Marks of Fire - 1 - Defining Destiny (Obi/Qui Angst) [#3 - 12.07.02] (Special Announcement)

I've just printed myself a hard-copy of my fic, Marks of Fire, and boy, have I cringed. I sunk so low in my chair, nobody could see the top of my head from behind the papers.

The fic was awfully written, left too many things just hanging out there, and had terrible characterizations. I would rather try pulling a rabbit out of a hat than writing a sequel to the story. Yet, I do want to write a sequel, especially because I have an excellent idea for it.

In effect, what I'm saying is that I'm going to be redoing the Marks of Fire story. This version is bigger and better, both plotwise as well as character-wise. I do have to add that, while the main plot remains affectively the same, most of the chapters/posts are going to be entirely different.

I don't expect anyone to read this, but feedback is entirely welcome and actually rather appreciated.

Disclaimer: I owe nothing. Everything belongs to George Lucas, and I'm only playing in his box.

Finally, the next post will be up later today.

I am discontinuing this 'fic temporarily. DRL struck, and I don't have the time to work on more than one 'fic at a time. One day, hopefully, I'll recontinue this 'fic. Sorry to all those who have been reading (if there are any who still are waiting).

Aunecah

 

Here is the first installment. It took me a lot of time to write it, because, as you probably know, I'm not comfortable writing from his POV.

* * * *

There was nothing unique about this planet. With green plains, repugnant forests, towering mountains, and sapphire oceans, it was almost identical to many others that he had set his foot on. Kahiss had entered its longer-than-normal night cycle almost seven hours ago, and, consequently, the streets were mostly deserted.

Which was partially why he wasn?t concerned about being seen.

Nights were his friends, for they masked him with their gloom. For Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, that wasn?t a convenience?it was a prerequisite. One slip here, one sighting there, and he might as well have ruined everything that he had worked for until now.

He could not allow that.

Another cobweb of light tore the Force, clawing its way through the stillness of the air to reach him. The Force was being unusually silent, acting almost as if it had lost its power over the galaxy. For an instant, the Force wavered?as it had so many times during the past few hours?and Sidious could sense nothing.

Then, the Force returned, reverberating mildly, as if it were vexed, as if it were being bothered, distracted.

Something or somebody was interfering with Sidious?s connection to the Force. Sidious could sense two presences not too far away from here, the presences of two Jedi, but he sincerely doubted they were the origins of these disturbances.

No, they must be here because of the same reason he was: the boy.

This troubled him. The disturbance that the boy?s birth had caused had been minute and elusive at the best, and Sidious had known about it only because he had been meditating at that time. The possibility that the Jedi could have felt the disturbance as well was unsettling, for it meant the Force might be shifting hands.

He couldn?t, of course, say that for sure. The Force had been with him for nearly an entire century, and he didn?t believe (wouldn?t believe) it would support the Jedi.

It is, of course, Sidious thought as he rounded a corner, entirely possible that the Jedi have come here upon chance rather than suggestions from the Force. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that that was indeed the case. The Jedi were weak fools, who couldn?t understand the true nature of the Force even if they tried.

The twisted alleyway that he had turned into was as deserted as the rest, and its other end disappeared away into shadows. Streetlamps lined either side of the street, but most of them were malfunctioning. And those that weren?t malfunctioning?

Well, Sidious was going to have to deal with them because he couldn?t take any chances, being this close to Jedi, in his real form. In the form of his alter ego, Senator Palpatine, Sidious had dealt with the Jedi quite often. He was a master of disguise, and just to prove his point that the Force was with him, the Jedi didn?t suspect anything. They still believed that the Sith were extinct, which worked in greatly to Sidious?s advantage.

But now, he was the Sith Lord, not Senator Palpatine, and with something interfering with the Force, he had to be more careful than usual.

Sidious was no wizard, and couldn?t take out a lighter and call the light inside the streetlamps to him, but he had many other options that were probably were just as affective.

With a casual wave of his hand, he coaxed the bulbs in the streetlamps to go dead, and that was just what they did. With darkness once again surrounding him, Sidious continued down the street.

There wasn?t much sign of activity in any of the houses except the one that stood at the end of the street, in the curve of an intersection. The house was large, though miniscule when compared to even the shortest of the skyscrapers erected on Coruscant.

It must have somewhere around six stories, Sidious estimated at a quick glance.

He gazed intently at the door-length window up near the fourth floor. A small balcony surrounded the

 

Wow. Aunecah I have to say I thought the original was realy good and nothing to cringe over but, truly, this version promises to be absolutely spectacular! Keep it coming!

 

Thanks Wild_Huntress . Well, here's more.

* * * *

The Council chamber, situated on the topmost floor of the Jedi Temple, gave those within one of the most majestic views in the galaxy. Obi-Wan Kenobi inhaled deeply as his gaze lingered on the large crescent of the evening sun, and the many buildings beneath it. The Council chamber had always been one of his favorite rooms.

Yet, Obi-Wan wished that he didn?t have to come here so often, mostly because coming here meant getting another mission, and Obi-Wan felt he and his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, had already had too many missions last month alone.

?It is advisable to start as soon as possible,? Master Mace Windu was saying. He sounded weary and worried. ?We fear we have waited too long already. We should have looked into the matters after the very first disturbance.?

Not all of the Jedi Council was present. In fact, besides Master Windu, the diminutive Master Yoda was the only other Council member in the room. Consequently, Master Windu was being franker than he was usually. Obi-Wan suspected that the dark-skinned Master would not have been this open if he had been talking to anybody other than Qui-Gon, his childhood friend.

?We will leave right away,? Qui-Gon assured his friend, bowing his head a fraction. No matter how close they were behind doors, they had to maintain an air of formality out the doors, because Master Windu was a Council member and Qui-Gon was not.

The latter was not supposed to be that way; it would not have been this way if Qui-Gon just followed the rules. Which was where all of the master?s problems lay.

//Why don?t we worry about my not being a Council member later?// Qui-Gon?s amused voice broke through Obi-Wan?s musings, reverberating in his mind. //Right now, I think you should concentrate on what Master Windu is saying.//

Obi-Wan swallowed for non-sequential reasons, and picked a comfortable spot on the floor to stare at, noting Qui-Gon?s mild rebuke for what it was.

It?s only seven in the morning?too early for reprimands. Obi-Wan earnestly shielded his thoughts from Qui-Gon, just in case his master was still listening.

?The planet?s coordinates, and all other information that you will need on this mission is in the datapads,? Master Windu went on, his eyes lingering near Qui-Gon?s pocket for a moment. ?Of course,? he added mildly, looking at Obi-Wan, ?researching about what is public information about the planet is all your job.?

?Of course,? Obi-Wan muttered, straining to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

Obi-Wan had always studied almost everything available about the planets that he had to go to, priding himself on his thoroughness. Master Windu?s comments made him feel as if the other that he hadn?t been doing a very good job in his research, and Obi-Wan did not appreciate that thought too much.

?Any questions?? asked Master Windu, pretending to not have heard Obi-Wan.

When neither Qui-Gon nor Obi-Wan asked any, he added, ?May the Force be with you.?

Bowing to their waist, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan left the chamber.

For long moments, neither of the two Jedi spoke. It was a welcome silence for Obi-Wan, who had been dreading a lecture, or, worse, a debate that turned into a lecture.

One thing he noticed with Jedi Masters in general, and Qui-Gon in specific, was that they never admitted that they were wrong, which was just a roundabout way of saying that he never won any arguments against them.

?Obi-Wan, just so it?s clear,? Qui-Gon began slowly, ?I want you to know that I have no intention of ever being on the Council.?

?But why Master?? Obi-Wan asked in surprise. ?You deserve to be on the Council, and you know it??

?That?s not the point, Obi-Wan,? answered Qui-Gon. ?The Council holds little interest for me.?

?Why??

?I have my reasons.?

Obi-Wan shrugged, knowing that it wasn?t likely he was going to get more out of Qui-Gon. Wanting to steer the conversation away from Qui-Gon?s rebellious nature, he said, ?Why do you think the Kahissans

 

Hmm Qui's not off to a very good start, but the story is. Keep it coming!

 

I'll second Wild Huntress but I don;t think Obi-Wan woke up on the right side of the bed this morning either

 

Wild_Huntress : Thanks.

Padawankitara : Hmm, no. Obi doesn't seem to have woke up on the right side of the bed, either.

Aunecah

 

Yes, I ignored this story yesterday, but only because I ignored all of my other stories, as well.

Anyway, I'm writing the next post even as I'm typing this, and *hopefully* I'll be able to update it before I got to sleep.

Aunecah

 

Oh boy, it's been a LONG time since I updated here. Sorry. Here is a good, long post to make up for it.

_______________

Coruscant Underground was a haven for those who didn?t want to be found. It was a refugee center for criminals and warlords, which was ironic when you considered the fact that this was a planet that was the headquarters of the Republic and the planet where the Jedi Knights, the Guardians of Justice and the Protectors of Peace, lived. The Underground was overshadows by the large spires of the many buildings that rose over it, and no real light reached it anymore.

A dark figure moved silently and gracefully down the dimly-lit corridor, apparently unconcerned for his safety, which was usually not the case. One would find even ruthless criminals scanning around themselves for any threats all the time, because it was very easy for a marauder to hide in the gloom of the street corners, and kill them before they even realized what was happening.

Darth Maul, however, didn?t have to worry about that. He had the Force?s aid, and he would never sink so low as to fear commoners; he didn?t even fear Jedi (and, in his opinion, the Jedi weren?t worth becoming afraid of). He looked neither left or right as he moved, but only forward.

With the same eerie grace, he entered a bar, and, ignoring the droid-waiter that came rolling over to him, sat down at the corner farthest away from the center and the counter. He kept his hood up, not because he didn?t want to scare other customers away, but because he didn?t want to garner attention for himself. He was the last of his species, and he looked horrific enough to cause rise to much rumors. No, it was better if his face remained hidden.

At least for now.

When his master and he took over the entire galaxy, as was their destiny, then he would show his face without any hesitance, and make them all fear him. He would have envisioned what he would do when he was no longer hiding, when the fact that the Sith were not extinct became accepted as the truth, when the Jedi were all dead, because it would not do well to lose yourself in the future just as it would not do well to dwell on the past.

As Sidious so often said, he should use the past to strengthen his beliefs and use the future to reinforce his motives, but he shouldn?t let either the past or the future to stop him from concentrating on the present.

A woman slid down into a chair before him, looking at everything in the bar but him. Maul wasn?t surprised. He had sensed her long before she had actually come here. He remained relaxed, leaning back at his chair. He was interested in the woman, but he would never show it. Anyone who wasn?t a Sith was beneath his attention. He would never give her the satisfaction of his indulgence.

The woman snapped her fingers, and a waiter-droid was at their table in an instant.

Maul narrowed his eyes.

?What d?ya want, hunny?? asked the waiter-droid. It was programmed to speak like an illiterate who lived in the Underground, and that was exactly what it spoke like. Actually, it was programmed to talk an ancient Underground slang, which sometimes made it very hard for many to understand what it was saying?even for those who had lived their whole lives here.

?Gray-snipper-blasters,? said the woman. She gave Maul only the barest of glances, but otherwise ushered the waiter-droid away. She knew that Maul was not about to drink any alcohol, that he rarely ever drank alcohol. She had spent enough time around him to know at least that.

When the waiter-droid was a safe distance away, she turned to regard him. A small, sarcastic smile played on her lips, making Maul nearly want to kick her into the next galaxy. Everybody who knew him for what he was would never have dared to do what she was so casually doing right now. Small and not even fully trained in the Force, she still somehow found the courage to insult him blatantly by relaxing in his presence, and yet there was nothing Maul could do about it.

He would have liked to close his hand

 

So Maul is already trying to train an apprentice to take over from his Master. Typical Sith...

 

Hmmm, schemes upon schemes, I like, I like. 7

 

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