Beyond - Legends Chaotic Systems (Post-NJO Sequel to Among the Stars. J/Z, Manners! - Chapter 8 10/9)

Chapter Six

A time-space flux delayed Nen Yim?s flight to Ossus and so she had three extra hours in the spaceport. She?d intended her trip to be quick, with minimal time in public, and so hadn?t worn a masquer. There was no danger posed to her, but even still, the stares she received made her a little uncomfortable.

After all, it wasn?t every day that one saw a former Yuuzhan Vong shaper riding on public transportation. When about an hour and a half through her misery she realized that the children were most likely not on the planet any longer and probably would have passed through the spaceport. Whipping out her badge from the Coruscant Police Department and a holocube, she approached the nearest port authority.

It seemed like no one had seen anything until she reached the cargo docks.

?Yeah, I seen ?em,? A gangly male twi?lek told her, examining the holos. ?Last night. About eight. Some guy had ?em ? looked like ?e was in a hurry, too.?
?What did he look like?? Nen Yim asked.

?Couldn?t really get a fix on ?im. Tall, pale feller. Black hair?? The twi?lek trailed off. ?I s?pose you?ll want to know about his ship? It was imperial make ? a freighter. Gray. Don?t have clearance to get you the serial numbah or destination, though??

?Oh,? Nen Yim replied. ?I?ve got that covered.? She scanned her badge. The twi?lek docks worker read it in amazement.

?Do you mind me asking what the case is about, detective?? he asked, standing up straight and trying to mask his accent.

Nen Yim laughed. ?Actually, my title is Lieutenant, but no. It?s a kidnapping. Pretty standard procedure: find the kids, bust the guy?s rear into a jail cell, and go on vacation. Then again, it?s a fairly well-executed kidnapping. Now?? Her eyes flicked across the screen. ?Imperial shuttle. Going to dock outside the system with the Star Destroyer Endurance. Let?s pull up that destination? Hmm? It?s headed for Bastion. I doubt they?d stay there, though. It?s worth a try. I?ll head there after Ossus? maybe get my own ship. Or borrow one. I know there?s room in the department budget.? She turned to the Twi?lek who had assisted her. ?Thanks for your help. I?ll see to it that you?re properly compensated.?

The twi?lek bowed his head. ?Oh, ih?s no trouble t? me,? he said sheepishly. Nen Yim smiled.

?Thanks again for your help,? she said. ?Now? I have a flight to catch.?

---

?Ellin,? Ennth asked, looking across the cell. ?How long have we been here?? Ellin shook her head.

?I don?t know,? she replied.

?Do you think Mom and Dad have even noticed we?re gone? Do you think they?re looking for us??

?Yeah. I?m sure they are,? Ellin replied softly. It was times like this that the five minutes that separated her from her brother seemed like five years. She looked to the door and was able to still see the hinges of their escape flap. There was guard outside it now. Ennth was quite and they both cast tired looks at Roake?s sleeping form.

?Ellin,? Ennth finally said hoarsely, ?What if they never find us??

[hr]

Jaina was pacing back and forth across the kitchen. Zekk watched idly, swirling sugar into a cup of caf that had long since gone cold. Every time Jaina spun, she fixed her eyes on the comm. unit, as if willing it to ring.

?The watched pot never boils,? he reminded her. Jaina gave him an enraged glare. ?Nen Yim will find them.? He took a sip of caf and got a peculiar look on his face. After a moment, he forced himself to swallow. The comm. beeped. Jaina lunged at it.

After a moment, her expression turned to one of pure hatred. ?No, I don?t want to buy a new shampoo formulated for Wookiees. Yes, I?m sure. ? Have a nice day, you stupid? Nerfherder.? She slammed the comm. down.

?Telemarketers?? Zekk asked, raising an eyebrow.

?They always call at the worst time,? Jaina confirmed, sitting down across from him at the kitchen table. She pried the mug out of his hands and took a sip. Immediately, she spat it out. ?Bleh!? Zekk shrugged sheepishly.

?I?m just as worried as you are,? he assured her.

 

Oooh, nice chap, VC! I LOVE Nen Yim! She is rocking this fic and you are doing such a great job with her!

 

If anyone else gave as much dedication to Nen Yim as I do, they could write her just as well... Which tells you something.

 

?They always call at the worst time,? Jaina confirmed, sitting down across from him at the kitchen table

Start advertising to them the second you pick up that phone or read your foreign language homework to them. Always works.

 

Sil- LOL!!!

 

Up! Are my readers dead this weekend?

 

I'M SORRY FOR NOT BEING HERE EARLIER!!! I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!!! I APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD!!!! I'M SORRY!

*coughs* Okay, now down to business. Can I please kill Jag? Pretty please? Pretty, pretty please?

Poor angsty Ben-kun!! I love that boy... And I love Luke.

Nen Yim is the best! I hope she beats Jag to a pulp!

 

Eek! We need to work on the Joiner thing, I didn't know this had been updated! Loved it, poor Jaina. Moremoremore!

 

Eek! We need to work on the Joiner thing, I didn't know this had been updated!

Click click click, Joiner buddies! See how I read your mind and knew to come reply to this? We must be getting better!

 

Click click clack, my hive-sibs! We must practice!

 

Click click click. *rubs forearms* Yes, I think we're getting a bit better. Click click.

 

*rushes in and plops down to R&R*

nice update, Vongy!

Zonoma

 

Speaking of Joiners, I'm almost done with my chap! I'll pm it to ya once I finish! XD

 

Click click! That news makes us happy!

 

Very happy. Clicky click.

 

UP!!

 

Uppers!

 

There is some truth to this chapter: You really can use a hairclip as a screwdriver. I've done it.

Chapter Seven

The road was cut into the side of the mountain, winding tightly around above the valley. Ben stared down out the window at the green expanse of woods and mountains.

?You?re not on Coruscant anymore, kid,? Luke remarked. Ben managed a smile.

?How far away from the academy are we?? he asked, marveling at the heights of distant peaks.

?About an hour,? his father answered. They came to a fork in the road and Luke steered the speeder down the right split.
?Can I fly for a while?? Ben asked suddenly. ?Mom was teaching me.?

The very thought of letting a male, human adolescent fly on the narrow roads made Luke slightly queasy. ?Maybe when we get into the valley,? he said passively. ?Right now I?d rather I do the steering.? Ben sighed and sank lower in his seat, intent on counting roadkill. ?I know what you?re doing and you?re not going to see any.?

Ben murmured what sounded like a swear word, but Luke decided not to comment since he remembered how annoying it was to be lectured by his uncle. Shifting the car onto a steeper side road that climbed farther up into the mountains, he smiled a sly smile.

?Maybe this trip won?t be so bad after all,? Ben said, still a little glum about not being allowed to fly. But that was just something he?d have to deal with.

---

They?d been moved during the night, Ellin realized. This new room didn?t have the slot they?d escaped through last time, and the cots were now the bunks of a ship, stacked against the wall in threes. Surveying their surroundings, she tried to devise and escape, but saw nothing. The door was locked and?

?The vent,? Ennth said placidly, pointing to the panel above the highest bunk. ?We could go through the vent.?

?Of course,? replied Ellin bitterly, ?The vent. No one?s going to look in the vent and are you freaking insane? Haven?t you seen the old holofilms? The vent?s the first place anyone looks!? Ennth shook his head.

?Not in real life. Ellin, gimme your hair clip.? Ennth commanded. Ellin slid the little band out of her bangs and passed it to her brother. The wonderful thing about metal hair clips was that they could be used as primative screwdrivers when the situation demanded. Ennth pulled himself up the ladder to the top bunk and scrambled to the vent. After about half an hour, he poked his head down and hissed, ?It?s open!? Ellin shook Roake awake and pulled him up the ladder.

?What now?? she asked. ?There?s all sorts of things that could go wrong in a ship?s vent system.?

Ennth gulped. ?I was trying not to think of that. Come on. Let?s go.?

To Be Continued?

 

up!!

 

Up again! I'll do PMs if anyone shows interest in them.

 

Luke's making a mistake in not letting Ben fly.

 

Sil - what makes you say that? Ben'll get over it. I wouldn't let ben fly on roads like those, either! (Those roads are based on the roads around the town of Clayton, GA. They're scary!)

 

I can't stand curving roads in the mountains when my mom drives because she keeps stopping and going without warning. I hope Luke's a better driver than - scratch that, I'm sure Luke's a better driver. Have I mentioned that I love kawaii, angsty Ben-chan (he'll always be '-chan' to me)? Have I also mentioned how much I love Ellin, Ennth, and Roake? And just for the record have I mentioned how I much I loathe Jag?

 

Bubbles- the best part of this Ben-chan is he's fourteen! yeah, it's a mutual feeling (on all those things)

 

Luke's right... I wouldn't trust any boy my age in a car. Great chappy. And Jag ish teh evil.