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Conduit (a JA/AU fic) - NOW COMPLETE! -- 3 updates: 12/31 and 1/1

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction Stories--Classic JC Board (Reply-Only)' started by Obi-Fan, Nov 6, 2000.

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  1. Obi-Fan

    Obi-Fan Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 21, 2000
    Okay, I know I pinched the title for this from an X-Files episode (and not even an especially GOOD one, at that), but eventually, you'll see why the title fits.

    I ALSO know I should NOT be starting this new story, with two OTHER fics in the works, not to mention the dreaded Real Life... but this plotline hit me and just would NOT give me a moment's peace.

    So here it is. This story is set right around the beginning of the JA series, but in a universe where at least one VERY significant event has changed. I don't want to say any more than that, really. I'd prefer you folks to figure it all out as we go (um, not that that will be all that hard to do...). Anyway, here's the first part:

    ======

    In the half-empty cargo hold of a rickety freight transport, a man sat huddled in the corner.

    He was exhausted, his breath coming in quick, shallow gasps, his pulse echoing loudly in his ears. They had chased him for hours, cut him off at every turn, and made escape seem like an impossible dream... but he had done it somehow, he had lost them, and now the ship he was hidden on had pulled up its landing gear and was lifting him up through Corellia?s atmosphere and away from pursuit.

    He wanted to survey his temporary haven, wanted to stretch out with his feelings and confirm that the danger had definitely passed, but he knew he didn?t dare take the chance. Knew that if he made any move to heighten his presence within the Force, his pursuers might pick it up and use it to center in on his location.

    They would stop this ship and board it and they would tear it apart till they had found him.

    And this time, there would be nowhere to run.

    Shivering perhaps as much from the thought as from the bone-chilling cold in the cargo hold, the man drew his tattered robes in more tightly against his frame. The chill would only worsen as the ship left the atmosphere and the harsh cold of space seeped through the hold?s patchy insulation, but he could stand the cold. He had been trained to deal with even the strongest of physical discomforts, and his training was the one thing in life that had never betrayed him.

    An unpleasant lurching sensation in his stomach signaled the ship?s move into hyperspace, and the man breathed a long sigh of relief. He was safe, then; he could hide here till the transport reached its next port of call, and then he would sneak away, with the ship?s crew never knowing what a dangerous fugitive they had harbored.

    Perhaps this transport?s destination would be the place he had so long been searching for. Perhaps this planet might prove to be so remote and so far from the Emperor?s reach that the man might finally be able to rest. Perhaps this planet would be free of the sweeper clones who, despite their minimal intelligence and only dim sensitivity to the Force, had hunted down and exterminated so many of his colleagues by the sheer force of their greater numbers.

    Colleagues. Friends. Family.

    All of them dead?or hunted, as was he.

    How could they all have been so blind not to see this was coming?

    And he, the blindest of them all.

    Ruthlessly pushing the memories away, the man lay his head back against the bulkhead and closed his eyes, letting the tension in his body slowly bleed out through his pores. He was cold, he was tired, and he ached in a thousand places, just beginning to make themselves known... but at least, it seemed, he would live to see another day.

    These days, that was more than most Jedi could expect.
     
  2. jedi_master_gimpy

    jedi_master_gimpy Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    WOW.

    Yep, I think that just about sums it up. WOW. Excellent start there, Obi-Fan!!! It is looking excellent!! I can't wait for more!!
     
  3. Liz Skywalker

    Liz Skywalker Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 13, 2000
    woah. I've gotta know more...please?
     
  4. LadyJedith

    LadyJedith Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2000
    How intriguing.
    The man...
    Who's he? Where is he, WHEN is he at last?
    And why, and what, and... Thousands of questions, I have! :cool:
    Please continue your story, Obi-Fan, I'm already caught by it as you can see... So - would you be so kind and post more and more and more? Just a humble demand... ;-)
     
  5. Kelly Kenobi

    Kelly Kenobi Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 23, 2000
    Wowsers Obi-Fan what a begining.... it has definatly left me wanting more more more!
     
  6. Master_Tahl

    Master_Tahl Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2000
    Wow! Great start Obi-Fan.
    I have a thousand questions,too. Post soon, before we all go crazy from questions. :p
     
  7. jodiwent

    jodiwent Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 11, 2000
    More! Please.
     
  8. Jedi Susie

    Jedi Susie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 12, 2000
    Yeah another story from Obi-Fan! i can't wait to see how this one pans out...thus far it is really interesting. Post soon ^_^
     
  9. Anakin's Angel

    Anakin's Angel Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 3, 2000

    Whoa...Please, we need more!!! Soon!

    aa :D
     
  10. Abbi_Cee

    Abbi_Cee Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 3, 2000
    What a great begining that was. It seems that the downfall of the Jedi has happened much sooner here, but is the emperor still Palpatine or someone else? Did the same events unfold, but with different people? And who is the mysterious man in the hold? I have my guesses but only time and another post (or two) will tell. ;-)
     
  11. Obi-Fan

    Obi-Fan Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 21, 2000
    Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone!

    Moving right along now, here's post two. Maybe no definite answers yet, but I think you should be able to guess at least ONE more piece of information about the story...

    Hope you like!

    ======
    The figure slipped into the cantina so silently it was several minutes before the waitress even noticed him at one of her tables. When she did finally see him, it was several more minutes before she could pull herself from the lap of one of her more amorous (yet generally well-tipping) regulars and make her way over to him.

    In the few moments it took her to step across the cantina to his table, the waitress assessed her new customer?s prospects with the devastating thoroughness of a lifelong cantina girl. The man... and it WAS a man, she could see now, though the thick robe that covered him from head to foot made it difficult to tell... was obviously not a wealthy traveler. His boots were scuffed and worn down, his cloak bore evidence of having been torn and repaired in many places; his hands, resting motionless on the table, were callused and red. Not a pilot, either, or even part of a ship?s crew; he lacked the carefree exuberance of the professional flyboy. A laborer, she suspected, and one very much down on his luck?else, how would he have ended up on a planet like this?

    No amount of charm would squeak a big tip out of this one, the waitress decided, with a frown of disappointment. She?d take care of him with a bare minimum of effort and return to more lucrative clients.

    "What can I do for ya?" she asked brusquely, balancing her tray on one hip and staring down at her customer with obvious disdain.

    "Do you serve food here?" he asked, his soft, pleasant voice barely audible amidst the clamor of the nighttime crowd and the dissonance of the band tweaking their instruments between sets.

    The waitress snorted. "If you can call it that," she shrugged, by way of an answer. "Stuff?s no worse for ya, at least, than the alcohol we serve here, though that ain?t saying much."

    The man looked up at her and the waitress?s gaze was caught and held by a vision of stunning blue. A stray thought crossed her mind, made all the more powerful by the uncharacteristic empathy it stirred within her chest.

    This man, she thought, has the saddest eyes I?ve ever seen.

    Her own eyes softening now, she studied her customer with an interest stretching beyond purely business. He was tall, she noted?so tall that his unusual height was quite obvious even while seated?and broad, too, with powerful shoulders and long, well-muscled arms. The latent strength in his figure was mirrored by the strong lines of his brow, cheek, and jaw. He was not young, as evidenced by the faint creases in his face and the strands of gray in his beard?but nor was he very old, and, despite the weariness that clung to him like a shroud, she suspected he possessed the vigor and good health of a man ten years his junior.

    He had a distinct look of intelligence lurking around his eyes, and the serene dignity and assurance in his bearing spoke of a past far kinder to him than his present appearance implied. But then, wasn?t that true for everyone, she thought, in this increasingly miserable age?

    The man lowered his eyes and reached into an inner pocket of his tunic, breaking the waitress from her spell. "I?ll take whatever you can give me for that," he said, tossing a coin on the table.

    The waitress picked up the coin and examined it briefly, before slipping it into her apron pocket. "I can get you a nice bowl of gaffa," she offered kindly, "and perhaps some..."

    Her voice trailed off as her attention was drawn by a sudden cessation of the noise around her. She turned, curiously, then gasped at the sight of three white-armored men standing at the cantina doorway. No, not men, she corrected herself, but clones--genetic abominations that had been churned out by the Emperor's massive factory on Coruscant, and engineered to operate with a single purpose: to carry out the Emperor?s wishes with a deadly, unrelent
     
  12. Jane Jinn

    Jane Jinn Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    This is very intriguing, and a good start. Keep going, I want to find out more!
     
  13. mouse2

    mouse2 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 1999
    I really likes Obi-Fan! Such tension. Please give us more!

    Post soon!
    Post often!
     
  14. Jedi Susie

    Jedi Susie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 12, 2000
    OooOOoo Very very interesting! SO many questions which mean.....more posts! ^_^

    I *think* I'm slowly (SSSLLLOOOWWWLLLYYY) getting things into place, but I am far from sorted out.

    Post soon!
     
  15. Kaylla Norn

    Kaylla Norn Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2000
    hmmmm, so a jedi master didn't die... did his padawan or why are there clones?... and is this post vader or? ....... oh please post!

    ;~)
     
  16. jedi_master_gimpy

    jedi_master_gimpy Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    Wow!! Another awesome post, Obi-Fan!! I have an idea about who the Jedi is, but I'm not sure so I won't say anything yet. More soon, please! :)
     
  17. Master_Tahl

    Master_Tahl Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2000
    Cool post Obi-Fan. I think I have an idea who this jedi is, but is it the same jedi from the last post?

    Post Soon!!!!!!!
     
  18. KnightMara

    KnightMara Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 1999
    I'm not usually a big JA fan, so I almost didn't read this thread. I'm glad I had second thoughts about it! This is very intriguing. I can't wait to read more. :)
     
  19. jedi_master_gimpy

    jedi_master_gimpy Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
  20. Healer_Leona

    Healer_Leona Squirrel Wrangler of Fun & Games star 9 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2000
    With the first post I suspected the man to be Qui-Gon, then with the second post I just melted at your desciption of him. mmmmmm

    Ah, ok, breaks away from those thoughts.

    What an intriguing story! The galaxy turned upside down. The Jedi already hunted. Will the lone Jedi perhaps meet up with a gifted boy, one who'll turn into good friend????

    Hurry with more Obi-Fan!
     
  21. padawan3

    padawan3 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 1999
    Wow is the only word I can say. Great way to start a story.
     
  22. Obi-Fan

    Obi-Fan Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 21, 2000
    Ugh. I HATE writing action scenes. This is a seriously iffy post, but I've given up on trying to fix it.

    Hmm. Not to give anything away about this post, or anything... but, Healer Leona, the Force is DEFINITELY strong in your family! :>

    -OF


    ====
    The man was through the cantina's back room and out the service entrance before the sweepers could pull themselves from the floor. He felt a brief twinge of guilt at having Force-pushed a bystander into the soldiers; he hoped they hadn't been too rough in removing the Gamorrean from their path. But he was not given much time to reflect on the method of his escape, as a shout from behind him signaled he had once again been detected. He spared a quick glance in the direction of the shout and saw no less than ten sweeper clones headed towards him with blasters pointed and ready.

    Cursing himself in every language he could call to mind, the man broke into a dead run down the alley. How could he possibly have been so blind to the Force not to have noticed the danger till it was practically on top of him? Exhaustion was no excuse; nor was the greater risk of detection he faced in actively using the Force. He was losing it, he thought---losing the instinctive connection to the Force he had held since his earliest years. And if he lost that last source of comfort, what in this galaxy would he be left with?

    He pulled his lightsaber from his belt, ignited it, and waved it in a sweeping motion across his back, deflecting the sweepers? first wave of blaster fire back at them. He heard the distinctive sound of bodies hitting the ground and knew that two of those shots had found their way back to his pursuers. He turned down another alley, ran a few yards, then turned again, weaving and winding his way through the streets in hopes of losing the clones in the maze of small, oddly-shaped buildings.

    Behind him, he heard the sound of footsteps breaking off in several directions, and he allowed a grim smile to crease his face. Whether the clones knew it or not, they had just given him an advantage. It would be much easier for him to defeat a few small groups of clones than one large, concerted attack. The near-absolute darkness of this planet's night also worked in his favor; the Emperor's troops, in their white armor, would stand out far more against the shadows than would he in his dark cloak.

    A small storage bin lay several yards down the alley; he extinguished his lightsaber and hid behind it, waiting for the trio of footsteps he could hear closing in. As the sweepers drew near, he leapt from his hiding place, lighting his saber again and dispatching the clones before they could get off so much as a shot.

    The man moved slowly, quietly, waiting for another group of clones to reveal themselves. As he passed a darkened street, a blaster shot singed his hair and sent him diving for cover behind a small hut. He stretched out with the Force and sensed three more clones behind a stone archway bridging the street. With a massive pulse of the Force, he sent the structure crashing down upon them, crushing one guard and leaving the other two exposed to attack. He ran towards them, lightsaber raised, and the two clones shot at him in panic. The blasts were easily deflected back at them; the pair fell under the ricochet of their own fire.

    He turned down yet another alley, then stopped, spinning away from a landskimmer topped with two more sweepers headed toward him from the other end. Blaster fire lit the air all around him; he swerved and ducked with an amazing dexterity, calling upon his every resource in the Force to avoid the craft?s powerful weaponry.

    Another alley was just a few yards ahead of him. The man held his course as if to pass it by?then, at the last possible moment, veered into the alley and plastered himself against the side of a building, counting on the skimmer?s poor maneuverability to send the craft shooting past him. The feint worked?and, as the skimmer passed, the man reached out with his lightsaber and severed the craft?s propeller from its frame. The
     
  23. Master_Tahl

    Master_Tahl Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2000
    That was...that was..WOW! Your great at writing action sequences, that was awesome, you put a lot of great desciption in.

    Post agian soon, please!
     
  24. Jedi Susie

    Jedi Susie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 12, 2000
    HAte writing action scenes? But you're SO good at them!!

    That was a terrific scene and you could visualize the battle...good job!
     
  25. Latara

    Latara Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2000
    That was SO NOT IFFY! wow. that kicked butt. i think i know where this is going now so you have to post again soon.
    MORE!!!!
     
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