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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Conduit (a JA/AU fic) - NOW COMPLETE! -- 3 updates: 12/31 and 1/1

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction Stories--Classic JC Board (Reply-Only)' started by Obi-Fan, Nov 6, 2000.

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  1. jedi_master_gimpy

    jedi_master_gimpy Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    I have no idea why you "hate writing action scenes" - that one was SO awesome!!! WOAH. I'm still sitting on the edge of suspense. I have an idea about the boy, but I won't say anything now.

    I can't wait for another post! :)
     
  2. Bastet

    Bastet Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 30, 1999
    Wow! That was just totally awesome! Great description and everything!
    So what's going on? I really am almost totally clueless, but I do have an idea. I'm always wrong, though, so I'll never admit what it is!

    More more more more more more more more!!!!
     
  3. Jane Jinn

    Jane Jinn Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    Great action! I could see everything as clearly as though it were a movie--almost as clearly as though it were happening to me. Write more! You have a definite talent for this sort of thing.
     
  4. Kaylla Norn

    Kaylla Norn Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2000
    NOT IFFY! please post again soon! I must know who the boy is... please!!!!
     
  5. Master_Tahl

    Master_Tahl Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 10, 2000
    Great post, but we're greedy and want more! Post soon!
     
  6. Obi-Fan

    Obi-Fan Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 21, 2000
    The man came to his senses slowly, conscious first only of an unusual sense of contentment and well-being. The floor beneath him was hard, and he would most likely bear some stiffness as a result of his stay there, but he was well-rested and warm, and those were two things he hadn?t experienced in more time than he cared to remember. For a short while, he allowed himself simply to lie there and bask in the moment--but at last his innate distaste for laziness prompted him to move on and examine the events that had brought him here.

    As his encounter with the sweepers replayed itself in his mind, the man made haste to assess his various injuries. He took a slow, deep breath and was relieved to find that his ribs seemed undamaged by his fall. His shoulder ached, but not as much as he might have expected, and a gentle probing of the area with one hand revealed that the wound was healing nicely. A similar examination confirmed his head injury was also better?so much better, in fact, that the man found himself somewhat at a loss to explain it. Still, he thought, it wasn?t exactly uncommon for someone with a head wound to experience some loss of memory. He had obviously come to at some point during the night and found the strength to send himself into a healing trance.

    Mystery solved, he opened his eyes and squinted painfully in the glare of sunlight upon his face. As his eyes adjusted, he traced the light to a partially shuttered window off to his right---where, perched on an overturned crate, peering pensively out into the street, sat a young boy, perhaps twelve years of age. The boy was slim and not very tall, his light hair gleaming red in the sunlight. His pale skin and solemn expression made the boy seem almost impossibly young and innocent?an impression not dispelled in the least by the large blaster strapped to his right thigh or the knife handle jutting out from his boot. His rescuer?for that was obviously who this was?resembled more a toddler playing Roundup than someone capable of taking on the Emperor?s elite guard.

    "You?re a fool for helping a man like me," he said, voice roughened by concern for the boy?s safety and displeasure at his reckless behavior. "Your youth will not save you if the sweepers learn you've assisted a Jedi."

    The boy straightened casually, apparently unsurprised by the intrusion into his reverie, then turned and met the man?s gaze. In the shadows cast by the window behind him, the boy?s eyes appeared to be of some strange, indeterminate shade--neither blue, nor green, nor even gray, but rather some unusual combination of the three. The combination struck the man with a vague echo of familiarity; he followed the thought briefly in hopes of making the connection, but it was lost somewhere in the vast pools of his memory.

    The boy studied him for a long moment, his eyes cool and considering. Finally, as if the man?s words had only just sunk in, the boy stiffened with anger. "Who says I was helping you?" he replied icily. "I don't like sweepers breaking into my home." The boy paused for a moment, his eyes sweeping the man?s form once again with a decidedly insolent air, before shrugging dismissively. "Saving YOUR life was just a coincidence."

    The man raised himself carefully to a seated position, then took in his surroundings more closely. The building resembled nothing so much as an abandoned warehouse?the big, cavernous rooms were empty but for a few old crates and a small travel pack resting at the boy?s feet. The floor was coated from corner to corner with a thick layer of dust and sand, disturbed only by a few dozen footprints and the distinct trail of something?or, more precisely, three things?being dragged out the door.

    "This is your home?" the man asked, with a disbelieving laugh.

    The boy shrugged again, refusing to stand down from the rather obvious lie. "As much as I?d call any place on this stinkhole of a planet a home," he answered.

    The man's brows raised at the boy's rather sour response. "Charmingly put," he said dryly. "Still, nothing I?ve seen of this place
     
  7. Kaylla Norn

    Kaylla Norn Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2000
    why you ingrateful b*****d! well, I suppose being hunted and loosing almost everything does have a tendency to make one a tad bittter but come on sir jedi, try having a little compassion and curiosity, and old fashoned politeness.

    I like the fact that the boy was worried about the jedi even if the jedi was being rude.

    Please post more very very soon!

    This story is great!
     
  8. Healer_Leona

    Healer_Leona Squirrel Wrangler of Fun & Games star 9 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2000
    The supposed iffy action post...that was truly wonderful. For someone who hates action you write it incredibly well.

    And that last post...my assessment of the Jedi was not nearly as harsh. He knows all who help him are in danger and I see him as not wanting to be the cause of any misery that may befall the boy. Course...I seem to always be sticking up for a certain Jedi Master...

    More soon???
     
  9. Kaylla Norn

    Kaylla Norn Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2000
    Yeah, i supose I was a bit hard... but he didn't even say thank you! And throughing a coin on the floor at the boys feet! How increadably insulting. And even if he is worried, he didn't need to make every sentence an insult or scathing remark... ...grumble... (Actually, I lke Qui-gon so...) I'm not really upset of course, but good gracious....

    Oooooh, please post again sooon! my vehiment anoyment is a sign of my enjoyment of your tale!!!!! It's believably well done.... sooooooooo pllllllllleeeeeeeeaze post very very soon!!!!
     
  10. Latara

    Latara Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2000
    That was so coooooooooooooooool! I love your interactions. Oh, and the whole tossing him money thing, I bet Qui-Gon is gonna see it tossed back in his face.
    MORE!!! SOON!!
     
  11. Bastet

    Bastet Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 30, 1999
    Woohooo, a post! I really like this story, it's very interesting, and I really want to know what's gonna happen! Please post more sooooon!!
     
  12. Kaylla Norn

    Kaylla Norn Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2000
    hi Latara, I was hoping you were Obi-Fan. <sigh> You obviously are not, but glad tp see you and glad you posted.

    Maybe Obi-Fan will post again soon if enough of us ask.... I wonder how many enough is?

    Obi-Fan...?
     
  13. Obi-Fan

    Obi-Fan Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 21, 2000
    Hi, everyone!

    I'm about halfway through with the next section, and I should have it up later tonight... but I thought I'd up this thread now, just to heighten the suspense. (Um, assuming I've managed to create any suspense in the FIRST place... :>)

    I'm afraid this next post won't do much to redeem Hero No. 1 in some of your opinions... though (since I, like Healer Leona, have quite a soft spot for a certain Jedi Master) I must say, in his defense, that he HAS had quite a bad decade. Also, though I could certainly have done a better job of showing this in my last post, I think Hero No. 2's attitude did a good bit to provoke Hero No. 1 into losing his temper. (I may end up trying to revise that section a bit before I turn this thing over to be archived...) Before this story's done, though, I hope I'll do a pretty good job of explaining why BOTH of these characters are reluctant to care about and/or trust other people...

    Anyway... I should stop babbling about motives and get back to finiishing that next section, right? More in a few hours!

    -OF
     
  14. Jedi Susie

    Jedi Susie Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 12, 2000
    I can't wait for that new post! This is a VERY interesting story and i love how you slowly are putting the pieces together for us. I can't wait to see how else the characters interact and what HAS happened and what WILL happen.

     
  15. Obi-Fan

    Obi-Fan Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 21, 2000
    Here it is!!!

    =====
    The man entered the cantina and took a seat along the bar. The place was almost entirely empty at this hour; aside from the bartender and a servant droid vacuuming a spill near the center of the room, only a few diehard customers remained of last night's bustling crowd. The harsh light of the planet's suns shining through the cantina windows made the place seem, impossibly, even dingier and more rundown than it had appeared the night before. The man frowned, feeling uncomfortably exposed and susceptible in the near-vacant room. But he was ready this time, he reminded himself; his senses were honed for the slightest hint of a sweeper patrol, and there was NO way they could catch him off-guard.

    The bartender finished pouring a drink for a long-necked Brizorian at the other side of the bar, then bustled over to the man's side. "What can I do for ya?" he asked, as he approached.

    "I'll have a pint of whatever's on tap," the man answered, placing a coin on the bar before him, "and some information as well, if you have it."

    The bartender plucked the coin from the table in a quick, sweeping motion, eyed it, then gave a brisk nod. "Coming right up," he said. He pulled a somewhat dirty mug from the shelf behind him, filled it up with a reddish-brown, bubbly liquid, then settled the mug before the man, cursing silently as some of the drink sloshed over onto his hand.

    "Now, then," the bartender continued, reaching down to pull a towel from a hook beneath the bar. "What sort of information would you be lookin' for?"

    "I'm looking for transport off this planet," the man said softly.

    The bartender gave an amused snort. "Who isn't, these days?" he replied.

    A slight frown creased the man's brow at the bartender's words. Was sarcasm the native language of this planet, or was he just having an uncommonly bad run of luck with the people he was meeting? He tried again. "Do you know of any pilots in the area who might be willing to take on a passenger?"

    The bartender shook his head. "No, and you won't find anyone 'round here who DOES know of one, either. Ever since the Empire started cuttin' in on the Hutts' business, the number of transports coming into this port has been practically zip." He sighed, clearly mourning the loss of income to his own business this change had wrought. "The only transport we've seen here in weeks was in and out of here yesterday night."

    Frustrated by the bartender's answer, yet trying not to show it, the Jedi focused his attention on his drink. He lifted the mug, sniffed at the liquid, then took a small, tentative drink. It was bad, of course, but not poisonously so, and he was just thirsty enough that it would do.

    The bartender stared at the lowered head for a moment, then his face brightened considerably. "Say, if you're going to be stayin' in this place for a while, I've got a room upstairs I can rent you real cheap. Clean, too... at least, as clean as the rest of this joint is."

    The man eyed his surroundings dubiously, but declined to venture an opinion on that. "Thank you," he replied simply. "I'll keep that in mind."

    As the bartender moved off to greet the approach of another customer, the Jedi heard a snort of laughter directly behind him. He turned around reluctantly, not really needing the sight of the thin, small figure with the bright hair and changeable eyes to identify the source of the laughter.

    "I could've told you you wouldn't find a pilot in this town," the boy said, slipping up onto the nearest stool with a woeful disregard for the man's unwelcoming expression. "Would've saved you the walk, at least."

    The man's expression grew even more fierce at the boy's superior tone. "Don't you have anything better to do than follow me around?" he snapped.

    The boy gave his characteristically indifferent shrug of the shoulders. "Apparently not," he replied simply. "So, Mister Jedi, sir, where do we go next?"

    "WE are not going ANYWHERE," the man retorted succinctly. "YOU are going to run along home and I am going to sit here and drink myse
     
  16. JediKnight-Obi-Wan

    JediKnight-Obi-Wan Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 13, 2000
    This is really wonderful Obi-Fan. Am I to take it this is Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan?
    Really good idea for a fic!
     
  17. Abbi_Cee

    Abbi_Cee Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 3, 2000
    Hmmm, even in an AU universe some things remain the same. Obi wants to get close to Qui-Gon and Qui pushes him away. Of course I'm assuming that Hero 1 and 2 are Qui and Obi. I'm really enjoying this, looking forward to your next post.
     
  18. Kaylla Norn

    Kaylla Norn Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2000
    Oh, my word that was wonderful!

    I'm hoping that it's Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, since Obi's the only one I know that was that stuborn... but I supose it could be any number of posibilities... Still deffitly hoping it's Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan


    Please post more sooooooon!!!
     
  19. Jane Jinn

    Jane Jinn Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 12, 2000
    I like this story more and more. It's well written, with good details, and enough suspense even in the so-called calmer moments to keep me coming back. And I'm interested to find out who the Jedi and the Kid are. There are any one of a number of possibilities here. Keep writing, because I'll keep reading!
     
  20. Kelly Kenobi

    Kelly Kenobi Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 23, 2000
    Oh WOW this is soooo good! I hope you are talking Obi and Qui here, you have described them physically perfectly (and beautifully I might add). Only character I know of with those ever changing eyes is our boy Obi, and the visions you painted of who I am guessing is Qui left me quite breathless (and drooling)!!!!!

    Well no matter who they are I want to see more, lots more.... and soon too!
     
  21. Healer_Leona

    Healer_Leona Squirrel Wrangler of Fun & Games star 9 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2000
    Awesome, Obi-Fan!! I love this!!!

    The altered characteristics of hero #1 and 2 are superb! Their demeanors are incredbily realistic under their circumstances.

    I really can't say enough about that post.

    Ok maybe one word... More!
     
  22. Healer_Leona

    Healer_Leona Squirrel Wrangler of Fun & Games star 9 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2000
    This thread is too good to slide onto the fourth page (my pages are 50 titles long).

    Your AU characters are so awesome and the plot is totally addictive I have to up it in hopes of more soon.

    Come on Obi-Fan, give us more and I may just point Santa in your direction.
     
  23. nitid

    nitid Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2000
    Ooooh, I like this! Any more coming? Pretty please?
     
  24. Kelly Kenobi

    Kelly Kenobi Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 23, 2000
    Please post more Obi-Fan... Pretty please!!
     
  25. Obi-Fan

    Obi-Fan Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 21, 2000
    Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for the great feedback! And Healer Leona, I LOVE your signature! LOL! (Slipping into my best Eartha Kitt voice here: "Santa baby, just slip a Jedi under the tree for me. Been an AWFUL good girl..." :>)

    To borrow a phrase from Alli-Wan, this is kind of an "iffy bridging post." Not a whole lot happens in this one, but it moves the characters closer to where things really DO get crazy... :>

    Enjoy!

    =======
    The boy sat at the window of the abandoned warehouse and blinked up frowningly into the sky. Dusk was falling on the tiny desert settlement, and the streets before him were dark and silent. One of the planet's twin suns had already dipped below the horizon; the other was a mere sliver of red above the outlying dune cliffs.

    It was time, he thought somberly. And still the Jedi had not come.

    Not that he really cared about that, he reminded himself sternly. And not that the man had given him any REASON to care, either. He'd saved the Jedi from certain death--risking his own life AND his carefully guarded anonymity in the process--and then he'd gone out of his way to offer even more help to the fleeing Jedi. And what had he received in return? The man hadn't said two words to him that weren't intended to hurt, belittle, or just outright infuriate him. If anything, the boy thought, he should be RELIEVED the Jedi hadn't shown. Relieved that his self-imposed burden of looking after the man had been lifted. Relieved not to be spending the 10-hour journey from here to Mos Eisley in such miserable company. Relieved their paths would undoubtedly never cross again.

    Spurred on by the resentful train of his thoughts, the boy tore himself from the window and shouldered the pack at his feet. He stormed out the back entrance of the warehouse and crossed to the battered XP-7 speeder parked below a streetlight on the other side of the alley. Tossing his travel pack into the speeder's rear compartment, the boy slid into the driver's seat and punched the startup code into the command console.

    But even as the speeder's lights kicked on and its powerful engines roared to life, the boy's determined indifference withered about him. He squinted up into the sky again and breathed a long, heavy sigh. There were still SOME traces of red in the sky, he noted. And he HAD promised to stay here until sundown. He supposed, in all fairness, he really ought to give the Jedi a few more minutes to arrive.

    He sat there a while longer, drumming his fingers impatiently against the side of the speeder, till he was struck by a horrible thought. What if the Jedi had come in the past few minutes--and hadn't thought to check for him in back of the warehouse? The man could at this very moment be leaving the warehouse, convinced he had missed his one chance of escape.

    Before the thought had even fully formed in his mind, the boy had switched off the speeder's engines and flung himself from his seat. He dashed across the street, sliding the warehouse door open before him--and ran nearly headlong into the towering Jedi.

    As the boy skidded to an awkward halt and gaped up at him in surprise, the man's eyes passed over his and onto the craft behind him. "You're planning to travel across the desert in that?" he asked dubiously.

    The boy huffed at the rather churlish excuse for a greeting. Obviously, the man's personality hadn't improved any since they last parted earlier today. And to think, the Jedi were once heralded as the masters of diplomacy! Shaking his head at the incongruous thought, the boy turned to look at his speeder.

    "Don't let her appearance fool you," he replied assuredly. "She's got everything in order where it counts." He shrugged, and his voice took on an unconsciously cynical tone. "I've just learned, over the years, that if you want to keep anything of value in this place, you have to make it look like it's absolutely worthless."

    The man acknowledged his explanation with a nod, then swept the craft one more time with an appraising eye. "You've certainly done a nice job of it."

    If that
     
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