The Dark Hope - Pre-Prequel Trilogy - Finished!

CHAPTER 19.0 (PLAY 'CHANGES' BY BLACK SABBATH)

Her little chest moved up and down in rhythmn with her figuritively large heart, in which so many could benefit from it. It was hard for Enothchild to see her this way, in so much pain and discomfort. The Force no longer her ally and working against her. So, this was going to be...............

A laugher. A riot. A much to be reckoned with.

 

"NADJA! SITH LORD! THERE'S A SITH LORD IN THE HOUSE!"

Like a shot, Nadja Moranna jumped up and stood on her bed, lightsabre ignited, looking around with gritted teeth. There was no Sith Lord in the room, none that she could sense nearby, and the person who warned her had left the room, giggling just outside the door. She looked around to be sure............and froze her gaze on the mirror. Staring back at her was her body, but her hair was dyed blue, green, and purple and she had a freshly painted clown face in matching colors and a shirt that said, 'Hi, I'm Dopey-Silly Shabang, Jedi Clown!'

"Enothchild!" She heard him bust out in laughter in the next room and she ran out and tried to tackle him. He let himself fall, taking care not to harm her rapidly debilitating body. She wanted to have fun instead of just laying in a bed all the time, so he had to become creative in getting her out of bed.

Nadja playful pinned his massive arms to the ground and began to laugh with him. The age lines on her face seemingly disappearing has she smiled and expressed the joy she felt. Of course, with all that makeup on, who could really tell. But he knew, and that was all that mattered. She then said to him, "Very clever, my Padawan. For that, you shall be awarded." She moved a little closer to his face. "Have you ever had clown sex?"

"Is it funny?" asked Enothchild. Nadja made an attempt to tickle him with head.

"Sure is. It involves a lot of ball juggling."

The two bursted out in a new round of loving laughter. After a few moments, she began to cough, seizing to the point of her trying to cover her near collaspe by lettin herself drift onto his chest. She quickly drew his arms around her tiny body, and smiled. "What would you do without me, Messy Poo?"

Enothchild began to stroke her dyed hair. Honestly, he said, "I don't know." He looked in her eyes and knew she didn't like the answer. So, he lied, "I'll go into comedy. I learned from the best, haven't I?"

"You still are. Don't forget it." Nadja smirked and planted her purple-colored lips on his longingly. She pulled away............

Enothchild was puzzled; this wasn't how he remembered the day. They made love, and everything leading up to that point was being played out. Not.....this.

Nadja said, "Maybe you can train her." She grabbed his hand, leading it over to a empty spot.............

 

CHAPTER 19.1

Enothchild bellowed in pain. He awoke, sitting in a chair next to Juna's bed, his hand in hers! Muriel was laying next to Juna on the other side and was awaken by his Vhinphyc roar, which would scare the **** out of anybody. He pulled his hand away as Dizzy came in with his blaster drawn. The Sullustan hit the lights and said, "Holey underwear, you're bleeding again."

The hand that, for some reason, grabbed Juna, was indeed bleeding, red splotches appearing on the white medical cloth. He got up and stumbled. Dizzy caught him and realized that was mistake. His arms trembled, his legs buckled. He strained out, "Help. A little help."

Muriel quickly grabbed the giant by his side and all three left the room and headed for the lounge. Enothchild regained his bearings and said, "Sorry."

"Stop saying that, you big ox," said Dizzy. He handed Muriel the medpack, for her hands were healed and it was her turn to treat the Vhinphyc. "Might as well had awaken you guys anyhow because we got problems." He paced around and finally began, "We'll reach Alderaan in 12 hours. That's the good news. The bad news is we can't go to Naboo from there."

"Why," asked Muriel. Enothchild sensed a new urgency within the red head. Followed by some guilt for thinking about something in regards to Juna.

"In Basic, the FALCON'S back is broke," he said sorrowfully. "Well, actually, she has a couple of slipped disks. But if we make another jump to lightspeed after dropping out, it will brake her back and cause the hull to fly apart." He threw his hands up. "We become one with the Force."

"Then we're dead in the water," said Muriel.

"Nah, when we reach Alderaan, I can land and fix it. A decent job will take a month."

 

Muriel stopped wrapping Enothchild's hand and abruptly said, "A month?! No. No, Juna needs..." She stopped herself and she wanted to shoot herself. "I need Juna home as soon as possible."

"Can't be helped, Red."

"Then I'll arrange other transport. Contact the Queen. Or her parents; Bendian would get a private destroyer there in short time."

"No," said Enothchild, his senses not to keen about that idea.

"I agree," said Dizzy. "After all, I promised the ambassador to get her home in exchange for a million credits. You can't reneg on her and I's deal."

"Promise her? Promised her! Why you little-." She reached for him and was stopped by large hands.

Enothchild stood up and said, "Enough! Now listen. The Vhinech went through a lot of trouble to abduct Juna and I am willing to bet they will try again. If we contact anyone or use standard landing protocols, they will know with certainty that she is on Alderaan. So we do need Dizzy's expertise on smuggling to get Juna home unnoticed. I know a safe place to land for repairs."

"In the city? Too many snoops," said Dizzy.

"No, I have a outside location. We can get whatever equipment you need. However, I do agree with Muriel about time. Something is going to happen before this month is up. Is it possible to temporarily repair the damage and then fix it on Naboo?"

"You mean half-ass it?" Enothchild nodded. Dizzy's large eyes slitted and he began to twirl a ruler he grabbed from his vest in his hand. "It's possible." He began to walk round again, stopped, and said, "I can, but it will take a week minimum. Two weeks max."

"Good enough," said Enothchild. He was glad Dizzy agreed with him. It was a first step in patching things up between them. "I have a feeling that taking things slow is more beneficial for us all. Especially for Juna. That last contact I had with her wasn't painful, but starteling. She could be coming out of her coma."

She could," said Muriel pleading. She sounded a little too hopeful.

 

"Dizzy, can me and Muriel talk alone?"

"Sure, Sarch, I gotta go look at readings up front," said Dizzy and he left. "You know, like how much crap is in the septic tank or something." He wanted to be in on the conversation and was just noting his displeasure.

Enothchild offered Muriel a chair, in which the Guardian reluctantly took. He then surprised her by taking a knee in front of her and grabbing her hand. He put another hand overtop and held it. He said, "What's so important on Naboo?"

Muriel sighed and began to tear up. She lowered her head in shame and felt Enothchild's hand on her chin, lifting her head up. He said with a smile, "If it's job related, you shouldn't be ashamed."

"I should be," said Muriel. Her purple eyes closed. "By the end of the month, all candidates who wish to seek the royal throne must file their intent to run." She shook her head and whined out. "I'm a bonafide jackass in thinking that Juna running for Queen is more important than her actually surviving."

Enothchild consled her. "No, Muriel. Don't feel bad about that. It is just your training making you think that way. You are constantly looking out for her best interest, and that's all."

"Yeah, some help my training was, huh? If it wasn't for me-."

"She wouldn't have gotten off Vhanba," he injected.

"Those bastards wouldn't have raped her."

 

"If that's true, I am just as much at fault for what happened."

Muriel looked into Enothchild's amber eyes. In the back of her mind, she heard a faint voice convey the messages of emotions she could see in his eyes. She was compelled to touch the lock of grey hair that was on his right horn and watched him slowly close his eyes. She recounted what happened on Vhanba and said, "You knew the guy in the white robe that tortured Juna."

"I thought I knew him," said Enothchild. "After three days ago, not anymore." He put his head down. "I'm partially responsible for what happend to Juna, Muriel. A long time ago an old dispute could have been settled and it wasn't. It's strange, but I feel that....Jury, by letting Juna suffer, is trying to hurt me." He shook his head. "I don't know why her, but I know why he's doing it."

"He called her 'my dark hope'," said Muriel, remembering the scene in the room. "The way he expressed it was profound and obsessive."

Enothchild seemed to look distant, as if recalling something. He remembered, but kept the information to himself until he had a chance to confirm. He then said, "He's motivations are twisted, and whatever we read in his emotions cannot be taken at face value. However, I don't think you should blame yourself for Juna. You did everything right."

"Yeah," she asked. He nodded, indeed remembering that even with all her intellegence and training, Muriel Thahada was still an 18 year old girl. "Thank you."

"Always at service, if you need me," he said. She got up and headed for Juna's room. "By the way, if I may ask, what's Juna's midi-chlorian count? It could explain her quick recovery."

Muriel thought about it and said, "18,000. I know that's high, but-"

"EIGHTEEN THOUSAND!" Enothchild stood up in absolute shock. "EIGHTEEN THOUSAND!"

 

"What? Well, what's your count?"

"12,000. Master Yoda is only 15,000."

"You make it sound as if she trumps the entire Jedi Order."

Enothchild let out a noise, then moved closer to Muriel. He pointed at the door and said, "No one, and I mean no one in history, has a count that high. The average Jedi has a count between 8,000 to 10,000. Yoda's is the highest ever and she beats it by 3,000 particles. You are telling me that a Blank Slate like Bendian Rapier fathered the most powerful being in the universe?!? Please tell me you are joking?"

Muriel went to say something, but stopped to rethink over those last statements. She stared at the Jedi, really unable to put all she knows of Juna's heritage into words. Actually, after three years living in Rapier Manor and experiencing all that goes on there, she couldn't think of anybody or anything that could explain Juna's heritage at all. "Most powerful being in the universe? Is that putting her on a god-like pedestal." She joked. He wasn't laughing. "This is a big deal, isn't it?"

"It is," said Enothchild. He walked into the room and looked at Juna's still body. Muriel followed him in, turned on her scanner and did her regularly scheduled examination. "Pern wants to turn her to the dark side of the Force. With her powers and with that mindset, Juna could very well erase anyone in her way. Assuming he can control her, of course, the Vhinech would have a very powerful trump card in a war."

Muriel flinched and shut down her scanner. She said, "There's something I should tell you." She fidgetted, as if worried that someone she knows might hear. "Juna's mother, Naressa, has shown very strong Force attributes. She made a book ignite on fire without help from outside sources And I'm sure she......made me do something against my free will. Sometimes, she makes Bendian turn white with fear, and it can be just from her entering a room."

Enothchild's curiousity was definately peaked. The investigative juices within him began to churn. A mystery has developed, and it had everything: kidnapping, death, family secrets and trivial characters.

(Maybe you can train her.)

He heard Nadja's words again, his heart fluttering towards those words. Enothchild said, "I will have to meet Mrs. Rapier sometime."

"Maybe when we get home," said Muriel. "If we get home."

(Maybe you can train her.)

Enothchild heard it again. Things were making sense now. Nadja awoke him to Pern's abduction of Juna, warning him about the ramifications. And knowing what he knows about the prophetcies, if Juna Rapier is indeed the Dark Hope, then all is not well for the galaxy if Pern reclaims her and turns her. Not for the galaxy, not for the Republic, and not for the Jedi Order.

Maybe, he would have to train her. Beat Pern to the punch.

Maybe he should research it first before doing so.

Maybe.

********************************************

END OF CHAPTER 19

Got to go write some more. Will post in a few days. Until then, always change a burnt out lightbulb in the daylight. Otherwise.....

 

aND up

 

Poor Juna.

I loved the way you described the falcon back as been broke.

Muriel's only 18! Wow...

 

Yup. Muriel was 15 when she began to protect and teach Juna. I did that to give everyone who reads this a sense of the Phantom Meance, i.e. Queen Amidala being only 14 when she assumes the throne. Therefore, I surmized with the Dark Hope that maybe, by tradition, that a career in politics begins at childhood. In the case of Juna Rapier, she became a junior ambassador at age 6. At age 8, she is one of the most sought after delegates within the Republic Diplomatic Corps. Also, Queen Landana, this story's Nubian leader, has been on the throne for almost 40 years, having succeeded her mother, Queen Tessa, who was queen for 50 years. That's why I wrote, back in chapter 4, that everyone at the Queen's meeting was in shock about having free elections. It had been nearly a century since they had them.

Being a draftsman, I visualized that the Falcon having a circular bracing members held all together by a main structural beam that keeps the members and the hull together. Thus, the 'back' and the 'disc' of the ship.

Poor Juna, indeed. Her life, like any other SW character, will become one big, nonstop, out of breath roller coaster ride through Hell. This whole story is just a snipit of that ride. And many people will try to either help her through, try to harm her, or in the future become a victim because of it.

But that's another story.............

 

I'm looking forward to Enothchild meeting Naressa. I thought she was the true Sith "Dark Hope". Am I remembering wrong?

 

I'm back! Wowsers! I echo what everyone else said. Great posts, I'm wondering what connections there are in Enoth's and Naressa's past. It will also be interesting to see what they big tiff was between Enothchild and Jury.

 

Whoa, you are one great writer! I'm not just saying that because you're a huge guy

Post more! I luv it! -<-@ another virtual rose (they're cheap!)

SSSSSSNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOORRRRRREEEEEEE!!!

 

Actually, Di-Lee, you are not wrong. To a degree.

Ask yourself: what are destinies in the Force? Is Anakin Skywalker the TRUE Choosen One who will be bring balance to the Force, or is it Luke?

I'm splitting hairs, but think about it.

Also, this story is an ongoing mystery that solves itself has each page is written. Remember these facts:

1.)Darth Sidious knows who the Dark Hope truly is: Juna Rapier. It is her destiny.....

2.)Jurivicious Pern thought Juna was older. Much older. Could he have seen Naressa Rapier in his visions by mistake? Remember, cloudy the Force can be......

3.)The only link between Enothchild and Naressa in the past is.........Bendian(remember Seductive Reasoning). Naressa is the ultimate tabloid babe:a politican's wife who is practically nonexsistant and avoids everyone but her immediate family. They have never met.

4.)Naressa's heritage is exposed in Dark Hope Prologue 4:The Guardian. Also I written it to throw people off a little bit. Darth Nafarrious, a Sith Lord that lived during the Sith War, is an ancestor.

Much more will be reveiled when our heroes reach Naboo. And yes, not one but TWO throwdowns will occur between Enothchild and Pern. And in the mix of the second fight(SPOILER) Naressa and Magus Prophet our involved.

I'm not saying another word.

 

Boy, ask one simple question...

J/K! Thanks for explanation/history!

 

Anybody get the clown joke?

 

I got it! That was from Nubian Moon, mainly, but I think Nadja did a clown act in one other, but I forget which one.

UP!

 

That's true too, but I meant the whole joke. You know, the name and all?

 

Dopey-Silly Shabang the Jedi Clown? I suppose it should, but nothing's ringing a clear bell. =(

 

It's a joke.

That's all. >snickers<. Like Qui-Gon....and Obi-Wan......Dopey-Silly.....see?

 

<smacks hand on forehead> D'oh! That'll teach me to try so hard to read between the lines so much. Oh well. The joke is gotten, in any case. Can't wait for more dark jedu/vhinech action!

 

It's coming, but it a titantic build up. Act 2 doesn't have a lot of action, but it's meant to be that way because of Act 3 being the finale. But Act 2 reveals a lot about and adds plot twist to the exsisting storyline. Hope it all comes together well(pun intended).

 

SSSSSPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNN!!!!!

 

INDEED!

 

CHAPTER 20.0

Magus Prophet sat all alone high above an unconnecting, unfinished structural pillar and looked out before him at his people inside the flightship. It was like seeing those holopictures of the Republic's shockball games where the recorder takes a shot of the crowd, but in real life. Thousands of Vhinech, seated so to speak, on several levels and making all the required noise of a domed stadium. Little fires burned, clothes were hung like banners, children ran around in cleared out areas. All and all, the Vhinech were like everyone else trying to overcome a thousand years of genocide.

Prophet didn't care anymore. They were, indeed, sheep and he the herdsman. He had, a month ago, denied the fact and up to a few days ago he stilled believed in the entire Vhinech cause. That is, until Ju-Nah came into his life. And Enothchild Sarch took her away from him. The void, filled by her presence, was now as big as the hollowed out arena that was this flightship and it was making him angry. So angry, he saw his Vhinech, the people he fought to protect and save and value them, as nothing. They were trapped by their light and Dark Side minds, forever in accepting those conditions and living in absolute confusion.

He was not confused. The Dark Side was the only constant in his life that fueled him. His light side was long dead. He did not desire peace and calm. He wanted chaos, death of the weak and blood from the strong. Warriors, like himself, demand blood from the people they rule over. And soon, he will get what he wants from his people. Only one thing was missing from his 'perfect' exsistence.

Ju-Nah.