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Topic:
Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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Jedi Gryph Grin
Registered:
Sep '99
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Date Posted:
3/13/00 7:14pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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Whoo-hoo!! Great post! I love the way Obi Wan describes the "little things". I really enjoyed it!
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Marie D Padawannabe
Registered:
Feb '00
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Date Posted:
3/13/00 11:54pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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That was a totally awesome story! Such wonderful details...great storytelling..
real characters. Awesome.
Marie
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Marie D Padawannabe
Registered:
Feb '00
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Date Posted:
3/13/00 11:58pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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That was a totally awesome story! Such wonderful details...great storytelling..
real characters. Awesome.
Marie
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Jane Jinn
Registered:
Jan '00
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Date Posted:
3/14/00 1:43am
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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I haven't always been posting, but I've always been reading. Great story!
That's probably what I would think about Coruscant, too. Horrible place! But Obi-Wan saves the day yet again. Excellent!
Now on with the next story!
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Mostly retired now
Just making the occasional guest appearance
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Anonymous
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Date Posted:
3/14/00 2:21pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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On with the next story? This one's not over yet though.
It's like a soap opera - think of all the threads that are hanging around. The rengaian refugees. Mace's mother Sheniko. Who's going to lead the rengaian governement in exile?
I can't just leave all that hanging?
*******************
Obi-Wan had expected the temple to feel like home and was surprised by how strange it was. He was staying in the knights’ quarters with Qui-Gon and the quiet was unnerving. Even their minds, which Obi-Wan could feel through the walls like a hum, were so quiet, so orderly. Though studying to be a Jedi was supposed to be a most serious activity, the lower floors where he had grown up surrounded by the other young pupils had been anything but serene. With everyone so untrained in the ways of the force, there had been messiness to it; the place had been filled with noise and activity; he had been so accustomed to it that he hadn’t realized until now that he associated it with being in the temple. Here there was none of that familiarity, only a sterility and silence that seemed foreign to him.
Qui-Gon was elsewhere in the temple, no doubt meeting with the other masters and perhaps even reporting on his padawan’s performance over the last few months. Obi-Wan wandered the halls feeling a little lonely. He had gotten used to having Qui-Gon to himself and it was strange having to share him. And even though Qui-Gon had always called it training, Obi-Wan missed the games they’d played during the down time on the ships as they traveled. He wouldn’t have minded even Qui-Gon’s horrible tickling trick right now.
He found himself on the lower floors. It was strange to return after such a long absence. It seemed smaller somehow and the children who studied there seemed younger. Standing in front of his old room he hesitated. It wasn’t his anymore. He wanted to knock, but he suddenly realized there was no reason to. It was someone else’s room, with someone else’s things inside. Why should he bother them? He was about to turn away when the door opened and a boy of about 11 stepped out.
"Can I help you?" he asked. He looked so bright and hopeful in the simple temple clothes that Obi-Wan had grown up wearing. It made him think about the years he’d spent here. How carefree they had been and he hadn’t even realized it.
"No. I, I used to live here, that’s all," Obi-Wan said.
"Oh," the boy shifted on his feet for a moment looking Obi-Wan up and down. His eyes rested on his braid with a flicker of envy. "Well, I gotta go," he said. "I’m late." And then he turned and ran down the hallway. Obi-Wan began walking in the same direction only slower, taking it all in. He passed the classrooms, the library, and the star map room and then lingered for a while in the gardens. He’d always been indifferent about the temple garden with its many plants and waterfalls, but now he found it relaxing. Perhaps Qui-Gon and all of his lecturing about the living force was getting to him after all. He lay against the rocks and shut his eyes and listened to the water and soon he was dreaming, pushing leaves out of the way and then seeing endless blue sky.
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Anonymous
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Date Posted:
3/14/00 2:38pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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Menalu had never really felt like an adult before. Or at least, not like he did now. There had been times when he had met with his cabinet and struggled to grasp the meaning behind their discussions of land rights and laws of the land, but he had only been an observer. And when he studied the scriptures with his tutors and discussed the deeper meanings behind the word, he felt like he was getting a glimpse of his life to come. But now he had been thrown headfirst into the pool and he wasn’t sure if he could really swim or if he had only dreamed he could.
In the days following their escape from Yebbis-Corta he’d been busier than he’d ever been in his life. Though the cabinet was patient with him, he was, at fourteen, struggling with the duties of leadership normally reserved for the Divine Prince’s 18th year. The progression followed by his predecessors had been enthronement at 16 and full capacity as leader at 18. But with Dash-te Dey remaining on Yebbis-Corta and with the current state of affairs the way they were, he had been compelled to take on his full duties even before his enthronement.
And the issues were complex. First, he needed to prepare homes and find meaningful work for the refugee families that had come to Coruscant. He also needed to provide a monastery for the monks who had come. And then once he had established a working government in exile on Coruscant, he needed to worry about the specifics of their problems at home. He did not yet understand the motives behind Astrid Stovall. She was fanatical to her cause, but why? He had much work to do there. And what of this General Ruusk who had lead such ruthless attacks on the capital city? Menalu feared him and yet had never seen him or spoken to him. Finding ways to protect his people from attack was his first priority, but how could he do so and leave their spirituality intact. Surely protection from General Ruusk meant counter-offensive, but how could he order such a thing. Many lives would be lost on both sides. It was very tricky indeed and he would need to work with the senate to consider all the sides and options.
As if the pressing issues weren’t enough there was also the subject of the future growth of the Yebbi. Even before the civil war broke out he saw the need for change. His people had become too set in their ways. The bickering that had undermined the harmony of the monastic orders over force sensitivity would be brought into the open once and for all. To that end he planned on meeting with the Jedi Council to talk about their futures. They could learn from one another.
Finally there was the subject of his enthronement, which would come almost two years early. A date had been set for the ceremony. Besides being the youngest, he would be the first Divine Prince of Enlightenment to be enthroned outside of Rengaia. To this end he had invited Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. They would be the first non-Yebbi to view the ceremony. And yet he felt a pang of guilt when he saw that the trunks containing the ceremonial regalia that he was to wear had somehow made it all this way when there were people still suffering on his planet.
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Jedi Gryph Grin
Registered:
Sep '99
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Date Posted:
3/14/00 7:03pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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Oh goody, I was hoping this wasn't over yet!
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Anonymous
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Date Posted:
3/15/00 8:09pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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No comments huh?
Oh well. I think I'm going to go ahead and finish it up right now...
***************
Walking through the familiar halls with Mace Windu, Qui-Gon mused about how he should report on Obi-Wan’s performance. He had survived despite the odds against it and that was something. And he had also succeeded in the goal of protecting the Divine Prince. And yet the operation had been anything but smooth.
Qui-Gon had realized long ago that all students had their way of doing things and no matter how much you trained them, that way, whatever it was, remained a part of their actions for the rest of their lives. Perhaps this was Obi-Wan’s way, to come rushing in at the last minute beyond everyone’s expectations of his training and abilities. It was hard to imagine how he’d survived in the forest without food or water for so long. Despite the odds against it, he had overcome the hurdles the forest had put before him. Perhaps it would be his way to appear to fail and yet in the end succeed beyond measure.
Qui-Gon told Mace Windu everything. At first he concentrated on his duties as a teacher and they discussed Obi-Wan. And then the conversation turned to the Yebbi. The news that it was this culture from which the Jedi had formed was very important. The council had already agreed to meet with the Yebbi regularly to discuss the subject.
Finally the subject turned to Mace Windu’s family.
"It was a shock when I realized who Dash-te Dey was," Mace said. "Very few human Jedi meet their families or even know of their origins."
"Yes, I have wondered on occasion," Qui-Gon said.
"I think we all have," Mace turned away. "And now I know."
"Have you met Sheniko yet? Your mother?"
"No. I have not."
"She’s a strong woman and very brave. I’m sorry that Dash-te Dey could not come. He would have been a very powerful Jedi had he been born into a different life," Qui-Gon said.
"Perhaps. But perhaps not." Mace Windu sighed. It was such a difficult thing to see.
"That is why you sent me isn’t it? It wasn’t because Obi-Wan and I were close to the planet. You diverted us on purpose."
"That much is true. I may disagree with you at times, but you often show wisdom and compassion where no one else would. I knew that if I sent you, you would follow your heart and do what is right; not what the code tells you is right."
Qui-Gon laughed. "You sent us because in the end you knew I would choose to bring several hundred refugees to Coruscant at the request of two boys."
"No Qui-Gon Jinn, I sent you because I knew you would recognize their importance when no one else would. The universe is better with them in it. The council may not always agree with you, but never forget that you are a good man. That is more important than being a good Jedi."
Qui-Gon bowed. "Thank you, my Master."
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Anonymous
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Date Posted:
3/15/00 8:13pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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It's getting really weird.
This posted twice. Perhaps my thread is possessed.
[This message has been edited by jedillore (edited 03-16-2000).]
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Anonymous
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Date Posted:
3/15/00 8:24pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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Wow this is getting so weird. There were no posts between yesterday and today's story posts. I refreshed and then suddenly there was. Weird.
Anyway - finishing tonight is too ambitious. I will post the conclusion tomorrow.
Here's a little bit more...
***********************
The Jedi had agreed to allow the Yebbi the use of one of their halls for the ceremony and so only a few hours before, Menalu found himself pacing a small room wearing his stiff ceremonial robes. He was nervous, though he wasn’t sure why. He’d been required to fast for a day, but he didn’t think that that was the reason for the butterflies in his chest. Perhaps it was because of the finality of the act. After tonight he could no longer be a boy.
As he took another lap up the hallway and back Sheniko followed him like a worried hen. "Please rest," she implored. He thought of the night on the rooftop, and how he’d fought for their freedom in earnest. Part of him wanted to go back there with more people who were better trained and put an end to this destruction of his people on Yebbis-Corta. And there was another part of him that still struggled to understand what had happened, what he had so briefly become. "Your High Holiness, please sit down," Sheniko said.
Menalu turned around. "Why? I’ll be sitting for hours," he said petulantly. Sheniko gave him a look and he found a seat as quickly as possible and sat down. The stiff scratchy fabric was annoying and he fidgeted until he couldn’t stand it anymore and popped back up to resume pacing. He was glad to see Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon arrive. He quit his circling and ran to embrace Obi-Wan and then Qui-Gon.
Menalu had met with the council for the second time earlier that day and told Qui-Gon of the progress they’d made. There would be a regular exchange of information between the Jedi and the Yebbi. In particular, the older force sensitive monks would be allowed to learn some of the Jedi meditation techniques if they were interested. At Qui-Gon’s request, Sheniko would meet with the Jedi healers and impart some of the Yebbi teachings to them. And more importantly, Yebbi children born on Coruscant who displayed force sensitivity could become Jedi if their parents so chose.
He was pleased with the Jedi’s interest in his people and hoped an alliance might form. He knew they would never be rejoined, but an open communication would be a start.
"How do you like it here now?" Obi-Wan asked.
It was a hard question to answer. Menalu was grateful for the help of the Jedi and the Senate. They’d done so much for them and yet he still found Coruscant a little bit frightening. The billions of inhabitants from so many far off planets and the constant crisscrossing river of vehicles all in motion all the time. The sights, the sounds, and the smells were all so different from home. He didn’t think he’d ever become accustomed to them.
And yet he didn’t want to complain. The large apartment complex that had been provided for him and the refugees was spacious and though a little run down, was more than adequate. But he couldn’t deny that he felt the pull of his homeland. The constant distraction of noise and activity made meditation and study difficult for him. Indeed all the monks had complained of similar problems. And he couldn’t get used to the homogeneity of the place. All his life he had looked out from high rocky peaks down onto endless green canopies of trees. And while the endless gray grid of buildings was similar in visual effect, it lacked the life and spontaneity of the jungles below Es-Speeth.
He’d felt the best he had since arriving on Coruscant in the relative calm of the Jedi Temple. He wondered if Obi-Wan, coming to his temple after such a long journey, had felt the same way. He tried to answer Obi-Wan’s question and instead he felt hot tears running down his cheeks.
"I miss my home," Menalu said at last. He didn’t try to wipe the tears that dripped onto his robes, the salt water spreading darkly on the embroidery.
Obi-Wan sat down beside him. "It’s okay," he said, "I missed this place when I first left it. You’ll get used it."
Menalu bit his lower lip. "But I don’t want to get used to it," he cried. "If I get used to it then Yebbis-Corta is lost forever." He buried his face in his hands for a moment, unable to continue. When he was composed, he looked at Qui-Gon. "There’s so much to do," he said, "I can’t even imagine it sometimes. My people need a secular leader now, not a monk. I only know how to be a monk."
"With your compassion and spirit, you’ll become the leader your people need," Qui-Gon said.
Menalu was silent. Maybe Qui-Gon was right. Then Obi-Wan spoke up, "I finally figured out your mantra," he said.
"Which mantra?"
"The one from the forest. ‘We entrust the spirit to the love advocated.’ I figured it out. It means ‘Have Faith’."
Through the tears Menalu felt himself suddenly smiling. "Yes, Obi-Wan," he said, impressed, "That is exactly what it means. And it is a good mantra for me here. I will have faith Obi-Wan."
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Anonymous
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Date Posted:
3/21/00 7:59pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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Well - this is all very confusing with the forum moving around, but here it is - the conclusion...
*****************
The enthronement ceremony was long, but Obi-Wan had no trouble staying awake. It was like nothing he’d ever seen before. The Yebbi custom of intricacy and impermanence in all things was represented in nearly every movement and word. The air was filled with incense and the light of oil lamps. All around them great horns played and drums of metal and skin clashed. What had sounded like a cacophony to Obi-Wan the first time he heard it entering Es-Speeth was finally beginning to sound like real music. He decided he even liked the Yebbi music, once he’d gotten used to it.
Lying face down with his arms stretched over his head on a mandala of intricately poured sand in the pattern of the many eyed protector of the Divine Prince, Menalu tried to clear his mind of the future and think only of now. He felt the monks of the cabinet sweeping the sand away from him so that only the sand underneath his body remained. Once the sweeping was over, the monks put their hands under him and carefully lifted him from the sand. He opened his eyes and saw his own silhouette now made in the smudged remains of the mandala.
This was the final stage of the ceremony and when the monks were done brushing off the sand that stuck to him, Menalu was lifted on a high platform and a large headdress was placed on his head. He waited there while the sand remains were swept up and placed into a wooden box and sealed with wax. Then the monk leading the ceremony turned to the assembly.
"The undisputed leader of Rengaia, the 111th Divine Prince of Enlightenment has come of age," he said.
The group stood and then in unison dropped to the floor in supplication. As Obi-Wan picked himself off the floor and prepared to drop down again, he caught Menalu’s eye and saw him wink. Obi-Wan was proud of his friend, but also knew that this was the beginning of a difficult time for him. At the same time it also made him think of the day when knighthood would be conferred upon him. He tried to picture it, after the trials, with Qui-Gon at his side, but he couldn’t; it was too far in the future.
When Obi-Wan stood up again, the ceremony was over and the monks were filing out of the room, rolling up a silk sash on the ground slowly after Menalu as he led the procession out of the hall.
Menalu didn’t bother to change into his informal robes before he performed his first official duty as his people’s sovereign. He dissolved the regency and chose two Prime Ministers. The first was Sheniko, newly reinstated as a monk and called again by her true name, Dorjing Morgay. The second was Yoshang Rinoché, the youngest and most outspoken member of his cabinet. Together the three of them would form the center of the new Rengaian government in exile.
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Anonymous
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Date Posted:
3/21/00 8:34pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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With the ceremony over, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon stood overlooking the city as the setting sun glinted off the windows and stained the gray walls red.
"It will not be easy for him," Qui-Gon said. "The situation on Yebbis-Corta is complicated. It will take a lot of strength to solve."
"He’s strong," Obi-Wan said.
Qui-Gon smiled. "You would know," he said.
"He saved my life," Obi-Wan said. "I don’t know how he did it. But, he used the force and then I could move again."
"Sheniko wondered how you climbed the rock," Qui-Gon said.
"That was how."
"Do you remember when I first brought you into the sick bay?"
"Yes."
"Sheniko whispered something to you."
"It was a deal she made with me. I said the Divine Prince’s real name aloud. It is forbidden and is punishable by death. Lying to the Divine Prince is also punishable by death. She agreed to spare my life if I promised not to die because were I to die, she would be forced to lie to the Divine Prince about my death and thus face execution. I didn’t want to die and so I agreed."
"A wise choice," Qui-Gon said.
"I thought so."
"And now?"
"What do you mean?"
"These last few months, I’ve felt that you’ve had doubts."
"I have Master."
"There is no shame in leaving. This life is not for everyone."
"I know Master. I had doubts, but I don’t now. I will be a Jedi. It’s what I want more than anything."
"Good," Qui-Gon said. "I would miss having you as my Padawan."
"Even though I made a mess of everything? I almost lost the Divine Prince in the woods and then I was careless and almost got us both killed."
"You know, Obi-Wan, sometimes our greatest accomplishments start out looking like failures. And there are times where we might not attain our goal and still succeed."
"How could that be?"
"Well think about it. You may have gotten lost, but you survived in the Jungle for two days. And you may have gotten careless when you went looking for the shuttle, but you lived through a very serious illness that could have easily killed you. I don’t know of many apprentices your age that would have survived such an ordeal. You surprised all of us Obi-Wan and I’m proud of you."
Obi-Wan had been looking out across the endless cityscape as the red reflection darkened to a deep bronze. With the city’s details hidden in the deepening shadow, it wasn’t hard to imagine it was an infinite mountain range stretching forever to the horizon. Obi-Wan looked away now and turned to face his Master beaming.
"You’ve done well," Qui-Gon said as though to confirm his feelings.
The door to the hall where the ceremony had taken place swung open and Menalu stepped out. Obi-Wan noticed that though his new Prime Minister Yoshang Rinoché walked at his side, Sheniko was nowhere to be seen.
"I wanted to say goodbye," Menalu said. "And thank you. You may have saved my people. You will not be forgotten by us."
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan nodded in acknowledgement but said nothing.
"And to you Obi-Wan. It was a hard journey, but we are better because we survived it are we not?"
Obi-Wan smiled. "I suppose we are," he said.
"My people will always remember the Jedi who helped us, but I will always remember you, Obi-Wan, as a friend." Menalu took Obi-Wan’s hands in his own and bowed low, pressing his forehead against Obi-Wan’s hands. "You have my respect always," he said.
"And you mine."
The four of them stood together and looked out as the last light of the setting sun diminished behind the silhouettes of buildings bringing with it a curtain of night sky. For a moment even the constant rushing of the transports above and below seemed to fade into the background. And in that instant of complete serenity, for the first time in so many days, they were at peace.
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Anonymous
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Date Posted:
3/21/00 8:41pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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And finally....
**********
On a balcony below, Mace Windu stood alone. He heard the rustle of cloth and turned from the spectacle of the Coruscant sunset to see Sheniko standing behind him. He held out his hand to her and for the first time since he was an infant, felt the embrace of his mother.
DISCLAIMER: This story is a work of fiction written in appreciation of Star Wars; to promote the franchise and to keep it alive. All characters and settings original to Star Wars are copyright to Lucasfilm, Ltd. The rest is copyright to the author.
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Anonymous
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Date Posted:
3/21/00 8:55pm
Subject:
Re: Certain Points of View (a JA adventure story)
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T H E E N D
Thanks for your kind comments everyone!
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JobiWan
Registered:
Feb '99
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Date Posted:
3/26/00 11:10am
Subject:
Re: Blender
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Does anyone here know how to make any star wars thing in it?
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JobiWan 8-Þ
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