Saga Spirit Warriors of Angharad *COMPLETE* Link to MS Word version available 8/4

Master Obi-Wan seems to have lost a tent-pole.

At least Anakin is still around with a lightsaber and some motivation

 

Anakin?s reply, sans capitalization and punctuation as usual, flowed out onto the data reader screen as a line of luminous white text. ?master what happened,? it said.

Obi-Wan didn?t have a keypad hooked up to his data reader, so his response was a slow process of selecting characters off an alphanumeric list. His pride wouldn?t let him type like some juice-wired data slicer, however, and he took the time to write an actual sentence. ?We?re all right. Did everyone get across??

Ah, that made me smile. My friends type like Anakin all the time, and I just recently grew out of it. I happen to like capitalization and punctuation...



I'm jealous of Matreya. I'd be stuck in a tree with Obi-Wan anyday, even if to get there I had to almost die by smashing into a gorge wall. But that's just me...

-Crystyna Kenobi

 

Oh wait, wait! The newbie teenager needs to speak!

I've also never seen a Jedi carry someone during any kind of jump, although it would probably be possible.

Luke kind of did that with Leia when he was helping her escape...but he had one of those grippy-things, so it was more of a swing than a jump. *beams*

I'm sorry. Feel free to ignore me.
-Crystyna Kenobi

 

I also liked the mention of Obi-Wan's proper typing. I just couldn't see him writing in 'internet lingo' type speech... well, unless he's telling Anakin "Stop TKing you ***!!" of course

Er, and now that you are probably good and lost Crystyna... hey and welcome to the madness In regards to Luke's swing, I don't think that really counts since it wasn't a Force-jump. I don't actually think Luke knew he could Force jump at this point, either. Just one of the many, many things Ben neglected to mention

Have fun catching up with the story! The only reason I'm anxious for it to be over is so I can go through and read it all from the beginning to the end. I'm a sick, sick person.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

LOL, yes, obi-wan's journals wouldn't look like l33t trailer...

 

Muy muy, I love yousa guys!

I keep saying I'll do proper author replies, but then life keeps smacking me upside the head. I found out today that I have to write a 5 page paper by Thursday--unless I want to take a final on which my chances of passing are iffy. For obvious reasons, I don't want to take the final.

Anyway, back to Matreya in "The Life That Is Actually Worse Than Mine."

****

It took a moment for Perahta?s words to register in Matreya?s mind. It was only as the dog-soldiers unholstered the heavy black blasters they wore at their sides that the realization of what was happening truly came home to her. She cried out?a strange, incongruous noise in the suddenly-hushed tent. Acting on instinct, she ducked into the open core of the pod and slid down onto the small circle of floor. She would be perfectly visible there to anyone who walked by either of the pod?s open doors, but there was nowhere else for her to go.

With her dark hair and simple, travel-worn clothes she would probably be taken for an Anghara woman and shot. Despite the frantic screaming of the self-preservation urge in her mind, it occurred to her that a quick death by blaster bolt was probably her best option. Poor Obi-Wan had found out what happened to people who Perahta thought possessed useful information.

From where she huddled, she could only see the dog-soldier who had walked casually away to the right of Perahta. It was impossible to see his face behind that all-enclosing helmet of his, but it seemed as if he were surveying the situation for the best place to start. The helmet?s eye lenses were tinted an opaque black, and might or might not limit his vision in less-than-ideal light. Matreya couldn?t tell if he?d seen her in the shadow of the pod core or not. It was possible he?d spot her only if she moved.

The soldier?s attention *was* caught by a sudden movement, but it wasn?t Matreya?s. Pepik--the thief-turned-planet-defender with half the bones in his body shattered--had somehow managed to produce a palm-sized hideout blaster from somewhere on his person. No sooner had the small weapon cleared its hidden spot among his clothing folds, however, than the dog-soldier spotted it and opened fire. He must?ve fired a half-dozen blast bolts into Pepik?s chest from less than a meter away, and yet still the big man took his time dying. His back arched up from the pallet on which he lay, and he made a strangled, gurgling noise in his throat. For a moment his dark eyes, wide in agony and desperation, locked onto Matreya?s. She couldn?t look away, despite the horror of watching his sun-browned skin turn ashen as his heart ceased to pump blood to the rest of his body. The dog soldier seemed satisfied with his handiwork and moved on, as blaster shots sounded from the other side of the tent as well. Either the man hadn?t seen her, or he considered her inconsequential, and planned to deal with her later.

Matreya longed to squeeze herself into a ball and block the whole scene out, but the urgent plea in Pepik?s eyes wouldn?t let her look away. One of his hands twitched, and she saw he was still holding his hideout blaster?one large, blunt finger threaded near-lifelessly through the trigger guard. He made another strangling sound, and his eyes burned with what looked like a frantic effort to communicate *something,* before the irises clouded over and he collapsed back down onto the pallet.

Many dying people had looked at Matreya like that, but there had been something else besides raw panic in his gaze. She looked down at the little gun that had stayed hooked around the now-mottled-gray finger. //He failed, and he wanted you to try,// she thought with dread.

Her first horrified reaction was to say ?no.? She wouldn?t; she couldn?t. She had never killed anything larger than a biting fly in her life. Then a mental voice she almost didn?t recognize as her own told her, //You?ve already fired a blaster at a man. Obi-Wan wanted you to be ready. For this.//

No . . . s

 

Well, first let me say that i'm relieved beyond words that the...is dead, but omg at the whole scene, what Matreya nearly had to do, what happened to Pepik...

 

Perahta's dead! Haaaaaaalelujiah!


"We can end this destruction..."



EDIT: Actually, that scene sorta proves the maxim, "the perversity of the universe tends towards a maximum". I imagine a lot of us would've been expecting a showdown between the Jedi and the General, or similar, instead of blaster bolts in the back from a woman dedicated to a pacifist organisation.

 

So she can shoot after all

It's not a flesh-eating fungus, but it'll do, I suppose.

 

sentinel75 wrote: I imagine a lot of us would've been expecting a showdown between the Jedi and the General, or similar, instead of blaster bolts in the back from a woman dedicated to a pacifist organisation.

Well, she got him in the chest, but yeah. Perahta would have been on guard for the Jedi. He never saw this mousy (no pun intended) little person coming. He treats "little people" as if they're non-entities . . . someone like Matreya might well be the only kind of assassin that could get to him. Also, it would annoy the crap out of him to be killed by someone like her.

Arin: Well, maybe there's fungus in the afterlife.

 

If there's fungus in the afterlife, I'm becoming immortal!

 

Were you going for poetic justice? 'cause that's what it was.

I feel for Matreya. I've had that kind of "out of body" type of moment (though, thankfully, not in a war zone) and it's the strangest and most disorienting experience evah! I thought she handled it fairly well, considering. War is heck, indeed! And geez, believe it or not, I was kinda freaked by the possibility that those were Mouse parts flying everywhere. Man, I thought I didn't like the little turd but there ya go...

Okay, we're going to go back to Obi-Wan, yes? That was a very evil precipice you left us on, young lady. I'll have you know that my poor old heart can't take all this stress and I have no Obi-Wan checking on me to see if I'm okay...

 

It was possible he?d spot her only if she moved.

Eek. Why does this remind me of the Raptor scene in Jurassic Park?

Pepik?s death I can just imagine the sound, really. It?s like I could hear what would come, the sound of the soldiers shooting all the injured people in there. And then?

A thought that surely echoed what Obi-Wan would have said occurred to her: //You may not be a war hero, but you?re all they have.?

Oy *shudders* Poor Matreya. You?re right, her life *is* worse than yours. See, part of me thinks that it would just be useless suicide to do something, that her odds are impossible here. But another part of me understands that she might be able to save people? but I mean, for how long? I don?t want Matreya to die

Someone?surely, not her, and not her finger pressing on the trigger?fired three fast shots into the triangle on Perahta?s chest.

again. Woah. I mean, I knew they were going into battle and all, but I didn?t really expect her to have to do anything like this, and I?m pretty sure she didn?t either. Heavy. I just hope for all that, that at least he?s dead?

although she did keep her eyes firmly averted as she edged around the body of Auster Perahta, which lay sprawled in front of the doorway.

Man, I know it?s tough for her and I feel her pain. But at least she did some good in the end. Looks like she?s experienced first hand that tough necessity Obi-Wan was trying to explain to her about. But it?s still just that- tough.

Speaking of that boy? how could you cut away from him at a time like that?! Oh suuure, stylistically and everything it?s much better, but had you considered that it?s not fair How can you leave him cowering at the feet of a Sith? You are evil

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Oh c'mon Anakin, now would be a VERY good time to pull some of that Chosen One stuff and take that no good Squirrel down before he hurts Obi-Wan even more! OOoooh, what I wouldn't give to flambe that flying rodent good right now with some Force Lightning!

Um...Ophelia, I know you're very busy, but please more soon?

Edit: And another part, yay! Though it wasn't about Obi and what better be his near death experience, still, I work in a library and it was all I could do not to pump my fist and shout when Matreya gave that big ol' so-and-so what was coming to him! Take that Mercenary!

 

Okay, Shadowolf, just because you asked.

And thank you to the people who nominated this sprawling nightmare for the summer fanfic awards. It was very kind of you.

And now, the Most Violent Part Of The Novel.

****

?Master!? Anakin shouted. The Sith was too close to Obi-Wan, and Anakin wasn?t close enough. There was no way he could get to his Master?s side before the creature struck.

The Sith gave a roar of triumph and fury, and raised his blood-colored blade over his head. Obi-Wan?s whole body tensed. The man would not cower before his enemy, but he seemed to expect the blow.

Anakin surprised all of them by giving a wordless cry of outrage that rivaled the Sith?s, and charging at the creature. As he ran, he flung his lightsaber at the black-clad back. The blue saber blade made a deadly, oscillating hum as it whirled end over end, its trajectory one which would bury it between the Sith?s shoulder blades if he didn?t turn and block it.

The creature spun at the last moment, as if he resented the intrusion, and slammed Anakin?s blade aside with his own. The Jedi and Sith apprentices simultaneously reached out their hands in an attempt to catch hold of the tumbling weapon with the Force. Unfortunately, the Sith was closer. The blue saber?s hilt whipped around as it reversed direction, and an instant later it landed squarely in the Sith?s palm.

The being?s face split into a horrible, fanged smile, and he began to laugh?or at least that was what Anakin assumed that wheezing, rasping sound was. For a moment the Sith just stood there, red and blue blades crossed in an ?X? before him, while Obi-Wan struggled up from his hands and knees behind the Sith?s back. Anakin wasn?t sure what his Master was going to do, but he did notice how loosely the Sith held the blue blade in his left hand. Either the creature was so confident that he felt he didn?t even need to keep a proper hold on the lightsaber, or his hand was injured in some way.

Anakin?s eyes stayed focused on that unnaturally loose hand as he came running up, yet he didn?t miss the sharp, jabbing punch Obi-Wan aimed at the back of the Sith?s knee. The creature half-staggered, his flame-colored eyes widening and a hiss escaping from between his fangs. Anakin took advantage of that moment of distraction to kick hard at the being?s weak hand. Anakin?s boot knocked the blade flying, and this time he was the one to call it back and pluck it out of the air.

As soon as the grip struck his palm and he got his fingers around it, he went after the Sith without mercy. Unlike their battle on Ix, it was Anakin who could deliver powerful blows that the Sith had a hard time blocking. One of the creature?s hands seemed only semi-functional, and he was having a difficult time standing and absorbing the force of Anakin?s strikes. The boy couldn?t resist an ironic smile as the Sith was forced to deflect and sidestep with each new assault.

First, Anakin drove the Sith away from his injured Master, and then he just drove him. The Sith?s defense wasn?t that good, especially one-handed. Anakin felt sure he would crack through the creature?s guard at any moment and put an end to the nightmare of living as the Sith?s prey.

Dimly, Anakin could tell that Obi-Wan was calling to him, probably saying something about not giving in to anger or hate. Yet Anakin wasn?t feeling anger or hate, not that he could recognize, anyway. Rather, he was entirely transported by the ferocity of the fight. He and his blade were one. He and the Sith were one; like a particle and its companion antiparticle, caught in a dance of mutual repulsion that neither could escape.

The boy was scarcely aware of his own arm rising and falling, or of the inexorably advancing steps he took. The world seemed to have fragmented into shards of impressions?the glow of the red blade illuminating the underside of the Sith?s jaw, the white flash of saber sparks reflected lightning-like in fire-colored eyes. It might have been seconds that

 

o...

m...

g...

I just know that Obi-wan wasn't doing anything of the stuff that anakin was using to dismiss whatever he was screaming--if he were, he wouldn't have been so hoarse from trying to get Anakin to come to his senses. It's not like obi-wan to do any kind of yelling for that much time, which demonstrates the desparation of the situation. And Anakin just ignored it, drove on. THe part about him feeling like he had no anger or hate was so creepy, so justifying that I wanted to retch. I nearly screamed when Obi-Wan was caught in the Dooku-X of Doom!

 

Oh, and I know that the sith isn't an insect, but Anakin pinning him to the ship with his saber gave me the impression of a huge moth, still alive and being stuck for display.

 

Wow, Ish. That's exactly what it looked like, in my mind's eye.

You've outdone yourself, Ophelia. That chapter was bloody fantastic. It sort of..rushed through my ears - what with Anakin ignoring Obi-Wan's yells (and that bit where he could pretty much ignore Obi too)...and then that final strike. Oof.



PS: Go, Matreya (even if she did feel sick to her stomach, later) !!!! <does a victory jig>

 

LOL, greatly twisted minds think alike.

 

>>The being?s face split into a horrible, fanged smile, and he began to laugh?or at least that was what Anakin assumed that wheezing, rasping sound was. For a moment the Sith just stood there, red and blue blades crossed in an ?X? before him,>>>

Ugh, that part reminded me of the Assasination of the Count. That 'X' is imprinted in my mind forever. .

>>>between pity and the desire to destroy such an abomination drove him to strike once at the base of the grayish neck.>>>

And is that a reference to what Obi ought to have done on Mustafar?


to Ish, you fellow-twisted being, you.

 

oooh, I had just enough time before I need to leave for work to read this!

Anakin might not have thought he was going with anger/rage, but I have a feeling he was! Those protective instincts of his do him credit a lot of the time, but in situations like these it's like letting a wild animal out of too small a cage!

Excellent descriptions throughout this one, Ophelia, especially how Anakin "let" Obi-Wan discipline him because he usually felt like he deserved it.

OK, since you so nicely filled my request I'm gonna be as patient as possible in waiting for the next part.

 

Holy !

That was unbelievably intense! Absolutely terrifying, moreso I would say than the Dooku scissor-cut fight since these are, essentially, two children fighting to the death. Serious freakage, do0d!

And I'd love to know what Obi-Wan was shouting at Anakin. It couldn't be the dreaded "WTF r u duin? I sed n0 TKing!" could it?

Man, that seriously got my heart pumping this morning! <<<--- It looks just like that, I swear.

 

And I'd love to know what Obi-Wan was shouting at Anakin. It couldn't be the dreaded "WTF r u duin? I sed n0 TKing!" could it?

You and Me both, Obi-Wan was probably not just doing the Are You Insane?! bit, so I'm rather curious.

Still reading the "WTF..." I heard Obi-Wan as like one of the stoner-type surfer dudes...ok, cold meds, they do weird things to my imagination...

 

And so passes Darth Mosquito/Rocky.

I'm curious to know what Obi was shouting at him during the fight... though I'm pretty sure it wasn't his cut preference for flying-squirrel filets.

Anywho... time for lunch!

 

"ANAKIN! LIKE A MOTH TO A FLAME! MOTH TO A FLAME!"
"WTK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU BARMY OLD CODGER?"
"I'M TALKING ABOUT IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME! GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT! THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM! CLICHECLICHECLICHE FOR THE LOVE OF THE FORCE!"