Goodbye -- ROTJ AU

use, the force we must. near the top, this thread must stay. imperitive this is. Spell i cannot.

 

More? Soon?

 

keep this thread up we will. *pushes the thread up to the top.*

 

And another up!

 

An up in hope that winter break will come sooner rather than later. [face_stressed]

 

*punches air with fist, dropping all books, pens, pencils, binders, and her glasses for good measure in the process...*

Here here!

 

I'll drink to that!

(Thanksgiving break: 15 days)

 

Up.

 

Another uncreative UP.

 

Well, all right, I'll do it again.

 

UP!!!!

 

Sooo....guess how much I've been writing?

I have almost three posts ready, but they would be difficult to follow spread too far out, so I'm saving them up. For Christmas.

HO HO HO...

 

You mean if we are good little boys and girls, Santa and Elf Tarado will bring us Posties?

*sits on Santa's lap* I wanna Luke postie, and a Han/Leia postie...and a brand new leather coat. (Hey, I gotta ask. )

inez

 

<whiny voice> Man! </whiny voice>

Christmas anticipation almost killed me on a few occasions as a child.... You have made me feel oddly nostalgic, Tarado.

<jumps up and down> I can't wait!

 

Anticipation is killing me. Looking forward to the next posts.

 

That's right, kiddies...and if you're not good, you'll be getting a post full of coal instead of story!
(have to think about how to do that one....)

 

*thinks that our lovely author can manage it. *

 

Up-illy Nup-illy.

 

*uppity up up to the up*

 

I'm stil working on getting caught up, but great story!

 

I'm always good. Can I have some story now?

 

I just got caught up!

 

More?

 

Okay--everyone stay calm and do not panic.... It's a post!!!!!!!!!!

so...enjoy!

P.S. if you want to review what just happened in the story, that's perfectly understandable, since I know it's been about 3 months. I hope this makes sense--sorry if it's a little short compared to others........ANYWAY. Enough of that. Thanks for sticking the semester out with me and enjoy...









*****

?Luke is gone.? Aram Kelson smoothed back his thinning gray hair with a quiet sigh, eyeing Mara who was seated across the small table. ?He left two nights ago, right after the fight.?

?The fight?? Mara echoed. Her eyes flicked around the homely, old-fashioned kitchen they were in. The man?s wife stood at the doorway watching Mara with a suspicious expression that seemed natural to her features. Next to her stood a small boy?their nephew?who could not be more than seven years old. They watched her warily. Mara knew they distrusted her?could tell from the moment she appeared at their door.

Kelson nodded heavily, brow furrowed into a concerned frown. ?A half-dozen members of a gang stormed the shop while Luke was working. They?re well-known and avoided in Kraull for a reason?there are some vicious people that affiliate with them. I don?t know how Luke managed to get on their bad side, but?? he trailed off. ?All of them were armed. There was a brief firefight and somehow he held them all off. They took little Benjamin??


?They were going to shoot me!? the boy piped up with the excitement of a child with a story to tell. The stricken look of his aunt and uncle told the actual gravity of the situation.


?Yes,? Kelson nodded, still frowning, his eyes on Mara. ?I still don?t understand how he did it, but by the time I got there, all six of those men were out cold on the floor. He stunned them all.?

?Luke saved me,? the little boy said again, hurriedly shushed by his aunt.

Well that explained the tremendous disturbance she had felt in the Force, Mara reasoned. It made sense?it sounded like something Skywalker would do.

?Do you have any idea where he is now?? she asked. ?It?s extremely important that I find him.?

Finding the Jedi, she had thought, would be the easy part. She had not figured into her plans extra time to search for him. Already it had taken her four hours to get this far?locating the house where Luke had been staying?only to meet with a dead end.

Aram Kelson shook his head. ?He did not breathe a word to anyone of his plans to go. He left only a datapad saying that an emergency forced him to leave. But that seemed a little out of character for him.? He eyed Mara again. ?I worry that he is in some sort of trouble.?

Mara nodded, but did not reply. ?Is that all you know of his whereabouts??

Kelson nodded regretfully. ?Yes. I?m sorry we can?t be of more help.?


Mara was getting to her feet. ?No, it?s okay. Thank you.?

?Is there anything else we can do??

?No,? Mara said quietly, shaking her head. ?I don?t think there is. Thank you for your help.?


*****

She pulled away from the small dwelling in her black Moquet speeder, trying to sort things out in her mind, all too well aware that the more time it took to search for Skywalker, the closer Palpatine and Vader would come to capturing him. And she was stranded without a clue where to even start looking.

Of course he would have gone, she told herself. Why didn?t you think of that? He?s not stupid. He would have known they were coming for him.

The question was where could he be? Without a lot of money or transportation, a person wouldn?t be able to get very far. And there was nothing outside the city of Kraull that wasn?t a three week?s walk in any direction.

Then he?s got to be still in the city somewhere. The problem with that solution was that Kraull was a pretty big town?full of seedy holes that offered the ideal place to get lost for a little while.

Mara exhaled slowly, eyeing the blue sky as though she expected it to drop down on her a

 

wait up?