As he entered the outskirts of Von Ekka, Orion wondered how people
came to live like this. He saw drunks sprawled in alleyways, spacers being
thrown out of cantinas by muscled and tatooed bouncers.
Looking around, he saw a decent-sized junk pile and quickly searched through it with his mind, looking for any salvagable material.
Several piles later, Orion had managed to find a power cell, a few
buttons and switches, a metal disk for the blade emitter, some wiring and a few decent strips of shielding. He had also found a part in good condition that would make a decent high-energy flux aperture. All he needed now was a crystal lens, a hilt to assemble everything in, and of course a crystal to focus the energy from the power cell.
Walking up a side street, searching for some more scrap piles to sift through, Orion heard a scream to his left. Glancing sideways, he saw a young, arrogant-looking punk kicking a woman in a stained purple cloak, trying to shield her infant son and her face from his blows at the same time.
The punk swore at the woman, cursing her with every kick.
"You-stupid-bitch-don't-ever-do-that-again!"
Pulling a vibro-knife from his belt, he pulled back preparing to stab the defenseless woman.
.Only to feel a hand grab his wrist.
Looking over his shoulder, the punk saw a young man not much older than him holding his wrist, a quizzical look in his eyes.
"What has this woman done to deserve such a fate?"
The arrogant punk snarled at the impudence of this stranger.
"She disobeyed an order of the Lazerstrikerz, and the punishment is death! Now get out of my way you worthless piece of crap, or you're next!"
Orion merely shook his head. "I can't allow you to do that."
The punk screamed and lunged for the young man, only to feel a sharp pain in the back of his head, then the black sea of unconsciousness.
Orion caught the youth before he hit the ground, then pulled him over to a small table in front of a cantina. Placing him in one of the chairs, Orion disarmed him then put two fingers to the back of the punk's neck and sent a small bit of Force energy into the young man, ensuring that he would awake within the hour.
He then walked back to the woman and helped her up.
"Why was that guy attacking you?"
The woman shuddered. "One of the senior members of the LazerStrikerz decided that he wants a child to raise and train to take his place one day. As he is impotent from old age, he put out an order for the goons to buy a baby for him. That punk approached me with that offer and when I refused he started beating me. I owe you my life, for he would have stabbed me and taken my baby had you not intervened. Is there anyway I can repay you?"
Orion smiled. "You could tell me your name, for starters."
The woman nodded in reply. "My name is Aerith. My husband Cloud runs a combination cantina and junk shop. This is our son, Zack."
Orion laughed as the baby looked up at him with clear blue eyes and smiled. "My name is Orion. Actually, there is a way you can help me if you don't mind. I'm looking for a few parts for a friend, and it would be great if you could give me a hand."
Aerith grinned. "Sure! No problem! Come on, I'll take you over to our shop. You'll probably find everything you need there."
Without waiting for an answer, she led him through the crowds, towards the port's east end.
************
Cloud's shop, 9th Heaven, was a worn-looking but sturdy one story brown stone building. As Orion and Aerith entered, Aerith waved to a man who had to be Cloud. Tall, thin and muscled, his spikey blond hair and blue eyes gave him an innocent look. The twin blasters strapped to his belt did away with that image, though.
Seeing Aerith, Cloud smiled, but that quickly turned to a frown when he saw her bruised face and torn cloak.
Vaulting the counter, he ran up to her. "Honey, what happened?!"
Aerith pointed to Orion. "One of the Lazerstrikerz tried to kill me and take Zack. If Orion here hadn't intervened, he would have succeeded too."
Cloud's blue eyes turned to ice and he clenched his fists, trying to contain his fury. He turned to the brown-haired youth, looking him in the eye. "What did you do to the punk?"
Orion merely shrugged in reply. "I disarmed him and knocked him out. What does it matter?"
Cloud gritted his teeth. "Any reason why you didn't kill the scum?"
Orion shook his head. "I don't kill someone unless they leave me absolutely no other choice."
"People who think like that don't last long in a place like this."
"I'm still standing now, aren't I?"
Giving up, Cloud simply said, "Be that as it may, I am indebted to you for saving Aerith. How can I thank you?"
Orion replied, "I need a sword hilt, or something that will work just as well. I also need a crystal lens, and an authentic orange jewel, preferaby a durdinfire."
Cloud scratched his head. "I can get you the hilt and crystal lens, no problem. The jewel though, won't be easy. Any jewel of any value is bought or taken by the Lazerstrikerz. They have a back room in one of their bars, the Golden Dancer, where they store stuff like that. As a matter of fact, they stole two gems that we refused to sell. They look just like a small white marble and a small black marble, but they are in fact very valuable."
Orion shrugged. "If you could provide the hilt and the crystal
lens, that will be
more than enough. I thank you."
Cloud pulled a datacard out of his gunbelt and tossed it to the youth. "This is a map of Von Ekka. The Golden Dancer is the red mark, and my shop is the white one. Here, come with me and ill get you the hilt and lens."
Showing him through a door set in the wall behind the counter, Cloud led Orion into a darkened room, the only light a single glowpanel set in the wall. Walking to a black cloth against the wall, the blond man pulled the cloth away to reveal a long, curved sword. Orion watched in silence as the other man pulled a laser cutter out of a back pocket and set about separating the metal blade from the hilt. After it had cooled, he picked it up and tossed it over his shoulder to Orion, who caught it and felt the weight. Spinning it about, he nodded in approval.
"This is perfect, thanks."
"No problem, now for that crystal lens."
Cloud kicked open a small display case, revealing several blaster lenses. Plucking one from the group, he handed it to Orion, who carefully took it and placed it in his knapsack.
"Well, I'll be going now, thanks."
"No problem. Feel free to come back anytime."
Nodding in reply, the youth left the shop.
************
The Golden Dancer didn't look like much, but looks weren't important in a town like Von Ekka. Walking through the door, Orion had to duck to avoid a drunk being thrown out by a bouncer. Brushing his shirt off, Orion pulled up his hood and entered the bar.
Pushing his way past tables and the bar itself, Orion saw the door that had to lead to the back room. His view was partly obscured by the tall and muscled bouncer, however.
Without breaking stride, Orion walked past the guard and reached out with the Force, making the guard forget he had ever seen the youth.
Pushing the door open, Orion found himself in a small but well-lit room, lined with display cases. A middle-aged man looked up from behind the counter and blinked.
"What do ya need?"
"I'm looking for a durdinfire, and two small marble-like jewels, one white and one black."
"Here's a durdinfire, and I don't have either of the other two."
Orion looked at the cheap imitation the man handed to him. Returning his gaze to the proprietor, he repeated his request, adding the Force to his query.
This time the man reached into a safe built into the floor and retrieved three gems, the two marbles and a genuine durdinfire.
"Here you go. That'll be twenty thousand credits."
To this Orion merely waved his hand and made the man forget he had ever entered, then turned and left the way he had come.
************
On his way out of Von Ekka, Orion left a small leather pouch on the counter of Cloud's shop, containing his stolen property. Besides that, he didn't stop going until he was a good kilometer from the port. Setting up under a tree, Orion began to assemble his weapon, using the Force to guide his hands as they fit the parts together and constructed the weapon.
An hour later, the only thing left to be done was the charging of the cell with the Force. Connecting two wires to the cell via the recharge port, Orion took the saber in one hand and held the wires in his other. Opening his mind, he let the Force flow into him, through the wires and into the battery.
Opening his eyes after what seemed to be a few moments, Orion checked his chrono and found that he had actually been in the trance for ten hours, and dawn streaked the sky pink.
Standing, Orion disconnected the wires and closed the recharge port. Pressing the activation stud, he watched his weapon give birth to an orange blade 1.3 meters in length. Closing his eyes, Orion smiled.
"It has been finished."
He suddenly remembered something else, and set off at a dead run, heading for the Academy.
************
Mya sat on top of one of the sub-temples, watching the sunrise. She sighed, and wondered. Everyone had gone crazy when it was discovered that Master Vondo and Orion had disappeared from the Academy. Rumors had run rampant once again for two months, and they were quelled only by the reappearance of the Master himself, who assured the students that all was well.
However, he said nothing of Orion, even when Mya personally questioned him herself. This had left her going through her days in slight despair, though she refused to let her skills suffer from it. Even so, Mya found herself thinking about the man who had stolen her heart so quickly. Glancing up into the brightening sky, Mya whispered to herself.
"Oh Orion, I hope you come back soon."
Then, to her complete surprise, another whisper answered.
"Well my lady, your wish is my command."
With a small cry Mya turned and saw Orion standing one the stone roof, watching her with a small smile on his face.
Brimming with joy, Mya jumped up and ran into his arms, hugging him and then quickly kissing him before he could get a word in edgewise. Pulling back, she looked up into his green eyes.
"There's something I have to tell you. I have fallen in love with you."
Orion smiled at this, then whispered in her ear.
"In that case, I have something to tell you as well."
With that, he leaned down and returned the kiss.
"I have fallen in love with you as well."
Words failing her, Mya simply let her actions speak for themselves. And it was in that moment that both of the Jedi students discovered what it was like to feel complete and everlasting joy.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before anyone jumps down my throat let me say that I don't own Cloud or any of those FF7 related names/characters. Email criticisms to chrispjedi@aol.com
Omnia vincit amor.
Looking around, he saw a decent-sized junk pile and quickly searched through it with his mind, looking for any salvagable material.
Several piles later, Orion had managed to find a power cell, a few
buttons and switches, a metal disk for the blade emitter, some wiring and a few decent strips of shielding. He had also found a part in good condition that would make a decent high-energy flux aperture. All he needed now was a crystal lens, a hilt to assemble everything in, and of course a crystal to focus the energy from the power cell.
Walking up a side street, searching for some more scrap piles to sift through, Orion heard a scream to his left. Glancing sideways, he saw a young, arrogant-looking punk kicking a woman in a stained purple cloak, trying to shield her infant son and her face from his blows at the same time.
The punk swore at the woman, cursing her with every kick.
"You-stupid-bitch-don't-ever-do-that-again!"
Pulling a vibro-knife from his belt, he pulled back preparing to stab the defenseless woman.
.Only to feel a hand grab his wrist.
Looking over his shoulder, the punk saw a young man not much older than him holding his wrist, a quizzical look in his eyes.
"What has this woman done to deserve such a fate?"
The arrogant punk snarled at the impudence of this stranger.
"She disobeyed an order of the Lazerstrikerz, and the punishment is death! Now get out of my way you worthless piece of crap, or you're next!"
Orion merely shook his head. "I can't allow you to do that."
The punk screamed and lunged for the young man, only to feel a sharp pain in the back of his head, then the black sea of unconsciousness.
Orion caught the youth before he hit the ground, then pulled him over to a small table in front of a cantina. Placing him in one of the chairs, Orion disarmed him then put two fingers to the back of the punk's neck and sent a small bit of Force energy into the young man, ensuring that he would awake within the hour.
He then walked back to the woman and helped her up.
"Why was that guy attacking you?"
The woman shuddered. "One of the senior members of the LazerStrikerz decided that he wants a child to raise and train to take his place one day. As he is impotent from old age, he put out an order for the goons to buy a baby for him. That punk approached me with that offer and when I refused he started beating me. I owe you my life, for he would have stabbed me and taken my baby had you not intervened. Is there anyway I can repay you?"
Orion smiled. "You could tell me your name, for starters."
The woman nodded in reply. "My name is Aerith. My husband Cloud runs a combination cantina and junk shop. This is our son, Zack."
Orion laughed as the baby looked up at him with clear blue eyes and smiled. "My name is Orion. Actually, there is a way you can help me if you don't mind. I'm looking for a few parts for a friend, and it would be great if you could give me a hand."
Aerith grinned. "Sure! No problem! Come on, I'll take you over to our shop. You'll probably find everything you need there."
Without waiting for an answer, she led him through the crowds, towards the port's east end.
************
Cloud's shop, 9th Heaven, was a worn-looking but sturdy one story brown stone building. As Orion and Aerith entered, Aerith waved to a man who had to be Cloud. Tall, thin and muscled, his spikey blond hair and blue eyes gave him an innocent look. The twin blasters strapped to his belt did away with that image, though.
Seeing Aerith, Cloud smiled, but that quickly turned to a frown when he saw her bruised face and torn cloak.
Vaulting the counter, he ran up to her. "Honey, what happened?!"
Aerith pointed to Orion. "One of the Lazerstrikerz tried to kill me and take Zack. If Orion here hadn't intervened, he would have succeeded too."
Cloud's blue eyes turned to ice and he clenched his fists, trying to contain his fury. He turned to the brown-haired youth, looking him in the eye. "What did you do to the punk?"
Orion merely shrugged in reply. "I disarmed him and knocked him out. What does it matter?"
Cloud gritted his teeth. "Any reason why you didn't kill the scum?"
Orion shook his head. "I don't kill someone unless they leave me absolutely no other choice."
"People who think like that don't last long in a place like this."
"I'm still standing now, aren't I?"
Giving up, Cloud simply said, "Be that as it may, I am indebted to you for saving Aerith. How can I thank you?"
Orion replied, "I need a sword hilt, or something that will work just as well. I also need a crystal lens, and an authentic orange jewel, preferaby a durdinfire."
Cloud scratched his head. "I can get you the hilt and crystal lens, no problem. The jewel though, won't be easy. Any jewel of any value is bought or taken by the Lazerstrikerz. They have a back room in one of their bars, the Golden Dancer, where they store stuff like that. As a matter of fact, they stole two gems that we refused to sell. They look just like a small white marble and a small black marble, but they are in fact very valuable."
Orion shrugged. "If you could provide the hilt and the crystal
lens, that will be
more than enough. I thank you."
Cloud pulled a datacard out of his gunbelt and tossed it to the youth. "This is a map of Von Ekka. The Golden Dancer is the red mark, and my shop is the white one. Here, come with me and ill get you the hilt and lens."
Showing him through a door set in the wall behind the counter, Cloud led Orion into a darkened room, the only light a single glowpanel set in the wall. Walking to a black cloth against the wall, the blond man pulled the cloth away to reveal a long, curved sword. Orion watched in silence as the other man pulled a laser cutter out of a back pocket and set about separating the metal blade from the hilt. After it had cooled, he picked it up and tossed it over his shoulder to Orion, who caught it and felt the weight. Spinning it about, he nodded in approval.
"This is perfect, thanks."
"No problem, now for that crystal lens."
Cloud kicked open a small display case, revealing several blaster lenses. Plucking one from the group, he handed it to Orion, who carefully took it and placed it in his knapsack.
"Well, I'll be going now, thanks."
"No problem. Feel free to come back anytime."
Nodding in reply, the youth left the shop.
************
The Golden Dancer didn't look like much, but looks weren't important in a town like Von Ekka. Walking through the door, Orion had to duck to avoid a drunk being thrown out by a bouncer. Brushing his shirt off, Orion pulled up his hood and entered the bar.
Pushing his way past tables and the bar itself, Orion saw the door that had to lead to the back room. His view was partly obscured by the tall and muscled bouncer, however.
Without breaking stride, Orion walked past the guard and reached out with the Force, making the guard forget he had ever seen the youth.
Pushing the door open, Orion found himself in a small but well-lit room, lined with display cases. A middle-aged man looked up from behind the counter and blinked.
"What do ya need?"
"I'm looking for a durdinfire, and two small marble-like jewels, one white and one black."
"Here's a durdinfire, and I don't have either of the other two."
Orion looked at the cheap imitation the man handed to him. Returning his gaze to the proprietor, he repeated his request, adding the Force to his query.
This time the man reached into a safe built into the floor and retrieved three gems, the two marbles and a genuine durdinfire.
"Here you go. That'll be twenty thousand credits."
To this Orion merely waved his hand and made the man forget he had ever entered, then turned and left the way he had come.
************
On his way out of Von Ekka, Orion left a small leather pouch on the counter of Cloud's shop, containing his stolen property. Besides that, he didn't stop going until he was a good kilometer from the port. Setting up under a tree, Orion began to assemble his weapon, using the Force to guide his hands as they fit the parts together and constructed the weapon.
An hour later, the only thing left to be done was the charging of the cell with the Force. Connecting two wires to the cell via the recharge port, Orion took the saber in one hand and held the wires in his other. Opening his mind, he let the Force flow into him, through the wires and into the battery.
Opening his eyes after what seemed to be a few moments, Orion checked his chrono and found that he had actually been in the trance for ten hours, and dawn streaked the sky pink.
Standing, Orion disconnected the wires and closed the recharge port. Pressing the activation stud, he watched his weapon give birth to an orange blade 1.3 meters in length. Closing his eyes, Orion smiled.
"It has been finished."
He suddenly remembered something else, and set off at a dead run, heading for the Academy.
************
Mya sat on top of one of the sub-temples, watching the sunrise. She sighed, and wondered. Everyone had gone crazy when it was discovered that Master Vondo and Orion had disappeared from the Academy. Rumors had run rampant once again for two months, and they were quelled only by the reappearance of the Master himself, who assured the students that all was well.
However, he said nothing of Orion, even when Mya personally questioned him herself. This had left her going through her days in slight despair, though she refused to let her skills suffer from it. Even so, Mya found herself thinking about the man who had stolen her heart so quickly. Glancing up into the brightening sky, Mya whispered to herself.
"Oh Orion, I hope you come back soon."
Then, to her complete surprise, another whisper answered.
"Well my lady, your wish is my command."
With a small cry Mya turned and saw Orion standing one the stone roof, watching her with a small smile on his face.
Brimming with joy, Mya jumped up and ran into his arms, hugging him and then quickly kissing him before he could get a word in edgewise. Pulling back, she looked up into his green eyes.
"There's something I have to tell you. I have fallen in love with you."
Orion smiled at this, then whispered in her ear.
"In that case, I have something to tell you as well."
With that, he leaned down and returned the kiss.
"I have fallen in love with you as well."
Words failing her, Mya simply let her actions speak for themselves. And it was in that moment that both of the Jedi students discovered what it was like to feel complete and everlasting joy.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before anyone jumps down my throat let me say that I don't own Cloud or any of those FF7 related names/characters. Email criticisms to chrispjedi@aol.com
Omnia vincit amor.