Before - Legends Love Me Two Times - Horror/Adventure/Romance completed 7/19/07! Thanks for all the votes! A/N

Title: Love Me Two Times
Author: Brentus
Time Frame: One month pre-KOTOR
Characters: My OCs: Tak Vedis, Aria Ardis, Sun-Gon Dak, Jalak Tessle, Master Alana, Darth Servis
KOTOR Characters: Canderous Ordo, HK-47, Master Vandar, Master Vrook, Master Atris (KOTOR II)
Genre: Drama/angst/romance/EU/horror
Disclaimer: I own my OCs & the plot and Lucas owns everything else, which ain't much more than the concept.
Notes: Inspired by an OC Dueling Challenge, of 3/19/06. Thanks Alley_Skywalker, wherever you are!

Additional Author Note: This fic was encouraged by several people in the early and later stages including: DaenaBenjen42, LilyHobbitJedi, Jaira, the beta maestro Jennifer_Lyn, and finally, KELIA, (my Master) Thank you very much ladies!




Star Wars: Episode Naught: Love Me Two Times



It is a dark time in the Jedi Civil War. Although Revan, once a promising Jedi, has been captured by the Jedi, his apprentice, Darth Malak continues the onslaught with renewed tenacity...



Throughout the galaxy, things turn quickly to chaos. Sith assassins hunt Jedi, bands of roving Mandalorians raid worlds, and the Sith fleet grows at an astonishing rate...



In a desperate attempt to stem the tide, the Jedi Council despatches its best and brightest Masters to ferret out the assassins...



~*~*~*~

It happened sometimes to the Jedi. A bit too often for everyone's comfort, actually. Occasionally, against everyone's best intentions, a Jedi would fall to the Dark Side. This time, however, it was even more serious than ever before. The Jedi numbers were thinning just as Sith numbers grew in anticipation of their new Lord leading them to victory over the Republic.

A shadow appeared before an earthen bench outside the Jedi enclave on the placid farming world Dantooine. Tak Vedis slumped down onto the seat; his back faced the warm, reddish glow of a pristine sunset. He heaved a heavy sigh and his head fell into his cupped hands.

His former padawan, Sun-Gon Dak, recently turned on him, attempting to strike him down. The outlaw escaped Dantooine with the aid of a freighter captain and disappeared into the vast vacuum of space.

As he ruminated on the betrayal, a familiar presence crept up behind him. A small hand came to rest on his shoulder just as he noticed the presence of the diminutive Master.

"Hello, Master Vandar," he droned.

"Master Tak, it is good to see you once more." Vandar was once padawan to Tak, and he still seemed to wince when Tak called him 'Master'; he was still unused to the title coming from his former master.

"I suppose you heard?"

"I'm glad it wasn't me you pushed to the Dark Side." Vandar no doubt meant that to break Tak's dour mood, but it didn't have the desired effect.

The familiar sound of Tak's tongue clacking against his teeth was Vandar's reward. "Have you received your next mission from the Council?"

Tak was about to reply, when something in the Force drew his attention. The Force swirled around someone in the enclave. "Have any new padawans here for training?" Tak queried the green master.

"No one that I'm aware of," Vandar answered.

Tak focused on the fading bond with his former padawan. He realized Vandar couldn't sense the swirling Force. That usually meant there was someone he needed to take on as a padawan. Tak sighed inwardly; he didn't want to do this so soon after the wound with Sun-Gon was opened.

Tak stood, with some effort, and walked toward the enclave. "Are you coming?" he called back to Vandar. "It seems there's someone in there I need to meet."

~*~*~*~

As Tak was passing by one of the training rooms, the Force smacked him in the face. He looked down to find Vandar still tagging along. "Do you think they'd mind of I poked my head in?"

"Not at all."

Tak palmed the door open and stepped inside. A padawan was standing rigidly in a corner of the room; a master was pacing back and forth in front of her, clearly dist

 

Cool bananas - you've begun to post. I've been looking forward to this.

And, it was well worth the wait. Beautiful language, and a lot to think about here. I sense that things will not necessarily be as they seem, and there are already some surprises. Aria, for instance, having the ability to remember her beginnings despite the Jedi obviously believing she can't. Also - her brashness, and her lack of fear of her superiors. She's got a will of her own, this one. LOL

"She's got what it takes, and she knows how to use it."

I sense some disruptions in the Temple schedule as much as in the Force. Let's hope Tak is up to the challenge. Great start.

 

I am also very glad you have started posting.

How really poignant it is to have grown up to be something and yet wish for something else. It leaves us to really cheer for Aria, that she find a way to be able to make it.

 

Me gusta mucho. Whooo! Go fallen Jedi! Oops, sorry. Am I supposed to be cheering your fabulous heroes? Sorry.

Actually, not.

Can't wait to see where this goes!

 

Oh, you mean this? *sniff* It's alright, I suppose....




You know you need to add me to the PM list already....

 

YAY! Tak's back!

I'm already VERY intrigued by this story. And Aria sounds like quite an interesting character, and I love it how she purposely talks back to Masters. I wonder how her heritage will play a part in this, and if it will make Tak nervous about the possibility of taking her as a padawan.

Wonderful story so far, I can't wait for more!

 

Yay! A Tak story!

 

This chick seems like bad news.

PM me!

 

Ooooh! Aria sound almost scary. I wonder who her mother was and who brought her to the temple.

Needless to say you have my attention.

I have the feeling Tak is going to have his hands full training her.

Excellent start I can't wait for more, and I'm not humoring your ego. I really can't wait for more.


Can I get a pm when you post

 

Tak's back? Alright! This is gonna be good, it is. Interesting start.

 

Love's Aria's brash confidence. It's not every padawan bold enough to inform a Master they are their new padawan.

Of course, it's not every padawan crazy enough to mouth off to Masters either.

Very intriguing beginning.

 

very good beginning!! I can't wait to read the next part.

I loved this paragraph:

Her long, atramentous, flowing hair hung down in her face, framing a smooth, strong forehead, high cheek bones covered in rosy, yet milky white and soft skin. Her pink, replete lips were stuck in a seeming eternal pout, and her soft, azure discernment beckoned him closer when she fixed her gaze upon him.

great description.

 

Tahi posted: I sense that things will not necessarily be as they seem,

Ah, methinks, she's got it.

Noelie posted: It leaves us to really cheer for Aria, that she find a way to be able to make it.

Or the evil side of us, which is much more prevalent in the world today, wants to cheer for her to lose her struggle.

furrylittlebantha posted: Go fallen Jedi! Oops, sorry. Am I supposed to be cheering your fabulous heroes? Sorry.

You can cheer for whoever you like, my fine furry friend, and as always I encourage you to cheer for the bad ones.

Jaira posted: Oh, you mean this? *sniff* It's alright, I suppose....

Well, if you're going to take that attitude with it.

LilyHobbitJedi posted: Aria sounds like quite an interesting character, and I love it how she purposely talks back to Masters.

You would Of course you never talked back to me.

Meredith_Kenobi posted: This chick seems like bad news.

Perhaps... Only time, and the story, will tell.

Lea-El posted: Ooooh! Aria sound almost scary. I wonder who her mother was and who brought her to the temple.

All good questions. And Aria, scary? Not compared to what's coming.

DaenaBenjen42 posted: This is gonna be good, it is.

We shall hope so. :Þ

KELIA posted: Of course, it's not every padawan crazy enough to mouth off to Masters either.

:Þ Yes, she's definitely independent, Master, lol.

NerdWOMAN posted: very good beginning!! I can't wait to read the next part.

Thank you. But, you'll have to wait for the next chapter, until I feel like posting it.



Chapter two coming soon: Like maybe tomorrow, or maybe not .

Here's the pm list: Tahi, Jaira, Meredith_Kenobi, Lea-el, & NerdWOMAN

If anyone wants on or off, just let me know.

 

Chapter 2: A Most Unusual Request

~*~*~*~

Master Vrook was just wrapping up the proceedings with some well-placed comments about where Aria could go, when two silent Jedi entered the Training Council's presence, in violation of the standing order for privacy.

"I was under the obviously mistaken impression that privacy meant no one should enter while we deliberated." Vrook was stern and uncompromising in the face of disrespect.

"Forgive my impertinence, Masters," Tak pronounced diplomatically, "but I wanted to inform you that I have taken Aria Ardis to be my Padawan learner."

"It is well you brought her before us," Vrook announced, "but we have already decided she has no place in the Jedi Order. She must leave at once."

Tak glared at the master sternly. "As I said, I have taken this girl to be my padawan."

"She has been expelled from the Order!" Vrook was adamant.

Tak, on the other hand, was intense. He continued to stare Vrook down, sheets of ice forming over his hypnotizing glare.

Vrook began to feel just a bit uncomfortable under the burning analysis of the much senior master. Vrook swallowed and his eyes shifted nervously about the room. He was unaccustomed to the emotion of nervousness; he was the one who normally made others anxious in his presence.

He cleared his throat and shifted his body to regard the other masters in the Training Council. He noted with trepidation that they were all staring at him.

He cleared his throat again and turned back to Tak. "It seems we made an error. You clearly have the girl's confidence, Master Tak. Therefore, I believe you are in a better position to teach her than we are."

Tak finally blinked, and Vrook watched the fire vanish in an instant from his green orbs. Vrook finally let the air in his lungs out; he never wanted to feel that uncomfortable again.

The two visitors turned to leave when Vandar spoke up. "Master Tak, I believe there is a message from the Jedi Council waiting for you. I believe they have your next assignment."

Tak bowed to the Council. "Thank you, Masters. We will go at once."

~*~*~*~

When they were outside, the door abruptly closed. Aria looked up at her new master. "I can't believe you took it to Vrook so easily!" she chirped with a pleased grin on her lips.

"Firstly, Jedi do not 'take it' to anyone, let alone a capable Jedi Master such as Vrook," Tak admonished her. "And secondly, he is 'Master Vrook' to you. You must learn your place, young one. When you are a master, you may regard people as you wish, provided it is in a respectable manner."

"Yes, Master," Aria's voice was slightly obedient for the first time. "But it sure looked to me like you took it to Vrook," she commented under her breath.

"Stellar," Tak replied as he rolled his eyes and clacked his tongue against his teeth again.

He bent down to look squarely into her haunting cerulean gaze, grasping her shoulders. "Will you please try to comport yourself as a Jedi? Watch and listen to how I deal with people. We are about to go on a mission that will no doubt require us to blend in, not stick out like a sore thumb."

"If we want to blend in," Aria spoke up, "then I should be disrespectful. Take a look around, Chief. Kids today are totally disrespectful of their elders."

"Stellar." Tak sighed. He scratched his head and the corners of his mouth arched up. He closed his mouth and ran his tongue over the outside of his teeth, deep in thought about what to do with her.

"Then I guess we will have to stick out," he finally said. "I need you to be ever observant. It is my task to teach you the ways of the Jedi. That includes knowing when to speak, and when to listen. I want you to practice listening until we hear from the Council."

She was about to say something no doubt witty and sublime, when he stuck his finger up to her face. "Shh! Remember, practice listening. One cannot listen if one is talking."

She stuck her tongue out at him for a moment, until his eyebrows raised slightly and a brief, but amused smirk crossed his lips.

 

Hmm.. very cool that Tak "took it" to the Jedi. Aria is now legitimately his Padawan, although he may be pulling his hair out before he can get her trained.

Even more interesting that we see the Sith are warned about Tak BEFORE he is given the assignment. That can't mean anything good!

 

She stuck her tongue out at him for a moment, until his eyebrows raised slightly and a brief, but amused smirk crossed his lips.

LOL!!! Very good update! Thanks for the PM

 

Wow! Tak is going to have his hands full with Aria. I thought they were going to expel them both but instead they sent them on a one way mission.

Interesting post can't way for more.


Thanks for the PM

 

She stuck her tongue out at him for a moment, until his eyebrows raised slightly and a brief, but amused smirk crossed his lips.

*snork* funny funny conversation.

Tak bowed once more, and this time he noticed Aria did the same without prompting.

and they're off on da mission!!! ta ha!!

more, please!

 

Did the Sith have premonitions of the mission, or do they have an inside guy? Hmmmm...

 

She stuck her tongue out at him for a moment



Oh yeah Tak, you'll be teaching Aria "her place".

Great update

 

Noelie posted: That can't mean anything good!

Probably not.

NerdWOMAN posted: LOL!!! Very good update!

Thank you.

Lea-El posted: but instead they sent them on a one way mission.

Those are usually the best kind.

Meredith_Kenobi posted: and they're off on da mission!!! ta ha!!

Patience, my young friend. :Þ

Jaira posted: Did the Sith have premonitions of the mission, or do they have an inside guy?

Mmmm, could be.

KELIA posted: Oh yeah Tak, you'll be teaching Aria "her place".

I guess that was rather silly of him to say.



I hope everyone's hap-hap happy! Chapter 3 coming soon.

 

Chapter 3: Looking for Trouble

~*~*~*~

Outside, the weather was turning chilly. Crickets sang their nightly choruses and flung themselves into the crisp breeze. The night churned with sound and action, yet nothing seemed to stir.

From inside the enclave came a deafening silence; a lockdown was now in force to keep the padawans safe. Mandalorian raiders were recently sighted in some small villages and the people were afraid. The Jedi claimed the lockdown was the protect the padawans from possible Sith assassins. None but the Jedi believed this.

A ship was waiting on the landing pad for the two Jedi. Tak noticed a shadow cast from the pale moonlight creeping along the ground near the ship.

"Wait here," he told the eager girl.

"Sure thing," she replied cheerily.

He eyed her suspiciously for a moment, but then turned his attention to the ship and the wandering shadow. He decided to play it safe and get to whatever it was as quickly as possible. With a burst of Force speed, he closed the distance in a very short time.

Tak quickly had his saber out, and soon he was standing behind a suspicious character, who was skulking around the side of the ship. Green lit up the night sky as Tak's blade came close to the being.

"Turn around, slowly," Tak commanded the intruder.

"I have a message for you... Jedi," the Duros croaked. He turned slowly until his large eyes were visible, glistening in the dim light.

Tak nodded his head. "I'm listening."

"Stay away from this mission, and the girl, if you know what's good for you."

"And just who does this message come from?"

"A cloaked being who looked dangerous enough that I didn't ask," was the answer Tak expected. "Am I free to go?"

The green blade disappeared into the hilt. "Where did you receive this message?"

"Coruscant."

"You can go." Tak sensed a familiar presence behind him as he spoke. He turned and came face to face with Aria.

"What did he mean, 'the girl'?" Her hands were stuck firmly to her hips and she glared at her master.

"I assume he meant you." Tak placed his hand on her shoulder. "We will get to the bottom of this cryptic message, but for now, we have a mission to begin."

"I take it you're not going to listen to the advice of... whoever?" Her voice was stern, but Tak sensed the fear of rejection inside of her.

He smiled at her, and for the first time, he truly felt her relief at the warmth he was trying to show her. "No. I will not abandon you for any reason, no matter what danger awaits us."

Suddenly, and without warning, Tak found himself with a warm bundle of flesh and tears in his arms. Just as quickly as she pounced on him, however, she withdrew and wiped the moisture from her sunny, supple face.

"Let's go," Tak said with a kindly smile.

~*~*~*~

Canderous Ordo skulked down the darkened street in the Lower City of Taris. He usually walked with pride and an air of arrogance; he was once a proud and mighty Mandalorian warrior, now reduced to pawning his service to the highest bidder. He normally collected dues owed to the local crime boss from the street vermin of the local gangs, but right now he was doing something even more base and beneath him:

He carried with him a meager meal for someone.

This is about the most demeaning thing Davik has ever made me do, he thought with growing consternation.

Around a sharp curve, he heard a faint scraping sound behind a slightly opened doorway. He pushed his way through the doorway and quickly came face to face with a glowing lightsaber blade.

"If you want to eat, I suggest you put that toy away," Canderous admonished the young Dark Jedi.

The young man eyed him suspiciously for a moment. The lightsaber was quickly extinguished and he grabbed the tray of food. He quickly gobbled down what was there.

"You can go, Mandalorian," the young man snarled.

Canderous was about to open his mouth when a small comm unit beeped.

A stern woman's voice sounded. "Sun-Gon. Your former master is on his way to Taris."

"I will kill him," the young m

 

First of all - must apologise for being so late. But the good thing is I got two posts end on end to read. Double treat.

Aria is shaping up to be interesting. I noticed in the first new post, that despite the initial cheek, she did know when to be serious - i.e. there at the meeting.

I sense some subterfuge going on. I also get the feeling Aria can look after herself - which is just as well, judging by the fact her Master is now somewhat inconvenienced. LOL

Lots of intrigue. I like the Mandalorian and I'm curious to know why he thinks the woman is familiar.

Great cliffie.

 

Soo cool.

Nice suspenseful ending to the post!

 

Well Tak is a good man. Nice scene where he makes the point he will no abandon Aria.

Now.. where is Tak and how bad is the shape he is in from that fall?