Beyond - Legends The New Empire 2: Credit to the Race (NJO AU, major Hutt-busting adventure - repost COMPLETE 050803)

Eh-heh-heh...don't count on them shrivelling any Hutts right away. I think you'll have a ball with the end of this post. At least Dxun beasts don't try to tear the Falcon apart, that's why Han doesn't mind them.

**********

Krummell and his goons arrived in an alarmingly short period of time. Five of the men out front were equipped with glowrods, while others had beacons mounted on their blaster rifles. All of them were armed to the teeth--rifles, pistols, detonators, grenades, and a dozen extra power packs per man. They were carrying the standard equipment used when freeing Krummell from a police convoy.

When they gained unobstructed entrance to the palace, the hall seemed deserted. Krummell paused, indicating for the rest of his goon squad to do the same. Those with lighting devices shone them back and forth across the hall, probing with both the lights and their ears for a sign of their adversaries. Satisfied that the way was clear, Krummell led on.

He peered up at the vaulted ceiling, half expecting to see one of the Jedi lurking in a niche somewhere, ready to jump down and massacre his lackeys with a lightsaber. The ceiling was just as dark and motionless as the rest of the hall; the pillars, though cracked and deteriorated by millennia of elements, showed no threat of collapsing. Somehow, instinctively, that was what worried him.

And it was a well-founded worry, for one of his vanguard hoodlums didn't see the small net stretched across the floor until his foot caught it.

As the hood tripped and stumbled, the net pulled taut, yanking a large rock away from one of the pillars. It took Krummell a poor second to realise what was happening, and by the time he did, the rest of the pillar was already toppling over. "Get back!" he roared, waving backwards. "Outta the way, move!" He dashed toward the wall, getting out of the path of the massive, tumbling chunks of stone. Three of his goons were not so lucky; they were too slow to react, and were summarily flattened beneath the remains of the pillar.

"Those arrogant little punks!" Krummell snarled, surveying the damage. "C'mon, after them already!" Blaster pistol in hands, he took off at a brisk jog, joining the vanguard goons who had jumped ahead to get out of the pillar's way. The rest of them dodged or clambered over the immense chunks of stone, trying not to look at their fallen comrades as they caught up with Krummell and the rest.

Krummell was taking a breath, about to shout orders for half his men to continue straight, and the other half to go into the adjacent hall on the left. He stopped short of speaking when his glowrod picked out a figure standing up ahead. The faint light fixed on a humanoid shape moving in from the adjacent hall, and Krummell's grip tensed on his blaster. He immediately snapped the weapon horizontal when the shape took the form of Jacen Solo.

Stopping dead in his tracks, eyes popping with a start, Jacen whirled around and bolted back the way he had come. Krummell need not have ordered his men to follow--they were already in hot pursuit. Running up the stairs to the intersection, the first man was just rounding the corner when his foot crunched on a small pile of glass lying on the floor. Instantly, he fell under the bolt from a blaster rifle.

The rest of the goons drew back, flipping off their safeties in a singular motion. Krummell slapped one man on the arm and motioned for him to go in with blaster blazing. The goon nodded and dashed forward, firing as rapidly as he could, stepping on the same pile of glass; the unseen blaster cut loose again, dropping him right next to his partner.

Krummell frowned--something was incongruous about the fact that two of his men had been gunned down in spite of withering fire. He eased up to the entrance of the hall, careful to avoid the pile of glass, and poked his head and glowrod around the corner, very quietly. There lay the offending blaster rifle, lying horizontally on top of a stone block, with a thin black wire extending from it

 

Excellent descriptions from the suspense to the great visualizations of the blasterfight.

Great cliffy

He peered up at the vaulted ceiling, half expecting to see one of the Jedi lurking in a niche somewhere, ready to jump down and massacre his lackeys with a lightsaber.

Hee hee hee, sorry pal, they?re smarter than that

Three of his goons were not so lucky; they were too slow to react, and were summarily flattened beneath the remains of the pillar.

Flattening badguys is always fun

He eased up to the entrance of the hall, careful to avoid the pile of glass, and poked his head and glowrod around the corner, very quietly. There lay the offending blaster rifle, lying horizontally on top of a stone block, with a thin black wire extending from its firing mechanism to the pile of glass. Any time somebody stepped on that pile, the wire would pick up the sound and set off the blaster

Hee hee, very cool!

"Get on the horn to those guys Bolga sent toward Iziz," he ordered another of his lackeys. "Those kids are definitely in here."

Gee you would?ve thought he would?ve known that when he saw Jacen. Methinks Krummy?s not too bright

They hadn't even made it halfway down the hall, however, when they ran across a dusty canvas sheet discarded on the floor--and fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book.

The sheet gave way underfoot, sending all three on a dark, screaming, bottomless plunge into nothingness.

LOLOLOL!!! so we?re up to what. 8 goons down?

Clenching his teeth, Jacen flung his blaster aside and got up, raising his hands. He moved into the middle of the room with his companions, who had slowly, reluctantly followed his example. No Force waves could be used without getting the rest of their friends killed. Lightsabers had too short a range without the same result. Somehow, they had to think their way out of this, if only they could do it in time.

Damn it- begrudgingly giving up like his old man on Endor

The mouth was set in a determined sneer, the glaring eyes were framed by a shock of greying brown hair. But what caused Krummell to stop short was the figure's scarred chin and prominent, somewhat crooked nose.

Han Solo.

Hee hee hee! Woohoo!!!!! ?Get away from my kids!? I guess we have to assume that the parental types figured out Mara was wrong and got there just in time. Way to go!

 

Well, nice to see you enjoyed it so. Ah, but you liked that? You're gonna love this.

**********

"End of the line, Krummell," Han proclaimed loudly, hand hovering near his holster.

"Is that so?" Krummell retorted.

"Yeah, that's so." Han's gaze flicked to Jacen, who immediately caught the slight lift of his father's eyebrows. He understood immediately; the distraction wouldn't last forever, and he had to take advantage of it now. He took a breath, balled his right fist, and swept it blindingly to one side, smashing the nose of the nearest thug.

Sebrona seized the day, whirling on the thug who had kicked him in the back, jumping up and kicking him in the stomach. As the thug doubled over, Sebrona, back on the floor, swung up and kicked him again in the face, knocking him flat. In the meantime, Jaina had jackknifed down, shoved her head and shoulders between the legs of the goon in front of her, and abruptly stood up, sending the wailing goon flying backward to a nasty landing on his head. Anakin grabbed one flustered hood from behind and gave him a classic neck-snapping, while Jerrica grabbed her blaster back and pistol-whipped he who had confiscated it.

In the reigning chaos, a cacophony of blaster fire even worse than the shootout in the court erupted from both sides of the hall. Hiding behind pillars, statues, piles of debris, and even some of the gargoyles near the ceiling, the SWAT team made its presence known for kilometers around. Krummell and his gang were taken completely by surprise, providing enough of a breather for the five Jedi to take cover. The closest available was the fallen pillar, to which the quintet flocked, somersaulting or leaping or diving behind it as Krummell's gang scrambled for shelter.

Kneeling behind the pile of rubble that half-blocked the door to the observation tower, Ray Sorveli took due notice that Krummell's lackeys were returning fire. Their numbers had been cut by nearly a third, and they were still going all out to fight to the death. Although he was confident of his own team's strength, he still jumped to no conclusions. Giving a yell for two men to cover him, he rose, kept his head down, and popped off a few shots of his own as he sprinted toward Han and the kids. At a safe distance, he dropped into a smashball slide, coming to rest feet first and rolling up onto his knees.

"See, this is what I mean when I can't take my eyes off you kids for a second!" Sorveli shouted. "Did it ever occur to you to stay put and wait for some backup?!"

"Well, you sure took your time!" Jaina shot back irritably.

"Oh, you're welcome!" Lifting his blaster over the remains of the pillar, Sorveli pumped seven bolts in the direction of Krummell's gang. Then he withdrew to check his power level, relieved to see that he still had half a pack.

"Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara with you?" Jacen yelled to Han.

"Yeah, they're back there," Han answered simply, jerking his thumb backward. He winced, squeezing his eyes shut to avoid a flurry of duracrete flakes that came flying off the chunk in front of him. "You feeling all right, kid?"

"A-one," Jacen assured him. "Is the Falcon close by?"

"We landed half a kilometer away to avoid being spotted," Han shouted. "Ray! Have half the team stay here and take these twerps in, the other half will go with us to Dxun. We'll take Krummell's speeders, head for the ships and bring 'em back here to pick up the team. Got it?"

"Got it," Sorveli nodded. "What about those concussion missiles, though?"

"I'm workin' on it, I'm workin' on it!" Han grated.

"Brookan," Sorveli hollered into his comlink, "keep your team here and take Krummell in! Kellikos, we're gonna go for the source! Pull your team back onto the Millennium Falcon and we'll get moving in a few minutes!"

"Roger that!" Kellikos responded, pulling back to his shelter. At the top of his voice, he relayed, "Team Bravo, pull back! Millennium Falcon, now!"

"Anakin, go get that first speeder and bring it around to the front!

 

Those last few chapters were great!~! what excitement.. and Han showing up ..loved that scene.. got a chuckle out of the snake bit ..LOL

 

Woohoo! The young'uns have been rescued. Now time to flatten Hutt Butt

He took a breath, balled his right fist, and swept it blindingly to one side, smashing the nose of the nearest thug.

Hee hee- go Jacen, go Jacen.

In the meantime, Jaina had jackknifed down, shoved her head and shoulders between the legs of the goon in front of her, and abruptly stood up, sending the wailing goon flying backward to a nasty landing on his head.

LMAO!

"What makes you think I'll tell Bolga that your ships are friendly?" Krummell huffed defiantly.

Han's first response was to wind up, clench his fist and slug Krummell with enough force to send him spinning around, crashing against the wall.

"Unless you want to wind up like my kid, you're gonna do as I tell you, that's what," he snapped. "When Captain Brookan here tells you what to do, it's me telling you. You don't get to throw your weight around anymore, pal. Brookan, you make damn sure of it."

Boy these guys sure are idiots to argue w/ Han. I guess they all enjoy a good ass-beating.

"Holy smokes, Luke!" Han yelled, stiffening. "We've got a huge snake up here!"

Luke leaned forward from the back seat, looking over Han's shoulder. "It's all right, Han," he yelled back. "It's just a python, it's not poisonous."

"I hate snakes, Luke!" Han roared, shaking his fist. "I hate 'em!"

LOL to the Indy references. And I thought for sure Luke was going to give his old Master a nod and say, ?But they?re quite tasty.?

 

Qingauk - Thank you verrrrrrrrrrry much! I had a blast bringing mah man Han into it!

PLJ - I guess being the "Jedi shrimp" isn't such a bad thing for Jaina after all. I rather hoped you'd enjoy the Indy parallel, seeing that this wasn't the last one.

**********

Less than fifteen minutes elapsed from the speeders' departure from the palace to the two ships' return to Dxun. Leading the way, Han kept the Millennium Falcon one-quarter the distance around the moon from Freedon Nadd's tomb site, well out of range of the sensors mounted there. Still, something was nagging him to no end. Pursing his lips, he stared at the overcast rain clouds above and the zigzagging scape of treetops below, both of which were equidistant from the Falcon and the Jade Shadow.

Jaina, sitting beside him, was monitoring the closure with the tomb site, which would be complete in another ten minutes. She could still read the consternation on Han's face, however, and she knew it was justifiable after what she and the others had already been through. Opening her mind to the unifying Force, she sought out those next ten minutes, and did not care at all for what she saw.

"What do you think, Dad?" she asked, motioning at the sensor panel.

"I think I've got a bad feeling about this, sweetheart," Han muttered. "I don't trust Krummell as far as I can throw him. We'd better go in at treetop level."

"The codominant treetops," Jaina agreed. "That way we can mingle with the taller ones and confuse their sensors if they pick us up."

"Always thinking, aren't ya?" Han said with a grin, patting Jaina's hand. Trusting Mara to follow along, he pitched the Millennium Falcon almost straight down, nose-diving the kilometer or so to the treetops before pulling level.

Considering Han and Jaina's exchange, Sorveli, chest-deep in thought, didn't see the trees sweeping beneath the ship or the dominant crowns flashing by on either side. He wasn't particularly worried about it; he knew very well of Han's uncanny knack for deftly steering the ship through asteroid belts and ion storms. That was not foremost on his mind, nor was the strategy for breaking into the stronghold and taking Bolga down. The events leading up to that were what troubled him.

"C'mon," he said in a low voice, tapping Jacen on the arm. Rising from his seat, he slipped through the doorway and went aft, followed by a puzzled Jacen. Fully concentrated on steering the ship around the dominant treetops, Han and Jaina took no notice of the departure.

"Why so thoughtful, Ray?" Jacen asked as Sorveli led him into the crew lounge.

Without a word, Sorveli produced his comlink and inserted its bottom end into the outlet on the communication panel. Then he hunted down the playback switch, flicking it to the left. The speaker on the comm panel promptly began to squawk out the last few transmissions received by the comlink, and Sorveli folded his arms, glowering at it.

"Listen," was all he said to Jacen.

"Linoss, do you read me?" Krummell's voice scratched out of the speaker, sounding nothing if not aggravated.

"Loud and clear." The reply came in the low, murmuring voice of a Cathar, undoubtedly Bolga's majordomo.

"There are two ships on the way up from Onderon. Don't shoot them down, understand? They're carrying the Solo kids. They'll be over the site in about ten minutes."

"Understand," Linoss answered. "We'll be ready to receive them."

That was all Jacen needed to hear. Sorveli reached down and flicked the playback switch off, then turned his gaze of steel toward Jacen. "I left my comlink keyed open to Krummell's frequency," he explained. "He said Solo kids, plural. The only one Bolga wants is you. Krummell would have been under orders to kill the others and bring you up."

Taking an apprehensive breath, Jacen nodded in the like manner. "Bolga knows we're coming," he said grimly.

***

With that in mind, Han veered away from a direct course toward the stronghold, instead circulating around toward the o

 

Ok- good stuff in this chappy- I liked the disguises- the kids learned from their parents well

Now time to chase that Hutt!

"The codominant treetops," Jaina agreed. "That way we can mingle with the taller ones and confuse their sensors if they pick us up."

"Always thinking, aren't ya?" Han said with a grin, patting Jaina's hand.

Sniff sniff- Han?s such a great Dad.

"Bolga knows we're coming," he said grimly.

Grrrrrrr! [edited]

Soon enough, the occupants knew, they would be engrossed in yet another orgy, celebrating the violent end of a Jedi.

Trying desperately NOT to view Hutts in that state! EWWWWWW!

"The rest of them are already out cold and dumped in the jungle, probably getting scarfed as we speak."

Uh-huh- god these goons are idiots!

Jacen jerked his arms apart, ripping the binders away from his wrists without an effort. "See, this is how I do business with bags of alien slime like you," he said, motioning in either direction at the two forces.

Jacen?s so his father?s son. LOL!

To that end, Jacen grabbed Jerrica and pulled her back with him, but the floor declined to give way underneath them. Instead, the wall behind Bolga's repulsor chair slid upward rapidly, revealing a dark, impenetrable escape route. The loudly laughing Hutt propelled his chair backward, along with Linoss and his two guards, and the foursome receded through the portal and were lost to view.

Gahhh! Why didn?t they shoot at the slimebag Well then the story would be over, I guess


Amidala_Skywalker note -- edited for profanity.

 

oh nooo!! why could they not see that coming!? This guy is going to forever be trouble..they should have sabered him big time as soon as they got there..

 

PLJ - Hutt's bein' chased! You've probably noticed I've always loved writing Jacen as a younger version of Han - in my next series, though, he'll probably be a younger version of a certain other Ford character who's already been referenced here. They didn't shoot the slimebag 'cuz Hutt skin is so thick that it can't be penetrated by blaster fire. Seems there's only two ways to take 'em out...

Qingauk - Funny how it always fails to work out whenever they try to bring the bad guy to justice. Sometimes there's only one choice left.

**********

Two could also play at the game of distraction, as Han found out the hard way. Bolga's disappearance gave his remaining guards and other goons more than enough time to reverse the element of surprise, resulting in a grand melee of energy weapons and lightsabers. The first blow was dealt by the Dug assassins, who no longer found themselves pinned down by the Force and promptly overturned the card table, knocking Sebrona down. The hard-core drinkers in the corner of the room joined the fray instantly, pulling the beer keg out of its niche to reveal a small stash of various blasters.

Luke was the first to react. Instinctively snapping his head to the left, he spotted the phony beer keg and took off in a ceiling-high somersault. By the time he landed, the hoodlums surrounding the keg had already opened up on him, but his lightsaber was a blur as he deflected every bolt that came near him. He chopped the barrel off one of the blaster carbines on his backswing, and on the foreswing, literally disarmed the nearest thug. The others, he could tell, had not come prepared for a Jedi Master?they scattered in fear, only to be intercepted and dispatched on either end by Mara and Jaina.

Once reoriented, Sebrona sliced the card table in half with his lightsaber, kicking the two halves upward. When he added the Force to their velocity, the pieces slammed two of the assassins clear off their hands, allowing him to roll-block the third one and smash a beer stein over his head. The path was now crystal-clear for him to leap upright, lightsaber flashing, running interference for Han and Leia as they made their way toward the blast door through which Bolga had disappeared. Although chaos reigned in the throne room, strength lay in numbers here. The SWAT team, having seen their share of poorly organised riots, maneuvered for position, keeping the indigenous thugs in a state of constant confusion. The blaster fire from the center of the room was nothing if not haphazard, but from the edges, concentrated and steady.

Haphazard though the fire was, one bolt still found its way in the right direction at the wrong time. Jerrica, preparing to pot a sharp-shooting hoodlum, didn't feel the searing heat flash across her arm until after she had taken the shot. Only when her arm relaxed did the bolt's passage sink in.

She let go a loud cry of pain, clutching at the wound. Seeing this, an incensed Jacen whirled around, almost immediately spotting the maliciously grinning sleazebag who had scored. His nostrils flaring, Jacen launched himself ceilingward, spinning around twice through the air before delivering a roundhouse kick to the side of the hood's face. Upon landing, he rammed his other knee into the hood's stomach and flattened the man's nose on his thigh, then belted him so hard as to send him twisting several meters away.

In almost the same moment, Mara, hacking away at the thugs nearest to her, struck enough fear into one of them to send him staggering away. Instinctively, Jacen pivoted on his heel, bringing his left arm around almost to crush the man's larynx. Grabbing him by the hair, Jacen sent him plowing headlong into a tall crate, which toppled to the floor with him and took out two other hoods in the process.

Sorveli had had enough?he had to end it, and end it soon. Waiting until the center of the room was reasonably clear of friends, he walloped one thug off his feet and then fired two bolts into the ceiling around the immense light fixture that dangl

 

Hee hee- fitting end for the baddy Hutt. Nice to see Gristel there to make this lovely moment possible

Humm so I guess we're coming to an end here But this story has definitely been one fun ride! Woohoo!

Luke was the first to react. Instinctively snapping his head to the left, he spotted the phony beer keg and took off in a ceiling-high somersault. By the time he landed, the hoodlums surrounding the keg had already opened up on him, but his lightsaber was a blur as he deflected every bolt that came near him. He chopped the barrel off one of the blaster carbines on his backswing, and on the foreswing, literally disarmed the nearest thug. The others, he could tell, had not come prepared for a Jedi Master?they scattered in fear, only to be intercepted and dispatched on either end by Mara and Jaina.

Hee hee- what a showoff That?s the Luke we all know and love. (Puts image aside as reminder of Luke in full Jedi action for own stories.)

His nostrils flaring, Jacen launched himself ceilingward, spinning around twice through the air before delivering a roundhouse kick to the side of the hood's face.

LOLOL! Now THAT?s descriptive writing for you? visualizes Jacen pawing at the ground like an angry bull

"How?" Luke queried.

"I don't know, I'm making this up as I go," Han said non-committally, hefting his weapon and heading for the blast door.

Har har- channeling Indy again.

"You look prepared enough to me," Han commented. Jaina spared him a quick grin before pressing the six buttons on the lock pick in quick succession. No alarms, no blaster shots, nothing?just the door sliding blithely upward into the overhead, clearing their path...almost.

Ingenious girl that Jaina is- wonder what else lays hidden in her pockets?

"Snakes," Han groaned, turning and leaning heavily against the wall. "Why did it have to be snakes?"

Snicker snicker.

 

Sadly, yes, we are coming to an end here. Ah well. There's another story comin' right on its heels, and this is one that I never finished, so you've got a lot to look forward to! Like more action-oriented Luke scenes...hee hee. I don't know where I'll find another place to parallel Han with Indy again, but in "Scum and Villainy", I'm certainly angling for some humour-laced fight scenes.

**********

Sebrona deftly flitted around the milling SWAT team members as they tramped mundanely from one end of the bunker to the other, taking holograms, searching for hidden defense points, confiscating Bolga's ill-gotten gains, and generally tearing the place apart. He arrived in Bolga's sub-hangar to find Luke, Han, Jacen, Mara, and Gristel grouped near the door to the snake pit, engaged in low-voiced discussion. They stayed well out of the way of the SWAT officers, who were paying unnerving attention to the snake pit and the four dead criminals inside it, especially the immense Hutt lying to one side of the doorway. Sebrona, however, couldn't have cared less about the Hutt in question as soon as he saw the figure closest to the door.

"Master Gristel?" he said, making haste over to his teacher. "Boy, am I glad to see you!"

"I could sense the gravity of this business a parsec off," Gristel said knowingly. "You've got to love the unifying Force, Sebrona. As soon as I felt what was going on, I got my rear in gear and dropped right in."

"Just in time, too," Luke said. "Trony, you were probably the only being alive who could keep Bolga busy enough to buy Jacen some time." Turning on Jacen and Han, Luke arched a brow. "Well, Han, don't say I didn't tell you that python might come in handy."

"All right, it came in handy this time," Han said in a good-natured growl, pointing an accusing finger. "But I'll be damned if you people will try and fix me up with any more snakes, you understand?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Luke said.

"Nope," Mara said, matching his look. "Knowing what you usually dream about, Skywalker, I'd say you definitely wouldn't."

"And what, pray tell, do I usually dream about, Jade?" Luke came back smoothly and calmly with folded arms.

"All right, all right," Han said, inserting himself between the two spouses. "I get enough kid wars when Jacen and Jaina are home. We'd better get going and see to the cleanup."

Both Luke and Mara shot Han a withering glance at the "kid" reference, but they both had more important things on their minds. After Han had passed between them and headed back for the throne room to find Leia, Mara took a step forward, tapping Luke on the chest. "We'll talk about this when we wrap up," she said in a tone that was neither merry nor forbidding.

"That we will, I'm quite sure," Luke agreed. He waited until Mara had scowled at him one last time and passed clear, seeing that Gristel and Sebrona were strolling slowly together across the sub-hangar. That left Luke and Jacen to themselves.

"Uncle Luke?" Jacen said hesitantly. He was dubious, Luke could tell. His hands were in his pockets, he was constantly shifting his stance, and he was holding his breath as he so often did when he wasn't sure of how to structure a sentence. At last he looked up, a deep frown creasing his forehead. "Do you think I did the right thing? Was it in the best interests of the Force to put Bolga away in that manner?"

"Honestly?" Luke said. "You did the galaxy a service, Jacen. Ray is right--now that the Bujirki family no longer has a leader, it'll be that much easier for the police to winnow them out of wherever they're hiding. It's unquestionable, however, that you killed Bolga in self-defense. Force or no Force, you were perfectly justified."

"Well, what is questionable is what was going through my heart and mind when I sicced that python on him," Jacen muttered. "I mean, I can't remember it with perfect clarity, so I really can't tell for sure. Was I angry, was I satisfied, or was I just cleaning up a galactic mess?"

"Whichever one sound

 

Bravo! Bravo! Great ending. I like that Jacen's catching on that Jerrica is a bit smoother and smarter than he maybe thought (or hoped) initially- mostly meaning- she'll be a real challenge to train.

This was a great story. I didn't know how you could've made a story more action-packed than "The New Empire" but boy - this one blew that one out of the water- w/o ever losing sight of story. You didn't include action simply for thrills- but to further enhance and progress the tale.

Great job! Great character interpretations. I love Han in this story- and I even love the bit of sadness in Leia at the end. Can't wait for the next one!

Bravo! Bravo! (Tosses roses!)

"Just in time, too," Luke said. "Trony, you were probably the only being alive who could keep Bolga busy enough to buy Jacen some time." Turning on Jacen and Han, Luke arched a brow. "Well, Han, don't say I didn't tell you that python might come in handy."

"All right, it came in handy this time," Han said in a good-natured growl, pointing an accusing finger. "But I'll be damned if you people will try and fix me up with any more snakes, you understand?"

Hee hee- who?d have thunk it that snakes could be the one thing to get Han?s undies in a bunch.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Luke said.

"Nope," Mara said, matching his look. "Knowing what you usually dream about, Skywalker, I'd say you definitely wouldn't."

LOL! Now that?s a funny, obtuse use of dialogue.

"All right, all right," Han said, inserting himself between the two spouses. "I get enough kid wars when Jacen and Jaina are home. We'd better get going and see to the cleanup."

Both Luke and Mara shot Han a withering glance at the "kid" reference, but they both had more important things on their minds.

LOL! Because Mr-I?m-so-scared-of-snakes is so mature, himself

At last he looked up, a deep frown creasing his forehead. "Do you think I did the right thing? Was it in the best interests of the Force to put Bolga away in that manner?"

"Honestly?" Luke said. "You did the galaxy a service, Jacen. Ray is right--now that the Bujirki family no longer has a leader, it'll be that much easier for the police to winnow them out of wherever they're hiding. It's unquestionable, however, that you killed Bolga in self-defense. Force or no Force, you were perfectly justified."

Poor Jacen. Damn that pure-as-gold intentions of Jedi?s to always have to question when they kill someone. Luke is right, it was the best decision. Had he lived, more lives, ultimately would?ve been lost.

Jacen and Anakin exchanged a look. Jaina might have been right about that, but they were united in being terribly uneasy about Kyp Durron exploring the tomb of a Dark Lord. Neither of them was long on trusting him with lives, in spite of his actions during the war. Either way, it would be a clear day in the dark side before they could staunch any argument from Jaina, so they let the subject drop.

(begins to chant: Bring in Kyp, bring in Kyp, bring in Kyp?. Sorry- I think he?s a lot more interesting of a character than a lot of others in the EU. I like that he?s a lot like Anakin and doesn?t usually think about things and acts on instinct ? even if that means by digging into your more aggressive tendencies- his actions usually show Jedi the wrong way to do things.)

Jerrica was staring blankly at all three of them, and Jacen made a mental note to enlighten her later on.

Hee hee- I know that feeling- ?Hi I have no idea who you?re all talking about.?


While Jaina and Anakin--or rather, Anakin with Jaina cracking the proverbial whip--remained in Rwookrrorro to purchase and install the spare hyperdrive motivator in the Solo Flight

Hee hee hee! Go Jaina- keep your brother working.

 

This needs to go UP!

 

Yeah... nice wrap up .. loved Han and his reaction to the snakes.. a befiting ending for the slug.. snakes don't usually eat slugs but I would have loved to see that snake try to take in the Hutt!!

I really enjoyed the thrills and chills of this story! The humor in just the right places with Han right on character!!

 

This needs a punt up so others can find it