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Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 9/29
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YodaKenobi
Title: TFN EU Staff
Registered:
May '03
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Date Posted:
7/15 3:37pm
Subject:
RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 7/13
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Yeah, that's true, but I was talking about how being born Force-sensitive automatically set his life on such a tough course.
Yeah, sorry. I just felt like noting that for some reason 
Uma wished she was more like that. Truth be told if she really thought about it, she was the person who would always be good for a laugh amongst everyone in the Base, and while that wasn’t a bad thing, there had to be more that she could do.
Yeah, I guess Bith aren't renowned soldiers. Extremely fragile beings in a lot of ways.
“I’m starting to think maybe I’d take fighting him to the Vong,” Char said, while at the same time looking from one side to the other for any sign of trouble.
“I’ve been thinking that too,” Murey said from the center of the line, “trying to figure out which bad guys would be worse. The Vong do have the sort of technology he would not see coming.”
It's an interesting question. The Vong were more brutal I suppose. Palpatine ruled by fear, the YV just wanted to kill everyone.
Before all this she hadn‘t been much of a talker, though; she didn‘t say this to many of the others, as that had changed very much in the last year. Before the invasion, Uma had been a painter, - big surprise there - working freelance in landscapes. The pay was never tremendous but she would always get by, and what always mattered to her was that she was doing what she loved.
It's really cool learning about the lives all these characters led before the invasion and fall of Coruscant.
On the next second Uma heard a short pass of groans, it sounded light and cracked. She continued to look down to Odyn, who screeched and pull out his wrist from the hole.
“Something bit me,” he scolded.
From all over, the same low groaning multiplied by seemingly hundreds. The patches of grass that were all over the cliff walls shivered open, and small, brown-skinned creatures with little-beady eyes began scuffing through.
Yuuzhan Vong creatures? 
Odyn unhooked himself from his cable and reached for Char, but one of the creatures hopped off the wall to try to grasp both their hands in its mouth. Odyn pulled away, but lost grip on his cable and was only reaching for air as he fell.
Uma watched him, with her hands covering her mouth to contain her scream, but Odyn suddenly halted before hitting the ground, and was floating just slight above Uma’s height. She saw Misael, who had one arm up, and directed towards Odyn and the other to the ground, where dirt was raising up and spinning into a cloud that was growing very rapidly.
That was close.
Misael rocks 
Wow, what a great post  I loved the whole sequence with them climbing the ropes down when the creatures came out. That was seriously one of the most tense moments I've ever read in fanfic. Executed beautifully, my friend  I was really afraid we were going to lose someone.
I hope the two groups get reunited soon. Is Kinsey with the other group?
Great job, can't wait for next week's post
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FORCEBlLADE
Registered:
Mar '03
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Date Posted:
7/22 12:45pm
Subject:
RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 7/22
- Date Edited:
8/6 1:15am (7 edits total)
Edited By:
FORCEBlLADE
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Nope, not losing anyone - yet. Sorry this post came in late, been busy with personal stuff.
Chapter 8
An hour passed until Kinsey and her group arrived at the manufactory building, and a strong stench welcomed them in, which made Kinsey take out a small cloth to cover her nose.
"Hope you guys can endure that smell," she blurted out loud, as they walked down the entrance hall.
"Good thing I salvaged some air freshener,"Âone of the others said.
At the end of the hall, there was a stairway that Jiltha pointed to.
"Misael said they would be on the top floor." She waved them all to follow her, and Kinsey heard several discomforting huffs from the rest of the group over her own.
It was understandable, seeing as they had arrived at their destination after a four day journey through a wild and dangerous jungle, and rather than get to swing down like the others to the building's entrance, they had to circle and travel down from higher ground for another hour.
Kinsey really wanted to yell out that her feet were thumping as fast as her heart, but she endured, as always. Misael taught her the importance of feeling passed physical discomfort; it was but one of the smallest of obstacles, and boar no competition with other trials of war, he told her.
Every step of stairs she went up pounded into her feet, and vibrated up her legs/ Since the planet's invasion, she had made only short travels, as part of the few missions she was in.
The last time that Kinsey had gone for so long and so far was during the invasion, a nightmare she hated recalling, but could not stop herself from doing just that.
The building fell, with her parents inside, and so she ran. For how long and to where did not cross her mind for a long time, Kinsey had just kept running. Eventually, she found herself in the midlevels in the middle of the night, when the battle was over, the New Republic had left, leaving Coruscant to the Yuuzhan Vong.
She spent that night under a turned over speeder, silently crying and shivering in the cold. The morning came and she continued on, as Vong patrol parties started covering the area, looking for any people that were left behind. She ran deeper down into the destroyed city, reaching the lowest levels, and from there, continued moving, afraid of being found if she stayed put.
This went on for days, with Kinsey all alone, feeling as if she was the only one left in the planet alive or not captured. She then found Jiltha, and in the following weeks, they traveled together from one hiding place to another, salvaging places for food, and warm areas to sleep in.
Unlike Kinsey at the time, Jiltha was brave and strong, not giving into the terror of their most unfortunate experience. She continuingly told Kinsey that they would be alright, and that as long as they worked together, they could survive.
She even bore no anger when the teenager ran the other way from attacking Vong while Jiltha stood her ground. Luckily they had been saved by a group who took them to the base Barten had secured for so many and was now the forefront for this resistance.
Finally, they arrived at the top floor and met with the others in a wide room with broken windows covering one entire, but the view was covered by the tree.
"Happy trails?" Char asked.
Jiltha groaned unhappily on behalf of everybody else. Kinsey walked over to Misael, who was kneeling in front of a large piece of flimsi; she kneeled next to him to look at it closely, and saw that it was a map of the manufactory building.
"Glad you guys didn't run into any trouble," he said, glancing at her for only a quick second, and looking back at the map.
"Kept radar on us with the Force?"
"The only way to keep me from worrying about you."
Though he was talking about all of them, Kinsey couldn't help but flush, and covered her face with an arm until she felt it go away. When she lowered her arm, she saw him looking at her blankly.
Force hope he didn't sense her feelings.
He gave her a small smile, to which she returned, and so they both put their attention back on the map.
"Where did you find this?"
"It was in one of the offices in this floor." Misael continued to study the map while speaking. "It has every inch of this place laid out."
"What do you think?" she asked.
"It's a good place to set up various traps incase the Vong find it." He pointed a finger to several different areas in the building. "With work, we can have a few secret entrances."
"Okay, but one request, though," Kinsey said, slumping down on the floor, and laying back. Can we rest for the rest of today. My feet are killing me."
"I second."
"I third."
The next day came and so they got to work on the base. While Half the team took one room each to clean up, Odyn and Tilsin were busy reconstructing some of the damaged areas, by covering up a large hole in the a hallway floor, and repairing several bits of furniture.
Meanwhile Kinsey and another worked on cutting through the tree trunk in various floors from the inside for surveillance purposes.
Misael was working on getting power into the turbolifts and one a holo projector in what they figured to have been the building's conference room.
Jiltha and two others meanwhile went outside to cut up piles of wood for fire and reconstruction use.
Because of his leg, there was little Murey could do at the moment, but he was able to help Arial to extent in beginning to setup booby traps n the event hat the Yuuzhan Vong entered the Watchtower.
At the end of the day, they all regrouped in the same large room at the top level to eat the fruits collected from nearby trees. They made a fire within a large cannel Misael had brought up from the construction area, which they hadn't explored yet.
"It's a mess in there," Misael told them.
"You think we could use it?" one of the Watchtower members asked. "Imagine if we could make us some transporters; it will do us wonders."
"It's an idea, I would say," Jiltha said.
Misael took a gulp of water from his canteen before speaking. "Maybe, but there might not be enough to salvage to make any descent kind of transports."
"And say if we did manage to put together at least one." This was Arial speaking. "All it could do is just draw attention to ourselves, and might help the Vong in tracking us down."
"Good point," Uma said.
They went on another minute, silently eating, before Odyn spoke.
"You know, I don't think I've tasted fruits as good as these." He took a large bite of one of the fruits he had in his bowl. "They're not chemically altered or worked on to give it something extra. It's all natural."
"Are you saying the Yuuzhan Vong made something good?" Kinsey asked, not coming out negative towards his statement, but sounding more curious.
"Well, I'm just complimenting the food. It's one of the few things they grow hat don't try and kill us."
"While we're admitting nice things about this place . . ." Everyone turned eyes to Uma, who nervously circled a finger on the dirt-ridden floor. "I'll say that the Yuuzahn Vong know the beauty of nature."
"Yes, but only to an extent," Murey added grudgingly.
"You mean what they've used nature for?" one of the others said.
Murey nodded. "They've taken billions upon billions of lives with the weapons that they've made out of the wildlife they claim to love."
"It sounds a psychopath saying he did these terrible things in the name of some love," Jiltha added.
"So we're all on the same page then?" Kinsey said. "They're hypocritical nut jobs who don't show any real great respect for life, just like a lot of people in our society."
"Here, here," another said.
And so they continued on, ranting about the Yuuzhan Vong, berating them on everything in their society for hours on until they were all asleep.
The next week went by with endless labor. They continued cleaning up the building, room-by-room, floor-to-floor. None of them complained about the manual labor; it actually felt like they were regular working class people, instead of soldiers setting up a resistance base.
Arial and Murey worked on the booby traps, making them more sufficient and creative.
Misael did his best with repairing all the electronic equipment that he found.
They also explored the crumbled down construction rooms, putting back together some of the smaller machinery and salvaging bits and pieces from unfinished vehicles.
With some of the tube pieces and lenses found, they now had several well-working homemade telescopes; they weren't fantastic, but well enough to zoom into Shimrra's castle.
On midday, and then at nights, everyone gathered together to rest from the long hours of work, and also eat and talk.
The week then ended and the day came for Misael, Kinsey, Tilsin, Jiltha, and Uma to leave. Everyone went got together at the same bottom level entrance they had first arrived through to say their goodbyes.
Misael and Odyn shook hands.
"Have a safe trip back," Odyn said smiling.
"Oh we won't, you know we won't."
The five departing shook hands and hugged with the Watchtower team and then started off, taking the long way back up cliff side.
"You think they'll be alright?" Kinsey asked Misael.
He didn't look at her to answer. "I don't know. I hardly ever know nowadays."
End Chapter
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"Once you start down the dark path, forever will itdominate your destiny." :Yoda "JEDI CONFLICT" http://boards.theforce.net/Beyond_the_Saga/b10477/17951268/?13
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YodaKenobi
Title: TFN EU Staff
Registered:
May '03
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Date Posted:
7/24 1:16pm
Subject:
RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 7/22
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Kinsey really wanted to yell out that her feet were thumping as fast as her heart, but she endured, as always. Misael taught her the importance of feeling passed physical discomfort; it was but one of the smallest of obstacles, and boar no competition with other trials of war, he told her.
She really seems to have come to depend on him for guidance.
The building fell, with her parents inside, and so she ran. For how long and to where did not cross her mind for a long time, Kinsey had just kept running. Eventually, she found herself in the midlevels in the middle of the night, when the battle was over, the New Republic had left, leaving Coruscant to the Yuuzhan Vong.
So sad 
This went on for days, with Kinsey all alone, feeling as if she was the only one left in the planet alive and not captured.
She even bore no anger when the teenager ran the other way from attacking Von while Jiltha stood her ground. Luckily they had been saved by a group who took them to the base Barten had secured for so many and was now the forefront for this resistance.
Interesting. I don't think we've ever had this much detail on Kinsey's backstory and how she arrived with the resistance.
Though he was talking about all of them, Kinsey couldn’t help but flush, and covered her face with an arm until she felt it go away. When she lowered her arm, she saw him looking at her blankly.
Aww 
“You think we could use it?” one of the Watchtower members asked. “Imagine if we could make us some transporters; it will do us wonders.”
“It’s an idea, I would say,” Jiltha said.
Misael took a gulp of water from his canteen before speaking. “Maybe, but there might not be enough to salvage to make any descent kind of transports.”
“And say if we did manage to put together at least one.” This was Arial speaking. “All it could do is just draw attention to ourselves, and might help the Vong in tracking us down.”
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. A definite drawback.
With some of the tube pieces and lenses found, they now had several well-working homemade telescopes; they weren’t fantastic, but well enough to zoom into Shimrra’s castle.
Sweet
“Have a safe trip back,” Odyn said smiling.
“Oh we won’t, you know we won’t.”
The five departing shook hands and hugged with the Watchtower team and then started off, taking the long way back up cliff side.
“You think they’ll be alright?” Kinsey asked Misael.
He didn’t look at her to answer. “I don’t know. I hardly ever know nowadays.”
I get a sense of finality in Odyn and Misael parting here. Not that they'll never see each other again, but that one or both of them will be very different when they do 
Terrific post Can't wait to see how the Watchtower team fares and also what happens to Misael's group on the way back to their camp.
Great job, can't wait for more 
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FORCEBlLADE
Registered:
Mar '03
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Date Posted:
7/29 8:15pm
Subject:
RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 7/29
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The Watchtower team are not going to have it easy, I'll say that much. Thanks for continuing to read.
Chapter 9
"A Mon Calamari?"
"That's not physically possible," Jiltha said.
Tilsin thought for a moment. "A Nicket?"
"Once at a bar."
"At the bar? You are a wild one. Wish we had met before the invasion."
Rather than tell him that she would have called him a grade-A loser if she were to have met him at a bar before the invasion, Jiltha just rolled her eyes at Tilsin.
"What about a Wookie?"
"Tilsin, will you quit asking her about that," Kinsey shouted from up front, where she was walking beside Misael.
"She's the one who brought it up in the first place," he argued.
"And like many of your kind, you make me instantly regret opening up," Jiltha told him.
They weren't even a full day into their journey back to the Base, and already Tilsin was being an annoying trak. It was worse now because there were just five of them. At least that was all he was being during their journey.
Through out the course of her life, Jiltha knew her fair share of high-class, undeniably perverted jerks. Compared to the types she had seen, Tilsin was a gentlemen, so she endured his humor-intended comments.
"You know I dated this twi'lek before the invasion," Tilsin then said, but she couldn't keep her lekkus under control."
"That was never a problem with me." Jiltha knew saying that would put Tilsin's imagination into overdrive and keep him quiet for a little while.
Silence was what they needed to have, anyways, as they would be passing closely through Yuuzhan Vng residencies to get to the Jorken. While Jiltha wasn't happy about venturing so close to a Yuuzhan Vong heavily occupied area, it was better then moving through the roughest part of the jungle here, where they had lost several resistant members in the past.
At the end of the day, they set camp at a hilltop that overlooked a wide-rocky terrain where the numerous damuteks resided, which were the standard type of organic buildings used by the Yuuzhan Vong.
Jiltha had not seen any up close until now; they looked like giant starfish, and according to resistance spies, they were connected to underground succession pools, which were self-contained bodies of water that kept the damutek's vital organs alive. Jiltha knew that the planet's former Western Sea was turned into a giant succession pool during the Vongforming.
They setup a campfire behind the cover of a long tree, and Jiltha and Misael volunteered to take first watch for half the night.
"Goodnight, Misael," Kinsey said as she laid down on the ground, placing her knapsack under her head.
"Good night."
He and Jiltha moved away from the campsite, each holding a blaster rifles.
"You know she's not exactly cryptic with her thoughts."
The young human Jedi looked at her with rather dumb-founded expression. He clearly had no idea what she meant by her statement.
She rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Unbelievable, you're a Jedi, aren't you? You should be able to sense it from her - the warm-fuzzy feelings."
Now Misael looked away, frowning.
"I figured it better to ignore it."
Again, Jiltha rolled her eyes. "That's not going to make it go away. Whether you feel the same or not, eventually you two need to have a little talk.
"We're in the middle of a war, Jiltha." Misael started to walk around the tree to his position, clearly wanting to end the discussion, but she yelled out to him..
"Can't put things like that aside, even in an apocalyptic war."
Rather than talk back, Misael merely raised an arm, with two fingers raised. She didn't know what he meant by that, but she didn't think he was being offensive.
"I'm just saying," she muttered.
She took her spot at the edge of the hilltop, where there was a clear view of the dumateks.
She tried to guess how many Yuzhan Vong there could be down there, most of them probably sleeping at this time. She wondered what was an ordinary for an ordinary bishman Vong. It was hard to believe that any would have a single civilized day.
From what Jiltha saw and had experienced in the last year, these people didn't know anything but battle, giving into their worst instincts, which as a result caused chaos - and for what?
Religious beliefs and merciless gods that they worshiped. They were psychopaths, really, and what was the best thing to do about them?
Only to herself, Jiltha admitted that if she could, she would march down to those residencies and kill them all in their sleep. Every single one of them, man, woman, and child. It would be fair game, really, they were raised to be warriors from the moment of birth.
These were dark desires, of course, she was not arrogant. If these feelings were acted on, they would make her as horrible as them, so Jiltha was glad she wouldn't get the chance to do so. She did not want to become a monster, but if given the opportunity, she didn't think she could stop herself from slaughtering them.
All the pain and horror they were causing couldn't go unpunished.
But within this nightmare, there was still the one light that kept Jiltha and all the other going: their continuing strikes against the Yuuzhan Vong.
And if she died, becoming another casualty to this war, she would be alright with it. Death would be an improvement from this hell of a life.
But until that happened, or until they won, she would fight.
Her only hope was that she could save the lives of her fellow comrades, including Kinsey, who she had been looking after since the start of this invasion.
The human girl was now talking about becoming more involved in the resistance's raids and ambushing operations; Jiltha did not like the idea of Kinsey becoming another hardened soldier. She still harbored a lot of innocence that needed to stay intact.
It would become even more of a nightmare if Kinsey became what Jiltha was now: a shell of her former self. On several occasions she looked at her reflection in a mirror, or water, and asked herself, "Who are you now?"
There were several answers that she could give: she was a former banker, a former Coruscanti, a former wife. Now there was Jiltha, the resistant soldier, the widower.
Before Coruscant's invasion she had an ordinary life, and was happy with it - now there was this, a new version to her that wasn't necessarily pleasant.
At that moment, a noise from down the hill took Jiltha out of her inner thoughts. She went down to the ground, on her belly, positioning her rifle on her shoulder and then looking through it's telescope.
The sound was coming from a line of bushes down the hill that led all the way t the residencies. Through the telescope, she spotted a spot in the bushes that was shaking, indicating somebody trying to scramble through. It couldn't be a Yuuzha Vong, it had to be a small animal.
But when a small figure stepped out, in a bit of a stutter, Jiltha's throat swallowed up dry; it was a bushman Vong, but not a fully grown warrior, it was a child, perhaps eight or nine years old, by Vong standards, and a male. Another boy then popped out from the bushes, sporting a couffee in one hand.
The two bowed to one another, then the one with the couffee began to swing at the other with his couffee, being very well in control of the weapon and his attacks, like an expert, and not a novice at all.
The child who was weaponless dodged the first few attacks, and then shockingly grabbed the other's weapon arm, punched his head with an elbow and was now in position of the couffee. This act was done within just one second.
Now the first boy was in possession of the weapon and attacked the second boy, who now ducked and jumped away from couffee.
Jiltha watched all of this, feeling very repulsed. Just like she thought, from childhood they were taught to kill, to express violence. They didn't even really have a childhood.
She focused the telescope on them, with her finger on the trigger.
It would be so easy to do it. They weren't aware that they were being watched, or that a rifle was being pointed directly at them. They were close enough, so Jiltha wouldn't miss. Two shots was all it would take.
Now there was an inner battle within Jiltha, on whether to commit this act. Yes, they were the enemy, but these two children weren't really part of the war.
-Not yet.
They would grow up, and in time, if this war continued on for year, they would kill for their race without hesitation; she could stop that right now.
But they were children, so young, and as far as she knew, they hadn't really done anything wrong with their lives yet. But they were aware of what their species were doing and thought nothing bad of it. They were okay with this horrible war.
They deserve to die.
Her finger was on the trigger, she just had to press it against it, and the job would be half done, another second, and they would both be dead. Jiltha would bury the bodies before others came looking for the two boys, and that would be that.
While the boy with the couffee advanced on the other, he suddenly tripped over a small walk. He up right away, but looked at the other boy for a second, and te two then began to laugh.
They laughed. Jiltha was almost left breathless. These two Yuuhman Vong were actually laughing over one of them accidentally falling down. They were laughing at a bit of clumsiness, and out of simple enjoyment.
She took her finger away from the trigger, and looked away from the rifle's telescope.
What if they could grow up to be different? What if they won, defeated the Yuuzhan Vong and changed them for the better? Was it possible? It was be nice to think so.
Jiltha shook her head, and got back onto her feet, turning away from the sight of the residencies, and the two boys, who she could still hear laughing. She didn't even notice Misael until she was just a few steps in front of him.
"You sensed what was going on, didn't you?" she asked, sounding guilt-struck over her horrible inhibitions. She didn't look him the eye, preferring to face the ground.
Misael stayed still, arms-crossed, and his expression solid and unreadable. "I wanted to wait and see what you'd decide."
"Are you happy with my decision?" Jiltha forced herself to look up, meeting his gaze without being able to draw breath.
"Better to make a decision that goes on hope, than one that will no doubt have consequences."
All Jiltha could do to respond was nod; there really didn't seem to be any words that would fit here.
Then Misael added, "Better decision than the ones I made before."
End Chapter
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"Once you start down the dark path, forever will itdominate your destiny." :Yoda "JEDI CONFLICT" http://boards.theforce.net/Beyond_the_Saga/b10477/17951268/?13
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YodaKenobi
Title: TFN EU Staff
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Date Posted:
8/2 4:02pm
Subject:
RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 7/29
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"At the bar? You are a wild one. Wish we had met before the invasion."
Rather than tell him that she would have called him a grade-A loser if she were to have met him at a bar before the invasion, Jiltha just rolled her eyes at Tilsin.
Wait, is Jiltha a Zabrak or a Twi'lek?
"And like many of your kind, you make me instantly regret opening up," Jiltha told him.
That brings up a good question. Tilsin is listed as "humanoid." How does he differ from a human?
"We're in the middle of a war, Jiltha." Misael started to walk around the tree to his position, clearly wanting to end the discussion, but she yelled out to him..
"Can't put things like that aside, even in an apocalyptic war."
I don't know, I kind of agree with Misael here. What good can come from discussing it at this point?
Religious beliefs and merciless gods that they worshiped. They were psychopaths, really, and what was the best thing to do about them?
Only to herself, Jiltha admitted that if she could, she would march down to those residencies and kill them all in their sleep. Every single one of them, man, woman, and child. It would be fair game, really, they were raised to be warriors from the moment of birth.
Well, I can't really say she's wrong to feel that way. But it is a little scary.
She did not want to become a monster, but if given the opportunity, she didn't think she could stop herself from slaughtering them.
Glad she's not Force sensitive or anything...
The human girl was now talking about becoming more involved in the resistance's raids and ambushing operations; Jiltha did not like the idea of Kinsey becoming another hardened soldier. She still harbored a lot of innocence that needed to stay intact.
Misael might want to tread extra carefully with this whole Kinsey thing then
There were several answers that she could give: she was a former banker, a former Coruscanti, a former wife. Now there was Jiltha, the resistant soldier, the widower.
Loved this line.
But when a small figure stepped out, in a bit of a stutter, Jiltha's throat swallowed up dry; it was a bushman Vong, but not a fully grown warrior, it was a child, perhaps eight or nine years old, by Vong standards, and a male. Another boy then popped out from the bushes, sporting a couffee in one hand.
Guess we'll find out how serious Jiltha was...
"You sensed what was going on, didn't you?" she asked, sounding guilt-struck over her horrible inhibitions. She didn't look him the eye, preferring to face the ground.
Misael stayed still, arms-crossed, and his expression solid and unreadable. "I wanted to wait and see what you'd decide."
"Are you happy with my decision?" Jiltha forced herself to look up, meeting his gaze without being able to draw breath.
"Better to make a decision that goes on hope, than one that will no doubt have consequences."
I thought that's what was happening, that Misael was waiting to see what she'd do.
Great job, FORCEBlLADE So we get to know another member of the resistance. Jiltha seems like a great character and I'm glad she made the right choice. She may well end up killing those two later when they grow up and become warriors, but at least she will have given them a chance.
You wrote a really clever test for her and it was executed beautifully.
Can't wait for more
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FORCEBlLADE
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Date Posted:
8/5 2:52pm
Subject:
RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 8/5
- Date Edited:
8/9 11:14pm (2 edits total)
Edited By:
FORCEBlLADE
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Misael and Kinsey's little thing will be an issue that will need addressing sooner or later, and you know how he's felt about relationships in past fics.
Chapter 10
If he were in the company of fellow Dugs, Char would not be so guilt-ridden about his sense of thrill over the battles he had been a part of in the last nine months. His species relished in all of this action, but unfortunately, that was the source of many negative opinions about them from many in the galaxy.
Through the course of their predicament, Char endured that criticism. Belira was his toughest commentator; he thought that maybe she had had past dealings with Dugs that made her so unnerved towards him.
"Char, catch."
He was barely able to grab his canteen that the humanoid, Crong, threw from the river side, where he was refilling everybody's. The canteen nearly slipped out of Char's long fingers, but managed to catch with both hands; the only drawback being that he made myself look absolutely ridiculous in trying to seize the thing.
From where they were sitting, on large pieces of rock, Arial and another girl, named Stelia giggled, but tried to hide it behind their hands. Char just lightly growled at that them.
Odyn was farther down the riverbank, staring to the direction the stream was moving in for a long while. He did that a lot, which weirded out Char; maybe if he were Force-sensitive like Misael, it would make more sense for Odyn to be the kind of person who stood and stared out like he always had the answers.
Really, when it came to Jedi, Char had always been a skeptic, but then the Yuuzhan Vong took Coruscant, and Misael arrived. Since then, Char saw some impossible things get done by the young human, and it forced him to accept that their were forces beyond his understanding that effected the galaxy.
He would often find himself wondering where he would be if he hadn't been on Coruscant on the day of the invasion. He had been passing through to make a delivery with his crewmates. Yes, it had been illegal, as they were smugglers, but overall, they were a good bunch; did their best to avoid confrontations that could result in people getting hurt.
They had tried to escape - and with a load of passengers;, because one of Char's crewmates persuaded the rest of them to help, contemplating what if it were them seeking help off the planet, and hoping someone would be their rescuer.
So they all grudgingly agreed -but their kind act ended up being in vain.
They were shot down before making it out of the atmosphere, crashing into a plaza. Char and several others - none of them being his crewmates - survived out of eighty people, and they went into hiding down to the deepest pits of Coruscant's underbelly.
Within the first few days of the Vong's occupation, they were found by a man named Barten, who took them to the Base.
It was ten months later, and here Char was: a soldier for a planetary resistance.
My how fate worked.
"And I always heard Dugs have some of the best reflexes," Stelia mocked.
"Do you really want to start poking fun at a Dug, little girl?" Char grinded his teeth, hoping to get a bit of a yelp out of her.
"Do you really think you would pull something on her, Char?" Odyn asked from his standing spot.
Char only cocked his head in response. No, he wouldn't actually do anything - maybe just intimidate her a little bit, but only that. Sometimes the resistance members got on one another's nerves, but that came from the frustration of being cooped up together into limited spaces.
It was the equivalent of living with a new roommate, really. They dealt with their pinched up nerves and reminded themselves that they could't get caught up in small problems among themselves, or they wouldn't be able to beat the real enemies.
"I'm wondering if the others made it to the Jorken, already," Stelia said, looking down the river.
"If they're moving on schedule, they should be there before sundown, tonight," Arial said after drinking some water from her canteen.
"Maybe they've gotten lucky and sacked a few Vong on the way," Crong said in a high spirited tone.
Odyn finally turned around to look back to the rest of the group, specifically Crong. "It's not a good idea to hope for some big fight. Last night they were supposed to set camp close to a Yuuzhan Vong residency. Even with Misael, they wouldn't be able to fight off that many of them."ÂÂ
Now Crong looked down at his water-drenched boots. "Sorry, didn't really think about that."
"No problem, Crong." Odyn started to walk over to Arial and Stelia. "Have we got everything full?"
Stelia patted a hand to her large bag, which contained nothing but canteens and canisters that they had just filled with water.
"That would be it then. Shall we head back."
Just as Stelia and Arial stood, the silence within the river area was broken by a loud sort of whistling sounding out from an undetermined direction. Char started scanning the area around, but could spot nothing.
"That doesn't sound good," Arial said.
"Let's move," Odyn commanded.
It then sounded as if a bit of the whistling drew apart, becoming louder, seemingly tearing through the air, and getting closer to them.
There was then a small pop; Char looked over to Odyn, who had his canteen raised up; it was now dripping water from a hole in it's middle area. Odyn stared at everyone, utterly bewildered.
Another whistle breached out - and before Char or any of the others could make a move, Odyn was bleeding from his abdomen, the blood dripping out and soaking through his shirt.
His face was now paralyzed in shock. As if in a slow-infinite motion, he fell to the wet rocks in a twisted position.
"No!" Arial's scream was so horrible that Char thought for a quick moment that he was back to the invasion day, hearing that same screaming, only it was multiplied by a billion.
"Arial, stop!"
The human woman moved to reach Odyn's body, but Stelia seized her into both her arms, showing tremendous strength in holding the older and more heavy-weighted woman away.
"Get down!" Char yelled, jumping several meters from where he stood, to get to Crong, forcing him down onto the rubles of rock as more loud whistles passed through, all around them.
Char saw small pieces of stone fall onto the ground. He tried to position his rifle for the trees, but it was shot off of his hands by several stones.
"We're pinned down! They're shooting from all sides!" Char yelled over the loud whistling. "Everybody stay still! Don‘t make a move!"
The rest of the team did as he said; luckily they only needed to stay that way for a another minute. The shooting seized, and from all around them Yuuzhan Vong stepped out from the trees, weapons in hand, and with them were these green-skinned creatures; Char looked up to see one of there things walk up in front of him, open its toothless-mouth where a small stone shot out and hit the ground just a few breaths away from his and Crong's pinned down faces.
Char turned his head to see the small handle of new arrivals; he counted at least two dozen of warriors, and six of these stone-shooting creatures more than a small group like there theirs could take on.
All the Yuuzhan Vong closed up on them in a tight circle, leaving no space in-between one another. Their small creatures were heavily breathing from their wide nostrils that were between pairs of red-beady eyes, that blink rather constantly.
"I know you," Arial said from behind Char. He looked at her; seeing that she was staring up, from her laid down position, at a gray-skinned Yuuzhan Vong, who had a line of several small spikes from his chin to forehead.
"Yes, your face bares a familiarity," the Yuuzhan Vong said.
"This is the one who attacked us on the scouting mission."
"Well, the price of your comrade's lives was for having invaded our terrain."
An uncontrollably boiled feeling sparked out within Char. He sprung up on all four limbs, but before he could make the jump for the Yuuzhan Vong who just spoke, Crong grabbed him under one arm, and was able to keep him down on the ground.
"This isn't your terrain," he growled, struggling to get out from under Crong's hold.
The gray Yuuzhan Vong glanced to him, appearing rather curious at his outburst. "We claimed this world in the name of our gods, and have changed it into a beautiful place; quite the opposite to it's former physical condition."
"Excuse yourself all you want!" Arial shouted. She and Stelia were now being pinned down by two warriors, and Arial was struggling to pick her head up from the ground. "You're the bad guys in this war, whether you like it, or not."
Two other Yuuzhan Vong also came to force Char ad Crnng down against the rocky floor, after being spoken to by the gray one, who Char now figured to be the leader.
"My name is Zion Tresma, and we have met on one of my better spirited days." Zion began to walk around the group, glimpsing over to Odyn's body. "I don't intend to kill the rest of you, but that's as long you cooperate with me."
"And what is it that you want us to spill?" Crong groaned.
"Simply the location of all your bases of operations." Zion stopped behind Crong and kneeled down to pat his head, like a pet.
"How's this instead?" Char spat at his foot, which he paid for moments later, with that same foot smashing at his face.
In his fading state of consciousness, thoughts lingered as well. Char felt embarrassed to be blown out cold in one kick.
End Chapter
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"Once you start down the dark path, forever will itdominate your destiny." :Yoda "JEDI CONFLICT" http://boards.theforce.net/Beyond_the_Saga/b10477/17951268/?13
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YodaKenobi
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Date Posted:
8/7 2:08am
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RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 8/5
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Odyn was farther down the riverbank, staring to the direction the stream was moving in for a long while. He did that a lot, which weirded out Char; maybe if he were Force-sensitive like Misael, it would make more sense for Odyn to be the kind of person who stood and stared out like he always had the answers.
Have we ruled out the possibility that Odyn is Force sensitive, cause my suspicions are growing
"It's not a good idea to hope for some big fight. Last night they were supposed to set camp close to a Yuuzhan Vong residency. Even with Misael, they wouldn't be able to fight off that many of them."
I agree. Be careful what you wish for.
There was then a small pop; Char looked over to Odyn, who had his canteen raised up; it was now dripping water from a hole in it's middle area. Odyn stared at everyone, utterly bewildered.
Uh-oh. That's definitely not good
Another whistle breached out - and before Char or any of the others could make a move, Odyn was bleeding from his abdomen, the blood dripping out and soaking through his shirt.
Nooo!
The rest of the team did as he said; luckily they only needed to stay that way for a another minute. The shooting seized, and from all around them Yuuzhan Vong stepped out from the trees, weapons in hand, and with them were these green-skinned creatures; Char looked up to see one of there things walk up in front of him, open its toothless-mouth where a small stone shot out and hit the ground just a few breath away from him and Crong's pinned down faces.
They're so screwed
"How's this instead?" Char spat at his foot, which he paid for moments later, with that same foot smashing at his face.
In his fading state of consciousness, thoughts lingered as well. Char felt embarrassed to be blown out cold in one kick.
Go, Char
Love his bravery here and refusal to give in.
Great post, FORCEBlLADE This is an interesting twist. I'm going to call it now: Odyn is going to be saved and shaped by the Yuuzhan Vong, and may discover he has some degree of Force sensitivity. And he will become Misael's rival
Can't wait for more. Things are really heating up now 
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FORCEBlLADE
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Date Posted:
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RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 8/12
- Date Edited:
8/18 7:10pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
FORCEBlLADE
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Those are big assumptions. I've never intended to make Odyn out to possibly show signs of Force abilities, though. How did you come to that suspicion?
Chapter 11
"I can't believe this has happened."
Before spoke, no one had managed to say a single word in the time since arriving at the caves within what the bushman Vong called the Sarlice Mountains. It had been only a few minutes, but Tilsin it could've been an hour in everyone's mind.
"I believe it," he said almost in a faint mutter.
To his right, Kinsey could no longer keep herself restrained; she began to whimper rather southerly. He looked over to her, she was now leaning her head into Misael, who accepted her without drawing his gaze away from the inside of the caves.
Tilsin looked back to the scene: it was a gruesome one, the ground and walls were bruised and scorched by flames, there was a clear scent of smoke, and farther into the cave's tunnel entrance there were several chards remains that he didn't want to see up close.
The Jorken was destroyed, along with its operatives. There were fifty of them stationed here; a few he knew from the Base earlier in the year before the Jorken was established.
"But the Yuuzhan Vong don't even know about these caves." Uma said under her dampening voice. "This area was left to all their wildlife."
"That's probably what got them to think of looking here," Misael said.
Jiltha started into the tunnel, even though she had no light and the tunnel was quickly becoming dark with the sun setting in the direction behind them. "We need to look and see if anybody here is still alive."
"They aren't," Misael told her, now his own eyes were glittering. Whether the Jedi cried often in his own private time over the losses the resistance sustained over the last year, or he didn't, this was the first Tilsin had seen him do it in front of others.
He figured it didn't bold well to see the leader so vulnerable, but there was shame in being so human. Tilsin rubbed his eyes dry with both hands and shook his head to get himself back in control. He wasn't one to show his inner child much in public either.
"It looks like they burned the whole place," Jiltha said.
"Maybe they wanted to leave a message behind for any of us that came around," Tilsin added.
Misael stepped forward, with no resistance from Kinsey, taking his time with each step. Tilsin thought he heard him shiver. He wondered if perhaps, even after all the horrible and unbearable things this young man had witnessed in this war, which was nearing it's third anniversary, it was still hard to choke in.
Of course, it was always hard, nothing changed about the feeling dread over seeing the results of death-bound fights, but Misael always seemed to let it envelope him. Maybe he was allowing it to happen, so he didn't forget what he was fighting for, and to stay connected to what was lost.
On multiple occasions, Tilsin had thrown up from seeing the terrible results of a Yuuzhan Vong attack. There were things which crept into his mind when he slept, that woke him up sweating and screaming, as if he was still a child.
If he were to survive this war, how much of his normal life would be retrievable?
Truth be told, though, there were still things he still didn't have figured out by the time Coruscant was invaded. Only a year before, he had finished his schooling and gone to school again - only as a teacher. That year was the most unpleasant any educator could have.
The war was to thank for that. Tilsin's teenage students were more concerned over the continuing conflict with our-of this-galaxy aliens, invading their home, and for good reason, but as the New Republic's board of education insisted, the war was an outside issue to the schools, and it's students.
But Tilsin disobeyed their instructions - after many failed attempts at redirecting his student's attention; he started long discussions with them about the whole dynamics of the war: the New Republic's actions at certain times, like Duros, where the Jedi's place in the conflict was and where it should be, and the Yuuzhan Vong's motives.
Now how many of his students were dead, or trapped in their invaded homeworld like him? Their futures and the futures of so many other youngsters were forever altered ten months ago.
He prayed to the Force that any of them were still alive somewhere; either them or his friends, or coworkers. Tilsin was thankful that his parents had retired and left Coruscant a few years back for a more quiet life in the far edge of the galaxy, opposite to where the Yuuzhan Vong arrived, and still a good distance away from the war.
Let it stay that way.
"What are you going to do?" he asked Misael.
"Get the bodies together." Misael continued down the tunnel. "The caves aren't that big, It won't take me long to find all of them. You guys wait here; you don't have to see this."
"No, I'll help-"
Tilsin put his hand up in front of Jiltha when she only took one step forward. "I think he's doing us a favor."
The Zabrak woman sneered at him, but only for a short moment. She quickly seemed to understand what Misael was sparing them of, and stepped back over to the cave entrance.
"He doesn't have to, though," she said, nearly in a whispering. "We're willing to take it, just like he does."
"Yeah, but he still wants to try to leave us a little less scarred," Tilsin explained, without looking to her, but watching Misael disappear into the tunnel's darkness. "It's only a little bit of a difference, but that's what a leader can do for others."
It took him about a half hour to get all the bodies together, laying them all in a long row; at least he didn‘t have to touch, but was able to just levitate them with the Force.
Everyone gathered after he had a torch ready and lit the corpses up, one-by-one. Normally bodies didn't easily catch on fire like they did right now with the Jorken's dead operatives, so Misael was obviously manipulating the fire to expand and consume the bodies with his abilities.
Once all the bodies were lit, the Jedi came back to stand beside the others. None of them said a word at first; Kinsey was the one to finally step up, wiping away her tears, and taking a deep breath.
"We lost more comrades today, but we have to keep moving, or else their deaths will mean nothing. We promise to keep moving forwards for all of you, for all of the people who died in Coruscant's invasion and since then."
When she was done nobody followed after her; Misael kept one of his arms slightly raised, obviously to continue controlling the flames and have the smoke moving in opposite direction, keeping them from needing to leave the caves.
Tilsin bit his lower lip, and looked down to his badly stained boots; he was never much for eulogies; in the few times he had attended a funeral he stayed in the shadows, but things were different now. Kinsey couldn't be the only one to speak for these people.
So he adjusted his shoulders, and cleared his throat.
"What is there to say: you guys were found and killed, not taken prisoner, not tortured for answers, as far as we can tell. You were just killed. The Yuuzhan Vong won't go unpunished for this. We promise to win for you. We promise to take back Coruscant. This resistance was made to fight for our freedom and for our right to live. When this resistance ends, it will be when we've beaten the Yuzhan Vong once and for all, or when we've all died and joined you."
He looked back down to his boots, making it look like there was something interesting about them. He was never one for serious moments. People always saw him a comedic relief, which never bothered him really. So to dig in that deep was rare for him.
A hand came to place itself on his left shoulder, he looked up to see that it was Jiltha's, who mustered a little smile under her sunken face. He smiled back.
"That was beautiful, the both of you," Uma said.
Afterwards nobody wanted to continue speaking until the fire burned the bodies into ashes and died away by Misael's command
"It's sundown, let's try and get some sleep." Their Jedi leader turned away from the line of ashes. "I'll take first watch. We'll leave at dawn."
Even though they would lie back, and probably not make a sound, Tilsin guessed that none of them would be going to sleep tonight.
End Chapter
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"Once you start down the dark path, forever will itdominate your destiny." :Yoda "JEDI CONFLICT" http://boards.theforce.net/Beyond_the_Saga/b10477/17951268/?13
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YodaKenobi
Title: TFN EU Staff
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Date Posted:
8/17 11:40pm
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RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 8/12
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Those are big assumptions. I've intended to make Odyn out to possibly show signs of Force abilities, though. How did you come to that suspicion?
I just feel like there is some very sublt foreshadowing about a Misael/Odyn conflict ultimately and also about Misael having to make some very difficult choices in the future. I just get the sense that Odyn may be Force-sensitive or at least become very powerful because of the Vong and those two are going to face off.
To his right, Kinsey could no longer keep herself restrained; she began to whimper rather southerly. He looked over to her, she was now leaning her head into Misael, who accepted her without drawing his gaze away from the inside of the caves.
Don't tell me this group is going to get captured too
If he were to survive this war, how much of his normal life would be retrievable?
That's a good question. They'll certainly be changed forever.
Now how many of his students were dead, or trapped in their invaded homeworld like him? Their futures and the futures of so many other youngsters were forever altered ten months ago.
Yeah, that's a sad thought
"Yeah, but he still wants to try to leave us a little less scarred," Tilsin explained, without looking to her, but watching Misael disappear into the tunnel's darkness. "It's only a little bit of a difference, but that's what a leader can do for others."
"We lost more comrades today, but we have to keep moving, or else their deaths will mean nothing. We promise to keep moving forwards for all of you, for all of the people who died in Coruscant's invasion and since then."
That was really touching.
"What is there to say: you guys were found and killed, not taken prisoner, not tortured for answers, as far as we can tell. You were just killed. The Yuuzhan Vong won't go unpunished for this. We promise to win for you. We promise to take back Coruscant. This resistance was made to fight for our freedom and for our right to live. When this resistance ends, it will be when we've beaten the Yuzhan Vong once and for all, or when we've all died and joined you."
Hell yeah 
Great post, FORCEBlLADE Sad that they lost more people but I get the feeling it's only strengthening their resolve to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong and stay alive.
Terrific work! Can't wait for more.
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FORCEBlLADE
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Date Posted:
8/19 12:22pm
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RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 8/19
- Date Edited:
8/24 9:13pm (5 edits total)
Edited By:
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Yes, this loss, and once they all find out about Odyn, it's going to tick them off even more.
Chapter 12
The Watchtower team was panicked, and for good reason. Odyn, Crong, Char, Stelia, and Arial hadn't returned from the river where they had gone to stock up on water.
Though Murey was remaining optimistic that they were just fine, everybody else was worried over the fact that their five team members hadn't returned in two hours; the lake wasn't that long of a trip, and Odyn timed the whole trip.
Still, there could've have been a distraction, there always were for them here. Planning only helped them so much in their resistance on Yuuzhan'tar.
Rather than have the rest of the Watchtower team start making search plans right away, Murey volunteered to keep watch at their only entrance for the Odyn's group. It took a bit of persuading, but he managed to get everyone to avoid jumping into any premature actions.
But while standing alone at the doorway, scratching his constantly annoying knee that was healed for the most part but still ached, Murey knew that he and the rest of the Watchtower team needed to be prepared for the worst, like they always needed to be.
They were fighting on enemy territory now. Despite Coruscant haven't been their home and territory only less than a year ago, the Yuuzhan Vong had changed it radically into a terrain, which the aliens now knew and controlled instead of them. Everyday somebody was caught, whether the resistance knew of it or not.
And Odyn's team was no different. Right now Murey was putting himself in danger by standing right in this area. It was never really safe anywhere. he learned quickly that they had managed to create a fake barrier around themselves that couldn't really protect anyone from the enemies.
Murey did keep these thoughts to himself, not even sharing them with Arial, his closest confidant, since the start of the invasion. They knew each other from before, as she had been married to his best friend, Altz, before he died in the attack. Now she was all he had from his past life, and him to hers.
If she was dead, or captured -
The Duro didn't even want to think about it.
All he could do right now was wait, and if no one came . . . he would then look for the best course of action then. Odyn left him in charge, and he would take that responsibility to heart if that meant to be taking over leadership for good.
So he waited . . .
And waited . . .
And waited . . .
And sundown came, with nobody returning.
They weren't coming back, not without help.
Murey went back to the room they were all sleeping in, what was now the Watchtower's audience chamber. All the others were now gathered there to eat dinner, though nobody was speaking, clearly too concerned over their team members who hadn't returned.
When Murey came into their circle, they all turned eyes to him, and he saw their disappointed stares over him returning on his own. There was no need to announce it out loud.
"Tomorrow, three of us our going out to find out what happened them; if we don't find them, we'll send word out to the Base."
They all nodded. Murey felt he needed to say more, if he was going to be in charge for the time being, he needed to be the voice of encouragement.
"If they are alive, we'll find them, no matter what it takes. We can't give up hope, alright."
Slowly, everybody nodded and quietly said, "Yes."
"So it's settled, come tomorrow two of you will come with me, and we'll find out what happened to them, and then go from there." He paused to wonder if he was coming out confident to them, then decided to just continue on. "But right now it's night and too dangerous to be wandering the jungle."
He sat down in the circle, and accepted a ration of bread from one of the others.
"Murey," one of the younger members called, a sullustan named Sonia. "Worst case scenario, what if we do find them, but not alive."
Swallowing a piece of the bread hard, Murey worked in his mind quickly to produce answer for them, and could only find the one that many in the resistance were preaching so much.
"We keep fighting, so their deaths mean something. That's all we can do."
That night, Murey didn't sleep, and he suspected nobody else did either. The entire night, he was playing out in his head everything that could have happened to Odyn and the others.
What if by going to look for them, he and the remaining Watchtower members were walking into the Yuuzhan Vong's trap, and getting either captured, or killed, just like the others.
More than anything else, he thought of Arial. If she was captured, he had failed her. If she was dead, he had failed her. After Altz had died Murey made a promise to his dead friend to protect her.
On the day of the invasion, Arial's husband died from the collapse of the sky tower they were taking shelter in during the planetary attack. Murey woke up after the collapsing thinking he was dead; he rose out from under the ruble to find Arial whimpering over Altz who was already gone.
He hadn't been able to move her away from him for hours, and eventually she would just fall asleep over his body. That night Murey stayed seated beside Altz, unable to take his eye off him, still unable to grasp the reality of his friend being dead.
I promised him there and then, that I would protect his wife.
Now he had failed him. He wasn't able to protect her.
If she's alive, I'll save her, Altz. I won't let the two of you down.
He couldn't let Arial die if she was still out there, somewhere.
So the sun rose, and Murey left the Watchtower base with Sonia and the elderly twi'lek, Canard, taking the same route Odyn's team took to the river.
"Murey, you know if worst comes to worst, we're confident in you," Sonia said, walking right behind him up the valley road. "You'll do fine as a leader."
"Nothing's happened to the others, yet, Sonia, alright." His slightly cold response made her go silent for the rest of the trip.
They made it to the river, and they spread out to search for clues. It didn't take long for one of them to find something - Sonia screaming like a rancor, however, made it clear that she found someone.
Murey and Canard rushed farther down the river where Sonia was standing on the riverbank, paralyzed over a twisted figure.
Murey was very much afraid to look over her shoulder as he came up behind her. The body was facing down to the ground, but by the obvious species appearance, and the people who were in the missing group . . .
Odyn, I'm sorry. I am so sorry.
Bending down, he took off his jacket and carefully turned the body over. Odyn's skin had been pale and rough-bearded throughout most of the invasion, but in death it was surprising how he actually looked even worse.
Of course, this now meant they needed to be prepared for more possible losses. Murey set his jacket over his friend's head and upper body, then took a deep breath and stood back up.
The three of them scoured the terrain for half an hour, but found no other bodies, and regrouped at Odyn's body.
"No sign . . . of them anywhere." Canard was now a little stuttered, looking all around, clearly anxious to start back to the Watchtower. "The Vong covered their tracks when leaving."
"They wanted prisoners," Murey speculated, "but why?"
"We might never get to find out." Canard now looked down to the ground as he spoke. "What are the odds that we will ever see them again, now that they're captured."
It made Murey swallow hard to answer that. "Not good very good."
"How could it be Odyn now." Both men looked to Sonia, who was staring behind her at Odyn's covered body. "He was one of those people you thought would live to tell about all of this to his grandkids."
"I guess wars really don't play favorites." Murey had always made the same assumptions as well about some people in the resistance, and he never really thought himself to be a survivor like them, just lucky.
Still at the very least, the Force could have given Odyn a little extra time to say goodbye to the people in his life. Did he suffer long after being hurt? Or was he gone in an instant? Murey might never get to know, - maybe that was a good thing.
He and Odyn only knew each other from after the invasion. Being forced into close spaces of hiding forced people to forge bonds they would have otherwise not had if this disastrous invasion were never to have occurred.
"Lets get Odyn out of here. We'll give him a proper sendoff back at base."
"I'll carry him," Canard offered. "I'm the biggest, so I'll be able to handle . . . better."
"Okay then, Sonia you take the lead, I'll watch the rear."
All Sonia did was nod, and once Canard had Odyn carefully saddled over one shoulder they left the river and walked without speaking another word the whole way back.
When the others saw who they brought back, and in what condition, there were tears, but Murey went right to work on putting together a burning pile. Odyn was wrapped into a white blanket and set down on a bed of wood that was supposed to be for campfire.
Everyone spoke something about him, short or long.
When it was his turn, Murey kept it short. "Goodbye Odyn. You were an amazing leader, the best we could have asked for. We won't quit fighting until we win or join you in death." He paused for a moment to collect himself, the words were actually taking a lot out of him, "and I promise that we'll do whatever it takes to find the others who were with you, and rescue them."
Just like I promised Altz.
End Chapter
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"Once you start down the dark path, forever will itdominate your destiny." :Yoda "JEDI CONFLICT" http://boards.theforce.net/Beyond_the_Saga/b10477/17951268/?13
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YodaKenobi
Title: TFN EU Staff
Registered:
May '03
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Date Posted:
8/24 7:02pm
Subject:
RE: Coruscant's Stand - OC/NJO Updated 8/19
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They were fighting on enemy territory now. Despite Coruscant haven't been their home and territory only less than a year ago, the Yuuzhan Vong had changed it radically into a terrain, which the aliens now knew and controlled instead of them.
That's a really good point
Murey did keep these thoughts to himself, not even sharing them with Arial, his closest confidant, since the start of the invasion. They knew each other from before, as she had been married to his best friend, Altz, before he died in the attack. Now she was all he had from his past life, and him to hers.
If she was dead, or captured -
That would be really sad
"Tomorrow, three of us our going out to find out what happened them; if we don't find them, we'll send word out to the Base."
They all nodded. Murey felt he needed to say more, if he was going to be in charge for the time being, he needed to be the voice of encouragement.
"If they are alive, we'll find them, no matter what it takes. We can't give up hope, alright."
Slowly, everybody nodded and quietly said, "Yes."
"So it's settled, come tomorrow two of you will come with me, and we'll find out what happened to them, and then go from there." He paused to wonder if he was coming out confident to them, then decided to just continue on. "But right now it's night and too dangerous to be wandering the jungle."
I'm really impressed with Murey's leadership in this crisis. He's making the smart decisions and doing the right things to keep everyone together and from panicing.
"We keep fighting, so their deaths mean something. That's all we can do."
The perfect response from a leader.
On the day of the invasion, Arial's husband died from the collapse of the sky tower they were taking shelter in during the planetary attack. Murey woke up after the collapsing thinking he was dead; he rose out from under the ruble to find Arial whimpering over Altz who was already gone.
Murey was very much afraid to look over her shoulder as he came up behind her. The body was facing down to the ground, but by the obvious species appearance, and the people who were in the missing group . . .
Odyn, I'm sorry. I am so sorry.
No, it can't be!
"How could it be Odyn now." Both men looked to Sonia who was staring behind her at Odyn's covered body. "He was one of those people you thought would live to tell about all of this to his grandkids."
"I guess wars really don't play favorites." Murey had always made the same assumptions as well about some people in the resistance, and he never really thought himself to be a survivor like them, just lucky.
Still at the very least, the Force could have given Odyn a little extra time to say goodbye to the people in his life. Did he suffer long after being hurt? Or was he gone in an instant? Murey might never get to know, - maybe that was a good thing.
I don't believe it. This is some sort of trick. Odyn has to be alive.
When it was his turn, Murey kept it short. "Goodbye Odyn. You were an amazing leader, the best we could have asked for. We won't quit fighting until we win or join you in death." He puased for a moment to collect himself, the words were actually taking a lot out of him, "and I promise that we'll do whatever it takes to find the others who were with you, and rescue them."
Just like I promised Altz.
I think this is a Yuuzhan Vong trick. Maybe a warrior with a ooglith masquer? A clone of Odyn? I can't believe you'd actually kill him!
Great post, FORCEBlLADE Truly shocking. Please post more soon. I've gotta know what's going on!
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FORCEBlLADE
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