Beyond - Legends The New Empire 4: A Powerful Ally (NJO AU, COMPLETED AT LAST 030704.)

Aunecah: Come, come, give me a break here. The race is going to happen about halfway through the story--maybe even a little before halfway. I've still a touch of mystery to add before the action heats up, and I also need to explain Jerrica's prowess with a lightsaber.

RebelMom: 'Tis very nice to know that, believe me.

Sache: As I explained to Tych earlier, I got the elbow idea from camp over the summer. You want conflict? Wait till next time.

 

**tacks fic to inside wall of turbolift and pushes button for top level**

UP!!!

 

**frowns**

Hmmm.... this turbolift does not seem to be very effective....


**tries again**

Up I say!

 

Might help if you could actually get some READERS on the damn turbolift...

 

Looks interesting...

 

Ohhh nice Sebulby... I love seeing Lukie! (and everyone else.. too... maybe )

 

Seb, once again I find myself apologizing for my tardiness. You've got a wonderful start, and I'm hoping to see some more of what's been shown in this post, primarily that pivotal moment when Sebrona decided to join the Order. Hoping to see more soon, and giving this fic one huge UP!!!!!

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Hey!!! There we go. The turbolift is getting a little full!

Let's have fun pushing the buttons.

Up!

 

JediSmuggler: I do hope so--especially after this post.

Luney: "Everyone else", hmmm? Gee, I wonder just WHO you'd be referring to. Well, I'll see what I can do.

Tych: Yeppers, expect some flashback scenes later on. [Qui-Gon]But not at the expense of the moment.[/Qui-Gon]

Sache: Yayyyy!! You just love pushing my buttons, don't you?

**********

Within the hour, both Jacen and Jerrica's racing pods were secure and sound aboard the Solo Flight; all five Jedi had packed it in. Anakin, as usual, was in charge of the hyperdrive while Jaina warmed up the rest of the ship in preparation for takeoff. In the rear of the cockpit, Jacen quietly adjusted the focus lens on the practise lightsaber, occasionally glancing across at Jerrica. She seemed engrossed in a data pad that related the earliest tales of the Jedi, as told by the few holocrons uncovered over the years.

Sebrona was not present--all four of them could sense him brooding in the crew lounge back aft.

"Stone Temple Control, this is Solo Flight requesting clearance for immediate departure," Jaina announced, toggling the repulsors for liftoff.

"Roger that," Luke responded from the control center in the bottom level of the temple. "You are cleared for takeoff. May the Force be with you, kids. I'll be on Malastare in time for the race."

"We'll be sure to have an update for you," Jacen called from the rear of the cockpit.

"Clearance acknowledged," Jaina chimed in. "Signing off." With that, she flipped off the speaker, bending over the throttle controls as she maneuvered the Solo Flight clear of the hangar.

"Anything interesting?" Jacen asked, nodding at Jerrica's pad.

"Well, what did this Qel-Droma guy do for the next ten years after the Sith War?" Jerrica asked, waving the pad about in the air. "It's like he didn't even exist from the end of the war till the day he died. Isn't there anything on him and his whereabouts?"

"Zilch," Jacen answered. "You're right, though--he might as well not have existed for that period of time. He kept to himself, barely ever associated with anyone. Nobody ever knew him by sight again until he surfaced on Rhen Var."

"Hm," Jerrica said, raising her eyebrows and staring at the pad. One of these days, she thought, it might be fascinating to research the lives of the Jedi of that era. She found herself oddly drawn to it after reading these passages on their lives, and she had a feeling that there were infinite volumes waiting to be learned about them.

Jacen sat in his seat for a long moment, fingering the lightsaber but leaving its inner workings alone. He watched the blue hue of Yavin 4's atmosphere through half-closed eyes as it faded away to the star-studded blackness of space, all that remained between them and an unsettled Malastare. His mind half-registered Anakin turning around in his seat to punch up the coordinates on the navicomputer, and he hardly ever gave a second thought to his siblings' hyperspace routine anymore. He gave it even less thought this time out, with all that was currently on his mind.

"Speaking of Jedi who barely associate with anyone, I'll be right back," he said thoughtfully, rising. None of his three cronies bid him farewell, but he dropped it as casually as a pebble, sidling through the cockpit door and strolling aft. Sebrona was right where he had last seen him--sitting on the semicircular seat around the hologram table, his arms folded on the tabletop and his glare fixed at its center.

"How's it going?" Jacen asked, sitting down across the table from him.

"How do you think?" Sebrona growled.

He hadn't lifted his eyes once since Jacen's arrival. This was going to be boundlessly difficult, and Jacen should have known it. His home had very nearly been destroyed as well by an alien race bent on enslavement and eradication, and as it was still fairly recent, he recalled the feeling all too well--not that he would ever forget it. Whether or not he could make Sebrona understand was a tough call, but worth a try.

"You know somet

 

Hi Seb. sorry I don't have any great feedback. It's been a very long day and I wanted to let you know I am reading. Keep up the good work.

 

There;s definitely more to this than meets the eye, but then, considering the author, I'm not at all surprised. And I have a feeling that the stakes for the upcoming race are higher than I could have guessed.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Sebby, I think this is shaping up to be the best Hutt-bustin' fic yet!


The character development of Sebrona here was just wonderful. He's defenitely no Gary Dug.

This line in particular was a favorite:

"...I'm not sure if I'll wake up on the dark side of the bed next morning."


Very clever play on words.

And the kids have stumbled on a plot that goes deeper than they thought!


**gets out cell phone to call Ray since it'll have to be done at some point anyway **

Might as well get a headstart.

 

Get ye up there!

 

I'm here! Late, as usual, but better late than ever, right?

Anyway, wonderful post. I liked it, and Sebrona is shaping up to be real good.

Aunecah

 

RebelMom: And yet you still managed to snatch the first reply as usual. Long days will be the bane of my posting schedule until Christmas break, btw.

Tych: MUCH higher. Isn't there always more than meets the eye?

Sache: I do hope they can only get better after this one...

Aunecah: Thank you, thank you, and thank you. Can we apply that first statement to the "Shadow Knife" beta work, hmmmmmmmmmmmm?

Now gang, I have a question/proposal. Lately I've had the inexplicable urge to increase the Indiana Jones influence of these stories, and as such, I'm thinking about reviving "Card Players, Gamblers and Scoundrels". If I decide to do that, do you folks have a preference? Would you rather I put this story on hold and finish CPGS, or work both at the same time? I could do either one and not break a sweat. But again, that's only if I decide to reopen CPGS.

 

Either way works for me.

 

Either way works fine for me, as well.

Aunecah
P.S. About "Shadow Knife" -- *sighs* You know what's happening next, and you know why it's taking me so long to write it.

 

If you can juggle 2 stories at one time, go for it.

 

Thanks, gang. That's probably what I'll do, then, if I decide to go through with it.

**********
Although Jaina was sure to call for a security squad as soon as she received docking clearance in downtown Pixelito, she felt no better when the squad removed the unscrupulous workers from her ship. They had an entirely new woe to consider: not only did they have to investigate the eviction matter, but now they had to find out why they had been attacked. It wasn't a gut feeling, but a whisper in the Force that told her it ran deeper than the usual Gran-Dug friction. Sufficient manpower was no concern, but sufficient time and evidence were another matter entirely.

Leaning against the doorjamb at the top of the boarding ramp, Jaina stared impassively down at the floor of the hangar, watching the hostile Gran being herded out of sight by the security squad. Then she glanced up at Jacen, her face both thoughtful and piqued by his appearance. He seemed to be in his "ready-for-anything" state--he was wearing the dark trousers, off-white shirt, and nerf-skin jacket that marked him as dressed for danger. A smile tugged at the corner of Jaina's mouth as she resolved to match him.

"Say, Jacen, I've got an idea," she related.

"Do you now?"

"Yeah, wouldn't you say that they jumped us because they had something major to hide with the eviction?"

"I sincerely doubt it was just because we interfered with their lunch break," Jacen said sardonically.

"So now that we've got two angles from which to work this, why not work 'em both at the same time? How about if Anakin and I check these clowns out. You and Jerrica can keep working on the investigation into the eviction. If that's the reason those guys tried to take us down, we'll be burning the candle at both ends and get to the middle of things all the faster."

"Agreed," Jacen said. "We'll see you guys at the race, if it takes us that long." He tossed a quick nod to Jaina and Anakin and then pushed himself out of the doorway, proceeding down the ramp.

"So where do you want to start?" Anakin asked, trailing Jaina toward the cockpit as she turned on her heel and started a brisk march forward.

"Well, did you happen to notice the name of the contractor that's developing that piece of land?"

"No, but we can get that from the Malastare department of interior. If it involves land clearing, construction companies have to make their plans known. And of course they have to register for building permits if they know what's legally good for them."

"Then there we go. Next thing to do is find out if these guys really are on the company payroll. I've got a hunch they're doing double duty."

***

"You know, guys, some things never change," Sebrona remarked as he strolled down one of the main streets of Pixelito ahead of Jacen and Jerrica. "When I left, the city was one big bag of dirt, the tree thorps were slums, and the locals were illiterate as well as bad to the bone."

"How about now?" Jerrica asked.

"Now the city's improved from dirt to grime, the tree thorps are all logged to hell, and the locals have learned to say 'Gimme that' while tripping up unsuspecting visitors."

"Sounds even worse than Mos Eisley," Jacen said with a perceptible grimace.

"Mos Eisley?" Sebrona snorted aloud, shooting a withering look behind him at Jacen. "Pixelito makes Mos Eisley look like Theed, man. Even uptown, where the other half lives, I'll probably wind up being a one-man riot squad before this is over. Why do you think my family green-lighted Master Solusar to get me the hell out of here?"

"Yeah, well, anything to save the world's ass along with your own, right?"

At this particular moment, the new voice startled all three of them into an entirely defensive mode. Jacen stiffened, but relaxed as he saw that he was witnessing a friendly gesture. A Dug perhaps two or three years Sebrona's senior, thus slightly larger, had appeared out of nowhere and jumped him from behind, rubbing his knuckles over the top of Sebrona's head. The latter promptly ducked and slipped into t

 

Surpriiiiise...

 

"I sincerely doubt it was just because we interfered with their lunch break."

LOL!!! I liked that one.


ooooh..... trouble is getting more and more intense. Sebrona finds himself between a particularly close rock and hard place. In other words, he needs to become an expert in tight-rope walking very quickly here.


But since Dugs seem to be pretty limber and well-balanced that shouldn't pose a problem.


And who's Elakie?


As to the question posed earlier... I'm really getting into this fic, so my mind's made up. However, if you think you can juggle, then I say go for it.


**blinks** Hey, look at me, I'm first this time!

 

Well, this sure puts a different spin on things. And I'll agree with Sache that Sebby (sorry, just couldn't help it) will defintely have to watch his step. After all, it sounds like his brother's fallen in with a rough crowd that it probably wouldn't do for a Jedi to be seen with.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Sebby's got some tough choices to make. He's got to balance family and Jedi. I love the social aspects of this story and the moral dilemna it entails. Seb's gonna go through a lot of angst.

 

Up?

 

Come Josephine, in my flying machine and it's...

UP!

...she goes...


UP!

...she goes.



Heheheh.... can you tell the end of the semester is drawing closer and closer?


I'm okay, really