Beyond - Legends Shores Yet Untrod (AU; Kyp, OCs, post-TUF; A/N - on hiatus, 3/19)

A/N: I was going to post this as part of The Suppression Crusades, but that's already got enough subplots going to keep things very busy.

The background for this 'fic can be found in Crusades, at:

http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/30840854/p1/

DISCLAIMER: LFL's are LFL's. Marvel's are Marvel's. OCs are their own. This is a work of fiction. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue.

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28.1 ABY: Temporary Headquarters of the Jedi Order, Heurkea Floating City,
Mon Calamari, Outer Rim Territories:
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Kyp looked up from his datapad, then at Luke, and back at the datapad, then shook his head. "You never do anything simply, do you?" the Deyer-born Jedi Master asked, while Luke smiled almost apologetically.

"We had to be sure that the Jedi whom we asked to take part in Operation: Green Sowing were well-hidden. Most of the locations should be easy to reach - for someone with your skills, anyhow. I appreciate your willingness to take on this task, Kyp. We don't have many Jedi to spare right now, between the peacekeeping, reconstruction, and other post-war duties," Luke said.

Yeah, I know - like you being a dad again, for one thing, Kyp thought without anger, watching as Luke's days-old daughter, Hope, cooed from where she sat in the crook of one of Luke's arms. The baby's green eyes seemed to be unfocused, but she was still paying attention to the slowly-rotating galactic hologram floating over her father's desk holoprojector.

A total of 10 star systems - most concentrated in the Outer Rim, and in the southern regions of the galaxy - were highlighted with small green dots twinkling amidst the dimmed background halo. Each star system contained a planet where one of the restored Jedi Order's Knights or Masters had been scattered almost three years earlier, as part of Operation: Green Sowing - a plan to prevent another Jedi Purge from the Yuuzhan Vong or the Peace Brigade.

Green Sowing's specifics were simple. Tionne Solusar, headmistress of the now-defunct Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, and soon to be the headmistress of the planned Ossus Praxeum, had created 10 identical holocrons - each packed with as much information about the Jedi, their history, Force power and lightsaber techniques, and related items as possible.

Each holocron, with a credit chip containing a billion credits - the funding for which had come from the estate of Darth Vader, accessed by Padme Amidala-Skywalker shortly before the battles at Garqi and Ithor - had been entrusted to a Knight or Master who had no immediate family, who could go into hiding and keep their assigned holocron safe. If the scattered Jedi could use the funding they'd been entrusted with to open a new praxeum, that was fine. But the central charge was to protect their holocron and prevent its destruction.

None of the Jedi involved in Operation: Green Sowing had been told where their fellow "exiles" had been sent, in order to maintain anonymity. With the Vong War all but over, except for some rogue Vong warlords like Kane' Kwaad, the survivors of the central Order wanted to check on the scattered Jedi and any possible students they might have trained.

The trick, of course, was that the Yuuzhan Vong had disrupted many of the major hyperlanes with dovin basal mines. The mines generated their own gravitic interdiction fields, wreaking havoc on any attempts to travel further than a few light-years at a time. More dangerously in the long term, the galactic Bureau of Ships and Services had little up-to-date hyperspace data on most of the galaxy - meaning that any pilots who could update hyperspace route data could make a fortune, if they were willing to take the risks involved in hyperspace mapping.

Unless we navigate instinctually, and are willing to take along astromech droids who could record that data ... Kyp considered, looking at the list of planets h

 

Hi:

How cool! A Kyp centered fic!!! Yes!

Like that a lot and I too can't see Kyp being a bureaucrat and few things are as interesting as astromechs with attitude !!!!

Please put me on you r PM list so long as you don't get any technical errors I didn't say that.

 

Jade_eyes: I'll put you on the list.

And now, an update.

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28.1 ABY: Temporary Jedi HQ, Heurkea Floating City, Mon
Calamari, Outer Rim Territories:
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Kyp looked down, shaking his head at Q9-01, and decided the best course of action was to just deal with the situation that had presented itself. "As a matter of fact, I'm going to exchange you for another astromech droid," he said, looking down at the oddly-shaped mechanic.

Q-series astromechs had been produced by Industrial Automaton, the same company that produced the R-series astromech line that had proven so popular with pilots and repair techs across the galaxy. Unlike their R-series predecessors, though, the Q-series were a little different, with thinner bodies and a bullet-shaped column rising from the dome that R-series droids had.

What had really caused the Q-series to fail on the wider market, though, was their tendency to have catastrophic system failures and difficulties in repair. There had been one notable success, a Q-series droid who had belonged to Marcha, a Drall whom the Solos knew in the Corellia system. But that astromech had also had an abrasive personality and a pathological tendency to add on unusual after-market modifications to himself, most unusually a vocabulator.

Zero-One, on the other hand, was both passive-aggressive and prone to disturbingly insightful personality analysis. That combination, along with Zero-One's philosophical insights, had been more than enough to convince Kyp that he really didn't need to subject himself to such obnoxiousness during his upcoming mission.

"Freweep-dwee-twoot?" Zero-One asked, his tone somewhere between shock and what sounded almost like pleading.

Kyp raised an eyebrow as they stood in the turbolift's hatchway, and checked his datapad. The device translated Zero-One's query as, YOU TRULY PLAN TO REPLACE ME WITH ANOTHER ASTROMECH DROID?

"Yes. You're functioning efficiently, but your quirks are getting on my nerves. This isn't personal - I just don't think we'd get along. My mission coming up is too important for me to have a fight with my astromech droid in some possibly dangerous system," Kyp said, getting in the turbolift.

Zero-One rolled in after him, chirping somewhat derisively, "Dwoot. Arfre-weet-bweep?"

Kyp glanced at his datapad, frowning as he read, IT COULD BE POSSIBLE THAT YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR IS DEFICIENT. OR PERHAPS YOU FEAR AN ANALYTICAL RESPONSE TO YOUR ACTIONS AND INSIGHTS?

"My sense of humor is fine. And as for my actions and insights, I'll rely on my analysis, thank you very much. You're too ... weird for me," Kyp shot back, crossing his arms.

"BLAAT. Fre-dwooo-preweep-ardeet. Dwoop pretweet ardeet," Zero-One shot back, and Kyp almost didn't want to look at the translation.

I'm a glutton for punishment, I suppose, he admitted - only to himself - and read his datapad.

AS IN THE PAST, EXPERIENTIAL DATA SUGGESTS YOUR INABILITY TO APPRECIATE SUBTLETY COULD TO CONTINUE TO PLAGUE YOUR INTERACTION WITH ME. PERHAPS YOUR INTENDED ACQUISITION OF ANOTHER ASTROMECH DROID WILL BENEFIT BOTH OF US - OR AT LEAST ONE OF US, Zero-One had said.

Kyp snorted as the turbolift door opened, and he nodded. "Careful not to say who'll benefit, huh? Fine. Let's go see - hey! Lowbacca!" he called, nodding at the towering Wookiee Jedi Sentinel who was working on a crowd of R-series astromech droids.

<Master Durron. I hear you're getting ready to go to visit the other praxia? Does your astromech need an upgrade?> the young Wookiee growled in a friendly manner - Kyp had picked up a good understanding of Shyriiwook over the years as he'd hung out with Han and Chewbacca.

"Actually, I wanted to swap my Q9 droid for an R-series astromech. I was looking for an R2, If you've got one - I need a droid with a good, sizeable astrogation data buffer," Kyp asked.

The crowd of astromechs

 

Qewpee sounds like a great 'mech partner.

 

Since this is a Marvel crossover I have to ask -- Hope...as in the reincarnation of Jean Hope? As in Cable's little girl? But now Luke's the Dad so...yeah, you know what I mean.

I really like this. Kyp centric fics are alway awesome.

Would you please PM me when you update?

Keep it up!

 

Didn't put that together, the Hope connection, but I think I should have. I mean there are only two types of comics I read, DC Batman (mostly the sidekick stories) and Dark Horse Star Wars, but I looked hard at the Hope X-Men title (think it was New X-Men or something like that). Makes total sense.

 

Ceillian, whatever: Thanks for reading.

I can say that Hope is not Jean's reincarnation, nor is she Hope Summers - there are similarities, but Hope IS Luke and Mara's daughter, and her own character. Jean's very much alive, and she's going to show up ... eventually.

To clarify - using spoiler blockage for those who haven't read the previous Braddockverse stuff - since Mara is Jean's older sister, she and her children have the same potential to access the Phoenix as Jean and her children would. As to why the Phoenix chose Hope ... more on that down the line.

For the moment, though, Hope's just going to be a happy, healthy baby.

Jade_eyes: Thanks - I had originally planned to have Qewpee assigned to another character in a later 'fic, but she sort of grew on me in the drafts. She's going to have her moments in the sun, helping Kyp on his trip.

A note: Since this is set in 28 ABY, about two years before Delusions of Grandeur, certain relationships are far different at this point in the timeline than then (30 ABY).

For example ...

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28.1 ABY: Masters' Quarters, Temporary Jedi HQ, Heurkea Floating City, Mon
Calamari, Outer Rim Territories:
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Kyp glanced over his shoulder at the door of his sparsely-decorated quarters - which, now, was empty of all but the furniture that had come with the guest chambers - and looked up as the Force rippled with a familiar presence.

And just when I was in a good mood, he thought with frustration, shielding carefully while the visitor - a young human woman - leaned against the door frame and watched him finish packing knick-knacks.

Jaina raised an eyebrow warily, glancing around the bare living room, and asked, "First your defenses go up, then I learn you're ... surprisingly minimalist in your interior decorating. This is a weirdly Jedi aesthetic for you, Kyp. Your time on the Advisory Council's making you old-Jedi-Order all of a sudden?"

"If I answer your questions, will you show me both your hands? I want to be absolutely sure you're not hiding a flask of that garbage you called liquor back on Borleias," Kyp shot back, more intensely than he'd intended - they hadn't parted well, that night up on the roof of the biotics facility.

Jaina held out both her hands, looking - and radiating - a little hurt, and Kyp sighed. "I didn't come here to fight," she said, and Kyp nodded.

"I can sense that. I'm sorry for reacting like a nek that just got woken up. But we do need to clarify something before I go - if we can even hope to untangle this mess," Kyp said, knowing this wasn't going to end well.

She still gets under my skin, he admitted, as Jaina sat on one of the couches - now covered with a transplas sheet until someone else moved into the quarters. Kyp sank into one of the chairs, regarding the young woman who looked back at him, and marveled once again at how much she'd grown up.

A colonel in the GADF, a Jedi Knight teaching a Padawan - Daerna D'Arsan - and Jag Fel's ... significant other, Kyp considered, watching Jaina look at him with an array of emotions. She was feeling confusion, wariness at having her hand metaphorically slapped, anger at having her attempt at peacemaking rebuffed ... and maybe something else.

"But it's not enough to get you to consider someone besides Jag," he whispered, wincing when Jaina blushed and looked at him.

"Kyp ... Jag is - Jag. He and I -" Jaina started to say, until Kyp's resolve solidified and he held her gaze with his own.

"Precisely. Which is why, months ago, you talked on and on about us being 'partners' - but Jag is also your 'partner, and something more besides,' as you phrased it on Borleias. Then when I decided to do what I felt would be the mature thing, and leave Twin Suns Squadron, you exploded at me and told me to sit down," Kyp recalled in a calm tone.

Jaina's blush deepened, and she

 

Hi:

I enjoyed the tone of this very much. The conversation between Jaina and Kyp was very honest and I'm glad they parted as friends and I like Qewpee thinking of the details

Thanks also for the Kam/Tionne sweet touch there.

 

Jade_eyes: Thanks - more with Kam and Tionne is coming very soon.

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28.1 ABY: Derellium, Tion Hegemony, Outer Rim Territories:
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As Kyp had predicted, the first leg of the trip wasn't particularly difficult. With the Galactic Alliance having been formed and regrouping on Mon Calamari, the system had been mostly swept of dovin basal mines, so the outbound jump to hyperspace wasn't particularly difficult.

The trick is figuring out the best route around the Tion, Kyp thought, sitting in a holding pattern with the rest of Scholar Flight over Derellium. The planet sat at the junction of three hyperroutes through or around the Tion Hegemony, which for thousands of years had been watched by the old Jedi Order on fortress worlds just south and west of the ancient empire created by Xim the Despot.

One of those fortress worlds was Ossus - but getting there wasn't as simple as it might seem, even with the hyperroutes through the Tion fairly clear of gravitic problems. The Cron Supernova during the Great Sith War more than 4,000 years ago had blown 10 stars into stellar ash, and created the massive Cron Drift asteroid field, which wrought havoc with hyperspace travel to Ossus and other worlds.

Which is why we're stopping over here at Derellium, and updating our hyperspace data, Kyp considered, checking the download rate from the Bureau of Ships and Services station on Derellium. The Tionese worlds had - with the exception of Desevro, Xim's ancient capital - mostly avoided Yuuzhan Vong attacks, partially because the Vong had concentrated their attacks on the main hyperlanes and Core Worlds.

"Scholar Two? You there?" Kyp heard, and he tuned in his ship-to-ship comm.

"Scholar Two here, Scholar One. How are you doing over there, Kam?" Kyp asked his fellow Jedi Master as he looked at the large freighter carrying the Solusars, their students, the students' families, and the support staff.

"A little crowded, but everyone's getting along well. Making Derellium inside of 12 hours helped. You were right about taking the Giblim Route from Mon Cal," Kam Solusar said.

"Thanks, but I can't take the credit. The main route, the Overic Griplink, still has a lot of dovin basal mines from when the Vong came tearing down the Overic to attack Mon Calamari. The Giblim's a little slower, but Anakin and Tahiri's transmitted data from the Watchgate helped update it enough to make it faster than the Overic for right now," Kyp said.

Good luck, guys, Kyp thought - Anakin Solo and Tahiri Veila were, by now, probably closing in on Bothan space with the crew of the Watchgate, an Imperial Star Destroyer loaned to the GA by the Imperial Remnant. With the Bothans' threatened ark'rai call for genocide against the Yuuzhan Vong for the death of Borsk Fey'lya, the Galactic Alliance was determined to prevent the Bothans from killing Yuuzhan Vong noncombatants.

Probably more interesting work than hyperspace mapping, but angry Bothans aren't a crowd I want to mess with, for that matter, Kyp thought, calling up an updated regional map of hyperspace routes.

To Kam, Kyp said, "Qewpee's finished downloading the most recent hyperspace data from the BOSS station. It looks like the Greater Cronese Arc heading west is good all the way to the Perlemian Trade Route, which would be the safest route - we could take the Greater Cronese to Arcan, backtrack down the Perlemian to Columex, pick up the Salin Corridor to Belderone, and jump to Ossus from there."

"If it's the smoothest route, I think it's probably the smart play. If it were just you and I, I wouldn't be adverse to chancing a jump to Murkhana, and from there to Ossus. But that's an awful lot of open space to cross with families and civilians," Kam said, concern obvious in his tone.

"I agree. Murkhana's not my idea of a fun stopover - the Koorivar there still run a shady grey market. We might be a

 

Bravo on all those space geography details

Enjoyed the Ossan history and glad the jedi will be welcomed there.

 

Jade_eyes: Thanks - The Essential Atlas played a big role in the pre-writing for this 'fic.

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28.1 ABY: Ysanna Settlement near the Ruins of the Jedi Library, Ossus:
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Kark, I'm glad to stretch my legs - even a little ...

Kyp took off his helmet and ran his fingers through his hair as he said, "Qewpee, could you handle the post-flight systems check? I need to get some unrecycled air."

"Btweet-deet!" the astromech chirped kindly, popping the canopy, and Kyp took a deep breath as he looked out across the plain before his sight. It seemed terribly primitive to his eyes.

The village was a mixture of prefab buildings and huts, with the occasional vicious Ysannan riding beast tied to a post, and the ruins of the ancient Jedi Library rising up in the distance. The ground was a mix of brown and grey dust, fortunately broken by spots of greenery, and the occasional hairless rodent or rough-looking bird flitted by.

In the street, human children wearing homespun tunics and pants played, kicking a ball around and shouting in a patois of Basic and what Kyp could almost make out as degraded High Galactic. On a wooden sidewalk down either side of the street, adults chatted or started to look at where Scholar Flight had landed.

But in the Force, there was a riotous rainbow of goodwill, a groundswell of positivity - the Ysanna had obviously sensed someone coming, and they didn't seem at all upset. Even beneath that current of welcome, the planet itself seemed to resonate with Force energy. The Cron Supernova might have ravaged Ossus, but the four millennia since that disaster had clearly helped to bring Ossus back to a livable state.

Might as well say hi, if everyone's in a good mood, Kyp thought, hopping out of his fighter's cockpit and using the Force to slow his landing. He looked back at where the Jedi students, with their families and teachers, were leaving the freighter designated Scholar One, and then looked over at an interesting mix of approaching sentients.

As expected, a Ysannan shaman, wearing simple robes and carrying a staff - and a slugthrower rifle slung over one shoulder - approached. The human man's grey hair was somewhat long, while his face bore deep wrinkles from what had to be a hard life, but he was bright and clear in the Force. Kyp made sure to bow politely, and the shaman bowed back.

Beside him was the being whom Kyp specifically had come looking for on Ossus - a Rodian male in Jedi Knight's robes, who returned Kyp's bow before smiling warmly when Kam and Tionne approached. "Master Durron - Masters Solusar. This is a wonderful surprise," Adlusha Kloj said, shaking hands and nodding at the gathering Ysanna. "Shaman Uldis wishes to welcome you."

The shaman rambled something in that Ysannan patois, and Kyp almost understood what he'd said. Fortunately, Tionne clearly knew Ysannan, because she replied, bringing an enormous, happy smile to the shaman's face, while the crowd applauded. Then, they lifted Kam onto their shoulders for a moment, cheering, while the Jedi teacher smiled with embarrassment before they let him down and clapped him on the back.

"The Ysanna welcome us - their Jedi brethren - and Kam is a local hero. The tribesmen remember the sacrifices he made years ago, and they're honoring his fulfillment of the promise he and Luke made to someday return," Tionne translated, and Kyp nodded as he let the Solusars and their staff chat with the Ysanna.

Which leaves me to chat with Master Kloj, Kyp thought, turning to the Rodian as the other Jedi gestured toward one of the benches set along the street. They sat, and Kyp thanked a young human boy in Ysannan garb who walked over with a tray that supported three glasses and a pitcher of water.

"My Padawan, Kleej Anstrod of Contruum. He lost his parents in a Praetorite Vong attack early in the war, and I had stopped over on Contruum on my way here. I couldn'

 

I enjoyed this muchly, the open-minded, warm-hearted, forward-thinking Ysannans.


I like the description of Ossus as being weighted down with history and also being a comfortable stopping off place for a while

Ah! So Kyp has the wander-lust -- just hasn't found the perfect place (or person) to settle with

 

Jade_eyes: Thanks. I've often wondered why we haven't seen more of the Ysanna in canon, especially since the Jedi went back to Ossus after the Vong War ...

And now, a quick update.

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28.1 ABY: Ruins of the Jedi Library, Ossus, Outer Rim Territories:
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Once Kyp had had his fill of roast beast, vegetables, and water (Adlusha and Kam both had warned him that Ysannan ale packed quite a punch for the unprepared, and Kyp wanted to avoid a hangover), he decided to walk off the repast.

No reason not to look around ... he thought, ducking a low-hanging vine drooping across the entrance to the library's ruins. It seemed absurd to come all the way to Ossus and not see what had been the epicenter of Jedi studies for millennia.

The Force was definitely strong here, not in the same way that a living being with midi-chlorians was, but just from the sheer number of Jedi who had walked the halls. It was like a scent - a little dusty, with a woodlike texture, the scent of paper and ink and electric flashes of insight.

There were glowglobes hanging from some of the walls, but otherwise the only illumination came in from cracks in the walls and the damaged ceiling. Many of the artifacts - holocrons, scrolls, Force-empowered items - had been removed to Yavin 4 or library worlds by Tionne, as well as other Jedi and non-Force-sensitive researchers. But it was known that there were still entire vaults that hadn't been touched, and nobody was quite sure what might be found by undertaking a thorough archaeological dig of the surrounding area.

And who knows what's been removed over the years and hidden away on other planets. Zekk found the holocron of Qalsneek the Bull on Kamino, the one he's using to train the Paladins, Kyp considered, standing in a ray of sunlight and closing his eyes.

Meditation wasn't Kyp's strong suit, but he had the basics down well enough. He tried to put his mind at ease, drinking in the years and the events, good and bad. It wasn't all destruction and loss - the Cron Supernova had ravaged Ossus and the library, but it hadn't erased the millennia of study and achievement and building that had preceded it.

As with the Ysanna, there was a sense of belonging here, of being part of something greater than oneself. But it wasn't demanding, wasn't overpowering - wasn't oppressive as Kyp sometimes found the modern-day Order's more strident traditionalists to be, nor as obnoxiously dogmatic as holos of the Clone Wars era Jedi.

Being Jedi doesn't have to be a straightjacket, Kyp thought, a little gratified, but more happy, as he opened his eyes and nodded. The Jedi hadn't always been oppressive, after all - the story of Nomi Sunrider showed there was room for family life. And tales like those of Zayne Carrick and Donal Milthiad spoke to the effectiveness of "nontraditional" Jedi who championed the spirit of the law and not just its letter.

Heh. Maybe I need better sidekicks, like that Snivvian who ran around with Carrick. Well, there is Qewpee - a good astromech's as good as any con artist, Kyp thought, chuckling as he left the library.

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to be continued ...

 

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28.1 ABY: Temporary Jedi Encampment, Ossus, Outer Rim Territories:
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"Freep-tweet?"

R2-QP looked over her master's sleeping form, encased as it was in what her query of R3-D4 had indicated was a "sleeping bag," inside a "tent." Some organics had a lower temperature tolerance than some droids, it turned out, so if they weren't sleeping in a properly temperature-controlled enclosure, they needed to compensate for it.

The labor droids had been working through the night - albeit with sonic shielding - to get the prefab housing units up, before the newly arrived Jedi and their Ysannan hosts really started in on building the new Jedi Praxeum. Qewpee (she found she liked the nickname her new master had given her) had also asked Deefour what a praxeum was, since Holonet access was so intermittent out here on the Outer Rim. The very word, praxeum, sounded very curious, a place for educating young organics.

Most of the younglings had been friendly; Deefour had introduced Qewpee to his master's apprentice, a youngling named Kleej. Kleej had been friendly, checking Qewpee's systems and giving her an oil bath, which seemed pretty rare out here on the Outer Rim.

Or maybe that was just Ossus. It seemed really wild, but Qewpee thought it was great fun. All she'd ever known was doing maintenance on Mon Calamari, where she'd been built (Industrial Automaton, the company that produced R-series astromechs, had a plant in Heurkea City). Mon Calamari was an exciting, fun world, with plenty of work for astromechs like shipbuilding and data sifting, but Qewpee had always known she'd been meant to fly.

And she was! Cap'n Kyp - technically Master Kyp, but he had a sense of humor and was very kind - was going all over, and he was trusting Qewpee to keep track of where they were going and where they were headed. Astrogation, starfighter maintenance, communications, all of these were critical parts of an R2 unit's prime duties, and Qewpee loved where she'd been so far.

(OK, so maybe Ossus was a little dusty. But it was only the second planet she'd ever been to, and a little grime wasn't so bad as seawater. Qewpee had had corrosion like nobody's business that one time she'd snuck out to look at the water and accidentally fallen in ...)

She was a little eager to get going, and it had been the recommended eight hours for Cap'n Kyp to recharge by sleeping (some aspects of organics were strange, but Qewpee thought "sleep" was really similar to a droid's recharging ... maybe), so maybe he wouldn't mind.

Qewpee reached out with her claw, and started to pull Cap'n Kyp's pillow ...

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Zfhrnx?"

Kyp blinked - those tugs on his head weren't the gentle caresses he'd been dreaming of after all.

Too bad ... he thought, looking up at the entrance to his tent.

"Dwooo. Twee-fweep?" he heard, looking up at an orangish-pink-white astromech - his astromech, actually.

Qewpee's chirps sounded oddly guilty, and Kyp wiped his eyes with one hand as he noticed the little droid pulling her manipulator claw back from his displaced pillow.

"Well, I won't have to worry about wakeup calls," Kyp muttered without anger - he checked his wrist-chrono, frowning a little when he saw it read 09:44.

"Twee-dweepeet?" Qewpee asked, while Kyp squirmed out of his sleeping bag and crouched before the droid in his spare flight suit (not Kyp's first choice of sleepwear, but he wanted to be ready to take action if need be).

"No, I'm not mad, really. Just next time, ask me the night before what time I want to get going?" Kyp gently teased the droid as he got to work tearing down his camp.

"Bweet! Freeweep!" Qewpee chirped happily, and she helpfully pulled over the cargo box Kyp used to store his gear while in-flight. Kyp looked around, nodding as he sensed already-awake workers and students - the f

 

"Frweep dwee-dee-deet!" Qewpee chirped merrily, and Kyp chuckled as he read his astromech translator screen - the little droid had said, Right away, Cap'n Kyp!

'Cap'n.' Now all I need is a pirate crew ... arrrrr, Kyp thought, grinning at the mental imagery that conjured up.

It's not just Kyp with a grin on his face here. Kyp as a pirate...now that would make my day.

"Scholar three, reporting in," Sothais Saar said, and Kyp blinked - had he almost nodded off?

He is mean.

Scholar Flight leapt into hyperspace, and Kyp couldn't help but grin.

Hello galaxy, Kyp Durron is BACK ...

Awesome. Go kick some ass, Kyp!

***

Next post:

Did you use a map to plot all that out? Those were bunch of planet names there.

I'd have to dig out the Atlas (which is sadly burried underneath countless and countless books I have yet to read...and stack gets bigger about every week) to understand where they are right now.

"Today marks the return of the Jedi Order to Ossus in numbers ... and a new start."

Now this sounds awesome.
Let's just hope it's a good start.

***

In the street, human children wearing homespun tunics and pants played, kicking a ball around and shouting in a patois of Basic and what Kyp could almost make out as degraded High Galactic.

High Galactic...now that is a very very good idea. Just like there are various accents and dialects all over the world, why not High Galactic? I'm going to remember this.

"The Ysanna welcome us - their Jedi brethren - and Kam is a local hero. The tribesmen remember the sacrifices he made years ago, and they're honoring his fulfillment of the promise he and Luke made to someday return," Tionne translated, and Kyp nodded as he let the Solusars and their staff chat with the Ysanna.

I've never heard of the Ysanna before...mind helping me out here?

"True, Master Durron. But we need warriors as much as we need intellectuals. You are an atypical Jedi Guardian - in truth, I don't really think you fit into one of the divisions of Guardian, Consular, or Sentinel, since you have aspects of all three. Your lightsaber skills are among the greatest of the modern Jedi, while you have learned an array of Force powers - some of which remain rare - and you also can function in the wider galaxy, operating among the underworld or high society," Kloj said.

A Jedi with all three branches to call his own -- he'd be a kick ass Jedi, huh?

Except ... I wouldn't be happy. Not forever. Ossus is becoming a home, but it's not quite my style ...

Not enough action, I take it?

I know what they say about you, but I don't care - the past is the past, and you fought when others were either too scared or too confused to.

More people in the galaxy should think this way.

**

Reading from QP's view was fun. But oh...she's pulling his pillow...

"No, I'm not mad, really. Just next time, ask me the night before what time I want to get going?" Kyp gently teased the droid as he got to work tearing down his camp.

Aw. Now that's cute.

The scene with the cornerstone was great. Had a real feel of a historic event.

After a third course - and having to loosen his belt a notch - Kyp finally decided he'd better get going.

The man likes to eat, it seems.

After all, she was an Ataru specialist in lightsaber combat, and such clothing suited the acrobatic lightsaber form's maneuvers than traditional Jedi robes usually did.

Can't help but thinkg Ataru is a sort of Capoeira fighting style. Which would be cool because I looooove watching Capoeira fighters.

So what's on Ukio, I wonder?

***

I'm all caught up now! I'm really enjoying this story.

Keep it up.

 

I like the tone you have for Alema here trying to redefine herself and just asking for an honest chance

QP's POV was fun!!

Your characterization of Kyp is excellent -- he's mature and thoughtful with a strong sense of humor and adventure

 

Thanks for all the replies. Want to be sure I answer ...

It's not just Kyp with a grin on his face here. grin Kyp as a pirate...now that would make my day. laugh

There's definitely a 'fic there - I'm not sure whether it'll appear as a subplot in Shores or not.

laugh He is mean. tongue

Yeah ... sadly, Sothais means well, but I think his sleep-inducing ability may be canonical.

Awesome. cool Go kick some ass, Kyp! tongue

There'll be some buttkicking before all is said and done. There are still some troublemakers out between the stars, and I rather like the idea of Kyp being like a drifter and helping those in need.

***

Next post:

Did you use a map to plot all that out? Those were bunch of planet names there. wink

I did, actually - there's a map of the Tion Hegemony, one of the Atlas supplements, that I used.

I'd have to dig out the Atlas (which is sadly burried underneath countless and countless books I have yet to read...and stack gets bigger about every week) to understand where they are right now. tongue

As of that post, the Jedi were in the southeastern reaches of the Tion Hegemony, Xim's ancient empire that was squashed by the Hutts (figurative and sort of literally ).

Now this sounds awesome. cool
Let's just hope it's a good start.

Thanks - I've often wondered what it was like, with the reestablishment of a Jedi presence on Ossus, and the growth and vitality that must've been present between 29 and 35 ABY in canon for the Jedi (or, in this AU, as of 28 ABY).

***

High Galactic...now that is a very very good idea. thinking Just like there are various accents and dialects all over the world, why not High Galactic? I'm going to remember this. wink

I actually got the idea from the concept that Ossus was a library world millennia ago, and researchers probably spoke a variety of languages, including High Galactic.

I've never heard of the Ysanna before...mind helping me out here? happy

Sure. Basically the Ysanna are descendants of Jedi who survived the Cron Supernova that damaged Ossus' surface and ravaged the Great Jedi Library, c. 3996 BBY (during the Great Sith War). The Ysannan ancestors survived beneath the surface of Ossus, keeping their Force sensitivity but becoming more tribal. They met Luke and Kam Solusar during Dark Empire II, but sort of vanished from canon after that ...

Here's the whole Wook link for more info: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ysanna

cool cool cool A Jedi with all three branches to call his own -- he'd be a kick ass Jedi, huh? tongue

Exactly. I'm planning to touch upon all of Kyp's aspects at some point in this 'fic.

Not enough action, I take it? wink

Just so.

More people in the galaxy should think this way.

I think most eventually got to that point, but it took a few decades after Carida, it seems - during and right after the Vong War, I think the memories of that generation were still quite vivid. By FOTJ, on the other hand, I think Kyp had more or less faded to a historical figure in the minds of younger folks (at least, outside the Remnant - I don't doubt he still has quite a few detractors there ... )

**

Reading from QP's view was fun. But oh...she's pulling his pillow...

Astromechs seem like they'd be playful and fun. And Qewpee's a little excitable, eager to see new horizons and things. I've got some plans for her along the way.

Aw. Now that's cute.

Kyp seems like he'd be the kind to appreciate a well-meant, if somewhat silly, mistake.

The scene with the cornerstone was great. Had a real feel of a historic event.

(bows) Thanks. That's exactly what I was aiming for, especially since the establishment of the praxeum was epic in canon. It stood for at least a hundred years (or so I'm guessing, anyhow).

The man likes to eat, it seems. tongue

No Force trance can replace a home-cooked meal.

 

great dream/memory at the start

Liked the innocent tone.

Oops, boring from space but not necessarily from the ground makes me think something unpredictable is about to happen

 

Jade_eyes: You might be right about the unpredictable part ...

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28.1 ABY: Zoing's Droid Emporium, Telaster, Lantillies, Mid Rim:
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Zoing Ikbit and his clan weren't just traders. Anyone could do that, especially at a starport as critical as Lantillies had become during the Vong War - fuel suppliers, mechanics, restauranteurs, and so on were always in demand.

Trying to break into the shipbuilding business was a difficult challenge, what with the Lantillian ShipWrights running the local show, but ship maintenance was another matter entirely. Especially for the big cruisers, the superliners and the cruise vessels and capital ships that needed droids to supplement their organic crew members, so Zoing and his family did a nice baseline business selling and maintaining droids.

Funny thing, though, especially with astromechs - it was amazing how many people forgot or just chose not to have their droid's memory wiped when they sold it. There could be some very useful data, especially astrogation and star system data, to be found by an enterprising mechanic.

Zoing, especially, was very enterprising. It helped offset the usual cultural shock people had when they heard he was one of the best information merchants, or infochants, in Telaster.

Plus, he got to meet some fascinating visitors every so often. Why, once, he'd even run into -

D-ding The door chime lifted Zoing from his reverie, and he looked up and tested the air with a quick SNIFF.

"Oibada? Ai chekwawa!" Zoing greeted, identifying the visitor as much by scent as by sight - he couldn't believe it!

"UTTINI!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, Zoing. Came looking for some info about a southward run. I don't want to involve the Hutts," Kyp said, careful not to wrinkle his nose as he found a seat on a shutdown Gonk droid, and Zoing waved off his various relatives.

Although Jawas were almost entirely found on Tatooine, some clans had left their birthworld millennia ago (or been forcibly transplanted, as in the case of one clan on Raxus Prime that'd thrived in the miserable living conditions on the junk world). Practically any planet that had any sort of sizeable mechanical industry was a prime place for Jawas to settle.

The Ikbit clan were no exception. Mechanically talented like all Jawas, they'd ditched Tatooine and settled on Lantillies shortly after the Battle of Endor, striking it rich by buying out a droid shop. They'd rapidly turned around their investment by not only specializing in droid crew members for ships, but also making sure they covered the other bases in the droid market.

Zoing, the second-generation owner of the shop (his father, Zworg, had passed away in an unfortunate incident involving a drunk Togorian a few years ago), also made a tidy sum on the side by trading astrogation data recovered from astromechs that came through the store. Technically, it wasn't quite legal - any updated astrogation data should've been shared with the Bureau of Ships and Services first - but as long as the data eventually made it to BOSS, nobody cared.

And it helps that Zoing owes me a favor, Kyp remembered, smiling a little as he recalled the time he and the Dozen had visited Lantillies and busted a Black Nebula protection racket. Jawas could be cunning, but they weren't exactly powerful fighters against non-droid attackers.

"Ugibo? Ai tuwana chejakra mei?" Zoing asked in Jawa Trade Language (regular Jawaspeak was as much olfactory and gesture-based as it was auditory, and Jawas couldn't speak Basic). Even the slowed-down trade language was hard to comprehend, but Kyp had found he had something of a knack for it.

Learning a mechanic's language is never a bad thing, Kyp reminded himself as he considered what his host had said.

"I'm heading for Ukio. I was planning to take the Randon Run, then the Trax Tube, the B

 

wow! that was one contact for info I never thought to find

 

----------------------------------------------------------------
28.1 ABY: Randon, Mid Rim Territories:
----------------------------------------------------------------

Zoing's data had worked out even better than Kyp had planned. The first leg of the trip to Ukio went by in a matter of days, with the Randon Run being uneventful. Kyp hadn't expected it to be, though, given that Lantillies and Kashyyyk both had been Galactic Alliance fortress worlds during the war.

After Kashyyyk, though, Kyp wouldn't have been surprised to find pirates, retreating Peace Brigadiers, or even leftover Vong. The southern spur of the Randon Run, from Kashyyyk through Rakhuuun, Chamble, and Messert, paralleled the infamous and dangerous Night Road - a slightly more westerly hyperlane frequented by slavers from Mytaranor. It was easy to imagine that opportunistic scum from the Mytaranor Slavers' Council might be looking for ships traveling solo in the sector.

But the Randon Run seemed pretty quiet, Kyp thought, stretching out on a bed in the room he'd rented at the spaceport. Qewpee was recharging in an astromech charger unit across the room, while a remote sensor tied to Kyp's comlink kept watch over his XJ-3.

Kyp knew he could've felt a little guilty about relaxing like this when so many refugees and other victims of the war were still living in camps on untold worlds. But he'd managed to get as far Coreward as Kashyyyk in the space of less than two weeks, so he felt a little celebration was in order.

That, and making sure all my efforts don't go for nothing, Kyp remembered, reaching in his robes for a specific device. The heavily micronized Holonet transceiver was a rather nifty little invention of Ghent's, given to the Jedi and some other Galactic Alliance agencies to provide a secure field uplink to the Holonet as it was restored.

From another pocket, Kyp took out a datapacket, plugging it into the transceiver and activating the device. A quick flicker of Aurabesh crossed the transceiver's screen, then displayed a simple sentence: CONTACT MADE WITH MON CALAMARI.

Upload data, Kyp typed, holding the transceiver up as it lifted a small dish antenna up and started to hum. The datapacket contained spaces for 50 hyperjump coordinate sets - all downloaded from Qewpee, stored in the datapacket until Kyp could transmit it securely.

Randon's about as secure as planets within the Vong invasion corridor get, Kyp figured. Even if the transmission was intercepted, the data wasn't exactly secret; BOSS would share it with spacers eventually.

After about five minutes, a quiet beep and a blinking green light told Kyp that the tranceiver's work had been completed. He keyed in a verification, then added, Contact Jedi HQ.

CONTACTING, the transceiver replied. WORKING ...

CONTACT MADE: OPENING AUDIO/VIDEO LINK:

Kyp hid a smirk as a bedraggled human face - belonging to a familiar Jedi Master - appeared, grumbling, "'S middle of the night ... Durron? You look annoyingly smug."

"So you got the night shift, Corran? Sorry to wake you," Kyp said, only partially amused. He really hadn't wanted to wake anyone on the other end.

On the other hand, even a slight dig at Corran was something Kyp couldn't quite resist.

Corran snorted before he replied, "Where are you, anyhow? Signal's pretty stable, so the Holonet buoys seem to be working."

"Randon. I've made really good time. You should have all the data from the jumps from Mon Cal to here. I'm heading for Ukio," Kyp said, nodding as Corran's eyebrows rose.

"Randon? Crodach a'behail, you've hauled jets! Any problems?" the Corellian Jedi asked.

"No. It's almost weirdly quiet, but I'm not going to look a gift eopie in the mouth. Maybe the Vong and the Mytaranor Slavers Council killed each other off. I stayed off of the Night Road, just to be safe," Kyp said, shrugging.

"Smart move. But given how unstable the Mid Rim was during the Vong advance, I'm shocked you made it as far as Randon without having to make a lot of hyperjum

 

liked that the data was passed along successfully -- always a good thing and enjoyed the easy camaraderie between kyp and corran

 

Jade_eyes: Thanks. And now, here's an update ...

---------------------------------------------------------------
28.1 ABY: Randon, Mid Rim:
---------------------------------------------------------------

"Fweep?"

Qewpee's passive sensors were set to ignore vibrations, or odd smells, or temperature shifts, as long as none of them were too radical. The security software upgrade she'd received from Master Lowbacca before leaving Mon Calamari had helped her understand that not every unusual sensory datum should be paid attention to.

But loud thumps at the motel room door, with a smoky-metallic scent, and a focus of very high temperatures right at the door's control panel?

Yeah, that could be a problem, Qewpee decided. She detached herself from the recharging unit and waddled over to where Cap'n Kyp was still asleep.

His noises were a little scary, too. Cap'n Kyp was making a noise which Deefour had described as a "snore," which reminded Qewpee of a saw.

But the Cap'n's biosigns seemed stable, even if he was still asleep even with all the bad signs at the front door. That couldn't be good.

"BWEET! Bweep-tweet?" Qewpee exclaimed, wondering if she should tug on Cap'n Kyp's sleeve. He hadn't been so upset when she'd tugged on his pillow back on Ossus, but he hadn't responded too positive, either.

Well, if the Cap'n was going to stay asleep, Qewpee had to step up. She was a little scared, but she wasn't some scared mouse droid or some silly protocol droid - she was an astromech.

Qewpee turned, extending her electroshock probe and getting ready to fight ... well, whoever was trying to cut their way into the room.

Then the cutting stopped, and there was a THUNK on the front door. Qewpee wasn't sure what that meant, but she didn't trust it, either. She reached out with her auditory sensors, tuning them both higher and lower than human standard, and she heard something:

beep

beep

beep

Qewpee couldn't guess what was making the noise, so she retracted her electroshock probe and plugged into a computer access socket in the wall. She tried to dial up the security cameras in the hallway, but shook her dome - she'd forgotten that they'd chosen this motel because it didn't have sec-cams.

beep

beep

...

Qewpee unplugged, really worried now - the beeping had been bad enough. But when it went away totally? It probably couldn't be good.

She rolled over to Cap'n Kyp, not afraid anymore of how he might react, and reached out for his sleeve with her manipulator claw. He could be mad once they were sure they'd be around to worry ...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Znrkf?"

"Bweep! Twee-peep! DWEET!"

"OK, OK, what's the problem?" Kyp asked, swinging his feet over the side of the bed and glancing at the door.

Then he realized, the Force was blocked near the door, and he muttered, "Perfect. Ysalamir."

"Dweep-dwoot?" Qewpee asked, and Kyp motioned the droid behind him -

When, of course, the door exploded inward.

"DWEEEPPP!!" Qewpee shrieked, while Kyp managed to telekinetically deflect the shrapnel as he outstretched a hand.

His other hand grabbed his lightsaber, and Kyp ignited the weapon while he shaped the miniature storm into a whirlwind.

The first thug leaping into the room - a Trandoshan with some kind of ugly blaster carbine - went spinning head over heels. Kyp set the reptoid out of his mind for a while, reaching out telekinetically again and Force-shoving the next few attackers back into the hall.

"Stay here, call for help. I've got to deal with our unwelcome visitors," Kyp told Qewpee, and the little droid chirped affirmatively as Kyp darted into the hall. He frowned as he saw who were waiting - two humans, a man and a woman, and a Duros who was holding the ysalamir.

All of them had small pins on their clothes, a human hand holding a Yuuzhan Vong one, and Kyp's eyes narrowed.

Peace Brigade ...

The human man's eyes

 

The human man's eyes bugged out when he saw Kyp clearly. "Shab! It's Durron! RUN!" he yelped, starting to bolt.



"Durron?! You idiot, don't run - SHOOT him!" the woman spat, pulling her blaster.

Well, she tried.

Kyp just rolled his eyes, flicked a finger, and telekinetically yanked the blaster out of the woman's hand into his own. The woman blinked, then cursed, while Kyp glanced at the Duros and flicked the blaster's setting to stun - then fired.

Lovely. Love it when Kyp gets all arrogant in a fight.

I wonder what happens next? Seems to be an interesting place Kyp landed on.

 

for the attack but for awesome Kyp action -- yeah having someone take a shot at you would tend to put you in a foul mood