Beyond - Legends Catching a Dream -- complete rewrite and repost - updated 6/30

STAR WARS
CATCHING A DREAM
Repost

---

[b]Author?s Note[/b]





For the purposes of this story, all of the Expanded Universe up to and including Vision of the Future is canon. The Junior Jedi Knights series did not occur, and Anakin did not meet Tahiri. More importantly, Tahiri was not raised by Tusken Raiders. That is one of the major Alternate Universe elements of this story, of course. The other is the fact that the Yuuzhan Vong are not in any way, shape, or form involved in this story. A more minor change is the fact that the Bounty Hunter?s Guild still exists, and has actually evolved to the point where every bounty hunter in the galaxy (with one notable exception) is a member, and all new members are trained from childhood to become bounty hunters, greatly increasing their deadly threat.

For those of you who read the original version of Catching a Dream: this is not a simple rewrite, I?m basically taking the major elements of my original version of this fic and writing an entirely new story. Many of the scenes may be familiar, but not a single one will go untouched (mainly because I wasn?t even close to satisfied with the original version). I hope everyone who didn?t read Catching a Dream when it was originally posted but is reading now enjoys it, and I hope everyone who did will read as well, because this updated version (hopefully) will be much better :).

[hr]

[b][color=blue]A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away?[/color][/b]

[hr]

[b]Part I
[i]Everything Begins with a Whisper[/i][/b]


Twenty-six years have passed since the BATTLE OF ENDOR, and the galaxy is experiencing a period of relative peace. A state of alliance exists between the New Republic and its longtime enemy, the Imperial Remnant. Determined to preserve this peace at any cause, Luke Skywalker has revived the order of Jedi Knights, establishing a training facility on the moon of Yavin Four and restoring the Jedi Council.

But in the shadows lurk many groups that would prefer a galaxy without the Jedi, and will do anything to eliminate their influence in the galaxy. Under the front of political parties, these groups seek to strike a blow to the morale of the Jedi, employing the infamous Bounty Hunter?s Guild to meet their ends.

The dissenters work not only to destroy the morale of the Jedi, but to stir political opinion against them. If these anti-Jedi succeed, a Second Purge would consume the Jedi Knights, leaving the New Republic without its defenders of peace and justice, and a Second Darkness could consume the galaxy?

[hr]

[b][i]Tahiri[/i][/b]





He was doing it on purpose.

It was the only possible explanation; the fact that it made no sense mattered little. Every night Tahiri closed her eyes to greet the blissful unawareness of sleep, [i]he[/i] was there. It was completely unfair that the boy who was quite literally the boy of her dreams was someone she had never seen, nor held, nor touched. She didn?t even know who he was. He just [i]was[/i].

The dreams seemed to come every night now, and Tahiri still couldn?t decide whether that was good or bad. The same details about them were consistently vivid; Tahiri saw those deep ice-blue eyes, and felt as though she might drown under their scrutiny. She could even feel the warmth of his arms around her; Tahiri felt secure and content as she rested her head against his chest, his arms sheltering her from anything in the outside world that would dare intrude.

This was not a feeling Tahiri was particularly used to experiencing, much less enjoying. She was a bounty hunter. She had been a bounty hunter for as long as she could remember, and it would be her identity for all eternity. Tahiri?s parents had died when she was very young, too young to remember them. If any remaining emotional trauma plagued her, Tahiri hid it well. The Bounty Hunter?s Guild had become her family, effectively eliminating any possibility of a normal childhood.

But the advantages she had gained far outweighed whatever she had lost. Tahiri had quickly

 

FIRST REPLY!

Despite your protestations that the first post hasn't changed much, I think it has. The feel is different. This is going to be a much more mature, and much better-executed version of what is an intriguing plot bunny.

I can't wait to see where you go from here.

 

Woohoo! A rewrite of "Catching a Dream"???? I loved the first version of this fic- if you went in and made it even better... oh boy- this will be good

[Sits back in anticipation for spectacular action sequences and sweet, wonderful mushiness]



BTW Great first chapter, Tahiri as the hardened Bounty Hunter is way cool.

 

As it was now, they were merely a shadow of hope, a whisper of joy. A whisper that she couldn?t control. Just like everything else in my life, Tahiri reflected ruefully as she began to drift off.

But everything began with a whisper.

I LOVE THIS!

Ahem... but yes, this is fantastic. You provide backstory that's sufficiently informative and yet not boring in the least. And it's really cool to see Tahiri as a bounty hunter.

One question though... as a bounty hunter, does she still go barefoot?

Great job, I can't wait for more!

 

Em- Yay! I'm glad you like it so much .

PadmeLeiaJaina- -- yeah, the mush and the action are definite necessities

Danni- Thanks . Hmmmm, does Tahiri still go barefoot... well, that raises a good question... darn you, I'll end up writing a re-rewrite .

 

YAY!!! You finally started the rewrite!!!


Let me say that this is far superior to the opening scene of the original fic, and I have no doubt this will continue throughout the rewrite.







POST MORE AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE

 

Oh goodie - a rewrite of a fic I totally missed the first time around! Don't ask me why I didn't read it the first time, but I'm glad to see you're redoing it. Like to see what happens to Tahiri when she finally catches her man.

 

Jek_Windu- Thanks, glad you like it so far . *Blinks and rubs ears to stop them from ringing* I guess I should post more soon...

Seb- Hey!! Long time no see! Thanks for reading . Heheheheh-- oh, I don't know what's so entertaining about a bounty hunter turning to mush [face_innocent] .

 

Hey guys, sorry about the lack of updates, but I'm at my mom's for the weekend, and all my files are at my dad's, so I don't have the ability to update at the moment. Expect an update either Monday or Tuesday, depending upon when I go back to my dad's. Sorry for the wait, thanks for your patience.

 

Anakin





Anakin groaned as his alarm chrono went off. Groping blindly, as he wasn?t willing to expose his eyes to the painful light of morning yet, Anakin managed to hit the appropriate control to silence the alarm. Once the initial assault of consciousness had been repelled, Anakin pulled his blankets back over his head, hoping against the odds that he would be able to will the outside world to go away so he could go back to sleep.

?I was having a good dream,? Anakin protested to no one in particular.

With a sigh, Anakin finally opened his eyes, wincing reflexively as the light stabbed into them painfully. He staggered to the ?fresher, cleaning up and changing out of his pajamas and into a comfortable and loose-fitting outfit he often wore in the morning. With a quick glance in the mirror to make sure he was sufficiently fit to reenter society, Anakin exited his room and descended to the lower level of the Solo residence.

He wasn?t very surprised to find his mother already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast and politely allowing Threepio to give her bad advice. She noticed Anakin immediately. ?How late were you up?? she demanded.

?Mom, I?m twenty years old and a Jedi??

Leia smiled in amusement. ?I?m well aware of how old you are, Anakin. I was there when you were born.?

Anakin ignored the typical reply, and pointedly turned away from the conversation to the family protocol droid. ?Good morning, Threepio.?

?Oh, good morning to you as well, Master Anakin,? Threepio replied, cheerful as always.

?Don?t let her poison us,? he whispered as he walked past the droid.

?Although,? Leia called after him, ?with sarcasm like that, maybe I dreamed the fact that you were born. Maybe Han just cloned himself.?

?Oh, there?s a pleasant thought,? a new voice joined from the living room. ?If that?s the case, why?d I get all the flying skills??

?And his sense of modesty,? Anakin added as he entered the room. ?Good morning, Jaina.?

?Little brother,? Jaina greeted in return, mainly because she was well aware of how much the title annoyed Anakin. ?You?re actually up before Jacen and Dad, should I sound the alarm??

?I sensed a great disturbance in the Force,? Anakin replied. ?So I knew mom was cooking.?

Jaina laughed. ?So, what are you doing this morning??

?I have to stop by the Jedi Temple later,? Anakin answered as he took a seat next to Jaina on the couch. Jaina had a newsvid on the HoloNet unit, but didn?t seem to be paying particular attention to it. ?Uncle Luke wanted to see me about something.?

?Anakin, we?re supposed to be on vacation.? That was, of course, true. They were in the midst of a three week break in their training cycles.

?It?s because he?s his prized student,? Jacen said, despite the fact that he could only have possibly heard the last one or two sentences of the conversation as he emerged from his room.

?Not to mention his heir apparent,? Jaina agreed.

Anakin cringed. ?Enough. Don?t even joke about that. If I had to lead the Jedi Order, we?d all be sunk.?

?Well, at least that?s something we can agree on,? Jaina noted with a teasing smile.

?Kids, Nerf Herder, breakfast is ready.?

?Who?s scruffy looking?? Han called as he emerged from the ?fresher, a typical reply that his children still didn?t follow.

?Oh, your uncle called this morning,? Leia said as Anakin entered with his siblings and father. ?He mentioned something about the fate of the galaxy or something like that.?

Anakin rolled his eyes at the obvious sarcasm.

?Oh, just the galaxy this time?? Jacen asked.

?Is that all?? Jaina added.

?It?s probably some boring mission like protecting a diplomat or picking up a message,? Anakin predicted. ?You?ll probably have more fun at the Galactic Museum.?

 

Nice post!!!




It a cool call to ESB, and realistic that the children had no idea what they meant.








POST MORE AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE

 

Leia smiled in amusement. ?I?m well aware of how old you are, Anakin. I was there when you were born.?

*cracks up* Go Leia!

Ummmm . . . Kev? You can't have so many great lines in a row . . . I'm debating whether or not I should copy and paste half the post.

Eh, why not.

?Don?t let her poison us,? he whispered as he walked past the droid.

?Although,? Leia called after him, ?with sarcasm like that, maybe I dreamed the fact that you were born. Maybe Han just cloned himself.?

?Oh, there?s a pleasant thought,? a new voice joined from the living room. ?If that?s the case, why?d I get all the flying skills??

?And his sense of modesty,? Anakin added as he entered the room. ?Good morning, Jaina.?

*giggles madly* Wow, the characterizations here are spot-on!

?I sensed a great disturbance in the Force,? Anakin replied. ?So I knew mom was cooking.?

Touché!

LOOK! I FIGURED OUT HOW TO MAKE AN ACCENTED E ALL BY MYSELF!

?Not to mention his heir apparent,? Jaina agreed.

Anakin cringed. ?Enough. Don?t even joke about that. If I had to lead the Jedi Order, we?d all be sunk.?

?Well, at least that?s something we can agree on,? Jaina noted with a teasing smile.

Classic.


?Kids, Nerf Herder, breakfast is ready.?

?Who?s scruffy looking?? Han called as he emerged from the ?fresher, a typical reply that his children still didn?t follow.

*cracks a rib*

?Oh, your uncle called this morning,? Leia said as Anakin entered with his siblings and father. ?He mentioned something about the fate of the galaxy or something like that.?

Anakin rolled his eyes at the obvious sarcasm.

?Oh, just the galaxy this time?? Jacen asked.

?Is that all?? Jaina added.

I know you hate Harry Potter, but that really reminded me of a hilarious piece of dialogue from one of the HP books. *ducks*



Wonderful! Every story you write surpasses the last, Kev. This is truly excellent, and I'm not just saying that.

 

Jek_Windu- Yeah, I had seen ESB shortly before writing that scene, how could you tell?

Em- Wow, thanks! *hugs*

---

Anakin adopted an air of calm and readiness to obey as he entered the Jedi Council chamber, bowing to the group as a whole, and to his uncle and Jedi Master in particular. ?Masters,? he greeted.

?Good morning, Anakin,? Luke replied. ?I trust you don?t mind the momentary interruption of your vacation??

?Of course not,? Anakin agreed without pause.

?Good.? Luke?s expression changed slightly as the pleasantries ended. ?We?ve been following rumors of a growing anti-Jedi presence on Coruscant. Obviously, there?s already a large political opposition to us, but these aren?t politicians we?re talking about.?

?Terrorists?? Anakin asked.

?We can only guess at this point,? Luke replied. ?But there is certainly enough circumstantial evidence to point in that direction.?

Anakin nodded gravely. ?All right. What do you want me to do about it??

?We can safely infer that whoever these people are, they won?t be suicidal enough to move against us here, if they actually intend to weaken us? Luke informed him, ?but we must operate under the assumption that if they get a chance to single out a Jedi, they will. And they?ll probably think so much the better if it?s someone well known, but someone who?s not yet fully trained.?

It didn?t take long for his point to become apparent. ?Someone like me.?

?Warn Jacen and Jaina about this, as well,? Luke concluded. ?I just wanted to make sure all three of you kept your eyes open. If you see anything out of the ordinary that may be linked to this, report it to me immediately.?

?Understood, Master,? Anakin replied, bowing as he recognized that the meeting was coming to a close.

?May the Force be with you,? Master Skywalker concluded.

 

ooh...awesome can't wait for the next part

~TJF

 

Great post!!













POST MORE AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE

 

. . . and thickens, and thickens . . .

 

Tahiri





The combat droids formed a loose circle around their intended victim. Though each of them carried a deadly weapon, she faced them barehanded. It was not in their programming to recognize the unfairness of the situation; they were designed for killing and killing alone. Even the smallest amount of common sense would lead any intelligent being to believe that the girl was doomed.

Tahiri grinned fiercely; this was just mild exercise for her. Dropping into a defensive crouch to signal her readiness, Tahiri quickly named her adversaries based on their weapons, Blaster, Chain, Quarterstaff, and Stun Baton. Blaster tried to end the contest quickly, leveling its weapon at Tahiri?s chest. The bounty hunter dropped herself to the ground as the droid fired, and his shot ended up striking Stun Baton instead. Too easy.

Rolling back to her feet, Tahiri dropped into a low crouch, lunging at Blaster?s droid legs. Even as she dove, Chain?s weapon struck her hard in the back, sending her to the ground, and then struck again, this time wrapping around her leg, restraining her as Blaster fired again. At this point, most people would?ve been finished. But not Tahiri. She rolled away from Blaster?s attempt to take advantage of her predicament, and then grabbed Chain?s weapon, using it to yank the droid right into Blaster?s line of fire.

Thanks, Blaster. So far you?ve scored both of my kills for me. Tahiri leapt into the air, tackling Blaster, and managed to outmuscle the droid, killing him with his own weapon. She whirled to face her last foe, and found the droid armed with a quarterstaff approaching warily. Deciding that the blaster was far too easy, Tahiri carefully set it on the ground and kicked it away, then turned her full attention to Quarterstaff.

She and the droid circled for several moments, Tahiri still in a low combat stance, waiting to see who would flinch first. The droid finally broke the rhythm, leveling what would be a skull-shattering blow at Tahiri. The bounty hunter easily ducked, caught the weapon, and used it as a pivot point to throw herself into a swinging kick at the droid?s chest. The impact was enough to crush its internal servos, and the droid?s photoreceptors dimmed as it deactivated.

Tahiri let the beaten droid fall to the ground, and turned to face the wall. What appeared to be a mirror, she knew to actually be a one-way window through which she was being observed and evaluated. ?Is that the best you can do?? she asked in the window?s general direction with a triumphant grin.

?Just getting started, Miss Veila,? a Guild agent said as he entered the room. ?That display just bumped you to the top of our list for a rather dangerous assignment.?

Tahiri?s grin widened. ?A commission??

?Of sorts,? the voice replied enigmatically. ?If you manage to make the capture we have in mind, you?ll not only be granted ascension to full bounty hunter status, I guarantee you you?ll be the most notorious hunter in the galaxy.?

Tahiri raised a brow. ?With one capture??

?Why yes,? the agent replied.

?That hardly seems fair.?

?Fair play rarely applies to Jedi,? the agent informed her. ?Remember that if you want to catch him. You will not be able to worry about honor, you must exploit every advantage you can create.?

A Jedi? I hope I?m not biting off more than I can chew. ?Can you tell me anything about the mark??

?I can tell you everything about him,? the agent replied. ?But for starters, his name is Anakin Solo.?

 

Up

 

YES! Go get him, Tahiri!

Excellent post. Interesting how the Guild trains bounty hunters. Makes me wonder how bounty hunters used to be trained?

 

*notes author's sig* I really need to catch up with the NJO . . .

 

Just so anyone that's still reading knows, this fic isn't going to be updated quite as often as my other one, sorry for the delays, thank you for your patience.

 

Up?

 

Um... Up?

Just curious - are you planning on continuing this?