Should as Strangers we Meet. . . --a JA fanfic

C'mon . . . post already, please . . .

 

To my faithful readers. Thanks for coming.
Due to high action going on on so many other threads I felt the need to tweak my story alittle, so this next post was hastily written. Hopefully it doesn't show too much. Hope you enjoy.

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Without further thought Obi-Wan headed for the tunnel at the oppisite end of the chamber. Emmersing himself in the Force to guide him through the darkness, he began walking.

After a quick glance back to ascertain the progress of mama ele-sharkmouth-tiger, Qui-Gon flicked off his lightsaber and followed his apprentice through the mouth of the tunnel.

With the Force the two Jedi easily navigated through the blackness, ducking around the hanging stalactites and shirting the upright stagamites.

At one point the tunnel expanded dramatically, revealing a sizable cavern spacious enough for a whole herd of banthas.

Dim light filtered through long cracks high in the carvern walls, casting irregular shadows in the darkness.

Obi-Wan stood on a precipice, his eyes greedy for the small amount of light given.

Even without light he had known the tunnel ended at a fifteen foot drop. With the Force there was almost no need for eyes at all, but still it felt good to be able to see again.

Qui-Gon caught up to his padawan and surveyed the cavern.

Below them the cave floor shimmered, reflecting the dim light.

"Water?" Obi-Wan asked hopefully.

"It's possible" Qui-Gon gazed up at the crevices in the walls, "rain may have seeped in and collected."

"Or an underground spring." Obi-Wan remarked thinking how good a cool drink of fresh spring water would be. "Doesn't look to deep." he added.

"After you then, Padawan." Qui-Gon waved him on, a smile on his face.

Obi-Wan returned the smile with a nod and lightly jumped off the precipice to the waiting floor below.

Closing his eyes, expecting a wet splash, he was surprised by the strange 'plop' that accompanied his landing in something that reached above his knees.

This isn't water, he thought, pulling his leg up watching how the thick, gel-like substance clung to his boots.

Overhead, the Jedi Master had walked a few paces back. With a running start Qui-Gon leapt into the air, sailing as elegantly as a Alderian falcon and landing on a large dry boulder some fifty feet further.

"Oh..this..is..disgusting" Obi-Wan groused. "You knew this wasn't water!" he turned, glowering at his master.

"Actually I thought it was just that." Qui-Gon chuffed, trying not to show his amusement at his aprrentice' predicament. "I was just in no mood for a bath."

Obi-Wan began trudging angrily through the mucousy goo toward where Qui-Gon waited. Each step was hard earned as great effort was needed to wade through the muck.

Qui-Gon was watching the young man's progress when his eye caught sight of movement in the muck.

A large swell moved with deliberate purpose beneath the viscid fluid toward his apprentice.

"Obi-Wan" Qui-Gon called out alerting him to possible danger.

Obi-Wan observed the swell recede as what ever it was disappeared beneath the surface.

His senses on high alert, Obi-Wan scanned around him, his lightsaber in and ignited.

Suddenly a great wave burst from the slime as a large tentacled slug rose from the shallows, dripping sludge.

As Obi-Wan swung at a groping tentacle another lashed out, wrappping itself around his upper torso, pinning his arms to his sides. He grimaced as the muscular appendage constricted, pulling him closer, at the same time squeezing the air out of his lungs.

The flattened, triangular tip wormed its way aruond his neck, tightening in a strangling grip.

He saw his master attempting to make it to his side but the thick slime slowed even the large Jedi considerably.

Black starbursts exploded before his eyes, his brain screaming for oxygen. White noise filled his head and above this he thought he heard the howl of the creature that held him in a deathgrip.

Qui-Gon had already jumped from the rock to help his suffocating Padawan when his attention was grabbed by a ferocious roar.

Sta

 

Wow!

Poor, poor Obi-Wan -- what terrible torture do you have planned next? Vampire bat-things?
Cannibal pygmies? Molten lava? Hippies?

And what's Qui-Gon...the Man in the White Suit?

I'm loving this (in case you were confused.

 

Oh man.. *tears of laughter running down cheeks* Now THAT was hilarious... more please!

 

Eeeewwwww! Disgusting! And very cool. Thanks for the post, it was awesome!

 

Hippies!!!!! Give me Hippies, please.
Now, that would be rather interesting.
Thanks OldSkippy! I was dying when I read that.
Oh yeah, story's great so far keep it coming, please.

 

Boy, Obi-Wan never gets what he imagines, does he? Instead of victory, he is defeated, instead of water, he gets goo. Great story so far! Keep it coming like this!

 

Hey that "live goo" reminded me of that Ghostbusters movie.. you all know what I am talking about right? But hey, Qui-Gon + Obi are wayyy better the Ghostbusters, so on with the story!

[This message has been edited by Flip A Coin (edited 03-14-2000).]

 

Glad everyone's enjoying the story so far. I'm trying to get more written but real life has thrown a small crisis my way but i hope to post more soon.

OldSkippy- your last post has been circulating in my mind and actually given me a needed idea for this story. I would like to use your e-mail name for a character in appreciation for said idea. It would also help for description if I knew your hair and eye color. Let me know.

 

Awesome! I'm waiting for Gamera and Mothra to show up

 

Mesa back! I managed to get the computer away from my daughter with a bribe of a candy bar(Godiva, no less, and the 7th JA book. So let's continue.

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"Let's go." the elder suggested.

As they followed the tunnel it began to taper to no more than a narrow shaft.

Both men found it neccessary to worm their way through on their stomachs.

Qui-Gon being the larger of the two, found it a very tight fit as he inched himself behind Obi-Wan.

"Aarghh." he grunted painfully, losing a good portion of skin off his wide shoulders trying to squeeze through.

"You should have used your lightsaber to widen it." Obi-Wan said with an impish grin as the master finally pushed hmself out.

"You could have suggested that before I went in." Qui-Gon retorted with amused annoyance, rubbing his scraped shoulder.

"At least mama won't be able to follow us." Qbi-Wan said with satisfaction.

"Yes, but it was a good thing for you she showed up when she did." Qui-Gon concluded moving through the cave.

It was only minutes later that their eyes began to register a lessening of the darkness that surrounded them.

"At last" Obi-Wan exclaimed, "it was beginning to feel a little too much like blindness again."

It was difficult to hide the anxiety that had surfaced during the sightless trek.

More than once during his years as apprentice he had been forced to deal with the enormous adversity of blindness. He'd made a great effort to suppress everything of those situations, especially the Drojan work camp and was little comfort when Qui-Gon had explained that lessons learned through adversity were invaluable.

Just the resurgence of those memories sent an unpleasantly warm shiver through his spine.

"We'll be out soon." Qui-Gon reassured, aware of his Padawan's emotions.

Obi-Wan had been but a teenager when they were sent on that mission and had left the youth quite shaken. It tooks months before he was again comfortable to be in the dark.

Qui-gon couldn't blame him, their ordeal had been nightmarish, their physical injuries alone had taken weeks of recover. The mental toll was far more severe on Obi-Wan even after regaining his sight and still, years later it ws impossible for him to negate his discomfort when subjected to prolonged darkness.

Pursuing the welcoming light, Obi-Wan was at a loss when his master turned into an adjacent tunnel, away from the obvious exit.

Knowing it was not just a whim of the Jedi Knight's, he followed obediantly.

Turning the corner he nearly walked into Qui-Gon who had stopped just inside another large chamber.

Before him in a far corner of the cave stood a large capsule-shape structure.

"Well, it appears fate has lent its hand to our mission." Qui-Gon murmered, staring at the object.

"The time machine?" Obi-Wan inquired.

Twelve feet high it was constructed of a smooth milky-white material that seemed to radiate a soft glow of its own.

Walking closer, Qui-Gon placed his hand on it, unsurprised that instead of the coolness of metal he felt an almost living warmth.

Obi-Wan hung back, watching. Inside he felt the familiar tremor in the Force. Whatever the disturbance was, this structure was at its core.

"Master" he stated, taking a few guarded steps closer, "we should destroy it."

"Without a full examination?" Qui-Gon looked over at his apprentice curiously.

"Defintely man made" Qui-Gon observed, "but of no material I'm familiar with. We need to get inside.", he glanced at Obi-Wan expectantly.

The young Jedi nodded solemnly and walked to what he believed to be the front of the object.

Visually no seams could be discerned but with the aid of the Force his hands discovered what could only be a control panel.

With careful deliberation he manipulated the buttons until a large panel appeared, slowly sliding back with a quiet hiss.

"By the Force" he exclaimed excitedly, bring a curious Qui-Gon to his side.

Looking inside the structure Qui-Gon could see what had created his protege's shocked reaction.

Outside the object was no more than five feet in diameter but

 

Oh, no! Qui-Gon's inside, Obi-Wan's outside, and now the time machine has disappeared! What's going to happen next? What? What?

Hey, is this the reason that everybody is complaining about Darth Server? Some of the posts get caught in this time machine thing and go traipsing about the galaxy with Qui-Gon before finally getting back where they belong?

Why does this remind me of Dr. Who? Cor, I'd like to see Qui-Gon use his light saber on some of those Daleks, but I'm sure HealerLeona has something even better planned for our favourite Jedi! (And no scantily clad female assistant, please!)

 

Great stuff, HealerLeona! It never ceases to amaze me how much these boys are made to suffer! Keep it up!

 

Oh man, that was awesome! I can't wait to find out what happens next.

 

Impressive, most impressive

 

Wow.
Ummm... uh... Keep going!

 

Very interesting twist. I wonder whats next!

 

WOW....THAT is SOOOOOOOO COOL!!!!!!

 

WOW....THAT is SOOOOOOOO COOL!!!!!!

 

*laughs* Eureka! They've discovered the internet! Way to go, favorite Jedi and Padawan! More, I say! Please!

 

JA7 and godiva? Been to B & N huh?
I love the goo, and the perilous place they are now.

 

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!
I'm dying! Stop torturing me with these funny posts (well, never mind KEEP GOOOIIIINNGG)!!!

 

Glances worridly at Jedi TeuTONIC--should we call the men in the white coats

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Inside the capsule, the ever calm and controlled Jedi Master sat himself in front of the computer. A quick scan of the screen told him little.

Back, Forward, Stop, at least those were words he understood.

The messageapplet loading continued to blink in the middle of the sscreen as he reached out and pressed the Stop button.

Nothing happened. He pressed it again.

A new message appeared.

Enter password for emergency shutdown

The handprint glowed brightly.

Placing his large hand in the depression he felt a tingling as it scanned his palm.

He began to feel a sense of anxiety creep in, gnawing at the edge of his mind like a hungry rodent. This was not a place he wished to be if rumors were correct, but worry wouldn't get him out of the situation so he pushed the thoughts aside.

A new message appeared blinking in warning red.

You must be a registered user to enter program

During these few seconds the energy field continued to descend from the ceiling, swirlling and humming with electrical vibrance only inches from his head.

Qui-Gon punched the Stop button again, his irritaion increasing.

Enter password for emergency shutdown

Unsuccessfully trying to use the Force, he pushed hard at the hand imprint, not really expecting the device to answer to brute strength.

You must be a registered user to enter program

"Sith!" he swore, anger getting the better of him. His last effort as the energy field enveloped him was to punch the wall next to the computer screen, succeeding only in inflicting pain on himself.

As the energy field surrounded him he was overcome with the sensation of falling down an endless, multi-colored tunnel, one that roared with sound that filled his head. Except falling wasn't quite the right word as he felt his body pulled through a vortex that turned and twisted.

As suddenly as it started, it stopped. One moment he was tumbling down the proverbial leapus hole and the next he was seated in the chair, blinking in bewilderment at a blank, white wall.

It took a moment to collect himself, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

Behind him the door opened of its own accord with a whispered hiss.

Watching the door he felt a sliver of dread slice through him when no eager padawan came rushing through it.

Don't jump to conclusions, he told himself, easing out of the chair and exiting the capsule.

Two things the Jedi Master was aware of upon leaving the object. One was the return of the omnipresent resonance of the Force as it permeated his being, reaching both within him and out around him. A reassuring comfort to be sure.

However, the other thing noted was not so comforting. The cave was empty, no Obi-Wan in sight.

Casting out for his apprentice, Qui-Gon was disturbed by the absence of the familiar link to the young Jedi.

There was no impression of damage or discord in the Force, yet he felt an abnormal emptyness in it. Where once was a substantial stream that flowed in both ways connecting the two Jedi in an almost telepathic way, now there was nothing. It was as though the Master-Padawan bond never existed.

Squashing the thread of panic that threatened to erupt he searched the Force thoroughly, realizing it was more than just that one signature that was altered in perception.

It had to be some lingering effect of whatever produce the Force-dampening field in the capsule.

That was it, he reasoned. Until he could learn more he would go on that assumption. With that thought in mind he left the confines of the cave.

Outside, bright sunlight stabbed maddingly at his eyes. Reaching in a pocket he pulled out his commlink.

"Obi-Wan." he called into it.

After several seconds he manipulated the knobs and tried again.

Still nothing. Of course any number of things could account for the commlink to malfunction. Most specifically the zenite in the mountains.

Absently he returned the commlink to his pocket. Scanning the surrounding area he saw a city looming in the

 

Okay, I have been looking for JA7 and I can't find it anywhere! I would LOVE to get it without having to order from Amazon...what a drag!

 

Uuh ohh! Now whats in store for our fav Jedi and his Padawan??