*A reminder, suggestions are welcome! And a note: I'm writing this without a lot of description, because I want to keep it relatively short in order to prevent you, the reader, from having to slosh through too much junk. If you want more description, or extra subplot, etc., I could and will put more in :-)*
A young girl ran through the dark alleys of Mant Crone, a wraithlike figure in the Fay light from the single moon. Although her eyes were closed tightly, she managed to continue soundlessly, a tiny ghost-ship slipping through the murky Styx.
In her mind, however the young warrior knew this was not enough. As if to accent her frustration, light suddenly assaulted her eyelids as she mistakenly emerged under a street lamp. Reeling backwards in confusion she slipped on a small pile of refuse. Her elders (there were no "parents" in the Kimiro, or Shadowed People, culture) watched and whispered to each other.
"What shall we do with her? She either sees nothing or sees all. She does not, or worse, cannot, train her mind to see what happens in shadow like a true Kimiro. Her mind cannot discern that darkness and the light. Another matter is her hair. Kimiro have black hair. Hers is tinted with red."
"And her temper-"
"Now now," spoke the eldest. "The child has had a terrible past, which she if fully aware of. I am the only one who knows of this, and cannot tell you. I can tell you, however, that it is a terrible burden to bear for anybody. She is a very special child to carry it so well."
The girl and taken a wrong turn. She felt light against her eyelids and grew confused.
"What's wrong, Salmina?" taunted her training partner. "Can't see?"
Her confusion and frustration morphed into anger in an instant.
"Shut up," she snapped, and punched him hard on his jaw, making him fall back in pain. Furious tears welled in her eyes. "None of you want me, the misfit. That's apparent," she said. "Perhaps I am not completely trained, but I can make it just fine on my own." She turned and walked into the light where the rest wouldn't follow. Tarah, her other training partner and only friend, ran in front of her to convince her to stay. She winced in the light, but stayed. Salmina turned and gave her a quick hung and whispered "Thank you." Then she turned and kept on walking.
"Where shall we go, sir?"
"Let's just walk around. On second thought... let's lay low in the plants and watch the workers."
The strangers moved through the tolani plants silently so as not to be noticed be the slaves. The robed figure held out his hand and parted the stalks just enough to see.
"...Entertainment! The nerve! With the knowledge that we could easily overpower him in an all-out fight, you think he'd could at least call us by our names."
"Jessi, please-"
"Yeah Jessi, she was the entertainment."
"And also remember, Jessi, that he is our Master. We must listen to him."
Jessi looked doubtful but gave up the argument.
"Namuhu, tell the story about Luke Skywalker and Anakin."
Namuhu laughed softly. "Jessi, I am tired from last night. Besides, you know it by heart."
Jessi and Lethia looked disappointed. Then Jessi's face changed into a look of curiosity. "You know the two traveler? The one in the black tunic had a deep gash across his cheek when he came. He wouldn't let me bandage it. When I looked at him later in the evening, it was gone!" She turned suddenly as a tolani stalk shook. Her eyes narrowed.
"We've been spied on this whole time."
The strangers stepped out of the plants, discovered, the man cursing his clumsiness.
"Calm down, we weren't doing anything wring." He took a step back as her gray-blue eyes looked into his with a piercing glare.
"I know who you are," she whispered menacingly. The young man looked at her curiously, and the woman looked amused.
"Who?" asked Lethia excitedly, her eyes round.
The man answered before Jessi had a chance to respond. "My name is Luke Skywalker." He glanced around. "Try to keep it quiet, okay?"
Jessi exploded with excitement. " I knew it! Please oh please take me with you!" She grabbed the front of his tunic and he lost his balance, falling backwards with a slight thud.
"Hey, ouch! What about your friends? Oof, get off!"
"Jessi rolled back on her heels, caught off guard with the question. "Oh! Umm..."
"We'll be fine here," Namuhu said gently. Lethia smiled and nodded. Jessi jumped up and hugged them.
"You guys are the best!"
"Hey, I never said that I was going to take you."
Jessi's face had such look of shocked disappointment that Luke couldn't keep up the pretense for long. "Okay, okay, c'mon then," he said with a gesture.
"Weeeeeeee!" Jessi let out a whoop and ran ahead to the master's house. Nakita hung back and motioned to Luke.
"What?" he asked.
"Are you sure you want this girl? We haven't seen much."
"I've seen enough."
Nakita sighed. Leia had been correct when she said this wouldn't be an easy task.
The arrangements were made, and the three were flown off the planet after tearful farewells from Jessi to her friends. They were taken to Yaven with a bit of "urging" from Luke. Living as a slave had taught Jessi not to ask questions, but she was too excited to ask why.
The moment they stepped off the ship the hatch closed behind them. Both Luke and Jessi turned in unison with a "hey!" but the ship took off and left them standing there with dark clouds creeping over the tree-tops to the north.
Luke led the way through the forestry, no sound reaching their ears but their footsteps and the impending storm gripping them with its strange heaviness. Nakita showed no emotion in her walk, she just strode steadily forward. Luke looked a bit uncomfortable. Finally Jessi could stand the suspense no longer.
"Where are we going? This place is deserted!"
Luke eyed her suspiciously. "What makes you say that?"
"Well-" Jessi thought a moment a moment, the question catching her off guard. "Well- I- this place just seems... empty."
"Have you been on the slave farm, around other people, all your life?"
"Yes, I have. Why?"
Luke nodded to himself, leaving the question unanswered.
The forest ended and they emerged into a clearing. Luke sighed in despair as his feelings were confirmed. Nakita put a hand to her lips in surprise. Jessi realized with a jolt why they had come, and that this was not what they had expected.
In the center of the clearing lay the charred remains of a dwelling. The ash blowing in the wind told that they were fairly recent.
"Who were they?" asked Jessi in a hushed voice.
Pain and concern shown in Luke's face.
"My sister, Leia Organa Solo and her husband Han. I don't know what happened."
He had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Trusting his Jedi senses, he put every nerve on the alert. Immediately he felt Jessi tense beside him.
"Something's wrong," he said in a low voice. "These ashes are fresh. The Imperials might still be here. Be careful."
They moved cautiously towards the ruins to look for something -anything- that might tell what happened.
Luke's nervousness made Jessi nervous also. She kept close to him and Nakita, her eyes darting all over searching for enemies she knew nothing of.
A twig snapped, and all three heads turned simultaneously in the direction of the sound to see the point of a blaster. Soon they were surrounded by stormtroopers.
Stay calm, came Luke's message from inside Jessi's head. Jessi did her best to hide her surprise.
"Don't move!" said one of the stormtroopers. Jessi felt herself pushed against the ground and heard the sound of blaster fire and a hum that was unfamiliar to her. The air was soon filled with ash and Jessi's vision was lost in a gray cloud filled with glowing reds and blues, shadowed figures, and the sounds of struggle.
Someone grabbed Jessi's clothes and dragged her to the side. She recognized the figure as Nakita's. Just as they were coming out of the gray cloud, she heard a shout from a stoormtrooper and blaster fire hit the ground all around her and Nakita. A scream of desperation escaped her lips, and then a tremendous explosion threw her backwards. She hit something very solid and the word dissolved.
Luke was caught up in an intense battle against four greatly improved stormtroopers. Two were shooting with blasters; the others were fighting with large, lethal rods. He swung his brilliant lightsaber up, down, across, wherever the initiative took him. He fought defensively, conserving energy, fighting to stay alive.
He heard a scream and something exploding. The shockwave that came after threw him off his feet. He landed on his back, just hanging on to consciousness. After he had lain still for a few moments to calm his head, he realized it was over. The blast must have wiped out the stormtroopers. As the dust settled he lanced over in the direction of Jessi and Nakita. Jessi was up against a massive tree, unconscious. She was cut up a good deal, but he sensed she would be okay. He did not have the same feeling, however, about the crumpled figure in the other side of the clearing.
His got up and started to run and felt a sharp pain shoot up his leg to match to match the sick feeling in his stomach. He stumbled and fell to the dirt, bruising his arm. He hurriedly concentrated on the broken bone and the pain diminished enough for him to try again. He struggled back to his feet and limped as fast as he could to the prone form of Nakita. When he reached her he gave a quick examination and his heart rose to his throat. He choked out a gasp, hanging his head in his hands. Poor Nakita. His sister had seen to it that someone made sure that he didn't get into more then he could handle, and she had more then done the job. But now...
Remembering Jessi, he got up once again and stumbled to where she lay. There would be time later for Nakita. Other then a bad cut in her forehead she seemed to be okay. He tore the hem off her sleeve and wrapped it around her head. Looking around, he realized the stormtroopers lay dead. He sat against a tree and waited for Jessi to revive.
Jessi slowly opened her eyes then shut them quickly again against the bright light. She felt a searing pain in her head and her hand reached up instinctively. Her fingers felt a piece of material tied around her head. She tried to sit up but felt herself pushed back down by a hand on her chest.
"Don't get up yet." Her thoughts getting clearer and clearer, she realized it was Luke's voice. She lay back for a few seconds.
"Can I now?"
"I give up, can you?"
"Ugh..." she slowly tried to sit up. The world started to spin. Luke grabbed her shoulders. She felt a warm tingling in her head and the spinning stopped.
"I'm okay," she mumbled, getting to her feet. She looked around at the dead stormtroopers. "Wha-?"
"An explosion. Somehow we managed to survive." There seemed to be sorrow in his voice.
Jessi was puzzled only a second. "Nakita?" she asked gently, suddenly aware of the famous Jedi's fragility.
Luke nodded gravely.
Jessi bowed her head to indicate sorrow.
"Don't lie," Luke reprimanded her sadly.
Jessi felt a little uncomfortable. "Sorry. I didn't really know her," she admitted.
"Understood," Luke sighed.
Jessi felt bad for him. She tried to change the subject. "What now?"
"First we will have a burial," he said a little more brightly and getting to his feet. "Then we 'borrow' a ship. I don't think these Imperials will find much need for them anymore."
After a solemn burial, they followed the repulsar-dust back to the stormtroopers. After more scuffling, they obtained a small freighter and took off. Destination: Tatooine. Jessi was thrilled.
A young girl ran through the dark alleys of Mant Crone, a wraithlike figure in the Fay light from the single moon. Although her eyes were closed tightly, she managed to continue soundlessly, a tiny ghost-ship slipping through the murky Styx.
In her mind, however the young warrior knew this was not enough. As if to accent her frustration, light suddenly assaulted her eyelids as she mistakenly emerged under a street lamp. Reeling backwards in confusion she slipped on a small pile of refuse. Her elders (there were no "parents" in the Kimiro, or Shadowed People, culture) watched and whispered to each other.
"What shall we do with her? She either sees nothing or sees all. She does not, or worse, cannot, train her mind to see what happens in shadow like a true Kimiro. Her mind cannot discern that darkness and the light. Another matter is her hair. Kimiro have black hair. Hers is tinted with red."
"And her temper-"
"Now now," spoke the eldest. "The child has had a terrible past, which she if fully aware of. I am the only one who knows of this, and cannot tell you. I can tell you, however, that it is a terrible burden to bear for anybody. She is a very special child to carry it so well."
The girl and taken a wrong turn. She felt light against her eyelids and grew confused.
"What's wrong, Salmina?" taunted her training partner. "Can't see?"
Her confusion and frustration morphed into anger in an instant.
"Shut up," she snapped, and punched him hard on his jaw, making him fall back in pain. Furious tears welled in her eyes. "None of you want me, the misfit. That's apparent," she said. "Perhaps I am not completely trained, but I can make it just fine on my own." She turned and walked into the light where the rest wouldn't follow. Tarah, her other training partner and only friend, ran in front of her to convince her to stay. She winced in the light, but stayed. Salmina turned and gave her a quick hung and whispered "Thank you." Then she turned and kept on walking.
"Where shall we go, sir?"
"Let's just walk around. On second thought... let's lay low in the plants and watch the workers."
The strangers moved through the tolani plants silently so as not to be noticed be the slaves. The robed figure held out his hand and parted the stalks just enough to see.
"...Entertainment! The nerve! With the knowledge that we could easily overpower him in an all-out fight, you think he'd could at least call us by our names."
"Jessi, please-"
"Yeah Jessi, she was the entertainment."
"And also remember, Jessi, that he is our Master. We must listen to him."
Jessi looked doubtful but gave up the argument.
"Namuhu, tell the story about Luke Skywalker and Anakin."
Namuhu laughed softly. "Jessi, I am tired from last night. Besides, you know it by heart."
Jessi and Lethia looked disappointed. Then Jessi's face changed into a look of curiosity. "You know the two traveler? The one in the black tunic had a deep gash across his cheek when he came. He wouldn't let me bandage it. When I looked at him later in the evening, it was gone!" She turned suddenly as a tolani stalk shook. Her eyes narrowed.
"We've been spied on this whole time."
The strangers stepped out of the plants, discovered, the man cursing his clumsiness.
"Calm down, we weren't doing anything wring." He took a step back as her gray-blue eyes looked into his with a piercing glare.
"I know who you are," she whispered menacingly. The young man looked at her curiously, and the woman looked amused.
"Who?" asked Lethia excitedly, her eyes round.
The man answered before Jessi had a chance to respond. "My name is Luke Skywalker." He glanced around. "Try to keep it quiet, okay?"
Jessi exploded with excitement. " I knew it! Please oh please take me with you!" She grabbed the front of his tunic and he lost his balance, falling backwards with a slight thud.
"Hey, ouch! What about your friends? Oof, get off!"
"Jessi rolled back on her heels, caught off guard with the question. "Oh! Umm..."
"We'll be fine here," Namuhu said gently. Lethia smiled and nodded. Jessi jumped up and hugged them.
"You guys are the best!"
"Hey, I never said that I was going to take you."
Jessi's face had such look of shocked disappointment that Luke couldn't keep up the pretense for long. "Okay, okay, c'mon then," he said with a gesture.
"Weeeeeeee!" Jessi let out a whoop and ran ahead to the master's house. Nakita hung back and motioned to Luke.
"What?" he asked.
"Are you sure you want this girl? We haven't seen much."
"I've seen enough."
Nakita sighed. Leia had been correct when she said this wouldn't be an easy task.
The arrangements were made, and the three were flown off the planet after tearful farewells from Jessi to her friends. They were taken to Yaven with a bit of "urging" from Luke. Living as a slave had taught Jessi not to ask questions, but she was too excited to ask why.
The moment they stepped off the ship the hatch closed behind them. Both Luke and Jessi turned in unison with a "hey!" but the ship took off and left them standing there with dark clouds creeping over the tree-tops to the north.
Luke led the way through the forestry, no sound reaching their ears but their footsteps and the impending storm gripping them with its strange heaviness. Nakita showed no emotion in her walk, she just strode steadily forward. Luke looked a bit uncomfortable. Finally Jessi could stand the suspense no longer.
"Where are we going? This place is deserted!"
Luke eyed her suspiciously. "What makes you say that?"
"Well-" Jessi thought a moment a moment, the question catching her off guard. "Well- I- this place just seems... empty."
"Have you been on the slave farm, around other people, all your life?"
"Yes, I have. Why?"
Luke nodded to himself, leaving the question unanswered.
The forest ended and they emerged into a clearing. Luke sighed in despair as his feelings were confirmed. Nakita put a hand to her lips in surprise. Jessi realized with a jolt why they had come, and that this was not what they had expected.
In the center of the clearing lay the charred remains of a dwelling. The ash blowing in the wind told that they were fairly recent.
"Who were they?" asked Jessi in a hushed voice.
Pain and concern shown in Luke's face.
"My sister, Leia Organa Solo and her husband Han. I don't know what happened."
He had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Trusting his Jedi senses, he put every nerve on the alert. Immediately he felt Jessi tense beside him.
"Something's wrong," he said in a low voice. "These ashes are fresh. The Imperials might still be here. Be careful."
They moved cautiously towards the ruins to look for something -anything- that might tell what happened.
Luke's nervousness made Jessi nervous also. She kept close to him and Nakita, her eyes darting all over searching for enemies she knew nothing of.
A twig snapped, and all three heads turned simultaneously in the direction of the sound to see the point of a blaster. Soon they were surrounded by stormtroopers.
Stay calm, came Luke's message from inside Jessi's head. Jessi did her best to hide her surprise.
"Don't move!" said one of the stormtroopers. Jessi felt herself pushed against the ground and heard the sound of blaster fire and a hum that was unfamiliar to her. The air was soon filled with ash and Jessi's vision was lost in a gray cloud filled with glowing reds and blues, shadowed figures, and the sounds of struggle.
Someone grabbed Jessi's clothes and dragged her to the side. She recognized the figure as Nakita's. Just as they were coming out of the gray cloud, she heard a shout from a stoormtrooper and blaster fire hit the ground all around her and Nakita. A scream of desperation escaped her lips, and then a tremendous explosion threw her backwards. She hit something very solid and the word dissolved.
Luke was caught up in an intense battle against four greatly improved stormtroopers. Two were shooting with blasters; the others were fighting with large, lethal rods. He swung his brilliant lightsaber up, down, across, wherever the initiative took him. He fought defensively, conserving energy, fighting to stay alive.
He heard a scream and something exploding. The shockwave that came after threw him off his feet. He landed on his back, just hanging on to consciousness. After he had lain still for a few moments to calm his head, he realized it was over. The blast must have wiped out the stormtroopers. As the dust settled he lanced over in the direction of Jessi and Nakita. Jessi was up against a massive tree, unconscious. She was cut up a good deal, but he sensed she would be okay. He did not have the same feeling, however, about the crumpled figure in the other side of the clearing.
His got up and started to run and felt a sharp pain shoot up his leg to match to match the sick feeling in his stomach. He stumbled and fell to the dirt, bruising his arm. He hurriedly concentrated on the broken bone and the pain diminished enough for him to try again. He struggled back to his feet and limped as fast as he could to the prone form of Nakita. When he reached her he gave a quick examination and his heart rose to his throat. He choked out a gasp, hanging his head in his hands. Poor Nakita. His sister had seen to it that someone made sure that he didn't get into more then he could handle, and she had more then done the job. But now...
Remembering Jessi, he got up once again and stumbled to where she lay. There would be time later for Nakita. Other then a bad cut in her forehead she seemed to be okay. He tore the hem off her sleeve and wrapped it around her head. Looking around, he realized the stormtroopers lay dead. He sat against a tree and waited for Jessi to revive.
Jessi slowly opened her eyes then shut them quickly again against the bright light. She felt a searing pain in her head and her hand reached up instinctively. Her fingers felt a piece of material tied around her head. She tried to sit up but felt herself pushed back down by a hand on her chest.
"Don't get up yet." Her thoughts getting clearer and clearer, she realized it was Luke's voice. She lay back for a few seconds.
"Can I now?"
"I give up, can you?"
"Ugh..." she slowly tried to sit up. The world started to spin. Luke grabbed her shoulders. She felt a warm tingling in her head and the spinning stopped.
"I'm okay," she mumbled, getting to her feet. She looked around at the dead stormtroopers. "Wha-?"
"An explosion. Somehow we managed to survive." There seemed to be sorrow in his voice.
Jessi was puzzled only a second. "Nakita?" she asked gently, suddenly aware of the famous Jedi's fragility.
Luke nodded gravely.
Jessi bowed her head to indicate sorrow.
"Don't lie," Luke reprimanded her sadly.
Jessi felt a little uncomfortable. "Sorry. I didn't really know her," she admitted.
"Understood," Luke sighed.
Jessi felt bad for him. She tried to change the subject. "What now?"
"First we will have a burial," he said a little more brightly and getting to his feet. "Then we 'borrow' a ship. I don't think these Imperials will find much need for them anymore."
After a solemn burial, they followed the repulsar-dust back to the stormtroopers. After more scuffling, they obtained a small freighter and took off. Destination: Tatooine. Jessi was thrilled.