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Author	Topic: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- big question posted 8/1
SpeldoriontheBlended Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 1/23/04 10:55am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 12/1
	That's a very good question, Em. -----signature----- 'I quote too much' - Me Society is always in danger of imminent collapse. That is what sustains it. Beware the power of the elipsis...
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LumiKuningatar Registered: Nov '03	Date Posted: 1/24/04 5:00am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 12/1
	I believbe she made the famous disappearing act... I just hope she is going to do the reppearing act too... -----signature----- Tell a man there are 400 billion stars and he'll believe you, tell a man that a bench is wet and he'll have to touch it... Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam. It's a bird, no wait a plane.. damn.. it IS a b
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SpeldoriontheBlended Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 1/24/04 10:12am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 12/1
	Yeah. It's probably just college. She posted on her LJ on Wednesday, so she's still around... -----signature----- 'I quote too much' - Me Society is always in danger of imminent collapse. That is what sustains it. Beware the power of the elipsis...
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SpeldoriontheBlended Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 1/29/04 5:23am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 12/1
	I killed it! -----signature----- 'I quote too much' - Me Society is always in danger of imminent collapse. That is what sustains it. Beware the power of the elipsis...
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LumiKuningatar Registered: Nov '03	Date Posted: 1/29/04 11:54am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 12/1
	killed what? looks around suspiciously what did you kill? -----signature----- Tell a man there are 400 billion stars and he'll believe you, tell a man that a bench is wet and he'll have to touch it... Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam. It's a bird, no wait a plane.. damn.. it IS a b
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SpeldoriontheBlended Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 2/2/04 11:35am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 12/1
	The thread! -----signature----- 'I quote too much' - Me Society is always in danger of imminent collapse. That is what sustains it. Beware the power of the elipsis...
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Agent_Jaid Registered: Feb '03	Date Posted: 2/2/04 11:46am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 12/1
	is dangling Great. Remind me to stick Tallie full of needles next time I see him, he's gotten me hooked on this. Oh well!! I'm game!! I love it!! Poor Anakin... Poor BEN!!! Just one question, I'm not very far along so maybe it's explained at a later date, but what happened to Mara Jade? tries to scramble up the cliffie ending to read more -----signature----- Wasn't Enough: One-Shot http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=21015893
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ViariSkywalker Registered: Aug '02	Date Posted: 2/2/04 5:03pm Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 12/1
	Jaid: Keep reading and more will be revealed! (If I remember correctly ) Up! -----signature----- Big Sis of Lady_Rae Veil of Shadows (OT AU, L/M) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/28500417 The Dark Fire Chronicles (OT AU) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/11960028 ANGST!
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SpeldoriontheBlended Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 2/4/04 11:19am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 12/1
	Remind me to stick Tallie full of needles next time I see him, he's gotten me hooked on this. You're welcome. Just one question, I'm not very far along so maybe it's explained at a later date, but what happened to Mara Jade? Um... you know Rage has two bionic eyes? And you know that they're mismatched? You know that each of them are the colour of the blade that took the original eye? And that the holders of said blades were women an that Rage killed them both? Well, Leia had a red blade. And the other eye's blue. And Mara's saber, at least in the EU, was blue. (Anakin's, that Luke lost at Bespin). -----signature----- 'I quote too much' - Me Society is always in danger of imminent collapse. That is what sustains it. Beware the power of the elipsis...
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Lisse Registered: Jan '01	Date Posted: 2/4/04 10:23pm Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 12/1
	Oh geez. I feel really bad about taking so long to update. I thought this semester would be lighter and...yeah, not so much. Classical Chinese is kicking my butt. So. coughs Mucho apologies to anyone who's still reading. Not that I blame anybody who ran off. ~~ Lucéa suppressed a shudder of distaste as, flanked by two bodyguards and two handmaidens, she glided into the Imperial Court. The entire scene was a swirl of jarring colors and garish jewelry, all set against the backdrop of lush red tapestries and black banners overlaid with the emblems of the Empire. Amidst the extravagance, her plain black dress and silver headdress seemed very simple indeed. "My head hurts," Jonos muttered beside her. "Whoever built this place should be dragged into the street and shot." "I brought you here for your eyes and your ears, not for your commentary." Lucéa gave the smuggler a sidelong look, grateful that she had not dragged Melody along as well. The less exposure anyone had to her would-be decoy, the better. It was a precaution she wished she had not had to take. However aggravating Melody was, she would have been excellent company compared to this half-wit. If Jonos seemed perturbed, he gave no sign. Instead he rolled his eyes and stood in a fair imitation of attention. "As you wish, your highness-ness." "Do not call me that," Lucéa hissed, and then hastily smoothed her expression as a few members of the Court began to surround her. Among them was the Inner Councilor Keegan Rell, all golden hair and ready smiles. His white robes were very plain, so that he stood out quite effectively among the opulence. Lucéa had no doubt that the effect was intentional. "Your highness." He dipped into a small, polite bow when the introductions were finished. "I was hoping I might have the pleasure of your company." Lucéa's eyes narrowed fractionally, but she did not refuse. "Of course," she said, and moved to join him. After a moment, Jonos followed after her. She considered sending him back, but did not dare. It had been enough work simply to keep even unarmed bodyguards with her, and protesting when one of them seemed to be doing his job would only draw unnecessary attention. For the time being, she let the smuggler stay. Later, however, she was going to have to kill him. Rell clasped his hands behind his back and made his way through the crowd, Lucéa at his side. The dignitaries and hangers-on parted for him without a word. "There's been quite a bit of speculation about you, your highness." "I can't imagine why," Lucéa murmured as she surveyed the Court from this new vantage point. Red-robed guards and Imperial officers lined the walls. A smaller knot of guards allowed her to locate the Lady Rage and her son Mikel -- Lucéa's distant cousin, as Rabé occasionally reminded her. From this distance the boy looked a little like Anakin Solo. The thought of the Jedi apprentice drove half-formed notions of political manuevering from her mind. As much as she detested Anakin, and as much as she wished Melody and Jonos would display some semblance of maturity, she was well aware that they were all risking their lives for her. None of them had been forced to come to Imperial Center. If left to their own devices, none of them would have ventured into the Core at all. This was her plan, however desperate it might be. Rell's voice cut through her brooding. "You seem lost in thought, your highness." "I won't bore you with the details." Lucéa tilted her head to one side, observing the Inner Councilor as she quickly chose her next words. "Why did you want to talk to me? I don't have time for manuevering." "I knew I liked you." Jonos made a sort of muffled choking noise behind her -- one that managed to sound suspiciously like "yeahright!" Lucéa chose to ignore him, keeping her attention on the Inner Councilor. "I assume you wanted more than the pleasure of my company." Rell shrugged. It was a strangely easygoing gesture in the strict formality of the Imperial Court, and it immediately set off alarms inside Lucéa's head. Anyone who could be this loose with their manners in the presence of so many powerful individuals was not someone to be trifled with. For the first time, it crossed her mind that she might be far in over her head -- and that perhaps the undercurrents of Imperial political life were far more complex and dangerous than she had believed. Oh, whom was she kidding? She had known this entire plan was idiotic the moment she had conceived of it. But if her homeworld insisted on making her play the next Amidala, she might as well take the part and run with it. Maybe her great-aunt's ghost could lend her successor some of her luck. "You are in a unique position," Rell said mildly, once again pulling her back to the present. Well, that certainly was not what she had expected. "I am?" "Of course. It comes with being a Naberrie." Lucéa threw him a sharp look. "And what might you mean by that?" "I mean that I'm not stupid, your highness. You are the daughter of Senator Pooja Naberrie. Your mother's sister married into a branch of the Emperor's family and your great-aunt helped found the Rebel Alliance." He smiled, a warm gesture that did not reach his eyes. "You are the queen of the Emperor's homeworld. Your family is joined to his. You are a threat to him." If he expected her to be surprised, he was sorely disappointed. "Your knowledge of my family is impressive, but I fail to see why you consider us so important." Rell shrugged again. She was beginning to hate that particular habit of his. "I don't. You're nothing to me or to the other Inner Councilors. I was merely making an observation." Lucéa met his eyes and thought, You're lying -- and in a dizzying instant she understood everything. The Emperor's throne, so unapproachable from an outsider's perspective, was under attack from within the system he had so carefully constructed. Rell was either in on those schemes or determined to protect Palpatine, the source of his own considerable power. And here she was, indirectly tied to both the Emperor and his subordinate Darth Rage, queen of his rebellious homeworld, scion of a family that had sought to topple him for decades. "You are a threat to him." She managed to extract herself from Rell with a few perfunctory pleasantries and made her way back to her entourage, feeling very trapped. Somehow her besieged homeworld had seemed safer than this planet. At least on Naboo she had known what the weapons and the enemies looked like. "What the hell is going on?" Jonos muttereded as he fell into step beside her. He played the part of an overprotective bodyguard disturbingly well. Lucéa considered snapping at him, but decided against it. Instead she hissed out her words through gritted teeth. "We have a problem." "This entire scheme of yours is a problem, your worship." She balled her hands into fists, shielding them from view with the drape of her sleeves. "If you can't act as a bodyguard for one night, I am turning you over to the nearest garrison and personally overseeing your very long and very painful execution. Is that clear?" It had not been meant as a serious threat -- no matter how irritating Jonos was, she would never turn him over to the Empire -- but he fell silent far too quickly. When she risked a glance at him, she saw that his jaw was clenched and he was staring straight ahead. He did not look angry so much as -- No. Impossible. He was hurt? Not that his feelings mattered to her, after he had so readily helped his father exploit Naboo. She drew a quick breath and looked away from him, dropping her voice to the barest whisper. "I think we have a coup on our hands." She felt more than saw Jonos stare at her. "What?" "Rell is either plotting to overthrow the Emperor, or working to stop a plot. In either event, if he's taking it seriously, I'm inclined to as well. From what I was able to gather, someone wants to depose the Emperor and set up a figurehead." "You." It was not a question. Lucéa smiled grimly. The buzz of the courtesans' conversation seemed very distant now, like something on another world. "I'm the idiot queen of a backwater world. I hate the Emperor, I have no unfortunate powers or destinies tied to my name, and my Aunt Ryuu married one of Palpatine's cousins. I can't be that hard to control, now can I?" "You're not seriously considering this, right?" When she said nothing, he moved as if to grab her and shake sense into her. At the last moment, he remembered himself and clasped his hands behind his back. "Look, I'm as happy as the next person to see the Emperor fry, but you do not mess with these people. This is the Inner Council, not a bunch of arguing Nubians. They might as well be junior emperors!" "Malinza Thanas was one of them," she pointed out. "And I still wouldn't trust her as far as I can throw her," he snapped back. "Palpatine's not an idiot. He wouldn't have stuck a Rebel in that kind of position without a really good reason." Lucéa ground her teeth. "Let me make something very clear to you, Karrde." Jonos stiffened when she said the name, but no one paid them any mind and she plowed on relentlessly. "I'm not a Rebel. My first and only concern is with protecting my people. If that means allowing myself to become a pawn, so be it." "So you're just going let Solo go through all of this for nothing? You're gonna let him rot?" "If I have to," she said, and wondered if she meant it. He stared at her as if he had never seen her before. "So how does that make you any better than these damn Inner Councilors?" Her voice dropped to a dangerous hiss. "And how does being a war profiteer give you the moral high ground?" The expression that flashed across his face, come and gone in a heartbeat, told her something she had never dreamed of. For all his cockiness, for all his boasts and bragging, she was far more ruthless than he would ever be. He did not say another word to her the rest of the night, not even when she had finished making her rounds through the Court and had returned to her rooms. She was glad for the silence, and tried to ignore the sinking feeling that somehow, in some indefinable way, she had just made a terrible mistake. -----signature----- Mal: Do you want to be captain? Jayne: Yeah, I do. Mal: Oh. ... Mal: Well, you can't!
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Sache8 Registered: Mar '00	Date Posted: 2/5/04 5:38am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 2/5 (finally)
	Hooray! Lucéa and Jonos-- as infuriating as ever. Well, I'm really not sure at all what to make of this coup business; whether or not Lucéa was correct in her assessment, whether this Councilor guy is for or against Palpatine (though, honestly, I'm not sure it makes all that much of a difference)... She does seem quite unsettled, though, to put it mildly. Her voice dropped to a dangerous hiss. "And how does being a war profiteer give you the moral high ground?" Ouch. Slam, slam, slam. hugs Jonos (If she doesn't want to, I will) (...even if she did have a point) -----signature----- Everything inside you knows there's more than what you've heard There's so much more than empty conversations filled with empty words You're on fire when He's near you; You're on fire when He speaks. You're on fire burning at these mysteries. ~ Switchfoot
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LumiKuningatar Registered: Nov '03	Date Posted: 2/5/04 8:03am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 2/5 (finally)
	a coup, eh... they should overthrow the emperor, but do they seriously think Palpy doesn't alrady know about it.. He'll most certainly kill all of them slowly and painfully... -----signature----- Tell a man there are 400 billion stars and he'll believe you, tell a man that a bench is wet and he'll have to touch it... Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam. It's a bird, no wait a plane.. damn.. it IS a b
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SpeldoriontheBlended Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 2/5/04 10:07am Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 2/5 (finally)
	Yay! Hugs Lisse and jumps around doing an Ewok victory dance Post! Post! Post! Wahooo! "My head hurts," Jonos muttered beside her. "Whoever built this place should be dragged into the street and shot." Yup. With a very very big gun. Preferably somewhere other than the head. [1] "I brought you here for your eyes and your ears, not for your commentary." Lucéa gave the smuggler a sidelong look, grateful that she had not dragged Melody along as well. The less exposure anyone had to her would-be decoy, the better. It was a precaution she wished she had not had to take. However aggravating Melody was, she would have been excellent company compared to this half-wit. You him really, Luce... Anyway, she probably would have shot the designer. If Jonos seemed perturbed, he gave no sign. Instead he rolled his eyes and stood in a fair imitation of attention. "As you wish, your highness-ness." Hmmm... I think he should say that in front of Han. Mwahahaha. Later, however, she was going to have to kill him. Yup. Definately in love. "I knew I liked you." He's hitting on her! [face_shocked] Oh, whom was she kidding? She had known this entire plan was idiotic the moment she had conceived of it. But if her homeworld insisted on making her play the next Amidala, she might as well take the part and run with it. Maybe her great-aunt's ghost could lend her successor some of her luck. Not good. Rule one. Never ever have supernatural intervention as part of your plan. Ever. Otherwise it gets really, really messy. "I mean that I'm not stupid, your highness." What? Not stupid? But he's an Imp! Stupid goes with the uniform. You are the daughter of Senator Pooja Naberrie. Pooja? Oh dear oh dear oh dear... "You are the queen of the Emperor's homeworld. Your family is joined to his. You are a threat to him." Shivers Lucéa met his eyes and thought, You're lying -- and in a dizzying instant she understood everything. The Emperor's throne, so unapproachable from an outsider's perspective, was under attack from within the system he had so carefully constructed. Rell was either in on those schemes or determined to protect Palpatine, the source of his own considerable power. And here she was, indirectly tied to both the Emperor and his subordinate Darth Rage, queen of his rebellious homeworld, scion of a family that had sought to topple him for decades. Yup. And they're all pawns. Everything's a pawn. I think it's all part of a neffarious plot by Palps to get them executed, myself... "What the hell is going on?" Jonos muttereded as he fell into step beside her. He played the part of an overprotective bodyguard disturbingly well. That's because he's practising for the position of over-protective boyfriend. She balled her hands into fists, shielding them from view with the drape of her sleeves. "If you can't act as a bodyguard for one night, I am turning you over to the nearest garrison and personally overseeing your very long and very painful execution. Is that clear?" It had not been meant as a serious threat -- no matter how irritating Jonos was, she would never turn him over to the Empire -- but he fell silent far too quickly. When she risked a glance at him, she saw that his jaw was clenched and he was staring straight ahead. He did not look angry so much as -- No. Impossible. He was hurt? See? True love. Not that his feelings mattered to her, after he had so readily helped his father exploit Naboo. She drew a quick breath and looked away from him, dropping her voice to the barest whisper. "I think we have a coup on our hands." She felt more than saw Jonos stare at her. "What?" "Rell is either plotting to overthrow the Emperor, or working to stop a plot. In either event, if he's taking it seriously, I'm inclined to as well. From what I was able to gather, someone wants to depose the Emperor and set up a figurehead." "You." It was not a question. Lucéa smiled grimly. The buzz of the courtesans' conversation seemed very distant now, like something on another world. "I'm the idiot queen of a backwater world. I hate the Emperor, I have no unfortunate powers or destinies tied to my name, and my Aunt Ryuu married one of Palpatine's cousins. I can't be that hard to control, now can I?" "You're not seriously considering this, right?" When she said nothing, he moved as if to grab her and shake sense into her. At the last moment, he remembered himself and clasped his hands behind his back. "Look, I'm as happy as the next person to see the Emperor fry, but you do not mess with these people. This is the Inner Council, not a bunch of arguing Nubians. They might as well be junior emperors!" Oh dear. But this is Imperial politics. It's just like RL medievil poliotics; it has knives in it. "Malinza Thanas was one of them," she pointed out. "And I still wouldn't trust her as far as I can throw her," he snapped back. "Palpatine's not an idiot. He wouldn't have stuck a Rebel in that kind of position without a really good reason." Yeah. Does Palps ever remind you of an evil Vetinari? Lucéa ground her teeth. "Let me make something very clear to you, Karrde." Jonos stiffened when she said the name, but no one paid them any mind and she plowed on relentlessly. "I'm not a Rebel. My first and only concern is with protecting my people. If that means allowing myself to become a pawn, so be it." Ah. Backwards chess. I see. "So you're just going let Solo go through all of this for nothing? You're gonna let him rot?" "If I have to," she said, and wondered if she meant it. Ouch. And really, she doesn't want to do that. Seriously. Jedi, especially Skywalker Jedi, are useful. Very useful. He stared at her as if he had never seen her before. "So how does that make you any better than these damn Inner Councilors?" Very good question. I'd say something about RL here, except that it's an entirely inappropriate thing to say in a Star Wars forum (on a fic thread, no less) and I don't want to ruin the thread. Her voice dropped to a dangerous hiss. "And how does being a war profiteer give you the moral high ground?" Badumm. This is Leia lifted straight from tESB... oh feth. That's not... you've not... you wouldn't, surely... wait, no. You've already used that plotline with Jessa. Right? But still, it's still Leia, only the stuff from before is hardline, DarkSithyRebel! Leia. Which really scares me, for some reason. The expression that flashed across his face, come and gone in a heartbeat, told her something she had never dreamed of. For all his cockiness, for all his boasts and bragging, she was far more ruthless than he would ever be. Yup. He did not say another word to her the rest of the night, not even when she had finished making her rounds through the Court and had returned to her rooms. She was glad for the silence, and tried to ignore the sinking feeling that somehow, in some indefinable way, she had just made a terrible mistake. Oh frag. Please let this not be waht I think it is... [1] Infact, if it was Bevel Lemmelisk, the designer, of, amongst other things, the Deaths Stars (with Qwi Xux and that think tank) and also the Darksaber, they probably did do so. Palpy kept on cloning him and killing him very very painfully. Like being eaten by Pirannah beatles. Or immeresed in molten copper. -----signature----- 'I quote too much' - Me Society is always in danger of imminent collapse. That is what sustains it. Beware the power of the elipsis...
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Lisse Registered: Jan '01	Date Posted: 2/5/04 12:51pm Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 2/5 (finally) - Date Edited: 2/5/04 1:47pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Lisse
	Hopefully this makes up for the lack of posting for the past -- er, two months of so. :\ I wrote this out a while ago, but I couldn't post it until I got the bit with Lucéa out of the way. ~~ Ben spent his first night back on Tatooine tossing and turning on Rendar's floor. The clink and hiss from the coolant pipes and the ever-present noise of the spaceport kept waking him up -- and if it was not the noise, it was his spinning thoughts. What little he remembered of his mother kept flashing through his head, bits and pieces of a stern face and a lightsaber dangling out of reach. Perhaps it was his imagination, but it seemed as if her face was less definite than his father's, and as if his memories of her were more uncertain. He realized that the only proof he had that she had spent any amount of time with him were the stories his uncle and aunt had told him, and what did those really prove? He doubted his mother's real name had been Kali Newsuns, or that she had ever really cared about him. It was almost a relief when Corran reached over to shake him awake. "You ready to go?" "Yeah," he mumbled, and rolled himself upright. "I think I'm ready." After a breakfast of bread and dried meat -- and after Corran had bullied Rendar into letting him use the family landspeeder -- they set out through the streets of Mos Eisley and into the desert. Here, at least, Ben was in his element. The landspeeder was in much better repair than any vehicle he had ever piloted in Draco's Well. If he had been a less practical person, he might have tried putting it through its paces. As it was, he settled for tinkering with a few stray wires while Corran steered them towards Hermit's Hut, his cowl pulled over his face to shield himself from the suns. It was peaceful and pleasant, and Ben should have known it was too good to last. "So what do you know about the Force?" Corran asked suddenly. Ben almost dropped his wires. This was not a conversation he wanted to have, but he was too polite to ignore the Jedi. "It makes things blow up, and the Dark Side's bad." This earned him a puzzled look. "Who told you about the Dark Side?" Ben shrugged. "My father." "Your father." Corran stared straight ahead for a moment, hands clenched on the steering controls so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Then, abruptly, he seemed to relax. "What did Admiral Antilles tell you?" "Just that it was bad." Ben grimaced, remembering how well that conversation had gone. Then he remembered his father's promise, too, and forged on with renewed confidence. "It sounds like being scared or being angry feed it somehow, but that can't be right." Corran glanced over at him. "Oh?" "Everybody gets scared. I mean, you and Anakin are the last Jedi. You must get scared all the time, and you're not using the Dark Side." "No, I'm not." He smiled, although it did not reach his eyes. "I don't use it, but I've been tempted. You're going to be, too, at some point. It's the price for all this power." Ben frowned at the wires, neatly twisting blue over red over green. "Did you make things break when you got scared?" "Things?" "Windows. Lights." "No, but that might mean my connection to the Force works differently than yours." Corran shifted one of the gears with a little more strength than was strictly necessary. "It also means you're stronger than I am. There used to be more precise ways of measuring that kind of thing, but all we can do now is guess." Ben made a face. "So what do you guess about me?" There was a long moment of silence before Corran spoke again. "That you're as strong as Rage. Or you will be soon." "Oh." Ben put down the wires and leaned back in his seat, shivering despite the heat. "Is that what my mother wanted?" Corran sighed. "I don't know what your mother wanted," he said. "I never trusted her, for whatever that's worth, but I've met worse people." "What was she like?" The silence lasted even longer this time -- so long that Ben began to wonder if he had said something wrong. He was about to apologize when the Jedi finally scrubbed his face with his free hand and swore under his breath. "I'm not the person to tell you this, Ben." "It seems like no one's the person to tell me anything!" Ben had not meant to raise his voice, but he was tired and worried and maybe he was allowed to get impatient, just this once. "People think I'm important or that I should act like somebody else, and how am I supposed to do all that if I don't know what's going on?" "Maybe you should just act like yourself," Corran muttered, but kept talking before Ben could ask what he meant by that. "Your mother's name was Mara Jade. She was something called an Emperor's Hand -- one of Palpatine's personal lackeys. I don't know why, but she switched sides and joined up with Antilles and Organa Solo. Rage killed her when you were about a year old." Ben closed his eyes and nodded, trying to ignore the strange tightness in his chest. Even if his mother had never cared about him -- even if she had just seen him as a weapon, or as a disappointment -- some part of him had hoped that she was alive, too. There must have been something decent about her, if she had joined the Rebellion and especially if his father had loved her. Wondering about other possibilities hurt too much, and he was having enough trouble as it was. "We're coming up on Hermit's Hut," Corran said, snapping Ben out of his reverie. "Can you feel anything?" The last thing Ben wanted to do was try using the Force now, but he turned his thoughts toward the little hut anyway. A moment later his eyes went wide. "It feels like someone's half there." "That's the Jedi who used to live there," Corran said as he shut off the landspeeder and hopped over the side. "You've got good instincts, if you can feel him." "He used to talk to me," Ben murmured, although he was not sure Corran could hear him. He climbed out of the landspeeder and trekked after the Jedi, running one finger along the tip of his lightsaber. The hut still seemed to be in much the same condition he had left it in, at least on the outside. Superstition kept the Jawas and the Sand People from disturbing it, and he doubted many people from Draco's Well or the other settlements could be bothered with one abandoned building. The interior proved him wrong. Someone had ransacked everything. Shelves were overturned, chests were emptied, and furniture had been moved or simply blasted out of the way. Ben stared in horror at the mess, feeling more than a little guilty for letting something he had been entrusted with be subjected to this kind of attack. Corran swore and dug through the debris for a few minutes before he looked over at Ben. "The Imps must have searched the place after you and Jessa escaped. I should've known they wouldn't leave much." Ben felt that he should be apologizing to the hut. Instead he sighed and stepped gingerly over the mess. "The Imps took everything important?" When Corran nodded, Ben headed for the back room and the basement, unable to believe that his old sanctuary had been ruined. It had been fine a few weeks ago, and Draco's Well had been intact and Uncle Gavin and Aunt Olivea had been squabbling with Sasha, and why had things changed so much in such a short time? He sighed and leaned on the wall, hiding his face with his hands for a moment. It was stupid to get upset over a building, even one that he had a kind of connection with. He had friends to worry about and the Force to deal with, and it seemed that nothing he said or did could change that. His mother had wanted a weapon or a tool or -- or whatever he was supposed to be. Corran wanted a Jedi and the Rebellion and the Empire both wanted Luke Skywalker, whoever that was. But he was none of those things. He was just Ben the mechanic. Or he had been, anyway. "I'm sorry I didn't take care of you," he mumbled to the empty room, and was strangely comforted when, just for a moment, he thought he felt a hand on his shoulder. Corran poked his head in. "Did you say something?" "Nothing important." Ben pushed off the wall and took one last look at the mess. "Now what do we do?" "I don't know. I wasn't counting on it being unlivable." The Jedi folded his arms, frowning at the debris as if it had personally offended him. "I'm going to head back to Rendar's for now, see if he'll put us up for the night. We can get some training done in the meantime." Ben bit back a groan. "Do we have to?" "You agreed to it." Corran led him out of the hut, shielding his face with his hood. "Think you can find some caves that wouldn't have raiders hiding in them?" "I think so," Ben said reluctantly. "The Sand People won't come near Hermit's Hut anyway. The only things we have to worry about are raiders and slavers." He pointed to the west, where the outline of low, brown hills was just visible through the waves of heat. "There's a pass there that most of the raiders take their swoops through. It's kind of dangerous, but if we're careful we can probably find a cave without getting spotted." "I'll let you steer, then." Corran stuffed his hands in his robe's pockets and trudged back to the landspeeder, leaving Ben standing alone in front of the hut, staring at the hills until the glare from the sand made his eyes water. He felt uneasy, or at least even more uneasy than he had before. Despite the fact that it was almost midday, he felt a sudden, familiar chill come over him. It was the cold feeling that he had learned to associate with trouble, and he did not like it at all. He shook the feeling off and followed Corran. The sooner he got this training over with, the sooner he could go back to pretending his life was normal. -----signature----- Mal: Do you want to be captain? Jayne: Yeah, I do. Mal: Oh. ... Mal: Well, you can't!
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SpeldoriontheBlended Registered: Apr '02	Date Posted: 2/5/04 1:45pm Subject: RE: The Circle (AU futurefic) -- updated 2/5 (twice!)
	Wow! Twice? Blimey... Ben spent his first night back on Tatooine tossing and turning on Rendar's floor. The clink and hiss from the coolant pipes and the ever-present noise of the spaceport kept waking him up -- and if it was not the noise, it was his spinning thoughts. What little he remembered of his mother kept flashing through his head, bits and pieces of a stern face and a red lightsaber dangling out of reach. Perhaps it was his imagination, but it seemed as if her face was less definite than his father's, and as if his memories of her were more uncertain. He realized that the only proof he had that she had spent any amount of time with him were the stories his uncle and aunt had told him, and what did those really prove? Red saber? And his mother? He doubted his mother's real name had been Kali Newsuns, or that she had ever really cared about him. Sinff "So what do you know about the Force?" Corran asked suddenly. Ben almost dropped his wires. This was not a conversation he wanted to have, but he was too polite to ignore the Jedi. "It makes things blow up, and the Dark Side's bad." Oh, the irony. Poor, poor Ben... Ben shrugged. "My father." "Your father." Corran stared straight ahead for a moment, hands clenched on the steering controls so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Then, abruptly, he seemed to relax. "What did Admiral Antilles tell you?" Corran being overly suspicious. I wonder what he thinks Ben knows? "Just that it was bad." Ben grimaced, remembering how well that conversation had gone. Then he remembered his father's promise, too, and forged on with renewed confidence. "It sounds like being scared or being angry feed it somehow, but that can't be right." Corran glanced over at him. "Oh?" "Everybody gets scared. I mean, you and Anakin are the last Jedi. You must get scared all the time, and you're not using the Dark Side." How do you know? Mwahahahahaaa! "No, I'm not." He smiled, although it did not reach his eyes. "I don't use it, but I've been tempted. You're going to be, too, at some point. It's the price for all this power." Ben will be tempted? This is not good. Remembers Sun of Suns stuff from the prophecy Uh-oh... Ben frowned at the wires, neatly twisting blue over red over green. "Did you make things break when you got scared?" "Things?" "Windows. Lights." "No, but that might mean my connection to the Force works differently than yours." Corran shifted one of the gears with a little more strength than was strictly necessary. "It also means you're stronger than I am. There used to be more precise ways of measuring that kind of thing, but all we can do now is guess." Ben made a face. "So what do you guess about me?" There was a long moment of silence before Corran spoke again. "That you're as strong as Rage. Or you will be soon." Poor, poor Ben. Corran just told him that he's basically the only one who can kill Rage. "Oh." Ben put down the wires and leaned back in his seat, shivering despite the heat. "Is that what my mother wanted?" Sniffs again "It seems like no one's the person to tell me anything!" Ben had not meant to raise his voice, but he was tired and worried and maybe he was allowed to get impatient, just this once. "People think I'm important or that I should act like somebody else, and how am I supposed to do all that if I don't know what's going on?" Yeah! Go Ben! "Maybe you should just act like yourself," Corran muttered, but kept talking before Ben could ask what he meant by that. "Your mother's name was Mara Jade. She was something called an Emperor's Hand -- one of Palpatine's personal lackeys. I don't know why, but she switched sides and joined up with Antilles and Organa Solo. Rage killed her when you were about a year old." Boom. Now he knows. Mwahaha. Ben closed his eyes and nodded, trying to ignore the strange tightness in his chest. Even if his mother had never cared about him -- even if she had just seen him as a weapon, or as a disappointment -- some part of him had hoped that she was alive, too. There must have been something decent about her, if she had joined the Rebellion and especially if his father had loved her. Wondering about other possibilities hurt too much, and he was having enough trouble as it was. Yeah. But Wedge isn't the dad you thought he was, Ben. "I think so," Ben said reluctantly. "The Sand People won't come near Hermit's Hut anyway. The only things we have to worry about are raiders and slavers." He pointed to the west, where the outline of low, brown hills was just visible through the waves of heat. "There's a pass there that most of the raiders take their swoops through. It's kind of dangerous, but if we're careful we can probably find a cave without getting spotted." Slavers. Aha. He shook the feeling off and followed Corran. The sooner he got this training over with, the sooner he could go back to pretending his life was normal. Poor, poor Ben... -----signature----- 'I quote too much' - Me Society is always in danger of imminent collapse. That is what sustains it. Beware the power of the elipsis...
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