Thanks Katie Ladmoore, Moonstar 11, and DragonRider2000 for reviewing the last chapter of The Gift That is a Curse!
Ok, hopefully you read the prequel to this story for the sake of: 1) knowing what's going on; and 2) I'm too lazy right now to once again state what the italics, etc. mean… Anyway, I hope you enjoy the start of this story!
Prologue: Lives of the Outlaws
"Qui-Gon Kenobi, hurry up!" Kelly, standing outside of her house, wrapped in a shawl, half-screeched as if she had done that sort of thing dozens of times before that. "You'll be late for the transport this evening if you don't move your lazy, scoundrel-headed, good-for-nothing…"
She was promptly interrupted by the voice of a young man from within the dwelling.
"Relax, Mother!"
As the memories of that line welled up, the body belonging to the voice emerged from the hut, carrying a probably rather heavy sack, though he made it look like paper. Qui-Gon, the son of Ben and Kelly Kenobi, had inherited his father's rich and charming voice, stature, hair, facial structure, sense of honor, and urge to protect; from his mother, however, the boy had gained the chocolate eyes, sarcasm, humor, mechanical savvy, and most other personality traits.
On top of those appearances, there would occasionally emerge qualities formerly attributed to his namesake: the ability to stop and think things through in a difficult situation, the way he would wrap one arm around his waist and rest his chin on the opposite hand when facing a puzzling scenario, and, most importantly, the habit of focusing only on the moment and rarely on the past or future. This was one of the rare times that he concerned himself with what was to come.
Word had reached Qui-Gon's ears during his last visit to the nearest town that the Rebellion was growing more and more in potential by the day. If they truly could do something to stop the Empire, neither parent would stand in their son's way if he wanted to join. The Rebellion would need someone of his skill…without revealing his Jedi abilities, of course.
As he stood in front of Kelly, the woman took a moment to silently observe him as her husband approached. Ben was not nearly the eye-catcher he once was. His hair had grayed to almost complete white, his eyes had lost most of their luster, his proud stance had evaded him for nearly two years, he was not even a fraction as agile, and creases of concern had begun to appear simply from wear and age.
The eighteen years since the beginning of their forced hiding had been much harder than expected, from well-building and sand-people-deterring to simply sensing all of the occurring death and suffering of the countless worlds around them; however, those eighteen years had also been the most joyful, all because of Qui-Gon. Raising him had been the most profound pleasure of any.
By the time Ben reached the woman's side, Qui-Gon had clearly begun to tire of the third silent inspection his mother had put him through that morning.
"Don't worry so much, Kelly," the newcomer chided with a smile. "He'll be careful, won't you, son?"
"Why, of course, Father," was the instant reply.
"Alright, you'd better get going if you don't want to be late."
"Yes, Father, Mother."
With one last embrace, Kelly let the seventeen-year-old head towards his personally designed speeder.
"Qui-Gon! May the Force be with you."
"You too!"
And off he went.
"Well," Kelly lightly commented, "it'll be a bit different without him to yell at about leaving his mechanical gadgets around the house, won't it? Guess it's just you and me again."
At that, Ben turned to his wife, who was trying to hide her sad, sarcastic grin. Eighteen years had treated her well. In build and hair color, the woman had not changed, aside from being a slight bit more muscular from years of hauling, cleaning, hunting, and everything else involved in their solitary way of life. Also, aside from one or two permanent, slight creases of concern on her forehead, Kelly's general appearance had stayed young and beautiful, though her eyes didn't change colors nearly as much. If anything, she looked to be twenty-five instead of twenty, which was hardly much of a difference.
Comparatively, the husband and wife looked more like father and daughter, but to them, it didn't matter. Their love was the kind that couldn't be diminished by appearance or circumstance. They had learned from experience to appreciate the good things when they came.
"Ben," she went on, "what is it that you see in the future?"
"Well now, darling," the husband replied with an arm around the woman's shoulders, "I try not to think of it; however, I feel that the day when hope emerges is closer than we have dared to imagine in a long time."
"They're out there, waiting to emerge very soon…Luke, Leia…Elaina. Much will change." The solemn mood was broken by the convulsive howls of sand people not even half a mile away. Though they had made Kelly a nervous wreck for the first few months, they had eventually just become a nuisance. "Ooh, if only I had not left my lightsaber in the house," she growled, an old flame of mischief flickering. "I'd teach them a lesson that would leave them limping for years."
"Haven't you caused their kind enough harm for a lifetime?" Suddenly, a pained look came across Kelly's face, as if reliving an incident best left forgotten. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said that…"
"No, Ben…you're right about most of it; however, it wasn't enough for a lifetime. It was enough for a hundred generations."
A moment later, both of them cleared their throats.
"Anyway, I have a surprise for you: a breakfast fit for a queen."
"You?! Making breakfast?! Humph…that's a new one."
Her easy-coming smile at last broke the ice of what could have become a rather uneasy conversation.
--
"Alright…now, one more question and I'll publicly announce your education complete and the other senators will have no more reasons to think poorly of you. Who were the Enduring Warriors?"
"The Enduring Warriors were a group of long-lived, powerful humanoids, mostly females, whose generations were randomly spread throughout the centuries. The first known of their kind were mostly disregarded and only lightly referenced in historical libraries as having 'possible potential'. They were not even somewhat accepted by the Jedi or the Sith until generations later, when it was realized that they proved to be exceptional advisers, fighters, and Force-users. In fact, something worth note happened any time one would appear (the Sith had one on their side during the last peak of their rule).
"The most prominent more popularly were Sheba Bladerunner and Turanga Silvereyes, her teacher. When Sheba turned to the dark side, the two friends fought a ferocious duel in which Turanga died. Sheba's fate was never truly revealed. After several centuries of no Enduring Warriors appearing, two of the most powerful and influential came forth: Kelly Skywalker and Elaina Jinn. For years, they fought together in the midst of the Jedi; however, at the beginning of the Empire, they found their power to not be strong enough in different ways to stop the inevitable." The listener paused in her creation of the speaker's high bun, waiting expectantly for the finish. "No one really knows how long they could live, because all of them died of unnatural causes before they reached a hundred."
"And what does the Empire teach of them in their classes?"
"I thought you were only asking one question?"
"Consider it as one question with an 'a' and a 'b'."
The eighteen-year-old sighed.
"The Empire states most of the same things concerning the Enduring Warriors' age and such; however, it says that those who were not with the dark side were traitors, murderers, and thieves. The worst of all were the last two: Elaina, who rejected her destiny completely, and, worst of all, Kelly, who defected at the last moment."
"Perfect," the older girl said, strolling to a nearby couch, sitting exhaustedly, and running her fingers through the choppy, blond streaked hair. "Leia, you're an even quicker learner than I was at your age."
"'At my age'…you couldn't be old enough to say that!" the princess exclaimed.
"I was older than your mother."
"You couldn't have been older than her!"
"Your real one…"
There was a slight pause. When Leia had been about ten years old, after the queen's death, she had begun having visions in her sleep of a woman she swore to have never seen before then. As the first person the girl always went to for guidance, the bodyguard had given the advice to tell no one of the ability. Of course, the present senator had insisted on knowing who the woman was and it went from there…
"Did she really live during the reign of the Old Republic?"
"Oddly enough, you were born within days of the emergence of the Empire. You're smart enough to figure that out without me needing to tell you."
Clearly, Elaina's level and emotionless voice always used when discussing an awkward subject was getting on the princess' nerves.
"Come on now, Elaina! Can't you give me an answer better than that?!"
A slight smile graced the twenty-five-to-thirty-appearing face.
"I was two years older than she. We never got along until shortly before she died. Leia, can we veer away from that subject? You've asked me about it nearly a dozen times this week."
"Oh fine! Be that way! Sometimes you're just as stubborn as a…a…"
"Hmm, let me give an example: a Wookie?"
"Sure…"
One year later…
I know, I know, it was short…but all of my prologues are shorter than my actual chapters, so…there's my excuse! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the start of this story and don't forget to review and vote on the poll that I still have on the profile (and probably will indefinitely). Ok…thanks for reading!