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Author	Topic: Not for Glory Bound: Lost & Found - Jedi, Zeltrons - Complete - Concrit_ok! - Nommed Best Series!
RebelGrrl Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 3/16/06 3:05pm Subject: Not for Glory Bound: Lost & Found - Jedi, Zeltrons - Complete - Concrit_ok! - Nommed Best Series! - Date Edited: 3/4/07 1:52pm (14 edits total) Edited By: RebelGrrl
	Title: Lost & Found Author: RebelGrrl Timeframe: inter-trilogy, five years after "Silence & Solitude" Sequel to: Silence & Solitude Characters: See Dramatis Personae Genre: Intertrilogy drama/humor Keywords: Jedi, Zeltron Summary: In which someone is lost, and someone thought lost is found. Constructive Criticism Welcome! Not For Glory Bound Chronology 19 BBY - Silence & Solitude 14 BBY - Lost & Found 10 BBY - Visions & Dreams 0 ABY - Waiting & Wishing Lost & Found - Dramatis Personae Revek Faidhe (Jedi Knight, human male) Silence Faidhe (Jedi Youngling, human female) Nala Zoar (Smuggler Captain of the Twilight Queen, Zeltron female) Raanan Zoar (Zeltron male) Qui-Gon Jinn (Deceased Jedi Master, human male) *** 14 BBY - Brigia - The Tion Hegemony *** "Mom... Mom, wake up!" Captain Nala, independent business woman and privateer, groaned and dug herself deeper into her bunk against the incessant pounding her thirteen year old son was giving the cabin door. She gave the slumbering lump next to her a hard nudge, and when it did not immediately stir, a sharper jab. "Ow!" exclaimed a masculine voice, "I'm awake, I'm awake..." Sky-blue eyes peeled open with relunctance "Come on, Nala, he's your son." Revek ran his free hand over his face, rubbing away sleep and pushing back at long blonde braids. "After only a couple hours' sleep, he's noone's son. Use your mystic powers and make him shut up..." she insisted in a drowsy grumble as the banging continued. "C'mon, Mom! You promised!" "And whose fault was that? You did promise..." the Jedi echoed with a humored grin. "Your species, your son, your problem." He jerked away the covers, exposing the Zeltron to the icy air, and gave her a gentle nudge towards the edge of the narrow bed. "Go on before he gets Silence to open the lock. She can do that now, you know." "Shavit," the woman muttered, and pushed herself upright with a sigh. "You'll pay for this." she promised her companion with a glance over one bare magenta shoulder. She reached to pull her robe over her shoulders and shook her dark red hair free. Revek laughed softly as he watched Nala stalk towards the door. "Don't I always?" He sank back into the mattress as she palmed the door open and crossed his arms behind his head. The lady smuggler paused only to throw him a dirty look before she addressed the lanky youth standing before the open door. "Can't it wait, Raanan?" she asked as he dropped his hand and smiled up towards her. "Aw, Mom!" He scrubbed at the back of his neck and shot an appealing look towards his mother. "You said we're shipping out tonight, and it's already noon!" "Kriffin' hell," Nala swore, then reached down and grabbed for her discarded belt. Ignoring the pants that came up with it, she poked into a small pouch and pulled out a handful of credit chits. She thrust them towards the young teenager, "Here... take your commlink and stay out of trouble." Raanan blinked his lavendar eyes in surprise, and then favored his dame with a bright smile. "You mean I can go alone? Wizard!" He scooped the money out of his mother's hand and pocketed it immediately. He started to dart off when he was brought up short by Nala's grasp. She turned her son around by his captured shoulder and leaned closer to whisper, "Take Silence with you, and there's another twenty..." She flashed the bribe and a warm smile. The boy eyed the extra credits dubiously, and tried to peer past his mother into the darkness of the cabin. "Um... S'alright with Vek?" he asked. His hesitation less borne of a relunctance to let the little girl tag along than it was a sure knowledge of how protective the Jedi was of his young ward. Raanan actually liked having her around. "What's alright with Vek?" the subject of discussion inquired, peering over Nala's shoulder. The credit chit disappeared into her palm, but not fast enough to escape his notice. He quirked a bit of a smile. "Just a favor..." Nala said airily, with a dismissive wave. She turned to drape her arms around Revek's neck and smile into his eyes. "Come back to bed." she purred, pushing him lightly in that direction. Raanan rolled his eyes at his mother's behavior and grinned as the Jedi gently untangled himself. The man had wised up in the past five years, and lost enough naivity to at least realize when he was being distracted, however nicely. "In a moment..." Revek turned his attention away from the woman and back to the teenager. "Well?" he arched a blonde eyebrow and folded his arms, but utterly failed to look stern. From the hint of warning rolling off his mother's expression and mind, Raanan knew he was probably out the extra twenty credits if he spoke. He decided it was worth it. He addressed himself Revek with a wide smile, "Mom said I could go to the market alone. Can Silence come with me? I think she'd really like it... and I'd look after her." The youth making his mother's idea his own didn't fool Revek. Letting the boy go alone, and then getting him to take Silence? She was trying to get a day without interruptions, and trying to do it without him knowing. She knew he was loath to let the child out of his sight. His first instinct was to say no, to keep the girl close and away from strangers, safe. After fixing her son with a look, Nala swept behind Revek, embracing him with one arm and covering his mouth with the fingers of her other hand before he could say anything. "It's a university town, Gorgeous, not an Imperial garrison. The worst tht could happen is them getting bored to death by a group of dusty old scholars." Revek captured her hand in his and pulled it away to deliver a by-now familiar protest, "But she's the only padawan left of her generation. You know that." He frowned faintly as old territory seemed on the verge of being rehashed once more. Nala shook her head and dropped a kiss on the back of his shoulder. "And that means she lives as cloistured a life as a H'kig nun? Let the girl have some fun..." Raanan closed his eyes and winced. This 'discussion' was headed no where good, again, and he could feel his hopes of finding the parts he needed to complete his project fading away. Turning with leashed emotion, Revek again removed Nala's embrace, this time more firmly and with a frown resting on his face. "Don't tell me how to raise Jedi." he instructed the Zeltron in a quiet voice as he turned to face her. "Cloistured is exactly what she should be... would be..." "And as naive and street-dumb as you were?" Nala replied hotly, hands on hips. "That was different! There was a war!" Raanan crept away from the cabin's door with a suppressed groan. He could almost recite what each would say next, and knew they wouldn't notice his absence -now-. He passed by Silence on the way to his own cabin, and the small, quiet girl abandoned her datapad to trail after him. The sounds of the argument carried through after them, not quite muffled by the thickness of Raanan's door. "They're fighting about me again, right, Ra?" the dark-eyed blonde asked soberly as she perched on the edge of the boy's bed and watched him gather things for his outing. The teen sighed softly as he clipped his commlink to his belt and knelt in front of the younger child. He draped his arms loosely around her thin waist and offered a smile. "Not... really." He scrunched up his brow while looking for the words to explain what he only half understood himself. "They just have different ideas, Sis. Vek'll spend a few nights on the floor, and then they'll make up, like always." The child peered up at her brother in all but blood with a skeptical expression skewing her pretty face. "I... suppose so." she allowed. That's how it always went, but it didn't make her like it any better. "Where are you going?" Silence wrapped her own short arms around Raanan's neck. A brighter smile warmed Raanan's pink face, "Mom said I could go to the market. I need some more servomotors and memory chips and stuff." He returned the girl's hug, then sat back to pull on his boots. The footwear was nearly new, but his feet already came to the end of the toes. He'd save that fact to tell his Mom when she was in a better mood... he was sure she'd use all the words he wasn't supposed to when she found out his feet had grown again. The very image ellicited a laugh from the boy. Silence gave him a quizzical look, canting her chin at an angle and studying Raanan intently with her chocolate-brown eyes. "Your boots are too small." she pronounced with authority. Raanan rose with a slight smirk and ruffled her blonde curls. "You're not supposed to be doing that, Sis." he reminded. He shrugged on his vest and pulled his braids out of the neck, braids he made his mother weave his long hair into exactly like the Jedi's. His smirk broke into a warm grin, though, as he added, "But I won't tell." The somber child favored him with a rare smile of her own. "And I won't tell... if you take me with you." An aura of pleading entered her dark eyes as she gazed up at the older youth. "Please, Ra..." Oh, now -he- was supposed to say no to her? Raanan hid his face in his hands and groaned. "Siiileeence... " "You can tell Father I made you do it." the girl offered helpfully and hopefully. "Then he'd just get mad at me." "You know he knows when we lie." the teen pointed out the flaw in that plan. "I could do it for real?" "No!" "Then I'll just follow you anyway." the little girl set her jaw in a determined fashion and slid off the bed. "I'll count ten." "You can only count to ten." Raanan reminded her, then threw up his hands. "Fine! Just remember, I didn't know anything about this. I'll wait for you outside." Better she was with him than sneaking out alone, the youth figured. There was no chance in hell that logic would hold up to Vek, though. A tow-headed missile grappled his waist in an exuberant hug, and he was lost. With a grin and a sigh, he gave Silence a quick hug back and then Raanan made his escape. True to his word, the older boy was waiting for her at the base of the freighter moments later. The adults were still arguing, and she was glad to be away, as much as she loved both her father and Nala. Silence seized Raanan's hand with a smile and the two of them headed off into the city proper. -----signature----- Well-behaved women seldom make history. You can't fix stupid and you can't reason with crazy. Happiness is a warm Hoojib!
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ZekksGoddess Registered: Oct '04	Date Posted: 3/16/06 3:15pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	Nice plotline, I'm enjoying it so far. Was the beginning influenced slightly by a scene from The Lion King? -----signature----- all Zekk, all the time (redesign!) - http://vent-crawler.sitesled.com Lifeday Candles - http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=28264205&brd=10477&replies=0 To Ease the Pain - http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28240759/p1/?2
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RebelGrrl Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 3/16/06 3:32pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	ZekksGoddess posted: Nice plotline, I'm enjoying it so far. Was the beginning influenced slightly by a scene from The Lion King? Thank you! I haven't seen the Lion King in years, though I will admit to blatantly lifting Nala's name from that source. Any other influence was subconscious. -----signature----- Well-behaved women seldom make history. You can't fix stupid and you can't reason with crazy. Happiness is a warm Hoojib!
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MoeTharen Registered: Sep '05	Date Posted: 3/16/06 3:48pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	Aw! That was so cute! I liked how close Raanan and Silence are, adorable. Looking foward to more!! Please keep me on your PM list. -Commander Tharen- -----signature----- Jesus Freak
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PadwanKayla Registered: Jul '05	Date Posted: 3/16/06 6:22pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	Hurray! A sequel already! Looking forward to seeing Silence in action now. Great start! -----signature----- NaNoWriMo 2007 Winner at 87142! Sanity is just a frame of mind This is where the fun begins
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RebelGrrl Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 3/16/06 6:23pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	MoeTharen posted: Aw! That was so cute! I liked how close Raanan and Silence are, adorable. Looking foward to more!! Please keep me on your PM list. I liked how conveniently Silence can be contracted to 'Sis'. That's really the sort of relationship the two kids have got. Raanan was at the right age to appreciate a sibling and not deem one so much of a pest. At least, he was from my own personal experience. There's plenty more coming! For the record, the PM list for this story is: jpauln obsessedwithSW PadwanKayla Paegis MoeTharen If anyone would like to be added, just let me know! -----signature----- Well-behaved women seldom make history. You can't fix stupid and you can't reason with crazy. Happiness is a warm Hoojib!
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RebelGrrl Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 3/16/06 6:25pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	PadwanKayla posted: Hurray! A sequel already! Looking forward to seeing Silence in action now. Great start! You just don't know how much stuff I've been sitting on... thanks! -----signature----- Well-behaved women seldom make history. You can't fix stupid and you can't reason with crazy. Happiness is a warm Hoojib!
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VaderLVR64 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 3/16/06 6:26pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	Wonderful job so far! I look forward to more! -----signature----- R.I.P John, Alex, Jason, and Christian Never forgotten Soldiers' Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ 2114 soldiers waiting for someone to care
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RebelGrrl Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 3/16/06 7:20pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	VaderLVR64 posted: Wonderful job so far! I look forward to more! Thank you! There will be more very soon! -----signature----- Well-behaved women seldom make history. You can't fix stupid and you can't reason with crazy. Happiness is a warm Hoojib!
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jpauln Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 3/16/06 8:29pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	It's good to see this started so soon! I loved seeing that not everything had changed; Nala and Rev are the same as always. It's cools seeing the kids older too. Something tells me that Raanan's trip into town won't go as smoothly as it should. -----signature----- Ordinary Citizens (OC's/RoTS-OT) http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/22507520/p1/?1 Polar Forces (Sequel to Polar Beings) http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=22867594&brd=10476
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RebelGrrl Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 3/16/06 8:53pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	jpauln posted: It's good to see this started so soon! I loved seeing that not everything had changed; Nala and Rev are the same as always. It's cools seeing the kids older too. Something tells me that Raanan's trip into town won't go as smoothly as it should. Why, whatever gave you that idea? Me, I'm worried about his pink hide when all this gets found out. -----signature----- Well-behaved women seldom make history. You can't fix stupid and you can't reason with crazy. Happiness is a warm Hoojib!
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Peagis Registered: Apr '05	Date Posted: 3/17/06 1:15pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence"
	Yay! New posts and story!!!! -----signature----- "life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." - George Carlin
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RebelGrrl Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 3/17/06 2:05pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence" - 3/17 A/N
	Peagis posted: Yay! New posts and story!!!! Yup! I am a slave to my creative outlets. Author's Note Speaking of which, just for fun and in search of inspiration for a series title, I pulled up a Gaelic-English dictionary and ran 'Faidhe' through it. Hah! I've even managed to be on-topic for St. Pat's Day! faide: nf.ind. length, degree of length; a. longer, longest; farther : na 's faide sìos, farther down. Since 'h' is not a letter in Gaelic and is used as an indicator instead, I don't know if faide is exactly faidhe or not, but it's close enough that I am going to take the liberty. Silence Long? Longest silence? Hmmm... Anyway, a quick name meaning/pronunciation guide for the curious: Revek: reh vek' - no meaning Nala: nah' lah - Successful Raanan: rah an' an - Fresh, New Faidhe: fay - see 'faide' above Camren: cam ren - from cameron, Bent Nose Fuhl: full - no meaning Breena: bree' nah - Fairy Land What's funny is that when I was deciding names, I didn't look for their meanings. In fact, I'm surprised that so many actually -had- meanings! Enough for now, going back to work out the next part of the story! -----signature----- Well-behaved women seldom make history. You can't fix stupid and you can't reason with crazy. Happiness is a warm Hoojib!
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obsessedwithSW Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 3/17/06 6:20pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence" - 3/17 A/N
	I knew Revek wouldnt be able to hold out for long! Their relationship would be fiery /passionate with two strong willed people like themselves. Exciting yes, but it doesnt make for an easy peaceful coexistence. Padewans are always a little mischeivous and Silence seems no different. Great start Rebelgrl! -----signature----- Yes Darth Maul -bring sexy back! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW8kOYvwVng Avid SiriWaner ! Stories in Bio
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RebelGrrl Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 3/17/06 8:05pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence" - 3/17 A/N
	obsessedwithSW posted: I knew Revek wouldnt be able to hold out for long! Their relationship would be fiery /passionate with two strong willed people like themselves. Exciting yes, but it doesnt make for an easy peaceful coexistence. Padewans are always a little mischeivous and Silence seems no different. Great start Rebelgrl! At some point I will probably go back and write the turning point that occured in the 5 years this story skipped passed. However, Silence was demanding to do more than coo and look cute! You've already seen one of the hot-button topics. Nala is definitely more 'laissez-faire' when it comes to child-rearing, and Revek's got himself into a 'She's the last of the Order!' snit, no thanks to a certain Tatooine Master not sharing his own secrets. Now I just have to think of a phrase that equals 'Mustn't twitch!' -----signature----- Well-behaved women seldom make history. You can't fix stupid and you can't reason with crazy. Happiness is a warm Hoojib!
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RebelGrrl Registered: Jan '06	Date Posted: 3/20/06 5:39pm Subject: RE: Lost and Found - OCs, Qui-Gon, sequel to "Silence" - COMPLETED 3/20 - Date Edited: 3/20/06 5:41pm (1 edits total) Edited By: RebelGrrl
	Here we are, the second half and conclusion! This story is shorter than the first one, but there's still more sequels to come. 4548 words! Raanan's attention was pulled away from the mixed lot of spare parts by yet another insistant tug on the loose hem of his shirt. The youth looked down at the child with the fistful of fabric and cocked his chin in silent question. He was well aware that he'd signed up for the interruptions by bringing Silence with him, but if he heard one more word about... "The blue glowing man is watching us again, Ra." Silence whispered, with a glance back over her thin shoulder. And there it was again. Raanan was completely baffled as to the girl's insistance that some odd being was following them all over the marketplace. Every time he looked, he didn't see anyone watching, let alone someone who glowed in any color. It was no different this time, as he followed Silence's gaze. "There's no one there, Sis, just like last time." He turned away from the display he'd been inspecting and hunkered down to the five-year-old's level. He rested his hands on her shoulders and worked to screen out the myriad sea of emotion flowing from all the beings around him to focus solely on the little girl. Her strong, familiar presence made the task easier, but he couldn't be entirely sure he wasn't missing something subtle. As it was, he found no fear or alarm in the child, just frustration. Silence pouted at the young Zeltron, folding her arms stubbornly as the youth met her gaze. "There is too! Why don't you believe me?" Raanan sighed inwardly, outwardly lifting a hand to stroke the girl's golden curls in an attempt to soothe away her willful expression. She ducked her head at the caress in a half-hearted effort to avoid it. "I believe you saw something, okay?" he attempted to reason, "I just don't see it. Maybe we ought to go back." The girl's chocolate-brown eyes flew wide at his last suggestion and she shook her head quite emphatically. "No!" She made a valient attempt to suck in her lower lip and rested her small hands on Raanan's arms. "Let's not go back yet, please?" she implored, and tried to shift the topic, to boot. "Can we get a fruit Fizz, Ra?' He should take her back to the ship. He should tell Vek that Silence was seeing things. However, he just couldn't bring himself to insist while under the influence of that liquid brown gaze. Instead, he found his hand sliding to his credit case entirely of it's own accord. "No more of this stuff about the strange man? I mean, unless he scares you or threatens something?" Silence nodded in determined assent. "Okay, Ra." Against the muted whisper of his better judgement, Raanan closed Silence's small fingers over a few shiny credits and pointed to a stand across the causeway. "There's someone selling Fizzes over there. Get me a juba-berry one, and one for you, and come -right- back, Sis." A bright smile blossomed over the child's face and she dropped a tiny kiss on Raanan's cheek before darting off, "Right back!" The youth rubbed his cheek with a laugh. He watched her make it to the other side of the road before he turned back to picking through the array of used and potentially useful gizmos. *** "And stay out!" "With pleasure!" Revek Faidhe shot back at the door sliding closed to the ostensibly -shared- cabin. The lock indicator flashed to red from green. He stalked over towards the curved bench in the main crew hold and tossed down his armful of clothing and blankets. He fumed in a decidedly un-Jedi-like manner as he sorted through the wadded array and neatly folded both garments and bedding. "'There is no passion: there is serenity.' Hah! Not on this ship with -that- woman!" he muttered to himself as he worked. He vowed to himself that rabid gundarks wouldn't drive him back into that bed, and blatantly ignored his nagging memories of how many other times he'd made that promise, and failed to hold to it. His former master would be ashamed of him if he could see him now. He was certain that his shins wouldn't have survived the lecture from Master Yoda and his gimmer stick had the diminutive Jedi lived. The tall man rubbed his hands over his tanned face and sank down onto the bench with a groan. Some fine example of the Order he was, casting aside ages old strictures and tenets against attachments, against love. 'Do as I say, not as I do' didn't hold any water with his young charge past her third lifeday. Silence was too perceptive, far too young. There were numerous reasons for the slight deviation from the code he'd followed all his life, among them the sheer impossibility of being the sole guardian for a child and -not- becoming attached. There were reasons why generations of Jedi children had been raised in a communal creche with a rotation of caring adults, reasons directly defied by the current situation. There was also the loneliness. Even while physically alone and distant from the Temple, the young Jedi had never felt such isolation as he now endured. There had always been others. Now there was just him, and the child, and a broke-spirited Master on the far off sands of Tatooine. Nala's persistant offers of 'comfort' had worn away his resolve and banished the loneliness. Comfort turned to love, even if the Zeltron wouldn't let him say it. Love was not enough to unbend their stubborn streaks, though. Each had matters on which they would not budge, which left things as they were in this moment. Revek pulled himself straight and pushed away the last dregs of shame and fury with the vain hope that Silence hadn't intercepted them. He stowed his possessions in the bins under the cabin's seating, for all the limited time he knew they'd be there, and went to find the child. Both he and she could do with some training exercises. A scant five minutes later brought him charging back into the main room and his fist into repeated violent contact with Nala's cabin door. "Open up before I open it myself! Silence is missing!" * Kindly blue eyes shadowed by even brown brows followed the young girl's progressaway from the drink vendor. A smile crossed his bearded face at the way she darted fearlessly through the mass of beings, droids, and vehicles milling about the market lane. Not a drop of either drink she gripped in her small hands was sacrificed as she returned to the Zeltron youth's side. Appearing in the market had been a risk, but it was the child that Qui-Gon Jinn had wanted to test, not the Knight that cared for her, and her little rebellion against his strictures had provided a perfect opportunity. To his surprise, this youngling readily perceived his discorporate presence, where the other two had failed. It was this child, then, that the Force told him would require him. Silence was watching him again now, sitting in the shade of the stall where her older companion rummaged through the junk. She had no interest in the bits and pieces the boy sought. She was content to sip at her drink, her lips staining red from the fizzy juice. Her dark eyes burned with inate curiousity as she regarded him. Qui-Gon returned her gaze with a patient smile. After a long moment, the girl set aside her empty cup and pushed herself to her booted feet. Her short steps carried her in a direct route to where he stood. Qui-Gon Jinn shifted back into an alcoved recess in the main thoroughfare to await her arrival. It would serve to shelter the youngling from prying eyes and ears that might wander at what caused her to address thin air. The blonde girl's path was unerring as she joined him in the shadows. She gazed up at the dead Master's blue-haloed presence as if taking his measure, and indeed Qui-Gon felt the stirring in the Force as she sought to examine him. It brought a wry twist of a smile to his greying face. "You should have a care, young one." the Master intoned with a fond softness in his deep voice. "Others may sense you as I have." "Others?" Silence queried, her fair brow puckering slightly, "There aren't any others. Father said. We're the only ones." The blue-shrouded man before her intrigued her even more, now that she saw him close-up. She thought he dressed funny, but there was no mistake... that was a lightsaber hanging from his belt! "Are you an 'other', Mister?" The tall, long-haired apparition lowered himself to kneel at her own level with a low laugh. "In a manner of speaking, youngling. I was once what your father is, but there are different 'others'. Others who would harm you." The child's ignorance of the other remaining Jedi was a fact that Master Jinn carefully noted. The child wrinkled up her small nose and gave a sigh. "That's what Father says." "Your father is correct." "Hmm." came the girl's noncommittal reply. She stepped closer, until she was nose to broken nose with the robed man. "So, if you aren't what Father is anymore, what are you?" Silence reached out curiously to touch the man's glowing cheek, only to gasp softly when her small hand passed into his face. She hurriedly drew her hand back as if stung. A sadness briefly tinged Qui-Gon's gentle smile. "No, child, I no longer have physical form. I exist only as a presence in the Force, now." Silence's smooth face rumpled, then cleared as she processed the concept newly introduced. At length she nodded once, with a bright smile exploding across her lips. "Ahhh! That is why Ra couldn't see you! He can only tell feelings." She paused for a single beat, and tipped her chin. "What's your name? Mine's Silence." "I am very pleased to meet you, young Silence. You may call me Qui-Gon." "Qui-Gon," the little girl echoed, then smiled again. "Just wait 'til I tell Father! He'll want to meet you, too!" She bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet, and the disembodied Master felt a pang at having to disillusion the child. "No, Silence," Qui-Gon Jinn spoke softly, fixing her brown eyes with his own of blue. "Your father is not ready. In time, he will be, but until then, you must keep this secret. Do you understand?" The girl's heels hit the ground as an air of solemnity overtook her small frame. "I ... understand, Qui-Gon. I won't tell. I mean, if I don't have to lie, I won't. Father knows when I lie." The Jedi Master broke into a smile despite himself at Silence's earnest sincerity. "Of course, youngling. I would not ask you to lie. Now," he began as he rose up to his full height once more, "You should be getting back to your friend, before he misses you." Silence nodded her agreement, but lingered in the alcove "Will I see you again, Qui-Gon?" "Yes, my little friend, and often." Qui-Gon Jinn shared the child's warm smile. He watched her depart, and returned the wave she turned to give him, then allowed his manifestation to dissipate from view. * Raanan was growing more worried with each second that passed without sighting Silence's head of riotous blonde curls. She had been right there while he was purchasing those parts, -right there-. He turned around, and she was gone. "Oh, I'm really gonna get it!" he muttered to himself as he poked his head under yet another awning in search of the child. The youth's cry of surprise came out a high-pitched yelp when an unexpected grasp fell on his shoulder and spun him about. It was soon followed by an audible gulp as he found himself staring up into the stormy gaze of one Revek Faidhe, Jedi Knight. "You haven't the half of it, Raanan," came the older man's rumbled assurance. "Tell us where she is, son," the boy's mother encouraged from over Revek's shoulder. Now the teenager knew he was dead. No doubt about it, if Mom was playing 'good enforcer' to the Jedi's 'bad' one. "I, um, I..." he stammered, then found his voice again under Revek's intense glare. "She wandered off!" "Wandered off?!" Revek's voice began to rise, until Nala laid a cautioning hand on his arm. People were starting to notice. The man instantly lowered his voice. "Weren't you watching her?" he questioned, incredulous. "Yes, but..." "But nothing!" Revek removed his had from the youth's shoulder and took a deep breath, visibly wrestling with the wild torrent of worry and alarm coursing through him. "Go with your mother." He paused to glance back at the Zeltron woman "I'll take this end of the row, you take the other. Comm me in fifteen minutes." Nala nodded her assent, pausing only long enough to squeeze Revek's arm in reassurance. "We'll find her." "Find who?" A weak little smile crossed Silence's pretty face as three sets of eyes turned on her in surprise. "Um... hi, Father?" * 'Go to your room and meditate' hadn't really sounded like much of a punishment to begin with, but it had been hours! Silence peered at the glowing chrono near her bunk and tried to will the big number to change faster, without touching the Force. She was supposed to be thinking about what she'd done, sneaking off the ship like that, but all she could manage was how long it had been since lunch. Finally she dared a furtive probe outside her chamber. Maybe if they all went to bed she could sneak something out of the chiller. ~Silence!~ her father pressed into her consciousness, and she snapped back the tendril of her awareness with a guilty flush. Ooops. She chewed on her lower lip, and tried another tact. Making a small fist, she rapped gently against the wall of her bunk, the wall her cabin shared with Raanan's. She was greeted with the complete absense of response not only the first time, but the third and fourth as well, plus the distinct impression that her beloved Ra was mad at her. Everyone was mad at her. Her lower lip started to quiver as tears stung her eyes. The quiet 'whoosh' of her door briefly forstalled the verging torrent of self-pity. She dared a glance up, then hurled herself from her bunk to wrap herself around her father's legs. Revek nearly tripped from the impact, only Jedi reflexes keeping the dinner tray he bore from a tragic demise. "I'm sorr...sorrry, Father!" the girl sobbed into the fabric of his trousers. Revek floated the tray to safety with a soft sigh, his resolve to be firm and stern shattering as his little girl's tears half-broke his heart. Revek's hand gently combed through her soft curls as he pried her from his legs with the other hand. "Come and sit with me, little one," he murmured, urging her towards the edge of her bed. He settled an arm around her and wiped at her damp cheeks with a napkin. Silence curled against him and sniffled quietly as the flood of tears abated. Revek carefully kept his tone soft as he spoke, "Do you understand what you did wrong?" The tiny girl nodded, but Revek waited for more than a silent response. At length, her small voice broke the quiet, "I left the ship without permission. I made everyone worry." and even softer, she added "And I got Raanan in awful trouble." "Is it going to happen again?" "No, Father." "Ready for some dinner?" Revek brushed back the girl's curls and smiled gently "Spyro-noodles and nerf cheese..." He summoned the tray over and rested it on his lap. He pressed a fork into the child's hand. "Tomorrow you can appologize to Captain Nala and Raanan." Silence's mood lifted at the offer of her favorite food and a tiny smile crossed her tear-stained face. "Yesh, Father..." she agreed around a mouthful, then leaned up to smear a blue, cheesy kiss on the Jedi's cheek. Revek blinked nonplussed for a moment, wiping at the mess with his fingers. Then a broad grin broke his dour expression as he returned the favor after a mouthful of his own meal, smacking a loud kiss right on the end of the girl's nose. Raanan broke into a smile at the giggles both childlike and masculine erupting from the other side of the bulkhead and resumed cleaning his new collection of gears and motors. * Fin *** -----signature----- Well-behaved women seldom make history. You can't fix stupid and you can't reason with crazy. Happiness is a warm Hoojib!
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