Time and Again (Obi/Qui/Ani/Xani) [Post 84 April 11] (Completed!)

In one clean instant, Luminara gripped his outstretched hand, and, with a surprisingly strong tug for a woman so slim and weak, shoved him smoothly into the wall in a mighty loop. Xanatos slammed against the wall, blood wheezing out of his nose and his mouth where he had hit the hard, unyielding surface. Raising his hand to wipe his nose, Xanatos looked up at Luminara, surprised - (and hurt).

Yeah, you go girl! I knew she had it in her.

That whole action sequence was great, too!

EDIT: Woo hoo, is this really post 900? Wow!

 

fj: Thanks! Oh good, I was starting to worry that I made Luminara such a bad, weak-minded fool that you won't feel she's a hero even in the future. Okay, so you'll never exactly feel that ( I won't feel that), but you get the idea. Thanks about Xanatos, fj, he really is a hard character to write. I originally didn't plan on using Xanatos in this story, but his character fascinated me, and I really don't like it when I CAN'T write a character. Which one of your previous guesses is right??? Don't you wish you know??? Mwahahahahahahaha....

Froggy: Thanks!

Kandriya: Thanks!

Agent_Jaid: Thanks!

Sheila: Thanks! Oh, are you so sure Lumi's going to get away from Xan??? He's very, very stubborn and persuasive, and to top it all, he ....

Happy_Hobbit_Padawan: Thanks!

I'll get the next post some time soon today - like in a couple of hours.

Aunecah

 

morning up

 

I told you I was bad at action scene, and this is another one of them. A very big one, at that. Do tell me how I did. *crosses her fingers*

If I'm happy, I'll update again today.

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Coruscant was in pandemonium. Several thousands of starfighters and warships flew in crisscrossing arcs over the Galactic Senate building, all of them firing synchronously at predetermined moments. Within a matter of seconds, the entire space around the massive, dome-topped building was set alight in screams. Aircars, landspeeders, ships, and other air vehicles veered away from the Galactic Senate as fast as they could, resulting in several collisions and bright yellow and black explosions.

It took only a couple of moments of heavy fire for the warships, which were the size of Corellian corvettes and some even the size of Mon Calamarian capital ships, to destabilize the energy field that protected the Galactic Senate. The energy field protected the building from starfighters' attacks, which was what the building most often needed protection from. Every single smuggler and pirate who was unhappy with what few good laws that the senate did pass, and, as a result, tended to take to terrorist actions. Warships were supposed to be recognized and stopped by the Air Traffic Control and Security department.

The usually transparent senate's shields, under the massive intake of green turbolaser-fire from the warships, flickered blue and died with a bright flare. As soon as their tasks were done, before the planetary shields could be activated completely to fill in the holes through which they allowed tourist and other normal traffic to enter, the warships all darted upward, their noses angled at almost ninety degrees as they rushed out of Coruscant and to their safety.

After the warships left, it was only a matter of seconds before the starfighters arced in toward the senate to plow the air and the building with brilliant green torpedoes. The starfighters concentrated their fire on the senate's domed ceiling.

Huge scrapes of durasteel and duracrete jutted into the night-like sky, thrown into relief by the lightning that was splitting the dark-gray clouds frequently. Staring and downright screaming took hold of the surrounding buildings as security lieutenants inside the buildings rushed to the control rooms to set the buildings' shields to their peak power and efficiency. Well, nobody could really say anything about the efficiency part because at their peak power, the shields drained away too much energy.

As expected, the glittering lights that shone in the buildings started to blink out of existence. Pretty soon, the Peacedom city, the main downtown area of the city-world, was a mass of darkness (and screams), lighted only by the starfighters' fire and the senate's duracrete, durasteel, and senators' bodies as they were shot up into the air.

The starfighters were quick and efficient in destroying the senate. But by this time, only moments after the whole disaster had started, the planetary shields were activated. One of the five warships that had been a little too slow in its flight slammed into the shields and died a fiery death, pieces of durasteel and fire extinguishing gases blasting into the air near the shields.

It wasn't only the warship that was destroyed because of the shields either.

Due to their abrupt, complete activation, several tourist and governmental ships blasted against the shields and died, with less deathly grandeur than the warship but with almost just as big an explosion, nevertheless.

Those flying the starfighters knew that there was no escape. Setting their ships to self-destruction, they flew into the senate and exploded in groups of dozen against the building's lower levels. Some, burning holes into the senate, went straight through the wall to explode inside.

Ash-ridden smoke as thick and opaque as one of Coruscant's trash ducts billowed out of the senate building, mingling with the dark clouds and suffocating the lightning on its way.

Emergen

 

Excellent, excellent action sequence! Shades of 9/11 and all modern warfare, of course!

To think that Palpy was unaware of this coming attack on the Senate. Still, he is away at the moment so his skin is saved for another day. It's heart-rending to think of the Jedi temple falling, but I am starting to prepare for this very image in two years time, in EIII (I am sure the Temple will be destroyed in EIII - one of the cataclysmic events that changes the galaxy). By the way, I didn't quite get how the temple was being destroyed - star-fighter attacks?

So, Sadin wants to take over control of this galaxy and the Seante. What does Xan want?

 

My throat hurts, like most throats do when you want to cry.

<i> Starting at the upper levels, where the Jedi Council chamber was located, the spires blew off methodically, tons of engraved durasteel falling down onto the low-built buildings around. Fire boiled through the corridors like a raging volcano and shot out of the windows, breaking the pseudo-glass into tiny splinters. </i>

I don't want Yoda to die. *cry*

<i>
Coruscant was being killed.

And everyone could only watch. </i>

That really clinched the post for me.

Excellent, terrifying, heartwrenching action sequence. I thought of 9/11, Titanic, The Sum Of All Fears, and the battles of Star Wars that scared me as a child.

You are amazing. I hope we can have another update, to assure us that Yoda, Lumi and others are all right.

 

fj: Thanks! Well, what makes you think Palpy was unaware of this coming attack? Is it - a coincidence, you think, that the senator's ship just so happens to malfunction ... Of course, I could just be pulling straws at you and leading you underground while claiming I'm showing you the moon.... Anyway. How did the Temple get destroyed? Who knows? Until I write it, that is?

EverythingInside: Thanks! I don't know when I'll get the next update done, but it's going to be tomorrow at the very latest.

I'm not going to whine about not getting replies because I'm fairly satisfied with this action sequence (even though I still don't know what that means). Thanks to all those who replied!

Aunecah

 

The Senate and the Temple!



Need more soon.

 

I take back what I said, I do feel terrible everytime a writer blows up the Temple, the Senate, well... 7

 

Yes, it feels horrific every time I read about the Temple being destroyed. I don't know how I am going to actually see it happen in 2005 in EIII. I really loved the temple in TPM and especially in AotC. I feel so sad that Luke never knew the Temple in all its glory!

Aunecah Shall we go to Tatooine soon?

 

Sheila:

jedi7: okay. Hey, didn't I tell somebody before - like CYN (who's conspicuously missing ) - that you should take care before wishing for something in my 'fic.

fj: Hey, everybody here knows that I am the STRONGEST, STAUNCHEST supporter of the Old Jedi Order. Just go read CYN's One Door - and I too felt that Luke missed out something by not knowing the Temple. Happily, we'll have something about it soon.

Tatooine, you say, fj - well, if Bant/Garen is what you mean, then yes, we'll go to Tatooine soon. If it's Ani/Qui you're talking about, then yes we'll go to Tatooine soon. But if you're talking about Obi/Gordin - you're going to have to wait for a bit longer. Though I'm sure it isn't quite obvious, only one day passed since our two Jedi started for Tatooine.

And fj - I was furiously writing the next post for An Order and One. So you can't really blame me. It's eight pages long right now, and the main part of it is done, but I still have to write the introduction - which probably will turn out to be between 2 to 4 pages long.

I think it's going to be good, but I don't know ...

So, guys who're also following that 'fic, keep a lookout for a new post tomorrow. And those of you who aren't - well shame on you; trust me it's worth a read (and this is coming from a person who's always having doubts about her 'fics, so ... do you really need me to say more? - Yes? Well, how does a Sith Obi-Wan Kenobi sound? )

*Ehem* - Anyway. Yeah.

Aunecah

 

Hey, as long as you keep writing here orthere, it's okay with me. After all, I don't want you to neglect the bad Obi - he's just too much fun.

Yes, the temple being gone in EIII, I really think it will happen. It will be one of the darkest things in EIII for me. Sid would never allow the temple to stand. I have this strange vision of Luke visiting Dex's diner years after RotJ and finding out about Obi-Wan, the young Anakin and other people of the temple.

 

The next post's coming soon, I hope. In around two or three hours, I'm thinking, unless something unplanned is thrown into my day.

Aunecah

 

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Obi-Wan, who had been pouring a glass of water for himself, suddenly collapsed as a wave of utter terror and death washed over him. The glass and the jug - made out of plasglass, a material that had the same outward appearance of a glass, but the durability and un-shattering properties of plastic - in his hands crashed onto the floor like boulders, spreading a steady wetness and chill into his already cold and numb body.

From the table where they had been eating, Gordin tried to rush to his apprentice's aid, but he was suffering from the same thing as Obi-Wan, though to a far lesser degree it seemed. A second wave of heavy sickness, much more intense and stony than the first one, descended over him just an instant after it had on Obi-Wan, making his legs weak and lead-like. Gordin gripped his chair tightly as waves of dizziness and nausea washed over him. Death and terror, multiplying every instant exponentially, hit him through the Force until it almost became a laughing, deathly white skull in his mind's eye.

His vision cleared a couple of instants later, and Gordin saw through tear-strained eyes that Obi-Wan was lying unconscious on the floor. He ran toward Obi-Wan and dropped to his knees beside him.

"Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan!"

"Wha-what - ?" Obi-Wan's eyes snapped open and he looked disoriented. For a long moment, Obi-Wan just stared at Gordin, who could feel the young Jedi's already formidable shields going up still more. Then, Obi-Wan recognized his face, and his shields slid back to normal.

Obi-Wan slowly raised himself into a sitting position. "I, I felt as if hundreds of voices cried out in terror and silenced at once." Obi-Wan's voice was a low whisper, almost a whimper, as he spoke. He wasn't crying, but there was such a pain in his eyes, Gordin would almost have thought he had been the one killed. "What happened, Master?"

"I'm not sure," Gordin said, dropping down into a cross-legged stance as his weak legs collapsed further underneath him. "Something horrible, for sure."

"O-on Coruscant?" Obi-Wan's face was deathly white, and his eyes were drawn up in an unreadable emotion. He raised a palsied hand to his face to wipe off the sweat mingling with water. An ugly bruise near the side of his forehead testified that either the glass or the jug had bounced off it before settling down to rolling in decaying swings on the floor beside them.

"Possibly," Gordin said cautiously. He paused, wondering between asking and not asking whether Obi-Wan knew something of this scale would happen. He finally decided not to ask because whatever that emotion on his face was, it was probably guilt - and Gordin didn't want him to become any guiltier. This wasn't Obi-Wan's fault.

He pushed himself to his feet and helped Obi-Wan raise himself, as well. Obi-Wan was way too shaky, so shaky, in fact, that he would have collapsed back onto the floor if not for Gordin. A terrible - no, two terrible things had happened, but they still couldn't have had such a physical effect on Obi-Wan. Unless ...

Gordin's eyes became wide.

Was it ... possible ... ?

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

Mace sprinted down a hallway. He, Adi, Plo Koon, and Eeth Koth had been in the Supreme Chancellor's office with Valorum, himself, discussing the alleged death of Senator Palpatine when they had felt (and seen) the senate being destroyed, and then later the Jedi Temple.

It had been almost too much to take for the Masters because of the scale of destruction, but nothing could outweigh the death of an apprentice. Depa couldn't be dead, he could still feel her in his heart, could still feel life there, but it was dim and flickering.

Much of the lower portion of the Jedi Temple was still intact, but the Jedi Council chamber had been completely blown away, destroyed so badly that nobody could even gather its pieces in a thousand years. The rest of the upper half of the Temple hosted ample destruction, ash, and smoke, but it was still standing.

Only a couple of minutes ago, a precarious section - a chun

 

I want to know what Gordin's thinking!!


So much death and devistation. It was upsetting to see Mace go through the loss of a Padawan. But it seems that Obi was much more effected by the great loss of life. Even at that great of a distance the pain and torment knocked him out. Where as the masters on Coruscant seem to be alert and less disturbed by it.


Can't wait for more.

 

Ah, so sad that Mace has to go through the loss of an ex-padawan's life.

I hope Yoda is all right. Please. And where is Xan and Lumi? Would it too much to hope that a flying piece of heavy durasteel from the explosion killed Xan? Yes, I guess it would. Also, I bet Sadin is walking around, whistling, somewhere in the ruined temple, pretending to be upset!

I hope the datapad is still in or near the fountain and has not been damaged in this explosion.

So nice that Obi-Wan has Gordin for company at this horrible time.

 

So Gordin suspects Obi to be the Choosen One, cause to his so much more strong reaction?

Vadey

 

Gasp?!, I forgot about the data pad, yikes! wait a minute, the temple is all but destroyed, would anybody care if Obi's name was cleared. He can't go home again anyway maybe that's why he had such a strong reaction. 7

 

I'm short on time and don't really have time for personal responses, but just know that I appreciate each and everyone of you who reads this story and takes the time to comment on it.

Next post's coming up shortly!

Aunecah

 

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Coruscant walked through the rest of the week in utter chaos and fear. An attack such as this had never happened in Republic's history except in the century following its founding. The nine hundred years of relative peace had given the natives of the city-world an illusion to hold onto, a cliff to dangle from. And now that illusion was shattered, that cliff, broken.

The planet was now being guarded by a makeshift fleet thrown together by the loyalist members of the Republic, most notably Mon Calamari, Naboo, and Alderaan. Traffic from outer space had reached to its absolute minimum; license signatures were being checked and rechecked, and the cargo of the ships scrutinized for hours before the ships were allowed to enter. It was an overkill as reported by many of those ship pilots, crew, and passengers, but it was thought absolutely necessary by the galactic government and Coruscant's people.

Most of the senators were dead, and the senate building, itself, was beyond repair. Even at the end of the week, the air was amassed with dust, dirt, and smoke, though at a far lesser shade than right after the attack. Life was starting to return to normal, but it would never go back to how it had been before the combined attack on the senate and the Jedi Temple.

Actually, nobody was very sure what had happened to the Jedi Temple. Its upper portion was being rebuilt as fast as they could by as many mechanics as the Republic could spare. The Jedi suffered only (relatively) few casualties, but from the galaxy's point of view, as their Order consisted of only ten thousand even a thousand deaths were worrying and disheartening.

The attack had, of course, thrown all the Jedi present into a cyclic depression. Being as tight-knitted a community as the Jedi were, each Jedi had lost at least one person they had considered a friend or a close associate. Many apprentices had lost their Masters.

All, even the Initiates, could feel the lingering frost of death through the Force, which would probably never be completely gone. It was hard for the Jedi to maintain a clear head at such a time, and the Council - or what was remaining of it - had the additional worry of its members turning to the Dark Side. Fortunately, it hadn't happened - yet.

The Jedi had entered a period of deep mourning.

Unlike usually, when they donned on light-brown attires, the Jedi all wore inky black shirts, trousers, and robes. They always had their hoods up, as if it would somehow shield them from their grief if nobody could see their tears.

People could see them scrounging the surroundings, aided by the Force, for the dead bodies of the fallen Jedi and holding funerals for them in shocked tears.

No death was more harder to bear for the Jedi as a whole than Depa Billaba's. She had been a powerful Jedi Knight, especially proficient in telepathy and reading other people's emotions; wherever she went, she was readily cherished and loved by everyone. Though nobody knew the exact details - nor were they dying to hear them - it was said that Depa Billaba died in her master's arms. They may have exchanged parting words.

Mace Windu had rarely been seen in the Temple during the past week. He had thrown himself into finding the remains of the fallen Jedi, and nobody had any doubts about why. When he was in the Temple, he had usually been at his apprentice's side. Depa hadn't spent her last days in happiness, and Mace had said - it was rumored - that death was almost as much a blessing to him as it had been to her.

"Seeing your apprentice suffering torture, when you know she's not going to live ... "

Other than Depa Billaba, there was only one person that dominated all conversations and all thoughts: Master Yoda. He wasn't dead - yet. He, like Ki-Adi Mundi, Yaddle, and Oppo Rancisis, was in a shock-induced coma. His wounds weren't as bad as some of the other Council members who had been present, but he was - it was said - in a deeper state of coma than anybody else.

Nobody was sure whether he - or anybody else - wou

 

Awwww. Anakin will be pissed, I'm sure, if he cares about Shmi anymore.

I wasn't expecting that. I was assuming their trip into the black hole would be completely normal (for a trip into a black hole). Instead, you've thrown us yet another plot twist.

Thank you so much for not killing Yoda. He may be in a coma but I'm sure Obi-Wan can get him out of it. Right?

Great chapter. I look forward to your next update.

 

Really sad about Depa's death. At least Mace was with her at the end. But it had to be really bad when even Mace welcomed her death at the end. I wish Adi had died instead of Depa, though.

What is Sadin doing? What was the purpose of the attack? Why isn't he capitalizing on it? Is he waiting for the black hole to be reached? What pot of gold awaits at the black hole's end??

Aha, I knew that Shmi had been taken away by the white-clad people. I hope she is saved in the end - perhaps that will open up Anakin's eyes. His mother's life is worth more than a shiny new speeder, hmmmmm?

Speaking of which, what is this coma that little Yoda is drowned in? Scared, I am.

 

I don't know what to say ... Depa's dead.

 

No more, today? Please?

 

I'll try to post some time later, fj. Trying to eat dinner right now, and it'll probably eat up some two hours. But I'll try ...

Thanks for responding guys (fj and EI).

If anybody's interested, I have a short story in the Before the Saga forum - it's very short (some five or six posts, I'm thinking). It's called Paying the Cost of Being a Jedi. AND stars Obi, obviously.

Aunecah