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Author	Topic: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Complete 16-Feb-2006
ardavenport Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 2/7/06 5:22pm Subject: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Complete 16-Feb-2006 - Date Edited: 6/3/06 4:32pm (5 edits total) Edited By: ardavenport
	Title: They Are Primitives Author: ardavenport (aka Anne Davenport) Timeframe: pre-Episode I Genre: adventure Characters: Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, OCs Keywords Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, JA, BfTS, OC Summary: The leaders of an isolated moon deal with a Jedi invasion and rescue attempt. Notes: Typo is my middle name, with missing words and errors that spell checkers don’t catch being my speciality – if you see any, just post a reply or send a PM with the what and where and I will kill them with no mercy. Disclaimer: All characters belong to George and Lucasfilm; I’m just playing in their sandbox They Are Primitives Dani Orliss stormed down the corridor. The overhead lights had gone yellow, the ones that were still working. The oil lamps still shined their dimmer light from their improvised wall settings. “Turi!” he yelled at a young man in a powder blue tunic and cloak draped across his chest and down his back. He turned from the two armored City Defenders. They all gave Leader Orliss short, respectful bows as he joined them. “Where’s the Dwen?” Orliss demanded. “She’s coming,” Turi, the Dwen’s aide, replied. “We’re having trouble with the coms. The power--” “I can see that the power is out.” Orliss waved at the flickering lights; he held up a small, silver device that emitted the soft sound of static before he clicked it off and put it away in an inner coat pocket. Then he looked to one of the City Defenders. “I heard they came in from the mountain-side, Captain. Did you use the sentry droids on them? Did we get them?” The man he addressed, tall and hard and gray from his years as a peace enforcer, frowned. “No,” he answered. “They didn’t even slow them down. They just cut right through them and kept going. We thought we had them in the workshops, but we couldn’t touch them. They deflected everything we fired at them; I’ve never seen anything like it.” Orliss looked stunned by the report. “How many droids do we have left?” The captain pressed his lips together into a bitter line. “None, Sir. They destroyed them all.” Orliss took a few seconds to absorb the loss and then he gave the captain a look of sympathy. All those resources spent on those droids...gone. He looked to Turi. “What about the Guardians? Have they done any better?” Turi swallowed. “I don’t know, Leader. But...we couldn’t stop them behind the Defender Quarters. We tried to encircle them in the courtyard, but they just leapt up out of the way. We had snipers with blaster rifles above, but they just deflected the bolts with their energy swords. I saw it myself. I’ve never seen anyone move so fast. We had to stop. We hit some of our own...” Turi bowed his blond head, his brown eyes downcast and ashamed. “But they looked like us, Turi?” Orliss pressed, more gently this time. “They weren’t creatures...like the others?” “No, Leader. I wouldn’t know what such things would look like.” Turi shook his head. “They were very tall, but they were like us.” A short woman joined the group. Her red, general’s armor markings were smudged with soot, strands of her dark hair escaped the combs on her head. “The auxiliary command is already activated, Leader Orliss. But I can only give you Folot and Abimado. They’re climbing out of the Nad-oh-six elevator now. I just got a message from them through the wires,” she explained. “They’ll be here any minute,” she assured. Orliss thanked her and she left with the two City Defenders. They could hear other people running, calling to each other, beeps and whirring of straining equipment, but Orliss and Turi were otherwise alone in the intersection where they had gathered. A stern woman with a guardian’s short, plain haircut and the Dwen’s pale, gold pants, tunics and cloak strode in unaccompanied. “We’ve lost them. They’re somewhere in the upper levels of the Hold. We think.” Turi paled as he bowed to his Guardian superior. “They strung a cable over the wall and got in through a window. Then they surprised Orono and Limhov and went straight to the Core. That’s what happened to the power.” “Can we fix it?” Orliss asked quietly. The invaders had gone right through their best defenses. It was a lightning strike that they hadn’t seen coming and couldn’t seem to stop. Dwen Traskyuler shook her head, her aged face grave. “Maybe, but not any time soon. They slashed all the controls, but the Core’s still intact. Then Limhov thinks she saw them go up a stairway. They could be anywhere since most of the alarms went dead with the main power.” “They didn’t try to stop them?” Orliss demanded. “They’ve got burns and Orono is missing a couple of his fingers.” Traskyuler snapped. “And these blasters,” she angrily gestured to the side arm at her hip, “are worse than useless against them. They just deflect the bolts back at you.” “Were there any deaths?” he asked more quietly. “Yes. But it wasn’t them. We did it to ourselves in a cross fire.” Traskyuler stated bitterly. “These two don’t seem to be out for blood. They destroy every bit of technology we throw at them and then just go around us.” Orliss ran his hand through his graying hair. “Turi, you go and find Folot and Abimado and get them over here. We have to re-establish coms and find them.” What they could possibly do if they did find them Orliss couldn’t say, but knowing where they were was still better than not knowing. Turn nodded and left. Leader and Dwen went down the hall together to the auxiliary command, the brighter light inside shining into the flickering corridor. “They’re looking for the negotiators!” she told him. “And they’re taking us apart to find them.” Orliss abruptly stopped at the door to the auxiliary command. “Well, they won’t find anything, will they?” He turned and went inside. The emergency generators hummed from below. The room’s thick walls muted all the commotion outside. But papers and tapes littered the floor by the room’s coms table in the center of the room. “We’re falling apart! And there are only two of them. This place looks like it’s been invaded by an army!” Orliss circled around the coms to the big screen on the far wall; it showed a mostly flashing blue multi-level diagram of the Hold. Some screens on the equipment lining the granite walls had active views of the landing platform, the entrance hall, the upper towers. A couple of them showed frozen images of the intruders. Other screens were blank or showed only static. “They were sent to rescue the negotiators.” Traskyuler went to the screen with the clearest image of the intruders. Half of one figure was cut off, only showing a partial side view, but the camera had captured the other one, full figure. He was very tall and clearly male; he must have had to duck through the doorway he was emerging from. He wore a long, dark robe, pale tunics and brown pants and high boots. And in his hands he held an astonishing weapon, a straight sword of bright, green light. It cut through anything, deflected all attacks. And he was clearly, like them in body and face. His coloring was the same as theirs, his hair long--quite inappropriate for a fighter--but an unremarkable shade of brown, like his beard and mustache. --- tbc --- -----signature----- Links to all fics -- http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=25405090&brd=10304&start=26223917 The Heart of the Jedi -- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26013327 ---- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, JA and everything you wanted to know about lightsabers
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dianethx Registered: Mar '02	Date Posted: 2/7/06 6:10pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1, 7-Feb-2006
	I loved that. I didn't know what to expect but the POV of the ones being on the other end of a Jedi rescue is a really cool idea. Love the way you threw the names of everyone at us, just like it would be in a desperate situation. Loved that they were using the droids and nothing was going to stop the invaders.... Jedi. LOL. Really good. Looking forward to more. -----signature----- Betrayal - http://boards.theforce.net/s/b1/10935143 updated 9/22/08 Fragments of Illusion- http://boards.theforce.net/bts/b10475/28456473 updated 8/16/08 Freeze frame - http://boards.theforce.net/s/b10476/27820434 Master to jedidas3 Impeach Bush!
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Layren Registered: Oct '03	Date Posted: 2/7/06 6:31pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1, 7-Feb-2006
	Wow what an amazing idea! I love how you show us normal situations for a Jedi but through the pov of outsiders! Brilliant! Looking forward to more! -----signature----- Proud Master to Ara-gon The Triad Chronicles http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/25934993/p1/?177 (OC's) Into Another Day http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/27926050/p1/?0 2008 Dear Diary Challenge I am Jinngerbread.
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VaderLVR64 Title: Fan Fic Manager in Combat Boots Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 2/7/06 7:36pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1, 7-Feb-2006
	Beautiful work! A unique perspective and flawlessly executed! Bravo! -----signature----- If you have to choose between tears and laughter, remember that laughter burns more calories. Proud New Army Mom - off to bootcamp!
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Bastet Registered: Dec '99	Date Posted: 2/7/06 7:53pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1, 7-Feb-2006
	I love it when you do stories of our fave Jedi seen through OC's POVs, ardavenport, they're always fun to read. Those people are way in over their heads trying to go up against Jedi like that. snicker Can't wait for more of this! -----signature----- "Oh yeah. Ooh, aah. That's how it always starts. But then later there's running, then...screaming." --Dr. Ian Malcolm "Okay fine. Go ahead and scream. Then when that tricycloplots attacks you, don't come crying to me." --Paul Kirby
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Princess_Arulmozhi Registered: Nov '04	Date Posted: 2/7/06 10:09pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1, 7-Feb-2006
	Ah, lovely, lovely. I love the way the Jedi destroy all the technology, but not lifeforms. And the outsider POV is something I love too. Great work! -----signature----- Perceptions (Xanatos/Obi/Qui/Anakin) AU:http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/25276178/p1/?7 - vignette Stones (Li'l Obi/Qui) - http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/23371821/p1/ Best Author, WFFA (BtS) 05/06 Lore-Master to 7
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PadawanKitara Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 2/8/06 12:17am Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1, 7-Feb-2006
	Great start- it really caught my attention from the beginning -----signature----- Courtier of the Royal Order of Shambling Dufi We are Dufi...Resistance is Futile! UCLA BRUINS
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ardavenport Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 2/9/06 6:33pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1, 7-Feb-2006 - Date Edited: 2/9/06 8:14pm (1 edits total) Edited By: ardavenport
	dianethx: I loved that. I didn't know what to expect but the POV of the ones being on the other end of a Jedi rescue is a really cool idea. Love the way you threw the names of everyone at us, just like it would be in a desperate situation. Loved that they were using the droids and nothing was going to stop the invaders.... Jedi. LOL. Well, it is a bit of a desperate situation for the people on the planet, and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had to have gotten their practice destroying droids from somewhere. Unfortunately, Jedi also likely got their over-confidence from encounters like this as well; for a lot of situations, they are unstoppable. Glad you’re enjoying it. Layren: Wow what an amazing idea! I love how you show us normal situations for a Jedi but through the pov of outsiders! Brilliant! Looking forward to more! ‘Normal’ is such a relative term. Jedi-normal just isn’t for anyone else. Glad you enjoyed it. VaderLVR64: Beautiful work! A unique perspective and flawlessly executed! Bravo! {blush} Much thanks. Bastet: I love it when you do stories of our fave Jedi seen through OC's POVs, ardavenport, they're always fun to read. Jedi sort of live in their own world, in their Temple and all; it’s nice to expand that when others look at them. And I like doing Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan just in general anyway. Princess_Arulmozhi: Ah, lovely, lovely. I love the way the Jedi* destroy all the technology, but not lifeforms. And the outsider POV is something I love too. Great work!* You can learn so much about Jedi, that even the Jedi don’t know, from how other people see them. And while I think they’re trained for it, I imagine the Jedi being reluctant to kill other people, or even other lifeforms; surely they can feel others dying through the Force. Glad you enjoyed it. PadawanKitara: Great start- it really caught my attention from the beginning Thanks. I hope to keep the flow going. ======================================== part 2 ==== Orliss looked at the image. It would have been better if they’d sent some creatures, some intelligent beasts so that people really grasp that they reaching beyond their own small world, beyond the Ithnun. People knew the tales, but that wasn’t nearly as effective as meeting them in the flesh. The trade negotiators had been extraordinary. Two males, one with blue, the other with orange skin, no hair and amazing fleshy tails that hung down from the backs of their heads. One had his tails decorated with tattoos. He put his hand over an inner pocket of his coat where he kept the jeweled emblem that they’d removed from one of them. They’d sent it’s image to the Ithnun to prove that they had captured them. Now these two invaders tore through all their defenses with unnatural skill and technology. Orliss walked toward the screen and stared at the weapon. The Dwen glared at him. “Do you know what they are?” she demanded. “I’ve never seen anything like them.” “That’s not what I asked.” She walked toward him; her low voice carried her authority of the Dwen-ship well. “You’re the one with the far world education.” Traskyuler reminded. “Have you heard of soldiers like these?” “I was trained for a half-cycle for the service to the Ithnun Lords.” He turned away from the image, the expression on his aging and handsome face angry. “They only let me know what they wanted me to know.” “What are they?” Traskyuler demanded. Dani ran his hand through his graying blond hair. “I don’t know,” he affirmed. “But...they could be Jedi. They would have to have come from the Republic itself.” He turned away from the screens and went back to the control table. He touched a couple of buttons and colored lights flashed; power hummed through the tilted metal surface under his hand. But the coms were dead, except for the hardwired ones that only went outside to the corridor and to the City Defender’s command. Hopefully Folot and Abimado could fix things when they arrived. He stood at one of the three stations around the table, but the seats for the technicians were empty and the sensors, the droid controls, the power monitors were dead. He turned back to the Dwen. Traskyuler stared at him, her back straight. “We should go, help with the search.” She stepped away from the wall displays towards the door and gestured for him to follow. Leader Orliss looked shocked. “We can’t do anything out there,” Dani complained, staying where he was. “It we could, you would have joined the fight already. Lieutenant Folot will be here in a minute. And I am not completely useless. I do know something about which things to push.” Technicians did most of the work, but he had participated in all the drills. “You look ridiculous standing there, Dani. We’re under siege by two,” she held up two accusing fingers, “exactly two people who are cutting us down to the land. They’re destroying everything you’ve done. Now bring whatever you might know about these Jedi and come with me to fight them.” She gestured impatiently toward the door again. He planted his feet and stubbornly stayed, his handsome, lined face determined. “We can’t beat them with weapons. But if we can find them, just talk to them...the Jedi, they’re supposed to be honorable. It’s possible...” he entreated his fellow leader; an idea began to form in his mind. “But I don’t know what they’ll do if they find out that the negotiators are already dead.” The Dwen glared at him. Puzzled, Traskyuler opened his mouth to ask what she though she could do running blindly about in the corridors looking for... A sudden flash and powerful hum cut the air around him. A line of green flashed overhead, blue-white immediately to his right. Leader Dani Orliss cringed forward, his hand breaking the covering and pressing down on the one control button that he really did know something about. The door to the auxiliary command room slammed down with terrifying speed and a booming alarm sounded. Heavy machinery started up outside. Orliss froze, the palm of his hand scratched on the broken plastic plate. An eerie blue glow hovered immediately to his right, but his eyes stayed fixed to his left. The being whose image he’d just been looking at spun and crouched. One of the Dwen’s knives whirled crazily in the air away from him, hitting a wall and clattering to the ground. Tras missed? The light sword swung about, catching other knives. They sizzled, hissed and fell away like insects caught by a static charge. The image on the screen had hardly conveyed the deadly, electric hum of that weapon, rising and falling in volume as it moved toward the Dwen, and the speed and terrifying precision of it’s owner. One swipe toward her ankles threw her off balance and she went down. She immediately rolled, a new, curved throwing knife in her hand. The blue glow, now behind him, moved. “No!!” Orliss threw himself out, away from the controls. His body turned and he threw his arm out to catch the swing coming down on Tras. He caught a glimpse of a shocked expression on a young face. In that fraction of a second he thought of what a stupid move he’d just made. Not only would that light sword cut his arm off, it would continue on to slice his body in half and still behead Tras. But the blow never fell. The blue light whipped upward, only grazing his upper arm. But ‘only’ a graze was searing pain coupled with the smell of ozone and burnt cloth and flesh. He screamed. And fell onto the Dwen. Obi-Wan Kenobi looked down at his near miss, the tip of his lightsaber pointing right at the terrified man’s face. His master, Qui-Gon Jinn, held the end of his lightsaber even closer to the woman’s eyes. She was fast, an experienced warrior. But hand weapons were even slower than blaster bolts and even easier to anticipate and deflect. She did not flinch under Qui-Gon cool gaze. The man moaned, sliding to the floor and the woman broke her eye contact to catch him. Both Jedi pulled their weapons away, but they didn’t move back. A large booming echoed and the alarm outside became muffled. Something heavy had lowered into place. Qui-Gon whirled and went to the door. He plunged his lightsaber into the metal and with both hands on the hilt, he started to carve out a large, glowing circle in the now sizzling metal. The two people on the floor watched, stunned. When Qui-Gon had nearly completed his circle of melted metal he stepped back. Palm out, he Force pushed the circle and it clanged to the ground outside. He peered into the hole. Obi-Wan could see a wall of stone beyond it. Obi-Wan sensed the motion before seeing it and the end of his lightsaber came down on the muzzle of the blaster that the woman had just drawn. She looked at the remaining end of the blaster in her hand with disgust. “Useless,” she said to it before tossing it aside. Qui-Gon saw the aborted attack and came back from the door. He looked down at the two that they were now imprisoned with. He didn’t know who they were, but he presumed that they were of some rank. The woman wore a pale yellow version of the same outfit that many of the fighters that they’d encountered had fought in. The man’s green and dark orange embroidered velvet suit reminded him of the sort of costume that senators on Coruscant preferred. The woman helped the man to slide away from them on the floor so that he could sit with his back to the wall. He wasn’t badly hurt, but lightsaber burns were painful. He watched her ease the man’s outer jacket off. He gritted his teeth and helped, clearly determined not to cry out again. She glanced at Qui-Gon with her own look of challenge in her eye. Qui-Gon inclined his head to his apprentice and Obi-Wan stepped back toward him. “We may be delayed. And we do not wish to be observed.” He pointed up at a ring of cameras above the center control bay of the room. “I will look for another exit, but be mindful of those two Obi-Wan. The woman is clearly dangerous, but the man may have abilities as well.” Obi-Wan nodded and Qui-Gon began to search along the along the walls. Obi-Wan looked at the cameras and gathered the Force to him. He activated his lightsaber and leaped in the air. Sparks flew, electronics squealed as he hit the first one. He landed lightly and turning to his next target he sprang up again. The cameras were spaced far enough apart so he had to leapt to get each one while still being careful not to hit the yellow and white lights next to them. The two Humans by the wall stared at him with undisguised astonishment, though the woman’s expression had a more calculating look to it. She would attack again if she thought she could succeed. Obi-Wan carefully didn’t look directly at them, but he noticed. The room they were in seemed to be some kind of reinforced command post with it’s own power supply. The floor and ceiling were solid, the walls formed from solid blocks, probably as thick as they were wide. Obi-Wan went to his Master who was inspecting the perimeter. The room was roughly circular, with a central information bay in the middle and various equipment storage and data stations along the walls. A large map of the whole fortress dominated one wall. They couldn’t read much of the displayed text, but it seemed related to some languages they knew and the diagrams were easy enough to interpret. Qui-Gon went to the map. He experimentally touched a lighted control under the map, then another. The map and the screens by it blinked and suddenly all the text became a readable form of Basic. “Ah.” Qui-Gon sounded satisfied with his discovery of the translation option. All the technology on this world was standard and smuggled from other parts of the galaxy. But it only confirmed what they already knew; there was only one exit to the room they were trapped in, the door that was now blocked. -- tbc -- -----signature----- Links to all fics -- http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=25405090&brd=10304&start=26223917 The Heart of the Jedi -- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26013327 ---- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, JA and everything you wanted to know about lightsabers
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Layren Registered: Oct '03	Date Posted: 2/9/06 7:35pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1-2, 9-Feb-2006
	First reply? Yay! I'm breathless... totally breathless -- that was amazing -- surely they don't actually manage to make it out of there unscathed do they, given their reputation -----signature----- Proud Master to Ara-gon The Triad Chronicles http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/25934993/p1/?177 (OC's) Into Another Day http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/27926050/p1/?0 2008 Dear Diary Challenge I am Jinngerbread.
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Star_Drifter Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 2/10/06 3:16pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1-2, 9-Feb-2006
	“We may be delayed. And we do not wish to be observed.” He pointed up at a ring of cameras above the center control bay of the room. “I will look for another exit, but be mindful of those two Obi-Wan. The woman is clearly dangerous, but the man may have abilities as well.” Obi-Wan nodded and Qui-Gon began to search along the along the walls. What an exciting story! I am definitely looking forward to reading more! Star -----signature----- In the beginning was the Word...In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not comprehend it. one nation, UNDER GOD Darth Mom and Master to Ani-maniac
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PadawanKitara Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 2/11/06 6:01pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1-2, 9-Feb-2006
	Great action sequence. And I love the confusion as to the teo unknown warriors. Awesome point of view piece. -----signature----- Courtier of the Royal Order of Shambling Dufi We are Dufi...Resistance is Futile! UCLA BRUINS
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ardavenport Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 2/12/06 5:20pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1-2, 9-Feb-2006
	Layren: I'm breathless... totally breathless -- that was amazing -- surely they don't actually manage to make it out of there unscathed do they, given their reputation Thanks. And you never know what will happen with Jedi around. Star_Drifter: I am definitely looking forward to reading more! So glad you're enjoying it; that's comfort food to writers. PadawanKitara: Great action sequence. And I love the confusion as to the teo unknown warriors. Awesome point of view piece. Glad you like it; it gets a little less confusing for the OCs. OK, the next part... ======================================== part 3 ==== “Master, I believe the woman is still armed,” Obi-Wan spoke what he sensed from her through the Force as well as what he could simply see from her body language. Qui-Gon replied with a small smile. “I am absolutely certain of it.” He didn’t sound too concerned. Obi-Wan nodded; while the entire fortress had attacked them, he had not felt in any imminent peril. The Force all around him, moving in concert with his Master, he’d stayed in control of their part of the battle at all times. Among the blaster bolts and droids, they’d fought off quite a few edged, thrown projectiles as well. “She threw knives at us, Master, just solid metal. They’re even less effective than blasters.” “She is not accustomed to the blaster, Obi-Wan. Remember, these are primitives, my young apprentice. They are not our objective.” “But they murdered the ambassadors–” “The Ithnun claimed they were murdered. But we have not confirmed the circumstances of their deaths, nor is it our mission to judge,” he admonished. Obi-Wan lowered his blue eyes respectfully. “Yes, Master.” Qui-Gon sighed. Their rescue mission had failed. It had probably failed even before they’d arrived. The ambassadors sent to the primary moon of Plodnum were dead. Their only task now was to retreat and leave. They both suddenly turned together. The woman had stood up. “There are medical supplies in that cabinet.” She pointed at a tall, wood and metal cabinet of many compartments on the opposite wall. “I’m going to get something for my friend here.” She didn’t wait for their permission. Qui-Gon nodded to Obi-Wan and he immediately strode over to the cabinet. The woman glared at Qui-Gon when she found her path blocked. “We do carry some medical supplies. They are quite effective for injuries like that. If you wish, my apprentice will help you.” She sneered back. The top of her head barely reached the top of Obi-Wan’s chin, but she did not tilt her head to look up at either of them. “I’m sure you know all about them. But I prefer to have some of our own tools anyway. Just in case your ‘apprentice’ isn’t as able at ‘helping’ as you say.” Qui-Gon gave Obi-Wan a tiny nod of approval and he answered it, silently acknowledging the unspoken language of gesture and Force sense between Master and Padawan. Obi-Wan hastily leaned back when the woman swung an upper cabinet door open. A smile of satisfaction curled her lips before she turned and pulled out a black metal box emblazoned with blue symbols and a large clear plastic jug with a fairly universal symbol for ‘water’ on it’s label. She turned and took them back to the man. Obi-Wan followed. She cut away the arm of his blue and green striped shirt above the injury across the biceps of his upper arm with a utility cutter from the box. Obi-Wan kept his eye on the cutter in his side vision as he opened a pouch on his belt. “This will help you clean the wound.” He slid the end of the small, flat bag open. “You’ll only need a little.” The woman laid the cutter back down into the box very carefully. “It’s fine, Tras.” The man smiled at the woman. He was older, with sandy, graying hair, but his face was wrinkled in all the places that a smile would make it so; he smiled like he meant it. And the woman’s hard expression softened. He turned his body so his wounded arm faced Obi-Wan. “Do your best,” he encouraged. Obi-Wan dabbed at it with a white antiseptic/anesthetic pad, first around the edges of the wound and then in the center where the fabric was burned into the man’s upper arm. A clean, sweet aroma mixed with that of the burnt flesh. The man straightened with a look of amazement. “It stopped hurting,” he explained to his companion’s worry. “I mean, it still stings, but it’s...not anything like it was.” Obi-Wan held his arm firmly. “You shouldn’t move it for another minute. Then we can clean the wound,” Obi-Wan instructed and his patient nodded willingly. “Do you have any sterile cloths? To clean it with?” Tras stared back at him and then down to the medical case. “Uh, yes.” She looked down into it, her eyes passing over all the things that she could use to kill or disable this ‘Obi-Wan’ person with. But the other, larger one was too far away. She couldn’t attack one without bringing the other one down on her; she would have to get them both at once. If she could. She brought up a packet of clean pads and some bandages and put them in Dani’s free hand. “I’m Dani Orliss,” he introduced himself as Obi-Wan took a pad from him. “I’m Leader of the Rathinun Ruling Council, and, well, overall carrier of the flame around here.” He spoke casually of the titles that made him the leader of millions. “And...” He looked down at his arm. “...We don’t have anything like this. But, I guess you know all that. About us.” Tras noticed that Obi-Wan didn’t answer, but kept his eyes on the blackened wound as he cleaned it and the reddened skin around it. She wondered if he was allowed to speak to them. He looked to be a full adult, though a young one, his medium brown hair was short and stiff, with a long braid behind one ear tied with colored bands. And a caudal tail stuck straight out from the back of his head. Impractical as it was the style was doubtless a symbol of his rank as an apprentice to the older one. “...And I’ve got to tell you that we’ve been having a cartload of trouble just trying to contact those ‘traders’. Well, that’s the polite word for them. They’re pirates, really. Otherwise we have to get everything from the Ithnun. And believe me, they never, ever let us forgot it. The Ithnun used to claim that they were lords of the whole universe, but that was a long time ago,” Dani ended with touches of sadness and humor combined. Obi-Wan didn’t say anything as he finished cleaning the wound, but Tras could tell he was listening as Dani added, “The people here...they hardly have any chance at all to see that there’s a whole galaxy out there. Worlds they’ve never even dreamed of.” Dani was very good with people. And judging by this Obi-Wan’s wordless response to Dani’s chatter, it seemed that these Jedi were ‘people’ after all. Tras took the soiled cloth and charred fabric and tossed them back into the box. She kept her head down and stayed silent. Talking, this was Dani Orliss’s strength, his domain. He was the politician, the one with the personality. And good looks. And his very nice smile. Tras had long since worn out her younger woman’s crush on him. He was far too married anyway and her Guardian’s oaths forbade any intimate relations. But...after all this time, he still looked good. And he had thrown his own body between her and Obi-Wan’s light sword. She knew that impulses like that spoke truth. Obi-Wan sprinkled another powder on the wound now and covered it with a larger pad. “We were responsible for the negotiators’ deaths,” Dani confessed and Obi-Wan paused in winding the bandage around his arm. “But it was an accident. You see...we...we wanted to bring them here. Show them that everything that the Lord-above-all Ithnun were telling them about their ‘subjects’ on these backward moons wasn’t true. And that a lot of the things they were claiming about themselves was just a load of hoshlops peelings, too.” Obi-Wan had finished wrapping the bandage but his hands remained on the closure as he listened. Dani had his complete attention. “But the Guardians we sent to...kidnap them...they used darts and...we didn’t know the drug would kill them.” Dani’s own blue eyes met Obi-Wan’s. “We didn’t know,” he finished sincerely. He looked down and moved his arm, testing it. “It feels good. Thank you.” Obi-Wan sat back and seemed to break that momentary connection between them. “It should heal in a few days. But there might be a scar.” “Days?!” Tras exclaimed. “Might be a scar?” Dani looked down at his upper arm. “We really don’t have anything like this.” “Obi-Wan.” The young man started and turned to his companion. It wasn’t too loud, or too deep, but it was a strong, resonant voice, the voice of authority. He came over to them and Dani flashed him a winning smile. The tall man did not respond to either Dani or Obi-Wan. He crouched next to them, his long, dark robe massed about him on the floor. He picked up Dani’s discarded coat. “I don’t think that will fit you,” Dani told him. The corners of Obi-Wan’s mouth twitched but the older Jedi seemed to have no sense of humor. He went through the inner pockets. “This, ” he said, holding up the jeweled emblem. “Was fixed to Ambassador Leorg’s arm.” Obi-Wan looked shocked. Orliss cringed. He’d ordered the surgeons to remove it from the body. It was distinctive and decorative and they could show it to the Ithnun to prove that they held the negotiators without revealing that they were dead. “We didn’t defile the bodies,” Orliss said quietly, his tone suddenly serious. The Jedi sat stone-faced through his explanation about the emblem and the cremation rites they’d given to the negotiators. He put the emblem away in a side pouch on his belt, stood up to his full, enormous height and went back to the other side of the room. Obi-Wan followed. “So, now it looks like we steal from the dead. We’ve made a wonderful impression on them.” Tras noted as they watched the two of them together. “And you won’t be able to get to that one so easily in any case,” she finished, pointing at the taller, older one. She closed the metal box, opened the plastic water bottle, took a drink and passed it on to Dani. He started to reach for it with his wounded arm, then thought better of it and used the other. “Hmph. Give me a little time.” She shook her head and sat down next to him. He took a drink and set the bottle down between them. They sat with their backs against the wall, as the two Jedi went back to the big map. Time, Tras thought. Given enough time could these two cut through the rock walls? --- tbs --- -----signature----- Links to all fics -- http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=25405090&brd=10304&start=26223917 The Heart of the Jedi -- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26013327 ---- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, JA and everything you wanted to know about lightsabers
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Star_Drifter Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 2/12/06 7:35pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1-3, 12-Feb-2006
	"So, now it looks like we steal from the dead. We’ve made a wonderful impression on them.” Tras noted as they watched the two of them together. “And you won’t be able to get to that one so easily in any case,” she finished, pointing at the taller, older one... No, I don't think that you will! Something more seems to be going on beneath the surface, and I can't wait to find out what it is! Great update! Star -----signature----- In the beginning was the Word...In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not comprehend it. one nation, UNDER GOD Darth Mom and Master to Ani-maniac
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PadawanKitara Registered: Dec '01	Date Posted: 2/12/06 9:58pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1-3, 12-Feb-2006
	There is always more than one side to every story. Will we find out the truth behind this one? -----signature----- Courtier of the Royal Order of Shambling Dufi We are Dufi...Resistance is Futile! UCLA BRUINS
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ardavenport Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 2/14/06 4:58pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1-3, 12-Feb-2006
	Star_Drifter: Something more seems to be going on beneath the surface, and I can't wait to find out what it is! Glad you're enjoying the story! There are a few things going on and more to come. PadawanKitara: There is always more than one side to every story. Will we find out the truth behind this one? Oh, things will become clearer, yes. Thanks for reading. Now, the next part. ======================================== part 4 ==== “What else do you know about them? These Jedi?” Tras asked. “They’re...they’re supposed to be like Guardians,” he gestured toward her formal garb, a symbol of her own service. “Except for the whole Republic. They come from a temple on the capital planet. They’re supposed to have...special powers.” “Really?” Tras looked at them, then at the destroyed cameras on the high ceiling above. “I never would have guessed.” “What do you think of them? You’ve fought them. Seen them fight. You’re the expert.” They spoke with hushed voices, trying not to attract attention. “I’ve never seen fighters like them,” she admitted. “They’re not just fast. They are always where they need to be, before you even move. They command the air,” she said in a respectful whisper. “So good that even you can’t hit them?” “That blade was aimed right at his head,” she hissed. “I couldn’t have missed. But he moved his hand and it just turned in mid-air.” “Are you sure he did that? That it didn’t just go wild?” She glared back at him, offended by the suggestion. “Sorry,” he amended. “I should have known better.” The two Jedi had moved to coms table. “But you have to admit, they got all the way in here and you didn’t even see them.” “I caught a glimpse of one of them hiding after we came in here and I was trying to get you to leave, so we could cut the power and trap them. But you were too busy telling them everything they needed to know.” Tras’s heated whisper replied. “And I forgot to congratulate you on your brilliant thinking of trapping us in here with them.” “Why thank you, my Dwen. I’m flattered that you noticed.” He graciously accepted her sarcasm as if it were a compliment and she huffed in exasperation. On the other side of the room, the older, taller Jedi looked up at the ceiling, apparently disappointed. Dani followed his gaze. He was scowling at the vents by the ruined cameras. Dani chuckled out loud and the Jedi’s bearded face turned to them. “The ventilation in this room is very inefficient,” he announced to them. “Yeah, it always gets stuffy in here during drills. But,” Dani lifted his hand up, pointing to the very small vent openings, “people coming and going through the air vents. How obvious is that?” He smiled sympathetically. The Jedi just frowned back. “I’m Dani Orliss,” he started out. “I’m Leader–” “So, I’m told.” The Jedi cut him off. Dani regrouped. “And you are...?” he invited, looking for an opening. “That is not important.” He turned his back on them. With a possibly sympathetic glance their way, Obi-Wan followed. “Tough room?” Tras said from the side. “I like a challenge,” Dani responded, his eyes still on the two. The taller one put the hood of his robe on and Obi-Wan did the same, now presenting him with impenetrable fabric. “Well, if you can actually get through to them, try to distract them.” “Huh?” “Fall down or knock something over or do something that will keep their hands busy.” Dani looked at her. She had a disturbingly familiar fixed gaze on the Jedi. “What are you talking about.” “I still have two dart guns under my cloak.” She spoke very softly now. “I think I can—” “What?!” Dani’s exclamation was loud enough for the Jedi, shrouded in the robes now, to look their way. Tras and Dani froze, not-funny smiles fixed on their faces. After another moment, the Jedi went back to their own business. “Have you forgotten what’s already happened? We don’t need two more bodies, Tras.” Dani managed to keep the volume down this time, but his intensity had gone up. “Assuming you could actually hit them with anything this time. What do you expect us to do with them if you do?” “We go back to the original plan, of course. It’s all we have,” she answered. “We’re stuck in here. But so are they. Captain Bella must have seen that they were trapped here before they destroyed the security eyes. They might as well be our hostages. But the Ithnun couldn’t tell the difference. And nobody even knows that negotiators are dead, either. Luro’s probably already sent a message to Ithnun that we have them, too.” A look of horror crossed Dani’s face. “No.” “What? You don’t think Luro will–” “No, that’s exactly what Luro will do. Of course he’s already done it by now.” He looked back at the robed Jedi. “And how many of them do you think they’re going to send to rescue these two?” He pointed emphatically as he spoke. “This a bad plan, Tras. We should never have sent that transmission. What was I thinking?” “This is our only plan, Dani,” the Dwen insisted. “What do you think they’re doing out there while you’re stuck in here with the coms out. Do you think Luro, or Palef or any of the other Councillors are just going sit around while you...what?” Dani Orliss’s expression had changed. Dwen Traskyuler started to recognize it as his ‘idea-forming’ look, the kind of expression he got when he figured out how to convince the river towns to accept a new dam or pay for the expansion of the Great City...or convince a doubting Dwen that they could reach beyond the Ithnun Lords grip on their world to the worlds beyond. He suddenly reached out and patted her face. “There is another plan, Tras.” He jumped up, stood and rubbed his bandaged arm, then strode up to the coms table. “You.” Qui-Gon turned to the man pointing at him. “You can cut right through that stone wall there, right? What, it’s only five, maybe ten body-thicknesses? No problem, right?” Qui-Gon didn’t answer. Orliss kept going. “Considering how quickly you got through that steel door.” Qui-Gon stood still, not giving him any reaction at all. “I don’t know how we’re going to pay for that,” he finished, looking that hole, momentarily distracted. Qui-Gon remained silent. “Look, you don’t have any better ideas for getting out of this. Or you would have done it.” Qui-Gon couldn’t deny that. His best idea had been to cut a tunnel through solid rock to a hopefully unused corridor and sneak out that way. “And what, precisely, are you proposing?” he finally asked looking down at the man, his arms tucked inside the opposite sleeves of his robe. Orliss seemed quite unintimidated. “Here it is.” He held up a hand for emphasis and moved toward the door. “You cut us out of here with those...” He gestured vaguely toward Qui-Gon’s waist. “Lightsabers,” Qui-Gon supplied. “Lightsabers,” he finished, pointing at the hole in the thick, shielded door. “I call out first to stop anybody from trying to shoot you. We walk out together. We take you out through the city.” His hands pantomimed them leaving. “Then, we escort you to whatever craft you came in and then you leave,” he concluded, his hands falling down at his sides. Qui-Gon was shocked back into silence. But he hastily covered his expression when the man started to look a little too pleased with himself. “That was our original plan. He must have told you.” He pointed at Obi-Wan. “All we wanted to do was show the negotiators who we were. Get them away from the Ithnun lies and tell them the truth about us. Show them that they could trade with us directly and not through the Ithnun.” He frowned. “We had planned on dinner and maybe a little sport, too. But we can skip that.” “We have no authority to negotiate,” Qui-Gon Jinn stated. “Not even for yourselves?” Traskyuler asked as she stood and stepped up to Leader Orliss’s side. Qui-Gon Jinn’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I do have the authority to negotiate,” Dani went on, ignoring the antagonism between Dwen and Jedi. “And that’s what I’m proposing. We get those doors open and...we let you go.” “We have no reason to trust you.” “You don’t have anything better to do,” Orliss shot back. “And you’re not going to get a better offer.” Qui-Gon did not like it, that this man was right. Next to him, Obi-Wan waited, too obviously ready to accept. Qui-Gon finally nodded. “Great!” Orliss announced to Qui-Gon’s great annoyance. He stepped up to the central control console and flipped a manual switch on a com unit. It turned out to be a voice com. After some surprise from the people on the other side and some over-dramatic complaints from Orliss about why they hadn’t tried to signal him sooner, someone named Luro agreed to be waiting when they came out. The Jedi took off their robes and while Orliss and the Dwen watched they first widened the hole in the shield door (Orliss moaned again about the cost of fixing it). Then Obi-Wan carved out chunks of the stone while Qui-Gon used the Force to pull them away from the door, dribbling molten rock as they fell. The room soon smelled like an overheated oven. Orliss carefully stepped closer as Obi-Wan made a final cut. His lightsaber sizzled through the stone and then out, making a small hole in the remaining slab of rock. Orliss held back, cringing a little from the blobs of glowing rock. After a moment, when nothing came back out of the hole at them he spoke loudly. “Luro, are you out there?” Orliss bent forward, so his head was more level with the hole. “Leader, you said you were coming out.” “I’m coming;” he answered cheerfully. “I just want to make sure you know that this is a real truce.” The Dwen came forward and yelled her own confirmation as well. Then she stepped back, letting Orliss finish. “I hope Luro doesn’t think that we’re trying to send him some kind of code that he thinks means shoot on sight,” the Dwen grumbled below Qui-Gon’s shoulder. “Even if he does, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Qui-Gon answered smugly, folding his arms before him. Traskyuler gave him a dirty look. Obi-Wan cut the last arc and pulled away. the stone fell outward, away from his outstretched palm and thudded solidly on the ground. Silence. Someone on the other side of the opening coughed. Orliss brushed off imaginary dust from his one-sleeved shirt. “We’re coming!” Traskyuler went to his side and they ducked under the metal edge of the inner door. “Stay behind us,” he told the Jedi for the fourth or fifth time. Orliss, then bent low, well under the recently melted rock edges of the opening. Then Traskyuler went. Then the Jedi. Orliss grimaced up at Qui-Gon who emerged and stood at his usual height, almost two heads taller than the Leader. ‘Getting behind them’ was purely symbolic. Qui-Gon gave him a tiny shrug and a small, innocent smile. Orliss turned and addressed the people assembled at the door. Guardians, sentries, soldiers and councillors lined the hallways. Orliss raised his hands, expressing his happiness to see no weapons raised, though there were plenty at the ready. Luro, a slender, younger man with short, dark hair, carefully stepped forward, a few other well-dressed people fearfully fidgeted behind him. “If I may speak with you privately, Leader...” “Oh, we’ve said enough.” Orliss cheerfully but firmly shut him out. “Now, here we are,” he gestured to everyone, including the Jedi behind him. “We have guests. They came for the negotiators. They fought well,” he looked directly at the Guardians and soldiers. “And the fought honorably. And now they’re taking the negotiators’ place. And we will show them every courtesy that we would have shown them. Show them who we are. And what we are. And how much better we are than the so-called ‘Lords’ of Ithnun. “Just like we planned.” He finished, his stance daring anyone present to oppose him. No one did. The people backed away. They lined the hallways, Guardians in their pastel tunics, pants and short capes, city defenders in body armor, hammered metal for most of them, lightweight, super-strong plastiform for a lucky few, Luro and other councillors and their attendants. They shrank against the walls as Orliss went forward snagging Luro on his way, the Jedi behind him, Traskyuler behind them. They went through the maze of hallways and entryways in the fortress. And as they did, Orliss began to talk about the places they passed, the rooms, the halls, their history. He prodded Luro to join him, but he seemed capable of only a few words at a time. There were quite a lot of wrecked doors, blaster burns and long, burnt gashes, but Orliss ignored those. Luro mostly kept looking fearfully back at the two large intruders behind him. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon kept their expressions neutral, but this didn’t seem to reassure him. Orliss finally let him return to his companions when they paused to hear about the local art in a long, high-ceilinged room. As they entered a room of polished, bluish stone with a ceiling so low that Qui-Gon Jinn had to duck his head to avoid the light fixtures, Orliss talked about the long past millennia when tribal leaders were brought to wait there for audiences at the great and mysterious Hold built by the powerful Sky-Lords, the Ithnun. Being primitives, tied to the harvests of the land, and not knowing any better, the Rathinun had obeyed and worshiped the Ithnun. But the servants of the Ithnun learned that their masters were hardly all powerful and that the machines and devices of the Sky-Lords worked just as well for them. The Ithnun had long since been driven back to their own moon, but they still controlled all the technology needed for space travel and the Rathinum had not succeeded in getting any from the smugglers and pirates they could contact on their own. Orliss and Traskyuler opened a pair of ornate doors together, pushing them outward. The others in the group stayed back, keeping some distance between them and the Jedi. So, only the two leaders and the Jedi walked through the portal of the waiting room into the huge entry hall of the Hold. They stopped and they stared. --- tbc --- -----signature----- Links to all fics -- http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=25405090&brd=10304&start=26223917 The Heart of the Jedi -- http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/26013327 ---- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, JA and everything you wanted to know about lightsabers
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Layren Registered: Oct '03	Date Posted: 2/14/06 6:19pm Subject: RE: They Are Primatives -- Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, OCs, Action, Pt 1-4, 14-Feb-2006
	“I hope Luro doesn’t think that we’re trying to send him some kind of code that he thinks means shoot on sight,” the Dwen grumbled below Qui-Gon’s shoulder. “Even if he does, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Qui-Gon answered smugly, folding his arms before him. Traskyuler gave him a dirty look. Hahah! That was great Nice job Qui Excellent -- I meant to reply to your other part but I forgot! Sorry about that , time just got away from me I'm really enjoying this story! I look forward to more. Well done! -----signature----- Proud Master to Ara-gon The Triad Chronicles http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/25934993/p1/?177 (OC's) Into Another Day http://boards.theforce.net/before_the_saga/b10475/27926050/p1/?0 2008 Dear Diary Challenge I am Jinngerbread.
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