Before - Legends The Sith Hunters - 7/22/16 - September 15, 2016....

Yikes. How in the world did Roe get his claws on those pretties?

OT: McBain... does his family sell fast food?

 

You'll see soon how the man did get those beauties. Here's a disturbing hint: he didn't get them from the same person.

Speaking again about the 1950's Sci-fi homage: if you don't see it, the Wettlespear is..... A DEATH RAY!

DA-DA-DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

That's right: I'm actually going to take the time to separate the difference between laser weapons and disruptor weapons in SW and....A DEATH RAY!

DA-DA-DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

-----

Yes, it's an inside joke. It's meant to be. I'm just doing what everyone else is doing in paying homage via remakes of classic sci-fi. Sure, with better budgets, better manufacturing, and CGI, anything can look flasher, less toy like, cooler, but in its heart of hearts its still....

....

A DEATH RAY!

DA-DA-DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

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BTW - is it DA-DA-DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! or DUN-DUN-DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!?

As for McBain - actually, he's named after a town not that very far from me.

FORWARD, MORE VERY SOON!

 

CHAPTER 3.2

Only a kilometer away from where the scavengers were trying and failing to dissect the electromagnetic array and where Roe the Clawdite had died was the location of the secured base that housed the Sith?s chosen terrorists and their hostages.

It was not what one would call a traditional base. Months ago after being trained by the Sith?s Hands, the terrorists and their handler Noss Phetter had arrived on Breslin and killed off the squatters that would had been in their way. They created the installation with the available junk on the planet, utilizing the ready materials as a ?natural? camouflage. Old and broken containers were fixed and held together by patching and ratcheting; their purpose was to mainly hold the hostages with the upper section, the second deck, acting as a look out as well as a command center. Power was supplied by their ships through installed, in ground power couplings to the base; their large freighter, powering the base now, was just as camouflaged as the base with metallic scrap and manufactured junk fused welled to the dorsal side of the ship. Once finished, the thirty trained and well armed male beings ? mostly Humans, all of them poor, destitute, with criminal records, some with ships ? proceeded as planned. As it was with the Trade Federation at the beginning of their invasion of their home world, the unarmed Nubian surveyors and their equally unarmed families surrendered with no fight.

Upon arrival, the hostages were taken from the heavy freighter and by blaster point forced to move fast through a series of purposely-created trash corridors; paths cut into hills of trash that hid the sky above from view, and trap corridors with high halls where from the exposed top the guards could pick off anyone they wanted. Rushed they were like cattle; the children that fell behind were threatened, forcing the adults to pick them up; Phetter had told the terrorist they were not to cuddle any of their ?paychecks?; the ?cash?, as he explained, had to remain quivering.

They were introduced to their new home, one with little ventilation, no food, no water, no lighting, and once all was inside the double doors were closed and welded shut. They then closed the hatch that had would keep the command section separate from the holding section. The terrorists then spread out and began to do their duties of guarding the location and protecting their ship. Though well supplied and prepared the group was operating from a position of assumed strength, for newcomers and passing regulars did not know of the base, and those who did thought they had enough heavy cannons, complex sensor arrays, a dedicated communication system, and more people to repeal an assault on it.

Darth Tyranus, as Darth Sidious had ordered him, did not supply those fundamental necessities of excellent security; in turn, Tyranus had Phetter train the men just enough to be functional. Still, the males were driven to viciousness by the urge of greed and had not needed the occasional Phetter pep talk about the evils of capitalism. It did not matter which rich person they were stealing from. They had decided for themselves to barter heavy, and once the transfer of credits was complete the hostages were just going to disappear. The terrorists would walk away. The hostages, imprisoned in the sealed container, were going nowhere.

The outside perimeter guards took note the dull thud of the electromagnet earlier even though they could not see it. The same guards then spotted flashes of light high in the sky towards the eastern horizon. The light, very tiny at first, grew in size as it appeared they were drawing closer, tracking west. The light flashing stopped, and after a time all was dark in the cloudy night.

The eastern group of guards saw the parachute before they saw they saw the landing pod it carried. It was the damnedest thing they had ever seen; the landing pod design ? from the phosphorescent parachutes to the underside chemical thruster package to the silvery hull plating ? was right out of their learning text pads from school,

 

Good, good.

 

Oh, for quick response: you get a posty!




CHAPTER 4.0

The negotiations were short.

Juna had to admit at least the scum bags Gigg and Vout did try. She even spotted them a full second of reaction. They showed every sign of having trained reflexes, second-to-second stamina, and honed form that made them much faster than normal entities with Desgaugi A-40 blaster rifles. They were good this close as they were afar: not military good, but clearly desperate fools hell trained to act and kill out of dire desperation. They moved, in that second head start, with cool, smooth, and again desperate, efficiency.

The second ended.

The red, coherent energy that emerged from the mouth of the krayt dragon pummel of her lightsaber found Gigg?s neck. As head and body went their separate ways, Juna had a hand stretched out towards Vout. The shock Vout felt of being pulled over the comm equipment and towards the twirling Juna ended very quickly as the top half and the bottom half of his body landed precariously in two locations, and he lived just long enough to know that.

Shutting down her weapon, Juna raised her left hand and stared at an area just above the back of it. Unbeknownst to the guards that had remained at their post while the others had chased Juna?s landing pod, and unbeknownst to the very dead Gigg and Vout, Juna had made her holographic transmission from the roof of the container stack. If Gigg had paid attention to all of the transmission, he would have saw her fedarok-leather cloak billowing in Breslin?s wind currents. The guards did not see Juna due to her dark colors, and for the holographic transmission she was using the Nighty-Nite Cool Lite Storybook Imager; a holoprojection device, developed by Rapier Technologies? Children and Families Division, that utilizes the cooler light rays of the spectrum to present pictures and stories on a wall or a ceiling for sentient species who are sensitive to regular and infrared light; the light that captured Juna and projected Gigg could not be seen with normal eyes.

With the Force flowing through her eyes, Juna could see the energy of the Cool Lite projection over her hand, showing her what her Miniature Imaging Transmission Electrical Sensors ? her MITES ? were detecting in the immediate area around her and around the electromagnetic obelisk that powered them. The MITES were everywhere ? it was what Vout had felt when he brushed at his face -- telling her everything in that invisible hologram: Two guards were just below shadowing the sealed container; all twenty-seven hostages were alive but the container was slowly suffocating them and the intoxicating atmosphere that filtered through what ventilation there was began to cause them problems; fourteen of the perimeter guards were now arriving at the sight of the landing pod and the obelisk, chasing away or shooting the scavengers so they could look at their discoveries; the remaining twelve terrorists were out of their normal positions.

A distraction was in order. Juna waited for the terrorists around the obelisk and the landing pod to get within ordinance range. She activated the five second timer. The landing pod?s thrusters activated just enough to cause a pause in the terrorists before the high explosive package in the obelisk went off. The MITES stopped transmitting; the roar of the explosion shook the containers. The chemical fire the erupted was part of the explosion, making certain maximum damage was achieved within the blast radius, making certain anyone that did survive did not survive for long.

Juna moved quickly towards the narrow opening in the far wall that acted as the command center?s only window. Through it she somersaulted and twisted; midway through her twist she activated her lightsaber. She landed just behind the two guards that guarded the hostage?s container and that had been distracted by the explosion. She stood up at the same time the terrorist were collapsing to the ground with no life left in them to complain about her treatment of them. The high walls had shielded her attack

 

Intriguing. I sense traces of Nadja Moranna... Good work, Juna.

 

Well, given Juna's influences when she grew up, it would be natural for her adopt what worked best. Ahead of those influences would be Nadja Moranna, who didn't waste her breath, her time, or the breath and time of others. Something went down, Nadja acted; she didn't discuss it in a committee, or take it back to the Jedi Council. Nadja knew what had to be done and did it.

In that comparison, Juna didn't wait for Queen Amidala to help, she didn't hope for the Jedi Order to act; she had the means, methods, and know how to act and took such action. But there are difference beyond what is written, and what some may infer. Even then, does it make Juna less heroic in general?

Always in debate, a question.

FORWARD!

 

And not getting ahead of the International Holiday known as the Super Bowl....

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CHAPTER 4.1

The sole survivor of Juna Rapier?s onslaught struggled to crawl across the makeshift tarmac, bleating tearfully at the site of his removed limbs just laying around him. Only hours ago he had enjoyed every moment of the operation, and loved the fact that this was going to be a very handsome pay day; thoughts of enslaved female Garns serving him goatgrass on satin pillows filled the empty, worthless hours of his existence. He did not care about the Nubians they took, whether they lived or died so long as he got paid for all the trouble he went through. Obviously he was regretful now because he had failed: no hostages, no credits, no arms, perhaps no stomach just by the sheer pain he felt in his midsection, and eventually no life.

One of his eyes picked up movement ahead of him and he froze. It was not too long ago that the Garn and his friends had shot, stabbed, beaten and scared away a lot of the natives of Breslin to secure their place. It was not lost on anyone on the trash world that the controllers who ruled the trash with impunity and disregard had been wiped out. The vultures were going to pick through the remains, have their fill of blasters, physical currency, clothes, supplies, and perhaps roast some fresh flesh over an open fire. It was known that cannibalism was not above the permanent residence of Breslin.

?Holy crud, you got messed the smeck up!? The stating the obvious commentary had came the source of the movement. An illumination stick came on to reveal a mature male Bothan. He was dressed too well to be a resident or a regular visitor of Breslin. His exposed hair rippled in a way to show that he was amused; a common Bothan trait. ?Man, not only did you get your ass handed to you it was shipped C.O.D.?

?Leak off?Bothan,? bleated the Garn, wishing he had at least one of his arms and a blaster.

The Bothan squatted down next to the Garn and said, ?Well, hell hath no fury like a Dark Lord of the Sith scorned.?

The Garn looked at the Bothan upon hearing the dreaded word that came out of his muzzle. Folklore had been bad enough for many in the Fringe, but after the Battle of Naboo it was not just a rumor, speculation, or a joke: the Sith were back. It was a short blurb in the major news channels, but everyone on the wrong side of the law heard story after story about the creature named Darth Maul, who had killed a Jedi Master in the capital city of Naboo, Theed.

?So, tell me,? began the Bothan again, hands spread out before him. ?How does it feel to have survived the Sith??

Noting the Bothan?s sarcasm, the Garn choked out, ?Did I not tell you to leak off??

The Bothan nodded in agreement, but then said, ?Say, wouldn?t you like some medical attention??

?Crisis, yes!? bleated the Garn loudly, and then he groaned as his diaphragm disagreed with his raised voice. ?Otherwise?..?

?Yeah, I know, leak off,? mumbled the Bothan. He held up a finger. ?Whoops, I forgot: it?s gonna cost you.?

Sighing heavily, the Garn could not believe his luck. Bothans were notorious for their capitalism practices; sometimes they gave the gangster-held territories a run for their credits in the department of bad names. Most of the stories were utter lies, but a few had some grains of truth such as the Bothan space yacht captain two years ago that started an auction, to where the highest bidder got a ride in the emergency escape pod because the space yacht?s engine core was breeched. Sometimes people just could not make stuff like that up.

?No?credits,? struggled the Garn.

?Oh, I know that, hell you guys were going to make money on this hostage deal. You stole from the Sith, Son: you thumb printed a credit transfer your body couldn?t approve. By the way, next time you do anything like this,? the Bothan got closer, ?don?t brag about it in the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine. Bothans like me just die laughing every time you smuts do that.?

The Bothan slapped at the Garn?s sh

 

Grim + Si'ing+ an overambitious Sith Hand = ??

Good post!

 

Grim + Si'ing+ an overambitious Sith Hand = ??

A couple of plots that end up being more related to one another than the characters involved....

And once again, I do not write for 'LOST', just as I did not write for 'Alias'.

------------------------------------

Speaking of such things: I actually finally got around to watching 'LOST'! On my DirecTV is the channel G4 and with the sudden free time I have I finally got around to getting caught up on the show. Very intricate: unlike some sci-fi shows that just hope everyone forget what was done in episode eleven of season one in order to get away with the sudden change in the story by episode three of season three COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH HEROES COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH!

Can I get some water, please?

 

CHAPTER 5.0

Having reverted the freighter back to real space after the journey queue on the navigation system chimed, Juna piloted the stolen vessel right for the nearest group of Nubian patrol vessels. Prior to the Invasion of Naboo the last time there was such a heavy military showing around the primary home world of the Royal Nubian States was during her reign as Queen and at the apex of the Vhinech Conflict. It was quite clear the hard lessons had been learned by Queen Amidala and the Royal Court when the N-One snub fighters turned hard and headed right for the unidentified freighter with no transponder signal with Juna?s sensors detecting their weapons going hot. They were prepared to fight: they were exercising the Angelleia Doctrine.

The Trade Federation had taught the then new Queen that any form of military nativity on a planet?s part was just asking for a major war machine to invade it. Naboo had never been a big spender when it came to defense, and never in its noble history had it ever started a war. As Queen Angelleia, just as the Vhinech threat took root in the galaxy, Juna had the audacity in many Nubians? view to double its meager military forces, its reserves and defenses, a unpopular move that gained favor when she utilized it to defend Naboo?s sovereignty and saved Nubian lives abroad. She made more defense agreements than anyone else in their history and had Naboo aide the Republic, the Jedi Order, Corellia, Sullust and Bothawui in some of their operations. After leading three Nubian operations personally a few scholars had dubbed her as ?Naboo?s Warrior Queen? and ?Naboo?s Greatest Warrior?; all of her actions politically and militarily, tempered with the Moranna Philosophy, were called the Angelleia Doctrine.

However when Juna stepped down her successor King Veruna had rolled military increases back to where they were before her reign began, and then very unwisely cut Naboo?s military strength another fifty percent every year for the next five years. Veruna then burned whatever bridges Angelleia had created, killing the relationships she had fostered with the other major powers in the galaxy. And to be fair to Queen Amidala, what she had inherited after King Veruna?s defeat in the elections was a paper thin defensive net, only a fraction of Naboo?s fabled piloting superiority, and absolutely no allies. Although Naboo?s military strength under Queen Angelleia was still no match for the Trade Federation it could have held back the initial blockade and give Angelleia?s hard fought for allies time to assemble and aide them. Since she had regained Naboo?s freedom, Queen Amidala had brought back the defensive elements of the Angelleia Doctrine, and this time no one cried foul. The lesson had been learned, and besides that Amidala was untouchable politically due to her heroics.

?N-Ones to my port, this is Lady Juna Rapier Angelleia aboard the arriving Rodian long freight, tailed by the N-Four Genie,? hailed Juna on all known Nubian frequencies. Unfortunately Juna did not know any of the new pilots, and it was not as if she told anyone on Naboo what she was doing. After Queen Amidala had offered to help and put all of Naboo?s resources on recovering her employees, Juna had made a decision and then had politely declined Her Majesty?s offer. This was going to be surprise to everyone else; in some ways Juna thought she may be in trouble. Amidala may not have a problem with it, but her Royal Court would undoubtedly try to sway her lone opinion; the status quo of Theed, who had a firm hold on both of the Queen?s ears, just hated Juna, so it must had pained them terribly in their respective loins every time their Royal choice to ignore their advice on the subject.

Juna continued, ?I have the Nubians who had been kidnapped from Geintaude on board. All is well, but do not fire! Repeat, do not fire! My Royal Codec is Epsilon Actual three B-A. My call sign is Dragon Leader. Voice Ident confirm.?

As the silence ticked away, she double checked again to make sure none of the vessel?s shields and weapons were even

 

Juna Rapier had suffered many traumas in her thirty-four years of life; her slim, perfect body had only bared the damage of them twice, in disfigurement, and then in metamorphosis. Every trauma caused by the agents of the dark side of the Force, from the mad fallen Jedi Jurivicious Pern, to the obsessive evil of Magus Prophet, to the everlasting wickedness that was the inherited spirit of her grandmother Darth Rune. Even once, intentionally but for what was perceived as for a common good, her own Mother Naressa Rapier had caused her some suffering; Naressa just wanted to prevent Juna from ever using the Force, from falling into the darkness.

Juna had learned over the first half of her hectic life that she was a Sith Maiden, a term that at the time really had any context that she could honestly accept. She had been called the Dark Hope of the Sith by Pern and others like him; a claim she denied over and over again. The Jedi Order referred to her as such an evil creature; one of their own, the Jedi Master Qualeggoes, had tried to kill her in order to prevent the horrors of many prophecies from becoming true. Prophet sought her for her power and to bare his offspring. Rune wanted to take over her body, and extinguish her soul forever, in order to fulfill her apparently predicted destiny. During those dark and difficult times Juna had done everything she could to fight it, by being a person of virtue, a leader of high standers, and a defender of justice. She tried, she struggled, and she would fail: she knew now but not back then that as a Sith Maiden her nature was the dark side of the Force; it was her life, and it was the life she had to live.

However, besides her Mother, others had come: some to set her course and be her counsel; one, no matter what, no matter if she had fallen, always came for her and fought for very soul. That one was her late Husband, the late Vhinphyc Jedi Master Enothchild Sarch.

Thinking of Enothchild at the moment made Juna softly cry and clutch at the rings that hung from the necklace. Enothchild had saved her so many times from the first time they met on Vhanba so long ago. He had healed her fractured spirit time and again with his guidance, his wisdom, and most important of all his tremendously powerful heart. He had trained her many times, always doing his best to show her the Jedi way, and had even attempted to get into the Jedi Order. Since the first day they had met the then eight year old Ambassador Juna Rapier had fallen in love with him; something more than just hero worship, a pure desire to give her heart over to him. Enothchild did not fully know her desires, and years later a misunderstanding nearly shattered their relationship forever. But they had reconnected like no other, and shared a love no others had ever had. Their love went beyond what other beings could experience. Destiny had bound them together as soul mates. And Juna could never, ever say no to being held by Enothchild so her head could lay against his impossibly massive chest to listen to his beautiful heart; an incredible, indescribable experience very few had ever enjoyed. A heart that lightened the shadows, chased away the fears, poisoned anger, and lifted off the chains of sorrow; a heart that could forgive any sin; a heart that could look past the Dark Side of the Force and see the real Juna Rapier and bring her forth; a heart that had helped her find a way to live with her darkness and use it for the good of all who were innocent.

Such destinies of love were often cruel in the end. At a time when she had become most angry at him, when he had slept with her mother Naressa, Juna had cursed Enothchild with a slap, and left upon him was an un-healing bruise. In prophecy, it was then Juna?s fate as the Dark Hope of the Sith to kill the one known as the Tragic Hero, he who bore the Mark of the Flames. Enothchild Sarch?s life was filled with its tragedy as much as it was filled with his heroism: he had been saved from the execution policies of his people for being Force sensitive, and he had watched his Jedi Master a

 

Looks like it's a power that Juna has mastered to turn on and off at will. Useful.

 

Well that was quick!

One minute after post and you're responding, speed reader.

Hopefully you read the next post.

FORWARD!

 

Opening her eyes, Juna felt very at peace with who she was and what she had to do tonight. She stared at the rings in her hand. She then realized she was no longer alone.

Rose stood resolute in front of her and said, ?We?re home.?

?A-Already,? questioned Juna. Although hyperspace technology as a whole had made tremendous strides in just the past ten years, Mesuera was one of the farthest planets in the Royal Nubian States from the central world at least eight hours away. ?I guess I was really out of it.?

?You have been meditating the whole time,? assured Rose with very little emotion in her voice. ?Your dinner is ruined.?

Sighing, Juna just said, ?There?s plenty to eat in the pantry.? She lingered in her seat though as she contemplated the significance of how long it took her to cool down. She rubbed the rings between her fingers.

Rose said nothing.

But Juna said, ?What?s on your mind, get it out.?

?You know where I stand,? was all that she would say.

Juna stood up and glared down at the woman that had been her adopted ward; as a girl, she had been brought back to life as a slave to those of the dark side persuasion. For years Juna had made every effort to make Rose an independent entity; all she had accomplished was making Rose a very blunt slave; only a hull plating sledgehammer was blunter. Rose took Juna?s philosophy of being truthful to a very edgy extreme; she was careful to make sure Rose was not in a position where she had to give an opinion whenever they were out in public. Rose, though, was very good at her job; a regular jill-of-all-trades. Beautiful and smart, all she lacked real independence and a soul.

?Remind me,? said Juna. She grabbed her things and began to walk. She waited for the ramp to lower.

Rose was right behind her and began. ?Through you, the Dark Side has once again triumphed.?

?Swell,? Juna said. When the ramp touched the soft snow covered grounds on Juna?s massive private property in the mountain range of Mesuera she exited. It was early evening, in the winter, and the cold did cause some shivering. She needed the cold, the real cold, to keep her cool; sometimes Rose could push the right buttons.

?The fools that had stolen your property,? continued Rose, ?deserved what naturally came to them. To steal from you brings forth their proper destiny.?

?I?ve told you not to call my employees ?property?,? reminded Juna.

?You told me not to call them that in front of them,? stressed Rose. ?Outside their presence, they are fair game to the truth.?

Rose, of course, had landed the Flora Noir perfectly; Juna?s little house on the prairie was not far, just on top of the hill. Juna said, ?Just because I say they?re ?my people? doesn?t make them things. You?re not a thing; you are not my property.?

Rose only said, ?You gave me a choice: I choose to serve you, my Mistress. You commanded me to be your council in the absence of Muriel. I therefore take such service seriously, as you would want me to.?

Juna stopped, let in and let out a foggy breathe of air; how she missed Muriel Thahada Arnes, and her husband Dizzy Arnes; both had their own versions of wisdom. Muriel?s thinking was from her educated background and Guardian training; while Dizzy?s wise points to ponder came strictly from his life experience as a smuggler and stumblebum in the Fringe. The two were complete opposites that just worked together; a figurative stand-up act comprising a straight woman and her wise-assed Sullustan. Alas they weren?t here; how she missed them so much?.

?The truth is what it is,? reminded Rose, using a familiar point saying Juna had taught her about quite a bit. ?Without the Dark Side, your mission would have failed. With it, you gained back what was taken from you. Not just the hostages.?

Juna turned away; this was the part she did not want to hear again. Rose continued, ?With the Dark Side you are gaining back everything else that had been taken from you. Yet you shy away from your greatest advantage. It is no secret to you how your mother dominated the business world after your father had die

 

I was referring to the 5.0 post, actually.....

The two following posts are good too, much like chocolate.

The Rapier Death Ray! Now why would Bendian (if it were indeed him) commission such a toy? 'Tis a grim thought indeed.

(Nice Batman reference, btw)

 

Thanks, Delightful!

I had to give props to 'The Dark Knight' because, without the movie, what I will be trying to convey could had been lost to some folks; just as 'LOTR' had done for the Gessa Sage years ago, I was able to provide a related context. And it does go further into the Batman-Ironman mythos in that they relate to us because as billionaires they can pretty much buy anything and anyone they want, BUT instead they do the job themselves, and do so with their resources (i.e. hurt bad guys and break things). Still, Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark don't get to there from here without suffering, without loss, and without gain.

As much as it would be easier, however, those guys say "No, it's my problem; I'll deal with it.". Juna's in that position based on what she's gone through. She did walk away from it when she gave up Bella, and it was very easy to do since she pretty much had to start over while still existing in a crap storm of lawsuits over the Shut Down and her lost of standing in the public. That's why, in both Chapter 4 and here, she took that one moment that would have been considered selfishness for accepting accolades for what she had done and absorbed it.

This is a 'reflection' chapter, of the Invasion of Naboo that snapped her out of being lackadaisical on heroics; easy when everyone says 'we need to be saved by a hero, but not you Juna Rapier; we'll wait'. It was not the invasion; it was the Sith that brought her back to the status of active hero, but not out of any real noble action. As much as she went to save her people, that constant question was always on her mind: "How does this affect Belladonna?". Unfortunately for Juna, she has not had contact with the Jedi at all since giving up her Daughter, nor has she contacted Casper (items that will be explained later on). So, she's in the 'dark' when it comes to Bella becoming Angelleia Knightshade. This is also where the Jedi Code interferes, but that's for another post.

The other 'reflection' in this chapter is the line 'Young Juna was naïve and dead'. That's telling you right away that this Juna Rapier is not that young girl the public adored (goes back to the earlier paragraphs; Juna pretty much fell hard in the public eye like a RL childhood actor). She's fought every imagined, figurative, and real wars anyone could think up and it made her half Nadja Moranna and half Naressa Rapier. But unlike her mother she is not a 'last resort' kind of person.

Yet, she does her best not to be so glaring obvious, but that's hard with Rose Faith being her mirror. Rose tells Juna how Juna is really feeling deep down inside as the Dark Side of the Force just continues to grow. Ironically, Rose is that person Juna wanted to be, someone who told the truth all the time, but not as blunt as a photon torpedo. That's why there's times Juna just wished she never saved Rose from Nal Hutta.

More soon.....

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As you can see, I finally put the 2nd computer out to pasture; the pasture that is my mom's house for use, that is. After three major stories written on it, two hard drives, several albums worth of music later, I just happened to be at Walmart Wednesday and, shock of shockers, I saw a eMachine for 300 bucks that had WindowsXP for an OS! Well I couldn't be more happy because Vista I hear too often is bad (not a nightmare, but just bad) and gone are the days I think close to high end is everything. So, as I type on the new keyboard, I find myself content with the tiny little desktop that is small than my computer screen.

But goodbye Old Horse; it's been fun.

BTW - If you're looking for a alternative Word Processor that's free, and you don't have the connection speed for OpenOffice, give AbiWord a try. It's not tight on sentence structure like MS Word is, and it's spell check isn't the greatest, but Firefox does a good job with that, plus AbiWord is both free and NOT a RAM hog. You can save documents in .doc too to switch back and forth between MS Word and AbiWord.

FORWARD!

 

CHAPTER 6.0

Not far away from the Senate, deeply centered in the Chancellor?s District of the central world of the Republic, stood one of the very few buildings that went against the ?get taller? construction norms of Coruscant; it went for depth and width over length and symmetry. It, unfortunately so, reflected the institution?s hypocritical view of ever-expanding philosophy and never having enough money, and thus it was a very ugly structure with too many artistic visions attached to one another. In spite of such ignorance, the University of Coruscant was still considered the highest place of all education.

That is if one could afford the credits just to talk to the dean of admissions if one were not one of the chosen privileged. Scholarships only went so far as to show that someone got their name ? and their name ONLY ? into the institution. A full time college there was no such thing as taking only a few classes a semester at a time. If by some miracle of high finance was achieved for any entity to pay their tuition in full, there were the other expenses that had to be paid for. The campus had no housing; the cheap apartments were found in the uncivilized, unprotected underground levels of the planet. The university used exclusive data pads to prevent any form of cheating: security patches to defeat the latest slicer move around started at a thousand credits every time. Thanks largely to the university, stock analysis recommended data card manufactures as a retirement investment. Every aspect of the experience had a very high price tag, thus having many in the galaxy that fell far short of even applying ? application one thousand credits, application fee three thousand credits ? to dub the university as ?U of Course U Cant?.

There were a few exceptions to the polished and poisoned rules: schooling as part of federal service; that meant the Republic as whole picked up a student?s price tag. Of course this loop hole, guaranteed by Senate-passed legislation, allowed a Senator?s short time intern or a lobbyist?s interests to attend the university free of any charge for them; the taxpayer paid the bill. However there were legitimate purposes: Jedi Knights that needed special studies in specific fields was one example, members of the Republic Guard receiving investigation and science training was another.

Shortly after the Senate elections that had followed the Shut Down, producing the largest turnover in the Republic?s history, the new Senate had voted to cut down the size of its combined conventional forces. They moved nearly all the monies to another government sector ? University of Coruscant. This caused a significant contraction of the combined Republic military; there were no more ground forces, and the Republic Navy was reduced to ten fleets. The Republic Guard, the military?s reserve division, acted primarily as Coruscant?s policing force before the drawdown, and so when the cuts came they became solely the enforcers of law. They added more investigative divisions in light of the ever increasing work load on the Jedi Order, which required more training, and required experienced teachers. With many older members of the Republic Guard given their discharges, the University of Coruscant searched hard for any member and former members of law enforcement to teach the new Guard. It was a difficult search, and therefore the pay packages had to be extraordinarily high for the positions. With difficulties still, the school was left to make a very controversial hire. And since the Invasion of Naboo, the First Classroom for Advanced Interstellar Investigation Techniques had a difficult time maintaining its starting class size because of that hire.

The professor in charge of the arena-styled classroom, Branch Lur, was a Neimoidian, at one time an Investigative High Inquisitor of the Trade Federation. He was once a Neimoidian in fair standing with then Trade Minister Hidu Bog; ?fair? because his definition of justice ran in contradiction to the practices of the Trade Federation power players and opportunists, but he was

 

Interesting! I see Lur getting back into the investigative business before long, no?

 

What would the Gessa Saga be without an investigation?

But the interesting thing is that it will be a Neimoidian running the show. How the times have changed.....

Before hope is realized, you must consider......

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CHAPTER 6.1

Somehow, Branch managed to get to the consulate building with minutes to spare against the long delayed traffic of Coruscant?s Soho District. Somehow he kept from having a massive stroke after he had arrived and leapt out of his personal vehicle and marched hurriedly to the front gates. Oozing unnaturally from overheating and stress, Branch breached the front gates without any of the anti-Trade Federation protesters that had blocked the entrance or the guards stopping him. Now on sovereign land of his former homeland, Branch heavy breathing and building panic did not let up at the slightest.

From the entrance came the rather flippant form of Cus Tadlan, the Assistant to Arbiter of Inventories Hidu Bog. Cus remarked, ?By the mucks that formed us, pray tell why is a traitor of the Trade Federation doing on Trade Federation sovereign land? Apparently you had quite enough of the outsider?s world??

Branch gathered his watery breath and with the numb hand with the data pad in it he said, ?Curve your sarcasm, Assistant Arbiter, you know why I am here!?

The sound of the main gate closing, followed by the noise of the field generator that would erect the compound?s privacy field, drew the two Neimoidians? notice. The Neimoidian guards looked much happier that the field was up; they no longer had to take the insults or look at the protesters as the energy muted all sound from outside and obscured what happened on either side of the reddish hue of light.

Branch turned back to Tadlan and grumbled, ?So, shall you deactivate this ?bomb? or should I just ?blow us up???

Tadlan showed his amusement and just took the data pad from Branch with a calm jerk. ?It is so easy to fool such a law fearing individual such as yourself, Lur. You have been corrupted by Republic naivety.?

?No,? said Branch definitely, ?I know our people?s cruelty to one another.? He gestured towards the data pad. ?Such cowardice is not beneath you.?

?Cowardice?? Tadlan got huffy at the very notion. ?Would you have come if we had asked you??

?Of course not!? Branch looked behind him again, taking note of the distorted image of the chanting protestors made mute by the privacy field. ?I do not presume I will be leaving of my own free will either.?

?You have us all wrong, Lur,? assured Tadlan like a rancor inviting its prey to stay awhile for tea. He gestured towards the entrance of the building.

?I see: you wish to kill me inside.?

Blubbering, Tadlan just said, ?The ?bomb? could have gone off in your classroom.?

Branch knew his people and said as he passed Tadlan, ?But where is the joy in that, not to watch an enemy die.?

Tadlan just smiled after him. Branch had little choice in the matter and had wished he did not panic like he had done; old Neimoidian habits, instilled in their youths when they were forced to fight one another over food, never died. Having lived among the other bipeds, he saw advantages and disadvantages to parents being fully in control of the raising and caring of their children; he did wonder why those other youths would sometimes be so resentful to their parents, it was not as if they had gave them up to strangers to starve them, freeze them, and placed them in a situation where others like them were dying to eat and stay warm. It had happened to Branch, to Tadlan, and to all the other Neimoidians not born into the Phew society; Branch?s own children were spared the bitterness. Bitterness was not a Neimoidian word, but Branch learned of the word a long time ago and finally had the perfect way to describe to his children the view of the experience known as Hag?bub?pe. The ?Rearing? taught Neimoidians, who were weaker in body compared to the Humans, how to be mentally ruthless: perfect for business, perfect for survival; survival, after all, was good bus

 

CHAPTER 6.2

?That was too easy,? complained Cus Tadlan long after Branch Lur had left the consulate building. The underling to Hidu Bog paced in front the desk, one of the dozen souvenirs Bog had collected from his excavation of Rapier Manor. How Bog loved to see the reactions of the old political guard who recognized the desk of the late, great Bendian Rapier. He loved it more that he flaunted the fact he had gotten away with it at Nute Gunray?s expense.

Tadlan was sounding more and more like Rune Haako with every step he took. ?Hidu, Lur is too full of himself on having to be right. He should have been clawing his way back to Neimoidia years ago if he was so loyal.?

?You do not know Branch Lur, Cus,? said Bog. ?He is an honorable male, always had been.? He considered the data card that held the copy of their contract in his hand. ?He has changed, though.?

?Has he??

?Yes, he was never so??

?Human??

Bog gave Tadlan a look. ?Do not be so disgusting. I cannot say what it is?but ever since that Kurr-Krendel murders?? He shook his head. ?I really cannot say, it had been years since we had talked. Maybe I had missed something back then.?

Bog leaned back in his chair. ?But we need him now. I am more worried what would happen if Lord Sidious discovered what I have been doing behind his Gunray?s back.?

?You do believe he does not know?? questioned Tadlan, fearing a moment like this. Bog had always played his game close to the edge. The profits had always outweighed the risks, but this time they were playing with a very dangerous fire.

?That it was I and not Gunray who had been trying to recreate an anti-Jedi weapon without his approval? That it was I who was trying to create a weapon that could also be used on the Sith? Are you brain dead! What in the nine blue hells would make you think I would want the Sith to know this! Crises sakes, Cus, Lord Sidious would skin me alive and then force me to write a dying apology in my own blood on my freshly flayed skin!?

?All I am saying is that he has resources better than the Bothans,? pointed out Tadlan. ?It is only a matter of time before he knows about it.?

?Why do you think I hide here in the consulate,? said Bog. ?I do not trust home until my mistake with Roe has been corrected. I cannot go to Lord Sidious with this: he will tell Gunray, and despite what Gunray is telling us he has not disowned the Sith. I do not believe that for one instance. It is the Sith that is keeping him out of prison; how I am not absolutely sure.?

Bog leaned over the Rapier desk and continued. ?Until Gunray is removed as Viceroy, and until the Wettlespear is recovered, my ass is very deep in mud. I need Lur; he is good at what he does. I cannot go to the Hutts or other sources for they will use it to their advantages; if I go to the Sith, I am dead. If Lur keeps this close to the chest, I will get the Wettlespear back. If he does not, then he will tell the story of Nute Gunray?s paraphasic wrong doing. Gunray will surely get struck from three different directions. From the Republic a healthier probe into his misleading. From the Directorate they will ask the question about his mental status and question Haako?s as well. From the Sith?.well, the Sith may at the very least let Gunray and Haako swing.?

?But Hidu,? started Tadlan again in fear, ?how did some ragged, dirt poor Human male figure out how to make the Wettlespear work??

That was a very good question in Hidu Bog?s own mind. When he had set up the deal with the Clawdite broker, he had told the infamous Roe that he was Rune Haako and acting on behalf of Nute Gunray he desired to sell a rather useless weapon. It was useless; none of Bog?s private scientist could make the Wettlespear work ? others had, but that was long ago and those Neimoidians could not be found.

After hundreds of millions of dollars spent, and the loss of an important outside contributor decades ago ? who proved they could create anything possibly imagined -- Project Wettlespear was an expensive failure for Bog. Being the flexible Neimoidian he was, he had decided to u

 

Here goes the investigation. good luck to the investigator.

(The name play is getting better! To be Bogged down by Grim Cusses...)

(Just caught up. DRL is ... heh.... grim. GFFA is better!)

 

Thanks, Delight.

SIGH, yes, crazy name bliss! I have to follow GL's tradition of naming characters. By the time it got around to naming the Royal Handmaidens in Episode One, he just said "Smeck, I'm out. I'm fresh out. Seriously, I'm totally out of names. McCallum, you give it a try!"

The result: Saché, Yané, Rabé, Sabé and Eirtaé.

Since then, Producer Rick McCallum has not been allowed to touch a stapler, even if he did pay for it.

-----------

Oh Force, for those who don't know: that's been an on going joke here with Loyal Lurkers and the rest who post. Originally started out with me saying it was a conspiracy, which if you thought about, when you threw in Padmé into the mix, you realized GL just, you know, gave up on naming. Or on that particular day, he was really fond with names ending with the symbolic é, who knows? So I first joked that, perhaps, it was a encryptic message.

Its just a reminder the the GFFA does not have to elaborately serious because, hey, the creator really hadn't.

You have to playdoh names as much as possible to get them to be original, be it name of characters or name of species. But sometimes I know how GL felt about coming up with this stuff, really. You hit a wall.

So I pay tribute to shotty name giving. Call me cheap.

================================

On to business: everyone is almost involved that is going to be involved in the story. A few more chapters of introduction is all. The next chapter brings back another character, and briefly introduces for a limited time a tragic figure.

I have finally completed the very long Chapter 52, and in it's current form its 61 pages long. It could, might, maybe, I don't know but perhaps, become longer given the context of the chapter. But it completes ACT II of the story. So with a tiny break from writing, but not posting, I will know where to go from here.

BUT, first, I would like to thank 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' cartoon for, once again, forcing me to do another damn rewrite of some significance. Hopefully folks out there are watching it, it does work for a t.v. show and not a movie, but you know.....SIGH!

Okay, depending on where you are, if you get SWTCW, they recently had an episode which supposedly introduces the Talz for the first time in the SW canon time line; they were seen for the first time in Episode IV's Mos Eisley Catina. So now, again, I have to rework this wrinkle. Maybe. Maybe not. I just don't know. (Dang it, Lucas, make up your mind!)

Anyways, more soon.

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GESSAHOLIC DATABASE

The Neimoidians Hidu Bog and Cus Tadlan were first mentioned in Volume Three of the Gessa Saga, The Sith Maiden. However, it was Cus Tadlan who made his first appearance in TSM in Chapter 41 (I believe, I will correct this if I am wrong). It was right after the destruction of the Trade Federation stronghold on Hapes, and Tomas Krendel, a.k.a. King Veruna, contacted Cus Tadlan to learn whether or not Federation or the Hapens had actually killed his father, Pirus Krendel. At the very least, this established the strong ties the Krendel Clan had with the Trade Federation in the aftermath of the falling out between the Federation and the Rapier Clan Dynasty.

And this little bit of factoid is explained later on. But that's later on.

FORWARD HO!

 

SWTCW... snips? (To be very honest, I'm not sure what to feel about SWTCW. On good days, it feels like TPM. On bad days, Ewoks?)

Up, ye thread!

 

I know what you mean, D. I think those are the other reasons why it's so highly rated in its time slot: anticipation.

Personally, two episodes stand right out: 'Lair of Grievous', and the best one I think 'Cloak of Darkness'. I can just forgive some of the weaker episodes just because of those two episodes right there. Otherwise it's not a bad series, even if it is powered milk from a dry Bantha teet.


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And now, the Jedi Retirement Home for Not Dead Jedi, and a slap in the face to 'loud voices'......


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CHAPTER 7.0

Bordering the western side of the metallic mesa that served as the surface base of the Jedi Temple was the simple, heavy stone building known to many high minds as the Philosopher?s Guild. Having been built a little over a thousand years ago by generous benefactors it had once been the sole property of the Jedi Order, and in reality it was more of a Jedi retirement center than a place to debate the Force or any other subject; with the very old Jedi in it and elder Jedi going in and out of the building the misconception that it was an institute of higher thought by the citizens of Coruscant stuck. The misconception spread throughout the galaxy; the retired Jedi welcomed the challenge of debate since it was more peaceful than fighting with a lightsaber. The Grand Jedi Master Saet Gonpea changed the purpose of the building slightly, and since then philosophers, lecturers, scholars and debaters from all over the Republic, of any age, came in peace to argue their point of view in a open minded, intellectual setting that allowed audiences, free of charge, to watch and listen words, great and small, of wisdom. One was not regarded as a great mind in the galaxy until they had a debate or gave a lecture at the Philosopher?s Guild.

The current Guild Master -- merely a title not a provocation -- was Jedi Master Killen Dirk, who sat proudly at one of the open entrance areas in his chair and watched the audience walk by to find a place to sit or stand before the next discussion began. The debates and lectures occurred right in the wide open middle of the Guild. People were quite surprised that there is no debate arena, no benches or chairs, no electronics to provide better listening or holographic imaging to bring the debate closer to the individuals; sightlines were limiting, but the acoustical engineering ensured strong voices cared. That was the point of the Philosopher?s Guild that sometimes more than one debate could occur anytime, anywhere. When it came to major events, like today, they roped off a large area and had the smaller discussions outside of it.

Killen Dirk did his best to smile at the visitors, and the people did their best not to get sick at the sight of the young Human. Years ago, Killen and his apprentice had uncovered an illegal dumping depot that was under the control of the criminal organization Black Sun, where they had slaves working until they died from toxic chemical fumes. It soon became a terrible trap, where Killen had only one terrible choice. With their duty to the lives of the slaves still alive, Killen and his Padawan Learner Cae Zeno had to run through a zone of unknown gas to reactivate the power that would free the slaves. The thick chemical fog Killen and Cae had to run into was the Hutt?s version of nerve gas that many nicknamed ?Huttmaker?. Primarily used more as a psychological weapon, the gas caused an unusual form of paralysis which dissolved heavier connected tissues with the nerve cells; the result made the victim looks melted and in a way shaped them like a Hutt, thus preventing proper identification and any chance of a funeral showing. Cae Zeno did not survive, and the luckily unfortunate Killen Dirk had lost his Human appearance as well as his ability to use his limbs. Unable to patrol, but still able to speak in a slightly slurred, gravely voice, Killen did not lose his spirit and ever since he joined he had been a featured speaker of the Guild on the subject of as