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Topic:
The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *New post by HaiGan*
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Jemmiah
Registered:
Mar '00
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Date Posted:
2/22/03 3:28am
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
- Date Edited:
2/22/03 3:32am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Jemmiah
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The crunch point has arrived, ladies and gentlemen...there are only a clutch of posts left for me to write on this thread, so I'm going to wrap up my remaining plotlines and that is it, I'm afraid.  As I had planned on writing an epilogue, I will postpone this until all the authors have finished their remaining posts (if they could let me know when they've done so it would be a great help to me, thanks!  ). This hopefully will allow the story to come to a natural conclusion without me jumping ahead to the epilogue and throwing things further out of synchronisation.
I'm sorry if that means the thread lies temporarily dormant but epilogue apart, I do not intend writing on this story after February. I'm planning on going back and finishing the epilogue to Lions, Tigers and Padawans, Oh My! Not to mention finishing Tomorrow Can Wait.
Again, sorry, but two years is a lot of writing time and I'm itching to do other things! 
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Jane Jinn
Registered:
Jan '00
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Date Posted:
2/22/03 3:52am
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
- Date Edited:
2/22/03 3:54am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Jane Jinn
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I am wrapping up my story arc, too. I just have to run one or two last small things past Hai Gan, and then it will be ready to post in, say, the next three days.
Two years is a long time. Congratulations to Jemmiah and everybody else for sticking with it!
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Mostly retired now
Just making the occasional guest appearance
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Jemmiah
Registered:
Mar '00
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Date Posted:
2/22/03 4:03am
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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Thank you for letting me know, Jane. I appreciate it vey much
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The new improved Hell's Chance Cantina!
Home for many assorted JA fanfic stories!:
http://www.hellschancecantina.com/index.html
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Healer_Leona
Registered:
Jul '00
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Date Posted:
2/22/03 4:11am
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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Yoda's mansions!!!  Oh dear, I knew Spider would get around to the money issue eventually. Still, I had no doubts that she'd allow Orla to stay!!
I'm amazed that Obi-Wan was able to rein in his temper as well as he did! Kelik was treading on the personal ground of another, JEmmy's uncle or not!! Causing waves indeed !! Obi-Wan's relating how he felt at the prospect of fatherhood had me in tears then you lay a bomb down that Jemmy's father was a bigamist!!! OMG!!!! No wonder Kelik acts as he does!!!
WOW!!!
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Still crazy after all these years.
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Jemmiah
Registered:
Mar '00
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Date Posted:
2/22/03 2:52pm
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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WEEK FOUR, DAY THREE, HOUR THREE:
****************
It was light outside. Kylenn could see the sunlight streaming through the corners of the curtains, trying to tell her it was long past time to get up. An early riser by habit, Kylenn had resisted the natural influence that dawn usually exerted on her and stayed wrapped inside the covers of her bed, cocooned within a twisted mass of sheets
Kryztan was gone.
She didn't know how she had known it, except that she did. Just as she had learned to sense his presence when he was nearby the padawan could tell he had somehow left; not just the temple but Coruscant…far, far beyond…
Most people would have told her that he was no loss, that he wasn't even worth the space he was occupying or the oxygen he breathed: how could it be any other way? With all the heartache he had caused and the repercussions of his actions still being felt, Kylenn could understand why the majority thought the way the did. Perhaps to an extent she even agreed with them, which was why the lingering feelings she still had for Kryztan Harkley left her so utterly confused. There was so much to dislike…and so much to love. It was no fault of hers if others couldn't see it that way. How it would affect her relationship with her fellow padawans she just couldn't guess. Already she feared she'd lost Obi-Wan's friendship forever, and with it that of Jemmiah, Jay and Jasmyn…
Her life seemed as if it were at an end: but she knew it was not. Her heart felt as if it would sunder itself into a thousand fragments: but she knew it would not. All that was left was that same terrible, miserable feeling of loneliness she'd felt when Master Bayleth had died. Now there was only herself. Herself and Master Yaddle. Force alone knew what she would think of her for cowering in her bed, day after day.
It was easier not to think about anything specific…or anything at all. Sometimes, when she felt the burden of her emotions attempt to topple her sanity, Kylenn would call upon the force and let it sooth her, anaesthetizing the pain.
"What do I have to do to be able to let the pain leave me alone?" Kylenn closed her eyes, pulling the blankets even tighter around her than before.
"Accept it. Then let it go, you will."
Yaddle's voice.
Kylenn hadn't even heard her master enter the room. Maybe the ability to move soundlessly over polished surfaces was a trait within Yaddle's species…whatever that might be. Yoda also seemed to possess that same ability of going almost unnoticed, but usually Yaddle did not resort to such methods. She was, above all other beings that Kylenn knew, the most straightforward individual she had ever met in her life.
"I never saw you, master." Kylenn reluctantly loosed her hold of the sheets, folding them back from her untidy, sleep-tangled hair. That was the worst of not having the standard padawan cut, Imri noted with a sigh; she must surely look a sorry mess. Red-rimmed, tired eyes peered down to floor level as Yaddle shuffled forward to greet her properly.
"Your mind - on something else I think it was, hmm?" Yaddle replied, her face smiling and reassuring, yet also hiding a touch of sadness too. "Sorry I am to see you this way, my padawan. Speak to me I wish you would. Worry less I might!"
Kylenn looked down at her fingers, realizing that they were twisting and wringing the corners of the sheet as she listened to Yaddle's words. It wasn't that she wanted to cause Yaddle any worry, even though she knew the diminutive master must surely be concerned, but she couldn't help it…nothing would wipe away the cloud of misery that hung over her. To even begin to explain to her master how she felt in the wake of Kryztan's revelations and subsequent removal from the temple seemed like a futile exercise. Nobody could understand. Even those who had their hearts broken in the past couldn't understand. Nothing in the galaxy could surely hurt like this…
"I'm sorry." Was all Kylenn could bring herself to say.
"Indeed, sorry you are." Yaddle answered in a strong voice that belied her small height and frame. "Sorry for yourself you are! And you should not be."
"Master, please. I know," Kylenn turned her head to face the wall as she spoke, "that you wish to help me-but you can't. Not right now."
"Because allow it you will not, hmm?" Yaddle ventured sharply. "Help you I can, but only if you let me. Padawan Harkley is gone, so spend your life crying in bed you will?"
Kylenn thought about what Yaddle had said. It made her sound so selfish and unappreciative of the green-skinned master's intentions. Why was she being made to look like a villain? Now that Kryztan had left, perhaps everyone would turn their attention on her instead. Maybe they would think her contaminated by association! Affected by the same madness that had afflicted her poor friend…
"It does sound rather extreme." Kylenn conceded morosely, sitting up against the headboard of her bed and modestly pulling down her night attire. " But I can't summon up the energy to remove myself from this room. To tell you the truth," she admitted, shamefaced, "I don't think I can face setting foot out of this apartment ever again. What will people say?"
Yaddle's face remained impassive. "Say what they want, people will - no matter where you hide. Shut yourself away like this and talk more they will! Your fear, unjustified it is. Go on life will. Stop for you it will not. Soon, better things will become."
"I wish I shared your confidence, master." Kylenn found herself screwing up her eyes as the curtains in her room suddenly flew wide open, snapped backwards by a casual force-flick from her master's fingers. "Master, don't do that! Please…I'm not ready to get up."
"Ready you are." Yaddle's voice was firm and uncompromising. "Wallowed in pity long enough you have. Open the window; breathe in the fresh air. Find the courage within yourself to start again you must! Padawan Harkley, to one side you must put. For his sake and yours."
Kylenn stopped rubbing her tired eyes with the balls of her hands and stared at her master as if she'd been Nerf prodded! She hadn't exactly wanted sympathy, but she had expected a little more consideration for her feelings. Maybe, like Obi-Wan had always told her, she was far too fragile spirited, needing to develop a thicker skin. That way things might not get to her the way they invariably did.
Obi-Wan…
Her heart sank.
"Miss your friends, you do." Yaddle observed, her ears drooping disconsolately by the side of her head. "Suffering they are…hurting. Recover they will in time, and your friendship seek once more. For now, patience you must have. Grief has shrouded their eyes, as it has your own."
Kylenn nodded wearily, feeling Yaddle's eyes fixed upon her. It took several moments before Kylenn could finally bring herself to ask the question her master was so patiently waiting to hear…
"What…what's happened to Kryztan?" Kylenn found herself swallowing back a tight, immovable lump in her throat. "Is he…have they…"
"A padawan he remains." Yaddle replied, not sounding entirely certain whether she should express relief or dismay at the fact. Whilst Kryztan's fate hung in the balance there was no certain answers to any of the questions Kylenn might have for her. "Released him the council have, to continue his training far from the temple. Monitored his condition will be…"
"They think he'll attack someone again?" Kylenn chewed at her lip, suddenly finding herself feeling strangely vulnerable. It was all nonsense of course; surely the council and the soul healers could see this? If Kryztan was going to attack again then he had plenty of chance to do so when they were stranded together on the moon, but he had chosen to do something equally painful in Kylenn's eyes and abandoned her instead. Who would he attack? Jemmiah? No, for he would never be allowed within a mile of the girl for the rest of his life. Obi-Wan? Again, with the whole of the temple sitting in judgement then why should he?
//Because he is ill and not in control of himself.// Kylenn admitted sadly to herself. //Could I honestly say he wouldn't turn again? Could I swear it?//
"That risk there is." Yaddle agreed sagely, her eyes like sleepy half moons covered by heavy green lids. "A danger to himself, Kryztan is. Feared it I did, long ago. Saw the way you cared for him when others abandoned him…proud of you I was."
"But you were one of those who wanted Kryztan to be expelled!" Kylenn blinked, her disbelief causing her voice to rise incredulously. "You told me that Kryztan was…"
"Watched Kryztan I did for a long time." Yaddle informed Kylenn uncomfortably, shuffling awkwardly from clawed foot to foot. "Recognized the power that drove him, I did. Like it I did not! Afraid for you I was," Yaddle leaned forward and pointed toward her padawan, "and for Jemmiah. Saw the way he looked at her I did, and so informed the council of my distrust. Too late my words of warning came, after the cantina crawl."
Kylenn found herself shivering. It was difficult not to remember that evening: it was in many ways the worst experience of her life. Her trust in people had been absolute until that day…so much that she was (and she regretted to admit it) more inclined to believe that Jemmiah had exaggerated what had happened than Kryztan having attempted anything so abominable. Even now, in the knowledge that Jemmiah hadn't lied and Kryz had done that terrible thing, Kylenn found her sympathy somehow stretching across the galaxy to wherever her friend was destined.
"I think he cared for her." Kylenn replied slowly, not wanting to seem as if she would defend Kryztan of every crime he had committed. "Genuinely. It was the first time he felt that way about anyone. He told me of his strong feelings for Jemmiah…that they wouldn't leave him alone. All his other relationships had been of the…er," Kylenn coughed, embarrassed, "one night variety. He thought that Jemmy might be something a little more special. But he couldn't work up the courage to say so to her face. And then Obi-Wan asked her out before him." She stared past Yaddle, fixing blankly on thin air. "It seemed to go wrong at that point."
"Desert your friend you did not." Yaddle acknowledged graciously of Kylenn. "Even if of your friendship he was not worthy."
"He was good once." Kylenn said simply. "He still is. I can feel it…it's just that he takes things to heart. The slightest setback becomes a major trauma. He feels so deeply that when things do wrong it's like a knife to his heart."
"Like another." Yaddle couldn't help but point out, the smile slowly edging back onto her face.
"Maybe."
Yaddle cast a quick glance around her padawan's room. It was neat and tidy: everything in its right and proper place. It was little wonder that an organized person like Kylenn was reeling from such a happening, for when her sense of organization was swept away and chaos intruded on her perfect surroundings, she began to lose her focus. A person like Kylenn needed structure and rules. She was not by nature a risk-taker. That was perhaps why her loyalty to Harkley had been such a puzzle to Yaddle.
"Gone he is." Yaddle repeated, this time in a softer voice. "Maybe one day to return, when proved himself worthy he has. For now, content you must be that he has another chance. Concentrate on Kryztan you must not. Look to yourself you must! A knight you will become one day, Kylenn. Good days and bad days you will face: but cope you will. Be there to see you through the worst I shall." Yaddle promised.
Even an old, revered master such as she could make mistakes. In her mind, Yaddle felt certain that Kylenn's strong association with Kryztan had been encouraged by her prolonged periods of absence at the council's meetings. Of course they had been childhood friends and the bond between the two of them had been close, but perhaps her own unfortunate and regrettable lack of time - at least compared to how she might wish it - spent with Kylenn had inadvertently brought her padawan and Kryztan together. That at least was one fault she could rectify now.
"Resigned my position from the council, I have." Yaddle mentioned almost casually, causing Kylenn's jaw to drop. "Look at me like that you should not! Know you that my mind is made up when I say I shall do a thing. Thought this over I have for some time now. Need me you do."
Kylenn's face softened visibly, her eyes slowly misting. It was a big sacrifice that Yaddle was making. Replacing one like her would be difficult, as no doubt Yoda and Mace would discover in due course. Maybe as Yaddle's padawan she had a right to sizeable slice of the master's time, but Kylenn could acknowledge just how much she was giving up for her.
"You don't need to do this…" Kylenn began.
"Yes. Do this I must!" Yaddle snorted, giving her best impression of a displeased Yoda. "Suffer Master Windu's growly-nerf noises a moment longer I will not!"
Kylenn and Yaddle locked eyes, and for the first time since she had arrived home the padawan found herself smiling.
Maybe…just maybe the day might be worth facing after all.
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The new improved Hell's Chance Cantina!
Home for many assorted JA fanfic stories!:
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Open to all: have a go at Star Wars Caption Contest no.7:
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Miana Kenobi
Title: Pacific Region RSA
NSWFF Manager
Registered:
Apr '00
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Date Posted:
2/22/03 3:40pm
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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AWWWW!!! Loverly posts, Jemmiah!
Ah... and now the truth is told about Kelik's attitude. Can't say I blame the guy...
Great job!
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You can't take the sky from me.
He tini nga whetu e ngaro I te kapua iti.
Dyslexics of the world, UNTIE!
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Jane Jinn
Registered:
Jan '00
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Date Posted:
2/22/03 9:55pm
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
- Date Edited:
2/22/03 9:57pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Jane Jinn
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Sorry, I've lost track of the time schedule, but this comes directly after Marnie's last post. Thanks, Hai Gan, for all the help!
This will be the first of three posts in all.
*****
Gunner suppressed a sigh of relief as the door slid shut behind the last of the female Jedi. They’d been close to breaking down after the death of their friend, but none of them had gone berserk. Her blaster had been ready, of course –it always was – but Gunner remembered what had happened when Wiz had gone psycho. It had taken three blaster shots to bring him down. And this time there’d been three Jedi. If they’d all reacted at once – well, a lot could happen in the time it took to fire nine blaster bolts.
There. She’d puttered around the tiny infirmary long enough. They should be gone by now. Gunner stepped to the door and opened it, looking down the corridor. She could see the master helping the injured padawan along towards the hold, but there was no sign of the other three Jedi. Good. She could get a cup of caf in the mess hall, check in quickly on the injured Toydarian, then go polish weapons in the armoury without running into them again.
Coming into the mess hall, however, Gunner growled with irritation at seeing those three female Jedi standing just inside the door. One of them moved automatically to make room for her, but they were all staring up at the ceiling, a fact that made Gunner’s fur ripple with a tiny flicker of anxiety – not panic, of course – until she got in and realized that there really was something to see up there.
“He’ll never make it round that bend ahead,” Sewyel was saying.
“He’s round the bend already!” Emgee guffawed.
“Where can we intercept him?” the boy Jedi asked plaintively, glancing across the ceiling towards the bulkhead. He looked shaken and tearful – not a good sign. Gunner reached automatically for her weapon.
/What’s going on?/ she demanded.
“That glowy Jedi wants to throw himself out the airlock,” Sarge grunted.
/And he couldn’t go along the corridors like everybody else?/
“Must’ve been afraid that the others would want to stop him.”
/Idiot./
“Barmy, more like.” Sarge indicated the front of his tunic. Gunner took a closer look and recognized a soup stain by the bits of vegetables now adorning him. No, this was definitely not good. If a barmy Jedi wanted out of the ship, Gunner would be more than pleased to help him, and the faster the better. She was just about to stomp to the nearest access hatch, pull the man out by his nearest appendage, and escort him to the airlock with the muzzle of her blaster when an echoey voice sounded from the depths of the vent. The words were indistinct, and after a moment’s hesitation, the boy Jedi jumped onto the table, caught the edges of the hole, and lifted himself up.
“What, master?” he called out. There was another dull, indistinct booming, and then the boy called down, ”He’s stuck!”
“Yes, it gets narrow ahead,” Emgee nodded. ”We could set the znakken on him – they’d chew him down to size.”
“Yeah, startin’ with his nose!”
“Or ears,” someone else added. ”Hey, I always wondered how Snip got his nickname.”
Gunner began to grin; the rest of the crew laughed out loud.
“It’s not funny!” the boy Jedi wailed. ”He needs help!”
“Too bad An-Hael’s not here,” Thom suggested. ”She’s just the right size to squeeze through from the other side and squirt oil all over him. Then Garos could just pull him out by his feet.”
“Like a cork out of a bottle,” Sewyel nodded. ”Hey, why don’t we flood the vents with champagne, then sort of shake the ship until the pressure in the bubbles builds up and he pops out on his own?”
Everybody in the mess hall stared at him until he realized, all on his own, the stupidity of his suggestion. His grin faded and he looked down at his boots.
“Your captain is smaller than An-Hael,” one of the female Jedi suggested. Gunner looked at her gratefully for the sensible idea, and reached for her wrist-com.
/Captain, one of the Jedi is stuck in the ventilation shaft above the mess hall,/ she reported just as Garos announced, ”He’s going to try to cut himself free.”
/NO!/ Gunner roared, just as the room went completely black. Almost instantly, everybody who had a lightsaber had activated them, and the mess hall was illuminated by many different-coloured staffs of light.
“Master? Are you all right?”
Gunner’s wrist-com crackled and in a very irritated voice, the Captain demanded, ”What the Cha’Kanga is that Jedi doing down there?”
/Cutting his way free with his lightsaber,/ Gunner reported.
Captain Ball’s voice was drowned out by Essix’s indignant whistles and bleeps, with a final decisive blart at the end. Listening to it, Sarge gave a bark of laughter, and Thom looked like he couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cringe.
“What did it say?” asked the nearest of the three female Jedi, looking at Gunner’s wrist com in alarm.
“I seem to have cut the wrong thing,” came the voice from the ceiling, a little clearer now that there was a second hole in it.
“Kriffin’ right you cut the wrong thing!” Sarge called up. ”You’ve got Essix about to hook up that duct to the high voltage and fry you to a crisp for chopping up his ship!”
”Never mind the ship. It can be repaired later – if you all survive. And the only way you’ll all survive is for me to get to the airlock. I must sacrifice myself to get these things away from the rest of you!”
“What things?” the three female Jedi asked at once, at the same time that Gunner was growling the same question.
“Whatever killed Liza,” came the answer. ”I’ve got them in my head, too! I can feel them, talking to me!”
The three women looked both alarmed and confused. Seamus called up, ”Far! You’re addicted to a native fruit! You’re hallucinating! There are no things in your head! Put the lightsaber down before you do any more damage.”
There was another thrum from above, and a muffled cry that turned into a kind of sob.
“Master!” Garos called up. ”Are you all right?”
“I scorched my shoulder – it’s rather hard to aim when you’re stuck in a ventilation shaft,” came the reply. Despite the echo, Gunner could hear pain and desperation in the voice. She was also aware of the three female Jedi consulting among themselves.
“Hey, cut your own head off, then you won’t have to worry about it anymore,” Emgee called up helpfully.
“Don’t give him any ideas!” Garos screeched. ”Master, no!”
“I thought of that, too,” the Jedi replied slowly. ”But I don’t know if that would help. What if they don’t need me alive? It’s better if I take us all out the air lock.”
Another thrum and more crackling. Gunner saw yet another thin line appear in the ceiling.
“Stop him before he does any more damage!” commanded Captain Ball, his voice accompanied by Essix’s shrill tones.
/Yes, sir!/ Gunner replied, unholstering her blaster and pushing her way forward to the table. When the boy heard her start to climb up onto the table, he glanced down at her with a horrified expression on his face, then put out one hand. He never touched Gunner, but something swept her off the table and onto the floor.
”No, you can’t just shoot him!” Garos cried, taking up a defensive stance.
The tension among the pirates became instantly palpable as each crew member drew his own blaster and aimed at Garos.
/It’s on stun, ya kriffin’ idiot,/ Gunner replied, picking herself up and pointing her own weapon at the boy. /Now give me a leg up, or I’ll use you for target practice!/
“Him? Hold Gunner?” one of the newer crewbeings asked disbelievingly. ”No way! He’s so skinny, and she’s so …”
Gunner threw him a look that malevolently dared him to mention her weight, and he ended his comment with “ …tall.”
Nobody pointed out that Gunner was actually on the small side for a Wookiee. Instead, they all watched as Garos slowly returned his lightsaber to his belt.
“He might be skinny, and a male, and a human, but he’s also a Jedi,” Emgee said instead.
“And?” the crewmember asked.
“They use the Force, man!”
“Remember Jush?” Sarge asked as the crewmember continued to look confused. ”Nya here dropped him on his back with a flick of her little finger.”
Thom and Nya both nodded slightly in unison. Catching each other in the act, they then each smiled self-consciously and turned away a little. Gunner got back onto the table.
“Jedi boy could probably give Gunner a leg up from the ground to the top cannon turret!” Sarge continued.
Garos held out his hands, his fingers interlaced for Gunner to step onto. She just had space to get her head and arms into the vent, and could make out the soles of two boots ahead, along with a more distant crescent of shadowy backside. There was more thrumming and crackling, but when she took aim and fired, the blue circles of the stun bolt hitting both boot and rump, it died out abruptly.
/Like shootin’ fish in a barrel,/ she grumbled as she came down again. /Now let’s cut him out properly before he wakes up again./
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Just making the occasional guest appearance
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Jemmiah
Registered:
Mar '00
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Date Posted:
2/23/03 1:22pm
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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“He might be skinny, and a male, and a human, but he’s also a Jedi,” Emgee said instead.
“And?” the crewmember asked.
“They use the Force, man!”
ROFLOL! Absolutely priceless! But now I want to know what will happen next with poor Biwo...will they truly be able to convince him that he's not suffering the way that Liza did?
Gripping stuff!
***
BTW, as it was my day off TLST I managed another post for Tomorrow Can Wait. Hopefully I can get that one back to speed soon, provided I don't get writer's block for half a year like last time, lol!
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The new improved Hell's Chance Cantina!
Home for many assorted JA fanfic stories!:
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Jane Jinn
Registered:
Jan '00
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Date Posted:
2/23/03 11:11pm
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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Thanks, Jemmiah! Here's the second-last post.
*****
By the time they reached the hold, Quilibet was shaking with the effort of walking, and her leg was starting to ache dully. She glanced briefly around the overcrowded room in amazement, then saw the empty space that Romy was indicating near the door. Gratefully using Romy’s arm, she sank awkwardly down onto one of the blankets, leaning back against the bulkhead.
“Do you want anything, padawan?” Romy asked anxiously, hovering anxiously on her knees next to her padawan. ”I could run back to the mess hall, get you something to eat or drink?”
Quilibet shook her head, and Romy sat down next to her.
”Where are we?” Quilibet asked quietly.
“We’re still on the pirate ship,” Romy replied. ”For some reason that I’m not quite sure about, it’s also got Jedi on board, and they came to rescue us.”
“The ship we attacked,” Quilibet said, remembering.
“Yes, that’s right. You’ve been unconscious for a while. They have a sort of medic on board – she’s done some preliminary surgery on your leg. Everybody tells me that she does such good work that you’ll be up and about by to-morrow. In the meantime, all the survivors from the main wreck of the Kaligari have been picked up. We don’t know about anybody else, but we’re full up, so we’re headed back to Coruscant.”
“Master Far? Garos and Ambianca?”
“They’re fine, Quil, they’re all fine,” Romy said, giving a little smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Something about the way she emphasized the word ‘they’ ever so slightly caught Quilibet’s attention as well.
“Master – who’s not fine?”
Romy hesitated, and Quilibet felt a sick feeling creeping up on her.
“Master?” she asked again.
Just then, the lights in the hold, and in the corridor outside it, all went out, and the room was plunged into utter darkness. There was a collective gasp of dismay from the other occupants in the hold, and a strong surge of anxiety. A moment later, Romy had stood up and ignited her lightsaber, which allowed a small amount of light to enter the space. Quilibet fumbled at her belt, found her own lightsaber, and switched it on as well, holding it out away from her.
“Pirates!” came a strong female voice from farther down. Romy began to walk towards her, but pitched her voice so that everybody could hear.
“I have been informed that this ship has such a reputation that other pirates will not touch it,” she declared.
“Security!” somebody else called out.
“If Security were about to board this ship, I’m sure they’d want the lights on,” Romy rejoined, and there was a ripple of nervous laughter. ”No doubt it’s something as trivial as do-it-yourself wiring gone wrong.”
The anxiety turned to relief and amusement. Romy positioned herself at the opposite end of the hold, so that she and Quilibet were able to illuminate it all, and after a while, when it became obvious that nothing more was going to happen, the survivors went back to talking quietly among themselves. Eventually, Quilibet became aware of a second source of light coming along the corridor to the door, and then a small Rodian entered, carrying a bundle of lighted glowsticks.
“Captain Ball sent me down to check on you and make sure you weren’t left in the dark,” he said, watching with interest as Quilibet lowered her lightsaber and then switched it off completely. ”We didn’t know you had lights already.”
“The glowsticks are brighter anyway,” Romy said authoritatively, powering down her own saber and putting it away. She came forward, but someone else had already jumped up to help, and she had to get out of the way as the human and the Rodian distributed the glowsticks at equal intervals on either side.
“What happened?” the volunteer asked.
“A Jedi went whacko and got stuck in the ventilation ducts. He was trying to cut himself free with his lightsaber, but Captain Ball told Gunner to shoot him, so everything’s fine now,” the Rodian replied cheerfully. ”Nothing to worry about.”
“A Jedi?” Romy asked. She’d turned around to look at him while hearing the news, and now she stood very still. ”Which one?”
“The one that came with you, I think,” the Rodian said, glancing briefly in her direction. ”The really glowy one.”
“And Gunner shot him?”
“Stun bolt right up the backside, the way Gunner told it.”
Romy nodded, and Quilibet felt her heart begin to beat again. For a moment, believing that Master Far had been killed, she was sure it had stopped in sympathy for her new master, but now a great wave of relief washed over her.
The volunteer speeded up his distribution of glowsticks, then turned to the Rodian as soon as he’d finished. ”I’m not so bad with wiring. I could help with any repairs that might be needed.”
“It’s not up to me, but you can come along and ask,” the Rodian shrugged. Quilibet watched as Romy made room for them to go by, looking for a moment as though she were going to follow. No doubt she’d want to check on the situation with Master Far. After a moment’s hesitation, however, Romy made her way again to Quilibet’s side, sitting down and patting her reassuringly on the hand. Quilibet was so pleased not to have been left behind that the strength of her feeling embarrassed her, and she glanced away briefly.
They sat in silence for a moment, and then Romy said, ”I was going to tell you … Master Pashar …”
A cold feeling of dread, exactly the same as the one that had come before when she thought she’d heard bad news about Master Far, gripped Quilibet’s heart.
“…died,” Romy managed to finish.
“Oh, no,” Quilibet whispered. She hadn’t known Liza Pashar well – she’d hardly ever seen the woman – but Zac had spoken of her sometimes. ”Poor Zac.”
“Yes, poor Zac,” Romy nodded. Neither of them spoke what they were both thinking –if he’s still alive.
”She was together with the other three masters, and died right before they were rescued,” Romy said at length. ”I’m afraid they’re taking it rather hard, especially Del-Isa. They seem to have become friends during their … journey.”
“To come so far and then … miss it by so little,” Quilibet mused, thinking of how exactly the same thing had happened to Master Nektanebos. The familiar pain flowed and then ebbed, faster than it had done so previously. For the first time, Quilibet found herself wondering if Master Nek had actually timed it that way, if she’d held on just long enough to make certain that Quilibet wouldn’t be left alone, and had then chosen to let go. It would have been completely like the little Caamasi master to do so. Funny that Quilibet hadn’t thought of it before, but then, she’d always focused on herself, on the fact that she’d failed her master some way, that she hadn’t done enough to keep the Caamasi alive long enough to be rescued and healed.
“Poor Del-Isa,” she said. ”It’s hard to be left behind.”
“Yes,” Romy nodded, no doubt thinking of Tihartien, and they sat in comfortable silence for several minutes.
The next thing that happened was that a group of people entered the hold in a group; two of them holding an unconscious, only faintly luminous form between them, and the rest following. Quilibet recognized Garos on one side of the drooping figure, but didn’t recognize the other man, although he was dressed like a Jedi.
“Is he all right?” Romy asked, scooting over a little closer to Quilibet to make room for them to lay Master Far on the next blanket over. Other members of the group sat down, too, and Quilibet recognised the three women from the infirmary.
“He’s been stunned,” said the other man. He turned Master Far onto his stomach, then took out a pair of binders and connected the master’s wrists behind his back.
“Seamus, what —?”
“Captain’s orders,” he said unhappily. ”As soon as he wakes up, contact Gunner, and she’ll give him a sedative.”
“But what --?” Words seemed to fail Romy completely.
“He was hallucinating,” Seamus said shortly. ”That’s all. He was just hallucinating.”
“Withdrawal symptoms,” Romy nodded. ”You can see he’s not glowing as much as he was when he came on board.”
“He’s not to be given another chance to damage the ship,” Seamus said. ”Gunner will keep him sedated until we’ve landed and he can be taken to the Temple infirmary.”
Romy glanced over to where Garos was sitting at his master’s side, looking even more unhappy. ”He’ll be all right, Garos.”
“I could feel what he was feeling,” the young man whispered. ”I could feel those things in my had, too! What if --?”
“I don’t remember that Liza ever complained of voices in her head,” Gilda said solemnly.
“She had bad headaches, much worse than the rest of us, and vomiting,” Vernice added. ”She didn’t even want to eat anything, at the end.”
“Far had a good appetite,” Romy remembered out loud. ”And he didn’t complain of headaches at all.”
“No,” Garos affirmed, taking hope and sitting up a little straighter. ”No, he didn’t. And he never once threw up – he ate really well these last few days.”
“So it was all just the effects of withdrawal,” Romy smiled.
Garos nodded, looking relieved, and Quilibet felt herself smiling as well, until she glanced over to see Del-Isa shaking with silent sobs, a tear glistening on her cheek. Immediately, she began to twist and turn, trying to get up, but the immobilizer on her leg made it all but impossible.
“Quil?” asked Romy. ”Do you need me to help you to the refresher?”
“I wanted to talk to Master Sidatu,” Quilibet said.
Del-Isa looked up, rubbed her cheek with her sleeve, then forced a smile in Quilibet’s direction and said huskily, ”It’s all right, Quilibet, I’ll come to you.”
There was a bit of shuffling as everybody scooted over to make room for her to settle down between Quilibet and Romy. Garos grabbed the blanket that Far was resting on, and simply pulled him over one space. When Del-Isa was finally seated, Quilibet patted her arm consolingly and said, ”I’m sorry about Master Pashar.”
Del-Isa swallowed once, then nodded. ”We became friends here.”
Quilibet shut her eyes and concentrated on the Force, sending it to the older woman next to her.
“Thank you,” Del-Isa said simply.
“Don’t wear yourself out, Quil,” said Romy, looking concernedly around Del-Isa.
“I won’t, master.”
Del-Isa lifted one eyebrow. ”You two seem to have become friends as well.”
“Yes,” Quilibet said happily. After a moment, she added, ”My dream did come true, you know. I did see Romy laying on the ground, looking like she was dead. But she wasn’t. She was only unconscious. I tried to help her – I sort of bonded with her by accident, but then it was all right. I didn’t mind it.”
“I’m so glad,” Del-Isa said, smiling a real smile now and patting Quilibet gently on the leg.
“Blast,” said Romy suddenly, and both Quilibet and Del-Isa looked up in surprise.
“Ambianca,” Romy explained. ”If Far’s been suffering from withdrawal, I’ll bet Ambianca is, too! I should have thought of it earlier.”
“Where is she?” Quilibet asked, looking around the crowded hold.
“I don’t know,” Romy said as she stood up. ”Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her around for a while. I’d better go check and make sure she’s all right, and not causing any problems.”
Romy went out of the hold. It took a bit of hunting and finally quite a bit of help from one of the cabin boys to find Ambianca, but at long last, Romy came upon her in an out-of-the way corridor of the ship, sitting between two large cages of rodents.
“Bianca?” Romy asked gently.
Ambianca raised her head, looking confused.
“How are you doing?” Romy crouched down to eye level.
“Nobody loves me,” Ambianca sighed.
“Bianca, that’s not true.” Romy felt a twinge of guilt for leaving the girl alone for so long, but then, there’d been Quilibet to worry about. And she’d thought that Ambianca was getting on well enough with the pirates.
“Everybody hates me,” Ambianca went on, sounding almost like she was singing.
“We don’t hate you.”
“I think I’ll go eat wo-orms,” the girl continued, definitely singing now.
“Uh …” Romy stopped and considered, then extended one arm. ”That’s a good idea. Let’s get you into the mess hall and give you something to eat.”
“Big fat juicy ones,” Ambianca went on. To Romy’s surprise, she opened one of the cages as she sang, and grabbed the largest of the znakken around the middle as though to pick it up.
“Teenie weenie tiny ones …” Ambianca let go of the first rodent and reached for another one which was, Romy had to admit, slightly smaller, but which could hardly qualify as “teenie weenie”.
Ambianca hefted the znakke out of the cage and held it in both hands, staring at it intently as it tried frantically to escape her grip or at least bite her firmly in the finger. Her voice was getting louder as she continued to sing, ”Golly how they wiggle and squi-irm!”
Romy was aware of somebody coming up behind her, and risked a glance. It was Gunner. Obviously, the cabin boy from whom she’d asked directions had gone straight to the Chief Weapons Officer with news of a second Jedi about to go barmy. In his place, Romy considered, she’d have done the same thing. She stood up and stepped back a bit, turning just enough to see that Gunner was holding a capped syringe in one hand, and her blaster in the other.
“I’ll chop off their heads and squeeze out the juice …” Ambianca was getting to her feet now.
I don’t remember that the song went like THAT, Romy thought to herself in alarm.
“And throw their tails away …”As soon as Ambianca was up, she shifted her grip on the rodent, managing to grip it by the tail and let go with one hand without dropping it completely. The animal dangled headdown, squirming and lashing out with its claws extended. Seeing Ambianca’s arm move towards her belt and fearing that she was reaching for her lightsaber in order to fit actions to words, Romy grabbed Ambianca’s free arm and twisted her down to the floor in a Jedi technique, holding her tightly. The znakke escaped, shooting away across the floor in the opposite direction of the cages. Avoiding it, Gunner lumbered closer, holstering her blaster, then removed the protective cap from the syringe and jammed the needle straight through Ambianca’s trousers into her left buttock.
“My worm, my worm, you let it escape, now I can’t eat it, and everybody will still hate me,” Ambianca cried. A moment later, her eyes closed and she relaxed completely. Romy waited thirty seconds, then loosened her grip somewhat, and finally let go altogether.
Gunner growled something, then reached for the girl and swung her up over her shoulder. As the Wookiee walked down the corridor, carrying her burden towards the hold, Romy followed, reflecting on the fact that both Far and Ambianca had shown the inside of their souls in their reactions to their hallucinations. Far had been ready to sacrifice himself to save others, but poor Ambianca had been desperate for – for what? Attention? Somehow, Romy didn’t think so. It was more like love, affection, or even just acceptance. Romy sighed, wondering if Sal-Fina Falmar had survived the crash, and almost found herself hoping that she hadn’t.
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Mostly retired now
Just making the occasional guest appearance
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imzadi
Registered:
Sep '00
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Date Posted:
2/24/03 5:18am
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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Excellent posts! I really enjoyed those. I have one more post and then I'm done.
*slinks back into the shadows*
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"Another happy landing."
"I have failed you, Anakin, I have failed you."
~ Obi-Wan
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Jemmiah
Registered:
Mar '00
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Date Posted:
2/24/03 5:42am
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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"Romy sighed, wondering if Sal-Fina Falmar had survived the crash, and almost found herself hoping that she hadn’t."
What a wonderful last line! *g*
Poor Far, with his backside stunned by the shot! Glad that he's only going through withdrawl, and won't go the same way as Liza. I liked Quilibet's concern for Del-Isa, comparing it with her own grief. But the highlight was definitely the song at the end...it brought back happy memories of how I loved to torture my sister with that during a long car journey! And as for wanting to be loved, Ambianca might have a surprise coming if she meets up with the new improved Sal-Fina...
Really entertaining post!
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The new improved Hell's Chance Cantina!
Home for many assorted JA fanfic stories!:
http://www.hellschancecantina.com/index.html
Open to all: have a go at Star Wars Caption Contest no.7:
http://www.hellschancecantina.com/Caption_comp.html
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Healer_Leona
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Jul '00
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Date Posted:
2/24/03 6:44am
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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I felt bad as the girl sat and contemplated her life. Klyenn is very lucky to have Yaddle as her Master... kind and very wise. I loved how Yaddle got Klyenn to smile ther at the end!- Fabulous Jem!
I chuckled with Gunner being glad the Jedi would be gone and worrying what would happen should the three female go psycho as Wizard once did and that flicker of anxiety not panic of course when she saw them staring up at the ceiling!! Though it is a tense situation I couldn't help but find the suggestions of oil and champagne amusing along with forgetting the powers a Jedi has!!
“Poor Del-Isa,” she said. ”It’s hard to be left behind.” -- oh my... that one ssentence left me in tears. Wow... Romy's thoughts of Sal-Fina certainly show who she blames for Ambianca's troubles.
Jane, what can I say, those posts were paramount!!
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Still crazy after all these years.
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mouse2
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Oct '99
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Date Posted:
2/24/03 7:14am
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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I'm glad that Yaddle went in basically kicking Kylenn out of bed to get her to stop feeling sorry for herself. I really think she needed that, and especially learning that Yaddle was now going to spend more time with her helping her get over Kryztan. Then again Mace's nerf noises would drive anyone insane! 
Wonderful Jem!
Far is certainly keeping everyone on their toes. Glad to see, even after a few false starts, that Gunner was able to get him under control.
I think Quilibet has really matured. I love that she and Romy have bonded so much. And add the fact that she comforted Dal-Isa when the soul healer needed it.
I have a feeling that Ambiancia and Sal-Fina will have a lot of catching up to do. Which they both desperately need!
Fabulous posts Jane!
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Want to know what ANTAR and TLST are? Visit Hell's Chance! http://www.hellschancecantina.com Proud Master to Lola64! I've gone into lurking mode... If you need me feel free to PM me...
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Jane Jinn
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Jan '00
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Date Posted:
2/24/03 11:39am
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
- Date Edited:
2/27/03 11:09pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Jane Jinn
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Thanks for the kind words, everybody. I didn't expect so many replies!
Well, this is it, the last post for my characters. My story arc is finished, and any other characters are now free to go back to their own authors.
*****
Week Four, Day Four (or whenever is best for Jemmiah)
The Dawn Raider had landed at long last in the Temple hangar, and everybody was disembarking. Knowing that she would slow everybody else down because of her injured leg, Quilibet had hung back in the hold, watching the rest of the sentient beings flow eagerly in the direction of civilization. Garos had come with a stretcher for his master, and one for Ambianca as well, and the three masters had divided themselves up to help carry both sleeping Jedi away to the infirmary. They had stopped glowing by now, and looked rather rumpled, but otherwise peaceful. After hearing all about their escapades during withdrawal, Quilibet wondered what they would be like when they woke up.
Romy had stayed at Quilibet’s side as the others went by, and when only the two of them were left, she offered Quilibet her arm.
“Ready to go home, padawan?”
“Ready to go home,” Quilibet repeated happily, struggling upright. As they moved slowly out of the hold, she asked, ”Master, could you make that casserole again one time?”
“That breakfast casserole? I thought you didn’t like it,” Romy replied.
“I did like it – I just didn’t want to admit it.”
Romy laughed and gave her shoulders a squeeze. ”I’ll make it as soon as we get home, then.”
They grinned at each other, and continued their journey together.
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Jemmiah
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Mar '00
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Date Posted:
2/24/03 1:26pm
Subject:
RE: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (JA): *Author announcement 22nd Feb*
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LOL! So she admitted to liking the casserole! I like how close these two have become. Forged in the fire, so to speak!
Well done Jane!
**********
WEEK FOUR, DAY THREE, HOUR THREE:
Obi-Wan had been torn between duty and common sense.
Duty of course dictated that he ought to stay as close to his stricken master as he possibly could, or if that was not possible wait loyally for news of his condition, whatever it may be. Common sense informed him that leaving Kelik and Jemmiah together in her room was not the smartest of ideas, and so in the end he had cheerfully abandoned Qui-Gon to his fate, secure in the knowledge that in his current state he wasn't going anywhere in a hurry.
Kelik on the other hand…
He was reluctant to just simply lead the man to where she lay, not without letting her know in advance that he was about to put in an appearance. Besides, there were one or two matters that Obi-Wan needed to get straight in his head before they turned up on her doorstep, surprising both Evla and her in the process.
"Mister Mathers," Obi-Wan swept his robe behind him from the hip not, as Jemmiah would have said, to look swish but to enable him to keep stride with his taller companion, "I regret to ask, but have you told Jemmiah about her father? About what he did?"
For a while Kelik said nothing, and Obi-Wan began to wonder if he would get any kind of response at all.
"I DIDN'T tell her." Kelik kept looking straight ahead as they marched, refusing to look Obi-Wan in the eye. "But she did find out. We got into a bit of an argument about it…quite a heated one. I rather expected that she would be distraught at the news but far from it, she seemed delighted to discover she had family elsewhere on the planet she'd never known about!"
"Natural curiosity?" Obi-Wan suggested, surprised all the same at her reaction if what Kelik said was true.
"She kept asking me if we could visit them…if I knew anything about them. What their names were, how old they were, did I have an address…well, I wasn't having that! Joel Gleshan was nothing but trouble the moment my sister set eyes on him. Not evil perhaps, but…trouble. Do you think I'd let her mix with the likes of him? More of the same brood, from the same viper?"
Obi-Wan very nearly pointed out that Jemmiah herself was a Gleshan and not a Mathers, that the 'viper' he was so intent on attacking was her father too, a fact he seemed to be overlooking in his claim to righteousness. And Jemmiah's relatives…siblings, one should call them, shouldn't really be slandered for the sins of their father. Kelik however was obviously not in a reasonable mood, and Obi-Wan was left with the impression that the subject had been boiling away within him for many a year without much of a chance to vent. Now that he had that chance, he was giving it all he had, and then some!
"She resented the fact that I put my foot down the way that I did, and that I wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know. That was why she ran away…"
Now THAT made a lot of sense. Always Obi-Wan had wondered why she'd done such an idiotic thing. He'd assumed at the time it was some sort of continuation of the dreaded Mortimer incident and that Kelik, like Qui-Gon before him, had argued as a result. Now it seemed that there had been more to the affair than first met the eye. He wondered if Jemmiah had ever told Qui-Gon about her real father, and about the new family she must surely have longed to see…
"Jemmiah never mentioned it to me again. I assumed that she'd given up on the idea and seen it for the unnecessary and unpleasant complication that it was." Kelik added, not wishing to elaborate any further. So, yes: she does know. And I'd be very much obliged to you if you'd not mention it to her again. Please?" Kelik stopped and looked at the padawan with a great deal of uncertainty, almost fear. "I don't want it brought up again. I think she might find it distressing."
//As would you.// Obi-Wan found himself thinking, his naturally suspicious nature working overtime. //Because it might put the idea back into her head…that's if she really HAS forgotten it in the first place. And knowing Jemmiah, I would say that is highly unlikely//
"I won't mention it to her." Obi-Wan promised sincerely, trying to re-direct Kelik tactfully in the right direction. So busy had the man been in charging ahead that they'd all but gone round in circles ever since they'd come out the turbo lift. "She has enough to think about as it is. Especially when she finds out that my master is a patient, like herself! There won't be a Gundark strong enough to stop her from disconnecting herself from those wires and tearing up the infirmary, searching for him."
Kelik looked rather alarmed, his dark grey eyebrows taking a rapid hike towards his brow.
"Can't we just avoid telling her that?" he suggested hopefully. "I mean, if it's for her own good?"
"She'll wonder why he's not come to visit. Then she'll smell a very large vrelt and demand to know what's up. She's not stupid, especially where Qui-Gon is concerned. Evla will have to sit on her bed to get her to stay put!" Obi-Wan countered, effectively crushing Kelik's idea. "Believe me, she'll be happier knowing the truth than having it kept from her; all that will do is allow her to imagine even worse scenarios."
Obi-Wan looked about him, taking his time to make sure he had chosen the correct route to Jemmiah's room. He had a lot of memories about the infirmary, and to be fair the vast majority of them had not been pleasant. The only enjoyable recollections that sprung instantly to mind had been the time where he and Jemmy had sneaked the privacy curtains around her bed on the evening of the cantina crawl. Oh, and the unusual incident when Jemmy and Padawan Giana had physically fought over him, rolling about in the infirmary corridor…this corridor, to be precise.
Despite the inappropriateness of the moment, Obi-Wan couldn't help but chuckle.
"What is it?" Kelik frowned.
"Oh," Obi-Wan smiled fondly as if at some private joke, "I was remembering the time where Jemmiah and I got glued to each other. That made for an interesting evening! Qui-Gon tried his hardest to make sure that we got up to nothing untoward…he even made us sleep on the couch and not on my bed! And he sat in the chair opposite to make certain that nothing happened!"
"And did it?" Kelik enquired casually.
This time Obi-Wan did not mind the impertinent question.
"What, with my master watching us all the time? That would take a degree of bravado that neither of us possessed! Although there was one scary moment when I forgot our situation and rolled over…when Qui-Gon awoke he found me lying on top of her and just about had a fit!"
"I've heard of these so called 'bondage sessions'. What were you doing glued to each other in the first place?" Kelik sighed, "Or do I not want to know?"
"Someone thought it would be funny." Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed. "And at first the experience was rather amusing…until we had to get into hospital gowns. Jemmiah thought I was looking when it was her turn to get undressed."
"Then what happened?"
"She broke my finger." Replied Obi-Wan with a shrug. "Maliciously and with intent to cause maximum pain. And going to the fresher was a bit of a nightmare too."
Kelik placed his hands over his ears. "Stop right there!" He cried out, not liking the image he was getting.
Obi-Wan grinned but desisted from imparting any further information. It was obvious to him now that Kelik really had little idea of what Jemmiah's life was like at the temple, or the things that had gone on whilst she lived there. He supposed the same could be said for his master and indeed himself when Jemmy stayed with her uncle and aunt on Corellia. Whenever she came back, Qui-Gon would try to make conversation about what she had done and the places she had visited. The answer he got was invariably:
"Oh, this and that…here and there."
Force, she hated discussing herself! No wonder Kelik looked suitably startled at the tale he had just related…and that was fairly typical of the sort of scrape Jemmy would find herself in. There were many, many similar examples Obi-Wan could give which would scare the living daylights out of him…
As they approached Jemmiah's room, Obi-Wan put a hand out to stop Kelik from going any further.
"It would be more appropriate if I let her know that you were here." The padawan explained in a slightly humble voice. On seeing Kelik open his mouth to argue Obi-Wan explained; "She might be asleep…or Evla might be asleep. And I think she'd appreciate a few minutes to tidy herself up a little, inasmuch as she can." He offered Kelik a small shrug of his shoulders. "You know what Corellians are like…"
"I do, as it happens." Kelik laughed ironically.
"Oh…" He apologized sincerely with his eyes, realizing his blunder too late. "I beg your pardon…maybe I'd just better tell her you're here."
"If you think it's for the best." Kelik replied, still not too certain of what the young man might say to Jemmiah in his absence. Perhaps he might go back on his word and mention all the things he had spoken of in confidence. He liked to assume, judging on his conversation with both the master and the apprentice, that they were honorable men at heart, but where his niece was concerned Kelik wasn't prepared to take too much of a chance. It was difficult to trust after all these years of long-distance battling and one-upmanship, and whilst he had been somewhat reassured by his talk with the Jedi master, Kelik was big enough to admit that the manner of Qui-Gon's triumph in the custody battle several years ago had left a dent in his still smarting pride...
The padawan bowed, then turned his back on the Corellian and knocked three times upon the door. After a brief pause he was hailed by a female voice, which Kelik imagined belonged to the crèche master, then slid himself through the smallest gap that would permit him to enter into the room, leaving Kelik standing looking at the door surface all by himself.
//So much for trust.// Thought Kelik wryly, smiling at Obi-Wan's extremely cautious behavior. //I thought it was supposed to be a two-way thing. Then again, if you were to ask me if I trusted anyone in this crazy place, the answer would be a resounding no!//
***************
"Hey, Ben." Jemmy greeted him from amidst a swathe of pillows and cushions. "What are you doing back here so soon?"
"Are you complaining?" He ran a hand over his spiky, red-brown hair, still not used to the sensation of having it cut short once again. "If you want I can go away…"
"Do I get another bunch of flowers?" Grinned Jemmy, throwing him an unsubtle wink.
"What, you mean the last lot weren't big enough? There was enough in there to strip the temple gardens bare!" Laughed Obi-Wan in reply. "Do you think I am made of money?"
"No," Jemmy tilted her head to one side, studying him appraisingly, "I just wanted to know what other message you would put on your card, you naughty padawan!"
Evla looked back and forward between the two of them, and caught the young man's visible gulp. "Excuse me, what is this?"
"Nothing." The pair of them said in unison.
"Must have been something." The elder woman watched Obi-Wan's face turn a fetching crimson color. "Perhaps I'd better not ask…"
"No, no. I've got no secrets from you." Jemmiah declared in a happy voice. "Although you might find it a touch shocking for your sensitive ears. Ben suggested that we…"
"YOUR UNCLE'S OUTSIDE!" Obi-Wan blurted out in an attempt to stop her from saying anything that might cause him severe embarrassment in front of his former crèche master. Sithspit, what had that card said??? And what kind of trouble might it get him into in the future?
Jemmiah's eyes grew so large that Obi-Wan thought they could have eclipsed a small planet!
"W-w-what? Here? Now???" She gasped, reaching about for the hairbrush she knew she'd left lying about some place. "Hell's teeth, I look a mess! Evie, you gotta help me tidy up! I can't have uncle Kelik see my like this…gods; I've got no make up on or anything! What am I gonna do?" She implored Obi-Wan to help her, begging him silently the same way Zebedee might when he wanted something.
"Don't panic." Obi-Wan replied with quiet confidence. "He seems in good humor and very anxious to see for himself that you are alive and on the road to recovery."
Jemmy gave a half-sneer. "Reasonable? That's a first…what is he after, do you think?"
"Jemmiah!" Evla whispered reprovingly. "That's unkind…see what he has to say before you judge him!"
She responded by burying her face in her hands. "I don't want him to see me like this! What will he think?"
Obi-Wan sat down beside her and hesitantly reached up to her face, gently pulling away her hand, caressing the fingers for a moment between those of his own.
"Don't worry about him." He instructed in a voice so instantly calming that Jemmiah wondered if he were somehow using the force to reduce her sudden attack of nerves. "He only wants what's best for you…at least he thinks he does. Besides which, if you want me to, I'll stay right here every second he's with you."
"Obi-Wan!" This time it was Evla's chance to scold HIM. "You can't do that…their words are meant for each other!"
But Jemmiah's face had brightened instantly with hope the moment that Obi-Wan's suggestion was barely out of his mouth, her grip tightening around his fingers, squeezing playfully.
"You mean that?" She wondered. "You'd risk the wrath of my uncle Kelik?"
"See, I'm a braver padawan than you first took me for. Besides, it'll let him get the message that we are together and that there isn't anything he or anyone else can do to break us up."
"And annoy him in the process." Jemmiah added with a lopsided grin.
Obi-Wan gave a rather un-jedi like smirk.
"Well…" He pretended to think for a moment, "…there is that too!"
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The new improved Hell's Chance Cantina!
Home for many assorted JA fanfic stories!:
http://www.hellschancecantina.com/index.html
Open to all: have a go at Star Wars Caption Contest no.7:
http://www.hellschancecantina.com/Caption_comp.html
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