You Can Run But You Can't Hide (A Barin Truthfinder and Thom Capella story)

Another brilliant post!

Loved how Thom was trying to keep Dan awake with his silly jokes. I especially enjoyed how An-Paj sat down and really listened to the boy rather than jump to any awful conclusions.

With An-Paj in Thom's camp, Barin doesn't stand a chance!

More!

 

I'm with JediK... An-Paj AND Thom... I'm telling you, Barin, you're only making it harder...

 

Yay! Hurrah! Dan-Lo will be okay, An-Paj is on Thom's side, and now he knows the whole name. Now, once Dan-Lo wakes up, Brick must get his ... Superlative post, HaiGan.

 

Up. More, please?

 

Dan-Lo's recognition of Thom's voice and then the wall was quite realistic and really portrayed his condition. Also, An-Paj's reaction to Thom being in his office and then at what he was looking at was great. What's going to happen with Bruck?

Excellent post, Hai Gan!

 

Aw, thanks everybody . I'm afraid there won't be another post for a couple of days . Maybe friday or saturday .

 

Wait no longer! Rather short, I'm afraid, but hopefully better than nothing.

******

"Now then." The Healer that Simeon had called Hauyne walked briskly into An-Paj's office. "Thom, wasn't it?"

An-Paj regarded the man with an expression of friendly disapproval. "Gehlen, I seem to remember telling you to take the day off. Nice to see you still respect my orders."

Hauyne smiled tiredly. "You know me: stick a case under my nose, I deal with it. Okay, kid," he went on, turning to Thom. "We got your friend fixed up, but he's going to be in here for a while. You got yourself a nice necklace there," he added, with a frown.

Thom suppressed a sigh at having to tell the story yet again. "I had an argument with a padawan and yes his Master knows about it and yes I did have a bacta patch on and no I don't need another one thanks."

"And that sorts me out," Hauyne said with amusement. "Mind if I ask you a few questions about what happened to your friend Dan?"

Thom shook his head, willing to help in any way he could. "Is he really okay?"

"As okay as he's going to be for a bit with a fractured skull, a stinker of a broken arm, and concussion to boot. Don't worry, he'll be fine in a week or so. Give him a few days and he'll be driving everybody up the wall wanting to get out of bed."

Thom scraped up a grin for the unfamiliar Healer. "Dan's house-trained. It's Chersh coming to visit him you need to worry about."

"Chersh?"

"He's Corellian."

"Oh kest."

"Yup."

"If I can get a word in edgeways," interrupted An-Paj, "I think I need to catch up on this. Thom, you were in here in the first place because your friend was hurt? Not simply because you had some- ahem- detective work to do?"

"Uh-huh." Thom nodded. "I found him lying at the bottom of the stairs." He gulped at the memory. He was going to remember that sight for a long time.

"In the West Section?" asked Hauyne. Thom reluctantly nodded again, anticipating what would come next.

"The West Section is closed. What were you doing in there, young man?" An-Paj asked. "Just 'looking for your friend'?"

"Uh-uh. One of the little kids from the Creche had gone missing, we were both looking for him."

"If you saw the kid enter a restricted area, why didn't you get someone to help?" asked Hauyne. "The place is closed for a d- for a good reason!"

Thom shrugged and looked stubbornly at his knees in response to the accusaion. Hauyne rubbed his face with a work-worn hand, and backed off.

"Is the child still in there, Thom?" asked An-Paj, concerned.

"I dunno," said Thom. "I dunno if he went in there. We never saw him, I just thought it'd be the sort of place he'd go."

"You and Dan split up while you were searching?" asked Hauyne, trying to get back to the point. Thom nodded again. "Did you see anyone else?"

Thom shook his head. "I told you. There wasn't anybody." His strained voice gave away his distress. "That's why I had to move him."

"Easy, kid," Hauyne reassured him. "Stone steps, right? Maybe twenty steps in the flight?" Thom nodded. "How was he lying when you found him?"

An-Paj looked sharply at the other Healer, but remained silent.

Thom bit his lip, worried but thoughtful. He closed his eyes for a moment to help picture the scene, but it didn't take much effort to call it to mind. "Kind of on his side, facing the stairs, with his head against the wall and this shoulder up against the bottom step," he said, indicating his right shoulder. "His arms and legs were all sort of mixed up." He finished in a tight little squeak of a voice, and An-Paj rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Why do I get the feeling there's something behind all these questions, Gehlen?" the blue-skinned Healer asked.

Hauyne sat back with a sigh. "Forensic medicine is not my area, but from the kid's injuries I'd say he came down backwards. The back of the skull was a mess. If he'd been walking down normally the only way he could have done that would be sitting on his tail, and the bruising is all wrong for that. People walking up the stairs don't g

 

Oh, that was an amazing post!

I love all the various emotions Thom went through, I really felt for him.

And Barin speechless at the end... looks hopeful.

This is definitely one of my favourite threads! More whenever you can!!

 

I wish I could write as well as you do. *wistful sigh* You described Thom's feelings so expertly and logically; the way he desires to get back at Bruck and yet the way he hesitates when the word "brig" comes up. You wove Barin into the post so wonderfully, too, the way he would know about forensics and "detectoring" and all that, and the way no one else was available to do that sort of thing. Thom was so fiercely protective of Dan-Lo, as well. I loved the part where An-Paj tells his colleague to take a vacation or An-Paj personally will knock him out and put him on the next starliner. I loved it all. Keep writing, and I'll keep enjoying it.

 

Oh HaiGan

I finally found the time to read your entire thread (partially due to my fascination with Barin, but also because I have the internet all night!). I loved it, absolutely loved it!

So well written, excellant lines, good attention to detail. Thom had me smiling and laughing and choking from laughing too hard. Barin made me sad because he is such a beautiful little initiate and now he's cold and distant. Anyway, I loved it! Absolutely, utterly and splendidly loved every minute of it.

Kithera

P.S: May I ask out of curiousity was the small black haired, blue eyed initiate's name Caelum by any chance?

 

Sitting with a big goofy grin. But I think Bruck has it coming. I don't think he'd necessarily end up in prison, but he is definitely NOT the type to make Jedi; he's going to wash out, and it looks like it will be sooner rather than later.

Yeah, having a weeping initiate suddenly attached to my waist would probably leave me speechless, too...

 

A truly amazing post HaiGan.

The way Thom looked at the situation and ended up blaming himself for Dan getting hurt. Then to top it all off as he clung to "his knight"...

Fabulous!

 

I don't want to repeat things everyone else has already said, so I'll settle for a simple wonderful!

 

Superb post, Hai Gan! Thom's thoughts wre very well done. And the other healer, I hope we see more of him.

That part at the end when Thom hugged Barin and he was speechless, that was just perfect! Please post more as soon as you can!

 

Lovely!

The bit where Thom vaulted into Barin's arms was such an honest reaction for a stressed kid. I hope Barin appreciates that open show of trust.

 

Hey! We have stars! Hmm. I hope that doesn't mean we DON'T have faces anymore. Shoot, probably does. Lemme see ... (I think that's a face.)

Superlative post, HaiGan! I can't wait to see what Barin will make of this. (Ooh, suspense!!!)

 

Jane, here's hoping it was okay to borrow An-Paj again. This is short, but it's pretty intense, so I hope quality mkes up for quantity. Another plunge into Barin's psyche...

******

After Barin's initial shock came the memories, charging the shields with the advantage of surprise. Other arms held him close. Jealous. Possessive.

//Mine!//

He was trapped in the embrace, imprisoned, stifled, unable to get free.

//Mine!//

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. Fog closed on his mind, spider-webs spun about his thoughts.

//You will always be mine!//

[[Let me go!]]

The darkness hovered at the edges of his mental vision. Faces loomed out at him, demanding, accusing.

"Where do you think you are off to?" Mace thundered.

"What in the name of the Force have you done?" Qui-Gon asked.

Xanatos' wide, dark eyes stared at him, full of shattered trust. "Why? Why did you leave me?"

//Did you think you could escape me?//

Yoda's stick tapped on the floor. His voice was low and full of menace. "If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny..."

//You are mine! You can run, but you cannot hide. There is nowhere I cannot find you.//

"Let me break your arm again." Healer An-Paj, voice twisted with scornful disbelief. "Then I'll know who broke it."

//My padawan.//

[[No! You are dead!]] Barin shuddered as scarlet waves of fury rose to swallow the black, crashing through his thoughts, flooding his mind, tearing down the cobwebs that held him fast.

//Mine!//

[[You are dead!]]

//Mine!//

The arms were still there, holding him. He couldn't run. He could only fight.

//MINE!//

Adrenaline, anger and the Force surged through him, priming his nerves, strengthening his muscles, quickening his reactions.

[[You are dead! How many times do I have to kill you?]]

An-Paj's voice, tense with anticipation. "Thom, come away..."

Yoda shook his head sadly. "The dark path," he said.

//You cannot escape me, my padawan. You cannot fight me. You are mine.//

"Barin? Sir? Are you okay?"

//You are mine!//

[[No! I am my own.]]

Barin shivered, grasping for ice to cool the fire, reason moving at glacier speed through the furnace of his mind.

[[My own!]]

Scarlet darkened to crimson, like blood upon snow, snow falling through the mists, freezing the memories and the whisperings of the past.

"Worry not," he said, hearing his voice coming from a distance. There was another face, tear-streaked, peering at him in concern. Darker bruises marked the dark skin on the neck beneath. Barin traced them with his fingers, anchoring himself on their reality.

"Hey, your hands are cold," Thom said in sniffled complaint.

"Sorry. I told you to get this seen to."

"The bacta patch fell off." Thom hiccuped and gulped. "Okay," he added in resignation. "I'll get another one." He snuggled back into Barin's chest, heedless of the knight's lack of response.

Barin closed his eyes, centring himself in the eye of the storm, sweeping his emotions back into cold storage, returning his thoughts to their proper places, tidying up after the calamity. Order was restored, the chilly cloak of tense calm settled about him again. He reopened his eyes to meet An-Paj's concerned gaze. "It is alright now."

An-Paj regarded him seriously. "Are you sure?"

"As far as I ever can be. We had better get down to business." The knight stared at Thom in a bemused fashion, unwilling to probe too deeply into why the boy had thrown himself at him like that. Somewhat awkwardly but not unkindly he detached himself and set Thom down on the chair. Thom wiped his nose on his sleeve. Barin's lips tightened, but he said nothing and gravely presented the initiate with a handkerchief.

Thom blew his nose, hiccuped again, and eyed Barin from beneath his mop of hair. "You w- wouldn't send anyone to prison, would you?"

Barin crouched so he could see Thom's face, his weight balanced on his toes, considering his answer. 'No' would be a falsehood, but 'yes', in the circumstances, was probably no

 

Ohhh dear! Thom's kinda lucky Barin didn't lash out physically! I know people who would have.

I hope Barin opens his heart soon. Thom's going to pick the lock if he waits too long.

 

Poor, poor Barin. Are we ever going to know the whole story behind him, HaiGan? The bits and pieces we are getting paint a horrible picture.

Wonderful post!

 

If you read the snapshots thread, JKOW, you'll find out about Barin's past. His master was a sicko-psycho and should have been beated to death at an early age.

 

Oh that was so good! I loved it, very dark and kinda disturbing, but Barin none he less.

PLease hurry up with those snapshots for Xani, I wanna read what happens.

Kithera