Saga Almost. Almost There. (Short Shadows of the Empire Vignette)

Disclaimer: I wish I was the Great Flanneled One! No, don't sue me. I'm a poor college student. And, you know we don't have money! These characters aren't mine, but they're loads of fun to play with. A lot of it also came from Steve Perry, the genius behind Shadows of The Empire. As a matter of fact his book gave me the idea.

Title: Almost. Almost There.
Author: LukeAnaSkywalker
Timeframe: Post ESB
Characters: Guri and Luke
Genre: Vignette
Keywords: Guri, Luke Skywalker
Summary: A fight is fought when time is running out.
Notes: Guri's point of view

Fifty meters down the hall she watched them. They were so close. So close to escape the explosion they had set on her master?s palace. The light of the afternoon shone through to the open landing pad. Almost. Almost there. Her sapphire gaze took in the sight of the Princess. Oh, how she wished her master had only listened to her in regards to the petite rebel leader. The Wookiee loped slightly behind her as if to protect her from a possible stray bolt. As if that was possible. The palace was just about deserted. The con artist was behind him with the stranger running at his side.

For a brief moment she considered taking them out. But, then her true prey brought up the rear of the rag tag group. He was really just a boy. Barely out of his teenage years. Just barely. Yet, he was the reason her master suffered so much grief. He was the reason that the entire palace was going to come crashing down in less than four minutes. He wasn?t much to look at. A simple boy with sandy brown hair and pale blue eyes to match. Certainly his height was nothing to brag about. He was much shorter than his infamous father. But, it was he who had caused such trouble.

She watched as he suddenly stopped mere meters away from the light. Almost. Almost there. The others turned to look at him imploringly. He waved them on. ?Go ahead, I?ll be right there,? he called to them. They looked at him in confusion before nodding and continuing. He pulled his lightsaber from his belt and flicked it on.

A light smile formed on her otherwise impassive face. She slipped from the shadows with feline grace as she moved to confront him. ?Behold the Jedi Knight. The man of legend,? she said lightly. He turned to gaze upon her with wary eyes. Hmm. Not as gullible as most. Her first assessment of him had been naïve. One look into his eyes suggested otherwise.

She remembered a conversation she had not too long ago with her master. One that involved equals. Or rather, lack of equals. Don?t you ever want to meet one who is capable of moving, of feeling, of thinking up to your level? An equal?? She had to think about that one for a brief moment. Never had she actually considered it. She merely did what was asked of her by her master. ?Not particularly. What would be the point? Greater than I, lesser than I, what does it matter to my functioning?? He had turned to her to consider her response. ?Yet you wish for tasks that will challenge you.? Her response had been automatic. As was everything else she had ever been. ?Of course.?

Now she stood before her master?s enemy. The man of legend. As she drew closer to the alert rebel her smile faded. Her job was to neutralize those who threatened her master. He threatened him. He must pay for it.

?You have caused my master much misfortune. You should die for that,? she said smoothly. He pointed his blade in her direction. Though she wasn?t carrying any weapons on her, she was not to be underestimated. At least her victims never perceived her that way after she eliminated them. She decided to play with him. Chivalry had always been preached in the Jedi Order. She doubted their newest pupil would have been excluded from it.

?But you have that blade and I am unarmed,? she said simply as she held her arms from her sides with her palms facing upwards. For a moment he stared at her in silence. His ey

 

Hmm. I'm going to update this because I did it extremely late at night and some of you might not realize it's posted. Hope you all like it.

 

SOTE was one of my favorite EU books. I can't wait to see what you have for us next! Great work.

 

Very good viggie! I liked how Luke could be so compassionate to Guri, and maybe show her a better way. Good way to point out the similarities and differences between Luke and Vader also.

Kristeh

 

Looks worriedly at computer. I'm going to go ahead and post on the comments now because we're probably going to be going through another round of evacuation procedures. Glares at weather reports. Damned hurricanes! If anyone posts after this and receives no replies, it's not because I don't like you. It's because I'm retacking my hurricane shutters back up for Round Two. Grimaces.

VaderLVR64 Thank you. I have to agree with you SOTE. It was a really good book. Definitely one of my all time favorites as far as EU goes. I'm certainly going to be trying to work more with that book so more.

kristeh And, you too. It's great that you understood the similarties and differences I was trying to attach to Luke and Vader. I was a little bit uncertain if it would be noticeable. And, the compassion thing was more or less a direct reflection to the way Luke treated Threepio and Artoo. I always thought that he would treat droids, humans, nonhumans, and animals equally.

 

You've got a good start here, and I can't wait to read more. I also loved Shadows. Hope you update very soon.

 

DreamOfKenobi You've got a good start here, and I can't wait to read more. I also loved Shadows. Hope you update very soon.

Hmm. I meant for this to be a one poster vignette, but the requests for updates is encouraging. Me thinks I'm going to continue.

 

Wind lashed through the alley in icy bleakness. The huddled forms of some homeless denizens cringed against the damp walls and doorsteps. Some pulled their cloaks tighter against their bodies. Those who did not own a cloak pressed tighter against a willing companion, who knew the bite of cold and hunger. Those who did not even have a companion to exchange body heat paced to keep death from winning yet another victim. And, those who no longer had the strength nor the ability to keep warm huddled into themselves and waited for final, eternal peace.

The sound of worn boots resounded off of the cobblestones. A moment later a being appeared before the entrance of the alley. Hesitantly the being made its way through the alley and past the downtrodden, hapless individuals. A hood hid the person?s face from the biting wind and the curious, yet detached eyes following it. Almost unconsciously the being pulled its cloak tighter around it to ward off the cold.

Keen blue eyes appraised the alley and its inhabitants. Had she not been spared previously she would have never looked upon these people with anything other than distaste and contempt. But, life had a funny way of making things more bearable and understanding. Her lot in life had been one of privilege. Now it was one of survival.

She slipped quietly out of the alley with her cloak swishing over the cold, wet ground. Her boots had long since become worn from her many travels. It was to be expected from one on the run. An exile to Black Sun, the Empire, and the Rebellion. All of them would have loved to get their hands on her and the information that lie within her mind. The only person who had ever granted her some measure of compassion and understanding, though a rebel, would only be able to protect her so far. Her past was riddled with too many unknown conspiracies for any immunity to be granted to her.

Her thoughts drifted back to a time two months ago. Some part of her wished she had taken Skywalker up on his offer. He might have been able to offer her a hidden sanctuary. She snorted derisively. The past was the past. She could not dwell on decisions she had made in the past. She must consider the here and now. And, right now she needed to find a place to get out of the cold.

She paused in an open plaza to scan for some type of sanctuary. Her eyes fell on an old tavern. It was nothing special, but it would suit her purposes just fine. Upon entering she found it to have a more at home appeal. It was simple, yet charmingly so.

A middle aged Twilek appeared not more than a minute after she had sat down. ?What?ll it be,? she asked with an old datapad in her hands. After she ordered some stim tea she scanned the establishment again to be safe. Though Taanab was an Imperial world, the Imperial presence seemed to be a little lower key than most.

Better safe than sorry. She scowled at her own bitter resentment. She had only been on the run for two months and already she had been from one end of the galaxy to the other and back again multiple times. Sometimes she had escaped her seekers barely by the skin of her teeth.

Slowly it occurred to her that she was being watched. Her gaze drifted over to a man with reddish brown hair sitting in a booth across the room from her. The man was sitting with his feet up on the table and his blaster in pieces on the table. Obviously he was cleaning the thing. He seemed completely enthralled with it, but she had a feeling he was more aware of his surroundings than he was letting on. As if to emphasize that point his gaze flickered over to meet hers. An insolent smirk pulled at his features before he turned his attention back to his blaster cleaning.

A frown creased her face as she eyed him for a moment longer. He seemed vaguely familiar, but for the life of her she couldn?t remember where she?d seen him before. It didn?t matter though. He wasn?t the one watching her. Instead she found herself realizing that one of her hunters was discreetly sitting at the bar

 

great story...btw, thanks for reviewing mine