1 Chapter 2 -----
Analee steeled herself against the terror the Jedi's admission had instantly inspired. It would do no one any good, especially the tiny life growing inside her, if she let the fear take over. Instead, she called upon the calm that had aided her so many times before and knew that she could face whatever came. Her child just had to live, so she pushed all negative thoughts to the back of her mind and willed them to stay there. 'Take this one step at a time,' she told herself breathing in deeply several times.
Some of the other passengers weren't taking the news quite so well, she noticed. Ganner was standing at the head of the cabin trying to urge the people to remain calm and prepare for a landing. A few were obediently following his directions, but one man in particular decided to take matters into his own hands. The red-haired man, who looked to be in his forties, stood from his seat and began voicing his opinion of the situation.
"This is all your fault, Jedi," he began accusingly. "It's because of you and your kind that the Vong are taking over our worlds anyway!" At first, the rest of the room had become so silent one could have heard a pin drop. However, after the man's second comment, several other passengers chimed in with their agreement. That only encouraged the first man to continue his barrage of accusations. Analee watched as Ganner silently withstood the attacks, and she marveled at his composure. His temper appeared to be completely under control.
"Yeah, if you cowards would just turn yourselves over, then maybe those aliens would go back where they came from and leave the rest of us alone!" More shouts of approval.
Analee felt the fury growing inside her until she could contain it no longer. "How dare you!" she yelled out from the back. All eyes turned to watch the young woman standing in the rear of the compartment. "How dare you speak to him this way when he is only here to protect us!"
Ganner, along with everyone else, was speechless, and Analee took full advantage of the opportunity.
"And how can you even suggest that the Jedi are to blame for what those horrible monsters, the Yuuzhan Vong, do?! Are you that stupid?!"
Uh-oh. Ganner could sense the anger rolling off of the red-haired man and knew nothing good could happen if the 'discussion' continued as it was. He had to diffuse the situation quickly, even though Analee seemed to be holding her own.
The man had somehow managed to maneuver himself to within inches of Analee, and was trying desperately to intimidate her with his fiery gaze. Ganner pushed his way through the throng of people who were now spilling into the aisle to gain a better view of the action.
"You're calling me stupid?" the man stated arrogantly as he raked a disgusted glance over the pregnant woman. Analee met his gaze and didn't flinch. "Seems to me it's pretty stupid bringing a baby into this galaxy right during the middle of a war."
"Stand down!" Ganner commanded as he finally made it to the back and thrust himself between the man and Analee. The Jedi towered over the shorter man, but despite the size difference, the man didn't appear to be afraid. The men locked eyes and Ganner's jaw was clenched tight. Someone could have cut the tension with a vibroblade… but Ganner didn't have a vibroblade, so he used what resources he had.
"I said… stand… down." As he stated the order in a calm, low voice, he switched on the lightsaber he had managed to unhook as he walked down the aisle. The yellow blade thrummed to life right before the man's eyes, and a collective gasp could be heard throughout the cabin, including one from Analee.
The man finally stepped back but kept glaring daggers at both the Jedi and his protected. "Now," Ganner said to the whole room as he powered down his weapon, "you all need to get strapped in to your seats. We'll be landing soon." Within a few moments, the rest of the passengers settled back into their chairs and muttered quietly between themselves about the events that had just taken place. Ganner turned to face Analee. She looked a little shaken, but he didn't know if he could sense it only because he was a Jedi or not.
"Are you all right?" he asked placing a strong hand on her shoulder. He cocked his head to the side awaiting her response. For some reason, he felt … responsible for this woman he had just met.
"Yes… yes, I am. Thank you very much. I think I'm just going to sit back down now, if you don't mind." Analee plopped back down into her seat and began struggling with the safety restraints. Ganner sat next to her and effortlessly clicked his own into place. She huffed a few times and jerked and pulled before stopping to ask for help. "It seems my straps don't want to stretch across my huge stomach," she joked. "Would you mind giving me a hand?"
"Of course not," Ganner replied kindly. He reached across to grab her straps and began pulling on them.
"Do you agree with what he said?" she asked softly. He halted and looked into her eyes. //She has a few little freckles on her face//, he noticed oddly before coming back to his senses.
"What? That we Jedi are the scourge of the galaxy and should be handed to the Vong on a silver platter in order to send them back where they came from? No, I don't agree at all. The Vong will never stop until they've conquered every world in existence. I've met up with a few of them… nasty creatures." He resumed his efforts and had just achieved a successful click, when Analee took him by surprise again.
"That's not what I was talking about," she stated matter of factly. Again, he looked at her, and darned if she didn't seem to get more attractive every time. "I meant, do you agree that it's stupid to bring a child into the world in the middle of a war?"
Whoa!… this was new for Ganner Rhysode. He didn't know much about children since his experience had not afforded him much exposure to them, especially infants. Although wartime was never a good time for anyone, he couldn't deny the surge of life he had felt under his fingertips resting inside Analee's womb and the sense of joy and light it radiated.
He smiled and then answered her question with another. "The question is, do you agree with what he said?"
Analee chuckled and rolled her eyes teasingly. "How did I know you were going to say that?"
Ganner leaned back into his seat and said, "Well, you're not a Jedi, so I'm guessing it's that woman's intuition my mother used to go on and on about." A moment of silence passed before either said anything.
"No," Analee finally muttered quietly catching his gaze once again. "No, I don't think it's stupid to have a baby during a war. What better time to give birth to a new life full of hope and promise than during a time when hopes and promises are nearly lost?" She smiled sweetly and then looked away.
Ganner couldn't believe it. He was at a loss for words yet again in only a few hours time. Analee's answer was so simple and yet so eloquent. It was true that each child held unlimited potential in his or her tiny being. Each baby had the possibility of doing great good for the galaxy, and, Ganner admitted unwillingly, the chance of doing wrong. Nonetheless, there was hope. And like Analee, he decided that he preferred to focus on the good right now for he had seen too much of the bad lately. He looked over at her again to find she had her eyes closed and her head leaning back on the head of her chair.
Yes, the galaxy may be falling apart piece by piece, but right now, right next to him, there was hope.
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In less than thirty minutes from the time they strapped in, the refugees on board The Galactic Gem crash landed gently on the planet of Tridel. Even though Ganner's Jedi senses assured him that no one had died, there were several injuries, and, unfortunately, they were still on a world, which just so happened to be right on the edge of conquered Yuuzhan Vong territory. Only Ganner and the pilots knew about this tiny problem in the hopes they could allay some of the others' fears.
Strangely, Ganner found he was first and foremost concerned about Analee. He had even thrown himself over her when the turbulence began and stayed there until all was still. Protecting this woman and her unborn child just seemed the natural thing for him to do… as a Jedi and as a man. Using the Force, he had cushioned the impact for her as much as possible. It gave him one humdinger of a headache, but, in his estimation, it was worth the pain.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he pulled away and studied her. Her hands were protectively on her belly and she tried to clear her head. The landing had left her rather rattled. She examined her own arms and felt her head.
"I think I just have a few scratches, but the bruises are going to be rough going," she finally replied.
"Well, we need to see to those wounds," Ganner began, digging into the supply pouch on his belt for some antiseptic. He was intent on making sure she was perfectly safe. Analee watched him in amusement for a moment before placing her hand on his forearm to stop him.
"I'm fine, really. And they aren't 'wounds', just scrapes. I'll be okay." She was so calm, he thought. He should be the one doing that, not her. He was the protector.
Glancing down at her round stomach, he asked, "What about the baby?" She reached out to put his hand back on her belly and smiled when he jumped in surprise.
"Oh, he's fine. I think he wants to do the whole thing over again, in fact," she joked, "but I'll start my parenting a little early and say 'no'."
"Good!" Ganner discovered that he had been holding his breath while waiting to hear about the baby and exhaled rather audibly.
"No need to worry. We're both fine," Analee reassured him with a motherly pat on the knee and another of her calming smiles. "What about you? You're bleeding." She raised her hand and gently probed his forehead with a feather light touch.
"Me?" He lifted his fingers to a stinging sensation above his eyebrow and was surprised to find blood when he took them away. The Jedi was taken aback by her question and her sincere actions. There wasn't usually anyone to be concerned about him. Even the other Jedi often suffered in silence. It had been a long time since he'd felt so… so… nurtured.
"Hand me your pack," she ordered quietly while rolling up her sleeves. He placed the small med-pac in her dainty hands, and, before he knew I,t she had him skillfully bandaged up. "There!" she declared, leaning back to admire her handy work. "All done."
"You're very good at that," Ganner stated crunching his face back and forth to see how well the bandage would hold.
"I should be. I'm a nurse."
This admission stunned the Jedi. He had assumed she was only a wife and expectant mother. He hadn't even considered the possibility that she was anything else, but after hearing it, he thought if any job suited her, it was definitely nursing. "I should have known."
"What? Do you read minds?" she asked teasingly with a chuckle.
"Not exactly," Ganner replied mysteriously with a dashing grin. Suddenly, the two became aware of their surroundings. Several people were crying and some were moaning in pain. He had work to do. "I need to check on the others."
"I'll help you," she offered. Analee started to get up awkwardly out of her seat, but had to plop back down.
Ganner admired her determination, but wasn't about to let her move a muscle. "I think you'd better just sit right here." The blonde woman shot him a look to kill.
"I will not just sit right here, Jedi Rhysode," she declared, "not when I am trained to help people that are hurt." The two locked gazes for an instant, and Ganner realized he might have misjudged this female. Analee could see the surrender in his eyes and grinned. "Now, help me up from this seat, please." She held out her hand and Ganner pulled her up with a grunt and a laugh. "I'll ignore that," she added straightening her tunic.
"Just remind me to stay on your good side," he quipped.
"Oh, I won't let you forget it," she retorted with a quick grin. "Now, let's see to the others."
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Analee steeled herself against the terror the Jedi's admission had instantly inspired. It would do no one any good, especially the tiny life growing inside her, if she let the fear take over. Instead, she called upon the calm that had aided her so many times before and knew that she could face whatever came. Her child just had to live, so she pushed all negative thoughts to the back of her mind and willed them to stay there. 'Take this one step at a time,' she told herself breathing in deeply several times.
Some of the other passengers weren't taking the news quite so well, she noticed. Ganner was standing at the head of the cabin trying to urge the people to remain calm and prepare for a landing. A few were obediently following his directions, but one man in particular decided to take matters into his own hands. The red-haired man, who looked to be in his forties, stood from his seat and began voicing his opinion of the situation.
"This is all your fault, Jedi," he began accusingly. "It's because of you and your kind that the Vong are taking over our worlds anyway!" At first, the rest of the room had become so silent one could have heard a pin drop. However, after the man's second comment, several other passengers chimed in with their agreement. That only encouraged the first man to continue his barrage of accusations. Analee watched as Ganner silently withstood the attacks, and she marveled at his composure. His temper appeared to be completely under control.
"Yeah, if you cowards would just turn yourselves over, then maybe those aliens would go back where they came from and leave the rest of us alone!" More shouts of approval.
Analee felt the fury growing inside her until she could contain it no longer. "How dare you!" she yelled out from the back. All eyes turned to watch the young woman standing in the rear of the compartment. "How dare you speak to him this way when he is only here to protect us!"
Ganner, along with everyone else, was speechless, and Analee took full advantage of the opportunity.
"And how can you even suggest that the Jedi are to blame for what those horrible monsters, the Yuuzhan Vong, do?! Are you that stupid?!"
Uh-oh. Ganner could sense the anger rolling off of the red-haired man and knew nothing good could happen if the 'discussion' continued as it was. He had to diffuse the situation quickly, even though Analee seemed to be holding her own.
The man had somehow managed to maneuver himself to within inches of Analee, and was trying desperately to intimidate her with his fiery gaze. Ganner pushed his way through the throng of people who were now spilling into the aisle to gain a better view of the action.
"You're calling me stupid?" the man stated arrogantly as he raked a disgusted glance over the pregnant woman. Analee met his gaze and didn't flinch. "Seems to me it's pretty stupid bringing a baby into this galaxy right during the middle of a war."
"Stand down!" Ganner commanded as he finally made it to the back and thrust himself between the man and Analee. The Jedi towered over the shorter man, but despite the size difference, the man didn't appear to be afraid. The men locked eyes and Ganner's jaw was clenched tight. Someone could have cut the tension with a vibroblade… but Ganner didn't have a vibroblade, so he used what resources he had.
"I said… stand… down." As he stated the order in a calm, low voice, he switched on the lightsaber he had managed to unhook as he walked down the aisle. The yellow blade thrummed to life right before the man's eyes, and a collective gasp could be heard throughout the cabin, including one from Analee.
The man finally stepped back but kept glaring daggers at both the Jedi and his protected. "Now," Ganner said to the whole room as he powered down his weapon, "you all need to get strapped in to your seats. We'll be landing soon." Within a few moments, the rest of the passengers settled back into their chairs and muttered quietly between themselves about the events that had just taken place. Ganner turned to face Analee. She looked a little shaken, but he didn't know if he could sense it only because he was a Jedi or not.
"Are you all right?" he asked placing a strong hand on her shoulder. He cocked his head to the side awaiting her response. For some reason, he felt … responsible for this woman he had just met.
"Yes… yes, I am. Thank you very much. I think I'm just going to sit back down now, if you don't mind." Analee plopped back down into her seat and began struggling with the safety restraints. Ganner sat next to her and effortlessly clicked his own into place. She huffed a few times and jerked and pulled before stopping to ask for help. "It seems my straps don't want to stretch across my huge stomach," she joked. "Would you mind giving me a hand?"
"Of course not," Ganner replied kindly. He reached across to grab her straps and began pulling on them.
"Do you agree with what he said?" she asked softly. He halted and looked into her eyes. //She has a few little freckles on her face//, he noticed oddly before coming back to his senses.
"What? That we Jedi are the scourge of the galaxy and should be handed to the Vong on a silver platter in order to send them back where they came from? No, I don't agree at all. The Vong will never stop until they've conquered every world in existence. I've met up with a few of them… nasty creatures." He resumed his efforts and had just achieved a successful click, when Analee took him by surprise again.
"That's not what I was talking about," she stated matter of factly. Again, he looked at her, and darned if she didn't seem to get more attractive every time. "I meant, do you agree that it's stupid to bring a child into the world in the middle of a war?"
Whoa!… this was new for Ganner Rhysode. He didn't know much about children since his experience had not afforded him much exposure to them, especially infants. Although wartime was never a good time for anyone, he couldn't deny the surge of life he had felt under his fingertips resting inside Analee's womb and the sense of joy and light it radiated.
He smiled and then answered her question with another. "The question is, do you agree with what he said?"
Analee chuckled and rolled her eyes teasingly. "How did I know you were going to say that?"
Ganner leaned back into his seat and said, "Well, you're not a Jedi, so I'm guessing it's that woman's intuition my mother used to go on and on about." A moment of silence passed before either said anything.
"No," Analee finally muttered quietly catching his gaze once again. "No, I don't think it's stupid to have a baby during a war. What better time to give birth to a new life full of hope and promise than during a time when hopes and promises are nearly lost?" She smiled sweetly and then looked away.
Ganner couldn't believe it. He was at a loss for words yet again in only a few hours time. Analee's answer was so simple and yet so eloquent. It was true that each child held unlimited potential in his or her tiny being. Each baby had the possibility of doing great good for the galaxy, and, Ganner admitted unwillingly, the chance of doing wrong. Nonetheless, there was hope. And like Analee, he decided that he preferred to focus on the good right now for he had seen too much of the bad lately. He looked over at her again to find she had her eyes closed and her head leaning back on the head of her chair.
Yes, the galaxy may be falling apart piece by piece, but right now, right next to him, there was hope.
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In less than thirty minutes from the time they strapped in, the refugees on board The Galactic Gem crash landed gently on the planet of Tridel. Even though Ganner's Jedi senses assured him that no one had died, there were several injuries, and, unfortunately, they were still on a world, which just so happened to be right on the edge of conquered Yuuzhan Vong territory. Only Ganner and the pilots knew about this tiny problem in the hopes they could allay some of the others' fears.
Strangely, Ganner found he was first and foremost concerned about Analee. He had even thrown himself over her when the turbulence began and stayed there until all was still. Protecting this woman and her unborn child just seemed the natural thing for him to do… as a Jedi and as a man. Using the Force, he had cushioned the impact for her as much as possible. It gave him one humdinger of a headache, but, in his estimation, it was worth the pain.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he pulled away and studied her. Her hands were protectively on her belly and she tried to clear her head. The landing had left her rather rattled. She examined her own arms and felt her head.
"I think I just have a few scratches, but the bruises are going to be rough going," she finally replied.
"Well, we need to see to those wounds," Ganner began, digging into the supply pouch on his belt for some antiseptic. He was intent on making sure she was perfectly safe. Analee watched him in amusement for a moment before placing her hand on his forearm to stop him.
"I'm fine, really. And they aren't 'wounds', just scrapes. I'll be okay." She was so calm, he thought. He should be the one doing that, not her. He was the protector.
Glancing down at her round stomach, he asked, "What about the baby?" She reached out to put his hand back on her belly and smiled when he jumped in surprise.
"Oh, he's fine. I think he wants to do the whole thing over again, in fact," she joked, "but I'll start my parenting a little early and say 'no'."
"Good!" Ganner discovered that he had been holding his breath while waiting to hear about the baby and exhaled rather audibly.
"No need to worry. We're both fine," Analee reassured him with a motherly pat on the knee and another of her calming smiles. "What about you? You're bleeding." She raised her hand and gently probed his forehead with a feather light touch.
"Me?" He lifted his fingers to a stinging sensation above his eyebrow and was surprised to find blood when he took them away. The Jedi was taken aback by her question and her sincere actions. There wasn't usually anyone to be concerned about him. Even the other Jedi often suffered in silence. It had been a long time since he'd felt so… so… nurtured.
"Hand me your pack," she ordered quietly while rolling up her sleeves. He placed the small med-pac in her dainty hands, and, before he knew I,t she had him skillfully bandaged up. "There!" she declared, leaning back to admire her handy work. "All done."
"You're very good at that," Ganner stated crunching his face back and forth to see how well the bandage would hold.
"I should be. I'm a nurse."
This admission stunned the Jedi. He had assumed she was only a wife and expectant mother. He hadn't even considered the possibility that she was anything else, but after hearing it, he thought if any job suited her, it was definitely nursing. "I should have known."
"What? Do you read minds?" she asked teasingly with a chuckle.
"Not exactly," Ganner replied mysteriously with a dashing grin. Suddenly, the two became aware of their surroundings. Several people were crying and some were moaning in pain. He had work to do. "I need to check on the others."
"I'll help you," she offered. Analee started to get up awkwardly out of her seat, but had to plop back down.
Ganner admired her determination, but wasn't about to let her move a muscle. "I think you'd better just sit right here." The blonde woman shot him a look to kill.
"I will not just sit right here, Jedi Rhysode," she declared, "not when I am trained to help people that are hurt." The two locked gazes for an instant, and Ganner realized he might have misjudged this female. Analee could see the surrender in his eyes and grinned. "Now, help me up from this seat, please." She held out her hand and Ganner pulled her up with a grunt and a laugh. "I'll ignore that," she added straightening her tunic.
"Just remind me to stay on your good side," he quipped.
"Oh, I won't let you forget it," she retorted with a quick grin. "Now, let's see to the others."
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