**************************** Docking Bay
**************************************
One of the last transports was a big old Rebellion Cruiser. For a
moment Zekk simply stood there and watched the chaos. People were
screaming, dragging precious possessions and trying to find the other
people in their group.
The captain of the cruiser was trying to get everyone aboard. "Come on people! We don't have a lightyear! Hey fly-boy, get your beat-up rump over here!"
Zekk was about to comply when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A sleek Couriscant style passenger cruiser. It looked like it was brand new, and on the side of it in black stencle letter were the words Star Searcher.
He paused, wasn't that the name of the ship Jaina supposedly left on? Maybe not. He wanted badly to board the cruiser and get out. But Jaina might be in trouble, and there was only one way to find out.
Zekk kneeled, putting both hands palm down on the floor and closing his eyes. He opened his mind to the Force, letting it flow through him. He felt the Force, it radiated from every living thing. Quickly he searched the upper levels of the base and proceeded down. He felt Jaina's cousin, Ben Skywalker, and then there she was. There was such sadness in her that Zekk couldn't believe it. Something had happened. She was in the gym. Why was she there? He didn't know...
Zekk raced through the lower levels of the base. Stepping out of a lift Zekk spotted Jaina's cousin sitting in the hall. The kid was crying, tears running down his face, and shrieking in the mournful howl.
Zekk's ears began to ring and he put a hand up to his temple and sighed. Been through two major battles in one day, crashed my X-Wing, and since that didn't do-me-in, he wouldn't have been surprised if the missing volume control on this kid will.
He ran down the hall nearing little Ben who looked horrible. But it wasn't the tottler that had first caught his attention. It was a dead end. Behind the little boy there was only debries and what he guessed was the ceiling. Jaina must have gone someplace else.
Ben's face was red and tears streamed down his cheeks. The little tyke turned to look at him, and Zekk realized how scary he must have looked all bloodied up. But hey, the toddler didn't look much better than he did. Even then, Ben eyed him with fear.
"It's okay," Zekk said, "I'm here to-" Ben cut him off with a very noisy sob. Zekk sighed and reached out through the Force to Ben's young mind, sending calming feelings to the little boy. Then Ben was silent, and stared quietly at Zekk with teary eyes.
"I'm here to help." Zekk finished. Then he realized that Ben must not recognize him. "I'm Zekk." Zekk pointed at his chest with his thumb trying to make the young Skywalker understand. It didn't work. "Friend of Jaina's. Jaina's friend."
Ben still looked at him wide-eyed. Suddenly the ground stopped shaking and the roaring of impact-bombes halted. Zekk glanced over his shoulder. The bombing had stopped, which meant that the Vong could enter the base at any second. Quickly Zekk bent down on one knee to look Ben strait in the eye,
"Where's Jaina?" Zekk asked. Ben didn't say anything, he only stared at the Jedi Knight in silence. The lights flickered and the total silence in the hall was almost frightening. Zekk's head began to throb with pain. Actually, he guessed he only noticed it now. He eyed the three year old. Again he reached out with the Force.What had Ben seen?
Closing his eyes Zekk pushed his way into Ben's child-like memories. He felt his feet, or Ben's feet, hit the ground and Jaina's face filled his vision. The words were muffled but he could understand them.
"You're slowing me way down." She said. Jaina's face was sweaty and Zekk could tell she probably had been running.
"Aya! Aya!" Ben yelled. Zekk watched. "Stay here," Jaina ordered. "I'll be right back." Zekk watched as she ran down the hall and then turned to the right. into the gym. He was right! But. when did the cave-in happen? Was Jaina out of there in time? Zekk's questions were answered when he heard an enormous crash. That's when the kid had started to scream.
Zekk opened his eyes. She had gone in and was trapped under the durristeal. Perhaps she was dying. "Stay right here." Zekk said as he stepped around the small child and ran down the hall.
After Zekk left Ben got wobbly to his feet. He wasn't going to just sit and wait. Something might happen, and if it did he wanted to help. Nobody else he loved was going to get hurt today, and he was determined that he would stop anybody who would. Zekk could hear his heart thump in his chest. Losing time, they could come in any second. Jaina could die any second. As he neared the pile of cement and steal he could feel her through the Force. She was weak and probably unconscious.
Then he was standing in front of it. The pile was very large and Zekk didn't know how to even approach it. If he took out the stuff on the bottom was it possible that even more debris would come down from the ceiling and crush all of them? Or was it only at that weak point in the wall that could fall in? Suddenly Zekk felt lost. Fear tried to over come him, the pain of his injuries, and the fatigue of endless excersion was numbing his ability to use the Force.
Zekk called the Force to him, it flow through him. He wrapped himself up in it like a warm blanket. He let it calm him, and strengthen his tired muscles and spirit.
He walked around the pile, still unsure of where to start. The smell of burn wire and chemical leaks filled the air. Dirt was seeping through the cracks in the ceiling and collecting in small pyramids on the floor. One of the large durristeal doors lay bent in on itself on the floor and Zekk pulled it away only to reveal more rocks. A shiny object caught Zekk's attention. Zekk picked it up and recognized it as Jaina's lightsaber.
The tall dark Jedi Knight looked at the pile of debris. He didn't dare cut through it with the lightsaber. He could accidentally cut Jaina! Without hesitation he clipped Jaina's lightsaber to his belt, and started hauling away the rocks and durristeal.
A little while later Zekk surveyed his work. He wasn't getting very far. The Vong would capture them all if he didn't hurry. He was running out of time, fast. Closing his eyes he concentrated on the Force. 'Size matters not.' Isn't that was Master Skywalker had always told him? This was a good time for the Force to prove it. Lift it. Come on, LIFT IT! Zekk stretched out his arm towards the pile, concentrating. Using the Force, Zekk dragged the pieces of the fallen ceiling out of the doorway leaving a jagged hole in the wall, like the very jaws of death.
Zekk walked around the pile of rubble and walked in, taking Jaina's lightsaber he ignited the purple blade with a snap-hiss. The gym was flooded with saber-light and Zekk made out the faces of half a dozen children. They were probably from the ages of five to eight. Make that a couple months. In a young wookie's arms was a baby. Where was she?
"Where's Jaina?" Zekk asked a young tweileek boy.
"You mean the other Jedi?" Zekk nodded.
"She's. She's." The kid was trying to make the words come out but couldn't.
"Calm down." Zekk ordered. "Where is she?" The kid took in a deep breath and said, "She's underneath all that junk."
Zekk suddenly felt like he was going to be sick. "Alright, every- body, out into the hall." He said.
Most of the children were only happy to comply, and Zekk remembered that most kids were afraid of the dark. And they did have reason. As they filed out of the hole in the wall Zekk counted six, including the tiny baby. They were all teary-eyed kids. He suspected that either the wookie or the tweilekk were the oldest.
Again he turned his attention to the task at hand. Concentrating on the pile that he now knew Jaina was trapped under he suddenly felt that it wasn't as hard as before. Slowly large hunks of concrete and mettle lifted up off of the pile. Then, he sensed it. She was halfway free. Under the other large door Zekk discovered Jaina's limp form.
Her eyes were closed and her forehead was bleeding from a cut on her left temple. Her long cinnamon-colored hair was matted and dirty.
Quickly Zekk let the material which he had been levitating behind him crash to the floor. Rushing over to where Jaina lay he pulled her out from under the other rocks that had pinned her legs.
Zekk cradled her in his arms, "Come on Jaina," he whispered in her ear, "I'm not leaving without you, so you have to wake up." Jaina's warm breath brushed against Zekk's cheek. Her right arm was crooked in a strange position and he guessed that it was broken. She had cuts and bruises all over her, and he hoped that the blood dripping from her mouth was simply from a cut lip, and not from internal injuries. He placed a hand on Jaina's forehead, brushing away the dirt and long strands of her cinnamon hair that had strayed across her face.
"They're coming Jaina." He whispered. "And I need your help." Jaina's eyes flickered but nothing else. To BE continued! (if I get some more reviews!)
The captain of the cruiser was trying to get everyone aboard. "Come on people! We don't have a lightyear! Hey fly-boy, get your beat-up rump over here!"
Zekk was about to comply when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A sleek Couriscant style passenger cruiser. It looked like it was brand new, and on the side of it in black stencle letter were the words Star Searcher.
He paused, wasn't that the name of the ship Jaina supposedly left on? Maybe not. He wanted badly to board the cruiser and get out. But Jaina might be in trouble, and there was only one way to find out.
Zekk kneeled, putting both hands palm down on the floor and closing his eyes. He opened his mind to the Force, letting it flow through him. He felt the Force, it radiated from every living thing. Quickly he searched the upper levels of the base and proceeded down. He felt Jaina's cousin, Ben Skywalker, and then there she was. There was such sadness in her that Zekk couldn't believe it. Something had happened. She was in the gym. Why was she there? He didn't know...
Zekk raced through the lower levels of the base. Stepping out of a lift Zekk spotted Jaina's cousin sitting in the hall. The kid was crying, tears running down his face, and shrieking in the mournful howl.
Zekk's ears began to ring and he put a hand up to his temple and sighed. Been through two major battles in one day, crashed my X-Wing, and since that didn't do-me-in, he wouldn't have been surprised if the missing volume control on this kid will.
He ran down the hall nearing little Ben who looked horrible. But it wasn't the tottler that had first caught his attention. It was a dead end. Behind the little boy there was only debries and what he guessed was the ceiling. Jaina must have gone someplace else.
Ben's face was red and tears streamed down his cheeks. The little tyke turned to look at him, and Zekk realized how scary he must have looked all bloodied up. But hey, the toddler didn't look much better than he did. Even then, Ben eyed him with fear.
"It's okay," Zekk said, "I'm here to-" Ben cut him off with a very noisy sob. Zekk sighed and reached out through the Force to Ben's young mind, sending calming feelings to the little boy. Then Ben was silent, and stared quietly at Zekk with teary eyes.
"I'm here to help." Zekk finished. Then he realized that Ben must not recognize him. "I'm Zekk." Zekk pointed at his chest with his thumb trying to make the young Skywalker understand. It didn't work. "Friend of Jaina's. Jaina's friend."
Ben still looked at him wide-eyed. Suddenly the ground stopped shaking and the roaring of impact-bombes halted. Zekk glanced over his shoulder. The bombing had stopped, which meant that the Vong could enter the base at any second. Quickly Zekk bent down on one knee to look Ben strait in the eye,
"Where's Jaina?" Zekk asked. Ben didn't say anything, he only stared at the Jedi Knight in silence. The lights flickered and the total silence in the hall was almost frightening. Zekk's head began to throb with pain. Actually, he guessed he only noticed it now. He eyed the three year old. Again he reached out with the Force.What had Ben seen?
Closing his eyes Zekk pushed his way into Ben's child-like memories. He felt his feet, or Ben's feet, hit the ground and Jaina's face filled his vision. The words were muffled but he could understand them.
"You're slowing me way down." She said. Jaina's face was sweaty and Zekk could tell she probably had been running.
"Aya! Aya!" Ben yelled. Zekk watched. "Stay here," Jaina ordered. "I'll be right back." Zekk watched as she ran down the hall and then turned to the right. into the gym. He was right! But. when did the cave-in happen? Was Jaina out of there in time? Zekk's questions were answered when he heard an enormous crash. That's when the kid had started to scream.
Zekk opened his eyes. She had gone in and was trapped under the durristeal. Perhaps she was dying. "Stay right here." Zekk said as he stepped around the small child and ran down the hall.
After Zekk left Ben got wobbly to his feet. He wasn't going to just sit and wait. Something might happen, and if it did he wanted to help. Nobody else he loved was going to get hurt today, and he was determined that he would stop anybody who would. Zekk could hear his heart thump in his chest. Losing time, they could come in any second. Jaina could die any second. As he neared the pile of cement and steal he could feel her through the Force. She was weak and probably unconscious.
Then he was standing in front of it. The pile was very large and Zekk didn't know how to even approach it. If he took out the stuff on the bottom was it possible that even more debris would come down from the ceiling and crush all of them? Or was it only at that weak point in the wall that could fall in? Suddenly Zekk felt lost. Fear tried to over come him, the pain of his injuries, and the fatigue of endless excersion was numbing his ability to use the Force.
Zekk called the Force to him, it flow through him. He wrapped himself up in it like a warm blanket. He let it calm him, and strengthen his tired muscles and spirit.
He walked around the pile, still unsure of where to start. The smell of burn wire and chemical leaks filled the air. Dirt was seeping through the cracks in the ceiling and collecting in small pyramids on the floor. One of the large durristeal doors lay bent in on itself on the floor and Zekk pulled it away only to reveal more rocks. A shiny object caught Zekk's attention. Zekk picked it up and recognized it as Jaina's lightsaber.
The tall dark Jedi Knight looked at the pile of debris. He didn't dare cut through it with the lightsaber. He could accidentally cut Jaina! Without hesitation he clipped Jaina's lightsaber to his belt, and started hauling away the rocks and durristeal.
A little while later Zekk surveyed his work. He wasn't getting very far. The Vong would capture them all if he didn't hurry. He was running out of time, fast. Closing his eyes he concentrated on the Force. 'Size matters not.' Isn't that was Master Skywalker had always told him? This was a good time for the Force to prove it. Lift it. Come on, LIFT IT! Zekk stretched out his arm towards the pile, concentrating. Using the Force, Zekk dragged the pieces of the fallen ceiling out of the doorway leaving a jagged hole in the wall, like the very jaws of death.
Zekk walked around the pile of rubble and walked in, taking Jaina's lightsaber he ignited the purple blade with a snap-hiss. The gym was flooded with saber-light and Zekk made out the faces of half a dozen children. They were probably from the ages of five to eight. Make that a couple months. In a young wookie's arms was a baby. Where was she?
"Where's Jaina?" Zekk asked a young tweileek boy.
"You mean the other Jedi?" Zekk nodded.
"She's. She's." The kid was trying to make the words come out but couldn't.
"Calm down." Zekk ordered. "Where is she?" The kid took in a deep breath and said, "She's underneath all that junk."
Zekk suddenly felt like he was going to be sick. "Alright, every- body, out into the hall." He said.
Most of the children were only happy to comply, and Zekk remembered that most kids were afraid of the dark. And they did have reason. As they filed out of the hole in the wall Zekk counted six, including the tiny baby. They were all teary-eyed kids. He suspected that either the wookie or the tweilekk were the oldest.
Again he turned his attention to the task at hand. Concentrating on the pile that he now knew Jaina was trapped under he suddenly felt that it wasn't as hard as before. Slowly large hunks of concrete and mettle lifted up off of the pile. Then, he sensed it. She was halfway free. Under the other large door Zekk discovered Jaina's limp form.
Her eyes were closed and her forehead was bleeding from a cut on her left temple. Her long cinnamon-colored hair was matted and dirty.
Quickly Zekk let the material which he had been levitating behind him crash to the floor. Rushing over to where Jaina lay he pulled her out from under the other rocks that had pinned her legs.
Zekk cradled her in his arms, "Come on Jaina," he whispered in her ear, "I'm not leaving without you, so you have to wake up." Jaina's warm breath brushed against Zekk's cheek. Her right arm was crooked in a strange position and he guessed that it was broken. She had cuts and bruises all over her, and he hoped that the blood dripping from her mouth was simply from a cut lip, and not from internal injuries. He placed a hand on Jaina's forehead, brushing away the dirt and long strands of her cinnamon hair that had strayed across her face.
"They're coming Jaina." He whispered. "And I need your help." Jaina's eyes flickered but nothing else. To BE continued! (if I get some more reviews!)