The Circle (AU futurefic) -- big question posted 8/1

Woo hoo! Hundredth post!

Yorthen - Thanks. I'll get more up at the Dragon's Library soon. I'm trying to iron out part of 'Trust' and the characters aren't cooperating.

Sarah - 'Trust' is a non-SW fanfic of mine. It's based on the first few Wheel of Time books (I haven't gotten around to reading the umpteen later ones). Basically it's set a couple thousand years after the books. The hero has been reborn to fight the Dark One and, well, he's a she now.

princess-sari - Hal and Melody still have a few wrinkles to iron out. I'm glad you like the nanny, since she's got a part to play later on. And as for Mikel... He's a smart kid. He'll figure something out.

Jane Jinn - I think all Mikel wants right now is to have his sister back and *not* be betrothed. And maybe to have a slightly less disfunctional family. Asaria does have her reasons for asking. As for 'Trust', see above.

Oakessteve - Ooh! New reader! I love your TPM rewrite soooo much! *bounces around for awhile* I'm a slow reader too, which kind of bites when you want to get through about a hundred stories at once. I'm very glad you like the story and Rowan, since she's so much fun to write for.

 

Chapter Six: The Best-Laid Plans?

~~

More by following Horn than any spectacular sense of direction, Ben made his way to the Falcon's tiny cockpit and crammed inside. Solo was already in the pilot's seat and, apparently without consulting anyone, Horn's girlfriend seemed to decide she was copilot. She slid into the seat and ran her hands over the controls as if she had been born there. "Imp warship up ahead. I hope you have those codes, Solo."

Horn opened his mouth to protest, but she turned and gave him a look that seemed to silence him. Ben was not inclined to get involved - not when he was sandwiched between Jessa and what smelled like an eight-foot, hairy Jawa.

"I'm transmitting the codes now," Solo said. "We'll be free and clear in a minute."

"That's why it's moving toward us," Horn's girlfriend said flatly.

Horn took a step forward - no easy feat given the lack of room. "What do you mean, it's moving toward us."

"And powering up its weapons." Horn's girlfriend glanced at Solo. "Now what?" she asked pointedly.

"Now you hang on." Solo moved his hand over the controls and the stars outside the viewport began to roll in circles. Something jostled the ship. Ben realized with a sickening lurch that they had a Star Destroyer shooting at them.

"Frag!" Horn's girlfriend jabbed her finger at two rapidly growing points of light. "Two more of them!"

"We must be hotter than I thought," Jessa muttered, her face tight with tension. "How long before we can make the jump to lightspeed?"

"It'll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the navicomputer," Horn answered. He had rested his hands on the back of his girlfriend's chair and was starting to wear holes in the flimsy plastic covering.

Ben gaped at him. "Are you kidding?!" he demanded incredulously. "At the rate they're gaining?!"

"Flying through hyperspace isn't dusting crops, farmboy!" Horn's girlfriend glared at Solo. "Get those coordinates! I'll hold them!"

Horn gaped at her. "Melody!"

"Shut your word port, Hal! Solo, give me control!"

Ben expected Solo to argue the point, but he just nodded. Hal's girlfriend - Melody - flicked a few switches and twisted a control. The Falcon picked up speed and flew straight at the nearest Star Destroyer, twisting and dodging as deadly bolts of energy seared his vision. "Are we going to ram it?" he asked quietly.

Jessa shook her head, but she did not look all that sure.

Just when it seemed that there was no time to pull out, the front half of the ship pointed straight back at the planet and dove away, looping up and around so that it grazed the atmosphere before shooting back toward the second Star Destroyer. Again Melody brought them so close that Ben could actually see men running for cover through the bridge viewports - and again she spun away, twisting impossibly fast and yet somehow maintaining control.

[I'll never be able to fly like that,] he thought weakly. [Not if I practiced for hundred years.] He tried to tear his eyes from the viewport and failed miserably. [And she's about my age. I can't believe it.]

A flashing light pulled him back to the present. "What's that mean?"

"It means we're losing the front deflector," Solo said grimly. "Hold tight. I'm making the jump to lightspeed."

He pulled a lever. Stars streaked and the Falcon plunged into hyperspace, leaving behind three Star Destroyers and the only home Ben had ever known.

 

*cheers enthusiastically*

Next stop: 'that's no moon, it's a space station.' tee hee!

Sarah >^,,^<

 

Up! Get up there!

 

A great story, Lisse, please continue!

 

I'll post more as soon as I can. I have finals coming up, so... *bashes Darth Real Life with the Spork of Vengeance*

Sarah - Or something like that.

Ulrike - Glad you like it.

 

Wow, that was great! I cracked up at "Shut your word port Hal!"
Glad they made it to hyperspace, but I wonder what they'll find when they come back out this time around. Last time it was the Death Star, this time...

 

princess-sari - Wait and see.

~~

There were times when being the King?s personal bodyguard meant more than being the King.

From her vantage point just behind Isoldur?s right shoulder, Teneniel Djo kept her hands behind her back on her eyes on Emperor Palpatine. The withered old man had more years on him than a rancor had blood ticks, but she knew full well that he was more dangerous than any of the red-robed guards all around the meeting room ? more dangerous, indeed, than even the most deranged Nightsister on Dathomir.

She also knew that her presence worried him. She was a Force-user trained in the ways of neither Jedi nor Sith. And that meant that her techniques and her training were foreign to him. The Empire had once had garrisons on Dathomir, but the Nightsisters had destroyed them twenty-five years ago.

Just as Teneniel and her Singing Mountain Clan had done to the Nightsisters themselves mere months later.

?I do not see what this debate is about, your highness.? Lady Roganda Ismaren Rage leaned forward as she spoke, giving Teneniel cause to wonder why she was not falling out of her dress. ?My daughter is headstrong, certainly, but she is neither strong in the Force nor possessing a fraction of her brother?s intelligence. If she wishes to hide like an infant, let her stay hidden.?

Behind the lady?s chair, Commander Irek Ismaren stirred slightly. He was Princess Denilee?s half-brother ? Roganda?s son, not Rage?s ? and it was common knowledge that the two of them were close. She could sense him faintly through the Force, his presence as indistinct as the Emperor?s was strong and malevolent. He would grieve if the Emperor killed the little Princess.

Which was more than could be said for the Princess?s mother. That woman was like stone, neither loving nor treasuring her children, accepting them only when it furthered her own purposes. Teneniel found her despicable.

?The Lady Ismaren Rage and I are in concord on this,? Isoldur said after a moment?s uneasy silence. ?Your majesty, if I am to understand correctly, Princess Denilee is only six standard years old. Her outburst may have damaged her own political reputation, but there is not a being in the galaxy who would not forgive a sister?s protectiveness toward her brother. Queen Elian and I would feel blessed if my children were able to display this affection so openly.?

?She is not one of your children,? the Emperor hissed. In the meeting room?s faint illumination, his eyes glowed in their sunken, shadowed sockets. ?She is mine. Unless you wish to compromise your daughter?s future, be careful where you place your sympathies.?

?Do not threaten my daughter,? Isoldur said tightly. Teneniel shifted slightly, just enough to draw her hidden knives if she needed to.

?Are you giving me orders, King Isoldur?? The Emperor?s voice was deadly soft.

?No. I am warning you.? Isoldur rested his hands on the greel wood table as he stood, towering over his seated companions. ?We are all answerable to a higher power. We are none of us so omniscient that we may take lives without due cause. Especially those of children.?

?You overstep your bounds.?

?And you believe that none were ever set for you.? He sketched a perfunctory bow. ?Good day, your majesty.?

Teneniel could almost feel the animosity following them as they left the room.

~~

Hal kicked his way through the debris that made up Solo?s small room on the Falcon. Technically he was not supposed to be here under any circumstances, but Solo and Melody were busy adjusting course and Darklighter and Calrissian had just managed to track down the food processor. Darklighter?s beat-up droid and Melody?s new Wookie friend were playing with one of the holographic games. Even Goldenrod ? that annoying translator droid of Ghent?s ? had managed to make himself the game?s none-too-efficient referee.

Which left Hal feeling a bit out of place.

It was not that he minded Melody being able to fly. It was not that she was obviously better than him ? or, for that matter, just about any other

 

*is struck speechless for a moment, but manages to choke something out.*

wow.

Sarah >^,,^<

 

Remarkable! Do I need to say more?

 

I think I'm going to have to echo Sarah here and say:
Wow.

Now I wonder what Hal is going to do with his newfound knowledge?
That was great, Lisse!

 

Sarah - *giggle*

Ulrike -

princess-sari - Thanks. We'll just have to wait and see what Hal will do, won't we?

~~

?Here we are,? Jessa said cheerfully. ?Giju stew.?

Ben eyed the platter she had just set down on the overturned crate serving as their table. The quote-unquote stew was steaming and piled high with what looked like vegetables, but that was about all that could be said for it. He was afraid that if he prodded it with a fork, it would jump up and attack him.

?It looks like old boots dunked in toxic runoff,? he said bluntly. ?And that?s probably what it would smell like, too.?

?It's not like you've eaten anything since I found you.? Jessa dug in and shoveled an enormous pile into her mouth, chewing with obvious relish. Ben fought the urge to wince. ?You?re missing out on my father's favorite recipe,? she added indistinctly.

?I thought you didn?t like your father,? he said, more as a way to avoid eating the stew than anything else.

She shrugged. ?I didn?t say he was all bad. I mean, he?s a profit-hungry frag-loving son of a Hutt, but he knows how to cook.?

?Oh.? That sounded reasonable, especially considering the fact that his own life made no sense at the moment. ?What?s your dad do??

?Everything. He owns a couple of mining cities on Nkklon, about half of BlasTech and MerrSonn's research and development branches, and a whole bunch of banking interests from Sacorria to Imperial Center.? She grinned humorlessly. ?He used to be a Rebel, you know. I think everyone from his generation was at some point. He just gave up.? Her fork stabbed at the stew.

?I?m not a Rebel,? Ben pointed out as he tried to edge the ? for lack of a better word ? food away from him. ?You don?t hate *me*.?

She propped her arms on the crate and gave him a bemused look. ?Your droid?s got part of a Jedi prophecy in him, you?re tagging along with me, you?re carrying a lightsaber in your pocket, and I?m betting you hate the Empire as much as anyone can right now. No offense, space waste, but you?re not exactly Carida Academy material.?

?Maybe I?m just Tatooine mechanic material,? he muttered.

?You really think that you?re not involved anymore?? Jessa demanded. ?Do you really believe that deep down??

?Faugh! What?s that *smell*??

Saved from answering Jessa, Ben turned to Melody and pointed to the giju stew. ?That.?

?Is that supposed to be food?? The young woman settled herself at another corner of the crate. ?It looks like boot plastic mixed with runoff. Smells like it, too.?

Ben covered his mouth to keep from chortling.

Jessa looked from Ben to Melody and back again. ?Fine,? she said flatly. ?I know when I?m outnumbered.? Glaring at them, she scooped up the much-abused stew and made her way back to the prep unit. ?Uncultured barbarians,? she called over her shoulder as a parting barb.

Melody grinned. ?Who stuck the pylon up her rear??

?It?s her father?s recipe,? Ben answered, automatically rising to Jessa?s defense. He could mock the stew all he wanted, but Melody doing it was something entirely different.

?Excuse me for breathing.? She leaned an elbow on the crate and gave him a long look. ?You don?t look like a Rebel.?

Here he went again. ?I?m not. I?m a mechanic.? Ben blew out a long sigh. ?Look, it?s a long story. My droid has something the Rebellion needs.?

?What the Rebellion needs is a miracle ? and some people haven?t gotten it through their thick skulls that that?s not gonna happen.? She threw a glance at Jessa, who was serving herself more stew from the prep unit. ?Glad you?ve got your head welded on right.?

He frowned at her. ?You?re not part of the Alliance??

?Me?? Melody laughed aloud. ?The day you find me joining that lost cause is the day Dark Princess Savan turns Black Sun into a charity.? She watched him as if weighing him on some mental scale. ?So,? she said after a moment. ?What?s your name??

?Ben Darklighter.?

?As in Biggs??

He nodded. ?My great-uncle.?

?Huh.? One dainty hand grabbed his and shook it hard enough to bruise. ?Melody

 

That was maybe even more chilling than the scene in ANH where Alderaan is destroyed.

Loved the part about the stew. Lando's favorite recipe would have to be a doozy.

 

princess-sari - Thank you. I was shooting for chilling, although I wasn't really sure about using Alai as Tarkin or how I portrayed Rage. Sith are really hard for me to write, especially this one.

As for the stew, well, what else would you expect Lando's daughter to make?

 

yikes.

The first part was hilarious, but the second part...yikes.

MORE!!!!

Sarah >^,,^<

 

Denilee did not know where she was. An apartment somewhere far below the towering spires of the Emperor's palace, she supposed. She could not see much from the single window - not with all those tall buildings blocking out the sun. It was not dark here with all the artifical light, but that was not the same. She felt like she was in a room with no illumination and no way out.

Nanny would be back soon. Things always looked brighter when Nanny was around.

"Enjoying the view, your Highness?"

The only other occupant of the room was a young man about eight years older than her. He was a Hapan guard and Nanny had made it clear that she trusted him implicitly. Denilee wondered if that meant he was a Rebel.

She shrugged fractionally. "I don't like it. I miss my rooms."

"I'm sure you'll be able to return soon, your highness."

"No, I won't." She did not know what made her say that, but she did. "Nothing's going to be the way it was before."

She could feel him smiling. "I'm sure you'll figure something out, your highness. You are royalty, your highness."

"No, I'm not." Her voice sounded strangely bitter in her own ears. And for the first time in her life, she realized something strange. [I don't want to be royalty. I never did. I want to be normal."

"Your highness, with all due respect - "

Eyes flashing, she rounded on him and set her jaw. "Don't call me that!"

"What, your highness?"

"Don't call me 'your highness!'"

He frowned. "Why not, your highness?"

"Because I'm not a princess anymore." She took a step forward, just enough to bring herself nose to chest with him. How to make him understand what she had just begun to see herself? She was more than the sum of her parents' titles and her bloodline.

The words finally came to her. "I'm a person and my name is Denilee!"

That smile reappeared. "As you say, your - " She raised an eyebrow like she had seen her mother do and he amended his words. "As you say, Denilee. I am Bellar."

"That's better." She turned back to the window, but kept her eye on him. "You're a guard, Bellar? I thought all of the Hapan guards were women?"

"True. But your Emperor doesn't like our warrior women. And I think he fears one of them."

"Oh." She could not imagine the Emperor being afraid of anyone. [Only someday he's gonna be afraid of me. I'll make him pay for everything he did to my family.]

Bellar brushed a dark curl back behind his blue headband. "If I may ask, your - Denilee, what will you be if you are not a princess?"

"I'll be a pilot," she said immediately. "And I'll be a warrior like my daddy. And me and Mikel and Daddy and Nanny will be a family and we'll fly to every star in the galaxy and fix everything the Emperor messed up."

There was a long silence. When Bellar spoke again, it was in a strangely muted voice. "Is your father a good man?"

She gave him a questioning look. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"Perhaps, from a certain point of view..." He stopped and shook his head. "No reason." His smile was strained. "Why don't I get you something to eat? You don't want to be hungry when your nanny comes back."

She shook her head. Part of her understood what Bellar was saying, but she did not want to listen to it. "I'm not hungry," she said softly.

"As you wish."

He left her alone by the window.

 

I really like that, Lisse. I take it Denilee and Bellar were acting out a skewed version of Ani and Padme in Watto's shop? I loved it! Denille is a very precocious six year old; I especially liked how part of her understood what Bellar was saying about her father at the end, but she knew she didn't want to admit it. Poor kid.

Once again the subtle similarities make this so much fun to read!

 

"I'm a person and my name is Denilee!"

LOL I loved it! Oh, I think I may have a guess at who Nanny is, though I'm not going to say. I want to wait and see if I'm right!

More ASAP!

Sarah >^,,^<

 

princess-sari - The similarities are half the fun of writing this, too. Just visited your website, btw. Love the pretty handmaiden pic.

Sarah - *giggle* You're one of those patient wait and see types, aren't you?

 

I'm still here, but somehow I keep missing the updates! Wow, that scene where the capital of Bakura burns was indeed very chilling. Good work! I liked the Governor's defiance. And the way Denilee wants to go out and do good instead of being a princess. You've got good strong characters here. I'm enjoying this.

 

Jane Jinn - *wavers* Glad you're still here.

This post's short. I had three final projects due today, so I didn't have much time for anything else.

On another note, I'm trying to put together a faux-movie poster for my (hopefully) upcoming webpage. If anyone has any ideas for good actors/actresses to "play" Ben, Jessa, Denilee etc. puh-leeese let me know.

~~

Fire along every nerve. Knives through his heart. Anakin gasped and struggled to breathe as a durasteel vise constricted his chest. And through it all the voices deafened him, men and women and children crying out in sudden anguish and despair.

"Master Corran? Solo?" Lucéa's distant voice reached his ears. He made himself focus on the here and now - on the cracked paving bricks and the charred walls of what had once been an outdoor market, on the yellow flags marking Imp mines, on the hollow-cheeked guards watching the sky for bombers. He forced his gaze up to Lucéa's face.

[She looks just like Mother,] he realized vaguely. Then another thought intruded. [Corran!]

The pain faded to a half-felt ache as he sought his Master. The Corellian Jedi was pale and his face was drawn, but he seemed uninjured. [Thank the Maker.]

"What happened?" Lucéa demanded.

"There was a disturbance in the Force," Corran said hoarsely. "As if many thousands of voices cried out and were suddenly silenced."

"Something terrible happened." Anakin suppressed a shiver. All those people, all at once?

Lucéa's face darkened. "Do you know where?"

Corran shook his head wearily. "I wish I did."

"Then there's nothing we can do." The young queen crossed her arms and looked from master to apprentice. "As callous as that sounds, you both know it to be true."

Anakin opened his mouth to protest, but Corran silenced him with a simple gesture. He knew when to hold his tongue. "You are wise for your age, your majesty." Gathering his green robe around him, the last Jedi Knight bowed his head slightly. "We should get under cover."

"This way." Lucéa threw a wary glance at the sky - a habit as natural as breathing among the Nubians - and started for one of the squat prefab shelters that dotted the ruins of the capital.

 

*shamelessly ups*

 

Ups without shame!

Ooooooh! Chills Lisse, pure chills...

Sarah >^,,^<

 

_Maker preserve us._

Han blinked. He had not heard the voice in nearly a day and so much had happened since then that he had had the luxury of pretending it did not exist. Now it was back, louder and more persistent then ever. And it sounded worried, which had never been a good thing in the more than a decade that Han had put up with it.

He leaned back in the pilot?s chair and glanced around to make sure no one else had snuck into the cockpit. When he was satisfied, he lowered his voice to the barest whisper. ?What happened??

_There was a disturbance in the Force. And if *I* can feel it?_ The voice trailed off for a moment, lost in its own thoughts.

At some point Han knew that he, the Corellian smuggler with about as much Force ability as space dust, had to admit that Anakin Skywalker was speaking to him from beyond the grave. Not Vader, not a Sith or a dark spirit, but a genuine Jedi Knight. Whatever else Luke had done in his life, he had saved a soul.

Not that anyone even remembered the name Luke Skywalker anymore. Palpatine had seen to that.

_The Empire has done something terrible,_ the voice said again. Even after all these years, it was easier for Han to deal with if he just thought of it as ?the voice?. _It isn?t another Alderaan, but there were many innocent deaths._

?Wonderful,? Han muttered. The stars streamed past, heedless of the Falcon racing past them. He wondered if they were the only eternal things the universe had left. ?Just wonderful.?

_You still care._

He did not bother to answer. Instead he shoved himself up and made his way to the cockpit door.

_Where are you going?_

?To check on the kids. Or does the Force have a problem with that??

The voice wisely said nothing.

Han walked the short distance to the Falcon?s lounge and stopped in the wide doorway, propping himself up on the wall. Hal was nowhere in sight, but everyone else had managed to crowd in. Goldenrod was acting as referee for some sort of game by the holotable. Darklighter?s astromech droid and Melody?s Wookie friend were the two players. From the looks of things, they had discovered an old Captain Fantastic spaceblaster card Hal had insisted on buying a few months ago. Han did not bother to point out that neither one of them was going to match Hal?s score any time soon. The kid could fly as well as his father, even in a cheap holosim.

Jessa Calrissian had settled herself crosslegged on the floor with a steaming plate in her lap. From the smell trying to eat away at Han?s nose, it was a variant of Lando?s giju stew. Her full attention was locked on Melody, who had set her blaster on low power and was firing with perfect accuracy at a blindingly fast targeting remote. The other remote was in Darklighter?s hands. He was at one of the minor repair stations and was happily engrossed with some of the jammed inner circuitry.

?So can we forget our Imp troubles yet?? Melody asked as she fired another mock shot. The remote chimed to indicate another hit before zipping straight up and over her head. It was probably set on a difficult evasive routine, but the young thief was making short work of it. Han could probably have done much the same thing in his younger days.

At the moment, though, he was not in the mood to shoot at anything. He settled himself in an empty chair. ?They?re not following us. I checked twice.? He glanced around the room again. Still no sign of the kid. ?What happened to Hal??

?Haven?t seen him.? Melody holstered her blaster, automatically stopping the remote. For someone who could spot a security spy in an auction crowd, she was remarkably bad at recognizing her own boyfriend?s moods. Han had no doubt that she did not even know Hal had a ring stashed away somewhere. Then again, he was not supposed to know about it, so maybe the kid was just being secretive.

?Ben?? Jessa asked around a mouthful of the stew. ?You want to try??

Darklighter shook his head. ?I don?t have a blaster. And it?s not like I?d be any good at fighting.?

?You?ve got a weapon,? Jessa said. If Han had no

 

Ooh, I want to know, too!

Loved it, Lisse! It was interesting to watch Han struggle with his feelings at seeing the Ben/Luke/lightsaber/remote/blastshield scene repeated like that. You know things are bad when Han Solo resigns himself to listening to the proddings of the Force.