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

Wow, nice way of leaving us hanging Sebulbyman!

The thoughtful pause that followed indicated to Jacen that while Jerrica's eyes were closed, her mind was quite open to the Force. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

"My master ordering me to stand on my head until I come up with the answer?" Jerrica needled him.

"That's exactly what I'll do if you don't knock it off." As hard as Jacen tried to sound stern with her, he couldn't restrain an air of playfulness from edging its way into his voice. "C'mon, Jer, we've got thirty-odd hours to clean this mess up if we're lucky." They're so cute (Ummm unless that's not the kind of thing you want to hear... does cool work too? )

 

Great post, Sebby. The puns were great, and I loved the fact that Jacen and jerrica are doing exactly what Anakin thought they might be. Now, I have a feeling that they're going to be needing to really keep one eye looking over their shoulders during the race.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Another fine addition.

 

Sache: You should've seen how long my senior English teacher and I could keep a string of puns going. Old habits die hard. Jaina...well, not only is she stuck here doing a load of grunt work while Jacen and Jerrica are out adventuring, but you might be safe to assume she's jealous. Jerrica nearly has Jacen's undivided attention at this point, and that'll lead somewhere later in the series.

Aunecah: Please, I've got LOTR music hopelessly stuck in my head as it is. Thank you!!! Ooh, yummy brownies! I, too, have been playing the role of Gandalf with DRL as the Balrog.

Luney: Oh, I think both terms describe them quite aptly.

Tych: Yes, very possibly--though not quite in the way you might think...Yes, I was raised on punster cheese.

RebelMom: Thankyouthankyou. I can but hope and pray that the next two additions will be even finer.

All right, folks, I'l probably post again tomorrow. After that,if you hear news of a freak fire on Mount Washington in NH, that will be me smiting DRL's ruin on the mountainside.

 

"He's here?" Jacen hazarded.

"He didn't go any farther, not that I can tell." Jerrica looked down, studying the floor in front of the steps. "Not on this level, anyway."

Thereupon, Jacen knew precisely what she was getting at. Moving as one, they dropped side-by-side to one knee, but Jacen didn't dare pound on the floor for fear that it would be heard elsewhere. Instead, he studied the edges, searching for a hinge or a crack that would seem a little wider than normal. Nothing caught his gaze, but Jerrica hadn't been looking for anything at the edges.

"Look at this," she said in a low voice, placing her hand over a pair of large bolts that jutted upward from the floor. They seemed to be present only on this section. A quick glance up the tunnel showed that there were no other bolts symmetrical to these.

"Mechanism mounting of some sort?" Jacen guessed.

"Probably. If this is a pneumatic trapdoor, that's where the arm would be attached to the underside, if only there's an activator around here for us to spot."

"Well, the best place to hide something is in plain view," Jacen said, looking up from the floor. He glanced around, trying to spot a toggle switch or a wire that looked like it was in frequent use. His gaze first lit upon the electrical lines that ran along the wall of the tunnel, but they were thickly coated with dust--none of them had been touched in ages. Jacen's eyes travelled slowly downward, and he caught his breath. Just below the wires was a fuse box with a red handle protruding from the side.

"Uh huh," he said slowly, stretching one hand out toward the box. With a flick of the Force through his fingers, he threw the switch and stood up straight. Immediately the section of floor before them dropped several inches, receding underneath the adjacent wall, revealing that the stairs continued through the floor and into a concealed sub-level.

Waiting in that sub-level was another guard, who twisted around as he heard the trapdoor grinding open. He frowned darkly--he hadn't been told that anybody else would be dropping in. With weapon at the ready, he headed for the stairs, cautiously ascending toward the tunnel. First he took aim up the staircase, making sure that nobody was waiting higher up on the steps.

Had there been another individual watching his progress, it would have involved his continued advancement up the stairs. Then it would have involved his abrupt yell of surprise, due to being grabbed from above and yanked upward out of the corridor. Finally, it would have ended with the rough noises of a brief struggle, dominated by a blow to the stomach and then a cracking clout to the jaw. Presently, Jerrica poked her nose and left arm through the opening, waving the blaster about to ensure that no more guards were lying in wait. She nodded to Jacen, who neatly stowed the body of the inert guard underneath the stairs and then started down.

The corridor had a row of fluorescent bar lights mounted at the corner of the wall and ceiling, casting enough light by which to read a data pad. Tiptoeing, Jacen led the way on a downward slope that took a sharp bend to the left. He left it to Jerrica to clear the way, making postive that there were no guards and no security systems ready to intercept them. Nothing, organic or mechanical, jumped out and bit them. It made Jacen uneasy with the feeling that if they were moving this easily, they were walking right into an ambush.

The corridor grew brighter around the corner, and the slope became level. Jerrica held her blaster loosely in her left hand, eyes probing the higher illumination. Shortly, she stopped behind Jacen at a T intersection, glancing from one direction to the other. To her, it was six of one and half a dozen of the other, but to Jacen, closing his eyes and probing with the Force in both directions, the decision was a wee bit more complex.

"You hear that?" Jacen whispered, holding up one hand.

Jerrica held her breath and listened carefully. Presently, the faint sound reached her ears as well: voices. They didn't sound too

 

Cliffhanger!

So the Hutts are involved in this too. Those worms seem to be involved in everything. Great action scenes, Sebby. I can feel the adrelin rushing (even if I can't spell it )

Keep up the good work.

 

"Guards?" Jacen repeated in mock surprise, imitating a clipped Byss accent. "Hardly, my dear. Why, any Gran worth his salt would jolly well have stim tea and wheat-cakes laid out for uninvited guests like us."


I can't blame Jerrica for snorting. That was my reaction too! Way too fun...


And then there was the "Long arm of the Law" line

Reminds me of a kid on my brother's baseball team, with the last name Law. He's a pitcher, so naturally we get a lot of comments about the "Right arm of the Law"

Envisions Jerrica pulling a Neo and dodging all bullets.. er... lasers.. er... whatever


Somehow I have a feeling the blasterfire in the cliffé was of a different origination than the gun pointed at her pretty little nose

 

Looks exciting...

Why do I get the feeling Ardulla's headed for the same cellblock as Zorba?

 

So the Hutts plan to continue in whatever scheme they've got hatching. You know, you'd think by now that they'd know better than to go about messing with Jedi. Great cliffie, I think you'd better post soon!

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Another cliffie! ugh Great work though Sebulby... I love how Jacen smelled hutt slime... ewww *shudders*

 

Sorry for taking this long to reply, folks--I had to send Cliffé packing back to Otoh Gunga. I'll try to post more this afternoon and bring in a surprise revelation. Meanwhile...

RebelMom - The Hutts do indeed seem to have a hand in many things, hence why I'm writing this series.

Sache - Umm-humm, I love doing accent scenes. Don't be so sure about the blaster fire, though...

JediSmuggler - I can't possibly imagine. If they did wind up in the same cell block, they'd waste no time plotting to escape.

Tych - You know Hutts, they'll milk it for all it's worth. In fact, they may even set out against the Jedi at some point in this power play of theirs.

Luney - Yes, Cliffé strikes again, and not for the last time. Trust me, Jacen could've done far worse than smell it.

 

Holding her breath, Jerrica swung her legs upward in the same instant as the thug squeezed his trigger. She backflipped into the air, narrowly missing the bright red stream of fire that ricocheted off the side of the rail, and in her desperation, she reached for the rifle of the thug she had gunned down. The rifle jumped onto its butt and then flew from the floor into her hands, but she cursed silently as she realised that she lacked the know-how to fire an automatic weapon. As she landed, Jerrica set the rifle to semiautomatic and opened up on the stupefied thug.

The blowback sent her staggering backwards and almost tripping over the rail, but the desired effect was also accomplished?the thug let go a high-pitched death scream as he toppled off the platform. Releasing the breath she'd been holding for almost a full minute, Jerrica ripped the power cell out of the rifle, threw the weapon aside and then recalled Jacen's blaster pistol to her hand. She nearly dropped it in surprise as he suddenly cannoned out of the sub-level, taking the steps three at a time to the platform. He immediately jerked to one side, leaping off the platform and sprinting toward her.

"Other side!" he hissed, jumping over the rail. Shoving the new power cell into the pistol, Jerrica cocked it as she followed Jacen to the other side of the tunnel. He ran a few meters and then flung himself to the floor, sliding a short distance down the base of the rail and keeping his head down. Jerrica imitated him, and they both lay prostrate, deathly still, relatively covered by the darkness and the web of the rail as the remaining hoodlums charged out of the sub-level.

"Musta headed for the passageway," one hood was heard to exclaim. "C'mon! Lock and load!" There was a spatter of shouting between the others, but it was unintelligible as Jacen and Jerrica listened to them racing up the stairs to the platform. After the echo of the last voice had faded away into the passage, Jacen cautiously lifted his head and looked behind him.

"Now's our chance, go!" he snapped, scrambling to his feet. With a constant eye over their shoulders to ensure that none of their enemies were coming back, the two of them jumped back over the rail and sprinted up the tunnel on the left side, both positive of where it would come out. Already they could see that they were rounding a curve and heading upgrade, and they were just out of sight of the station.

"Well, now the felinx is out of the bag," Jerrica said tersely. "They know we're onto them and they'll stop at nothing to get us out of the way."

"Correction," Jacen puffed over his shoulder. "They know somebody's onto them, but they don't know we were the ones snooping around down there. It's the race that I'm worried about, not knowing who Gardulla's gonna bet on."

"What makes you think she won't bet on you?"

"I admit it's a fifty-fifty chance, but we'll know better when we find out what the competition looks like."

Jacen broke off as he cocked an ear to loud, resounding voices reverberating up the tunnel from the station. Even over his and Jerrica's pounding footsteps and laboured breathing, he could hear numerous angry shouts and diatribes from the hoods they had eluded. Apparently, they hadn't eluded them for long. Exhorting Jerrica to increase speed, he pounded the floor of the tunnel even harder, hoping to hear a more welcome sound from the upper end.

Another minute of running brought them into light, a dim light, but still a blessed light. The voices behind them had grown no closer; they had stayed at roughly the same distance thus far. The tunnel took another gradual curve to the left, and upon rounding it, Jacen and Jerrica found to their colossal relief that the end was in sight. This tunnel adjoined the main line beneath the transportation center, and as they drew closer, they could see that it was barricaded by three horizontal beams of galvanised durasteel. The beams, though mounted high on the walls, could still be jumped or climbed.

Jacen and Jerrica stopped at the barricad

 

Wow! We're both kinda dropping detonators regarding family lately. First this post of yours, then my recent update. Great post, Seb. Question I have is, does Jerrica know to whom she's related? And if she does, when is she going to tell Jacen? Either way, that inserts a nice little plot twist. I hope more will be coming soon, because leaving us hanging like that is just Sith!

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

My, that girl has a strong ancestry.
Great action sequence, yet again, Seb. I know who to ask for help when I need to write a firefight.

 

Yipee! Awesome post! I'm trying to remember everything I wanted to comment on. I should have kept a list

Okay, first of all... favorite quote:

"All right, Jacen, I've had enough trains for one afternoon," Jerrica said testily. "May I suggest we get topside and back to our nice safe pods?"

Yes, yes indeed. That's exactly where I would head


Best funny line: Updating the shoe database


Best creative word: felinx; very nice



And... Jerrica is descended of Nomi Sunrider!?!?!? Wow! I didn't see that one coming! Can't wait to see what repurcussions come out of their knowledge of this. I wonder if Jerrica herself knows?


And Luke's little insight into the future... what a shocker


Whew! That was some fun reviewing

 

Tych - Nope, Jerrica doesn't know her lineage. It will, however, figure more prominently into the series later on.

RebelMom - I'd be uber-glad to help any way I can if you need some such assistance.

Saché - I figured you of all people would like the "shoe database" line. Actually, "felinx" is a word that RM used in "Red Flight", and I just assumed it was canon. As I say, Jerrica doesn't know the extent of her family ties, but when she finds out...hooboy.

 

Get thee up there!

 

I have a request. Don't post anything in the next two days. I have finals, and I won't be able to resist the temptation to read this thing if I see a new post.

Anyway, that was a great action scene. I could visualize Jacen and Jerrica doing that (of course). And that's a wonderful ancestry you've got for Jerrica ... but is there supposed to be any significance about "Nomi Sunrider" other than that she is from Tatooine Forgive me, I'm a little slow today.

Aun

 

Wwwwwell, once again that's my "Tales of the Jedi" fanning at hand. Nomi Sunrider was a famous Jedi of the Old Republic, who was instrumental in the victory of the Great Sith War. I'll take this thread further in the next three stories.

As for this one, folks, new post is on the way. Now we've got a flashback in the works.

 

HEY! How didst I miss this? Nomi Sunrider eh? Wow! And they're going to fall deeply in love... *beams* I knew it Ah, gotta love the forbidden romances between Master\Apprentice! I loved seeing my Lukie as well, and Han. (And being able to catch my breath!)

Excellent work Sebulby!

 

Yep, Nomi Sunrider. Ah, who knows--I'm thinking of labeling the sixth fic in the series as a "different kind of J/J story." You know what I mean. And enjoy your breath while you've got it, 'cuz that pod race looms on the horizon.

Edit: Now hear this, gang--I'm now juggling TNE and my handmaiden story, so to regulate the posting schedule, each story is taking turns getting written. If DWB doesn't send in any clones, I'll get back to this one regularly.

 

Wohoo!! Now I'm finally caught up...great action, Sebby.

Note to Jerrica: Firing an automatic weapon's easy...just pull the trigger, hold it down, and spray n' pray...

-Tim

 

Thanks! Hehehe. Have you ever tried to fire an M-16 on automatic? I tried that once and almost lost my grip on the gun. Semiautomatic was much easier--big ol' difference.

 

Actually, Seb, I've never shot a fully-auto weapon before, nor an M-16 or other versions thereof. My experience with military weapons is limited to a Colt. 45, a M1 Garand, a Soviet Moisin-Nagant, and my blackpowder replicas.

I thought the new M-16 (A2) didn't have full auto, though, but a 3-round burst. Did you shoot an older version?

-Tim

 

Oh yeah, much older. This was back in the mid-90's that I shot the thing, and it definitely had full automatic. I guess the difficulty in controlling it was the reason why they came out with the A2 model.