Beyond - Legends Exodus (Post-NJO AU: Jaina, Jacen, Anakin Solo, H/L, L/M, Tahiri, Jag, Kyp, more) New fic 5/30/08!

Back! Did you miss me?

Yobs:

Thank you very much

yw.

Of course I do Can't wait.

*wipes brow* I was afraid you'd think I was some insane basket case

Thanks, I'm glad you're enthused And thanks for reading!

yw again.

Her eyes gleamed as she stared back into the noseless face of the Neimoidian, his mottled skin graying and his mouth turned in a perpetual frown that Mara was sure she was supposed to identify as stern, but could instead see Cato Neimoidia's increased gravity pulling at the gummy lips through thousands of years of evolution. Hirum Krawl was doing his best to appear authoritative throughout the meeting, dressed in a garish tangerine cloak of shimmersilk, while the dark miter covering the large bumps on his alien head was stacked ridiculously high.

This part was great! I your descriptions of the alien races!! I think yours are the best out there, in terms of accuracy and getting them to jump out of the computer screen!

"I expected you to at least deny it," Krawl replied in obvious surprise. "To bluff. Tell me you had something more to offer and somewhere else to go with it."

"What would be the point?" The Jedi Master questioned. "You've got me in a corner and you know it. I'm obviously not smart enough to fool you."



Classic Mara! You've just reminded me why I love her so much!

"?Clearly if there was anywhere else I had to go, I wouldn't have come to a second-rate crime syndicate with a third-rate leader, who are still using forty-year-old battle droids and malnourished warriors for protection? Obviously, I'm desperate."



C-3PO on the other hand, was never at a loss for words, and shifted uncomfortably in the seat beside her. "I think what mistress Mara means to say is that we would greatly appreciate the assistance of your organization and are very much looking forward to a mutually profitable business relationship for both parties in the future."

Typical C-3PO....always trying to fix the mess and keep himself alive.

"Oh, that part's easy," Mara explained. "We want credits, Krawl? and lots of them."



I think I'm going to run out of laughing faces soon.

"And, Krawl? the Alliance might be preoccupied with larger matters, but we are not. If you double-cross us, there will be nothing more important to us than hunting you down? and I will. I promise," Mara threatened, her eyes glinting darkly. "The Tendrando droids are tough, but they're no match for a bunch of angry Jedi. Do you understand?"



I think he understands perfectly now. Don't want to get in the way of any plan of Mara's...she's deadly!

"Cheer up, Krawl," Mara said, rising limberly from her seat as C-3PO moved to do the same, his servomotors whirring quietly. "Hydian Bones just became the most powerful crime syndicate in the galaxy. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

Oh, Mara! She's so great...but I think I've already said that.

"An honor, really," Threepio clarified.

*laughs*

As Mara made her way to the doors, she knew that she'd taken an important step in keeping the Jedi order alive. The credits they would get from Krawl would go a long way to executing their plan to hide the Jedi, but they would do nothing to rescue her husband...

LUKE!!!!

But soon, she knew she would return to Denon and find him. She had to.

Luke, wherever you are... I'm coming.

She'll find him!!! I'm optimistic!

Then again...I hope she finds him in one piece [face

 

"Greetings, Master Skywalker."

The voice was like nothing Luke had ever heard. It was eerily clear and serene, as if coming from inside his own head, and yet garbled somehow, as if the sound was traveling through water. Underlying it was a thin rasp that seethed beneath the metal.

"I am Anna Nicole's Baby Daddy."



I did NOT expect that!

 

"I am Anna Nicole's Baby Daddy."

 

Will be back with lengthier replies to the past chapters when I'm not trying to use dialup internet that cuts in and out every five minutes. Good stuff, though, and I'm excited for more.

 

So Luke meats the big bad boss. I wonder when we'll finally see who it is under there, someone familiar or at least someone that's connected to the good guys somehow.

 

"I am Darth Malig."

Damn cliffhangers.

The confrontation between the two better be worth it.

 

Maggy: the german word Hier rum - pronounced like Hirum
means: "this way" or "there around"

Ahh, I didn't know that

I am a donut





Jedi-Ant: yw.

Took me a few seconds to get that

*wipes brow* I was afraid you'd think I was some insane basket case

Not at all!

This part was great! I your descriptions of the alien races!! I think yours are the best out there, in terms of accuracy and getting them to jump out of the computer screen!

Wow, thanks so much. That's very sweet of you to say

Classic Mara! You've just reminded me why I love her so much!

Yeah, she's awesome

Typical C-3PO....always trying to fix the mess and keep himself alive.

He's fluent in more than 6 million forms of cowardice.

I think I'm going to run out of laughing faces soon.

There was a time when we had unlimited emoticons

I think he understands perfectly now. Don't want to get in the way of any plan of Mara's...she's deadly!

Indeed

LUKE!!!!

He's alive and reasonably well

She'll find him!!! I'm optimistic!
Then again...I hope she finds him in one piece

I'm sure she'll try to find him at least

Because he's a JEDI!!!



And he has to shave...so that he can look handsome for when Mara rescues him!

"I'm Mara Jade Skywalker? I'm here to rescue you."

NOOOOO!!! Luke, no!!!
Hurry, Mara! HURRY!!!

She's got some things to do before a rescue effort can be mounted. And Luke has some things to learn

I'm suddenly worried that Mara won't find him in one piece, after all.

I so badly want to respond with an answer on that, but I don't want to ruin it

Thanks for reading and reviewing






Whitey: "I am Anna Nicole's Baby Daddy."
I did NOT expect that!



This is why I should get a co-author

Thanks for reading, Whitey





Rodian: Will be back with lengthier replies to the past chapters when I'm not trying to use dialup internet that cuts in and out every five minutes.

Aww, sorry to hear about your internet troubles. That sucks

Good stuff, though, and I'm excited for more.

Thanks, I'm glad you're liking it




FORCEBlLADE: So Luke meats the big bad boss.

Yep

I wonder when we'll finally see who it is under there, someone familiar or at least someone that's connected to the good guys somehow.

There's a connection and his face would certainly surprise Luke if he saw it. In fact, you could probably solve every mystery in this story just by seeing what was beneath Malig's mask...

Thanks for reading




evil-twin: Damn cliffhangers.

Sorry

The confrontation between the two better be worth it.

I really hope so. One of my favorite scenes for this story so far is the next one with Luke and Malig.

Thanks for reading






New post on Friday! We're going back to Felucia for a Jacen-centric chapter...

 

Got Exile Tuesday, finished it last night.

Comments:

Chapter One: Now if only that wasn't a dream...

Oh wait, that would mean Leia would be dead too. Frak.

Chapter Two: WEDGE!!! I should've renamed that chapter "Wedge Pwns Jacen"

Chapter Three: Kyp's taras chi thing was hilarious. Trying to picture Niathal's frustration was pretty good too.

Chapter Five: "Give him [Ben] a project. Something relevant. Such as, write a history and analysis of his grandfather's fall to the dark side."

Luke stopped again to stare at his wife. "That's complex psychology to assign to a thirteen-year-old."

Well, hopefully it'll do him more good than it would Jacen.

Myri was also pretty good too:

Wedge: Oh. Good. Please tell me that all that stuff will wash out of your hair.

Myri: It will. But the tattoos are permanent.

Wedge: Tattoos?

Myri and Me:



And to avoid taking up a lot of space, I'll leave the rest for later.

YK: Yeah, it does

I know. One moment the Empire's trying to wipe them out, then the next moment they (may) come in to save their hides...

That's why Threepio is there to translate



*Waits for you do post that .gif of the clone wars cartoon again*

You mean this:

[image=http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r213/CloneCmdrWedge/CloneTroopervsSBDs.gif]



Yeah, ask Fyor Rodan about that

Yes. He knows all about it...

Oh that reminds me: Rodan gets about one page in Exile. He uses it to cause trouble by conspiring with a Sith. Sound familiar?

 

Just buzzing through...

"?Clearly if there was anywhere else I had to go, I wouldn't have come to a second-rate crime syndicate with a third-rate leader, who are still using forty-year-old battle droids and malnourished warriors for protection? Obviously, I'm desperate."

Nothing like telling it like it is So very Mara.

Darth Malig! :nervous: Mesa scared.

Great writing as always. I'm looking forward to going back to Felucia, and Jacen, next week

 

I am a donut

Donut?? The cinnamon kind....or the iced ones??

Took me a few seconds to get that

Oh, sorry I usually try not to type in text talk, but talking to my lil sis on msn all the time, I kinda slip into it naturally

Wow, thanks so much. That's very sweet of you to say

No problem... Sweet? That's not really a word that's associated with me very often Usually another 5-letter word, but I can't type it here...

He's fluent in more than 6 million forms of cowardice.



That made me laugh so hard! Thank you!!!

There was a time when we had unlimited emoticons

Really? So one could have made an entire response using only emoticons...interesting...

He's alive and reasonably well

Is he still cute??

"I'm Mara Jade Skywalker? I'm here to rescue you."

Will she be wearing storm trooper armour as well??

And Luke has some things to learn

I don't like the look of that devil face

I so badly want to respond with an answer on that, but I don't want to ruin it

Awww...

 

*runs into thread screaming*

TGIF!

Erm, kinda TGIF. Real life's been a bear these past two weeks, and it's probably going to stay that way for another week. I didn't even get to reply to the last two chapters! *sob*

I'll try to find time to properly reply next week. Until then, think of me when you hear that squeeing after the new chapter is posted tonight.

 

We're going back to Felucia for a Jacen-centric chapter...

Wohoo, Jacen as a Jedi and not as a Sith trainee...well, at least not at the moment.

Loved the last chapter, especially the ending, but I'm too lazy to post details. Sorry.

Can't wait for the update!

 

Wedge:Rodan gets about one page in Exile. He uses it to cause trouble by conspiring with a Sith. Sound familiar?

You don't think that AA reads stuff on here? I mean there's no way that he would have enough time to read an obscure fanfiction series on some random star wars forum? Right?

 

Ya think? Half the history of the Yuuzhan Vong that I came up with, and then the basic foundations of Outbound Flight I wrote in an old vig of mine ended up in the books

 

Wedge: Got Exile Tuesday, finished it last night.

Me too Pretty good book.


Comments:
Chapter One: Now if only that wasn't a dream...
Oh wait, that would mean Leia would be dead too. Frak.
Chapter Two: WEDGE!!! I should've renamed that chapter "Wedge Pwns Jacen"

I had the same reaction.

Chapter Three: Kyp's taras chi thing was hilarious. Trying to picture Niathal's frustration was pretty good too.
Chapter Five: "Give him [Ben] a project. Something relevant. Such as, write a history and analysis of his grandfather's fall to the dark side."
Luke stopped again to stare at his wife. "That's complex psychology to assign to a thirteen-year-old."
Well, hopefully it'll do him more good than it would Jacen.

I thought that was pretty silly. "Gee, Ben and Jacen may be slipping to the dark side... Should we try and stop them? Nah, let's just make him do a book report."


Myri was also pretty good too:
Wedge: Oh. Good. Please tell me that all that stuff will wash out of your hair.
Myri: It will. But the tattoos are permanent.
Wedge: Tattoos?
Myri and Me:

I really liked Lando and the "Loooove Commander".


I know. One moment the Empire's trying to wipe them out, then the next moment they (may) come in to save their hides...

Well, we know Han and Leia are at least going to travel to the Remnant and beg Pellaeon for help.


You mean this:

Yes

Yes. He knows all about it...
Oh that reminds me: Rodan gets about one page in Exile. He uses it to cause trouble by conspiring with a Sith. Sound familiar?

I was more sturck by the scene where Jacen has a full conversation with Vergere in his mind. I'm sending Allston a bill for that one





TKL: Nothing like telling it like it is So very Mara.

Yeah, I don't think she's much for dressing things up

Darth Malig! :nervous: Mesa scared.

Yousa bein' bombad general

Great writing as always. I'm looking forward to going back to Felucia, and Jacen, next week

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it Hope you enjoy the Felucia stuff too.




Ant: Donut?? The cinnamon kind....or the iced ones??

It might just be an American & German thing: Read down to the Jelly Donut part

Oh, sorry I usually try not to type in text talk, but talking to my lil sis on msn all the time, I kinda slip into it naturally

S'okay, I just suck at internet-speak

No problem... Sweet? That's not really a word that's associated with me very often Usually another 5-letter word, but I can't type it here...

Ouch. We just won't let anyone who make that association in here

That made me laugh so hard! Thank you!!!

No problem

Really? So one could have made an entire response using only emoticons...interesting...

Yes, which I did almost exclusively

Is he still cute??

Was he ever?

Will she be wearing storm trooper armour as well??

No, Leia's slave-girl costume

I don't like the look of that devil face

Do you like this one better?





Jaya: *runs into thread screaming*



TGIF!
Erm, kinda TGIF. Real life's been a bear these past two weeks, and it's probably going to stay that way for another week. I didn't even get to reply to the last two chapters! *sob*

Aww, sorry to hear that

I'll try to find time to properly reply next week. Until then, think of me when you hear that squeeing after the new chapter is posted tonight.

Thanks, I hope you like it And I appreciate the squeeing





Palpy: Wohoo, Jacen as a Jedi and n

 

It might just be an American & German thing: Read down to the Jelly Donut part



Now I get it. Thanks.

S'okay, I just suck at internet-speak

Need lessons? I charge $1.95 per minute for the first minute, and then $5.95 per minute for the next fifty. If you've still got enough cash left after that, then I'll tell you the other rates

Ouch. We just won't let anyone who make that association in here

I'm safe then!

Yes, which I did almost exclusively



Was he ever?

Was he ever?!? Men!

No, Leia's slave-girl costume

I should have seen that one coming...

Do you like this one better?

Yes, actually!

New post in less than an hour?

 

Chapter 4: The Living Jedi Dream

Jacen Solo's every rapid footfall splashed into the murky stream, sending an expanding trail of ripples that reflected the rhapsody of colors towering along its banks, and gave it the flowing rainbow shimmer of leaking fuel. The escape pod crash had been bad, but easily survivable for three Jedi and a pilot as skilled as his twin sister, made easier with the cushion provided by Felucia's teeming plant life and moist soil. It had taken the siblings only seconds to carve through the mangled escape hatch and focus on their most pressing concern— escape.

With the Kurol having sensed them when they entered the system and the Raithian warships that shot them out of the sky having released bays full of starfighters to pursue them, the Solos knew they had to get away from the crash site as quickly as possible or risk a swift capture.

Anakin was beside him as they sprinted to the other side of the stream, his breath ragged and tousled brown locks clinging to his sweat-dampened forehead. The youngest of the Solos had taken to wearing robes so dark brown they were almost black, and a synth-leather surcoat that was darker still.

When they reached midway, the two Jedi found the stream's deepest point, the dark waters sucking their legs in well above their calf-high boots.

Jaina was already across, peering into the dense foliage on the other side, the waterline near the top of her thighs on her brown trousers showing just how much more difficult it had been for her diminutive form to trudge. Making it to the bank, his boots leaving generous impressions in the mud, Jacen found himself winded despite calling on the Force for aid, and hunched over, putting his hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath.

"We've got to keep moving," Anakin said between gasps.

They'd been running for no more than twenty minutes, but with the planet's strange surface, the three Jedi were expending more energy than normal trying to negotiate its terrain. Glancing back to the horizon, Jacen no longer saw any trace of the curls of black smoke coming from their crashed pod.

"No, we need to figure out where we are," Jaina argued, pulling her hand away from a verdant plant only to find her fingers dripping with a viscous slime. She quickly wiped the fluid on the apron of her tan robes with as little revulsion as possible. "We're lost."

"That's because everything on this planet looks the same," Anakin grumbled.

"It feels different," Jacen argued, drawing curious glances from his siblings. Having spent a good portion of his teens around the jungles of Yavin 4 and most of the last three years living in Zonama Sekot's vibrant tampasi, Jacen could feel the life around them in ways perhaps no other Jedi could, even in the exotic fungal wilderness of Felucia.

"Good, why don't you feel our way to the GA's weapons factory then," Jaina said, fishing a palm-sized holoprojector from her utility belt and activating it. A translucent three-dimensional map of the jungle around them sprang from the device in beams of azure light.

"We don't know where the pestile factory is anyway, remember? So the map is hardly going to help us."

Anakin shook his head. "No, but we think it's somewhere around Niango."

Talon Karrde's best guess had been that the plant where the Raithians were manufacturing the neurotoxin the Jedi Knights found so perilous was most likely being refined in the city of Niango, based on what little intelligence he could gather from the occupied system.

"Only about fifty kilometers away," Jaina announced, the reflection from the holo map she was studying casting blue light and heavy shadows on her creamy skin. "I picked a pretty good place to land."

"Crash," Anakin corrected.

"That's still a good distance," Jacen reasoned, glancing down the winding path of the stream. "They'll have captured us by then."

"That's all right. As long as we're close enough to Niango that they won't transport us anywhere else when they do."

"And if the pestile factory isn't there?"

It was Jaina who shrugged. "The factory is really only our second objective anyway, remember?"

Jacen sighed. "Yeah. Right."

"It's best if we just stick by this waterway, see? We're likely to get lost if we try and navigate our way through this mess."

"And that will also make us stand out to those Raithian patrols searching for us," Jacen reminded, absently scratching at the bump of skin on the inside of his arm where Tekli had injected him before leaving Ossus.

Anakin looked up from where he'd been hunched gulping oxygen, a gleam in his icy eyes and a mischievous smirk twisting his lips. "Is there a problem with that?"

Though it had been their plan from the beginning, Jacen was more than a little apprehensive about forcing a confrontation with the Raithians. Besides his serious doubts about the invaders' reluctance to kill them on sight, Jacen also was unsure it was what Jedi should be doing. If anything, it would make them look even more like the terrorists the Alliance was accusing them of being— they were playing into their enemy's hands.

"No... What are we waiting for?"

The trio took off again, running down the banks of the indolent stream.

In his twenty-three years of life, Jacen Solo had never seen a world quiet like Felucia. Its surface was covered in an incredible overgrowth of bizarre fungi and luminous vegetation. The air was thick and dusky with a haze of various pollens and floating sepals, twirling seeds, and white petals that seemed to come down like the lightest of snowflakes. On the horizon it rose a muddy umber fog that shimmered gold from the eerie glow of the plants and what little slanted light made its way through the veil of dense mist and stagnant clouds.

The forests themselves were even more stunning. Great translucent blossoms of aquamarine were sturdy enough to stand on and shimmered a blue crystalline sugar under any effulgence that managed to punch through the haze. From their centers sprouted tangerine trumpets three times the size of a human being.

Speckled through the green were twisted cones stretching high above their heads that were covered in a downy moss of black and bone-white rings, like beaded knots coiling towards the hidden sun. Other fungi became massive towers of multi-tiered platforms and giant stilted trunks that arced and twisted, thick enough that all three of the Solos could have walked abreast on their ferny surfaces, and might have climbed for an hour without traversing the entire growth.

Jacen took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet mixture of pollen, wet soil, and insect pheromones, wondering how such a beautiful world had become a threat to them.

The mud from the banks gathered on their boots, making their weary legs all the heavier. The three escapees eventually slowed to a steady march along the purling stream. Anakin was several meters ahead, his keen eyes prowling both sides of the waterway for potential predators while Jaina gradually fell back, sidling up next to Jacen. The Jedi noticed a slight frown to his twin sister's lips and her dark eyes seemed weighed down by some invisible burden.

"Are you all right?"

"What?" Jaina asked, stopping their procession and looking up at him as if he were crazy.

"It's just... you seem troubled over something."

"Have you been prying into my thoughts?" Jaina glowered, her hands dropping to her hips.

"No, I didn't need to," Jacen replied, resuming their trudging so they wouldn't fall too far behind Anakin. "It's written all over your face. There's something bothering you."

"No, there isn't, and I'm not having any misgivings about our mission if that's what you're thinking, so why don't you mind your own business?" Jaina scolded.

Recognizing he'd clearly struck a nerve, Jacen bristled, not wanting to take the discussion any further. Her reaction reminded him somewhat of her response when he'd first asked her about her relationship to Jagged Fel. He assumed it was something to do with Jag, whom Jaina appeared to be very close with in the month since the Raithians sprang their trap and he let the issue drop.

"Sorry," Jaina replied timorously. "I guess I was misinterpreting something..."

The two traveled on in silence for awhile before Jaina spoke again.

"Can I ask you something?"

Jacen looked up from the mud he'd been studying intently and offered a nervous answer. "Shoot."

"Do you know anything about Force-visions?" She'd been looking down as well, but when Jaina finished her question, she looked up, trying to catch her brother's reaction while her arms hugged herself as if cold.

"I know a little," Jacen said, his interest piqued. "Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing, I've just been having this dream... Anyway, I don't have much experience with this sort of thing and I know you have had several. I was wondering if there was anything you could tell me about them?"

Since the beginning of the Yuuzhan Vong War, one thing Jacen had certainly become well acquainted with was insights granted by the Force. He'd had several visions during the war, often misinterpreting them to somewhat dangerous consequences before getting them right. After the war, when Jacen went in seclusion for three years on Zonama Sekot, his perceptions and connection tot he Force grew, as did his bond with the living world. Peeking into the future became more frequent, and often in a way that was so pronounced that Jacen's mind couldn't even understand it. There were times when the beings around him became nothing more than blurred beams of light, their coiling paths showing him everything they had done, might, or would do.

And then there was Vergere.

The former Jedi had been his guide through the Lands of the Dead, helping him learn to survive the war with the Vong and understand the true nature of the Force. She'd even sacrificed her life to save his, soon after appearing as a Force-ghost to explain things to him, and once more before the war was over to issue a warning.

But on Zonama Sekot, her visits became more frequent. As Jacen's connection to the Force grew, so did his time spent with the dead Fosh, often discussing what she saw as Jacen's special destiny and hinting at things in the future. She told him he would become The Living Jedi Dream, and even gave him vague warnings about his Uncle Luke's betrayal.

Shortly after Luke was arrested for his role in tampering with the GA's elections four years earlier and treason, one of Jacen's visits with his guide was interrupted by his wife Tenel Ka. To Jacen's horror, she'd said that he'd only been talking to himself and that the spirit he thought he was seeing didn't exist.

All the time he'd thought he'd been communicating with Vergere had been nothing more than his mind playing tricks on him, a way of interpreting his frequent visions in a more understandable way.

Jacen had gone mad.

But there hadn't been time to wallow in his delirium. The Vagaari attack on Denon had prevented that— and with Tenel Ka's help, Jacen had been able to get past his fears that he'd gone insane and focus on taking action and saving the Jedi order.

Since then, he seemed to be cured, having not seen Vergere since that fateful day when he realized she didn't exist. Still, the reminder of it all couldn't help but send a chill up Jacen's spine and let old fears settle into his bones.

"One thing I've learned about Force-visions is that they often don't work out the way you think they will," he said wistfully. "Fate can be a tricky business."

"No kidding," Jaina replied dryly. "Look at where we've ended up."

"Some twists you can't foresee... and the Force. Sometimes it just confuses things further."

"Like you and Tenel Ka— I bet you didn't see that coming."

Jaina had meant it playfully, a way of relieving some tension and taking the focus off whatever it was that was troubling her— but Jacen could only nod thoughtfully. His marriage to Tenel Ka certainly wasn't something he could have predicted— especially in the way it came about.

It had been something of an arranged marriage at the Queen of Hapes’ request. For Jacen, it meant that all sixty-three worlds of the Hapes Consortium would become official members of the Galactic Alliance and assist them with their military woes in a time they all felt a war was coming. And for Tenel Ka, it gave her a chance to push for equality on Hapes, setting an example by not only taking a husband but also giving him half of her kingdom— making Jacen the first ever King of Hapes.

He'd suspected there was another reason she'd requested he'd marry her, and it was probably why he'd said yes as well.

Whatever their motives, Jacen could feel that Tenel Ka loved him very deeply, and as she helped him deal with all that had happened, he'd realized how much the feelings for her he'd had as they were growing up on Yavin 4 were still burning within him.

In the wake of all that had happened, Jacen didn't know what he'd do without his wife.

"What is this dream you've been having?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Jaina insisted, chewing her bottom lip. "It's just—"

"Guys!" Anakin called back to them, unclipping the lightsaber hilt dangling from his hip. "I sense something..."

The forests around them were replete with life forms, most of them tiny insects crawling around the fungal growth and blossoms— but Jacen had spotted a few others. During their sprint away from the escape pod, the Jedi had seen a giant slug more than six meters long and half that around, its skin an iridescent cerulean.

While the creature had been harmless, Jacen couldn't shake the feeling that there were predators lurking within the jungle’s dark recesses as well. And as his little brother called to him, he felt a cold knot form between his shoulders that told him one was very close.

"We've got trouble..." Jaina whispered, freeing her own weapon from her belt and spreading out from her brothers in a defensive formation, stepping into the water.

Jacen reached out into the Force, searching for the threat that had sent his danger sense spiking.

He didn't have to search long.

From inside the forest came a shriek like the rapid shudders of a faulty hyperdrive, its shrill cry nearly forcing Jacen to cover his ears. Before he could even react, a great triple-jointed leg that had appeared as nothing more than another growth came out of the vegetation and its clawed pincer slammed into the water with a violent splash. The limb nearly stabbed Jaina who'd managed to hop to the side at the last second.

A massive six-legged crustacean emerged from the forest, bringing its lead pincer back and shrieking at the three Jedi again through mighty jaws of sharp teeth. Its shell gleamed sea green and towered over the Solos as it drew itself up to its full intimidating height.

Jacen's childhood obsession with animals had led to more than his exotic collection of pets at the Jedi Academy— he'd also learned about many of the creatures sentients shared the galaxy with. To his horror, he recognized the mantid almost immediately.

An Acklay.

"No!" He shouted to his siblings before either of them could ignite their lightsabers. Acklays were ferocious predators— attacking it would only excite the creature further and make matters that much worse. "I can handle this."

Jaina and Anakin backed away somewhat reluctantly, their thumbs straying from their weapons' activators as the acklay let out another bloodcurdling scream and began to circle its prey.

"It's okay, friend," Jacen soothed, reaching out with one hand and the Force to try and calm the animal. "We don't want to hurt you."

He'd always possessed a unique connection and ability to communicate with animals, and he used it to reassure the Acklay, sending it warm, non-threatening thoughts through the Force, as well as warning it about attacking them.

"You don't want to eat us either," Jacen whispered, reminding the animal of a particularly nasty and poisonous reptile it had once eaten.

The persuasion seemed to work and the Acklay began to slowly crawl backwards into the forest on its six lobster-like legs.

"That's a good girl—"

A second shriek sounded on the other side of the stream and from within the foliage emerged another of the virescent beasts, its three eyes locking onto the Jedi as it advanced. The disruption was all it took to send the first Acklay into panic, and Jacen could no longer convince the enraged creature that he and his siblings were not prey, or the source of anger for the other predator.

Acklays didn't hunt in packs— in fact, the only time two of the creatures ever came into contact was to fight, normally over food or territory. Even mating required little contact between both parties, and a mother acklay left her eggs buried in the sand to hatch and emerge into the galaxy on their own— the chance that the two acklays that now surrounded them were intent on anything other than devouring the Solos evaporated when Jacen sensed that both were undeniably female.

"I've got a bad feeling..." Jacen muttered as everything dissolved into chaos.

The second acklay crossed the stream in a single spidery bound and struck Anakin from behind with one heavy limb, flinging the young Jedi Knight off the bank and into the tangles of vegetation.

"Hey!" Jaina yelled, taking off through the stream and igniting her blue lightsaber, its glow shimmering on the dark waters. She lunged with a one-handed backswing and struck the acklay's offending pincer, stinging the beast and forcing it back a step before it could tear their little brother apart.

Jacen lost sight of his siblings when the opened claws of the animal he'd been attempting to tame came stabbing at his face. A loud clack sounded when the Jedi ducked low, narrowly escaping having his whole head clipped off as the sharp pincers closed.

Before he could even release the breath trapped within his chest, another of the acklay's sharp legs came thrusting down at him from above, and Jacen threw himself into a rolling somersault to avoid the blow. He counted the sound of three rapid punctures in the dirt behind him, each getting closer to skewering him before he came up from his roll and freed the lightsaber from his hip.

A vibrating rumble from deep within the acklay's chest sounded as the Jedi eluded her strikes, and the monster lunged forward, trying to capture Jacen in her powerful jaws. He called on the Force, launching his body into a high-arcing back flip before the mouthful of teeth could grip him— but before he could land, Jacen's twisting form collided with a thrust of hard shell and quickly found himself ensnared within the pincers of the acklay's front leg, the sharp claws gripped around his waist, cutting into his robes and flesh as the creature held him dangling above ground.

In another instant, Jacen knew that the powerful claws would cut him in half. His blade was ignited in a flash of emerald, the pressure on his body building so quickly that he didn't even hear the snap-hiss without wasting a moment, he plunged the searing light into the hardened skin, jamming it deep within the joint of the acklay's pincered claws.

He wasn't even certain the creature felt any pain from the attack, but with the inner ligaments, bone, and sinew charred and severed, the useless limb released Jacen, allowing him to fall in an injured heap onto the mud.

The acklay screamed angrily and tried to stab the King of Hapes' prone form before he rolled away, bringing his blade around as the limb missed and planted into the mud, tracing a glowing scar along the claw.

Jacen pushed himself to his feet and leapt into the stream to avoid another attack. He kept his eyes on the acklay, knowing exactly what had to be done as it stalked into the water after him. The sound of his siblings battling the other monster grew louder as Jacen walked backwards through the waters, luring his opponent in deeper.

Suddenly a sharp forward claw from behind him shot over his head and struck the animal he was facing. The acklay had smashed its pincered-fist through the face of the creature that had nearly killed Jacen, dropping its limp form and pliant limbs into the water in a lifeless mound of gore.

His plan had worked, getting one of the rival acklays to deal with the other, but that still left one of the beasts for the three Jedi to destroy.

Jacen turned to see that the remaining acklay's back limbs were all in the water and its front legs now on the bank as Jaina and Anakin fended off blows with their lightsabers.

One jagged pincer came down to smash Anakin from above and he stepped to the side at the last second, only inches away as the claw planted itself into the dirt with a dense thud. Twisting his body and the weapon in his hands, Anakin brought the cobalt blade of his lightsaber around in a whirling swing that hacked through the shell-encased limb with a meaty crunch. The acklay drew back the truncated limb, still glowing amber around the cauterized edges and howled.

Jaina ducked a passing leg as the beast thrashed in pain and Jacen dove under the acklay, attempting to skewer its vulnerable belly. He managed to plunge his blade in no more than four inches before he was kicked away by yet another of the creature's legs, sending him tumbling into the murky pool.

By the time Jacen's head broke the water, he saw his twin sister leaping to avoid another blow and landing on the back of the broken carcass sticking out of the stream. She stayed there less than a second as the acklay moved to crush her again, kicking off of the dead beast to send herself sailing over her attacker's head in a beautiful Force-aided back flip. Jaina twisted in mid-air, the blue light of her blade dancing around her as she landed in a crouch on the crown that jutted out from the back of the acklay's head like a plank.

Not wasting any time, she plunged her fiery blade into the top of the creature's skull, burning away its life with one last guttural shriek before it joined the other acklay in the water. Jaina leapt away as it collapsed, landing on the bank near a panting Anakin. Jacen followed, emerging from the stream that now soaked him.

"People actually take tours of this place?" Jaina shut her lightsaber down.

"Don't worry," Anakin assured, dusting off his robes. "If we get killed, I'm sure mom and dad will have a hell of a lawsuit against Oron Galaxies."

Jacen ran a hand through his brown hair made clumpy by the cold water, finding it was long enough now that it fell into his eyes. "My legs still work," he said, inspecting the blood seeping from his hips. "We'd better keep moving before—"

"Uh-oh," Anakin said suddenly, raising a hand for silence.

"What?"

His blue eyes were darting around the stream. "I think all that commotion may just yet get us killed..."

Jacen followed his brother's gaze and saw the unmistakable gleam of Raithian helmets peeking out from the vegetation just as he became aware of the soldiers' presences in the Force.

They were surrounded.

 

First!

A massive six-legged crustacean emerged from the forest, bringing its lead pincer back and shrieking at the three Jedi again through mighty jaws of sharp teeth. Its shell gleamed sea green and towered over the Solos as it drew itself up to its full intimidating height.

Jacen's childhood obsession with animals had led to more than his exotic collection of pets at the Jedi Academy? he'd also learned about many of the creatures sentients shared the galaxy with. To his horror, he recognized the mantid almost immediately.

An Acklay.

Someone's been playing Battlefront II

"Uh-oh," Anakin said suddenly, raising a hand for silence.

"What?"

His blue eyes were darting around the stream. "I think all that commotion may just yet get us killed..."

Jacen followed his brother's gaze and saw the unmistakable gleam of Raithian helmets peeking out from the vegetation just as he became aware of the soldiers' presences in the Force.

They were surrounded.

Well, perhaps if the three Solo children had just SHUT THE KRIFF UP, then they wouldn't have attracted the attentions of both the Acklay, and then the Raithians, and they'd still be walking through the Felucian jungle being quietly emo

Oh, and nice job, YK. Looking forward to more

 

His blue eyes were darting around the stream. "I think all that commotion may just yet get us killed..."

Jacen followed his brother's gaze and saw the unmistakable gleam of Raithian helmets peeking out from the vegetation just as he became aware of the soldiers' presences in the Force.

They were surrounded.



More coherent response later. Going out for awhile, so I had a quick read-through.

The last part really jumped out at me...*shivers* I hope they're ok...

Ant.

 

Those Acklay those are always causing Jedi problems, just ask Obi-wan

 

*holding my spot again, I swear I'll read and review after midterms are over*

EDIT: Fave parts:

"I picked a pretty good place to land."

"Crash," Anakin corrected.

Same thing

"People actually take tours of this place?" Jaina shut her lightsaber down.

"Don't worry," Anakin assured, dusting off his robes. "If we get killed, I'm sure mom and dad will have a hell of a lawsuit against Oron Galaxies."

 

Sorry about not replying last week, Yobi, but I did read it and it was GOOD. For some reason college is harder on me this semester than it was the last one . . .

Anyways . . .

This was a good post too. Unfortunately, my time is short again so I won't make much of a reply, other than I hope that the Solos get out of this in one piece. They definitely made too much noise there.

Then again, it was inevitable to happen. One of them will turn, as you told us, and the one-who-turns must be captured and have a chance to be convinced or coerced into falling . . .

And yes. I think AA hangs out here anonymously or in disguise. But that's cool. That means he pays attention to what the more creative of the fans are doing, and he's inspired by the best of us.

 

Looks like the Solo kids are out of the frying pan and into the fire

 

Chapter 4: The Living Jedi Dream

Nice title.

Anakin was beside him as they sprinted to the other side of the stream, his breath ragged and tousled brown locks clinging to his sweat-dampened forehead. The youngest of the Solos had taken to wearing robes so dark brown they were almost black, and a synth-leather surcoat that was darker still.

"tousled brown locks clinging to his sweat-dampened forehead..." -

So his robes aren't really "Sith-black" after all...they're a dark brown

Still, I am concerned for him

When they reached midway, the two Jedi found the stream's deepest point, the dark waters sucking their legs in well above their calf-high boots.

Why do the Jedi always wear calf-high boots? I mean, I know they look hot and all, but they're really not very practical for trying to out-run enemies in...think of all the blisters after a hard days' run!!!

Perhaps Nike could contract them or something

"Only about fifty kilometers away," Jaina announced, the reflection from the holo map she was studying casting blue light and heavy shadows on her creamy skin. "I picked a pretty good place to land."

"Crash," Anakin corrected.



"That's still a good distance," Jacen reasoned, glancing down the winding path of the stream. "They'll have captured us by then."

"That's all right. As long as we're close enough to Niango that they won't transport us anywhere else when they do."



They want to get caught?!?

Anakin looked up from where he'd been hunched gulping oxygen, a gleam in his icy eyes and a mischievous smirk twisting his lips. "Is there a problem with that?"

*sigh* Anakin!

Can someone lend me a fan??

The forests themselves were even more stunning. Great translucent blossoms of aquamarine were sturdy enough to stand on and shimmered a blue crystalline sugar under any effulgence that managed to punch through the haze. From their centers sprouted tangerine trumpets three times the size of a human being.

You have some imagination, Yobs!!! *is shocked*

How do you come up with these things? This description is great - far better even than some certain NJO authors (not that I'm naming anyone...ahem...)



Speckled through the green were twisted cones stretching high above their heads that were covered in a downy moss of black and bone-white rings, like beaded knots coiling towards the hidden sun. Other fungi became massive towers of multi-tiered platforms and giant stilted trunks that arced and twisted, thick enough that all three of the Solos could have walked abreast on their ferny surfaces, and might have climbed for an hour without traversing the entire growth.

Beautiful again (see comment above).

"One thing I've learned about Force-visions is that they often don't work out the way you think they will," he said wistfully. "Fate can be a tricky business."

"No kidding," Jaina replied dryly. "Look at where we've ended up."

"Some twists you can't foresee... and the Force. Sometimes it just confuses things further."

That it does. Take Anakin's (Skywalker) force-vision, for instance...if he hadn't turned, Padme would never have died in childbirth...at least, probably not.

From inside the forest came a shriek like the rapid shudders of a faulty hyperdrive, its shrill cry nearly forcing Jacen to cover his ears. Before he could even react, a great triple-jointed leg that had appeared as nothing more than another growth came out of the vegetation and its clawed pincer slammed into the water with a violent splash. The limb nearly stabbed Jaina who'd managed to hop to the side at the last second.

A massive

 

Felucia is an awesome planet.And, of course,whats Fleucia without Acklay.Anakin is growing a sense of humor.By the way,when will Tahiri come in?

State of Characters:
Anakin:
Jacen:
Jaina:

LOST:I really liked this episode.Hurley thinking they needed a victory,The return of Vincent and Danielle Rousseau,and the possibility that getting the car started might have stopped the curse.