Dark Spirits (UPDATED 12/26) News Update!!!

I couldn't believe that I've been missing this stuff for a whole week
In-Fricken-credible Rok!
Rok you Rock!
Nuff Said

 

AAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!! GOD DERNIT, SNOTBOARDS!

I POSTED TO EVERYONE'S FIC LAST NIGHT AND IT DIDN'T SHOW UP IN ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR



Well, the post was awesome

Looking forward to the next section... nothing like Imps watching the equivelant of a bloody world war two battle

 

Ditto ATX, grrr...

But Rok, I loved all of it. The "Darth Malt" bit was hysterical- I got a friend of mine "Wookiee Cookies" for her birthday. Those Bossk Brownies aren't bad. I literally laughed out loud at the "Don't-Tickle-Me-Mauls." And this last bit?...

"There are eight of us here to be picked up." -Kelak
"But unless you get your butts down here within the next few minutes, there are going to be nine." --What Kelak should have said.

 

Jaded: Thanks! And don't worry, this story isn't going anywhere so you have time to catch up. Take your time, i'm glad you're emjoying this.

DarkATX: Thank you! Glad you got all caught up too. I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of that going on as this festive season approaches so no worries. Just glad you're all still hanging in there.

Jaxx: Ah feel your pain, bruddah. Yeah Snotboards is usually nothing but trouble, but what else are you gonna do. IN any case, thanks, I'm glad you liked thatb last scene.

Ty-Gon: Great to have you back too! And i'm glad you liked all those little parts. And LOL on what Kelak should have sadi, i can't believe I missed that one.

Alright y'all, I'm feelin' a bit tired from watching the midnight showing of "Fellowship of the Ring" but that shall not stop me from posting today. Here it is, i hope you all enjoy.

*********************************************

Chapter 32: In Review

(Musical Note: "Papercut" by Linkin Park.)

Seri plopped down in the cockpit of her small shuttlecraft. She buried her face in her hands as Master Weft berated her.

"I can?t believe you let him live!" Weft cried as his visage floated above the holocron, "You had him right where you needed him and you ran away!"

"I had more important things to worry about," Seri snapped back, recovering from her reverie.

"Oh, I?m sure you did," Weft mocked, "Like scurrying away like a frightened stintaril. You lost your nerve because your former master discovered your true identity."

"Bite your tongue!" Seri said as she suddenly rose to her feet above Weft, "Or I?ll?"

"Or you?ll what?" asked Weft with a condescending look in his glowing eyes, "You?ll destroy me? That would be rather rash, now wouldn?t it? Then how would you complete your training?"

Seri crossed her arms over her chest. "I know enough."

"Not enough to defeat the Battlemaster, it would appear," Weft noted dourly, "Nor the Kelpalian Queen for that matter."

Seri glanced down at the holographic image with a look half rage, half embarrassment. "Well you yourself said that I still wasn?t fully trained. And yet it was your idea that I go on this mission in the first place."

Weft?s image relaxed. "Perhaps you?re right. Perhaps I have pushed you into this. One thing however is clear; your training is not nearly complete. But what you require now, is experience, not more lessons."

Seri allowed herself a thin smile. "Now you?re talking. And there?s something else I learned while on this mission."

"And what is that, my ever-so astute apprentice?"

"I?ll never have a chance of successfully defeating the Battlemaster by myself. He has too many friends; friends who are willing to fight with and for him. If I am to have any hope of killing him, I?ll need help."

Suspiciously, Weft cocked an eyebrow. "What are you proposing?"

Seri grinned again. "I?m proposing that if we want to rebuild the Sith Order, we need to make it a real Order. With members. More than just myself."

"Ah, so you already wish to become a recruiter," Weft said in an almost laugh, then his expression grew darker. "Do you not remember my warnings about what happened to the Sith when their numbers grew too large? Darth Bane established the rule of two all those years ago for a reason, you realize."

Seri huffed haughtily. "Yes, I remember the rule of two. Two sith: the Master and the Apprentice. That way, the Sith Order wouldn?t drive itself into extinction again."

"It is a wise rule," Weft insisted.

"Yes, but then we?re forever condemned into working in the background," Seri countered, "Without numbers we could never hope to take on the Jedi and conquer the Republic. Nor can I drive out the hated Kelpalians."

Weft laughed mirthfully. "Funny. Palpatine had no trouble wiping out the Jedi and assuming control of the galaxy between himself and Vader."

Now it was Seri?s turn to gloat. "True, but he didn?t strictly obey the rule of two. He had several sith initiates under his command on Byss, not to m

 

She won't turn on Kelak, I think. At the last minute she'll have a change of heart and finish what should have happened on the Narbondel.

Of course, that's just my opinion...I could be wrong.

 

Well Whiskey, you never know. But that is an interesting theory. Though keep in mind, Seri does have a lot of pent up frustration directed at Kelak, as well as the Kelpalians, in the same way Anakin might have felt toward Obi-wan.

In the end who is to say what might happen with Seri. She might go back to the light at the last second. Or she may force Kelak or someone else to kill her. Or maybe she'll kill Kelak or someone else!

In that sense, the character of seri makes for a random thread, one who may serve for good or evil. Hope you all stick around to find out which it is.

 

Or maybe Seri will commit reverse genocide- establish the dark order, kill the Kelps, wipe out the sith and perhaps herself, so only the Jedi remain. But who knows? ?

 

You know me, I'll stick around and check it out when it does play out. And of course it will play itself out.

Nice introspection there. And it helps to have Seri cry; not necessarily to show her clinging on to her emotions and her sanity with brittle fingers, but to establish the "What If?-" factor for everyone to keep in mind as the story progresses further on in the next installment.

FORWARD........because I just dig multi-story sagas.

 

Jaxx: Interesting specualtion, though I hope you won't mind when I neither confirm nor deny anu of that. Thanks again for replying!

Casper: Thanks, glad you liked the introspection. And as for Seri crying at the end, I'm glad you liked that too. Though it is something of a mystery in and of itself. Why does Seri cry? Out of regret or repulsion. Out of desperation? Like I said, she's random. You never know what purpose she might serve.

 

Alright, here we go, yo! The final and most anticipated chapter...

The Birth of Adja!

*********************************************

Chapter 33: The End and the Beginning

Dejirra had often told herself that the two greatest moments in her life would be the day she got married, and the day she gave birth to her first child. Well soon, within the next hours, the latter would be taking place, but she had no idea that it would hurt this much!

Even now, as Kelak held her hand, she lay on a makeshift cot in the Imperial shuttle; the contractions relentlessly racking her body. Tionne also stood close by; being the only other woman around, Dejirra had explicitly expressed that she wanted the elder woman by her side.

"We?re almost to the Starshade," Kelak said encouragingly, "How are you doing?"

Dejirra grimaced as her womb constricted again. "Here?s a hint. Take your bottom lip, and pull it over your head. That should give you an idea of how I feel."

Well at least she still has her sense of humor, Kelak thought. That?s a good sign. He looked over to Tionne who held a small stopwatch.

"The contractions are coming closer and closer together," Tionne answered his wordless question, "It?ll be close."

"We?ll make it," Kelak said confidently, "Just keep telling yourself that Dejirra, you?re gonna be a mother before you know it."

"It?s hard to keep that in focus?in the face of unbearable?aaaaahhhhhh!!" Dejirra shrieked.

"It?s another contraction!" Tionne shouted.

"No?kidding!" Dejirra groaned.

"Honey, don?t talk, just breathe," Kelak coached.

"Easy?for you?to say!"

***

Kelak found himself physically attached by the hand to Dejirra as they pushed her on a stretcher down the sterile grey halls of the Starshade towards the medical ward. He felt oddly out of place as he realized the myth of the ?shared birth experience?. It was a term he had heard a lot; the idea that a mother and father shared in the experience. But as he watched his wife writhe in pain, he knew that simply wasn?t true. He wasn?t sharing in Dejirra?s pain. He was just along for the ride, a spectator. And it made him wonder if he was really doing all he could for Dejirra.

Then they were met by the doctor, a skinny Chiss dressed in ill-fitting surgical scrubs. "This way," Stuberts shouted, "I have the ward prepared for you."

"Have you ever done anything like this before?" Kelak asked to the doctor.

The Chiss looked at him with sad glowing red eyes. "Are you kidding? I?m just a pharmacist?s mate. I prescribe aspirin when the crew gets a headache. The most difficult procedure I?ve ever done was reset a dislocated collarbone!"

"That?s not what I want to be hearing!" Dejirra screamed.

"Please tell us you at least researched the subject a little bit," Tionne pleaded.

"I have a set of Imperial Medical Standard texts ready," Stuberts replied, "But I?m no expert at this. Alright turn in here. Now help me move her onto the bed."

Kelak still found himself holding Dejirra?s hand as they transferred her onto a real bed, and got her into position. For now the contractions were leaving her alone.

"Trust me," Dejirra said, "Despite how I might look, I?m really happy."

"Me too, Dejirra," Kelak said as he smoothed her erratic hair out, "Just think, soon this will all be over."

"That?s what I keep telling myself," Dejirra said weakly, "Otherwise I don?t think I?ll make it."

"Nonsense," Kelak grinned, "You?re the toughest little lady I?ve ever met. This?ll be like a walk in the park."

"Oh Kelak," Dejirra said sweetly as she caressed his cheek with a hand, "You have absolutely no idea what Hell I?m going through right now, do you?"

Kelak smiled ruefully, "Well, they don?t pay me to understand, just to be the coach and cheerleader, right?"

"You get paid for this?" Dejirra joked, "What do I get? Talk about a gy-yi-yi-yeeeaaaaaaaaaarrrgggghhhhh!!!!"

"Hold her down," Stuberts cried from the end of the table, "Keep her still."

"Take it easy Dejirra, it?ll be over soon," Tionne promised.

 

And so it begins; Johnny Bench waiting for the pitcher to get ready......

Everyone get together and repeat after me:

<repitious breathing over and over, followed by> PUUUUUUUSHHHHHHHH, PUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSHHHHH!

<MORE BREATHING> PPPPPPPPPUUUUUUSSSSSHHHHH, PPPPPPUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!

Don't forget the salad SPOONS!

 

Kelak's been listening to Robin Williams too much, methinks.

'Cause you have this MYTH that you're sharing the birth experience...ha ha...I don't think so. Unless you're passing a bowling ball, I don't think so. Unless you're trying to circumsize yourself with a chainsaw, I don't think so. Unless you're trying to open an umbrella UP YOUR ***, I DON'T THINK SO!'

YOU'RE NOT DOIN' DIDDLY SQUAT! YOU'RE ALONG FOR THE RIDE!

Ummm...anybuddy gotsa da wooo stuff for da pregnant laydee?

 

"No... kidding!"

LOL, Rok. And it sounds to me that Kelak better get some reinforcements or least have the doctor give that girl an epidural if he doesn't want to lose a hand to Dejirra's squeezing.

Of course, it could be worse. The last birth in Dejirra's family was in Casper's "Siren's Trial" ("When we get home, I'm gettin' your lightaber and cuttin' 'it' off!"). Ouch.

 

LOL! Well it seems that Casper certainly identified the Bill Cosby influence, while Whiskey got the Robin Willaims tribute.

Casper: Thank you, I appreciated that little bit of humor. I now present to you, the Breathing Raederths! Oh man, good times.

Whiskey: Too true, too true, eh? But don't worry, Dejirra'll make sure that Kelak shares in at least some of the pain.

Ty-Gon: Thanks, glad you liked that. There's plenty more where this came from, let me tell you. And yes, Kelak better hope his glove is strong enough to take a squeeze from Dejirra.

SURGE!!

 

"I?M CUTTIN? IT OFF WHEN WE GET HOME, SOO-SI! THIS IS ALL YUR FAULT! WHERE?S YUR LIGHTSABER!!!?

?Okay, one last push,? said the doctor.

?Force no-,? was Soo-Si?s squeaky response before he was silenced by Ajdan?s grunting push and hand squeeze...... HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!

 

Hmmm, I wonder if it would be fitting if the ghost of Soo-si offered some comforting advice to Kelak.

"Don't worry son, you learn to block out the pain more with each kid."

Thanks, Casper! SURGE!!!

 

OMFFIALSHIASMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's great man.........LOL!!!!!!!!

You want Soo-Si Gheruit wisdom, Kelak? "I've learned that ice in a jock and cup is the best method of keeping the swelling down."

 

Hoooboy does that bring back recent memories.
My wife 2 months ago kept saying near the end of her delivery "I give-up!....I can't do this......"
I told her that she really didn't have a choice and that she was indeed doing it and a fine job at that.

I wonder why Kelak never uses his Jedi powers to soothe his wife? ?
Must be caught up in the moment huh

 

Casper: My thanks to you. Without Siren's Trial, I'd have no precedent for something like this.

DarkATX: Thanks glad I'm somewhere on the right track. And yes, I'd say Kelak is definitely too caught up in the moment to be thinking logically. This is alternately the happiest and the scariest day of his life.

And now, for more Maternity ward antics.

(BTW, none of the women readers have responded to this yet. Is that a sign? ?)

*********************************************

(Ten hours later?)

"Come on, Dejirra, push! Push!" shouted Kelak

"I?m pushing! I'm pushing already!" Dejirra gasped. It seemed like she had been pushing for a lifetime!

"You?re doing great, Love, really you are, but you can?t give up now!" Kelak encouraged.

Dejirra scrunched her face up and gritted her teeth, as she exerted what seemed like her entire being into another push. Just how big is this kid?s head, she thought to herself. Yeah, she?d be proud and even a bit smug to have a genius child, but not if she split her gut open trying to give birth to her.

"Dejirra you?re doing just fine," Tionne said, "It won?t be much longer now."

Kelak went forward to where doctor Stuberts was crouched at the foot of the bed just below Dejirra. His stance reminded Kelak of the catcher in a shockball tournament waiting for the ball. And from the look of things, the Chiss doctor looked a little green around the gills. It was a small wonder. Kelak only had a brief glance, but it wasn?t pretty looking.

"How are things looking doctor? Any sign of the head yet?" Kelak asked apprehensively.

Stuberts shook his head. "No. Trust me you?ll all be the first to know if I see anything."

"Kelak!" Dejirra cried, "Give me your hand!"

As Kelak rushed back to Dejirra?s side, Tionne announced, "Here comes another contraction."

"Oh noooooooooooooo!" Dejirra wailed as the contraction hit her in a wave. Kelak grimaced as his wife locked his hand in her iron grip and began to squeeze it tightly. Kelak found himself collapsing to his knees as Dejirra mashed his hand in order to compensate for the pain she was experiencing.

"Dejirra," Kelak gasped weakly, "my hand."

"Deal with it!" Dejirra shouted through gritted teeth, "You wanted to share in the birth experience, well this is a very, very small glimpse for you!"

Dejirra continued to rant, "You did this to me! This is all your fault! If I live to make it out of here, you?re so in trouble, Kelak Raederth, you hear me! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Take it easy Dejirra!" Tionne shouted, shaking the other woman, "You?re not thinking straight. Now just relax yourself, you?re coming out of the contraction now."

Kelak gasped in relief as Dejirra released his hand, and the blood began to circulate again. As he rose to his feet he saw Dejirra had a pleading look in her eyes.

"I?m sorry, honey," Dejirra said weakly, "I didn?t mean all those awful things I said. It?s the pain. It makes me do stupid things?"

"Shhh," Kelak consoled as he wiped the sweat from her brow with a rag, "Don?t worry, it?s already forgotten."

"Kelak?"

"Yes, Dejirra?"

"Love you."

"I know Dejirra, me too."

"One more thing, Kelak."

"What?s that?" Kelak asked.

"Remember a long time ago," Dejirra said, "When I said I wanted a big family, like four or five kids?"

Kelak grinned ruefully, seeing where this was going. "Yeah, I remember something like that."

"If I ever?ever talk such stupidity like that again, promise me Kelak that you?ll slap some sense into me. Promise me, Kelak."

Kelak kissed her lightly on the forehead. "I promise."

"Looks like another contraction coming up," Tionne informed them, "Oh my, this one looks like it?s gonna be another big one."

"What?again?" Dejirra asked fearfully. Then the contraction hit.

Dejirra didn?t even have time to take hold of Kelak?s hand again. The pain hit so hard that Dejirra arched her back to the point where only her arms and legs were touching the bed. Her eyes opened wide, and her mouth flew open in a scream that never came. Kelak

 

You think?!?

LOL! That wins the award for the Most Obvious Point on the Boards this year.

I can here the others in the other room:

Sephir: It's been 10 fricking hours! What's wrong the kid's big head keeps hitting the hip bones?

Rok: Should have went through with the Press and Eject idea.

Sorrel-Maul: Look, I can clear this all up right now. Give me my lightsaber, I'm going in!

 

"Deal with it!"

LOL. Come on, Dejirra!

 

Casper: LOL! How true is that! Though Maul probably would've been laughing madly at that point, but hey, who's counting. Thanks, glad you're enjoying this.

Ty-Gon: Thanks! Yupp, 'deal with it' indeed. Kelak is not the one in the worst position. And you can always count on Dejirra to put him in his place. but hey, at least she apologized afterwards right? Thanks again for the reply.

Okay, we're now offically down to two more posts and then I'm going to post the credits. Thanks again, y'all!

 

You know, Rok, I saw an old Saturday Night Live rerun yesterday and I thought of you...

"Deep Thoughts with Jack Handy:
"If you ever drop your keys into a pool of molten lava, just let them go, because, man, they're gone."

 

LOL, thanks Ty-Gon!. Gotta love Jack Handy and his deep thoughts.

"One time I was walking in the forest and I found this skull on the ground. I was about to call the policewhen I thought to myself, just who was this guy and why did he have antlers?"



And now more story.

*********************************************

(Ten more hours later. ..)

Dejirra was completely soaked in sweat now and her hair was matted against her head. It had been almost 21 hours since she had gone into labor, and it had taken its toll on her
rather petite body. Her breath came out in gasps and small squeaks and her face held an expression of intense melancholy.

"Dejirra, please, you need to keep pushing," Kelak encouraged.

"I dowanna push any more. I dowanna! I dowanna!" Dejirra cried, her face flushed in a deep red.

"You need to keep pushing Dejirra," Kelak insisted, "It can't be much longer now."

"That's what you said four hours ago!" Dejirra wailed, "And you said it three hours before that. And...and..." Dejirra began to shake her head, "I'm not gonna make it."

"Dejirra, don't talk like that," Kelak argued, "You've been doing great! You can't give up now!"

"Kelak," Dejirra gasped, "If I don't make it. Promise me you'll tell little Adja all about me. Tell her that I love her."

"You can tell her yourself Dejirra, come on, you've faced worse than this," Kelak said. Dejirra looked at him incredulously.

"When?!"

"Ummm, " Kelak racked his memory, "I know, remember way back when? When we were fighting the Yuuzhan Vong. We were in that cavern on Shacuraz, and we got in a fight with Tahvring Thann? Then he stabbed you with his amphistaff."

"Yeah that was pretty bad," Dejirra admitted as she recalled the memory, "But not nearly as bad as this."

"Okay, well how about after that, when Poe was trying to kill you on Cloud City?" Kelak offered.

Dejirra got a look of extreme disgust on her features. "Oh yeah. That did suck something terrible. "

"And you came out on top in the end," Kelak told her, "And I say if you can survive that, giving birth shouldn't even compare. "

"I have the head!" Stuberts announced as if he was calling out the score at a game of boucche.

"You have the head?" Dejirra and Kelak asked at the same time. Then they turned to each other and shouted, "He has the head!"

"Push, Dejirra! !" Kelak yelled. Dejirra threw in the last reserves of her strength into the effort. New hope had been breathed into her. Setting her jaw, Dejirra pushed with everything she had left.

"You're almost there Dejirra!" Kelak cheered on, "Just one last push." Dejirra began to scream as she made one last desperate push.
And then her screams were joined by another sound; the sound of a baby crying. Dejirra couldn't believe her ears or her eyes. The next thing she knew, the doctor was lifting a screaming baby up in the air in front ofher. After severing the umbilical cord, doctor Stuberts handed Adja into Dejirra's waiting arms. "Congratulations, ma'am, " Stuberts said in his impeccable Imperial accent, "It's a girl."

Dejirra was too overjoyed to say anything else but, "I know."

Stuberts looked at Kelak in confusion. "It's a Jedi thing," Kelak explained.

"Okay, time for some privacy please," Tionne said pulling the curtains around Dejirra's
bed. "Let me help you with clean-up doctor."

Kelak stopped Stuberts as the Chiss doctor removed his scrubs and tossed them in a container marked 'Biohazard'.

"Thank you, doctor," Kelak said as he pumped the man's arm in a handshake, "We're totally indebted to you for this."

"Please, I'm just doing my job," Stuberts said bashfully, "It was a pleasure Mr. Raederth. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to prescribe myself some more aspirin."

Kelak clapped the doctor on the back and laughed.

(Musical Note: "Angels Unaware" by Michael W. Smith)

Letting the doctor go, he snuck back over to Dejirra's bed. He found her propped up in bed making cooing noises to the baby. Leaning over he kissed her again on the fo

 

I told myself I wasn't going to cry...

Oh damn it!