Beyond - Legends Scum and Villainy (TNE #3, NJO AU, adventure/humour - updated 070303)

Timeframe: NJO
Characters: Solo kids and OCs
Genre: Adventure, humour
Summary: While vacationing on a backwater planet, the Solo kids and company find themselves at it again with a pretentious character from Jerrica's past.
Notes: Never-finished Part 3 of the TNE series, formerly titled "Card Players, Gamblers, and Scoundrels."

**********

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."
--Obi-Wan Kenobi, A New Hope

WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE?
Where It Counts: Jacen embarks on his pod racing career, and is promptly marked for death by an old enemy of the Solo clan.
The New Empire: During a two-pronged mission to Tatooine, Jacen meets a comely pod racer who finds herself in very deep trouble with the Hutts.
Credit to the Race: Jacen is once again in hot water with the Hutts when they make him an offer he can't refuse, and he refuses it anyway.

**********

For the fiftieth time, Anakin Solo muttered a curse under his breath as he slithered about beneath the main deck of the Solo Flight. Even though the hyperdrive motivator had been working fine during the test flights about Kashyyyk, he couldn't honestly conceive it had worked one hundred percent to his sister's satisfaction. He knew that look on her face and he still couldn't find anything wrong. This time around, she might just have to suck up and deal with it, and Anakin had half a mind to tell her so when he heard her footsteps above him.

"Hey," Jaina called down the hatch.

"Yo," Anakin replied. "Want to hand me that hydrospanner up there?"

A few seconds later, he winced as the hydrospanner landed squarely on the back of his neck. Grunting loudly in pain, he tossed a withering glare up to the gap over his head. "I said hand, not throw," he said crankily, rubbing the point of impact.

"Semantics mean nothing to the Force, bro," Jaina said flippantly, plopping herself down in front of the comm panel. As she did so, the panel lit off, plaintively beeping an incoming transmission at her. Cocking an eyebrow, she reached over to flip the holoprojector on.

"That better not be some damn holo-marketer," Anakin growled, loosening the headbolts on the hyperdrive generator.

Jaina declined to reply. She sat back and crossed her legs, watching the image solidify. As the static straightened out into a tangible figure, helped along by a kick from Jaina, her face lit up with a wide grin. "Hey, Dad!" she exclaimed.

"Hi, honey," Han Solo answered. "I see you got back to Kashyyyk safe and sound?"

"A-one," Jaina said. "What's up?"

"Glad to hear it, because Uncle Luke has another assignment for you."

Jaina's face fell, and she rolled her eyes skyward, all set to protest. For the love of the Force, she and her brothers had just come off half a month of non-stop traipsing from one side of the galaxy to the other, battling Hutts and burning themselves to a crisp. All right, so they had proved their mettle against hostile forces, but since when was that an excuse to send them staggering off on another job with barely a day's rest?

Anticipating a ten-minute tirade, Han quickly cut her off before she began. "And that assignment," he continued, "is to get the hell out of wherever you are right now and take a couple of days' vacation. He wanted me to pass the word along just in case Jacen hasn't done so yet."

"Jacen's barely said a word to anybody except Jerrica for the past week," Jaina scoffed, derision in her tone.

"So what better time is there to make him open up again?" Han said rhetorically. "Now wherever you plan on going, enjoy yourselves, and whatever you do, stay out of trouble. Mom and I will be taking a few days ourselves. And don't force me to pick someplace where we'll have to keep an eye on you, understand?"

"Right, Dad," Jaina said, nodding with a winning smile. "You

 

Hee hee - so everyone's high-tailing it on vacation. Good thing- they could use the rest

Good start. Now where's our Jedi Master and his lovely apprentice hiding?

 

I have finally caught up with your stories. they are awesome. Keep up the good work Sebulba!


DZ

 

Keep out of trouble? The Solo kids? Yeah right. And something tells me that Rey keeping his nose clean for all seventy-two hours is going to be as easy as a hutt not being noticed among Ranats.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Peeks in for a new post. Not seeing one- decides to UP!!!!

 

PLJ - They're hidin' right here.

deathzorro - New reader!!! w00t!! Thanks for droppin' in, hope you enjoy this one just as much!

Tych - Oh geez, I have no idea. Maybe 'cuz wherever this gang goes, trouble seems to follow.

**********

"Okay," Jacen Solo began in a soft voice. "You, me, and the rock. There's nothing else in the immediate area. Now I want you to close your eyes and picture this rock in front of you. Don't imagine what it looked like the last time you saw it, but try to imagine how it looks right now in your mind."

He didn't care to ask Jerrica Sulvecto to close her eyes, as beautifully sky-blue as they were. Nonetheless, it was a necessary part of the second stages of her Jedi training, otherwise the trainee would never learn to use the Force with her mind. And as much as she might like to, she'd be unable to get rid of the stringy Padawan braid that hung from the side of her head. Her eyes dropped shut, and she nodded her head slightly toward the rock that sat on the floor between them. Jacen saw her eyelids twitch, and a half-smile tugged at one corner of his mouth.

"No peeking," he said mildly.

"I'm just not sure if I am picturing it in my mind, or if I'm just conjuring up the last time I saw it," Jerrica shrugged.

"Just go with whatever pops into your mind. Do you think you're picturing the rock as it looks now?" Jacen asked, slowly turning the rock a few degrees without a sound. "Just try to see it in your head."

"I'll see it in somebody's head if I can't get this right," Jerrica said, her voice notably sharper.

"Now, now, now," Jacen chided, shaking his finger. "No dark-siding on my watch, Padawan dear. Let's not have any of that, shall we?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry." Trying hard not to smile, she took a deep breath, exhaled, and went back to concentrating. Sitting on the floor of the hangar cross-legged, hands folded together, she tried to imagine what the rock looked like and what it felt like, hoping it would help her to see it in her mind. Across from her, Jacen felt a rush of relief as he sensed her effort. He was comfortable with responsibility up to a point. He had taken responsibility for many lives and many situations that demanded the attention of a Jedi, but he now faced his biggest challenge yet: his first Padawan. It was his responsibility to make sure she became a Jedi Knight without coming to the wrong side of the Force.

Sometimes Jacen was quite aware that Luke Skywalker had chosen him to train Jerrica for a reason. He and Jaina had been tutoring Jedi initiates for some time now, but neither of them had ever had an actual Padawan until Jerrica came along. Luke had been there two weeks ago when Jacen and Jerrica had competed in the Desert Rat Race, thus he roughly knew their opinions of each other. One rule he had not dared bend was that a Jedi could not have relations with a Padawan of the opposite sex. At times, Jacen had the odd feeling that Luke was testing him on that point by apprenticing Jerrica to him.

"I think I have it," Jerrica said suddenly, bringing him back to the moment. "Want me to describe it?"

"No, that's okay. Just hold that thought and concentrate on it, and keep your eyes shut." Jacen gave Jerrica enough time to comply and then watched her intently. "Okay. Now try and imagine it, say, about a foot off the ground." He stared at the rock, waiting for Jerrica's imagination to take over and for the rock to rise into the air. He couldn't have been more pleased when the rock budged, then rose ever so slowly to the level he had requested. He ran his hands all around it; no strings were attached. Jacen grinned broadly, even though Jerrica couldn't see how pleased he was.

"Now imagine it about a meter off the ground," he instructed. Again Jerrica took a deep breath, picturing the rock rising even higher. It complied, and up it went to just above their heads.

"Okay," Jacen said, still grinning. "You can open your eyes now."

Jerrica opened her eyes, and they went wild with excitement as she saw the st

 

OK, Solos, and now Ray. Why do I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this.

Nice training bit there, and Jaina's Valley girl bit was worth a few laughs.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

To think Ray intentionally wanted to vacation w/ this group. I loved Anakin's memory losses (snicker snicker.)

Training session was good- love the underlying layer of questioning attraction there....

One rule he had not dared bend was that a Jedi could not have relations with a Padawan of the opposite sex. At times, Jacen had the odd feeling that Luke was testing him on that point by apprenticing Jerrica to him.

Snicker snicker snicker. Poor Jacen, hope he gets used to taking LOTS of cold showers

Jerrica almost smiled, but her smile froze as she found herself wondering just how large these "multiple objects" would turn out to be.

Hee hee ? images of podracers dance nervously in her head.

"Never say never, my not-so-young apprentice," Jacen chided,

He better watch out- Anakin learned to get really annoyed at Obi-Wan constantly pulling this rank thing.

Jaina frowned, shooting Anakin a cynical scowl. "We are on Kashyyyk," she admonished.

Anakin shrugged. "Well, how the hell am I supposed to know these things when you've got me banging my head against that crummy hyperdrive of yours?"

LMAO!

"The day Ord Mantell turns into a decent vacation spot is the day that some fruitcake writes about Darth Vader becoming a sentimental rose gardener."

Images of Vader clipping roses and trying to sniff them through his vents spring to mind

"Jaina, when did we start hearing this Theed Valley Girl speech pattern from you?" he asked, his voice and his face somewhere between curiosity and outright suspicion.

"Uh?" Jaina faltered. "I, well?that is, I, uh?"

"She made friends with a guy from Aquilaris," Anakin finished. Jaina immediately elbowed him, but undeterred, he sniggered on. "And it's like, dude, he's like this total studmuffin who just, oh man, I'm like, y'know, whelmed! And he is like, so tubular, I am just, dude!"

Thank you- I was wondering what all of this Dude stuff was

 

Uppity do da! Uppity aaaaaaa... my oh my it's an Upping kind of day...

 

Oooh, good it's started again

"He didn't care to ask Jerrica Sulvecto to close her eyes, as beautifully sky-blue as they were."

I liked this line before and I like it now. It's so sweet.


The rosegarden line was funny again too

 

Tych - Bad feeling? You? Naaaaaah. Heh, I never could resist having that little bit of fun with Jaina.

PLJ - The rosy-Darth-Vader thing was actually spawned by Darth_Fruitcake in her world-famous "Skywalker/Solos" series. It was a work of incredible parody, wherein Vader started a rose garden and lost no time becoming obsessed with it. Cold showers, hmm? You think it's not just gonna turn to steam? Oh, and "Thanks for the UP!!"

Saché - Yep, and this time it's gonna get finished!

**********

With the Solo Flight safely in hyperspace?and Jaina hoping against hope that it would safely get out again?she sucked in a deep breath, sat back heavily in her seat and released the breath in a long sigh. "All right, take her," she said, glancing obliquely at Anakin. "I'm gonna go aft and drown my sorrows in lube oil."

"Hey, come on, it's not that bad," Anakin gibed. "We're catching a break from missions like the last two, aren't we? It's better than nothing."

"Caltutka?" Jaina said, shooting him a withering stare. "It's a frickin' hole in the wall, Anakin! Next time, if there's no place else, at least try and land us on Coruscant, willya?"

"Yeah, I know you're just dyin' for the city nightlife and the simple pleasures of double-parking your speeder in east Imperial City," Anakin said sarcastically.

"Uh, yo," Sorveli interrupted loudly from one of the rear seats, looking up from a data pad. "For all I care, you can block somebody's driveway in south central Coronet as long as you give me some peace and quiet."

"Yeah, whatever," Jaina said, getting up. She waved her hand absently in Anakin's direction as she edged toward the door. "Just...don't fly us into a black hole or anything, okay?"

"Anything you say, sis," Anakin sighed. Tempted as he was to remind Jaina that they wouldn't have to worry about black holes if she'd calculated correctly for hyperspace, he lost his chance when she slipped through the door and headed aft. Sorveli had already made known his desire for quietude, leaving Anakin to resign himself to the mundane tasks of monitoring the ship's flight. He leaned back in his seat, releasing a sizable yawn as he propped his feet up on the control panel.

As Jaina plodded aft, she turned right at the end of the passage, avoiding the crew lounge?Jacen and Jerrica were continuing their levitation practise to pass the time. Jacen was perfectly balanced on his head, his arms folded, his legs crossed in midair. Jerrica was trying to get that far; she was on her head, but she still needed to balance on her hands while learning the concentration she needed.

"How you coming?" Jacen asked casually.

"Why don't you tell me?" Jerrica would have shrugged had she been right side up.

"Because I want to know how you feel about this. If you don't believe it, nobody believes it. You can't pretend to be a Jedi or a pod racer or anything else for that matter?you have to believe in yourself before anyone will give a damn who you are. You've got self-confidence to spare, I know that, but I also know how much your whole life is changing right now."

"I know, I can't take that with a barrel of salt. However, I also can't change anything if you keep breaking the concentration I'm supposed to be learning." Jerrica fought the urge to stick her tongue out at Jacen as his eyes narrowed, indicating an imminent comeback.

"What better way to concentrate than by holding yourself upright while you swap insults with me?" he said, flashing a knowing Solo-grin. "I know you're a fast learner, Jerrica, otherwise you wouldn't have survived two invitational pod races. Learning the ways of the Force goes hand in hand with learning how to relate to the people we'll be dealing with." Jacen paused, looking at Jerrica's pose?at last she had lifted her hands from the deck and placed them on opposite shoulders, though they still twitched as she sought to maintain balance. Nevertheless, she had it. She was on her head, feet together in the air, perfectly straightened out.

"Very good!" Jace

 

Lots of good character interaction- J&J always good. They still aren't quite to H&L level for frustrated, pent up, boiling over heated discussions- but I'm assuming w/ enough time those levels will elevate.

I believe taht Anakin's overconfidence will be his weakness there. *Sniff sniff* I smell the stink of trouble on the air.

Jerrica stared at her as if she had two heads. "Hell isn't beautiful, Jaina," she said pontifically. "Hell is just one great big blast furnace."

Humm? she?s a bit literal here- rather like a one-armed warrior woman I know

"Well, if it's any consolation, Jacen, I think it's beautiful, too," Jerrica smiled.

Jacen turned his head, regarding her with one eye squinting oddly. "You and I both know you're looking at your reflection in the window," he scoffed.

Snort snort- hee hee.

a mob scene with kids crying?both children and goats?and every couple in sight constantly in close contact

hee hee- now there?s description for you

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Jerrica demanded, tossing up her hand. "The general idea is to blend in with the crowd here!"

"You want to ask Uncle Luke what the hell I did that for?" Jacen said rhetorically, giving her a stern gaze.

Sheesh Jacen- what a party pooper. Your first kiss and you shove her away- that my dear, is NO way to treat a lady.

 

This keeps getting buried, UPPPP!!!!

 

Blood rushing to the head when standing upside down...know the feeling. I also know what it's like to hear the infamous "mud" threat. And just how did Anakin manage to spell his sister's name incorrectly? You;d think after all these years...

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

I'm looking for posts in all the wrong places.... aren't I?

What's going on with these guys?

UP!

 

Tych - Oh, you know the virtues of sibling rivalry...Heck, my grandfather could never get my sister's name right.

PLJ - Well, now I'm up to the point where I abandoned the story, so now I gotta give some long hard thought to where it's gonna go from here. Jacen wouldn't object to his "first kiss" (cheek though it was) at all if Jaina and Anakin hadn't been present - again with the sibling rivalry.

 

Well, then I guess it's our duty to make sure that it stays up on the boards, isn't it, Sebby?

 

Up! Any news on when a new postie might show up, Sebby?

 

Maybe later this week. I'm really trying to push forward through APA, so this is right behind it on the priority list. Also on the back burner is a rewrite of the TNE prologue story, which I've retitled "Where It Counts." I know, it's a lot to do, but hey - I'm through with finals.

 

Jacen turned his head, regarding her with one eye squinting oddly. "You and I both know you're looking at your reflection in the window," he scoffed.

Oh, those Solo men are soooo smooth


I really like the master/padawan interactions between Jacen and Jerrica. Teaching seems to come very naturally to him.


Congratulations on finishing with finals, Sebby! I look forward to what else happens in this story


**sits down in big fat bean-bag chair and pulls out a big bag of M&Ms** Jaina and Anakin verbal sparring supervised by the galaxy's oddest babysitter (Ray ) is always good entertainment.

 

Ahh, finished with finals. I remeber what that felt like. I can't wait to see where this goes.

UP!!!!!

 

Time to shove this UPPPPP!!!!!

 

What in the nine hells of Corellia is this doing on page three? Up you GO!

 

No sooner had the door to the hotel room swung open than Jaina dropped her shoulders, shaking her head. She had anticipated as much from the average Caltutka guest lodging, and while she had been hoping for a nice surprise, it didn't look like she'd get it. To her, the only thing missing from this room was more insects. There was one large window on the opposite side, and not only did it not look like the room's original window, but the sunlight filtered through a sizable layer of dust. A dumpy-looking couch sat to one side of the window, and next to the door, there was a lopsided chair complete with a holder for liquour containers. After seeing that, Jacen forced himself not to think about what types of people usually visited here. He shoved on past, making a beeline for the next room.

Jaina didn't even want to get started on the warped, cracked condition of the floorboards and wall paneling. "What'd I tell ya?" she said wearily, throwing her bag into the room. "Hole in the wall, big-time."

"Let me tell you something, Jaina, you don't know how good you've had it," Jerrica said mildly, leaning through the doorway behind Jaina. "I knew a kid in elementary school who would've given his right arm to live in a place like this."

"Well, you ain't hot-bunking, and that's a fact," Sorveli said, examining the two large beds that lay across the room. "See you guys later." He sidled past the room and strode down the hall to the single-occupant premise he had reserved, grimacing at the deafening creak from the floorboards.

"I'm gonna go make sure there's nothing living in the refresher," Anakin volunteered.

Jacen and Jerrica, meanwhile, were moving into the room next door to Jaina and Anakin's, despite the former's vigourous commentary about them sharing a room. Jacen toed the door open and gently laid his rucksack to one side without giving the room's interior a second glance. He could tell it was nearly identical to Jaina and Anakin's, but he had other things he preferred to focus on, and he turned around to do so.

"Just out of curiosity, why in the worlds would anybody want to give their right arm to live in a place like this?" he inquired, his eyes narrowing.

"You've been to Corellia, right?" Jerrica said, dropping her bag on the floor and derisively regarding the cloud of dust that rose from its spot.

"Once, but only for a couple of weeks. And that was nine years ago."

"Well, picture it this way. The way I grew up, I can't possibly conceive of what life is like in the Imperial Palace. So you just downplay that reckoning, imagine that this is the palace and put that kid in my shoes. Corellia's an awesome place to live, but it all depends on who you are."

"I see," Jacen said blandly with a slow nod.

"I mean, I'm not faulting you for your upbringing. But nobody I know from the old neighbourhood has ever seen how the other half lives."

"No, it's okay, I understand. And I can imagine. But that's what the path of the Jedi is paved with--ridding the galaxy of injustice. The universe ain't fair, but we'll go right on doing what we can to bring a ray of hope to those who have been shafted."

"Heard my name," Sorveli said loudly, marching past the room. Jerking his head up in surprise, Jacen noted the mordant expression on the detective's face as he strode to the door of Jaina and Anakin's domicile.

"Sorry, Ray," Jacen called after him. "Fear not, it wasn't you we were talking about."

"Oh, great, thank you for your appreciation." Sorveli turned his head to give Jacen a mock glare as he passed into the room, where Jaina was fussing over the furniture with an electronic insect killer.

"Gives the expression 'bug up your ass' a whole new meaning," Jerrica said, her faint drawl slightly more audible as she watched Jaina poke and prod at the decrepit couch.

"Yeah, har de har har," Jaina said, straightening up and flipping her hair toward the back of her head. "I need a drink." She dropped the zapper in her hip pocket, but it was clear to the lot of them that she was far from satisfied with the

 

And big surprise- trouble has arrived at last! I loved the descriptions of the hovel Anakin found for them to sleep in. I have to admit- I'd probably be following Jaina back to the ship for shut eye *shivers* bugs- bleck!

Great setup chapter- I can see this will be a lot of fun!

To her, the only thing missing from this room was more insects.

LOL! Reminds me of that commercial w/ the people and the bug net in their exotic cabin

Jerking his head up in surprise, Jacen noted the mordant expression on the detective's face as he strode to the door of Jaina and Anakin's domicile.

hee hee- sure crank out those SAT vocab words

"Gives the expression 'bug up your ass' a whole new meaning," Jerrica said, her faint drawl slightly more audible as she watched Jaina poke and prod at the decrepit couch.

LMAO! Wow that?s my kind of zinger to shoot at people, dry and witty. No wonder I love this girl.

Oddly, it didn't surprise him when the pair, moving as one, averted their course and gravitated toward the cantina as if dragged there by a tractor beam.

Great wordplay! And hummm? J&J are in synch together, eh?

"I look like a geek! A prattling, horn-tooting geek with an ego problem the size of a rancor! Can't you see it?!"

"Well, it doesn't matter what I see, it matters what you see. Do you see a geek-girl, or do you see a potential Jedi? Do you see an egotist, or do you see somebody who genuinely cares about the people around her, what she's doing for them? Do you see a whistle-blower or a Force-wielder?"

LOL! There goes Jacen into teacher mode instead of Friend mode. Damn he?s always so serious. Psssttt Jacen- don?t you know you should be smooth here and say ?Hey baby, I don?t know about you but I like what I see just fine? purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.?

"Or do you just see dead people?" he prodded, waving his hand in front of her face.

LOL!

"That's old Thorn Favoul," Sorveli said.

Good name for a baddy- my guess, he?ll be a major THORN in their sides

"Oh, no, no, no, no," he said sternly. "I'm not getting involved in this one, Jacen. Like you, I know what it means to be a good man in an evil universe, but unlike you, I also know when I've been ordered to get off the street and get some peace and quiet."

Oh good grief Ray- why did you join the kids on vacation if you didn?t know they?d get into trouble? Sheesh- adults.

Jacen and Jerrica hadn't even left the building before Sorveli, leaning heavily on the counter, smacked his forehead. "I swear to the Force," he grumbled under his breath, "next time I'm just going on vacation by myself."

Well no DUH!