Beyond - Legends Rent in the Force Chapter 26 is up 06/25/03 Finished

Chapter 20: And We?re the Bait.

The sound of rushing waterfalls, and the cold mist of a summer?s eve on Naboo, caressed Anakin?s senses as he stepped out onto the large balcony that he had traced his cousin?s Force-essence to. Sure enough, just an outline against the darker shadows, stood the short but compact form of Ben Skywalker. Elbows leaning on the guard railing, Ben was hypnotized by the sound, the rays of the blue moon glittering off of the palace?s waterfall. So much so that he did not turn to greet Anakin - perhaps didn?t even know he was there, but Anakin doubted it.

Coming closer, Anakin took the slowness of his pace as opportunity to study Ben before disturbing the boy from his thoughts. It now no longer confused Anakin when he thought of Ben as just a boy. Keorra Cereaslean had pinned it right when she said that Anakin had matured not by years but by unique experience. He was no longer that seventeen-year-old boy who had given his life for the secured future of the Jedi and his family, but a man grown in the Force.

Although the galaxy around him remained on the whole foreign, and sometimes even frightening, he now understood why it was that the Force had saved him, had caused him to awaken at this point and time. And in that purpose he had found his stability, and hoped to share it with Ben.

As the blue light of the moon bathed Ben?s still-youthful face, Anakin was forced to recall the reason for the harshness in the young Seer?s features. The dark circles that rimmed Ben?s blue-green eyes, the sharp gauntness in his cheeks, the way the muscles in his jawline clenched and unclenched as though he were continually fighting something unseeable to the rest of them. Keorra had explained to him that Ben had not slept much while on the asteroid world that Karrde had founded his home base on, that when he had it hadn?t been long before he awoke screaming or wide-eyed.

Pausing just short of Ben, Anakin took a deep breath of the nectar-filled night air. There was a familiarity to this place, as though it were born inside of his bones, if not inside of his mind, a place that caused the Force to tingle inside of him. A feeling that had more than the obvious teeming life on Naboo to it. No wonder Ben had come here in his search for peace.

?There is an old tale that is told to children here on Naboo. That the Force itself plucked a jewel from the earth of an unknown planet in another galaxy and stuck it in our own, to brighten the skies of the universe,? Ben said without preamble, a strained smile touching his fatigue-drawn face. ?Before, there was only darkness in the galaxy, and the Force wished to bring in the light to balance it.?

Anakin mimicked the smile. ?It is a lovely tale.?

?A story of hope,? Ben said, morbidly defeated.

?Hope is not resigned to children?s fairy tales, Ben,? Anakin reminded.

Ben?s profile was almost ghostly in the pale light. ?My parents used to tell me similar stories. Stories of a man who had once been the light itself, and had turned as dark as charcoal, only to be revived in the fires of his son?s love.?

?History has many such stories,? Anakin agreed. ?I remember one of a baby, not even out of his mother?s womb, who healed her of a vicious disease. Even as he was being attacked by the disease himself.?

?While his mother protected him,? the Seer nodded. ?Except now he has no mother, no father, and no one to save him.?

Anakin closed his eyes and shuttered a breath. ?I will not believe in your vision.?

?Whether you care to believe in it or not, it is true nonetheless,? Ben said, finally facing Anakin in his anger. ?Avoiding it will not help. I tried that. I ran away, ran away from the future. Do you know what the problem with the future is, Anakin??

Swallowing, Anakin shook his head. ?Tell me.?

?We forget the moment. The now. Except, once you focus too tightly on the now, you lose sight of what your actions might bring to the future, and the past - how do we learn from it and not dwell on it?? a mocking laugh colored Ben?s voice.

 

Wow, great two chapters there! Can't wait till the next one.

 

Aimeer9

Wow, great two chapters there! Can't wait till the next one.

Hopefully up tomorrow.

 

Ben's starting to improve. that's good.

 

RebelMom

Ben's starting to improve. that's good.

He's improved in time to face his future.


Upping also with Shloz's edits. Thanks everyone.

 

Two incredible posts.

You've got us on the edge of our chairs, and biting our nails. True Star Wars action and suspense!

I love how perfect Keorra is for her role as Ben's anchor. It's scary to think of someone whose life has made even wiser than her years than Ben is. I'm also beginning to wonder about who her parents might really be, and the connection to Nefarion...

 

Shloz

Two incredible posts.

You've got us on the edge of our chairs, and biting our nails. True Star Wars action and suspense!

I love how perfect Keorra is for her role as Ben's anchor. It's scary to think of someone whose life has made even wiser than her years than Ben is. I'm also beginning to wonder about who her parents might really be, and the connection to Nefarion...

Nefarion's identity is going to surprise you I think. Although there have been some hints. Especially in Pattern I haven't eluded much to his identity. Thanks Shloz


Chapter 21: That?s Why I Must Go To Them

?I declare war!? Representative Zorel cried out as he stood on the parapet of the meeting chambers? veranda. Below him, thousands upon thousands of Separatist Yuuzhan Vong cheered at the words of their Representative, their traitor. Unknowingly, they cheered for a man with his own desires in mind, and who cared little for the destruction he was sure to wreak on his people. All they saw was the New Republic chipping away at them one planet at a time, and the Jedi unable to do anything about it, maybe even putting on a show of pretense to assure the Separatists that the Republic was with them even as they destroyed them.

?We have given them ample time to bring proof of their innocence, and what have they given us? Excuses and petitions for more time,? Zorel continued, raising his hands up in a furtive gesture. ?The Republic will not stop until each and every one of us is destroyed. Separatist worlds such as Bellalt, Yivos, and Ithor have been struck, and struck hard. We must do something now before all of our people are destroyed.?

A cacophony rose through the chamber, thundering in sound and shook the parapet he stood upon. The rumble filled Zorel with a dark pleasure, one that came close to the ecstasy of pain. His people would do anything he said; they trusted him without question. Now all he had to do was point, and they would go in the direction he wished of them.

?There is only one thing we can do now, my brothers, my people, my friends.? He paused, sighing heavily, as though a weight of great pain came to rest upon his back. He felt the crowd take in a breath, holding it as they waited for the answer to their salvation. ?We must align ourselves with our lost brethren. We must join the Devotees and join the old ways.?

With this, Zorel withdrew an Elom spike and sliced vertically and horizontally across his face, blood trickling down his face to pool at his sharpened chin. ?Yun Yuuztar!? the former representative cried, rocketing his hand clutching the Elom spike into the air.

?Yun Yuuztar,? the crowd said, repeating his gesture.

---

Dorsca Cherrz sat cross-legged on the floor inside his quarters in the palace of Naboo. In these moments of respite he liked to take the time to review everything he had learned under the tutelage of Anakin Solo and Ben Skywalker. The Force was still an elusive quality to him - something he could feel, but not quite yet control. He envied Ben and Anakin, who could call upon it at a whim, but knew he himself had drawn on it subconsciously even before he had known that it had truly existed.

His people. The separatist Yuuzhan Vong had declared war against the Republic, a government Cherrz had sworn his life to uphold. His people were dying; they knew no other way to retaliate than the old ways. He knew that many of the Separatists had left for places like Linnal and other Devotee-held worlds to join themselves to their lost brethren.

Cherrz felt pulled in two directions. From Ben's dreams, the Temple was in danger, but he felt compelled to go to his people and talk them out of this war they had declared. A war machinated by the Sith Lord Nefarion. Yet he wondered what he could do on either side. He was not a full Jedi Knight, hardly even a novice. He wouldn't be much use to the Jedi. Nor was he any longer Devotee or Separatist, but something different, something larger.

To be a Jedi meant you held a little piece of every being in t

 

the thought of Analese's heart torn is encouraging. She's fallen for Anakin and it's confusing her initial intentions I think. Soon she'll realize that she's got no future with Nefarious.

Anakin's going to have to give Ben an intense training course if they are going to do the Jedi in good. I'm glad to see them settle into that relationship finally.

 

RebelMom

the thought of Analese's heart torn is encouraging. She's fallen for Anakin and it's confusing her initial intentions I think. Soon she'll realize that she's got no future with Nefarious.

Anakin's going to have to give Ben an intense training course if they are going to do the Jedi in good. I'm glad to see them settle into that relationship finally.

Ben and Anakin have a very tumultous relationship. They love each other, understand each other on a certain level, and drive each other crazy. Remind you of another Master and Apprentice team?

 

Just want you to know that I'm still here and keeping up. You're continuing to do great work Zara.

 

Good Post, Zara. Can't wait for the rescue or the attempt of it and for truth to come out about Analsa.

 

joy_noel

Just want you to know that I'm still here and keeping up. You're continuing to do great work Zara.

I'm glad to see you joy_noel. Thanks.

Aimeer9

Good Post, Zara. Can't wait for the rescue or the attempt of it and for truth to come out about Analsa.

Yes truth will be revealed. Something I hope none of you have guessed at.

 

Upping with a thanks to Shloz for his beta work.

 

Chapter 22: That?s What I?m Afraid Of

Throbbing. That was the only way to describe how Leia felt. Her entire body beat in time with her blood, and she was sure she had sustained a concussion when the Yuuzhan Vong Devotees had hit her. It was evident by the way the room pirouetted every time she marginally turned her head, and the way her stomach lurched as though she were in free fall. Jaina, Jacen, and Tahiri had done everything they could, as well as Leia herself, but still she knew she was not one hundred percent, and probably wouldn?t be until she saw a proper medic.

The truth was that Leia probably would have been healed by now, but she was distracted by her worry for her grandchildren, the fact that not even Jaina could tell exactly where they were, and that her grandchildren had the same ability as her children at finding themselves in the worst of situations. It made her shiver to think of the things the Yuuzhan Vong had been known to do when they first infiltrated the galaxy. These Yuuzhan Vong were no different, just more desperate.

Leia stole a look at her daughter. Jaina was sitting in Jag?s arms, biting her lip nervously, Jag rocking Jaina back and forth as though she were as small as Tad. Through the Force, Jaina had been trying to track Tad and Auni, but it appeared that Luke had taught his niece?s children too thoroughly. They kept pulling in deeply - whether because they were hiding and it was instinct that they hide their mind or some deeper ability, Jaina could not tell.

Jaina caught her mother?s studious gaze. ?How are you feeling??

?As good as can be expected,? Leia answered evenly, so as not to strengthen Jaina?s fears with her own.

Her astute daughter caught it anyway. ?Now I understand what you must have felt when Jacen, Anakin, and I used to get into all the trouble we did.?

?I?d like to withdraw my participation in the cause of trouble,? Jacen chirped in. ?I seem to remember that it was you and Anakin leaping into every situation blindly, I just got caught in the cross fire.? To the side of him, Tahiri was laid flat, her enlarged stomach made more obvious by her position, and Jacen was exhibiting the same sort of protective worry that Jaina was.

Tahiri was not well. In fact, she could go into labor at any time, which made them all the more ready to leap at the smallest of moans that came from her. Leia and her children were doing what the Solo family did whenever there was a crisis: they buried it under a veneer of jocularity.

?You three were always the model of perfect Jedi children, as long as you were in sight of me, your father, or your aunt and uncle,? Leia chimed. She put on a sly grin, tinted with irony. ?Of course, those times you were out of our sight, I used to wish that when you had children they would be just like you.?

Jaina turned away from her, her eyes shutting to squeeze out the tears harbored in them, the salt water streaming down her cheeks with reckless abandon. Jag?s arms went to tighten around her, but she rocketed out of them, leaping to her feet, and pacing the floor like a caged animal.

?Jai,? Jag whispered, not moving to comfort his wife. Leia was glad to see that her son- in-law could read her daughter?s moods so well. Jaina did not want to be comforted now - she wanted action, and in their current situation that was not a possibility, so she was left to this minimal physical activity.

?We?ve got to get out of here,? Jaina murmured, rubbing the skin of her forehead to blot out the pain. ?My children are out there with cold, heartless killers.? Her brandy-brown eyes flickered to meet the identical ones of her brother. ?They have already killed children.?

?Yet we know they?re still alive,? Jag reminded her.

It amazed Leia sometimes how trusting Jag was. He could not feel his children in the same way that Jaina did, was as Force-blind as Han was, and yet they both trusted their sensitive wives implicitly. It endeared her son-in-law all the more to her to see this similarity to her husband. It was one of the few that

 

Great addition. Can't wait for Analese's response.

 

RebelMom

Great addition. Can't wait for Analese's response.

Thanks RebelMom. Unfortunately, Analsa's more Sithly qualities are going to be let lose.

 

Upping with Shloz's edits.

 

Great posts!

I like the Tad/Auni team. Tad is turning out to be quite the little Ben.

Analsa is exposed. It's interesting to note that as she gets closer again to Nefarion's plots and actions, she lets her Sith attitudes kick back in again. You just said that we're about to see her more "Sithly qualities let loose". So, was it the subconscious effect of being back home on Naboo, and being reminded of Padme, that almost let her come back? I hope she can recover her true self again in time. For now, I suspect we're going to be forced to enjoy an Anakin/Analsa saber showdown...

 

ooohh! Can't wait for next post. I have no idea what she will do.

 

Oh, that had to hit Anakin like a ton of bricks. Poor guy

 

Thanks all.

---

Chapter 23: It Is Too Late For Me

All ten members of the Jedi Council had been locked in the Council room, and Ben had been able to identify them with little effort. After all, his father had been amongst them for most of Ben?s life, guiding them, teaching them to become the governing body of the Jedi Order. Still, after his father?s death he had seen the way the Council had floundered around, searching for their correct path. It seemed it was not only Ben that needed the guidance of Luke Skywalker.

It was not overly difficult to deduce the pattern the Yuuzhan Vong Devotees were making. Large clumps of them guarded the makeshift cells they had crafted to stash the surprised Jedi Knights in; meanwhile, only small scanning groups wove through the large Temple, picking off any stray Jedi they had missed at first during their invasion. Ben and Keorra had passed over those who had put up more of a fight than the Devotees had cared to deal with. Keorra had once again been forced to pull Ben from the sight of the death that he had hoped to stop.

With Ben?s ability to sense the Yuuzhan Vong in the Force, he and Keorra had managed to dodge the scanning groups, although at times Ben felt it was just an almost thing. He had not quite got to the point of sensing them the way that Anakin did, and was grateful that he could stay even the step ahead of them that he could.

The Council chamber entrance was crowded with the Yuuzhan Vong Devotee guard Ben had expected. He looked back at Keorra, who was slouched against the wall next to him. ?You want me to play bait?? he asked, hoping that she would change her mind and for once listen to him.

She gave him the look his mother once gave him when he had been a child. ?We?ve already been through this. If I go bursting in to the Council, they?re not going to trust me any further than they can throw me. They know you.?

?That doesn?t necessarily mean they trust me,? Ben shot back.

Rolling her eyes, she pulled both of her blasters. ?You know what I mean. Besides, you aren?t the only one who has trained with Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology. I?m about as lethal as you are.?

?If not more,? Ben added.

Now her smile turned fond. ?We?ll have to discuss that at a later time.?

?What, you want another rematch? Isn?t one time rubbing my nose to the tile enough for you?? he asked, finding a smile of his own flittering to his lips.

?I had an unfair advantage. The Force doesn?t call to me,? she countered.

He nodded, trying to hide his discomfort at her mention of his visions. The now, he reminded himself. Live in the now, Skywalker. As long as he did, he need not worry about the future, except for when it hunted him.

?Did you ever wish that it would?? he asked suddenly, watching her elfin features.

Keorra shrugged, but Ben saw the underlying tension in it. ?When I was younger, before I realized that I was a Soulreader. My parents took their path, Skywalker.? Her violet eyes, the color of Anakin?s lightsaber blade, flickered to the Council room doors.

?There?s something in there, someone?? Ben asked, catching the flicker of her eyes before she centered them back on him. ?That?s why you want to be the bait.?

?We don?t have time to discuss this in committee,? Keorra whispered before pushing off the wall and running through the Yuuzhan Vong, taking several down without even a turn of her head.

Ben admired her skill as she let an amphistaff coil around her arm, saw as her forearm muscles tensed, gaining control of the living weapon. She had not been overconfident when she had said that she was proficient in Yuuzhan Vong biotechnology. Keorra moved, as lethal as a vibroblade, but with the grace his mother had used as a dancer in Jabba's palace. As she brought the amphistaff to bear on one of the Yuuzhan Vong in a downward strike, Keorra leaped, kicking out her legs to catch two approaching Yuuzhan Vong and causing the two Devotees to sputter backward, caught off guard.

Uncle Talon hadn't been wrong to

 

Great fight scenes.

 

An explosively great post.

As Mom said - the fight scenes were great. Ben and Keorra are natural together (sound familiar?), and the Anakin/Analsa - Solo/Sarlana fight was everything I expected and more.

Poor Sarlana - in the turmoil of her feelings, she falls back on her Dark Side training to let off the tension. Hope she doesn't do too much damage before she finally recovers her true self.

I admit that the Kyp-Keorra connection surprised me. But who's the third party?

Loving this more and more - it's almost as sad as it is gratifying that we seem to be coming to the climax of this installment of the trilogy.

 

Oh I love this post. Great fight scenes just great.

 

Still a great job you're doing Zara. Keep it up.