Hey there people! For 'tis I, Blue, who once again asks that you listen to what I've got to say today! Mainly because this fic you're about to read is actually a coauthor work (with the assistance of my best friend Danni aka thenessness) done in my particular writing style so as to better the outcome of the fic. Readers, I bid you welcome to the Fanfiction version of, following the film 'The Phantom Menace' but also prior to the much awaited 'Attack Of The Clones' comes: 'Destination Unknown'!! Jedi beware!! Hope you guys enjoy it!
"Iii" speech
Iii thought
Chapter 1: Falling
It was supposed to be a really good day. An outing with an old friend who had a bit of too much mystery and shadow behind her to be considered your normal, average, much less everyday sort of friend. Instead, one of the rather supernatural sort who had only just revealed this to her best friend, Indira, only a few minutes before. Mainly because Indira, thinking she'd just go to the mall with said friend, merely found herself several hundred thousand feet in the air with the ground seeming a lot farther away than one would normally perceive it to be.
And, surely enough, it seemed to Indira that she was falling to her death. Howling wind messing with her long, brown hair, her matching brown eyes wide with fright and amazement did nothing to keep the earsplitting scream from escaping her lips only to be blown away into the forced silence. Her purely feminine face was etched with her fear as she fell through clouds and what looked like smoke. Only the wind saved her small, round nose from the foul smell that came from the brief contact with the dark mist that would normally choke a person.
Flailing her thin, pale arms in the rush of wind and gravity, Indira tried to contemplate how she'd come to be there to begin with. But since she was a bit too close to death itself to really think back, all she could truly think of now was how in all the fiery pit of hell she was going to survive a much ill-fated fall. She, by some kind of means, blinked the flowing tears from her eyes for them to see that the ground below her wasn't made of earth, but of tall buildings of gargantuan size, with strange looking flashing objects whizzing past said skyscrapers like bees in a constantly waking hive.
Just as she got within range of these odd, flashing things did Indira realize then that the things she was seeing were indeed ships of unusually small sizes and shapes, zipping around as if compelled to get somewhere and get there fast. Though it wasn't until she got even closer to the busy traffic, purely of her own inability to stop her fall, Indira only had seconds to realize: I'm going to be hit… by a futuristic flying machine and become flying car road kill.
Irony knew no bounds when this thought came to be truth as she practically slammed onto the hood of a yellow speeder, using her suddenly weak hands to grab onto the edge for dear life. She cared little that the driver, trying not to panic in the light of having a gasping 19-year-old woman on the hood of his speeding vehicle, was probably just ten years old while the passenger was a strapping year of twenty-five. And she probably cared even less that not only had the two owners of the contraption been on their way to somewhere, but were also involved in a chase. No, she just wanted to get onto solid ground, catch her breath, and try to reassemble her sense of reality before it became too shattered to be acknowledgeable.
One of the occupants, a male with short brown hair fashioned almost in an Army cut with a small braid coming from the right side of his head, Indira noticed was moving to step out of the moving vehicle so as to offer his hand. If only the speeder didn't jolt to the side, making Indira come dangerously close to sliding off as small jets of red light sped past her head and that of her rescuer. Turning to face the source of it, Indira felt her tear filled eyes widen again to find yet another speeder, obviously of a different model and color, twisting and turning in the turmoil of the hundreds of others just like it. Only difference was, the occupants weren't human. Far from it! And from what Indira could decipher from the constant movement and sound flooding her senses to the brink, the odd looking things driving the other vehicle were amphibious.
Beginning to wonder if she was having a bad dream, or had managed to hit her own head a bit too hard, Indira Parker tried to comprehend the astounding differences this new reality held than that of her own. Amidst the whistling wind, the loud buzzes and zings of passing speeders and ships, and certainly above the inaudible shouts of the adult occupant of the bright yellow speeder she was atop of, Indira came to a rather obvious conclusion: today just wasn't her day.
Somehow keeping a firm hold on the hood of the speeder and avoiding laser gun fire from the angry frog men of the other vehicle, Indira decided now was better than never to either get the fuck off the front of the speeder without getting killed, or simply continue her fall to certain death. Being the stubborn, life loving person that she was, Indira naturally chose life by turning to her handsome rescuer, kind eyes and lost voice begging her to reach, farther and farther until the warmth of his palm brought life back to her arm from the harsh chill of the wind. Suddenly, Indira felt herself being pulled off the hood and into the speeder's limited seating space.
The two occupants, who she knew now both to be male, one a small boy and the other a handsome man, returned their attention to their former task, causing Indira to grip the edge of her own seat as the boy suddenly tilted the controls to the side. Much to her stomach's protest, Indira fought down breakfast as everything slanted to the left. Nope. This definitely isn't my day. She thought as she chose then to think back of how she'd gotten into this mess to begin with.
--Flashback—
School had been dreary as usual. All except for the new transfer student who'd shown up earlier that morning. Naturally, the boys had almost swooned at her uncanny features and her 'kick your ass' attitude even when she didn't say anything. Having rolled her eyes at their reaction to the new girl's appearance, Indira was using her extra lunchtime in the school cafeteria to work on homework that was due in a few days. And all the usual noise wasn't helping her concentration. Neither did the 'Optimus Prime For President' shirt she only wore on a day she felt was a lucky one.
When her brain was threatening to shut down from a confusing question on the sheet in front of her, a cool voice greeted her from across the table. "Hi there."
Blinking, confused, Indira dropped the hands holding her aching head up to see the new girl standing across from her, a cool smirk on her smooth face. Eyes of light, ice blue seemed to pierce the soul with a glance, brown hair falling in almost wet vines if not for the fact that it was obviously dry and was a little curly. Her skin was a healthy pink going on unusually pale as the nameless girl stood in front of Indira, calmly waiting for a response to her casual greeting. Like a powerful wind, tamed to take the form of the female human voice. It was only now that Indira really noticed the girl's attire, dark blue jean jacket over a black 'Fullmetal Alchemist' shirt and jeans to match the jacket perfectly simply with their shade. It was apparent that the jacket was a size or two too big from the way the sleeves seemed to cover the girl's hands. Realizing she'd zoned out, Indira let her surprise change to a kind smile, forcing her voice to work. "Oh hi! Who're you?"
"Name's Ultima." The girl said in her oddly cool voice, reaching forward with a thin but muscular hand, taking Indira's without so much as blinking before taking the seat across the table from her. "What's yours?"
"I'm Indira." She responded happily. It was only natural she wanted the new girl to feel welcome. No matter how strange she seemed to be.
Other than the cool look, a new expression known only as confusion marred the girl's features as she tried to comprehend the oddity of the name. "Indira? Isn't that an Indian name? You don't look it."
Indira just shrugged, temporarily turned her attention back to her work, marking down an answer as she spoke. "My parents like foreign names. Figures they'd give me one when they had me. They thought it would suit me."
"'Splendid one' huh? It does fit you." Upon looking up, Indira saw the new girl's cool expression had returned with a vengeance only the smirk came dangerously close to being a devious smile.
"Really? You think so?"
Ultima smiled fully now, making Indira wonder why she felt like blushing from a stranger's acceptance of her odd name. "Definitely. I'm likin' you already."
Fighting down the urge to blush and squeal in girly joy, Indira forced her voice to stay steady as she leaned forward, looking eager. "What about you?"
This time she blinked, confused again. "What about me?"
"What does yours mean?" Indira couldn't help but look and feel eager. No one in the whole school was as mysterious as this girl was. And she'd only been there for close to half a day. Though it was a little strange when the girl had nearly taken a guy's arm off because he kept on trying to 'talk' to her in the halls. She'd vanished long before a teacher came to see why one of the football players was on the hallway floor, screaming like a newborn baby while his left arm dangled at his side, having been easily popped out of its socket. No guy dared try the same tactic.
"Mine? Nothing special." Ultima took her turn in shrugging it off.
Almost childishly, Indira reached forward to gently tug on the oversized sleeve of the jean jacket, almost pouting as she spoke. "Oh c'mon. Tell me!"
"I'm 'aloof and distant'." The smirk should've said it all. "You got that one answer wrong. Later."
Indira didn't see the one strange girl named Ultima until early the next day.
No, no! That's not what I wanted to remember! It was more recent than that. She thought angrily to herself, even though she tried to keep her cheerful smile to herself in spite of the circumstances. Even in such a strange place, Indira was surprised mainly at herself for being able to remember something so sentimental as that at a perplexing time such as this.
--Flashback, Twenty Minutes Earlier—
They'd been walking for close to thirty minutes and Indira couldn't help but be her inner child by letting her curiosity be voiced for the eighth time that day after walking away from the forest path. Indira could only be a little more than a little confused when Ultima confidently walked amidst the trees and brush. "So what did you want to show me again?"
"Just something I'm sure you'll be interested in. Trust me Indi!" the mystery of a girl she'd known for three long years said in the same cool voice she'd come to know so well, using her nickname since day 12 without even looking back.
Looking around, the trees practically as tall as any building she'd ever seen in her life, Indira hadn't really expected to be brought out into the middle of nowhere for a reason yet to be explained. Naturally she'd dressed for a girl's day out: loose fitting but hip hugging jeans, her favorite red sweatshirt over her favorite green shirt that looked like someone had splattered paint all over it and a purple pair of sneakers with green and black laces. Attire you expected to see in a shopping center, not the middle of the woods. As they moved further and further into nature's backyard, Indira couldn't help but shiver at the sudden drop in the temperature, almost to where she could see her breath.
"Are you sure we should be out here? What if we get lost or something?" Indira couldn't help but ask nervously as the light suddenly dimmed then brightened in a way that sent shivers down her back. Being outside was one thing, but outside with no map or trail to use, in the middle of a forest was something completely different.
Distant thunder in the form of Ultima's amused chuckling reached her ears as the other girl stopped to give her that almost irritating smirk. "We won't get lost! I've been out here like, a bazillion times! Besides! If you get lost, I can easily track you down with my cool skills."
If only Indira didn't feel a little scared to be amused at this point. "Now you're just messing with me. But seriously, where the hell are we going Ultima?"
"I want to show you something." She said for the third time, turning away to continue her oddly calm stroll over large roots and around dark colored bushes.
"You said that already!"
Ultima merely chuckled at Indira's indignant screech of frustration. "I know. But it's all I'm willin' to tell ya now isn't it?"
"Now you're sure you know where you're going right?"
It was rare for Ultima to chuckle, much less laugh at something she found to be fairly amusing since all she really did was smirk at it. But three times was a first for Indira as the sound reached her ears once again that day. "Indi, Indi! If it's anything, my sense of direction is probably better than a magnetic compass. We'll be fine!"
"If you say so."
"Oh but I do."
A silence fell between them as the sounds of birds seemed to fade and something oddly bright brought Indira's attention back to what was in front of them. What she saw was not only jaw dropping, or eye popping. But simply heart stopping and downright amazing to say the least when one went on to describe the odd vision. Eyes wide with shock and understandable amazement, Indira's mind tried to comprehend what she was seeing: a large vortex, probably standing at twelve feet tall, hung suspended by nothing above the forest floor. Its surface as dotted with white and grey blurs with a cobalt blue background as it lazily twisted in the air, glowing to where only the closest objects gave off shadow.
Only one question remained after a few moments of staring at this unearthly wonder seated some distance before her unbelieving eyes. "W-what the hell is that?!"
Ultima wasn't even fazed by the strangeness of the thing, her cool smirk becoming a triumphant smile at something Indira could only guess. "That, my dear friend, is the thing I've been wantin' to show ya. Cool isn't it?"
Indira's jaw worked, her voice failing her before she practically started to screech like a child again. "Are you kidding me?! This is—this is beyond freaky! What the hell is it?"
"A portal." Was the all too calm reply.
Confusion overpowered amazement as Indira turned her attention back to her best friend on the entire planet. "What? To where?"
Ultima simply shrugged. "Anywhere. Time, space, alternate universe, dimensions and what have you. You name it. It's probably just a good few minutes away."
"Wait… a few minutes?" she inquired, eying the giant swirl of color and light hanging in the air before them, instantly suspicious of its abilities.
Said best friend nodded sagely. "Well, we gotta get through the Roads first."
Even more confusion set in, making Indira wonder if following her best friend out into the middle of nowhere had been a really, really bad idea. "Roads? What roads?"
"The inter-dimensional roads Indira." She said coolly, the smile a little more devious than the one she'd witnessed the day they'd first met, back when Ultima first transferred to her school. At least now Indira knew that if she saw it, it probably meant something really, really strange. Or really, really dangerous in nature. "The inter-dimensional roads."
--End Flashback—
And that was nearly a half hour ago! Where's Ultima? Why didn't she come along with me? Was all she could think as the speeder made a sudden turn, coming close to nearly sending her over the side and towards certain death by freefall. The fellow occupants of the flying machine were speaking but she couldn't hear them well enough over the loud wind and rush of other machines flying by to truly know what was being said between them. It was then that she noticed that the one behind the wheel, was only ten years old as they made another sharp turn, making the much older occupant a bit testy to where Indira could actually hear what was being said.
"Anakin, slow down! You'll get us all killed if you don't." the older man called out to the boy behind the controls, the wind and momentum causing him to sit back down as they twisted and turned past a few buildings and oncoming traffic.
The boy now dubbed 'Anakin', seated calmly in the driver's seat with tan brown hair in the same style as the older man didn't even try to look away from the vehicle in front of them as he protested. "But master! We'll lose them if we don't try to keep up with them. We've been looking for them for weeks now."
"This is true. But some trails never go cold. And I'm sure this one will if you're not more CAREFUL!" the older of the two shouted in obvious panic through his fairly stoic demeanor as the boy named Anakin made a quick barrel roll past a few other speeders and ships cruising through the air.
Naturally, in pure fear and offense to this move, Indira clung to her seat and tried not to scream too loudly, the jacket she was wearing proving ill effective against the chilly winds that blasted past their faces as the machine was suddenly put into an almost suicidal nosedive. Sound, light and flashing metal objectives carrying living beings of strange shapes and colors passed them by to where Indira almost thought she'd been sucked into 'The Twilight Zone'. Where was the cheap 1950's black and white picture with bad special effects when you needed it? Hell, she half expected Rod Serling to pop up next to her in his classic business suit, calm as always, addressing an invisible audience in his calm but suspenseful voice.
But such things were wishful thinking now. No black and white, but lots and lots of color that came in all sorts of odd shades. No cheap 50's special effects of floating disembodied heads or doors flying through a star filled part of the sky. And certainly no famous actor, voice monotone with an oddly serious look on his face to pop in with his suit and tie to suddenly start talking about how a pair of kids can jump into their pool to go to a weird paradise full of kids who all blindly listened to an old lady with a big ass chocolate cake on her table. Far from it. Barely any of the creatures she was seeing were human. Bug eyes or webbed hands. None of it mattered. It only proved just how bad her situation had become.
And now no thanks to a ten year old with insane driving skills, Indira could only fear for her life as things stared to get much, much worse. They were heading straight through many layers of traffic, and were heading straight toward the cold, hard ground that she'd somehow managed to avoid. Now it seemed as if it were coming up at her for a little payback for not keeping her appointment with Death.
Well at least some humpback whale isn't falling with us, too busy questioning its existence to notice it's about to die. She thought as she fought down a fearful whimper as the machine suddenly pulled up and speeded forward again.
"This is why I hate flying." The older man grumbled, his nervous irritation a bit too obvious when he gripped both the side and the edge of his seat a little too hard.
Unable to look away from his task, Anakin merely spoke sheepishly over the roaring wind. "Sorry."
Just when the older man was about to speak, Indira finally decided it was high time she let her opinion be known. And did she ever when she sat up and leaned her head between them, her voice a shrill sound filled with panic. "Sorry?! Are you kidding me? We nearly hit twelve other ships on the way down here you crazy kid!! Just who the hell are you anyway?"
Somehow regaining his calm demeanor, the older of the two males turned to her and spoke as calmly as the wind and situation would allow. "You'll have to excuse my student madam, but it seems that we don't have time for a full explanation right now. So please sit back and relax."
Indira could only scoff, giving him a disbelieving look. "Relax? You want me to relax? How can I when I just fell out of the sky, got shot at only to find that you guys are nose-diving like you have a death wish! I think that's enough to keep me awake for quite a while don't you think?!"
"Master! We're gaining on them!" Anakin said loudly over the wind, cutting off whatever response the older man probably had in mind for her.
As if on cue, the older of the two was suddenly extremely serious. "Good work Anakin. Leave this to me. Keep out guest in her seat."
"Y-yes master." The boy stammered as his 'master' cautiously got up and climbed over the speeder's windshield.
Naturally, this sent Indira into an even bigger panic. "W-wait just a second! Hey! What's he doing?"
"Master said to stay put!" Anakin called out, using one of his small hands to try and push her back down.
"I think watching your 'Master' step over the windshield of a perfectly good… speeder is a bit disturbing don't you think?"
"Yeah but--!" he began to say, Indira's panic and confusion giving in to all-out irritation at the younger boy's lacking sense of common sense.
"But nothing! Help me get his ass--!"
Before Indira could say much more to the younger boy, the man dubbed 'Master' for whatever reason, proceeded to jump through the air, propelling himself to land on the side of the flying machine they were giving chase to. From the way the amphibious occupants reacted to his sudden appearance on their vessel, none of them were pleased to have an extra rider on board. Especially when they took aim at him. Or at least they would have if not for the fact that the man suddenly had a metallic object in his hand, a bright blue light extending out before he swung it at the alien creatures. Their reaction was full-scale panic.
Shots were once again being fired, deflected by the odd light as the man quickly sliced a few of the 'blasters' as they were, in half and rendering them useless. Pieces of space gun and garbled words of profanity went flying past Indira's head and the boy at the wheel before both vehicles slowed in time for at least three other machines to a stop, filled with uniformed humans with rifles and helmets. Obviously giving a whole new perspective to the show 'Cops'. Uniforms of dark brown made them almost blend in with the many shadows as they pointed their weapons pointedly at the amphibious creatures occupying the rogue speeder. As they raised their 'arms', if you could call them such, Indira finally fainted at the sight of their four, webbed fingers.
--Sometime Later—
No gunfire, no loud whooshing sounds of large vehicles rushing by, and no evidence of the previous events filled the calm air as Indira felt herself float back up into the conscious world. Eyes of brown managed to peel themselves open to see a metal ceiling and the distant sound of the ominous machines that were oddly capable of flying at horrifying speeds. Gasping in shock at the sudden realization that she wasn't where she knew wasn't her room, her friend's room, much less any room she actually recognized right off the bat.
Unsure of what to do other than look around as she lay motionless on the one thing in the room that was obviously a bed, Indira took in as much information as her shocked brain would allow. The large window that was directly past her feet revealed the source of the noisy flying machines, the golden sunlight shining off the tall buildings as if they were made of copious amounts of silver. Many of the other ships and machines that went flying by varied, some as rich and beautiful as the buildings while others looked like futuristic versions of crappy cars from the eighties. Looking away from the bright outdoors, she eyed the walls only to find nothing on them, the room obviously carpeted and furnished with a small desk and lamp. If things didn't look so odd and futuristic, Indira could positively swear that she was in an apartment of some sort.
As proven when what looked like a door slid open with a small hissing noise, like an air pressure being released as a figure she recognized all too well stepped through. Calm as ever, he spoke. "Are you awake?"
Instinctively she sat up, pushing herself against the wall with a rather surprised yell, using the blankets she was covered with as a makeshift shield. This made him blink, but his calm expression didn't really change. He just seemed to remain where he was, as if waiting for her so say something.
And finally, she did. "W-where am I?"
Moving slowly as if not to alarm her, the man simply walked over to where the desk was and pulled out the chair before calmly sitting down. "In an apartment in downtown Coruscant."
"Coruscant?" Such an odd name. She thought as the man simply nodded and continued speaking.
"Yes, the capital city of the Republic. Don't worry though. No one's going to be shooting at you anytime soon."
Indira nodded in understanding before realizing something pretty important to every girl alive: she was topless. Much to her surprise and horror, she had nothing on but her jeans and her bra. Now aware that she'd unwittingly revealed herself to the man, her face began to burn from embarrassment. The man across from her looked confused when her horror became evident on her face. "W-where's my shirt? And what happened to my jacket?"
Realizing the reason for her hesitation, the man was apparently trying to appear unaffected by the small incident. "I'm sorry but we had to remove them. It seems that your fall caused you to get a cracked rib. You needed to see a physician. We have other clothes on hand if you like."
Okay that makes sense. But that still doesn't explain why Ultima didn't follow me here. Where the hell is she? Leaving that question for later on, Indira decided to try and get as much knowledge in her head as possible. "Just who are you?"
"I'm Obi-wan Kenobi and the boy you saw earlier was my apprentice, Anakin Skywalker." The man she now knew to be Obi-wan, his voice losing its hint of ineptness to take on a form of authority. "We're a part of a society called the Jedi Order. Do you understand?"
Indira slowly nodded, trying not to look too confused. "I think so."
Obi-wan nodded his approval of this answer, clearly believing her words as he went on some more. "Well, it's come to our attention that your face or DNA is nowhere in official planetary files. Is there a reason for this?"
"Files? As in a register?" she asked, confused even more by the strangeness of things. Never in her life had she imagined to be in such a situation. Much less where she had to explain why she wasn't part of a giant list.
Again, the man nodded. "Of sorts. Can you honestly say that you were never part of the latest census?"
"Yes." This was true. Especially for a girl who, quite literally, fell from the sky like a penguin that had an all too vivid dream of flying like its better built relatives.
"I see. Are you able to tell me why you landed on our speeder… from an impossible height for you to have fallen from a window?"
"Actually no. That one's pretty much new to me too." Indira managed to say, trying not to laugh at the thought being as to how she'd experienced it firsthand.
"You don't seem like much of a person who lies." Light grey eyes watched her from where he sat, almost as if he were measuring her soul with his words. "Can you tell me your name by any chance?"
Indira felt the world stop moving. Her first thought was: oh crap. Then everything was spinning like a haywire blender with more than two buttons active at once. Chaos spread like it was fire during dry season. Think Indira, think! I know I can't tell him my real name. But he saved me from falling to my death. Oh dammit! Okay, okay. Let's think this through, I've got to think of something. Wait… I know!
"I'm Giselle. Giselle Vander." She managed to say calmly, somehow keeping her heart from beating its way out of her chest.
"Giselle? Never heard of a name like that before. Still, you need to rest. I'll be back in the morning with some new clothes for you."
"O-okay."
Without another word, Obi-wan was gone, the door sliding closed by its own accord with Indira once again alone to ponder her new situation.
And it's finally done! Chapter 1 is officially complete with my unofficial standard of about… eight? Nine pages? Yeah, who cares? I just hope you guys really like this thing cuz you've no idea how long it took me to feel motivated enough to even finish the damned thing. Feel free to message me if you've got questions. Corrections would be awesome if you've got 'em. Everybody should know how I hate to feel like a real doofus over something I had little knowledge about. In the meantime, check out what's to come up next time!
Next time:
Chapter 2: Training & 'Employment'
Ultima's missing and Indira almost got shot. And that's just after she literally tried to live out the song 'I Believe I Can Fly'!! Now she has to hold up a new identity in an unknown world! What's a girl to do?! If anything, don't try to call the A-Team or the Ghostbusters. Cuz they can't help ya. Will Ultima back track to find her friend? Or is Indira trapped in the Jedi universe forever? Find out when we return to 'Destination Unknown' with the debut of:
Chapter 2: Training & 'Employment'!!