Beyond - Legends The New Empire (NJO AU - Solo kids, OCs, action/adventure - repost COMPLETED 040703!)

How'd this drop to page 3?

Easy--there's no romantic content. Therefore nobody's interested in it except you. As much as I appreciate that, I'd appreciate it a whole lot more if other people around here would give a crap.

Jerrica's attitude was easy since she's from Corellia. Funny, I didn't even think about parallelling the chase to the AOTC one until you brought it up. The Kashyyyk race isn't coming till the next story, but I'm sure your saintly patience will make the wait easier.

Jacen?s such the athletic stud

Ehhh, and how do you think Jerrica sees him by now?

**********

When the Solo Flight touched down in the capital city of Mya Neitza on Baroonda, Jef Storetts was ready and waiting. He approached the ship once Jaina had powered the main engines down, and he waited patiently below the gangplank as it was lowered from the hull. Jaina, Anakin, and Sorveli trooped down the plank to the landing pad, pausing to greet their one-man welcoming committee.

"Detective Sorveli, I'm Storetts," he said, holding out his hand for the shaking. "Corran Horn gave me a buzz a few hours ago and let me know you were on your way."

"Sometimes I think I joined the wrong police force," Sorveli said with a wry smile. "C'mon aboard, and we'll talk. Oh, these are my cronies, Jaina and Anakin Solo." The two young Jedi greeted Storetts pleasantly, shaking hands.

"I'm honoured," Storetts smiled. "Master Horn's told me enough about your dad that I was hoping for a time like this some day."

"Yeah, well, we deny everything," Anakin jibed as the foursome turned and started back up the gangplank into the ship.

"What is it you need to know, just a little background info?" Storetts asked.

"Yeah, whatever your snitch at Pastreliman Enterprises found out before the Toliare family got him," Sorveli said.

"The Toliare family?" Storetts half-turned around, his brow furrowing in surprise. "Where does Gooba the Hutt enter into this?"

"We'll know better in a few minutes, but let's just say he's definitely in on it."

"All right," Storetts said apprehensively, taking a deep breath. Suddenly he wasn't sure this was a good idea. The last thing he wanted was to leak information on a crime syndicate that was involved with a vicious Hutt clan, without escaping alive. On the other hand, though, what could go wrong with Jedi on his side?

"According to my snitch, Pastreliman Enterprises moved into the stronghold on Parupo Island last year," he began. "It took them only a few months to build their production facility into the stronghold. My guy got a job there as soon as the plant was completed, but a few months later, he noted some suspicious goings-on at the administrative levels. He'd been around enough to have seen the types of people who were hanging around the plant. For instance, some of them constantly had two rough-looking bodyguards at a time, carrying sporting blasters. They looked the part for organised criminals, so my guy got in contact with me one day after he got off work."

"How'd you tie it down to the Ephant Mon syndicate?" Jaina asked.

"I asked him to get a description of the next shady character who entered the plant. He actually managed to get two, and he picked them out of a series of mug shots that NRI took for us. Unfortunately, I think that's what did him in. He was a little too eager--he told me he would try and eavesdrop on them next time they dropped by, and I never heard from him again. If he was lucky, they just threw him down the mouth of the volcano."

"How about the Glorious Jewel?" Sorveli inquired.

"The Glorious Jewel?" Storetts repeated. Now the purpose of this line of questioning dawned on him. Nodding very slowly, he sighed. "Now I see where Gooba the Hutt enters into this," he said. "You're right, that must be the ship that's been in and out of the plant for the past couple of months. I was never able to get close enough to identify it, but I see you were. This is one of the downsides to

 

Alright - I'm not really conscious enough to read this next post- but I'll give you an up and a quick bit of jabbering to your ramblings.

Easy--there's no romantic content. Therefore nobody's interested in it except you. As much as I appreciate that, I'd appreciate it a whole lot more if other people around here would give a crap.

*Sigh* It really bothers me when you get all depressed about people not reading your fics or liking them You are an amazing writer and you write w/ great flare for adventure. I'm really enjoying this fic because it really digs into the fun which is Star Wars- it reminds me a lot of the YJK books. And looking at your more recent fics, you do have a tight, loyal group of readers who adore you. Don't despair More people will find you.

Shame to anyone who's lurking and not posting!!!! Come on in, Sebby needs a cyber hug!

Jerrica's attitude was easy since she's from Corellia. Funny, I didn't even think about parallelling the chase to the AOTC one until you brought it up. The Kashyyyk race isn't coming till the next story, but I'm sure your saintly patience will make the wait easier.

Well rescuing the Damsel in distress is more important than a race Go Jacen, go!

Ehhh, and how do you think Jerrica sees him by now?

Poor girl, looking back and realizing her hero fell behind. Don't worry, darlin' he'll jump through blazing stars to find you

 

On the other hand, though, what could go wrong with Jedi on his side?

Hee hee hee- just ask Han- he'll tell you

Then he lowered the ship to just five meters above water, and Jaina threw the thrusters to full forward, gaining best possible speed over the planet's surface.

You write these little kinds of details so well. I always stumble and get forgetful on the ship terminology crap.

Nodding and keeping that in mind, Jaina maneuvered one-third of the way around the island before the half-sunken ship came into view. It rested on the reef surrounding the island, its stern completely submerged and most of its bow high and dry. Evidently, the reef had ripped the keel open and allowed accumulated tons of water to rush into the aft hull, leaving the ship to lie there as a warning beacon to other sea vessels to keep away.

More great imagry.

"'Your Honour, the Solo Three have this hunch that hot lava is the new wave in weapons manufacture, and they melted my brain along with the metal.'"

Hee hee hee!

"And if they want to see our identification?" Sorveli hazarded.

"They don't need to see our identification," Anakin smirked, waving his hand slightly. Sorveli caught the wave, and if he had been a lowlife or a street tough or some other weak-minded fool, he wouldn't have noticed it. But he knew what Anakin was driving at, and he smiled in understanding.

Hee hee- <<rubbing hands together>> let the fun commence!

Oh man- poor Jacen! Abandoned on a planet full of walking carpets while his brother and sister are headed- literally into the hot seat of the volcano. Jaina/ Anakin/ Ray reminded me of L&L&H peeking at the bunker on Endor. Great dialogue and great descriptions.

This is gearing up towards lots of action, methinks

Go Jacen GO!

 

It really bothers me when you get all depressed about people not reading your fics or liking them

What do you want me to say? [face_shrug] If nobody else is reading, I have to consider a few possibilities, one of which is that maybe my writing just isn't good enough to get read. It doesn't help to see almost every other author around here getting fifteen and twenty replies per post, for similar styles and material.

Don't worry, darlin' he'll jump through blazing stars to find you

Another analogy to US...

Oh ho, now we are going to have FUUUN and we are gonna start having ACTION, m'lady. Lay on, Macduff, and damned be he that first cries hold, enough!

**********

Anakin and Jaina had paid special attention to disguising themselves before they moved in; Anakin had rolled his sleeves almost all the way up and stuffed his pant cuffs into his boots, while Jaina had slicked her hair back and braided it. Both hid their lightsabers in their cargo pockets and let their blasters show prominently. Biding their time for a lull in the landing-pad activity, the threesome remained out of sight in the underbrush, and as the crate movements began to wind down, Sorveli jumped up onto the landing pad with the Solo kids flanking him.

The two men handling one anti-grav module paused to look at the three strangers crossing the pad. Trusting that they looked the part well enough, Sorveli motioned for the two workers to continue. "Hey, hey, keep at it," he ordered caustically. "Ephant Mon himself wouldn't of stood for this kinda slackin' off!" His words had a definite effect on the workers, who immediately sprang into a much faster pace than fifteen minutes ago.

"Nice touch," Anakin murmured.

"It's always money or muscle with these types," Sorveli muttered back.

Going with the flow of workers in and out of the plant, the trio could see that they were most likely entering what had once been the armoury. Two emplacements stood on either side of the plant, their artillery now gone. If they needed a way in later, that might be it--but first they had to make sure they had the right place. The Ephant Mon headquarters might be in an entirely different location.

When they entered the plant and passed down the entry corridor into the main bay, Jaina glanced quickly around. Something that fit their bill very well caught her eye: a catwalk that ran the entire perimeter of the plant, about ten meters above the floor. She led the way to the staircase, rapidly ascending the tall flight of metal steps onto the catwalk. The view was much better from up here--every activity involved with weapons manufacture was visible, if only they could say the same for smuggling.

It was extremely warm in the plant, and immediately the threesome could see why: Anakin had been right. The volcano was the source of the plant's molten metal, meaning that it could keep manufacturing as long as Gooba the Hutt wanted it to. There was an entire vat of the lava in the northwest corner of the plant, being mixed with metallic compounds to be formed into durasteel. Once thoroughly mixed, several kiloliters at a time would be released down an enclosed sluice and into the next section of the plant, where it would be formed into blaster parts.

Then came the assembly line at the southern end; workers wearing heat-resistant suits and masks would assemble each weapon by type, then set it to cool off on its own in the southeast corner. Also in the southeast corner lay the energy reserves, where each weapon would be charged before packing. Finally, the next group of workers, wearing a little less protective gear, would pack each type of weapon into the crates the three snoops had seen earlier. With the mass production going on in here, who knew what Gooba's potential for an army was right now.

"You want to let Storetts know about this?" Jaina asked.

"Storetts, are you kidding?" Sorveli said incredulously. "The guy doesn't know his ass from his elbow! I don't know where Corran comes off calling him a 'good man', so we gotta see

 

Upping this so that others can find it. And may I mention that I loved the quote from that Scottish play?

Now, I think I need to head back over to the Classic forum and make sure that you haven't updated over there without me noticing.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

I wouldn't worry about your writing, Sebby. You are a great writer. I don't know why you haven't attracted more readers I do know that I'm here and happy to have found your new stories- so maybe others will find them also- just hold onto faith.

**************
Bum bum bum... let the action commence! Jerrica your trio of action studs are on the way to come and rescue you. Of course this IS SW and you'll probably end up having to rescue yourself and them

Way to go Jaina- fearlessly heading off to blow up the plant by herself. This is gonna be good! I can't wait for the next post!

Chortling sarcastically, Sorveli kicked the manager in the knee in mid-sentence. The manager crumpled, grunting loudly in pain, and Sorveli grabbed him by the collar, throwing him roughly facedown on the catwalk.

"Now you're in charge of the floor," he taunted. Cocking his head to Jaina and Anakin, who were both grinning with amused pleasure, he set off between them toward the far end of the plant.

*Snicker snicker* Ray's got such a way with people.

"Dude, don't do that!" Jaina retorted. "I could've killed you where you stand!"

LOL! God the use of that word still kills me.

"You do believe in the Force, Ray," Jacen said, seeking confirmation.

"Yeah, I believe in the Force if I can't chalk it up to voices in your head," Sorveli said with a hint of sarcasm, spreading his hands impatiently.

Hee hee hee! God Ray's a riot.

"I think that's our way in," Sorveli nodded. "How'd we miss that on the way over here?"

"Easy, we were trying to take the path that'd do the least damage to your shoes," Anakin scoffed.

Hee hee hee

Imagine his surprise when Anakin, grinning sarcastically, slugged him so hard as to loosen some of his teeth. The sentry's blaster rifle tumbled from his hands, and Anakin kicked him in the back before giving him a quick chop to the neck. The sentry toppled, rolling down a short hill to rest against a sharp rock, dead to the world.

Go Anakin! Woohoo! He should be happy, finally got to kick some butt

 

Tych - Haven't updated anything that I'm aware of, though with all this April Fool's business happening, one never knows. Thanks for upping, at any rate.

PLJ - I guess I can live with no readers if you keep posting such substantial volumes of feedback... Having said that, there's a simple reason for the lack of readers: I don't write mush. Mushless stories, as unique as they are, just do not get read on this forum. Anyway, moving along: You know Jaina - doesn't want her brothers grabbing all the glory for themselves. Ray is the most fun character of all for me to write, due mainly to his yeah-yeah-seen-it-all attitude. And Anakin hasn't kicked his last butt this story, so you should be lovin' the rest of it.

**********

What had once been the ship's cargo hold was now a reserve storage bay for the Ephant Mon syndicate, dense with contraband spice, illegal weapons, forged identities, more illegal weapons, and who knew what else. It could also be used as a dual-purpose holding chamber for syndicate traitors, and torture chamber if the Hutts were in the mood for it. Every muscle in Jerrica's body quivered with fear as she acknowledged this, but she gradually managed to form the idea that it was inevitable--she had betrayed the Hutts and now she was going to get it. Having accepted this, she was considerably less afraid, although she was still repulsed by the presence of Strollim Kuzo.

"Sorry it had to come to this," Kuzo said, his tone of voice clarifying that he wasn't the least bit sorry. "It would've been fun to watch you race again. But then, you'd probably get too friendly with Solo for your own good." He moved closer, and Jerrica wrinkled her nose in defense against his breath. "Of course, if you gave me a good enough reason?well, I can't promise to make Gooba forget about it, but I sure could."

"Go to hell," Jerrica retorted. She didn't know what he had in mind and didn't want to. She sincerely doubted he could change Gooba's mind anyway.

"Too bad, kid," Kuzo said, turning away. "They say Corellians have rocket fuel for blood. Looks like we'll find out pretty soon." He made a motion to the two henchmen holding Jerrica, their grip nearly cutting off the circulation to her bound arms. No matter how quickly she moved, she couldn't seem to move fast enough for them as they hauled her toward an angled table. She knew the contraption sitting in front of it: an Arakyd nerve disruptor, a favourite toy of the Hutts. She would be meeting it sooner or later, so she tried to quiet her mind and armour it against the inevitable suffering.

It was at times like this that she wished she was strong in the Force, so that she could tell if the Solo kids were nearby. In that case, she would have been overjoyed to sense Jaina's sneakiness as the slight Jedi girl crept toward the bunker. She hid in the shadow of a tree--a good, long shadow, now that the sun was half-set--and peered toward the landing pad. There sat the Glorious Jewel, its crew loading crates even as more were being lugged out of the bunker and stacked up.

Jaina waited for a lull in the activity before dashing forward and coming to rest at the edge of the landing pad, concealing herself. She cast her gaze upward, seeing two men place a crate on a stack of four. One of them returned to the bunker, the other pausing to check the anti-grav unit to be sure it was within its operating temperature. Jaina pointed her finger at him, giving him the impression that there was an approaching hazard from her neck of the woods. As she'd hoped, he wasn't too nervous about checking it out, and he headed for the edge of the landing pad.

Ducking down, Jaina levitated a very large rock into the air with one hand and extended her other hand toward the oncoming worker. When he reached the edge of the pad, Jaina moved her hand sharply to one side, and the worker, gasping in surprise, toppled inexplicably off the pad. He thudded to the ground about a meter below, and as he was recovering from his dazed state, Jaina shoved the rock through the air an

 

Oh oh- another postie- I'll have to get to it a little later. So I will up this so I can find it again

No readers = no mush... hummm... Well I guess that would explain why I have a lot of readers. But I don't know- there are lots of Q-G stories w/ zero mush that get readers. Sigh. Silly people, they don't know what they're missing.

What I love about your story here is that it reminds me a lot of the YJK books (they had Zero mush.) I always loved those books, and your Jaina and Jacen remind me a lot of their characters in those stories (lots of sibling bickering and action.)

Cheer up Sebby. I'm working on finding you more readers!

 

Oh gah- what a place to end the chapter. Is Jaina going to be caught?

What's going to happen to poor Jerrica? What is that damned thing?

I don't like the girls being in danger

 

It reminds you of YJK? Bleah, I hated those books. Too P.C. "That damned thing", as near as I can figure, is what they used to torture Han in ESB. Now worry not, PLJ-- [Red Leader]Aaalllmooost theeerrre...[/Red Leader]

**********

"You kids never listen, do you?"

Jaina had been all set to whack one on the intruder, but stopped short, seeing the pair of stern eyes glowering down at her from behind the heat mask. Her heart leaped, although not from excitement as the intruder's identity dawned on her. "Master Horn!" she gasped, hand falling away from her blaster.

"Shhh!" Corran snapped, looking around to be sure they hadn't been overheard. "Last thing we need is to blow this. Where's your brother?"

"They're both underground right now with Ray," Jaina answered softly. "Jacen figures that old ship is where the Mon syndicate makes its home, and he's pretty sure that's where they're holding our source. They're going in to break her out."

"And you're doing what?"

"Planting a detonator. I set it to give them enough time to get out of there. How'd you know we were here?" Jaina questioned, shaking her head in puzzlement.

"Knowing you three, I sincerely doubted you'd heed my advice to let Sorveli take care of it, so I started monitoring your communications," Corran said, his voice still tinged with condescension. "Jacen seemed pretty desperate to get a hold of you from Kashyyyk, so I figured you had a heavy date over here. Now listen, Jaina. My responsibility is to get that freighter out of here before they know what hit them. You worry about your brothers and whatever the hell they're doing, and get them off as soon as you can. Understand?"

"Right," Jaina said. "That means I'd better get back to the ship and get it ready."

"I'll cover you," Corran nodded.

***

Both Corran's bulk and the Force worked well to smuggle Jaina out of the bunker, and those two factors also proved effective for the other three. Jacen was on the point, easing cautiously around bends in the dim passageway before jumping into the clear and aiming his blaster. Still, no sentries had shown down here. Sorveli kept a trained eye out for hidden security systems or signs of trouble, while Anakin covered the rear, trying to sense trouble.

The coast, so far, was clear.

"We getting close?" Sorveli asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I couldn't tell you, Ray," Jacen shook his head. "But we're definitely under the water now. It's much cooler and you'll note the condensation on the walls down here. We may be no further than a few meters from the ship now--in fact?" Jacen let his voice trail off as he crept up to one more corner and peeked around it, blaster ready. Sorveli and Anakin saw him suddenly aim the blaster upward on a sharp angle. Then Jacen pulled back, nodding.

"This is it," he said. "There's a steep flight of stairs here that probably run straight into the ship's keel. Once we determine where we're coming out, we shouldn't have a problem finding Jerrica."

"That's an awfully big ship, Jacen," Anakin reminded him with a skeptical stare.

"I know, but only half of it is habitable. The other half is underwater. At any rate, we'll figure it out a lot sooner up there than we will down here." Checking the power level, Jacen cocked his blaster, took one more precautionary look up the steep stairwell and started to ascend, gripping the handrail to avoid falling backwards.

Two-thirds of the way up, they passed the last lantern and continued up into a short zone of darkness. But there was enough light for Jacen to see when they reached the upper end of the stairwell and arrived at a low, rusty watertight door. From their viewpoint, it was oriented on a 40-degree up angle, which meant that they had reached the ship. Jacen gave the door the once-over, wedged his fingers into the slot close to the doorjamb, and gave a good, hard heave. Surprisingly, the door gave easily, and Jacen hesitated, wondering if he had alerted any more guards waiting on the opposite side.

Nothing jumped out and bit

 

You hated the YJK books? Well they did include A LOT of Tenel Ka, so I guess I could understand why YOU didn?t like them. Personally, I loved them. I thought they were some of the best SW books. It?s because of them that I wrote my story, so they can?t be all that bad.

Ah Horn showed up! Couldn?t let the wanna-be sleuths do their work on their own I see. Oh well, the more help the better.

Great suspenseful chapter. Let's just hope they can get poor Jerrica off of that thing w/o more goons coming along to interrupt them. Poor girl, I think she'll be putty in Jacen's arms


Nothing jumped out and bit him, though, so he pushed the door the rest of the way open and ducked through.

hee hee- now THERE?s a way of determining if the coast is clear. No creeping critters biting at my ankles or wanting to rip my head off, guess I?ll proceed forward.

This one was corroded shut, but Anakin made short work of it with his lightsaber as the other two waded down to join him.

Yes, thank you GL for showing everyone that the lightsaber is not only a weapon, but makes a handy leatherman tool when you need one

"Well, you're gonna owe me another three hundred for the new suit, but besides that, I could swim all the way to Dathomir," Sorveli answered sarcastically.

Sure? like he REALLY spent that much on his suit.

Over the years, the damp air had caused much rust, corrosion, and gaping holes in the bulkheads, leading the threesome to pick their way over chunks of flotsam and fallen piping in their path.

Nice descriptive scene- bleck, I feel like I?m in there w/ all of that mess.

"I guess we'll just have to resort to rattling some doors?" He paused, glancing at Sorveli. "Unless, of course, that qualifies as breaking and entering," he finished doubtfully.

"Look, somebody's life is in danger. If the judge gives me crap about B and E without a warrant, he can go suck some of that lava."

Snicker snicker!

His brother slipped up to the end of the box beside him, and together they poked their noses out to assess the situation. Anakin spotted Jerrica immediately, and he struggled against the urge to pitch his lightsaber into the nerve disruptor.

For some reason the Hardy Boys came to mind w/ this visual. Or maybe the Brady kids.

 

Afternoon UP!

 

Well, at least we agree to disagree about the YJK books. Ya never know - I for one wouldn't want to meet the equivalent of a Doberman pinscher in the GFFA. I'm just curious, do you object to the use of a lightsaber as anything besides a weapon? Just wonderin'. And I'm constantly glad that the visuals work for you. That's why I put so much emphasis on description, so it's easy for readers to get a mental image.

Hardy Boys? Hehe...well, this isn't the last time you've seen anything like it...

**********

That was their cue to fall silent and start relying on hand signals for communication. Anakin stayed put for the time being, while Jacen started shuffling over to the opposite side of the room and Sorveli to the lower end. Several times they paused, concealed themselves from spying eyes, and then streaked to another hiding place before repeating the process. Jacen and Anakin tried to keep the gunmen from noticing with the help of the Force, but it was difficult to put all five of them under. They had to settle with holding down the ones closest to them.

Once Jacen had reached the other side of the room and started toward the lower end, Anakin made his move, following Jacen. Kuzo had already vanished from view, going below to call upon his crew for a bit of revelry. Whether or not this revelry included torturing Jerrica, Jacen had little doubt. Han had never cared to talk about his encounter with a nerve disruptor on Cloud City, and that was motive enough for Jacen.

Garl stayed close to Jerrica, constantly pacing around in a circle, keeping his eyes open for trouble. If that Jedi had tried once to foul up Kuzo's plans, he could try again. After what Jacen had done to him on both Tatooine and Kashyyyk, Garl had reservations about facing him again, but now he was on his home turf. He knew this area far better than the Jedi, and he had enough offensive weapons at his disposal to go around.

As he imagined how he would deal with the Jedi next time he saw him, he completely failed to see Jacen rushing from behind a vertical pipeline to a large cluster of spice drums nearby. Garl paced slowly to one of the grates in the floor, peering down through it with the flashlight mounted on his rifle. Nothing was out of order in the dusty hold. The alarm of instinct started to go off in Garl's mind, and he frowned, turning. He could have sworn he heard a boot squeaking in the corner of the room. He looked up and all around, and seeing nobody but himself and the other four gunmen, he resumed his pacing. However, he did so with a renewed sense of vigilance; suddenly something didn't feel right.

Jacen had reached the point where he could see Jerrica, but not Garl. The large drum he was crouching behind was leaking something, and on closer inspection, Jacen had it figured for a narcotic. This would be a harem for CorSec, Jacen thought to himself, but he had more important things to worry about--like Jerrica's life. He squinted at his new friend, who was facing away from him on the table, deathly still. She must have put up quite a struggle before the stuns became too much for her.

Sorveli appeared behind a crate on the opposite side of the room. Jacen looked to his left, and he saw Anakin now hiding behind the vertical pipeline. They all seemed to be in the best possible positions--now they just had to distract the gunmen's attention long enough.

Jacen pointed at himself and then at Jerrica, moving his hands apart. Sorveli frowned in confusion, and Jacen was just about to repeat the signal when he heard heavy footsteps overhead. He looked upward to see one of the gunmen slowly trooping along the catwalk directly above him, and he withdrew, crouching motionless and projecting a nothing-to-see-here thought into the gunman's mind. When the footsteps started to fade, Jacen again poked his nose out to signal Sorveli.

This time, he moved his hands apart with a bit more of a flourish, then pointed at Sorveli, at Garl, and made a blaster-shooting motion. Now Sorveli nodded, and Jacen turned to Anakin, flickin

 

No worries, I have no problem w/ a lightsaber being used to chop through stuff- I?ve always thought the opening of TPM w/ Qui-Gon doing that was way cool.

Unfortunately, Anakin's genes shone prominently.

As he was stepping forward, his foot fell on a scrap of metal that lay on the catwalk.

First line confused me for a second, then I was like Ahhhhh Han Like father, like son

Jacen flung the rifle well out of reach with the Force, then grabbed Garl by the collar and dragged him in a half-circle, slugging him precisely in the nose.

Woohoo! Go Jacen Go!

Satisfied, Anakin was just about to jump down and help Jacen when a yank from the Force drew his left hand to his lightsaber. He pulled it free and switched it on just in time to start deflecting bolts from the fourth gunman, who was sprinting toward him from the upper end of the room. Anakin deflected four bolts and shoved a Force wave against the gunman, who was thrown backward off his feet, his rifle clattering away from him. Anakin bolted, twirling his lightsaber in circles as the thug scrambled back upright.

Alright, Anakin?s now a bigger stud than Jacen!

Hee hee! Exploding oil vats, guys getting chopped in half- what a jolly old good time Jerrica?s conscious, Jaina?s off to help Horn w/o the other guys knowing what she?s doing and Goober the Hutt has arrived. (Ok I know it?s Gooba )

Woohoo! That was exciting! Quite the adrenalin rush! Can?t wait to see how it all comes out!

 

Just dropping in to give one of my favorite authors an up.

 

PLJ, have I mentioned how glad I am that you're enjoying all this? Just had to toss that little like-father-like-son bit in there--Jacen and Anakin just wouldn't be Solos if they succeeded in an ambush. Ah, Anakin's not gonna be studlier than Jacen for long...after all, which one's more of a Jedi Knight in shining armour?

After the adrenaline rush in this post, I hope it doesn't keep you awake all night.

Tych - Aah, get outta here. We look out for each other.

**********

All four scurried up the canted deck into the hold, dropped to a squat, and held deathly still, remaining sheltered by the darkness. Jerrica held onto Jacen for dear life, loath to topple over at a time like this. The dozen-plus goons burst into the hold and scrambled up the stepladder to the hatch, several of them securing the area with automatic blasters before making room for their companions. Their four quarries remained crouched, staying out of sight of any grates, listening to the stomp of heavy boots and the shouts of ill-tempered henchmen turning the place upside down.

"They won't find us anywhere up there," Sorveli rasped. "The sooner we move, the more time we have to get away. Let's go, now!" Blaster at the ready, he jumped upright, avoided the grates, and made a beeline for the door. Jacen pulled Jerrica to her feet and slung one of her arms over his shoulders, and together they hastened down the slope while Anakin again covered the rear. Sorveli paused at the stepladder to aim upward and make sure the perpetrators were still occupied, then move to the door. The corridor was clear, so he beckoned to the others, who tailed him out of the hold and downgrade toward the engineering deck. They reached the watertight door in the companionway, and Sorveli inched it open a crack before slamming it shut again.

"They're onto us," he growled. "Reinforcements coming up from below. We gotta find another way out. You know any?" he asked Jerrica.

"No, this is the first time Kuzo's let me anywhere near the ship," she answered dolefully.

"We'll have to find one ourselves, then," Anakin said, cocking an ear to the shouts of the henchmen in the hold. They had established that it was clear, and they were getting ready to start searching the rest of the ship. "So we better vamoose, pronto!" Turning on his heel, Anakin pushed himself up the slope, searching the darkness for an intersecting corridor.

In spite of the security breach belowdecks, Kuzo couldn't possibly miss greeting Gooba the Hutt lest he wind up like his ex-prisoner. He stood facing down the slanting deck of the old ship as Gooba began to slither down the ramp from his space barge, and Kuzo gulped, wary of the three guards flanking the huge Hutt. When Gooba had reached the deck and sat glowering down at him, Kuzo hastily bowed, breathing a little faster than he felt necessary.

"Lord Gooba, welcome to our humble abode," he said. "We're almost ready to--"

"Yes, I saw the loading in progress already," Gooba cut him off, waving a flabby hand. "What about this traitor you have for me?"

"Got her under wraps down below. We're having a little problem belowdecks right now, but as soon as we--"

Again Gooba cut him off, letting Kuzo know that his displeasure was growing by the second. "I don't like problems, Strollim," Gooba said sternly. "Problems for me inevitably lead to compound problems for the likes of you. Kindly see to it before I even get near the hatch!"

"Uh, right," Kuzo said nervously. "You got it." He almost forgot to bow again, but he caught himself in time, whirled around and ran down the deck toward the hatch.

"I'm coming, Strollim!" Gooba called after him, slithering forward slowly. "Remember, before I get near the hatch!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kuzo muttered under his breath, dropping down through the hatch. Why he had ever agreed to be Gooba's personal pirate-smuggler was beyond his capacity to imagine. I should have just stayed free-lance, he thought to himself.

**********

Jaina hadn't even reac

 

Uppsies, so I can find your new post a bit later

 

Sorry I took a day off It appears mayhem is breaking out all over the place thanks to Jaina's little plan. Methinks Kuzo won't last long w/o his Glorious Jewel or plant.

Go guys go! Very exciting!

"Jaina," he muttered. "Jaina, we got a little problem here." He waited, but there was no response.

"Here they come," Sorveli muttered over his shoulder, listening to the multitude of footsteps and loud whispers drawing ominously closer to the compartment.

"Jaina, dammit, where are you!" Jacen hissed into the comlink. Little did he know that in her haste to return to the Solo Flight and prepare for takeoff, Jaina had completely forgotten to switch her own link back on.

Hee hee- AHNism?s running rampant everywhere!

The hotheaded detective was grimacing, but it was clearly more from exasperation than trying to avoid the fire. "Fine time for Jaina to have to go to the refresher!" he yelled over the racket.

Damn men, you know chicks need more than 2 seconds to do their business thanks to our anatomy

As it was, Jaina whirled around when the blast assaulted her senses, almost laughing at her accomplishment.

Yup, her Daddy would?ve been proud!

Jaina's thermal detonator would probably have been enough, but since it had blown up the energy reserves and everything else in that plant, it had caused a large enough shock wave to disturb the volcano's bowels. There was no telling how soon it would erupt, but it seemed doubtful that they would get out in time.

I can just see her now, pointing to her chest saying ?It isn?t my fault!?

 

You know, PLJ, I wish I'd thought of half the stuff that you comment on when I was first writing this story. Aah, give Ray a break--he's just being sarcastic. But this is most definitely not the last shade of ANH that appears in this story, as you shall definitely see in this post. (Mind you, I didn't even realise it until 'twas pointed out by Saché, but there it is. )

**********

As the foursome made their way rapidly back through the dark, trackless corridors of the ship, Jacen, sparing a quick glance over his shoulder, slowed down a little bit to let Sorveli catch up. "Ray, you said that they'd be ready for us if we went through areas that they've occupied," he said.

"Well, they're sure ready for us now."

"Exactly, which means they're looking for us in parts of the ship they haven't occupied. What do you say we stand a better chance of getting out through their territory?"

"It's worth a shot," Sorveli shrugged.

"It's also the only shot we have," Jacen rubbed it in.

Before long, Anakin had found a companionway in which the syndicate had erected a level deck. He immediately took it, and when he came upon the bulkhead at the end, he also came upon a stepladder that led down to the next deck. The four could still hear the occasional echoing shout from one of their hunters, but the voices sounded just far enough away to be at a safe distance. Anakin took the lead down another stepladder, which ended at a door--a rather fresh-looking, well-oiled door. His faith renewed, Anakin shoved the door open, and found himself staring into the engineering deck where he and his pals had made their entry.

"Yes!" he exclaimed in a whisper, ducking through the doorway. "We're outta here!"

"I'll share your enthusiasm when we're off this godforsaken island," Sorveli said pontifically, holding cover while Jacen and Jerrica slid into the engineering deck. For all he knew, more of Kuzo's men could be hiding in the shadows right in front of him, or in the engineering deck behind him. His finger twitched against the rifle's trigger guard as he scrutinised the darkness for a sign of hostile movement. He backed through the door, quietly secured it, and dashed for the ladder to the main deck, where Anakin, Jacen, and Jerrica had already started making their way to the tunnel entrance.

When Anakin opened the door, he looked down the stairwell and nearly recoiled at the sight. Already there were several nasty-looking cracks in the walls, spurting water onto the stairs. "Great," he snapped. "The tunnel's already buckling! C'mon, let's hoof it!" He started down, resting most of his weight on the handrail to avoid losing his footing on the steep stairs. Jacen headed down behind him, letting Jerrica lean on his shoulders from behind, and holding both of them up with a Force field. Sorveli secured the door, and sighing to himself, followed the other three through the ever-increasing volumes of water. What was worse--being crushed by a cave-in or drowned by a roaring water ram? He dared not dwell on it, lest despair overcome him.

It felt like years before Anakin reached the bottom of the stairs and broke into a run up the passageway. The water was starting to pool at the bottom, and he could see it dripping from hairline cracks all around him, and feel the tremors from the volcano growing steadily. Gulping, he looked behind him to make sure the others were still with him. Then he charged, hoping that he'd be far enough away not to hear it by the time the reef shifted and collapsed the stairwell.

He had just rounded the curve at the passageway's halfway point when the ship shifted, and the reef with it.

All four froze, hearing the loud crunching and screeching of reinforced duracrete being torn apart by bone-crushing water pressure. The construction lanterns flickered, and the four escapees slowly turned their heads. The passageway behind them was still dry, but an immense, unstoppable wall of water would be coming their way any second. Without a word, they bolted, not daring to look behind the

 

Up so I can find this later!

 

Wow- volcano's exploding, tidal waves, bad guys on the loose, space battles... this chapter's got it all! Once again your action scenes were brilliant, I was left breathless reading and waiting for the characters to safetly make it through their obstacles.

Great job Sebby! It definitely lived up to a great action packed chapter!

What was worse--being crushed by a cave-in or drowned by a roaring water ram? He dared not dwell on it, lest despair overcome him.

Blehhh death by drowning, not something I enjoy thinking about.

All four froze, hearing the loud crunching and screeching of reinforced duracrete being torn apart by bone-crushing water pressure. The construction lanterns flickered, and the four escapees slowly turned their heads. The passageway behind them was still dry, but an immense, unstoppable wall of water would be coming their way any second. Without a word, they bolted, not daring to look behind them for fear of tripping.

A hundred meters from the head statue that marked the entrance, the construction lanterns went out altogether, and Jacen and Anakin relied on their lightsabers to guide them the rest of the way. It was thus that Anakin avoided running head-on into the end of the passageway when he reached it, and he shot a glance to the rear. It was too dark to see anything, but now they could faintly hear the roar of the oncoming water sweeping closer by the microsecond.

Brilliant descriptions of the action of the scene. The tension of the characters is absolutely palpable.

Jacen suddenly found himself shoved free of the statue by the water, which poured forth from the statue's mouth like a gargoyle fountain.

LOL! Great description.

Sighting Kuzo's unprotected gut, she squeezed off a single shot. Kuzo emanated one short, strangled yap, and the carbine tumbled out of his hands as his eyes widened in shock and he struggled to breathe. He had no success, and he crashed to one knee, keeling over.

Woohoo! Goooo Jerrica!! Ding dong the thug is dead!

As he helped Jerrica over to a seat next to the comm panel, he felt the deck plates vibrate under his feet and listened to the rising pitch of the engines. The repulsors heaved the Solo Flight out of the mud puddle, and to avoid losing too much altitude, Jaina rammed the ventral thrusters.

Cool techy ship jargon.

Meanwhile, Jerrica felt an uncomfortably close hit from the starboard side and turned to greet another fighter that was trying to blast her gun well.

Let go of your conscious self and act on instinct

"I won't need it anyway," Jerrica said lightly, smiling. "I mean, who needs witness protection when you've got Jedi?"

Awwww she?s so sweet

 

All riiiight!! Good to see you lovin' it so much! I have to confess, in the original post, the last couple of chapters were all melded into one huge post. Didn't wanna make that mistake again. At any rate, here it is--the last one before a fresh new fic.

**********

Two hours later, the Solo Flight dropped out of hyperspace at Yavin 4 to find that the Glorious Jewel had just arrived. Jaina and Anakin both beamed with pride at this--the pirate ship had left Baroonda a good twenty minutes ahead of the Solo Flight, which had caught up to it without breaking a sweat. As Anakin noted, that was what they would call "fast freight." The two ships descended to the Great Temple together, touching down in the clearing outside the hangar. When Sorveli, Jerrica, and the Solo kids descended the gangplank from the Solo Flight, they found Corran and Luke already waiting for them in the shadow of the Glorious Jewel.

"Hey, Uncle Luke," Jaina grinned.

"Welcome back, kids," Luke said warmly. "Master Horn and I would both congratulate and thank you on a job well done, very well done."

"Even though you completely ignored my advice to keep your noses clean," Corran added sternly but good-naturedly.

"Hey, look, a full-blown tactical team wouldn't have finished the job that these three did," Sorveli told him. "Wouldn't you just love having Gooba the Hutt honourably mentioned on your service record?"

"That's what I'd like to find out," Corran said.

"Well, in that case," Jacen said, turning and putting his arm around Jerrica. "Masters Skywalker and Horn, this is our nice new friend, material witness and now my principal pod-racing rival, Jerrica Sulvecto."

"Greetings," Luke smiled, proffering his hand. "Welcome to Yavin Four." As he shook hands with her, though, his smile froze. Suddenly her name rang a bell with him--however small--but for the life of him, he couldn't put his finger on it. Even the Force declined to whisper in his ear on this one.

"Thanks," Jerrica said, shaking hands with him and Corran. "Well, I'm ready, willing and able to tell you everything I know, so what say we get it over with?"

"What say, indeed?" Corran said, ushering her up the Glorious Jewel's ramp. He nodded to Luke, who waved him on up, then turned to face his niece and nephews again.

"Well, Ray, as usual, I'll be happy to endorse your report at your convenience," he said amiably.

Sorveli frowned, looking at Luke as if he had two heads. "As usual?" he repeated. "Whaddya mean, 'as usual'? This is only the second time we've crossed paths on official business."

"Right," Luke said offhandedly, wishing that the Force hadn't chosen that moment to show him what lay ahead. "Well, just on the off chance that this isn't the last time, I'd gladly continue to back you up."

"Mmm hmm," Sorveli said, giving him a sidelong glance. "If you mean what I think you mean, pardon me while I go undercover." He sidled up the gangplank, but he allowed Luke to see him smiling sarcastically just before he re-entered the ship.

Lifting his eyebrows briefly, Luke turned and headed back toward the temple, flanked by the Solo kids. "You think he has a problem with that?" he asked curiously as he started up toward his chambers.

Anakin paused, turned around, and stared for a second at the Solo Flight's gangplank, thinking fleetingly of how Sorveli felt under the circumstances. "Nah," he said with a nonchalant shake of his head. "This is the second Hutt he's brought down in as many weeks. Before we know it, he'll be telling other detectives how to do it."

"Yeah, and their first lesson is, it can't be done without Jedi," Jaina grinned.

"There's a lot of things that can be done without Jedi, Jaina," Luke waxed philosophical. "But rest easy, very few of them are legal. Mark my words, as widespread as the Hutt clans have become, we may as well be facing a new Empire. But this one will use sneaky, underhanded crime instead of overt aggression to damage the Republic."

"Makes

 

So was that last comment directed at someone like me?

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Ahh and so it ends, but truly it is only the beginning. Poor Jacen- he's not gonna know what hits him when he gets Luke's news

Great story, wonderful action. And I really enjoyed a lot of the nice quiet, character internalization in this chapter

I can't wait for the next story!



Jacen enthusiastically obeyed and went in search of Jerrica, following his nose through the Force. If he and Luke were right about her, that should be all the guidance he would need. He made his way toward the main hangar, trying without success to swallow his heart, which felt like it was trying to pound its way out of his throat. He breathed deeply, but his pulse refused to slow down at the mere notion of seeing Jerrica again, much less seeing what lay beneath her appealing surface.

Hee hee hee- love is in the air...

 

Well, you've already borrowed something of mine, Tych--but you did ask first. I'm just hoping your example will guide everybody else.

PLJ, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, and THANK YOU!!! I can't believe how decent and supportive you've been throughout this otherwise half-hearted repost. A lot of the character material in the last post was already there, I just embellished it a little after we talked. As you have no doubt discovered, the next story's already up. Love's in the air, let's hope it doesn't blow away!