Disclaimer Time: Boring, I know, but necessary. Hmm, well it's probably easier this way, so I'll just list em. ME: John, the plane, and the plot (what there is of it). The songs: "Home" by Staind, and "Best Of What's Around" by The Dave Matthews Band. EVERYTHING ELSE: George "No DVD's for you!" Lucas and Lucasfilm.
Many thanks to all who have given me feedback for "ASNE". Yall's comments are greatly appreciated.
This is a continuation of "A Small Navigational Error", following a Texas pilot who ends up on Naboo. To avoid confusion, read "A Small Navigational Error" first.
John continues his recovery, and an undiscovered threat is put into motion.
Halo Twenty, Part One.
**********************************************************************
You will have a choice to make soon…
John woke up with a start, looking around. His quarters were dark, and a slight breeze came whispering in through the windows. Well, I guess I'm awake… He sat up, and slowly climbed out of bed.
What choice?
The words from his dream echoed in his mind as he padded over to the massive window that overlooked the waterfall adjacent to the palace.He sighed as he looked over the darkened valley below Theed's palace, contemplating the recent path his life had taken.
Minutes passed as John silently looked over the valley, letting himself remember that he was in fact on a completely different planet. The thought still overwhelmed and exhilarated him at the same time. He turned and walked over to the portable CD player that Anakin had recovered from his damaged plane, and put a CD in the changer. He reached over to a box sitting on the table next to the player and flipped a switch. As he waited for the unit to power up, he gave a silent prayer of thanks that the Queen's mechanics and engineers were able to adapt a suitable power source for the CD player he was supposed to give to his sister. Supposed to…He snorted softly at the thought. I wonder if she's mad at me for not bringing it to her… A small beep from the converter signaled that its capacitors were charged and ready to supply power to the alien technology of the CD player. He pressed the play button and walked back over to the window, thinking about home as the song began.
Another sleepless night again
Hotel room my only friend, and friends like that just don't add up
To anything…
And I try so hard to be
Everything that I could never take away from you again
'Cause I heard you say…
John's eyes started to tear up as he thought about home. His friends, his family. Qui-gon had commented that John had done a remarkable job of accepting the fact that returning to Earth was a near impossibility, and the chance of seeing his friends, or family ever again were astronomically slim. …But it doesn't make me miss them any less. The song continued, the voice speaking of sorrow and longing.
And I'm afraid to be alone
Afraid you'll leave me when I'm gone
I'm afraid to come back home…
John leaned forward until his head rested on the transparisteel pane of the window. God, I think it hurts worse than if they were dead… His silent tears fell to the ground as he grieved for family and friends that he would never see again.
And I just wish I was back home…
*****
Qui-gon awoke slowly. He could feel…something. What is that? He reached out in the force, searching for his new friend, guessing correctly that it was his pain he was feeling. He found John's presence in the force, normal except for a lone crack in his presence that radiated sadness and grief. He's trying hard to hide it…and overcome it at the same time…and feeling alone because of it. The Jedi Master paused. He knew that John needed to experience this by himself, without interruption, and while his presence would be appreciated, it would be better for Qui-gon to simply give his friend a comforting hand on the back through the force-to let him know that he wasn't alone. Qui-gon closed his eyes and reached out to the CD player in John's quarters. An interesting piece of technology…quite simple… He found the element of the device he was searching for and manipulated it…Ah…here it is…Qui-gon found the CD in the changer he was looking for, and rotated the tray to start playing it. Before going back to sleep, he sent a calm wave of agape and friendship to his friend.
*****
John leaned back from the window and looked back out over the valley. He was starting to feel a little bit better. I'm not alone…not completely. He noticed the CD player was softly playing a different song.
Hey, my friend...
It seems your eyes are troubled
Care to share your time with me?
Would you say you're feeling low and so…
A good idea would be to get it off of your mind.
John smiled slightly. Qui-gon. He knows what I'm feeling…Thanks, man. He could feel the warm presence of Qui-gon, letting him know he wasn't alone. The song continued to play from the CD player.
Whatever tears at us…
Whatever holds us down…
And if nothing can be done…
We'll make the best of what's around.
A voice behind him broke him of his reverie. "John? …Are you well?"
John turned to find Rabe, one of the Queen's handmaidens standing by the door of his quarters.
He couldn't help but smile slightly-Rabe had quickly assumed her duties as his nursemaid and played the role to the hilt. His recovery was owed in part to her constant ministrations and attentions. After spending the better part of three weeks in the Queen's medical bay, Amidala had moved him to a suite of rooms in her wing of the palace. Rabe, of course followed, setting up a smaller bed in his bedroom for herself, keeping watch over her charge in the night and taking him to his rehabilitation sessions by day.
"Yes, Rabe, I'm fine." John assured her. "I just woke up a little while ago, and had some trouble getting back to sleep…"
"Do you need something to help you sleep? Some tea, or perhaps the doctor can-"
"No, no…" He shook his head. "I'm fine, really, Mom." This last statement was spoken with a half-grin.
Rabe grinned back. "Behave, or I'll tell the Queen that you've been giving me trouble again."
John held up his hands in mock surrender, and motioned towards the open balcony door. "You wanna sit and gab for a while?" He was grateful for her company-Rabe was suprisingly easy to talk to, and they had become close over the past six weeks.
As they sat down into a raised bench out on the balcony, John wondered what time of the night it was, and then decided that he really didn't care. "So…what were you doing sneaking in here in the middle of the night?"
Rabe grinned. "I've been checking on you twice a night since you kicked me out of here," she replied. "The Queen has been asking how you've been sleeping." John had managed to convince Rabe two weeks ago that constant supervision was no longer necessary for his recovery, and she had returned to sleeping in her own quarters at night. Or so he thought. "I've got a new name for you," he replied, yawning. "Mother Hen."
"What's a hen?" Rabe asked, "…and do I want to know why you are referring to me as a…"
They ended up talking and laughing, telling stories about their families and homes until dawn.
******
Anakin paced back and forth with all of the impatience of a boy his age. He was waiting for Qui-gon to return from his morning meeting with the Queen so they could start practicing his meditation techniques. He had been trying, but he found that he needed his Master's presence around to help calm him.
The door opened, and Qui-gon strode in with a small frown on his face. He could feel his Padawan's impatience from the other side of the palace. "Ani, why are you so excited? Have you forgotten all your patience?"
The boy looked back up at his Master with baleful eyes. "I've been waiting for you, so we could meditate."
"Padawan, I…" Qui-gon stopped. What did the boy just say? He wanted to meditate? Qui-gon couldn't help but start to smile. "Ani, you've been impatient because you wanted to meditate?" He chuckled, not quite sure what to make of the boy's answer. He could think of a former Padawan who wouldn't believe that this was happening. The Jedi looked at Anakin closer. Why would he be so anxious to meditate and begin his lessons?
"Well, sir, I wanted to start early, so I could see John later…" The boy trailed off, knowing that Qui-gon would probably chastise him for wanting to rush through his exercises.
Oh….that's why.
Qui-gon realized that Anakin had probably finished repairing John's damaged plane, and was anxious to show it to him. Since the battle, Anakin had spent a large part of his spare time going out to the plains where John had crash landed his Piper, looking over it, figuring out its systems, and returning to the palace's maintenance hanger to borrow droids and parts. Qui-gon and Obi-wan's thoughts on the matter were not on whether Anakin could fix the plane, but rather how long it would take him to do so.Qui-gon decided to make the boy sweat a little.
"Anakin…how are those repairs coming along on John's plane?" Qui-gon inquired. "You know, the council wants us to return to Coruscant soon."
The boy's blue eyes grew wide. "I finished yesterday, and I was hoping that maybe John could take me flying in it," he said earnestly. "You know, before we had to leave…" Qui-gon smiled and remembered the boy's mother, and what she had said about her son. He gives without any thought of himself…
"Okay, Ani. Tell you what…we will meditate…and then we'll all go out there. I think John is well enough to travel out there."
"Yipee!" Anakin jumped around, but quickly composed himself. After all, Jedi were supposed to be serious.
"It's okay, Ani." Qui-gon put a hand on his shoulder. The boy's excitement was radiating off of him in waves. "There's nothing wrong with feeling that way, but you won't get any meditating done excited as you are. Spend a few moments calming yourself, and then we'll meditate."
Qui-gon waited until his Padawan had calmed himself down before they sat down on the floor of their quarters and began to meditate.
******
John kept up the pace on the treadmill he was running on. Rabe looked on a little disapprovingly, and the physician in charge of his rehabilitation finally walked over and started shaking his head.
"You can stop now." The physician said. "Your heart rate is over 190."
"Really? What's the record?" John huffed out with a grin.
"Zero," the physician tersely replied, decelerating the treadmill. "And I'd prefer you to not try and break that record."
Rabe suppressed a smile.
John hopped off the treadmill and walked over to her, his sweat dripping from his shirt. "Hold still…"
Rabe yelped and smacked John lightly on his head. "You will not use my robes as a towel!" She shooed him over to a counter where a couple of towels were waiting to be used. He picked one up and started to mop the sweat off of his face as she continued. "I'd like to see you try that with the Que..."
"Try…what?" Amidala came in the room with a small smile on her face, sensing the playful exchange between the two. She wore a simple gown with a smaller headdress, and her face was unpainted.
"Good afternoon, your highness." John smiled.
Rabe blushed, trying to find the appropriate words to explain the conversation that the Queen had walked in on, and hoped that John wouldn't say… "Actually, Your Highness, we were discussing the merits of Rabe's robes as a towel…" John shot a grin at the stammering handmaiden, whose face changed from slight embarrassment to horror.
John looked down at himself. He still had his torso brace on, and his exobrace for his right arm wasn't due to come off for another week. He was wearing a light shirt and a pair of pants he had cut off into a pair of exercise shorts, all of which were drenched in sweat from his exercise.
Damn… I swear, this Queen has a knack of catching me every time I look like this. …And I'm sure I smell great, too…
"…considering that I'm kind of sweaty. Please forgive my appearance."
Rabe's expression was priceless, and the Queen merely smiled. "I came to see if you were up for a small trip. Anakin wants to show you…" she paused, and a conspiratorial smirk crossed her features. "…a project he's been working on." After seeing John's nod, she continued. "Go clean up, and then join us in the hangar bay."
"Of course, Your Hi-" John was interrupted by Rabe herding him out the door towards his quarters.
As he was shooed out the medical bay's door, he could hear Rabe turning back around and start trying to explain their conversation. He smiled and headed toward his quarters.
******
Obi-Wan walked towards the hangar bay with Qui-gon. Obi-wan and John had been spending the evenings of the past week in meditation and discussion, and their time together was the subject of Qui-gon's and Obi-wan's conversation.
"It's obvious that he is aware of the Force, now…and is strong in it. He really didn't know of it before, you know."
"Yes, that's what he had said." Obi-wan replied. "He does seem to think that some people on his world have Force abilities, and may even use them without even knowing it. He probably did himself, but didn't realize it."
"So, Obi-wan…what do you think?" Qui-gon stopped and looked at his former apprentice. "What do you think we should do?"
"I think…" Obi-wan paused before continuing. Was he being too much like his former master? Was he being too…impulsive? "I think we should bring him before the council. At the very least, the council can determine his abilities, and it's possible that they could see something that we do not. Master Windu and Master Yoda wish to meet him again, in any case."
Qui-gon smiled. "A wise choice, I think. Becoming a Jedi might be his destiny, and it may not. But he should be taught the ways of the Force nonetheless. And Windu and Yoda will find him more interesting now that he's not in a bacta tank." The two senior members of the Jedi council had spent some time in the medical bay shortly after they arrived, listening to Qui-gon tell how the stranger had stood up to the Sith Lord. Yoda listened impassively, Qui-gon remembered, staring at the figure suspended in the bacta tank. Turning to leave, he looked at Qui-gon.
"A reason there is, for him to be here." Yoda had said. "A role to play, he has." Leaning on his gimer stick, the old Master walked out of the medical bay, with Mace Windu following behind.
Qui-gon wondered what that role might be.
They continued walking down the massive hallway towards the hangar bay.
******
The two figures bowed as the holo shimmered into view.
"Is it completed?" The robed figure asked in a guttural voice.
The shorter of the two Nemoidians spoke. "Yes, Lord Sidious. We await your…instructions."
"Initiate the launch sequence, then."
"Yes, Lord Sidious." The two Nemoidians bowed again.
The robed figure shimmered out and disappeared.
TO BE CONTINUED….
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