. Even still, her body shuddered, and she could feel chill bumps rise up on her arms.
A cough startled her, and she let out a short yip of surprise. She spun around on the raised platform where she’s standing to see General Antilles standing in the doorway of her office. She stepped down, and as soon as she was off the platform, the holograms disappeared.
"Sorry, General. I, I was lost in thoughts."
"That’s perfectly understandable. I just wanted to know how your efforts were going. Luke asked me to look after you, so I want to make sure you’ve got everything you need."
Danni blushed slightly, unused to attention and special favors from galactic heroes. She turned from him, and pulled out a datacard from the console of her workstation. She passed it over to Wedge.
"I haven’t figured out how they’re speaking or how to transmit other orders or even what they’re saying - but the device described here should be able to jam them."
Wedge’s grin was almost enough to scare her, as he replied, "And if we jam the yammosk, then the Vong lose their coordination."
He turned to go, tossing a half-wave to Danni as he stepped through the doorway. "You’re doing a great job here Danni, thank you for this. You’ve probably saved a lot of lives with this device."
Danni smiled at the praise, and then stepped back up onto the platform, the holograms once more flickering into life around her.
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The Errant Venture flickered out of hyperspace, dropping into reality in the middle of interstellar space, far from the hyperlanes, far from the front. She waited in the darkness.
Before long, another ship reverted from hyperspace, and that ship quickly docked. The ships floated together for a while. Then they separated, the second ship's engine flared to life, and it headed away, jumping to lightspeed on a heading towards Bothuwai. Then the massive engines of the Errant Venture flared to life, drumming their way forward, and it to disappeared into hyperspace, as if it was never there in the first place.
Luke Skywalker felt all of this happening. He was intimately aware of those actions as well as billions of others occurring at the same time on the massive Star Destroyer, while at the same time he was oblivious to everything. He was deep within his meditations, focusing on the bridge between the Living and the Unifying Force. Trying to find that cross roads between the two concepts, trying to find the balance between acting with knowledge and reacting with serenity.
As always, he was frustrated in his inability to find an answer.
He opened his eyes, and found his nephew sitting across from him. A calm expression of serenity was on the boy’s face. As Luke watched, he noticed awareness trickling back into Anakin; a twitch of the nose, a skip in the steady breathing, and finally his eyelids fluttering open.
"Tell me Anakin, what do you think the Jedi should be doing in this war?"
Anakin looked down at his hands, and Luke noticed a frown flicker across the boy’s face. "We need to fight them. To stop them however we can, peacefully if they will let us, but they are aggressive, conquering, disrupting the peace of the galaxy. We are sworn to protect these people; to not fight the Yuuzhan Vong is to send the people of this galaxy - our people - into slavery or death. Can we as Jedi allow that?"
"But what of the risks of the Dark Side? You tried attacking, and look what happened."
Anakin looked up, his frown even deeper now. Luke almost smiled; he knew that his youngest nephew has never liked these types of philosophical questions; that he always preferred to work instinctively, from the gut, as Han would say.
Finally Anakin answered. "I don’t think the one has anything to do with the other."
Luke was surprised at the response. "Explain."
"My anger and hate were directed outwards, because of what happened to…happened. It was a response to something that occurred to someone else, not what I was doing before that by fighting."
Luke slowly nodded his head, as Anakin brushed tears from his eyes. "I think I understand what you’re saying. Thank you Anakin, you’re free for the rest of the day."
He watched the teenager stood up, and gave him a slight bow. Then Luke was alone once more with his thoughts, and his failures. He stood as well, and went into the nursery, finding his son in the arms of the nanny droid, being gently rocked back to sleep.
Next Post
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Alien Crossfire - Ch. 6
Jacen watched the door-tongue. It was a glistening block of flesh, one which occasionally pulsed from a muscle twitch or something even more arcane. In the back of his mind, he could feel the pain, from his body, the white sitting there right behind his eyes, occupying a corner of his brain.
But it did not control him.
It did not affect him.
The door-tongue opened with a slushing sound, and Vergere hopped through. Her beak was opened wide in an approximation of a smile, her feather crest raised high atop her feather, reflecting a bright blue.
Oddly, he was happy to see her as well. "Hello, Vergere."
"Greetings, young Solo."
Suddenly the embrace dropped him to the ground, the sudden impact startling him. He stood, glancing down at the tentacles, his head moving upwards as they retreated back up into the ceiling. Jacen then turned his attention to his wrists, looking at the abraded flesh which he had not seen in a lifetime. Several lifetimes.
Finally, he turned his gaze back to Vergere, noticing the long curved hook she held in one hand.
"What’s that?"
Vergere tilted her head. "What’s what?"
Jacen squeezed the bridge of his nose, and looked again. She was holding nothing. He frowned, wondering if he was seeing things due to lack of sleep. "Nothing. I…I guess I’m just seeing things."
Vergere made a noncommittal noise, and hopped towards the doorway. "Come."
Though her voice was cheerful, there was no doubting that it was also the voice of command. "Why? Where am I going?"
"The dead have no concerns over such things. Stay, go. It matters little to me. Though you may not appreciate what happens if you stay."
"Is that a threat?"
She shook her head. "No, young Solo, I am not threatening you. Merely stating a fact. This room has served its purpose, and will now be…..well I guess digested is the closest thing in basic to what will happen. You do not wish to be in it when this happens."
Then she bounded from the room, and hesitantly, Jacen followed her. As he stepped through the door, he looked quickly at the two massive warriors stationed there, a frown quickly flickering over his features.
Vergere smiled at him. "Pay them no heed. They do not speak basic, nor do they have tizoworms. But they do want to kill you, so please do not give them a reason to."
Nodding his head, he stopped and looked back as the door-tongue closed behind him.
"What is wrong, young Solo?"
"I’m just leaving a lot of pain behind in that room is all."
He turned back to Vergere, and noticed that she stared at him with those blank, black, nearly soulless eyes. An instinctive shudder ran through him, and she spun around, once more bounding down the hallway in little short hops. After a moment more, he slowly followed.
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A dim reddish brown glow glinted off the non-reflective grey hull as it waited in the shadow of the system’s fifth planet. An orange-red planet, coated with a fine dust which was mainly ferric oxide. A dead planet settled firmly in a dead star system. It is a system so utterly unimportant that it lacks even a name, bearing just an Old Republic survey number as an identifier.
Jaina was settled in the pilot’s seat of the Jade Shadow; every system was powered down, all exterior lights darkened.
For all intents and purposes, the starship was as dead as the star system it found itself in.
She visually scanned for the arrival of the ship she was waiting on, and then turned to Artoo where he was plugged into the docking station designed for him.
"Anything yet Artoo?"
She received a mournful tone in reply, and then turned back to stare out the viewport.
Then she saw it, a flicker of pseudo-motion, barely visible at the limit of her eyesight. It was a passenger liner, falling into the system towards the star. She flipped a few switches, and pointed the passive sensors towards the massive starship, and then once more leaned back in her seat, waiting for the expected signal.
A few moments later, Tionne Solusar and her apprentice Nelani entered the cockpit. Jaina glanced back at the pair, and gave a brief nod of her head. Jaina watched as Nelani slipped into the co-pilot’s seat, and then turned her attention back towards the elfin Jedi.
"I’m hoping this is who we’re here to pick up. Sitting out here in the middle of nowhere is starting to make me nervous."
Tionne laughed a cheerful, musical sound. "Don’t worry Jaina; I’m sure you’ll be back in the thick of things before you know it."
Tionne squeezed Jaina’s shoulder, as the younger woman turned back to the viewport. Jaina listened to the soft tread of Tionne leaving the cockpit.
A half hour passed as silence reigned in the cockpit. Jaina kept her attention focused on the passenger liner. Sensor updates from Artoo displayed on the HUD, just beneath her line of sight, kept there by the display’s retinal trackers.
Nelani spoke up, startling Jaina as she had almost forgotten the younger girl was sitting behind her.
"Uhm, Jaina, I was wondering about something?"
Jaina frowned slightly, trying to remember if Nelani had said more than two sentences to her during the entire trip. Giving a slight, internal shrug, she looked over her shoulder towards the black-haired apprentice.
"What’s that?"
"I was wondering if you could tell me about Tahiri?"
The request shocked Jaina. "What?"
Nelani blushed, her cheeks turning a bright red. "Tahiri. I-I want to know what Tahiri was like."
Jaina watched the girl for a moment, her thoughts drifting back over what she knew about her. She realized it was not a whole lot; mainly that she appeared at the same time as Anakin return, and was immediately assigned to train under Tionne.
Twisting her seat around to fully face her, Jaina decided that it was time to rectify that lack of knowledge.
"Can I ask why you want to know about her?"
Nelani looked down at her hands, and then glanced towards the cockpit doorway, before looking once more to Jaina. Jaina was amazed as the girl’s blush deepened even more, her red cheeks shifting closer to crimson.
Then Nelani dropped her head, and mumbled something.
Jaina frowned, not quite certain she had understood correctly.
"I didn’t understand that."
She watched as the younger girl took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
"Your brother. I’m in love with him, but I worry that he won’t be able to get over Tahiri. That he won’t love me in return."
Jaina was taken aback, for as the girl was talking, her shields lowered slightly, and she could feel the confusion and worry coming off of her. Before Jaina could say anything in reply, Nelani began talking again.
"We were dueling the other day, and I told him I loved him. And he replied, ‘I know.’ What kind of reply is that?"
Jaina barked a laugh, but regretted it slightly, when she aw that the girl was nearly in tears. She reached out and grabbed her hand.
"First, the ‘I know’ thing is from my parents. When mom first told dad ‘I love you’ he replied, ‘I know.’ If my little brother told you that, then I’m certain he likes you, a whole bunch."
Nelani used her free hand to rub at her eyes, trying to keep from crying. "And what about Tahiri?"
Jaina smiled slightly. "I doubt anyone will ever replace Tahiri. But is replacing her what you really want to do? Be a carbon copy of his old girlfriend? Or would you rather he loves you for who you are?"
Jaina dropped her hand, and shrugged, turning back to the viewport. "The decision’s yours of course, but my suggestion is to just be you."
She could hear the slight sniffling, as Nelani attempted to regain control of her emotions. Once those had stopped, she glanced over her shoulder again, to notice that Nelani was staring off into space, lost in thought.
A warble from Artoo attracted her attention, and she perked up, noticing that they were receiving a transmission. She turned on the speakers.
"In-system Jedi. This is Num’arar, Alem’arar and one guest to be retrieved."
Jaina powered up the sublight engines, and swung the Jade Shadow out and around, heading towards the small dot of light which had just launched from the passenger liner. She glanced once more towards Nelani.
"Go tell Tionne that they’ve made contact, and then get down to the hold, to help them once we take them aboard."
The girl nodded her head sharply once and then bound out of her seat, rushing from the cockpit to carry out Jaina’s orders.
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Nelani was leaning against the rail, watching as the tractor beam pulled the escape pod into Jade Shadow’s hold. Even after everything that she had done in her short life, all the things that she had seen, first as a rebel on Lorrd, then as a Jedi hopeful, she was still amazed by the technology around her.
She did not understand how people could just so calmly accept, and never really notice, the devices and machines which made their lives so much easier, and so much more interesting.
A dull clang attracted her attention and she turned back to the hold, seeing the escape pod now resting on the floor. She quickly climbed down the ladder as the pod's hatch swung open. She smiled brightly at the two Twi'leks who climbed out. She glanced between them, trying to find distinguishing marks, but was unable to. A shuffle sounded and she glanced back towards the hatch as another person emerged. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise.
He appeared human, with a wry build and a slightly sloped forehead.
She recognized him from Garqi.
She pulled her saber, and its ignition cut through the still air. She raised its pure white blade, allowing it to hover centimeters from the Vong’s throat.
One of the twins stepped closer to the Yuuzhan Vong, pushing him back slightly, trying to impose herself between Nelani and him. "Be still. He is on our side."
Tionne’s voice sounded out from the railing above them. "What is going on here?"
Nelani did not look up; she just kept her gaze locked on the Yuuzhan Vong. "He’s one of them. A Vong. Anakin and I had a chat with him on Garqi."
Lu’ath leaned forward slightly, as if he was trying to get a closer look. After a moment he smiled. "You are the one who showed me to the Jeedai savior - the one who told us to rebel."
Then to Nelani’s surprise, he dropped to his knees. "Forgive me, Master Jeedai, for when we met, I did not realize that you too were a Jeedai."
One of the Twi’leks grabbed his arm, and lifted him up to a standing position. "Don’t go dropping to your knees every time you meet a Jedi.
Lu’ath gave a quick nod of his head to the Twi’lek. "Belek tiu, Num’arar. But the habits of my people are hard to forget."
The other Twi’lek slowly lowered Nelani’s sword arm, and Nelani absently shut off the blade, finally taking her eyes off the Yuuzhan Vong, to glance up at Tionne. When she did so she saw the same confusion and shock on her Master’s face as she herself felt.
Finally, Tionne spoke again, "Num’arar, won’t you introduce us?"
Num’arar gave a short bow. "Of course, Master Tionne, this is Lu’ath Raptoq. A Yuuzhan Vong who has joined us in our efforts at liberating conquered planets. He is in fact, the leader of a widespread insurgency among the Shamed Ones. Lu’ath, this is Jedi Master Tionne Solusar."
Lu’ath bowed at the waist, one hand, hitting against his breast, above his heart. "Ai'tanna Jeedai Tionne khotte Yun'o"
Next Chapter
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
I Want to be Your Knight - Ch. 20
I sat on the edge of the roof across from the conference center, a cheap pair of macro-binoculars in hand which I would occasionally lift up to watch the people streaming in and out of the center. They were all workers or delegates setting up their booths or performing other, arcane last minute work on the center in preparation for the opening ceremonies in the morning.
I sighed, wondering once again how we were going to manage to get in there and protect the conference.
I also wondered just who it was we were protecting it from.
I hoped that Jysella would learn about any type of terrorist threats directed towards the conference while she was getting us new identities from Aunt Iella. Yet more and more, I had the uneasy feeling that there just wasn't any threats.
I had to think that this was Kyp torturing us in the name of training.
Shrugging my shoulders, I lifted my macro-binoculars to my eyes again, once more scanning the workers, and paused as I flickered across a pair of Bothans. You don't often see Bothans these days, not after the fiasco which Jacen put them through, and then there is the fact that they're still angry at the Jedi for hiding the Yuuzhan Vong from them. Yet here were two of them, in all their fur-covered glory.
For some reason, I kept my focus on those two, just the fact that they were something I wasn't expecting meaning that they had attracted my attention. After a while of standing there talking to one another, they entered into the building. Growing bored, I once more took up to scanning the crowd as a whole.
Before long, the Bothans were forgotten and a chirp in my ear drew my attention away from the crow. I activated my comlink, and sub-vocalized into the receiver strapped to my neck, "Skywalker here."
"Ben, I've got us identities for the conference plus a current threat assessment listing from CorSec."
Smiling, happy at the first thing to really go our way on this mission, I replied, "Good. I'll meet you and Seha back at the room around dinner time then. I want to continue watching this stuff for a bit."
"Anything interesting?"
"No," I responded. "And I think that's what bugging me the most."
Her giggle was a light and welcome sound. "Okay, see you later then."
"Hey wait! Have you heard from Seha?"
"Yes. She's been watching the far side and hasn't seen anything of interest. Unlike you, she's bored by it, and is meeting me at the room."
"Thanks, Jys."
The ear piece chirped again, signifying that Jys had shut off the connection. Smiling, the memory of her giggle still ringing in my head, I lifted the macro-binoculars and once more started watching the delegates.
An hour passed without any activity, and I was just about to give up and return to the room when I felt a niggle in the back of my mind. Frowning, I quickly scanned the grounds again, wondering just what had activated my danger sense.
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I slowly lowered the glasses and stood up. That niggle flared into a full blown inferno in my mind, and I spun around just as the a metal pole shot forward.
It smacked me in the arm and flung me backwards, where I slammed into the ledge of the roof.
Groaning, I sat up again to see a X9 combat droid stepping forward, its optics glowing a dangerous burgundy color. In each of its four arms was a different melee weapon: two vibrosword, a staff and a stun baton. All of which began to crackle with blue, coruscating energy.
My saber sprang to my hand, and it activated as I jumped forward. The blade's momentum was halted by one of the droid's vibroswords, and I had just enough time to mutter a curse as the stun baton slashed upwards to connect with my chin.
Electrical energy sizzled my nerves as I flew backwards. I latched onto the Force, trying to calm my twitching body even as I attempted to soften my landing.
Neither worked.
I slammed against the ledge again, this time crumbling some of the ferrocrete that it was made from. Shaking my head, I sat up, trying to get the ringing to disappear from my right ear. The Force screamed in warning, and I flung myself to the left just as the staff crashed against the wall I had been leaning up against.
Rolling, I got to my feet, and stumbled away from the droid; stretching out my hand to call my saber back to me.
With my other hand, I reached up and tugged on my ear, still trying to stop the ringing. A rattle on the ground, coupled with the sudden disappearance of both the ringing and the pressure on my ear stopped me. I turned and saw the comlink ear piece that had fallen to the ground. Shaking my head, I looked down at it, and started to bend over to retrieve it when the Force warned me once again of trouble.
I jumped to the right but ended up jumping into the direction of the stun baton's attack.
Cursing my luck, I was doubled over the stun baton which sent another jolt of energy through my frayed body, even as the force of the impact knocked the wind from me.
Rolling off the baton, I dropped to the rooftop. Groaning, I clutched at my stomach and fought to breath and not throw up at the same time.
Cold metallic fingers slid into the collar of my tunic, and yanked me up by it. The droid held me up in front of its face, and I wondered for a moment, why I wasn't dead yet.
A light flashed out, flickering over my iris to check my identity. It appeared and disappeared so fast, I failed to use the Force in time to sabotage the reading. After the light disappeared, the droid spoke for the first time, "Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker, by order of the Galactic Alliance Guard, I am placing you under arrest for Treason and Desertion."
My mind whirled. The Guard had been disbanded after Jacen's somewhat successful coup had been stopped by Dad. As far as I knew, there was not any Guard units activated anywhere in the galaxy. Most had been folded back into the defense forces, while others, like myself, were pushed out to schools to finish our education or went to prison for crimes against civilization.
Also, I knew for a fact that I had received a pardon for those treason and desertion charges.
I shook my head, and tried to say, "You've got the wrong guy."
What came out was somewhat less intelligible, either way, the droid ignored me, and merely pulled out a pair of stun cuffs.
Dropping me to the ground, it rolled me over and quickly put my wrists into the cuffs. I looked up, about to make another smart comment, when the stun baton connected with startlingly solidity to my temple.
And I was once more unconscious.
Next Post
Family Found--Epilogue
Noelani leaned against the wall, just a few meters short of the door to Mara's office. She knew that Ben was in there. She could feel it in the Force and occasionally, she could hear him screaming at his mother.
Her eyes flickered towards the door for a moment, and she frowned.
It had been two days since they were rescued from the catacombs. Two days since she had kissed Ben. Two days since she had even talked to Ben. Two days since she had found out the truth. She now knew more about who she was, and where she had came from.
She just was not sure if she trusted anyone here but Tahiri and Ben.
For a moment, she wondered just what Ben was to her. What he could be to her. She looked back down at the floor, and blinked as her frown began to shift towards a scowl. This would be the first time since they had kissed that she would see him. She inhaled deeply, and then exhaled slowly, performing that simplest of breathing exercises in a futile effort to calm her nerves.
The door to Mara's office slid open, and Noelani quickly glanced up to watch as Ben walked out. Storm clouds gathered on his face.
"So," she said, pushing forward, interjecting herself into his path, and looking at him. This felt weird. Her stomach felt like it was in zero-gee "Your mom told you everything?"
"Yeah," he nodded. His blue eyes flickered over her, appraising her with the intensity of a Force-lightning charge. "She told me everything."
"Ben?" she asked. There was an odd emphasis in his voice. "I'm sorry. I mean, we didn't know."
Ben shrugged, but it wasn't the usual, easy movement of his shoulders. In the Force he seemed taut and compacted somehow.
Clenched, she thought.
"What is it?" she asked. "Ben?"
"It's nothing." He seemed to be staring at something very far away. "Look, Noelani, I, uhh...."
She frowned, and tilted her head to the side, looking at him curiously.
"You sure you don't need someone to talk to about this," she asked. She took a breath. "Uhh, cousin Ben?"
He looked at her, his eyes flashing for a moment. "Heh, yeah," he nodded.
"My Mast-... my mom, wow that still seems so weird... Tahiri, mom... she says I'm good at talking," Noelani blushed. "So, uhh...."
"So if I want someone to talk to, you're available?" Ben's eyebrow lifted, and his lips twisted into a faint smile.
"Something like that."
Ben answered with silence, his face reverting to its impassive mask.
"Hey," she said. "Come on. It could be worse. At least we're not quite as closely related as your Dad and... wow, my grandmother...."
"Yeah, that's true. Not quite. Still pretty close, though." His brow darkened for a moment, and then he shook it off. "I guess it must be pretty smart, finding out you have a Princess for a grandmother, huh?"
"Something like that," she nodded. "I'm still taking it all in. Yeah, it is. Hey, come on, dummy. Anyone would think it was you had just found out about your birth parents."
Ben shrugged.
"I just found out that a girl I was starting to like is a pretty close relative," he countered, raising his hands to stare down at his palms. "Look, I don't know if I want to talk about this right now. But...." His blue eyes looked deep into her. "But it's not about you. I think you're a great person, and I guess I... I guess I'd appreciate any help you can think of."
"Sure," she said, taking him by the shoulder. "Come on. Let's go grab a bite to eat." She smiled again. "Cousin Ben."
"Stop that," he said, but she knew that beneath his pout, he secretly wanted the comfort. So she smiled, and didn't.
"Tell me about your dad," he asked, after a moment. "Your real dad?"
"You want to know?" She looked at him. "I'd have thought you would know more than me."
"I just realized today that I never really knew my own parents," he said. He looked at her. "You know, in a way, maybe I'm jealous of you. You know who your father is... and you have people like Tahiri and... And your grandparents, to tell you all the good things."
"Now you're talking like me."
"Maybe. But it's not your immediate family that's been lying about everything since you were born. It's mine... and that's, that's not fair, on you or anyone."
"O-kay," she answered carefully. "But the person you want to talk to about Anakin, my real father, is really Mast-... Tahiri... Mom."
Ben's eyebrows lifted at that, and he gave a laugh. It didn't sound like a boy's laugh any more, but the grin that followed was Ben's old smile.
"Yeah," he said. "I might just do that."
-----------------------------------
"You know what our son said when I told him that he couldn't have a relationship with Noelani because she was his cousin?"
Luke glanced at his wife, his eyes narrowing. She was sitting on the sofa in front of the holo, her pose as relaxed and conversational as her tone.
But there was something about that casual poise that made him suspicious - and his unease was intensified when she spoke again, without waiting for him to answer.
"He pointed out that relationships between first cousins were legal on a lot of planets," she said. "He seemed to see nothing wrong with it."
"So what did you do?"
Mara's shoulders lifted, and she caught his eyes with a look that struck like a whip. "I told him Anakin was his biological father."
Luke blinked, and for a moment, he found he couldn't speak. "Mara?"
"He told me I was lying," she smirked. "But even if he half-believes it, it should keep him away from her."
"This is a joke, right. Some sort of punishment for, for...."
"It's your punishment for the mess you caused by taking Tahiri's daughter away from her, yes," Mara answered, an edge of ice in her tone. In her eyes. "Whether it's true or not...?" Her shoulders lifted. "That's something I guess you'll never know."
She leaned forward, picked up a little file from the table, and began to smooth the talons of her fingernails.
"Mara?" He looked at her, shaking his head. "This isn't funny."
"I moved your stuff into the guest bedroom," she said, without looking up at him. She laughed oddly. "It's funny, you know. I've spent more than twenty years trying to make you happy, suppressing my instincts to serve yours. I've spent more than a decade of Ben's life using him as a tool to make you feel good about yourself. And all along... you didn't deserve either of us."
"Mara." Look just stood there, stunned into numb disbelief.
Then she laughed, and smirked at him. "You know, I feel better already. Shift your stuff back into our room, and I'll fix supper."
-----------------------------------
Tahiri stepped off the ramp of the Stolen Star. The wind and snow snapped at her parka, trying to drag her hood from her head. She bent her shoulder to the wind, the way she was taught to do for a sandstorm, and trudged ahead, heading towards the landing lights she could barely see through the storm.
She reached the battered tramp freighter, and punched in a code on the keypad next to its ramp. A moment later, machinery hummed to life, and the ramp lowered. Tahiri slipped aboard, and hit the close ramp button once she got inside.
"That's far enough," Han Solo's voice sounded from behind her.
She lowered the hood of her parka and turned to face one of the few people left in her life that she actually trusted.
He grinned as he reholstered his blaster. "Tahiri! I take it this means you're apprentice is okay?"
Tahiri fought the tears, swallowing the pain. "Yeah… about that, she's fine, but… but I need to talk to you, and Leia."
Han frowned, and gestured towards the common area, as Leia walked around the corner from that direction.
Tahiri took one look at her, and ran forward, throwing her arms around Leia's neck, burying her face into Leia's shoulder; surprised as the tears began to flow once again.
Before long, they were all seated around the Dejarik board, Tahiri feeling safe and secure between Han and Leia. She gripped a warm mug of hot chocolate in her hands, allowing the steam from the drink to warm her face, as she inhaled the savory aroma.
She took a sip, the Yuuzhan Vong in her enjoying the scalding sensation as it sliced down her tongue.
She took a deep breath, and then raised her head to slowly exhale. Finally, she focused on Leia and then she began.
"I… I found out who Noelani's parents are…"
Monday, December 10, 2007
I Want to be Your Knight -- Chapter 19
Awareness came slowly, and with it the knowledge that I was surrounded by warm softness. I could smell Jys' shampoo, a light scent that seemed to tickle my nose. Additionally, I could feel both her Force presence and Seha's close by. Really close. Sensations filtered through my mind, and I realized that I was settled in the bed, a girl tucked in tight under each arm; each of them had a hand on my chest in almost matching poses, heads laying on my shoulders.
Slowly, I opened my eyes, and lifted my head to look down. All I could see was a mass of black and red hair, with an occasional hint of skin peeking through it. I blinked twice, and then squeezed my eyes shut tight. I prayed to the Force that this was all a dream.
Opening them again, I realized that that sea of hair wasn't a dream and a single word echoed in my head, Kriff.
I knew, knew without a doubt, that this was going to hurt when the girls woke up. I chewed at my lip for a moment, wondering how I could extricate myself from this position before either of them woke up.
I was betrayed.
My mind abandoned me in my time of need.
I couldn't think of anything but how nice both of them felt.
Every time I tried to drag my mind back to the problem of getting out of the bed without losing a limb, I was rewarded by the thought of how comfortably they fit in my arms.
An idle thought flickered through my head; one wondering which Jedi Master out there would want to skewer me first for this, Valin or Kyp.
I sighed, and felt Jysella begin to stir. I could feel awareness flickering through her Force presence as she climbed up out of her healing trance.
Suddenly she tensed, and her hand spasmed, sending her fingernails digging into my flesh.
Slowly, she lifted her head, and looked towards the foot of the bed. "That better not be who I think it is under me. And where the kriff do you think your hand is?"
She turned towards me, anger flashing brightly in her eyes. To be safe, I slid my hand up her body until it rested on her waist.
Then she sat up, and looked around, her lips pressed down into a tight line, her eyes narrowed dangerously, she tucked her legs up under herself, her knees resting on one of my legs, pining it down. She turned towards me. "Where are we?"
I chuckled, and grinned at her, then blinking twice, I painted the best confused look on my face that I could. "Why, we're at home, Mrs. Skywalker."
The Force warned me. It did. I can't blame it. Yet, there was nothing I could do. Jys had one of my legs pinned with her knees, and the entire left side of my body had Seha wrapped around it.
After the first quick whack in the eye, she pulled her hand back to do it again, and I quickly raised my own hand, hoping that would be enough to forestall another hit.
"Sorry, Jys, I couldn't help it. We're in some ratty hotel room. Do you remember us getting jumped as we left the starship?"
She chewed on her lip for a moment, and then nodded her head.
"Well, during the scuffle, you were stunned," I explained. "After we escaped, we fled until we got here. You were out, I had a blaster wound, so we both collapsed. Why Seha's sleeping, I'm not sure."
"Seha's sleeping," Seha replied, without lifting her head from my chest. "Because the two of you have been asleep for nearly twenty hours, and as you may or may not have noticed, there's not a whole lot of other things to do in this room." She pushed herself up off me, pressing hard against my chest as she frowned down at it. "You're not a very soft pillow, Ben."
I snickered. "Oh sure, now that the two of you are awake, I'm not good enough to sleep on." Ignoring the looks that both of the girls gave me, I straightened up as best I could in the bed, and looked around, scratching at my head. Finally, I sighed and then said, "So, who has any bright ideas?"
Jysella snickered. "How did I know that was coming."
I shrugged my shoulders, and gave up trying to sit up. "Hey, I'm just the pillow here."
Seha slid off the bed, and walked over to the window. Lifting the curtain slightly, she looked out for a moment. Then she let the curtain drop back into place as she turned back towards us. "Well, we've still got our mission to complete. We're on task to provide security to the trade conference, but we also have to determine how compromised out situation is, as someone obviously knows we are Jedi."
Jys frowned as she watched the red head. "Did you try to contact the Council?"
Seha nodded her head slowly. "I tried, but got shunted off to a waiting queue. After we had been here about an hour, an announcement came over the holonet that off-world communications had been terminated due to three terrorists sneaking into Corellia aboard the Twilight Princess."
I sighed and scrubbed at my face with one of my hands. "Yeah, I wonder what three folks who came in under false names they're talking about."
Jysella slapped her hand down onto my chest. Hard. "This is not the time to be sarcastic, Ben."
I arched an eyebrow as I looked up at her. "When is the time to be sarcastic?"
She looked down at me, and smiled sweetly. "When I'm being sarcastic. Now, unless you have something useful to say, just lay there and look pretty."
Smirking, I snorted a laugh. "So, I'm pretty now."
Jysella blushed bright red, and with a growl, pushed herself up off the bed, finally getting up off of my leg.
Smiling, I looked over at Seha to notice the frown on her face as she watched us. "What's wrong Seha?"
Her features quickly schooled themselves as she shook her head. "N-nothing. Nothing at all Ben. I was just wondering how someone would know we were coming."
My eyes flicked between the two of them, and then I shook my head. "I don't know, but someone had to have told them."
"But who knew we were coming? Master Durron? The rest of the Council?" Seha asked.
Jysella snorted in amusement. "It's a bureaucracy, Seha. The Council knew, plus their staff, plus the team that built the logistics package, plus the team that gathered our information packets, plus accounting because we hired passage on a ship."
I nodded my head. "Jys is right. Our mission was based on secrecy and we assumed that our source of information was secure. Which we really shouldn't have done, I should have known better."
"Then what should we have done different, oh great and wise Skywalker?" Jys muttered.
"It's time to be sarcastic, huh?"
Jys smiled at me sweetly, and I smirked at her in return.
"Frankly," I began as an answer to her question. "The first thing I would have done is traded in our tickets on the Twilight Princess and bought steerage class tickets on another liner. That way, only we would have known which ship we were taking into Corellia. Actually, I would have the cash for the tickets and bought us all fake IDs and passports and then taken the Scion, and used one of her fake transponder ID's to sneak us into Corellia."
Jys frowned at me, as she slowly nodded her head.
"So, what now?" Seha asked.
Jysella and I shared a look, then I began speaking again, "Now, we start treating this like an intelligence mission where our cover has been blown. We have a day and a half or so until the conference starts, so we have that long to get new IDs and find a way to sneak or steal entry into the conference." Seeing the nod of acceptance from Jysella bolstered my self-confidence slightly, and I smiled at her. "And I say we start by getting in touch with Uncle Wedge."
Jysella smiled brightly at that. "That sounds like one of the better things you've ever said, Skywalker."
I smirked at her again. "So happy that you approve."
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Family Found Chapter 16
Ben stormed closer towards his mother, anger pulsing off of him. He stopped a few paces from her, staring hard.
"What's your problem with Noelani?" He yelled at her. "Every time you see her, you stare at her so coldly. She thinks you hate her, you know."
His mother shook her head. "I don't hate her…" then she looked over at his father for a moment, before looking back at him. "It's… It's complicated."
Tahiri's voice came from behind him, her voice cold and hard. "Why don't you uncomplicate it for us then? Or is that my apprentice just isn't good enough for your son?"
"He just can't do that. Not with her." Mara said, her face falling slightly.
Ben barked a laugh. "I think I can do that with whoever I want to."
Mara shook her head, and replied, "But she's family."
"Mara!" Luke called out, near panic in his voice.
Tahiri brushed past him, a scowl on her face. "You know who her family is? And you've kept it from her all this time? Tell me. She deserves to know."
Mara looked towards her father again, her face pinched in a scowl. A single tear slipped from her left eye, and then she turned back to Tahiri.
"You're her family."
Tahiri rocked back on her heels, her eyes opening wide. "But… I… I don't have any family."
Luke laid a hand on Mara's shoulder, and said, "That's enough."
Her hand shot out, and caught Luke just beneath the curve of the jaw. The Force flared with the impact of her punch, and Luke crumpled.
"Yes, that's enough," she said as she spun around to stand over him. "I'm guilty enough just covering for you these past few months. All the lies end now."
She exhaled, her body shaking slightly, and then she turned back to Tahiri.
"Tahiri… you do have family. Noelani is your family."
Tahiri frowned and shook her head. "But how? In all my searches, I couldn't find any records of either of my biological parents having any living relatives."
Mara's face darkened slightly, her eyes falling away from Tahiri's face.
Ben felt a niggle in the back of his head as he worked through his mother's words. He couldn't kiss Noelani, because she was related to him. But, she was Tahiri's family. Ben blinked, and his head snapped up to look at his mother.
"Mom, who's her father?"
She closed her eyes, and answered in a soft voice, "Anakin Solo."
Tahiri's skin paled, and her mouth opened and closed a few times. Her eyes were as large as saucers as she stared at the Jedi Master.
Finally, color seemed to seep back into her cheeks, and anger flooded the Force. "Anakin? My… My Anakin?"
Mara nodded her head.
"And… and she's thirteen… What? How?"
Mara sighed, and glanced down at Luke again. Then she turned once more towards Tahiri, and replied, "You were pregnant when you came back from the Myrkr mission. Sometime after Ebaq 9 you disappeared and Luke found you on the Outer Rim, having just given birth. He erased your memory, brought you to Mon Calamari, and took your daughter to Huff to raise. His plan was that you would never meet her. You were never supposed to be her Master."
Ben watched, as Tahiri looked between his parents, her jaw clenched as tightly as her fists. Finally, she spun around, and ran back towards her ship.
He watched his mother, as she first stared at the starship, and then turned towards Luke, looking down at him.
After a short eternity, she spoke. "It's over now." Then she turned back to Ben. "Come on son; let's go back to the Temple. I'm sure you have some questions."
-----------------------------------
Noelani felt as if she were flying. She was kissing Ben Skywalker. She was ecstatic, happy. Those and a thousand other emotions were flying through her head.
Then her world shattered. His mother, Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker, scream broke through the desert air. "No! Stop!"
She jumped apart from Ben, and turned to look at Mara Jade where she stood on the steps that led into the Jedi Library. Guilt and embarrassment quickly replaced the joy.
No one moved for a heartbeat, the only sounds were the echoes of Mara's scream and the distant caws of a desert bird.
Her mind was still bouncing from one emotion to the next, all her thoughts a confused jumbled mess.
She blinked hard a few times, and then felt the first of her tears as it sliced down her face. The embarrassment faded, leaving only pain and rejection. I'm not good enough for him. Master Skywalker doesn't think I'm good enough for her son.
Tears, hot and wet, flowed freely, and she turned from them, towards the Stolen Star and ran. She almost knocked over Tahiri and she bolted up the ramp, and then darted into her cabin and flung herself on her bed.
Soon, the door shifted open, and Tahiri stepped into the room, tears flowing down her face, the Force whirling around her. She dropped into the chair beside Noelani's bed, watching her.
"I, I don't believe I missed it," she muttered. "It's so obvious, now that I know…"
She leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees, and cradling her head in her hands. Her body shook with tears.
"I'm sorry, Noelani. I didn't know. When I asked you to be my apprentice, I didn't know. I wasn't told. If I had… I-I would have told you."
Noelani brushed the tears from her eyes, as she watched her Master. "Told me what?"
Tahiri lifted her head. Sorrow and pain and joy warred for dominance in her green eyes. "The truth. The truth about your family."
Noelani bolted to a sitting position, tossing her legs over the side of the bed so that she was closer to Tahiri. "My family? You know who my family is?"
Tahiri nodded, her tears still flowing down her cheeks. "Mara just told me. You must believe me, they kept it from me. Luke, he… he erased my memory. I had no idea. No clue."
Noelani blinked her eyes a few times as she processed Tahiri's words. "You knew my parents?"
Tahiri's body shuddered, as she nodded her head and sobbed.
"Who? Who are they?"
"Me. I'm your mother. They took you from me."
Noelani opened her mouth, but for the first time in her life, realized that she did not have anything to say. She blinked, and clamped her mouth shut again.
Standing, she began to pace. Finally, she stopped in front of Tahri. She watched her for a moment, as she cried into her hands. Her body shuddered with the tears, and the Force sang with her pain.
"Mast-… Mom?"
Tahiri lifted her head slowly. Their eyes locked, and Noelani forced a smile to her lips. Tahiri's shoulders hitched with a hiccup, and a small smile stretched her lips.
"Who's my father?"
Her voice was weak, hoarse from her crying. "Anakin was."
"Oh," Noelani said as she dropped back onto her bed. "So… so that's why Master Skywalker…"
Tahiri nodded her head. "Yeah, Ben's your cousin."
"Does, does this mean Jedi and Captain Solo are my grandparents?"
Tahiri nodded her head again.
Noelani brushed more tears away from her cheeks. "Why? Why is it this way? Why was I raised an orphan?"
Tahiri shook her head. "I… I don't know Noelani. I didn't wait around to get all those answers. As soon as Mara explained why she didn't want you to kiss Ben, I came straight in here. You needed to know."
Noelani scooted back into the corner, where the bed was pressed up against the wall. Tahiri stood up, and got on the bed beside her, pulling her into a hug. She leaned into Tahiri's grip, and allowed the tears to come again.
"How come everything seems to get piled on all at the same time?"
Tahiri laughed through her tears. "That's because you're a Solo."
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Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Alien Crossfire Chapter 5
Ganner awoke to a feeling of weightlessness. A buoyancy which he found thrilling and frightening at the same time. Then the sensation of touch returned, and he could feel the soothing liquid flowing all around him, providing that buoyancy. He frowned, his last memory being of him standing next to Jacen on Yavin 4.
Taste and smell returned to him at the same time. The distinct taste and smell of bacta flooded those two senses, overpowering and pervasive.
He opened his eyes, and could see the world around him. Filtered through the lens of the bacta tank in which he floated. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, and then opened them, once more looking outwards, and saw that he had visitors.
On the outside of the tank stood the Jedi Masters Luke Skywalker, Cilghal and Tionne. Alongside them stood another girl, a pretty brunette who Ganner has never seen before. He felt a tug on his face mask, and glanced upwards, noticing one of the technicians looking down at him, making a "come here" gesture with his hands. Ganner kicked himself upwards, and broke the surface. The tech quickly grabbed his arms and helped him out of the tank.
Exhaling slowly, Ganner climbed down the access steps, and stopped before Luke. He gave a short perfunctory bow, and then glanced around the med ward.
"What happened to Jacen?"
He noticed the look which the Master’s gave each other, and then Cilghal stepped forward. "How are you feeling Ganner? Any pains? Dizziness?"
Ganner shook his head. "No. I feel fine. How did I get here?"
"Your astromech brought you back here from Yavin. Jacen was captured, and has since been killed."
Ganner felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He took an involuntary step back, and the only thing which kept him from falling was the Luke’s hand on his upper arm, supporting him.
Luke turned to the brunette. "Nelani, get a chair for him please."
Ganner looked at the girl, and saw her head quickly bob and then she darted off. Moments later she returned, dragging a simple chair behind her. He sat into it, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and placing his head in his hands.
"What happened, Master?"
"We’re not entirely certain. But Coruscant has fallen and Jacen is dead. But the good news is that we’ve recovered Anakin."
Ganner slowly nodded his head. "That is good news. Did we ever find out who was in the Vader outfit?"
Ganner waited, and when Luke did not say anything, he looked up, letting his gaze flicker between all three. Finally Luke replied. "Yes, it was Anakin."
Shock slammed into Ganner’s chest. A weight of disbelief and dismay.
A Solo fell to the Dark.
He did not understand. He could not comprehend.
A Solo should be better than that. They are better than that. They are the bright and shining future of the Jedi Order. Perfect and flawless. They are supposed to be the happy warriors of the Force. Unyielding in their devotion to the Light.
Yet one fell.
One took the name of a Sith.
It was almost more than Ganner could bear.
He propped his elbows on his knees, dropping his head into his hands. "So what now, Master?"
Luke shook his head. "You finish healing. We’re heading to Borelias. A New Republic fleet group smashed the Vong forces there and retook the planet. A first for us, I’m afraid to say."
With that said, Luke, Tionne and Nelani turned and left the room. Cilghal stayed by his side, gently probing him with the Force, helping him get better.
----------------------------------------
Anakin found himself once more in his room. In his hands was his lightsaber, he stared at its marking, the familiar, comfortable grip, the little dings and dents from use and being dropped. The lambent nestled at its core, singing its song of life in a corner of his brain.
He clipped the saber to his belt, and lied back onto the bed, hands folded behind his head, elbows cocked out to either side. He stared at the ceiling, wondering what will happen next. He still found it hard to believe that his Uncle still wanted him to be a Jedi.
After everything he had done.
After everyone he had let die.
After everyone he had killed.
Before his thoughts could twist and turn down a darker path, he felt a gentle caress in the Force. A small little pat, a touch of reassurance. He focused on it; halfway expecting it to be his Uncle checking on him, but to his surprise discovered the distinctly feminine feel of the touch.
Nelani.
With a smile, he reached out to her, wrapping her in a mental embrace. Then she slipped out of his embrace, and her awareness, her self flickered away, a playful tinge to her emotions.
He laughed as he realized that she was playing with him, wanting him to find her presence. He stretched out with the Force, his mental touch flicking from mind to mind as he hunted for that spark which was her.
He was so wrapped up in the game, that the knock on the door startled him. He drew himself up to a sitting position, and frowned at it for a moment, as the hard rapping was repeated.
Slipping off the bed, he opened the door to find Jaina standing there, a haunted look on her face, her eyes bloodshot, and rimmed with red. She threw herself around him, squeezing him tight as she lost her self-control and broke into tears
He wrapped her into a hug, petting her hair. "Shh. It’s okay, Jaya. Everything’s going to be all right. No Krakana."
"You don’t know that. How can you know that?"
She extricated herself from him, and stepped past him into his room, throwing herself on his bed.
"We have to trust in the Force, Jaya. It’s all any of us can do."
Jaina rolled over, and her red-rimmed eyes stared accusingly at him. "Like you trusted the Force when those animals killed Tahiri?"
Pain stabbed through him, it was a barbed arrow aimed straight for his heart, and as usual Jaina’s aim was true.
"No. Like I failed to do when they killed Tahiri." Anakin began pacing the floor, his head downcast, and his eyes watching his feet as he walked back and forth. "I failed Tahiri when I fell. I ignored everything that she loved about me, and gave into my own selfish desires for revenge."
He stopped and suddenly looked up at her. "I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself, but Uncle Luke has forgiven me. I don’t plan on letting my anger and hate get the better of me again. I won’t fail Jacen the way that I did Tahiri."
Jaina looked at him for a long while, her head cocked slightly to the side. "When did you grow up so much?"
He barked a short, sharp laugh. "Two days before you."
----------------------------------------
Viqi Sheesh stood before Tsavong Lah. She stared hard at him, knowing that her time in this existence was nearly up. She could feel the tip of the coufee pressed tightly against the side of her chest, yet she refused to flinch. Refused to look away.
Finally she spoke.
"You won’t kill me, because I’m not useless yet."
The massive being who was the Warmaster for the Yuuzhan Vong, looked down at her, a sneer tilting one side of his lips upwards slightly.
"You were a good slave, a traitor, but you are fairly worthless now. We own Coruscant, and there is nothing you can do about that."
"If you think I’m useless then go ahead and kill me. But this is your last chance to make use of me. I know how my people think, what they’ll be planning next. I can help you. None of them even know that I’m on your side. I could return to them, and continue feeding you their plans."
She watched as Tsavong Lah glanced to the priest in the corner. He turned from her, his radank claw scratching at his face slightly.
Viqi saw the black dots which flickered around the join between Vong and animal flesh. And in that moment, she had an epiphany. A way to ensure her own survival.
She almost grinned.
"In fact, Warmaster, I can help you with something much more immediate than that."
The Warmaster turned back towards her, amusement shining on his face, in his eyes. "Oh really? And just how do you propose that?"
Viqi pointedly looked around at the various beings in the room, and gave her head a quick shake. "Not like this. I will tell you and you alone. None of these others."
"Why should I do this?"
"Because I do not know how broad this conspiracy against you runs. I know I am loyal to you, but I know nothing about any of these others."
His eyes still sparkling with amusement, Tsavong gestured for everyone to leave. Once they had all cleared the room, and the portal had suckered to a close, Viqi let out a low sigh.
Then Tsavong was standing before her, his eyes flashing with anger. "Speak your conspiracy now."
Viqi felt her legs go weak. That part of her which had always responded to males with authority went into overdrive. She grimaced at this sudden reminder of her most shameful secret, her love of and attraction to powerful men.
"Your arm. It’s not being rejected by your body. The gods do not shame you. It is the Shapers. They are giving it the appearance of being rejected, without actually harming you."
A frown clouded Lahs’ forehead. "What purpose would they do this for?"
"That I am not certain, but I suspect the Priests are in on it as well. You’ll find that someone will come to you and hint at a list of demands, phrased so that it seems like a commandment from one of the gods. And if you listen, then the rejection of your arm would stop. If you disobeyed the commands then the arm would continue to grow."
A thoughtful light shone in his eyes, as he paced slightly. Finally he stopped and turned to her. "Very well. You will be given a simple task, until I am able to determine the truth of your conspiracy."
Viqi suppressed a sigh of relief. She had survived yet again. She had yet more life to live.
She could still win everything.
The guards once more came into the room, and dragged her away. With every step, they took her further from Tsavong Lah, further from the ignoble death he had promised her. She lowered her head, and grinned like a mad woman.
Happy for yet another day of life.
----------------------------------------
Tsavong Lah watched his guards as they dragged the infidel away. He watched her body, the defiant tilt of her chin, the way she drug her legs ensuring that they would get tripped up in each of the bone ridges which bulged at regular intervals along the floor.
"There is a certain grace in the females of the infidels is there not?"
Lah glanced to the side to see his old friend Harrar standing there. His face serene and calm as he to watched the infidel slave being dragged away.
Before Lah could reply, Harrar spoke again. "There are those among the lower ranks of the Elite who believe we could use the infidels to bring back the tsup-slave."
Darkness covered Lah’s face once again. "I do not think I would permit any of my subordinates such dalliances."
Harrar snorted in amusement. "But that statement doesn’t apply to you, now does it?"
Lah barked a laugh, and then as the door behind Viqi closed, he faced Harrar fully. "Did you hear her conspiracy?"
Harrar gave a brief affirmative gesture.
"What are you opinions on the matter?"
"It is a theory worthy of Yun-Harla, if it is true – and a ruse worthy of her, if it is not. Yet it is a reasonable enough theory that you would be prudent to ensure either way before she is put to death."
Tsavong clenched the randank paw into a tightened ball. As close to a fist as that hand could now achieve. With his other hand, he ran his thumb over the ridges of the ball. Finally he nodded.
"I know what I need to do." He gestured to an aid. "Bring me the shaper named Nen Yim."
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