~~A Matter of Trust (JA)~~

Hi, McCord! Thanks for reading! JKOW - shhhhhh!!! I have absolutely *no* idea what you're talking about! I *could* answer your questiong.... but then I would have to Force-whammy you!!

And the downhill spiral begins....

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Chapter 11

"Nia, could you go fetch my datapad from my quarters?" Captain Morule Doran asked distractedly as the "Night Sky" prepared to exit hyperspace outside the planet Greldin. "It's on the low table beside my bunk."

"Sure. Be right back." Nia slid out of the copilot's seat and without a word Riyce slid into her spot.

Nia exited the bridge, eating up the corridor with long, purposeful strides while her mind wandered elsewhere. Mainly to the other day, standing outside the galley with a certain Jedi Padawan. Which only made this afternoon that much harder.

Nia paused to give the sensore outside Captain Doran's room time to acknowledge her, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers impatiently against his forearm as she waited for the door to admit her.

Inside, the room was clean and tidy like the Captain himself. Everything was in its place, almost meticuously so. Nia bypassed the small desk and instead headed to the short table, more of a nightstand than anything else, that was bolted to the floor beside the head of the captain's bunk.

There were three datapads resting on the chrome surface. Nia grabbed the largest one without hesitation, knowing without looking that the smaller ones contained various classics her surrogate father was fond of reading.

There was a file already pulled up on the datapad and Nia couldn't help glancing at it. It was a simple communique, dated the day they had left hyperspace to make the second of three jumps to Greldin.

The message was signed 'Raif.' Nia knew the Selonian well, having grown up with Doran's smuggler friend, particularly when on Greldin, the captain's home planet. A communique from him was ordinary, almost routine.

Nia absent-mindedly scanned the contents of the brief message. Nothing special. Something about a new shipment being ready to go the next time they stopped by. That was good: more cargo meant more business which meant more credits to keep her small 'home' going.

Her eyes traveled up until they fastened on the name addressed in the top of the letter and she held her breath.

Darthexar.

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I know, I know. Short. But important.

 

Gee, ain't this web gettin' a little more complex as time goes on...hmmm...

Excellent story so far...please keep it up.

 

ahh...the plot twists in a direction I didn't think of...but twists are still good!!!

Can't wait for more Gimpy!!

 

So Captain Moran is in league with Darthexar? Uh oh, this could lead to a real conflict of interests between Nia and Obi-Wan. Post more soon!

 

Thanks, everybody!!

Just to clarify that.... the message *sent* to the datapad - *Captain Morule Doran's datapad* - was addressed *to* Darthexar. The Captain isn't *just* in league with him...

 

Now that I didn't expect... but how intriguing!

 

this so isn't fair! I always come in the middle of the greatest stories... great post, gimpy! waiting for the next post...

 

Arghh! I'm on an internet Cafe now and I'm now I'm going to be stuck with this kind of cliffhanger until it drives me bananas!!!!!!!

MORE MORE!!

Kithera

 

Up! //looks at calendar
It's been 2 days...Where's Gimpy?

Here Gimpy...Here Gimpy Gimpy Gimpy...

Where in the world could Gimpy be?
//Shrugs and walks off...
Oh well...

 

Oooooh, the plot thickens... can't wait for more! Post soon!!!!

Hmmm, when you said "leading to torture", did you mean torturing Obi or torturing us by keeping us in suspense? =)

 

okay young lady you really need to post, geezth. I totally didn't expect that datapad thing, but thats okay.

 

Okay, okay I get the hint! Seriously, I've been meaning to post this waaaaaay before now but schoolwork's been busy and it's taken forever to get the post written!

So anywho, here you go! This post is MAJOR!!!

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Chapter 12

Obi-Wan glanced around the room that had been his quarters for the past few days, checking to be sure he had everything. Sure that nothing was being left behind, he helped his Master move the last of the furniture back to its original place. The two Jedi would continue their mission on Greldin's surface and from there to wherever else their querry led them. The padawan found himself rather reluctant to leave certain members of the "Night Sky" behind.

He truly believed what he had told Nia about their paths crossing again sometime. He could feel it inside as surely as the Force cursed through his cells. And indeed, why would he feel this instant connection with her unless their lives were destined to impact each other in some way?

Obi-Wan followed Qui-Gon into the well-lighted corridor, automatically falling into step a pace behind and to the right of the Jedi Master. He remained deep in thought as they moved toward the ship's boarding ramp, his thoughts still centered on the red-headed young woman. His forehead wrinkled in contemplative silence.

Why was she lying to him? He had subtly asked Captain Doran about Nia's initial addition to the crew and had been informed by the rather confused Doran that he had found her wandering the streets of Coruscant, bloody and battered. At age ten.

Ten, not five. What had happened in those five years that left Nia Jade with a broken nose, several cracked ribs and the need to omit those years from her memory? Obi-Wan was hurt. He'd made an effort to reach out to her, and she'd misplaced his trust.

He was uneasy about the whole ordeal. the Force was trying to warn him of something vague and indistinct and left Obi-Wan feeling restless. Was it about Nia? The mission? If she had misled him about herself, what else had she lied and hidden?

Obi-Wan admitted to himself that he had liked - no, wanted - that kiss the other day, that he cared greatly for Nia as a friend and something more. But he felt betrayed.

Figuring out what the Force was trying to tell him was giving him a headache. Obi-Wan shook his head and gave it up for the moment.

Straightening his shoulders, the padawan stepped onto the metal loading ramp and into the bright sunshine. Although he loved stars and space in general, it was nice to be back in clean air with a gentle breeze caressing his face.

Obi-Wan followed Qui-Gon down the gangplank. Looking up from an intense conversation with Riyce Morkyr, Captain Doran cut off whatever the first mate was going to say next with a wave of his hand and strode over to them with a broad smile.

"Captain Doran," Qui-Gon greeted, tilting his head forward a few inches. "It has been a pleasure."

"The same here," Doran replied. Obi-Wan sitll found it hard to believe that someone could almost match his Master for height. "I have to admit that the ship will feel rather boring without two famous Jedi at first."

"Thank you for your hospitality," Qui-Gon replied with a formal bow and Obi-Wan followed suite.

The Jedi turned to leave the spaceport and Obi-Wan found himself face to face with Nia. She twisted her hands together in front of her and smiled wanly. "I guess this is it."

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "Yes, I suppose it is. For now." Pushing away his doubts, he leaned down and kissed her gently before stepping back into place beside Qui-Gon.

The elder Jedi smiled kindly. "I wish you edvery success in the future, Miss Jade."

"Thank you," Nia said softly and there was a strange look in her eye that Obi-Wan couldn't identify. Regret? The two Jedi turned and headed for the berth's exit but from behind them came the sudden flurry of footfalls. "Obi-Wan, wait!"

Obi-Wan whirled and opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but before he could get a word out Nia crashed into him, wrapp

 

I looove it!! great job!

 

tisk tisk, Obi-wan, control your temper and don't judge things by what they seem. You'd think he'd learned that by now....tisk tisk.

Well, gimpy, that was a superb post. More is definitely needed!

 

What a twist! But I very much doubt things are really how they seem. Excellent post!

 

oh Obi...look with your heart not your eyes...

great post Gimpy!!

 

Thanks!

Upperoo!!

 

Oh, wow! That was excellent! I liked the way that Obi-Wan was getting a headache from figuring out what the Force was trying to tell him. I also liked the way Nia pressed the flimsy into his hand. But I really loved the part where Qui-Gon thought she just wanted to say good-bye to them in a more personal way, and said that although he really preferred older women, he'd let her down gently. And then the big revelation scene! Captain Doran is not just communicating with the guns dealer--he -is- Darthexar. Wow! And then the ambush! I get this little thrill of delight down my spine every time Obi-Wan has a blaster jammed into his head. Yes! And although I'm inclined to believe that Nia really did not know and that she did not willingly lead the Jedi into a trap, I have to wonder why Captain Doran and his men were there to catch them. I am definitely looking forward to more, and I hope it's soon!

 

What Jane said. =) Great twist gimpy, hehe downfall time. =)

 

Look who's FINALLY reviewing! Yup, I'm back! (enter dramtic pause...)

As I've send before I love this story and now with this twist...it's even MORE gripping. Of course, now we understand where you got the title from, don't we?

I can't wait to see how Nia is able to convice Obi and Qui (of course MAINLY Obi) that she didn't double-cross him, and I also can't wait to see what Obi says in response.

Keep those posts coming and I'll be around for a while still ^_^

 

Hey Gimpy... sorry I have been such a bad girl latley, time has been a little elusive and the thing that seems to have suffered the most is my time with my favorite stories. I have been trying to read when possible, just been really bad about posting, sorry about that.

You should know however that I am loving every word of this story, great writing, great plot twist, great visuals of my favorite Jedi heartthrob... YUMMY!!!!!! Look forward to seeing more and having more time of my hands to get back to my old posint habits!!!!!!

 

Great post! I can't wait to find out what happens. Betrayal is probably the worst kind of torture. It'll be interesting to see how this is resolved. Post soon =)

 

<Sigh> I actually make a return appearance here and there's no story! <SOB!>

Please post soon, Gimpy, you can't leave us hanging like this.