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Author Topic: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
Jedi Gryph Grin 
Registered: Sep '99
Date Posted: 2/29/00 4:48pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
Whoo-Hoo!! I've been "out of the loop" for a while, and it's so nice to come back to familiar stories and new posts. Keep up the great work!

 

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Anonymous
Date Posted: 3/1/00 2:15pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
Menalu stood in the unfamiliar trousers and tunic and slid his feet into his new black leather boots. He took a few careful steps. They were like nothing he’d ever had on his feet before; they were so stiff and heavy. But the Liberation Front soldiers in Talus City didn’t wear sandals so they would have to do. He placed a small brimmed cap upon his head and turned to Obi-Wan.

"Am I disguised?" he asked.

Obi-Wan hid his smile with his sleeve. "You look different," he said.

The rest of the group was similarly dressed in gray uniforms. Only Dash-te Dey remained in his robes.

"I cannot go, Your High Holiness," he said.

Menalu furrowed his brow. "Why?" he asked.

"I lied to you. I no longer deserve to be in your service." When Menalu shook his head, Dash-te continued. "I should have told you about the dreams, but I didn’t know what they would mean. Don’t you wonder why I called you into a retreat on the morning the pavilion was destroyed?"

"You knew about the attack?" Menalu asked.

"I dreamed about it, but I didn’t really know what it meant. I didn’t really understand. Had I been properly trained I might have understood." With tears streaming from his eyes, Dash-te continued. "And I lied about the negotiations, there never were any. I only knew I needed to get you away from the temple."

"I know," Menalu said. "I felt it as well. I forgive you. Please come with us. You’re my political advisor. My teacher. I will need you where I’m going." Menalu felt like screaming. So much had happened over the past few days that it was difficult to comprehend. To lose his home and now his beloved tutor who had been at his side since he was a little boy. It was too much to bear. He thought of himself a few days before, throwing flower petals at his new friend on the terrace. Had that really happened? Was he even that same person?

"It is I who cannot forgive myself," Dash-te said.

"But, you were the one who found me. Who will be my teacher?" Menalu asked.

"You’ve learned all that I can teach you. I have advised the cabinet that you be enthroned in majority as the true leader of the Yebbi two years early. You are ready Your High Holiness." Dash-te bowed low, finally lowering himself to the ground in the formal supplication posture.

"Please arise, my friend." Menalu held out his hand to Dash-te. He took it and climbed to his feet. "I need someone to act as my ears and voice here. Please, be my liaison here."

"It is my honor," Dash-te said, and bowed his head.

"You haven’t much time," the Governor interrupted. "There is one more thing that I’ve brought you." Laoul opened the last bag to reveal a tangle of blaster rifles. For a moment nobody spoke. "You may need them," he said.

It was Sheniko, dressed in the same drab uniform as the rest with her hair tied up in cloth, who finally stepped forward and disengaged one of the rifles from the pile. "I am no longer a monk," she said and slung it over her shoulder. For a long time nobody else moved.

Menalu then stepped forward and carefully pulled a second rifle from the bag. "There is no better disguise for us," he said. Menalu had never touched a gun before. His only previous experience with a weapon had been with Obi-Wan’s lightsabre just days before. He wasn’t sure what to do with it. Qui-Gon stepped forward, took it from him and held it out by the strap. Menalu ducked his shoulder beneath it and then let its strange weight settle there. He turned to face the cabinet. "We don’t have to use them, but by carrying them, we may save our people. It is time for us to accept the fact that our world is changing and change with it."

Slowly, a line formed and the monks, now armed for the first time in their lives, were ready to make their escape.

"Here is the route to the hangar." Governor Laoul held up a small map for Qui-Gon to study. "Please, protect the Divine Prince," he said.

"I promise I will," Qui-Gon said.

To Menalu he said, "When you reach Coruscant, contact us immediately and we will begin working together to end this occupation. I don’t want to live like this any more than you."

"I will, and thank you for all you’ve done for us Governor Laoul."

Governor Laoul bowed humbly and then turned back to Qui-Gon. "May the force be with you," he said.

Qui-Gon thanked him and then turned to the group. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"We are ready," Menalu answered. Obi-Wan looked at Menalu who smiled nervously. He reached out with the force and said to his friend, "don’t be afraid".

"I won’t be," Menalu whispered.

As Qui-Gon led the group out the door, Dash-te called to Sheniko, "Give E-yadu my love," and Qui-Gon saw tears shining in her eyes.

 
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Jane Jinn 
Registered: Jan '00
6366_Kit Fisto
Date Posted: 3/1/00 2:43pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
Yes, things change. People change and adapt. Great post! I liked the way Menalu had never touched a weapon before and didn't know what to do with it, so Qui-Gon had to help him. Good touch!

Qui-Gon-Torture is 99% as good as Obi-Torture, for me anyway. I'm anxiously awaiting the new story!

 

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Anonymous
Date Posted: 3/2/00 2:47pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
New story? I still gotta finish this one.
The jedi have yet to save the day and it's important that they do that.

*********************

Led again by the Jedi, the group walked in twos through the darkened streets in silence. Dressed as they were, they were hardly noticeable to the passing transports. As he walked beside Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan tried to mirror the movements and posture of his master. Qui-Gon walked easily, with his arms swinging at his sides as though he was out for an afternoon stroll.

When they arrived at the entrance to the hangar, Qui-Gon signaled the group to fall back to the sides of the street. Obi-Wan retreated to the shadows and was joined by Menalu and several monks. He looked out at the entrance and saw several rows of men and women guarding it.

"We’re almost there," Obi-Wan whispered. Menalu nodded. In his head, Obi-Wan heard Qui-Gon’s voice. Ready Padawan, he asked. Obi-Wan turned to look at his master and together they rose out of the shadows to face the soldiers.

They were fired on almost immediately and used their lightsabres to deflect the blaster fire. Connected through the force, they fought side by side as a single entity. Obi-Wan had never felt closer to his master in battle before. He felt the force flowing not only through him, but also between them. And as he deflected the bolts of energy that threatened their passage, he realized what it meant to be a Jedi. As a student in the temple he had always imagined himself as a warrior, fighting pirates and saving princesses. Now he knew that that was wrong. That this was what it meant to be a Jedi. Behind him waited people who he cared about and needed his help, not as an individual with fighting skills, but as a symbol. He was a symbol, part of an order that had served the galaxy for longer than he could conceive, of peace and justice for all beings. He was not a warrior, but a defender. Moving with a fluidity so natural that it was almost alien to him, he fought to clear the way. As the last of the soldiers retreated, Obi-Wan smiled, not because he was going home, but because he finally understood who he was.

 
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Jedi Gryph Grin 
Registered: Sep '99
Date Posted: 3/2/00 6:50pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
That was absolutely awesome. I love Obi's realization of the Jedi role. I want more!!

 

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Anonymous
Date Posted: 3/6/00 3:59pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
<steps up to the mic...>

Ahem. Anyone still out there?
You guys are a hard room. Okay, tell me if you've heard this one before...

********************
Obi-Wan couldn’t read the Talusian alphabet, but the ship’s controls were in a familiar enough configuration. He took the pilot’s seat with Qui-Gon beside him as copilot. As he flipped switches and heard the engines begin their warm up cycle, Menalu slid into the cockpit.

"Qui-Gon, this ship is bigger than expected. It will hold hundreds of people," he said.

"It’s too risky, Your High Holiness. I’m sorry," Qui-Gon said.

"Too great a risk to save hundreds of lives?"

Qui-Gon shut his eyes. He knew the risk of getting involved. The right thing to do was to take the Divine Prince to Coruscant where he could work out the affairs of the Yebbi from a safe distance. To remove people from the planet would only create more problems, both for those who would suddenly be refugees far from their home and for the Senate who would need to find homes for these people. Then again, Obi-Wan was right; as the origin of the Jedi these people deserved their support.

"Should I set course for Coruscant, Master?"

Qui-Gon opened his eyes and once again let his heart decide. "No. Where is the nearest village in Rengaia?"

Menalu leaned over the to point to the navigation console. "Here," he said, "It’s the monastery at Riesling. It is small and there’s a village. The many influential teachings have come from the monks there. The monastery also contains a large portion of our national treasury."

"Set your course for Riesling," Qui-Gon said. Obi-Wan smiled. He’d seen enough death on this trip and so he didn’t mind this final stop. He was glad to be saving some lives for a change.

 
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Anonymous
Date Posted: 3/6/00 4:29pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
Riesling was much smaller than Es-Speeth had been but was similar in that the monastery towered above the village beneath it. It was difficult to tell in the dark, but the city seemed fairly untouched despite the numerous tanks and soldiers camped around the perimeter. There was no room to land the big cruiser so Obi-Wan dropped the group off on the roof of the monastery. Qui-Gon told him to fly to a safe distance to wait and then return in one hour to the roof to pick them up. Reluctantly, he obeyed. He was relieved that the people with the tanks did not try to stop him from leaving.

On the roof Qui-Gon divided the group into two. The eight members of the Cabinet would mobilize the monks in the monastery to carry as many scrolls of teachings and as much of the national treasury to the roof and then wait. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon, Sheniko, and Menalu would go down to the village.

It was a long walk down the hill and Qui-Gon found himself concerned that an hour wouldn’t be enough to get everybody ready.

"Do not worry," Menalu told him, "The Yebbi are a strong people. They will run all the way if that’s what it takes to be free." Qui-Gon hoped he was right.

The village was very different from the majesty of the temple above. It was a maze of simple thatched roof huts that led into a large square. The square had once been a bustling marketplace, no doubt, but now it was silent. Liberation Front of Talus propaganda hung from the walls and at one end a makeshift platform had been built. It was obvious that despite the fact that the soldiers stayed at the perimeter, Liberation Front occupation had begun.

"Wake everybody up. Tell them to pack only what they can carry. They have one hour to get to the roof of the temple," Qui-Gon said. Menalu and Sheniko nodded and the three split up.

Soon the streets were filled with people. Some were dressed and carried light bundles. Others, however, remained in their bedclothes and wandered the streets in confusion. Qui-Gon could feel their fear, but in many of their minds was a resolute understanding. Most of the people ended up in the square, milling around. Very few of them were actually on the road to the temple. Qui-Gon found Menalu.

"We need to get everybody moving," he said.

For a moment Menalu was at a loss. "I’ve never done this before," he said and looked around. He saw the speaking platform in the far corner and climbed onto it. At first nobody took notice so Menalu cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted until hundreds of pairs of eyes looked his way.

"The Liberation Front will take control of this village if you stay," he said, "We are going to Coruscant to try to save our people. There is a ship that can carry all that will go?"

"What will we find there?" a voice shouted from the crowd.

Menalu glanced at Qui-Gon and then turned his attention back to the crowd. "I don’t know. I only know that we’ll be free there." Menalu heard a rumbling noise and saw that the soldiers, curious about the commotion had left the perimeter and were now climbing onto the rooftops as tanks moved in to block the streets. "You must hurry," Menalu shouted, "You must go to the roof of the temple. Now!"

And as though on cue, the soldiers began firing into the crowd. Menalu ducked on the platform and felt Qui-Gon drag him down to safety. "It worked. They’re going." Qui-Gon said.

Menalu looked out and saw that the square was emptying and the road to the monastery had become crowded with people. As he predicted most of them scaled the hill at a dead run. Around them the soldiers were setting fire to the dwellings, giving the population further impetus to leave.

"It’s time for us to go as well," Qui-Gon said. Menalu looked around for Sheniko, but didn’t see her anywhere. "She’ll be fine," Qui-Gon said and tugged on Menalu’s arm until the two of them joined the throng running up the hill. A young woman in rags struggled to run carrying her two young children. She tripped and fell and was momentarily trampled until Qui-Gon picked her up off the ground. He picked up one of the screaming children. Menalu grabbed the other smaller boy. Without a word she got up and continued her ascent.

"Who are you?" she asked Menalu as they ran.

"Nobody," he said, "it doesn’t matter."

At the temple Sheniko guided the group though the maze of halls and rooms up to the roof where they joined the monks.

Qui-Gon looked out at the sky. Obi-Wan should be returning at any minute. He looked around him at the hundreds of people gathered. Many of them, particularly the monks, sat in silent meditation and prayer; they were saying goodbye to their homeland perhaps. Families clustered together tightly, children still half asleep looking out with large frightened eyes. There was fear, but there was also determination and pride. These were people who would not be broken. As Qui-Gon surveyed the group, he had to admire them. They were true pioneers. They had chosen in an instant, in the middle of the night, to give up the life they knew and pursue a path their ancestors had never dreamed of; and had done so with a dignity and composure that was worthy of any Jedi.

In the distance, Qui-Gon saw the running lights of the Talusian ship on its return flight. Obi-Wan was a good pilot and the ship banked toward the temple roof with an ease that demonstrated his skill. Qui-Gon exhaled in relief. It was over. They were going home. It was a surprise then, when he was knocked off his feet by blaster fire.

 
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Jedi Gryph Grin 
Registered: Sep '99
Date Posted: 3/6/00 6:23pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
GGGGHHHHHAAAAAHHHHHH!! OH, C'mon!! You can't leave it there!! Now I'm not going to get any sleep tonight! eek.gif

 

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Darth Scooby 
Registered: Nov '99
Date Posted: 3/10/00 8:40am Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
I've been lurking and reading. Nice story. up for you.

 

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Anonymous
Date Posted: 3/10/00 6:29pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
I'm glad I've got a few lurking readers. Thanks for letting me know you're there.

I get all insecure and wildly bummed out when I write into silence. Just a personality thing I guess...

Anyway... In case you were wondering what was going to happen.

*******************
He had only let his guard down for a moment, but it had been long enough for the soldier who had scaled the wall to take aim. As the tallest person in the group he’d been an easy target and now he lay on his back while the ringing in his ears subsided. He was lucky. In the dark the soldier hadn’t really known what he was shooting at and had hit him in the left shoulder. It had been enough to knock him over and burn through his clothes to the skin, but he would survive. When the pain was bearable, he opened his eyes and found Menalu and Sheniko leaning over him with worried expressions.

"I’m okay," he said and sat up. The burns on his shoulder smarted, but he put that out of his mind. Around them several soldiers continued to fire on the crowd in random bursts. The ship was close, but it was still a few seconds before Obi-Wan would land and boarding could begin.

"Quick, Qui-Gon, how does this work?" Menalu held out the blaster rifle that he wore on his shoulder. Qui-Gon gave a cursory lesson; how to fire it, how to aim, which end was dangerous. Menalu held the gun over his head and fired it into the air until it overheated in his hand.

The soldiers stopped firing on the group for a moment. Menalu turned and pointed the now useless rifle at the soldiers. "Drop your weapons," he screamed. There was hesitation and Menalu took aim on one of the soldiers. He dropped his gun and the other’s followed in kind. Only one soldier remained armed. He grinned and pointed his rifle at Menalu. Menalu stood frozen and stared into the man’s eyes, his rifled pointed at the man’s chest.

The ship hovered above them and its ramp was lowered. Sheniko began directing people aboard and into the cargo bays. Menalu remained locked in a stalemate with the soldier. But, he knew it wasn’t really a stalemate. "If you shoot me," he said, "my soul will be reborn. Will yours?"

The soldier said nothing and Menalu wondered if the two of them would remain there indefinitely when he felt Qui-Gon tap him on the shoulder. "Time to go," he said.

Menalu lowered his rifle and was surprised when the soldier did the same. He took one last look at his planet. On the temple roof were the scattered bodies of those who did not survive the final assault. He would have liked to bring them, but he knew it was not possible. Instead he said a silent prayer that they would be reborn elsewhere as free people. Then he turned and walked up the ramp with Qui-Gon.

 
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Anonymous
Date Posted: 3/10/00 7:14pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
Qui-Gon’s first stop was the cockpit.

"I’m alright Obi-Wan," he said as he entered.

"I was worried," Obi-Wan said without turning around, still at the controls of the ship.

"I know," Qui-Gon said. "We’re ready. Set course for Coruscant. It’s time we went home."

Obi-Wan turned away from the controls at last and smiled. "With pleasure," he said.

 
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Anonymous
Date Posted: 3/10/00 7:18pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
One more for the weekend...

**************

In the large cargo hold monks and families waited in silence. Then, as they felt the pull of the jump into hyperspace, they threw up their hands and cheered. It was the start of a new life, and one that they might not have chosen otherwise. But they were happy to be free, and the Yebbi were not the type to dwell on their problems.

They rejoiced in a great mass, laughing, hugging, and singing prayers of hope and happiness. Menalu found himself at the center of the group and for the first time people openly touched him, shaking his hand and throwing their arms around him. He realized that nobody knew who he was, just a young man who had donned a soldier’s clothes and fought back. He was a hero, but this time for his own merits and not those of his predecessors, and he was enjoying himself. Once he caught Sheniko’s eye, but she turned away laughing.

It was a bittersweet victory. He would miss his home, but he was jittery with the anticipation of his new life and duties. He would someday restore the lives of his people, he was sure of it. But, right now, it was so nice to just be one of them.

 
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Jedi Gryph Grin 
Registered: Sep '99
Date Posted: 3/10/00 9:50pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
Very Cool!

 

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Marie D Padawannabe 
Registered: Feb '00
Date Posted: 3/11/00 12:06am Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
Yes...very very cool! Keep up the awesome storytelling, girl!

Marie

 
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Anonymous
Date Posted: 3/13/00 3:52pm Subject: Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
It's hard to tell how many folks are reading this, but it's all coming to an end.

******************
Epilogue

Obi-Wan looked tired, but happy as he brought the ship down on the landing pad high above the gray city of Coruscant. There were already two shuttles at each end waiting to take them to their destinations. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan would return to the Jedi Temple while Menalu and his cabinet would travel to meet with representatives from the Senate. The Yebbi refugees would remain on board while arrangements for shelter were made.

Obi-Wan could see several men dressed in blue standing on the large pad waiting to welcome Menalu and the Yebbi delegation to Coruscant. Menalu was still dressed in his worn gray uniform when he disembarked. There had been no time for any of them to change as they dealt en route with preparations for their arrival on Coruscant. Qui-Gon had been right; the additional refugees complicated things immensely. However, Menalu was glad he had brought them. Even now, when he thought of the thousands of monks killed when the great temple at Es-Speeth was bombed, he imagined that their blood was on his hands.

As Menalu stepped onto the platform he felt as though his senses were being assaulted. The sounds of so many traveling vehicles and so many people were like a cacophony pounding his ears relentlessly. The smell of exhaust and dust and humanity was almost over powering. And what had looked like a glistening jewel from space consisted in reality of endless gray corridors stretching on forever. Menalu held his head up and tried to be brave, but his knees turned to jelly and before he knew what was happening he was on his knees covering his head with his hands. He felt so out of place on this strange world in these strange clothes. This couldn’t be Coruscant. They hadn’t traveled so far only to come to this horrible place. He couldn’t live here.

There was rustling all around him and the worried voices of monks. Someone knelt beside him and though Menalu kept his eyes shut tightly, he knew it was Obi-Wan. Menalu waited for Obi-Wan to say something and when he didn’t, he opened one eye and peeked through his fingers and found himself looking directly into Obi-Wan’s eyes. For a moment it was all he could concentrate on. Obi-Wan had blue eyes. Menalu had never seen blue eyes before the Jedi had come to Rengaia. Everybody on Yebbis-Corta had dark brown or black eyes. He wondered what other color eyes he would see on Coruscant.

"It’s like coming to Es-Speeth for the first time." Obi-Wan said. "The traffic is like the horns and the drums. It sounds like just noise at first, but it’s not and it changes throughout the day. In the morning there are more small vehicles making deliveries so they’re higher pitched and they stop and go more. And in the evening there are more large shuttles, taking people from place to place. They don’t stop as much and since they have larger engines, make a deeper noise. In the afternoon, most people are busy and there is less traffic, but lots of different types of vehicles so it’s more varied. What time do you think it is?"

Menalu blinked back tears and kept his eyes closed. He listened. He imagined the sound of the many shuttles and speeders was instead the buzzing of great insects all going about their insect lives. He thought of the tiny beetles that buzzed amongst the flowers in the temple gardens gathering nectar and pollen, stopping at one flower and then going on to the next. Stopping and going. "It’s morning." Menalu whispered.

"That’s right. And on the platform there’s dust. We’ll step on it and make footprints. And then later, someone else will land here and they’ll cover our footprints with theirs." He remembered what Qui-Gon had said to him when they walked across the sand mandalas, "Nothing is permanent here."

Menalu opened his eyes and raised his head enough to take a look at the floor of the platform. Obi-Wan was right. There was a lot of dust settled on it. And in the dust he could see a myriad of prints. The sandals of some of the monks that had stepped off the shuttle to look at Coruscant made soft scuffs. Mixed in were the prints of what must have been Qui-Gon’s boots because they were much larger and deeper. He sat up higher and looked at the worried faces around him. Obi-Wan, who had had his face pressed to the platform floor so he could look his friend in the eye sat up.

"You just have to see the small things first." Obi-Wan said. He stood up and held out his hand. Menalu took it and was helped to his feet. He wiped his eyes and put his cap back on his head.

"Are you ready, Your High Holiness?" he heard Qui-Gon ask. Menalu shut his eyes once more and concentrated on composure and strength. He couldn’t let himself fall apart like this. He had to be strong not only for himself, but for his people. He thought of the thousands still left on Yebbis-Corta; the ones who trusted him to lead them to a better life. And he thought of those who had come with him and escaped the chaos of their planet. All of them needed him.

"I am ready," he said when he felt he meant it. The representative from the Senate bowed before him.

"This way Your High Holiness. It is our honor." He gestured to the larger of the two shuttles. And surrounded by his cabinet, Menalu walked slowly to the shuttle. Before he boarded he turned took a last glance at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan standing side by side. Obi-Wan waved and he waved back and then stepped through the hatch to the start of his new life.

 
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