The Sands of Time: 500 Years after Return of the Jedi

Yeah..what they said..
*gets down on her knees begging* For the love of Hoth guys, you're killing me!! What's gonna happen next?!!

 

Back to the top. I'm definitely still interested in this story, but I've been extremely busy lately. It would be a shame if this thread died. Maybe another one of the writers would like to add something?

 

Um...Hello? Anyone out there? This story is just starting to get really interesting, don't stop writing now!

(Just trying to resurrect a poor, abandoned thread...)

 

Must... Have... More!!! I'd ask to add something, but I can't reaaly think of any really good ideas right now. Now, as for you authors... GET BACK TO WORK!!! Please?!

 

Don't worry, this thread is not being abandoned. It has been extremely difficult for me to find time to write lately. We authors have had some discussions, and hopefully there will be new story posts fairly soon. Hopefully. And I'm glad to see that so many people care about this thread. Thanks.

 

<Well, I finally got around to writing a new story post. Enjoy! >

Keiran Foranoll was sitting at a computer terminal, reading through some ancient Jedi lore, when the sensation hit him. He felt a strong presence in the Force, and it was getting nearer. Keiran briefly shivered as he recalled his encounter with the dark warrior, but he quickly determined that this new presence was on the light side of the Force. It was unlike any Jedi he knew, however . . .

Keiran quickly shut down the program and rose from his seat. As the presence grew nearer, he sensed that it was with some other Jedi, and that they were coming in on a ship. He left the small room and strode quickly down the academy's stone hallways. He paused briefly to glance at the mural of Master Skywalker, then continued toward the landing pad that was just outside the ancient temple.

The ship was just touching down as Keiran reached the pad. With a slight touch of repulsorlift power, it came to a perfect stop. The ramp lowered, and three Jedi walked down it together. A moment later, a young man wearing Jedi robes followed. Keiran did not recognize him, but-

A lightsaber! The ancient weapon of the Jedi Knights hung at the young man's side. Where could he possibly have acquired such a thing? wondered Keiran. He quickly stepped forward to greet the man. "Welcome to Yavin IV, ah . . . "

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," supplied the man tersely.

"Welcome, Obi-Wan." The name seemed vaguely familiar, but Keiran could not place it. He felt his cheeks flush slightly as he glanced back down at the lightsaber. "I couldn't help but notice your lightsaber. It's not everyday that you see one of those."

"Yes, I'm sure," replied Obi-Wan, throwing a hard glance over toward the three Jedi who had accompanied him on the ship.

"Although I did actually encounter one recently," interrupted Keiran.

"Really," said one of the other Jedi, the first word any of them had added to the conversation. Keiran identified her as Master Judu Kah. "And just who are you, anyway, to interfere with this important business?"

"How was I supposed to know that it was important?" countered Keiran, not answering the question. He had had a feeling that this was important, in fact, but there was no need to tell them that.

As the young Jedi looked back to Obi-Wan, he saw a small smile appear on the other man's face. "I would like to know your name, if we are going to become acquainted with each other."

"Keiran Foranoll," replied Keiran.

"Oh, you," said another one of the Jedi, one whose identity he was not sure of. "I've heard stories about you. Apparently your recklessness and tendency toward fighting nearly got you kicked out of the Jedi order." She turned to face Judu Kah, gesturing toward Obi-Wan at the same time. "I don't think it's a good idea for these two to be near each other. Jedi Foranoll might pick up some . . . ideas."

"Perhaps," replied Kah. "Well, I can see that we all have a lot to talk about. Let's head inside."

<To be continued, I'm not sure when, though.>

 

Dude!! Thanks for keeping it alive Jeff!! This is great!!

 

<blackjedi - I'm sorry, but your post really messes up some of my plans. If you could just edit it so it is another planet besides Coruscant, it would pretty much fix everything. I'd really appreciate it. Also, it might be a good idea for you to get in touch with us authors through e-mail.>

Obi-Wan Kenobi followed Judu Kah and Varian Deszo down the halls of the Jedi Academy, while Andiell NiMalle walked beside him. Keiran Foranoll was still tagging along behind them, as well. Obi-Wan smiled at the thought of the young Jedi. In a way, Keiran reminded Obi-Wan of himself--About 530 years younger, he thought wryly. The young Jedi was certainly different from the others he had encountered so far, and Obi-Wan considered Keiran to be a possible ally.

Bringing himself out of his reverie, Obi-Wan noticed that they had entered a fairly large room. He looked around, taking everything in, as memories of a time long ago came back to his mind. It was hard to believe that he was now standing on Yavin IV in his physical body, centuries after he had guided Luke Skywalker into battle here in spirit form.

"This is Obi-Wan Kenobi, or so he says," said Judu Kah. Obi-Wan noticed that she was talking to a bearded Jedi. "He claims that he was brought back to life by the Force; centuries after his death. He also claims that he knew Luke Skywalker."

"Luke Skywalker?" exclaimed an astonished voice from behind Obi-Wan. He turned to see that Keiran had spoken. "So that's where I recognized your name from. You were Master Skywalker's teacher!"

"Well, I suppose so. Actually, another Jedi Master was responsible for most of his training. But I most certainly did know him."

"And why should we believe your claims?" asked the older Jedi, whose name Obi-Wan still did not know.

"He has a lightsaber, Master Nonen!" chimed in Keiran. "No Jedi nowadays has one of those. But of course, there was-"

"What is he talking about?" interrupted Varian. After a moment's silence, she explained, "He said he saw someone with a lightsaber earlier. I want to know where he got this strange idea."

"Well, actually . . . " A worried look appeared on Master Nonen's face as he presented another lightsaber to the assembled Jedi. Its design was unlike anything Obi-Wan had seen before, but it was unmistakably one of the ancient Jedi weapons. "Keiran?"

"I got this from a warrior who I fought at the Senate building."

Judu Kah and Varian both frowned at his words. "Fought?" said Kah disapprovingly.

"Well, yes, I didn't have much choice."

"I see." Kah gave the young man a stern look, then turned back to face Nonen. "And what do you think should be done about this?"

"Well, at first I thought we should do nothing. But a moment ago, we received a report of six Jedi Masters disappearing on a mission."

"Six Jedi Masters disappeared?" put in Obi-Wan incredulously. "Then I don't see how you can even debate this anymore. The Jedi must prepare for battle."

"Ships have been known to vanish without a trace in hyperspace," said Varian, her expression that of one who had little faith in the words she spoke.

"That's ridiculous," said Keiran. Varian glared at him, but he went on anyway. "We must do something to combat this threat. And I volunteer to be a part of any mission we put together."

"We've-" started Nonen, but Obi-Wan cut him off.

"Interesting offer, Keiran," he said. "Although you will need to learn more first, as will all the Jedi. What exactly is your job?"

"Me? Well, I'm currently the Jedi liaison to the Senate."

"On Coruscant, then," said Obi-Wan.

Keiran's reaction came as a complete surprise. The young Jedi actually laughed out loud. "Coruscant?" he managed through his laughter. "That's a very odd idea."

Apparently the seat of government had changed, noted Obi-Wan. "Where is the Senate, then?" he asked.

By now Keiran had settled down. "It's on Republica, of course."

"Republica. Well, you must be a fairly important Jedi, then."

"Actually, no," said Keiran sheepishly.

"It's traditionally assigned to Jedi who can't han

 

You guys are the bosses.. what do you want me to change?
I think Nanai has my email.. mostly I don't give it out cause it's really clogged up right now and I haven't gotten around to cleaning it..

 

Your post is fine now.

 

If I'm taking anybody's part, give me the word and I'll delete this. Whimper...whine... sniffle...


"All right," Obi-Wan said. "Counterattack." A bit clumsily, Andiell tried to knock away Obi-Wan's plasteel sword enough that she could get past his defenses. He, however defended against her well enough that he managed to reverse the situation, pushing her blade to the side.

"Wait," he said. She froze in her position. "Don't lose your patience. You must be sure not to let your own defenses down when you attack your opponent."

She nodded. "Now, defend." He tried a few strikes, and she managed to block them all, and when he lunged was even able to put him into a compromising position, leaving him open.

"Wait. Very good. Turning your opponent's momentum against him when he lunges; it is extremely effective when done properly." She smiled, feeling slightly proud of her accomplishment. "Counterattack."

This time, she let the Force guide her, and had all the grace and skill of the finest swordsman; the only thing she lacked were the "safety switches" experience placed in technique.

Just as she slipped past his defenses, he said, "Wait." She paused, looking almost annoyed at his stopping her. "Wonderful. You are improving. And disarm." A precautionary deflection of his blade and carefully controlled swing for his neck, and he was pinned by the sword point half an inch from his jugular. "Excellent."

She relaxed, smiling, and placed the blunted sword on a nearby table. "Now," Obi-Wan said, giving her a friendly smirk, "Imagine doing it with a lightsaber and at tiwce the speed."

She mock grimaced. "I don't think I'm quite ready for that, Master."

"You will be, eventually," he said. "Your only equal in this area of training is Keiran, and he is only doing that well because he didn't fear fighting in the first place." She nodded, feeling proud. "But," he stressed, "You still have a long way to go before the Sith fear you and not the other way around."

She still felt that touch of pride, strong enough for her to feel it as well. "Of course. Is today's lesson over?"

"Yes," he said. She bowed, then started off for the door. "Oh, wait! One more thing!"

She turned to face him again, and one of the swords on the table flew to his hand, and in an instant, he was after her. Her reflexes and instincts were barely able to react in time, but she managed to deflect his first few attacks, then tried a different approach. Putting all her power into it, she swung for his sword and managed to knock it from his hand. Before he could call it back, the flat of the sword was against the sie of his neck.

He raised his eyebrows. "Good reaction time. You defended yourself well in a surprise situation." She let the sword fall away. "Perhaps you don't have to go as far as I thought."

EEGH! I'm stuck! I can't think of anything more! Sorry, mein freunds, but this is it.

 

Obi-Wan brought his practice sword up, calmly parrying yet another blow from his opponent. For a moment, the two combatants stood still. Obi-Wan stared into Keiran's eyes, and the young man stared straight back. Then Keiran unleashed a series of swift attacks, which Obi-Wan again blocked with ease.

The two continued to duel, Obi-Wan letting Keiran take the offensive. He had little trouble blocking the blows, but the young man was certainly showing signs of improvement. Keiran was probably the most skilled fighter of Obi-Wan's students at the present time. Those students were now four in number. After hours of debate--No, argument, Obi-Wan corrected himself--the Jedi Masters at the Academy had finally agreed to a trial period of sorts in which he would give Keiran, Andiell, and two others some preliminary saber training. It was probably more to get him off their backs than anything else, Obi-Wan mused. None of the four were exactly high ranking in the Jedi order. Although in the cases of Keiran and Andiell, at least, those positions did not reflect their true abilities.

A sudden attack brought Obi-Wan back to the present. He barely deflected the blow, jumping backwards as he did so. The young Jedi across from him smiled, then moved in with a wide swing to the midsection. Obi-Wan dodged instead of blocking, then brought his sword in hard, calling on the Force to stop it bare millimeters from Keiran's shoulder. "Wait," said Obi-Wan.

Keiran relaxed, his shoulders slumping a bit as he lowered his sword toward the floor.

"That move was too agressive. You allowed me to get past your guard. You must learn more control."

"Yes, I know," replied Keiran. "I'm still just learning."

"True, but this is an important lesson. Most of the Jedi of today are too passive, but being too aggressive is just as bad." Obi-Wan paused, staring long and hard at his young student. "If not worse. Anger and aggression lead to the dark side of the Force. To the ways of the Sith."

"The Sith," Keiran repeated. "Why won't the Masters do anything about them? The threat is obvious!"

"I agree, although the Masters are right as well, to a certain extent. When dealing with the dark side, one must always use caution. However, there's a thin line between too cautious and not enough, and the Masters here are well past it." Obi-Wan sighed. "I just hope that they will be brought around to my point of view before it's too late."

"Me too," said Keiran. Then the young man brought his sword up and took a fighting position.

"No more for right now," said Obi-Wan. The disappointment was evident on his face, but the young Jedi slowly brought his sword back down. "You've had a good session today, Keiran. Now I want you to think about what you have learned."

 

Great story. Keep posting.

 

Come on, people. I want to read more! WRITE!

 

<Finally, here's another new story post. >

Keiran slowly approached the table and its single occupant, holding his tray of food close to his body. He soon reached the table, one of many in the Jedi Academy's cafeteria, but the other person sitting there still did not look up. "Um, excuse me," he said.

"Yes?" Andiell NiMalle looked up from her meal, a hint of surprise appearing on her face as her eyes met Keiran's.

"Is, um, anyone sitting here?"

To Keiran's surprise, Andiell laughed. It was a sound completely devoid of humor, however. "What?" asked Keiran, a bit embarassed.

"Well, I haven't exactly been very . . . popular around here since I started training with Master Kenobi."

"I know how you feel," replied Keiran, taking a seat across from her. Some of his fellow Jedi seemed to be making subtle efforts at ostracizing him, as well. "But I think it's worth it."

"I suppose so," replied Andiell without any enthusiasm.

Keiran looked at her for a moment, then moved his gaze down to his meal. It was nerf steak. Again. He slowly sliced off a small piece, then stabbed it with a fork and moved it to his mouth. It was fairly tough, but otherwise not too bad. You'd think that in this day and age we could have more interesting meals, though, he thought. Then he shook his head. But why am I thinking about that right now, anyway? He looked back up at Andiell. Neither one of them had spoken for over a minute. The other Jedi, like Keiran, seemed to be concentrating mainly on her food. Finally, he decided to break the silence. "So, what's it like?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled through a mouthful of food. She looked a bit startled to hear his voice, and she quickly swallowed. "I'm sorry. What do you mean?"

"What's it like to be related to M-Master Skywalker," managed Keiran.

"It's . . . strange," she finally replied. "I mean, a few weeks ago I wasn't even sure that he ever existed. And now all this. . . . It certainly changes things for me. It's hard to believe that I, of all people, am his great-great-great-great . . . well, you get the point. I've never been very strong in the Force."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," said Keiran reassuringly.

"I hope so," said Andiell. "But these Sith . . . "

"Yeah, I know!" exclaimed Keiran. "I wish we could do something about them."

"That's not-" began Andiell, but Keiran continued to speak passionately.

"The Masters are acting like fools over this matter! Six Jedi Masters have disappeared, in addition to at least two other incidents, and they're still cautious? Sometimes I think I should take matters into my own hands."

"Well, I'm sure that Master Kenobi knows best," said Andiell. "You should heed his advice."

"Yeah, I guess so," replied Keiran. Then he took a deep breath and began to slice off another piece of steak.

 

<This thread is finally being brought out of the Sith Council with this new post. Any reader comments would be greatly appreciated. >

Dano Sculder was brought out of his slumber by a gentle beeping sound. As he rubbed his eyes, an amplified voice made its way into his ears. "This is your captain speaking. We've just dropped out of hyperspace in the Coruscant system. We will be landing within one half-hour. Thank you."

Even though he was tired, a smile instantly appeared on Dano's face. He was home at last! Not that he particularly liked his home, but home meant family. His family! In his mind's eye, he could see his beatiful wife and his two young children. How they must have grown in the long, hard year of his absence! But it would all be worth it now. He had earned enough money so that he and his family could move to a new planet and start a new life. It had not been easy work, but thoughts of his family had kept him going, and now he would finally get to see them--

Suddenly, the shuttle shuddered, and Dano lurched forward out of his seat. A few of the other passengers gave brief shrieks, but it was surely nothing to worry about. It couldn't be! Dano glanced out his small viewport, and there was nothing visible except for a field of stars. He was about to settle back into his seat, but then the ship shuddered again, and this time a dull, reverbrating sound accompanied the motion. What's going on? he thought. Well, I'm sure they'll tell us soon.

Sure enough, the captain's voice soon sounded over the intercom. "This is your captain. We have--" Suddenly, a brief burst of blasterfire was audible, and the voice stopped in mid-sentence.

Panicked voices began to fill the shuttle now. Dano stood up to look around, and at that moment an explosion appeared and the passenger compartment's door was blown off. Black-armored soldiers began to pour into the room, wielding dangerous-looking blaster rifles. Dano quickly ducked back down into his seat, but he knew it would do no good. A cacophony of voices and blasterfire filled the shuttle now, and all Dano Sculder could do was sit and watch as his future disappeared around him.

* * *

Darth Ebony entered the room to see his master standing still, facing the other way. Gazing out at his stars, as usual. The Twi'lek stopped two meters from Darth Spectre and bowed his head.

A minute later, the Sith Lord turned to face his apprentice. "What is the latest news, Lord Ebony?"

"Our latest raid was again successful, my master," replied Ebony. "We have captured fourteen vessels and added over five hundred sentients to our ranks."

"Excellent." A smile appeared on Darth Spectre's long, wrinkled face. "I will be ready to . . . treat them shortly." Then the Sith Lord slowly turned back to look out over the stars.

For long minutes, silence reigned. Ebony could tell that his master was thinking deep thoughts. The Sith apprentice had not been dismissed, however, so he remained standing dutifully by his Lord's side. But finally, the Twi'lek began to tire of the silence. He took a long, slow breath, then spoke. "My Lord?"

Darth Spectre turned and, somewhat surprisingly, did not rebuke his apprentice for speaking out of turn. Instead, he raised one arm and gestured toward the stars, and the warships that Ebony knew floated among them. "Prepare the fleet. The time has come for us to make our first move against the Republic."

 

I've only just noticed this topic, unfortunately, and I've just read the whole three pages. My eyes hurt. But I'm happy.

Great story, please, please please write more!!

 

Stupid double post.



[This message has been edited by Jomi Rekrab (edited 11-12-1999).]

 

Great stuff, Jeff. You're handling both storylines wonderfully. Any chance we'll be seeing more soon?

 

Way to get my hopes up for nothing, Purp! But to answer your question, yes, I should have a new post up fairly soon.

 

DEEP!!

 

Obi-Wan swung his practice sword in a straight line and at a relatively low speed. His opponent moved to block, but missed yet again. The Jedi Master stopped his weapon a centimeter from the Bothan's furry head, then stepped back and sighed. "Sarn, what was that?"

"I'm, uh, sorry . . . Master," mumbled Sarn Zor'sya. "Perhaps I'm just, um, too awed by your great skills."

Obi-Wan sighed again. He managed to avoid becoming angry, but it was not easy. The young Bothan who faced him was very enthusiastic about learning, but that was about the only thing he had going for him so far. He had come to the Academy a few months ago, but no Master had taken on the task of training him. So now they were putting him in Obi-Wan's hands.

"Relax; let the Force flow through you. I think you may be trying to hard. You must be at peace to harness the Force's power."

"Yes, Master," replied the Bothan.

"All right, Sarn, take a break for now." Obi-Wan turned to Cilian Dakar, his fourth trainee. The Mon Calamari had been observing Obi-Wan and Sarn's practice, while Keiran and Andiell were studying elsewhere at the moment. "Your turn, Cilian."

 

You da man Jeff

 

A started reading this story awhile back. Great job, especially the Obi-Wan/Luke scene. Keep up the good work.

 

Tae Sorian tossed down the channel-switcher in disgust. One thousand channels, and nothing on. I suppose I should do something else, but there's not much to do around here. He looked around his small, filthy apartment, a deep frown appearing on his face. Space is my home, not this nerf-stable. But I won't be going back up there anytime soon! Tae began to reach for a bottle of liquor, but he was interrupted by a buzzing. For a moment he was puzzled. Then he realized that it was his door signal. Why would anyone want to see me? he thought, slowly getting up from his seat and walking toward the door. When he reached it, he looked at the small black-and-white image on the viewscreen beside it. A man stood outside. The man was fairly tall, had light-colored hair, and wore a leather jacket. He looked vaguely familiar, but Tae couldn't quite place him.

"What do you want?" snarled Tae.

"I want to talk to you," replied the man. "We met before, last week at the tavern."

It took a few seconds, but soon Tae remembered. "That's not exactly an incident that I like to think about a lot," he replied bitterly. "So why exactly are you here?"

"Just open the door."

Tae did so, but he drew his blaster first. When the door slid open, he had his weapon instantly trained on the other man. But then, with a sudden flash of movement, the tables had been turned. The blaster was now in the blond man's hands, and it was pointed squarely at Tae. "Let's step inside, shall we?"

"I guess I don't have much of a choice." Tae stepped back to allow the other man entrance. His visitor closed the door behind him, never taking his eyes off Tae. Then he spoke.

"I'm here with a . . . proposal, if you will. I know that you're concerned about the recent disappearances around here. And I want to do something about them."

"How are you going to do that?" snorted Tae.

"I was thinking of putting together a little, um, delegation to the Senate on Republica. I thought that you might be of help."

"You think they'll listen to you?" replied Tae incredulously. "And people say I'm crazy. Besides, I couldn't go to the galactic capital. There are warrants out for my arrest in at least ten systems!"

"There are ways that you could be disguised," replied the blond man.

"Maybe, but this will still never work."

"Perhaps it won't, but I think it's worth a try." The man's blue eyes met Tae's, and remained there in an unnerving gaze. "If this works, you'll be back in business. If not, well . . ." The man glanced around the apartment, then looked back at Tae. "Do you want to live the rest of your life here?"

"You've got a point there," replied Tae with a sigh. "I guess I'll think about it. But who are you, anyway?"

"That's not important right now. And you don't have much time to think about it. We're leaving tomorrow. So are you in?"

Tae briefly weighed his options. The man was right, he realized. He didn't have much to lose, but he had a whole lot to gain. "I'm . . . I'm in."