Before - Legends An Improbable Mission (Qui/Mace action/adventure) Ch19 Updated 10/16/05

How did I miss this update? Excellent post KD!!! I'm quite thoroughly enjoying this and very glad you turned it into a longer story! I can't wait for more!

 

I'm sorry, no update tonight. I'm . Hubby is . And if life goes as normal, the kid will wake me up at two am because she is .

But I will do some replies before toddling off to sleep.

Leona Thanks, I quite liked that one myself.

Athena Thank you. I like words. A lot. Especially slightly to very unusual ones. One of the things I like about the word crenellations is that it sort of looks like the inverse of what it means, especially if you run it together a few times and kind of ignore that a that is really too short for that spot.
crenellationscrenellationscrenellationscrenellations
ooooo__oooooooo__ooooooooo__ooooooooo__oooo
Ok, maybe I am too sick to be doing replies after all.

Layren I'm glad you are enjoying the tale. I hope to be able to produce the next post before Saturday. But right now, I can't manage to stay coherent long enough. As you can tell from the above, no doubt.

KD

 

Finally got a chance to sit down and read some stories, and this one is great! Look forward to more.

 

Welcome Thomas I'm glad you are enjoying it. More should be on the way soon. I finally fired something off to my beta tonight so with any luck, no later than Wednesday, I will be able to post the next bit.

KD

 

Just catching up Love the interaction between Qui and Mace and very interesting about this object. Looking forward to more KD!

 

Oi! I missed an update! Well now I got it!

"Remind me to let the public safety office know about the lack of fire escapes, Padawan..."

Now that was hilarious! *snrk* hehehe And so what Qui would say too!!

Uh oh... freefalling Jedi! Watch out!

Great update! Suspenseful!

 

tangled_sphere I'm somewhat curious about it too. Since this started out as a three post bit of action with no other plan it was a McGuffin pure and simple. I'm afraid you know as much about it as I do. We shall learn together I guess.

Kynstar Well, you know, Guardians of Peace and Justice have to keep their eyes open for all sorts of things. They have been suspended for some time haven't they, poor dears.

I feel dreadful for having left our heros hanging for so long. I hope they will eventually forgive me. I'm afraid this hasn't been beta'd as again the string between the cans may have gone missing. And now, on to the tale...


When last we left our heros Qui-Gon and Mace had flung themselves off the top of a building, and Mace was starting his final farewell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the Jedi fell through the air, without any indication that the winch had ended up somewhere where it would hold, Mace said, "It has been an honor, Mas-" His last word was cut short by the twang of the cable suddenly becoming taut. The clang that followed just as the cable became taut indicated that the winch had caught on something metal rather than the roof edge. And the fact that the cable stopped reeling out indicated that that the winch had ended up positioned such that the weight was trapping the cable. The two Jedi started moving in an arc described by the current length of cable.

Qui-Gon could feel Mace start to breathe again. He himself thought that a bit premature. The current cable length would result in their crashing into the building between two rows of windows without any way to go up or down to a window they could get in through. Qui-Gon pulled off a glove and grabbed hold of the cable with the bare hand. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on what he could feel from the cable. The twang they had heard indicated that whatever had caught the winch at first; it was metallic, so not a crenellation. The slight vibration he could feel through the cable made him wonder if it were not caught on a piece of pipe or something similar that was not quite able to take the strain.

A moment later as if in answer to his question, there was a cracking noise high above them and they fell freely down for a tiny fraction of a second before the cable snapped taut again. It remained taut this time only for another fraction of a second before their off-center weight twisted the winch so that the cable was now free to move. It started feeding out again and once more they were dropping at speed.

Their forward momentum was also continuing to take them toward the building. But the length of the cable by the time they got there would be nearly perfect. Qui-Gon pulled his legs up and bent his knees to take the impact on the building wall. A moment later they hit. Qui-Gon's legs took the brunt of the hit but the two Jedi still ended up crashing into the wall harder than anyone would like to. Mace being tucked behind Qui-Gon but to one side meant that when they bounced back off they turned, as well as shifting slightly to the left, before hitting again.

They smashed into the building again, this time leading with Mace's left shoulder, and with the slightly longer cable the extra swing had caused to reel out they were level with the top of the window next to them. The second bounce off the building wasn't nearly as large and Qui-Gon just had time to use the Force to slide the window open before they half flew, half fell, through it. Qui-Gon unhooked the cable before it could be used to drag them back out.

The room they were in was unoccupied. It was the living area of an apartment. Qui-Gon looked over Mace as quickly as he could. His padawan was bruised but did not appear to have broken anything. Though he was still gulping in air trying to get the breath that had been knocked out of him when they hit the ground back in.

"Come on, Mace." Qui-Gon said, pulling the boy to his feet. "We need to get out of here before Baden can get his men in here." The padawan nodded and sucked in another breath w

 

That is soooo Qui-Gon! hehehehehehe KD you got him down packed right hehehehe

Strong willed lady eh? hehehehe and not swooning over Qui? Definitely strong willed! Stronger than I am! hehehehe (about the 'not swooning' part rather hehehehe)

Bet Mace is really getting a kick out of that! Well before the banging was heard of course hehehe

*Crosses fingers* Hope the boys can get out of this one, and quick!

Great chapter once more!!

 

Finally getting around to reading the new update -- what a great piece of action there!



Mace followed his master to the entry hall of the apartment. Qui-Gon dropped a credit marker onto the table there before they opened the front door. "For the repairs," he said.

"Repairs?" Mace asked. "We didn't damage anything."


That is SO Qui-Gon! What a great job I can't wait for the next post!!

 

Ah, owie, they crashed into building. Buildings can be very dangerous, especially old ones with bad windows, but that's a different story. Anyway, yes that was exciting. Interesting lady they've come across, but will she help them? And of course,

Qui-Gon dropped a credit marker onto the table there before they opened the front door. "For the repairs," he said.

"Repairs?" Mace asked. "We didn't damage anything."

"Not yet."

Most amused.

 

This was very funny. I could just picture them swinging between the buildings aka James Bond and then a tuck and roll into the apartment. I like the OC too. She's an interesting mix. I wonder what she's going to do next.

Great job, KD.

Keep going.

 

Super story KD, I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment. As others have already commented, you are 'painting' great pictures and I find myself pulled right into the story.

 

I can't say anything that hasn't already been said, except that I love it! Action scenes are easy to follow & the characterization is great!

Write faster?

 

Kyn and Layren, I'm so glad you're still enjoying it.

Athena why does that sound alarmingly like the voice of experience?

Diane, I was thinking more superhero or something but James Bond works for me... drifts off for a moment imagining Liam Neeson saying "Bond, James Bond." Ok sorry, it's just such a nice voice. And of course, now I'm going to have to do "Jinn, Qui-Gon Jinn." at the Sabacc tables or something sometime. Actually, that could be rather fun.

Rick, Welcome! I'm glad you are enjoying it. The whole business from opening to ending up in the first apartment would have been sooooo much easier to do as a film. It was so difficult to come up with the right words to make the pictures I saw appear for readers. I hope I succeeded. That winch business almost made me bald... Two little second unit establishing shots of barely a second in length would have saved soooo many words. Gives me a whole new level of respect for authors with a lot of action in their work.

Renata I'm trying! I'm trying! (the first person who says "there is no try" gets a cameo as an evil henchman - just so you know)

I had planned on giving you all an extra long post this time but it got too long even for extra long and I couldn't figure out how to shorten it due to the paint fumes so I split it off here at about medium I think. I will post another section Tuesday and post at least once over the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend (which isn't 4 days for some of us, I know) so those of you taking a holiday will have some catching up to do when you get back. I have made a slight adjustment to the summary since I decided that the events described here must have happened more than 20 years before the Battle of Naboo going by the various timelines. So I fudged a lot...


When last we left our heros, Knight Jinn was amused by, and Padawan Windu was annoyed by, a woman who was holding them at blaster point, when suddenly there was a loud banging on the apartment door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The woman was startled by the noise and took her eyes off the Jedi for a moment. It was long enough for Qui-Gon to close the distance and force the blaster to point to the floor. She returned her gaze to him, ignoring the guildsman's demands to be allowed entry. After a moment studying his eyes she nodded at her decision and began speaking rapidly.

"There's no other exit from this apartment. The balcony breaks away to become a floating escape platform for emergencies but it sets off an alarm when it is detached. Can you jump? The first two floors on this side extend out from the lines of the upper part of the building."

They went out on the balcony to see what she meant and saw something encouraging. The second story balconies were much larger than the one they were on. There was a scattering of tables on the part of the second floor balcony directly below.

"The restaurant," the woman said when Qui-Gon looked back at her. "It's closed during the time they prep for the dinner crowd. Everyone should be in the kitchen."

From the hallway came the angry voice of the guildsman who had been banging on the door. "We know there is someone in there. If you don't open the door at once we will break it down."

The woman handed Qui-Gon a small data chip. "In case you need an apartment some day," she said with a laugh. Adding, "You might knock me unconcious before you go, so I don't have to answer any questions about why I didn't stop you."

Qui-Gon held out his hand, "You left your blaster in the living room?"

"So I did." She handed it to him. "That was foolish."

"Indeed." Qui-Gon dialed it down to the lightest possible stun setting and then paused with it raised halfway to a firing position. "How many Jedi have you met?"

"Perhaps four? My brother and his padawan. And you two. If you are really Jedi." She said with a smile. The banging at the door began again but this time it was much louder. The guildsmen had brought a batte

 

THere is no try I will post my review as soon as I read Do I get to be the evil henchwoman?



Edit for review

What an excellent chapter! I'm so glad that the woman turned out to be friendly instead of threatening, though I personally think Qui-Gon could have used the Force to put her to sleep instead of shooting her with the blaster it was still very good

Ouch poor Mace with a blaster wound and I loved the way Qui convinced the guy to let them buy supplies lol. Great job!


I can't wait for more!

 

Oh, so the mystery deepens. I guess the Force led them to her apartment... Good going with the action. I could just see them escaping. And the burn med kit incident was intriguing now that we know that the woman had a brother who was a Jedi.

Keep going.

 

Hehehe one can find help at the most needed of times hehehe

Hrmmm an underlying story there awaits I believe! Glad the lass was there

Now those boys better skit daddle and hopefully not get caught!

Great chapter once more!

 

If by experience, you mean the window that fell on and nearly broke my hands. Ah, good times. Anyway, nice escape! This is an interesting story you've introduced with this woman and her brother the Jedi. It is worrying, like they said. Looking forward to finding out more.

 

Wow, there are more twists than a corkscrew! What is the story of Knight Feron? Why did Fate (or the Force) bring Qui-Gon & Mace to that particular apartment? Is Lintal involved with her brother's apprentice's injuries? Is any of this related to the original heist? Tune in tomorrow, same Galactic time, same Galactic Channel!

Yeesh, she's keeping us guessing! And we love it! [face_hug] More, KD! Please, please!

 

Layren, I am even now pondering where to place the Lady Layren d' Zhitnuja (Layren of Chattanooga) for maximum effect. Never, ever think I won't follow up on a threat. Er, promise, eh whatever. Perhaps Qui was concerned that she might be as resistant to a sleep suggestion as she was to a memory one. And that she might actually tell people where she had pointed them to. Or maybe he was still annoyed.

Diane Per your directive, still going... (Energizer bunny in a Jedi robe anyone?)

Leona What pretty colors you have. Perhaps Qui-Gon should have phrased that differently. I'm certain he was thinking more along the lines of levitation or something. Somehow I don't think that helped any. Nevermind.

Kynstar Keep me honest here...

Athena OUCH! Gosh. You poor thing. That sounds terrifying.

Renata Close. Not quite as many as a corkscrew I think. That's 5 on my corkscrew. Yes, I counted. Well, not quite yet anyway. same Galactic time, same Galactic Channel LOL! You've got almost the exact idea - I'm sort of aiming for those serials they used to show. You know, back in the dark times, before The Empire. Flash Gordon and that lot. There's one called Commander Cody and the Radar Men from Mars or something that hubby picked up cheap.

Ok early update, tonight instead of tomorrow night. Then I will try hard to update on Friday and Sunday this weekend but since I may need to work I'm not promising for sure. Besides, I've used up nearly all the good already written stuff.... Well, I hope it is good because once again I didn't get done in time to run it past a beta.

When last we left our heros they were finally able to walk casually down the street. However, recent information had left the Master a great deal to think about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were only a half block from their ship now and Qui-Gon felt the Force was urging him to remember everything he knew about Knight Feron before leaving the planet. "Mace, I'm going to think for a bit, be wary for us both will you?"

Mace's face, which he tried so hard to keep impassive, lit up with pleasure at the achievement of being given sole responsibility for their safety for a while. I must remember to increase his responsibilities again. He has mastered all that I have asked of him thus far. But first I must remember... Qui-Gon took his thoughts back to the week before they had been assigned this mission.

They had found out more about Padawan Oirj and her master later in the week. The padawan had nearly died again shortly after Qui-Gon and Mace had left. Sandur hadn't made it for tea or evening meal that day. He had sounded very worried when Qui-Gon had taken him a meal just before midnight.

"I don't know if she'll make it Qui-Gon." The healer was normally quite optimistic so Qui-Gon knew the young girl was in danger still. "Something pulls at her soul that is keeping her from getting well."

Qui-Gon and Mace had both found her compelling and had taken to visiting the unconscious girl between other duties. Their presence seemed to calm her. When one or the other sat with her she was calmer. With neither there she seemed agitated even though she did not regain consciousness. Qui-Gon and Mace spent as much time with her as they could without neglecting their other duties and Master Yoda reassigned them to temple duty for a time. Finally after almost a full week, Master Yoda had called them to the infirmary where Padawan Oirj had regained consciousness at last.

"Tell us, can you, what transpired?" Master Yoda had asked gently.

The padawan's eyes were wide with remembered terror. "My Master... he had persuaded Baden to show it to him... he..." Tears welled up in her eyes and Qui-Gon reached out a comforting hand. She took it gratefully and continued, "He was facing me so I never saw inside the case. Master Piar, I think he touched it. He convulsed and then it was like a seismic tremor through the Force."

"Felt here even, it w

 

I'm enjoying the journey with you KD! I'm not completely caught up yet, but I will be soon. Love the relationship between Qui and Mace. Also very interesting that this woman pretended that the mind suggestion worked I have one more postie to catch up on.

 

More twists! I liked that Qui realized that it was the Knight's sister's hair that was the color of honey. The poor Padawan, no wonder she was so upset to have what she thinks is her Master attacking her.

Good job.

 

Oh some answers! Poor girl... yeah I can see why she was so upset! If indeed it was her Master...which she totally believes (and I suspect as much). She thinks she has nothing left since he's 'gone'.

Great deduction there Qui! Hurry back to talk with the woman, cuz indeed perhaps she has seen her bro recently.

Can't wait for more! (and what you had Dooku there again even if for a few seconds! hehehehe)

 

LOL! Can we evil ladies make requests? If I'm going to be evil can I shoot Qui with a blaster? You all know how much I love angst

Great chapter, KD!! I am enjoying this very much... hrm the plot thickens!! Typical Qui to do more than mission directives...I look forward to more!