Beyond - Legends Closer than Blood (Cast of FOTJ, OCs)

Well, with college starting tomorrow, I don't know how often I'll be able to update this–but I wanted to get it started, at least, so here we go! This takes place during my previous story, "The Crimson Force," and shows what Ben and co. were doing while Jaina and Jag were taking on Daala and Lecersen.

Tagging my loyal readers: Force Smuggler, Anakin Solo Revanchist, Nyota's Heart, earlybird-obi-wan, Gemma, Lady_Misty, jcgoble3, Thuro, NightWatcher91

Prologue

Ben, his body waist-deep in a wall panel in the Jade Shadow's hallway, frowned as grease dripped from the tubes above him, dropping onto his forehead and cheeks. He closed his mouth tightly, in hopes of avoiding swallowing any ship fluids. He could not, unfortunately, do the same for his eyes. He twisted his hydrospanner, finishing up the repairs on the ship's guts.

He felt his mother's presence now, as he always did when he was aboard the Shadow. She was close to him here, and he liked working on the ship; it was the closest he could come to spending quality time with her anymore. A pang of regret stabbed deep into Ben's heart at the thought, and he rested his head on the floor, staring up at the tubes and wires above him.

Miss you, Mom, he thought.

He felt a tapping on his boots. He tried to tip his head up to see who was standing in the hallway, but his own body blocked his line of sight. He pushed himself out of the hatch and found himself looking up into the beautiful face of his girlfriend, Seha Dorvald. She smiled down at him and leaned in for a kiss, but stopped when she saw the fluids smeared across his face.

"Mm, clean up," she said.

He chuckled. "Sure thing."

Ben stood and walked back into the main hold. He grabbed a hand towel from the back of a chair and wiped his face off, smearing grease and other junk all over the towel. Shrugging, he tossed the towel into the sink and turned to Seha expectantly.

"I'll take that kiss now," he said.

She grinned and leaned forward, pecking him quickly on the lips.

"So," Ben said, "what brings you here?"

"I wanted to check on you," she replied. "You've been in here for a while."

He shrugged. "The ship needed to be optimized; no big deal. It just ended up taking longer than I expected. Done now, though? Want to get lunch?"

"Ben, it's been hours since lunch. You've practically blown the whole day."

Ben checked his chrono. "Ah, kark. Well, we'll get dinner in a few hours then."

Seha planted her hands on her hips. "Ben, I know what you're doing."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Ben sighed. He supposed she probably did. Girlfriends were that way anyway; having a girlfriend who was a Jedi just escalated matters. No chance of keeping secrets from her. The truth was, Ben hadn't even wanted to admit to himself why he had been so intent on working on the Shadow. Why he'd been finding anything to divert his attention lately, actually.

"Ben, you took Allana as your apprentice," Seha said. "You can't just keep putting her off."

"I know, it's just...I'm scared, Seha. I'm barely twenty; am I even really old enough to take an apprentice? I've made a ton of stupid mistakes in the past two years alone; how is it fair that I get to be in charge of someone else?"

"You've learned from all those mistakes, Ben, that's why. Besides, you're exactly the kind of person that Allana needs for a teacher."

"I know, I know." He gave a defeated sigh. "I have to go find her, don't I?"

Seha nodded. "Yes, you do. And you need to tell her what you're going to be doing. Set up a training curriculum, a schedule, the whole works. That's what Master Ramis did when I was her apprentice."

"Yeah, I don't exactly have the monopoly on great examples for Masters. Most of my apprentice career was under Jacen, and the rest was under Dad when he was too depressed by Mom's death to teach me much."

"Well, then resolve to be a better teacher than Jacen, and more focused than Master Skywalker."

Ben considered. "That's a good idea, Seha."

"Of course it is." She leaned forward to kiss him again. "I know you better than you know yourself, Ben Skywalker."

"You want to make a wager on that?" Ben replied with a grin.

She grabbed a lock of his hair, right behind his ear, and tugged. Ben yelped in pain and jerked back. Seha crossed her arms.

"Stop it," she said. "Go find Allana. I don't want to make a bet because I know I'd win. And by the way? Get a haircut; you're starting to look like a curly-headed version of what Jacen was in his rebellious years."

Ben blushed. "That bad, eh?"

"I mean it, Skywalker."

Ben headed for the hatch, grabbed his lightsaber, and clipped it to his belt. As he did, he turned back to glance at Seha.

"You're starting to sound like my Mom."

"Good."

 

Understandable concerns about apprenticing Allana. LOL on the teasing. Yup, it's good if she's sounding like Mara.

 

Great start. Looking forward to seeing where this leads.

 

Great start! Love to see a FOTJ fic.

"I wanted to check on you," she replied. "You've been in here for a while."

He shrugged. "The ship needed to be optimized; no big deal. It just ended up taking longer than I expected. Done now, though? Want to get lunch?"

"Ben, it's been hours since lunch. You've practically blown the whole day."

^^After this exchange, I thought, golly, he embodies the spirit of Anakin Skywalker. Possibly Chewbacca? Can't wait to see what happens next.

 

Great start with the discussion between Ben and Seha

 

I love how you write Ben and Seha. I find it interesting that Ben has taken Allana as his apprentice. I really enjoyed the first moments in the story when he was thinking about his Mom as he worked on her ship -- very touching. Update when time and your college studies permit. May the Force be a great guide for you in your studies.

 

Nyota's Heart, jcgoble3, Darkwriter, earlybird-obi-wan, Gemma, thanks for the comments!

Chapter 1

Allana Solo stood in the middle of the training room, her brow scrunched in concentration as she reached her hand out toward the polished stone several meters away from her. She was supposed to make the stone move, using her mind. Allana had used the Force before, mostly to touch her Mommy, or Grandma Leia. She hadn't used it to move things much. But she had a few times, and she was pretty good at it.

She thought.

But the stone in front of her would not move. It was stubborn. Well, Allana was stubborn too, like Grandpa Han. Her eyes flashing furiously, she grabbed the stone again with the Force and pushed upward. Finally, the stone began to move, slowly but surely. When it was about a meter and a half above the ground, a bit above Allana's head, she released it back down to the ground and exhaled tiredly.

Allana walked over to the wall and sat down. She had gone through all these tests several times today–the polished-stone test had been the last one she'd had to complete. Now she had nothing to do. She wondered why Ben wasn't here, teaching her.

As if signaled by the thought, the red-headed Jedi walked through the door to the training room, caught sight of Allana, and smiled and waved at her. Allana smiled back and returned the wave. Ben crossed the room and knelt down beside her. Allana noticed his hair was getting a bit long and it made her frown. His hair was too curly to look good that long.

"Get a haircut, okay?" she said.

Ben laughed. "Second time that's been suggested to me today. All right, I'll get a haircut tomorrow morning. Now, I wanted to talk to you about your training."

Allana perked up. "Really? Am I finally going to get to train with you?"

"Yes," Ben replied. "I'll tell you everything you'll need to do tonight, and then tomorrow we'll get started–right after my haircut. For now, do you want to join Seha and I for dinner?"

"Sure!"

"All right, then go get cleaned up and meet us in the mess."

Allana hopped up and walked out the door toward her quarters, suddenly full of energy again.

* * *

Ben ran a hand through his–apparently too long–hair as he watched Allana go. He hadn't known Jacen when he'd been younger, but blast if the girl didn't resemble him so much. It was a scary thought, the idea that Ben was training up Jacen's heir. He just hoped she wouldn't be a literal heir; the destiny of Darth Caedus was not one that Ben would press on anybody.

He turned and walked from the training room, heading for the cafeteria. He pulled out his datapad as he walked and scrolled through a list of training options he planned to take with Allana. Jogging a half mile every morning before breakfast, lightsaber training, telekinetic skills...he'd let her do all the physically trying activities early in the day, and then the mental exercises like history of the Order courses after dinner.

In the cafeteria, Ben saw Valin and Jysella Horn sitting at a table together. Lean, handsome Valin and alluring, svelte Jysella were two of the most well-known Knights of their age, and Valin, like his father, had no telekinetic skill, while Jysella could float objects with the best of them. Jysella waved Ben over to the table. Ben sat down and grinned at the Horn siblings.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"Good," Valin replied. "We just got assigned a mission, so we're headed out tomorrow morning."

"How about you?" Jysella said after swallowing a bite of her food. "You're supposed to be training Am–Allana, aren't you?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah. Actually, that's what I'm prepping right now. I'm writing out training courses, getting everything set up...she and Seha should be here in a few mintues."

"Don't rely too much on a written course, Ben," Valin said. "Training should flow naturally."

"I know," Ben replied. "I just want to do it right, that's all."

Jysella shrugged. "I'm not sure there is a right way to do it. Everyone's style is different."

"Yeah, I guess." Ben frowned. "Hey, do I need a haircut?"

"Yes," Valin and Jysella said in unison.

 

Great advice from Jysella and Valin and Allana seems to be very diligent

 

Nice description of her telekinesis practice, and at the need for a haircut.

 

Yes, when several people tell you - you need a haircut --- it's time for the haircut. I like what Seha said about everyone's style being different -- that rings true.

 

Ben and a haircut. I hope he doesn't grow a beard. Seha is right about the training

 

earlybird-obi-wan, as to the beard... Nyota's Heart, jcgoble3, Darkwriter, Gemma

Chapter 2

Ben, dressed in a black form-fitting training outfit, stepped out onto the mat, his lightsaber in his right hand but not ignited. His hair had been freshly cut, as his friends had requested, back to an stylishly-unkempt-but-manageable length. Allana, her own red hair pinned back in a ponytail, stepped onto the mat. She, too, was dressed in a black training outfit and held a lightsaber–a training lightsaber–in her right hand.

"Are you sure about this, Ben?" she asked. "I've never used a lightsaber before."

Ben nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. The best way to get started is to throw you right into it. I'll show you the basics, and you'll repeat them back at me. We'll use a dummy after I'm sure you understand the technique."

"But why am I fighting you first, then the dummy? Why not the other way around?"

"Because a dummy can't tell you what you're doing wrong as you do it. I can." He ignited his lightsaber. "Okay, step to the middle of the ring and ignite your saber."

She did so, and the green training blade extended.

"Good. Now, salute, like so–" Ben brought his hilt up in front of his face, the blade pointing straight in the air. "–and take a step back."

Allana followed Ben's lead, saluting–a little awkwardly–and then stepping back.

"We'll start with the first form, Shii-Cho, or the medium form," Ben said. "It'll be the easiest for you, I think. As you get older, I'll probably teach you the Ataru form–the fast, acrobatic form. The faster moves will probably help make up for your small size."

Allana nodded. "So what do I do?"

"Hold the lightsaber like I do. Watch."

He held his saber in both hands, held out in front of his belly at a forty-five degree angle from the ground, the blade pointing almost straight up and slightly out. Slowly, unsteadily, Allana did the same. Ben nodded. Her form looked pretty good, although the blade was straight up in the air and not pointed out, but it was close enough, especially for an eleven-year-old girl.

"When you strike," Ben said, "it'll be a simple, uncomplicated swing, right to left."

Before she could move, he swung his lightsaber as he'd explained, and his blue blade clashed against her green blade. She shrieked a little in surprise and then giggled.

"Give me some warning," she said, still giggling.

Ben shrugged. "Doesn't work that way. Come on. Now you strike at me, like I showed you."

Allana took a step forward and swept her lightsaber right to left, clashing with his blade. Then, she returned the blade, left to right, again clashing with Ben's blade as it passed. Ben stepped back.

"Good," he said. "Good. Now, you can try it on the dummy."

* * *

Three hours later, sweat-soaked and exhausted, Allana deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt. Ben smiled and patted her on the shoulder. Wearily, Allana groaned and leaned her head forward, resting it on Ben's chest.

"Good workout," Ben said. "You learn quickly."

She moaned.

"Go get washed up and then you can get lunch," he continued.

"Thanks."

Allana walked away, moaning the whole way. Ben grinned, remembering when he'd been that tired after training exercises. He clipped his own lightsaber to his belt and ran a hand through his hair. To his surprise, there was a fair bit of sweat matting it down. He turned and glanced in Seha's direction. She was clad in black as well, though she wore a tank-top. Her arms, slender but muscles, glistened with sweat, as did her forehead and neck. She started over in his direction and smiled at him. Ben smiled back.

"Kark it," he said, "it's not fair."

"What's not?" she asked.

"How you can look so hot after a workout, and I look like this."

Seha grinned and ran a hand through his hair, and he saw her suppress a wince as she encountered the sweat there. She quickly pulled her hand back and wiped it on her pants.

"Well," she said, "I think that new haircut makes you look very handsome. With a beard, I think you could be downright sexy."

Ben ran a hand across his jaw. "Really? Hmm. I'll have to consider that–as sexy as you are, I'll need every advantage to keep up."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks. So how'd training go?"

"Pretty good. She's a natural learner. She'll make a great Jedi someday, just like her mother and–"

"And her father?" Seha said softly.

"Yeah," Ben replied. "Once...a long time ago." He shook himself. "Look, let's go get cleaned up and get lunch, yeah?"

Seha nodded. "Sounds good."

 

Super post. Ben seems to be a natural teacher too. LOL on the Ben/Seha conversation. I guess/hope Allana will forge her own path as to what contributions she makes.

 

Love the talk about being sexy. Will be interesting to see how Allana's lightsaber training progresses.

 

Love this growing relationship between Ben and Allana. Too bad Jacen ruins Ben's hard work, even in death. I'm interested to see how this progresses, and how Allana deal with her heritage!

 

Can't believe I missed this so far! Oh well. I'm caught up now. This looks promising! Keep it up!

 

Fun with the remarks from Seha and very nice scenes between Ben and Allanna

 

Thought the training session was very well done and you answered my question of how old is Allana here (11). The interplay on the training floor between Ben and Seha was cute --- and her comment about the beard.LOL Honestly I think it depends on the man whether he looks good with it or not. As always very enjoyable.

 

Nyota's Heart, jcgoble3, Darkwriter, earlybird-obi-wan, Gemma, Force Smuggler

Chapter 3

Three days passed, and Allana became more and more skilled at everything Ben taught her. She usually ended her days exhausted and ready to fall into bed, but that was to be expected given his training regimen. She was also a quick learner at Jedi history–she could already recite the Jedi Code and tell Ben at his command the name of many Jedi based on a feat he named.

Over those three days, Ben allowed his beard to grow out. He stood in front of the mirror and scratched at his chin. The beard was coming in nicely–not long enough to be scraggly, but not so short as to be stubble, either. Overall, he had to admit that he thought he looked good with it.

He crossed his room to the closet and pulled out an outfit–his tan and brown Jedi robes. As much as he disliked them, he'd been wearing them more often lately to set an example for Allana. He pulled on the outfit and tightened his belt around his waist. As he left his room, he grabbed his lightsaber, which he clipped it to his belt, and his mother's vibroblade, which he put in a hidden sheath at the small of his back, under his tunic.

The halls of the Jedi Temple were abuzz with activity today. Ben frowned and was nearly knocked over several times as students and Knights pushed through the crowded corridor. Ben grabbed one of the apprentices, Bandy Geffer, by his shoulder.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"One of the Quest Knights has fallen off the grid," Bandy replied.

Ben's insides went cold. The Quest Knights were ten Jedi that Luke had sent out to the galaxy to search for the Mortis Monolith, where he hoped they could locate the Dagger of Mortis, a weapon they could use against Abeloth in case she ever returned. It had been two years since the Quest Knights had been dispatched, and so far they'd found nothing. But even so, they reported at regular intervals. For one to be missing–

Ben pulled out his comlink. "Allana, we're cancelling training sessions today. Meet me in the briefing room."

"Um...okay. What's wrong, Ben?"

"I'll explain in the briefing room," Ben replied. "Out."

He clipped his comlink to his belt and trotted down the hallway as fast as he possibly could, sliding easily between Jedi. He passed the rows of turbolifts and took the stairs instead, quickly ascending to the briefing room floor. Ben quickly found the busiest room and pushed his way inside. Luke was already inside, as were most of the Jedi Council members. Ben scooted up to Kyle Katarn.

"Master Katarn," he said, "one of the Quest Knights is missing?"

"We don't know that yet," Kyle replied calmly. "Just that he failed to report in."

"Which one is it?"

"Kunor Bann."

"Kark."

Kunor Bann had been one of the Shelter Jedi who had been infected with Abeloth's Force psychosis. It couldn't be a coincidence that he'd dropped off the radar while searching for a weapon that could prevent her return.

"Where's Jaina?"

Kyle glanced at Ben. "She's currently out of contact, on a mission with her husband."

"So we're in a potential crisis and the Sword of the Jedi isn't available to us. Great."

As Ben talked, Allana pushed her way through the crowded room to stand at his side. He noticed that she'd braided a lock of her hair into a traditional Padawan's braid, a tradition that most members of the New Jedi Order did not continue to follow–although Ben himself had. The girl frowned up at Ben.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Jedi Bann has failed to report in," Ben said.

Before Allana could respond, Luke cleared his throat, using the Force to amplify the sound enough that the whole room could hear it. Ben turned his attention to the front of the room.

"As you know," Luke said, "Jedi Knight Kunor Bann has failed to check in on time. It's possible that there is a communications failure, nothing more. However, we should be on a heightened state of alert, just in case. We don't want any surprises in this situation...as you all well know."

There was a murmur of assent from the Jedi gathered in the room. Luke opened his mouth to continue speaking–and suddenly, the holotable behind him lit up. An image appeared, of a man clad in brown Jedi robes. He had close-cropped brown hair and eyes the same color. He held his lightsaber, deactivated, in one hand.

"Jedi Bann!" Luke exclaimed.

"Grand Master Skywalker," Bann said, his voice strained. "It's good to see you. I–I seem to be in a bit of a situation here; I'm not sure I can get out of it on my own." He glanced up, fear became evident in his eyes, and he ignited his lightsaber. "No–no stay away! Master Skywalker, I need a backup team at my coordinates as soon as p–"

Bann's signal dissolved. Beside Ben, Kyle Katarn closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. The silence in the room was such that Ben could almost taste it. Allana shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"Well..." Luke said. "It seems we'll need to form a rescue team to assist Jedi Bann. What are his coordinates?"

"He's currently on Bakura," Corran Horn replied. "Valin and Jysella are already near that system; I'll have them divert and head there immediately."

"Thank you, Corran." Luke frowned. "But that won't be enough. We'll need another team–"

"I'll go," Ben said.

Luke looked up in surprise. "Ben?"

Ben nodded. "Yes. I'll go."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, Dad–Grand Master. I want to go."

Luke closed his eyes. "Well, all right. Form your team. You'll be leaving as soon as possible."

 

I have a bad feeling about this. I enjoyed the training scenes with Ben and Allana. I think he's come full circle with training Jacen's daughter. Definitely liked those first scenes with him on the Shadow. Very sentimental moment as he thought about his mother.

Well done.

 

I like the touch with the Padawan braid.

But when I hear about trouble on Bakura, my first thought is Ssi-ruuk....

 

Here we go! Where will this go I wonder?

 

Great update. I like the new tangent you have developed. You're a real page turner.

 

Trouble on Bakura again and action. I like this update

 

Oooh, intense stuff there with the communication breaking off mid-word. Aww on the padawan braid and LOL on the Skywalker tradition of a beard

Bakura is an interesting world for stuff to happen indeed. The Ssi-Ruuk give me the willies.