HEY: I know I don't usually leave an author's note, but tonight I'm in the mood. To everyone who's reading this story, love love love and and all that, and remember that reviews are like manna from the wilderness, feeding starving artists. So please enjoy the continuing adventures, but if you're out there and you haven't left a contribution in the little box yet, feel free. Thanks! And now to the story . . .
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Danielle had never felt more self-conscious in her entire life. Truth be told, the reason wasn't hard to fathom; she wore one of her new outfits, consisting of knee-high black boots, hardy black pants, and a swirling black surcoat, which gave her a rather menacing appearance, in her opinion at least. At her side, painfully obvious with every step, was strapped a blaster, loaded and ready for use. Best of all, to either side of her walked a giant man-eating Nexxu and a fully armed Jedi padawan.
"Cheer up," Obi-Wan said calmly, striding briskly beside her as though he couldn't feel all the stares. "Why the long face?"
Danielle looked around herself with some amusement. "We're attracting a good deal of attention, you realize."
"Are we?" He glanced up, looked around, and noticed all the curious stares. "Ah. Indeed we are. Suppose I should whip out my lightsaber and give 'em a real show?"
Danielle choked. "Force, no. It's just . . . I feel like a circus act."
"No, that's Sweetums' job," he returned, earning himself a glare. "We're just walking him, after all."
"I . . . I just wish we didn't have to do it in public is all," Danielle muttered.
"Well, walking him in the Temple wasn't working, and you know what he was like when he wasn't getting any exercise," the Jedi pointed out rationally. "I think I shall never forget the look on Shaak Ti's face when she saw him come barreling down the hall, chasing after a giant levitating fish . . ."
Danielle groaned. "Don't remind me! His sudden penchant for attempting to eat Gumbi is . . . well, the word that leaps to mind is 'typical'. The idiot fish even seems to enjoy it, damn him." She shook her head ruefully at the memory. "What a scenario! And I bet the sight of myself chasing after them just completed the ensemble."
"I bet it did," he agreed. "Besides, I don't see as how you should be complaining. It was you that wanted to keep this monster in the first place, after all."
As if it could understand him, Sweetums fixed Obi-Wan with an evil eye and growled, rather loudly. The area around them cleared in a remarkably quick amount of time.
"I was just teasing, feline," Obi-Wan said uneasily, looking at Danielle for support. "You know I don't think you're a monster."
"While he may be lying," Danielle said in what she thought was a genuinely supportive manner, "you don't have permission to eat him, remember? Or hurt him. He's my friend."
Disappointed, Sweetums gave the little yipping meow for which he had quickly grown infamous and butted Danielle so hard she fell down, taking an unhappy Obi-Wan with her.
When they had stood up and brushed themselves off, Obi-Wan shot Sweetums unkind looks while Danielle glared at the small crowd that had gathered around them (keeping a respectable distance away, of course). "See something you like?" she asked rather rudely, but she achieved her desired result; the crowd broke up and at least pretended to go about their normal business.
As they strolled along, Danielle breathed in the fresh air happily. Despite her complaints, it was nice to get out of the Temple every so often. "The only problem," she muttered, "is this blasted gun."
"Blasted or not," Obi-Wan said cheerfully, "you should get used to carrying a weapon with you. Coruscant isn't always the nicest of planets, and besides, you live with us. Who knows what might befall you while we're away? Or you may need to defend us. Just think: some day, you may get your own lightsaber."
Danielle choked at the rather vivid mental image that conjured. "God forbid," she said with feeling. "Besides, I don't see the point of carrying it when I've made it quite clear I won't shoot anyone with it."
"Despite your firm resolve, you still have the skills to shoot someone; and even if you don't want to do that, you can just wave it around and look intimidating."
"Like you do with your lightsaber?" she asked innocently, and got a Force pinch in return.
Before she could return the gesture, a scream split the air.
It was absolutely astonishing how quickly the atmosphere changed. The crowd rippled in shock, many people diving out of the way, others drawing weapons. Danielle and Obi-Wan were no exception; despite her protests, Danielle's gun was up and poised in a millisecond (due to Qui-Gon's rigorous training) and Obi-Wan's lightsaber was ignited and crackling even more quickly. Sweetums growled and bristled menacingly, ready for battle to defend his two pets.
"Where did it come from?" Danielle asked Obi-Wan.
Another cry, and a sudden hail of gunshots, answered her question for her.
Obi-Wan took off almost before it happened, and with a cry Danielle scrambled to keep up. Sweetums tore along beside her, daring anyone to even look threateningly at his beloved.
It was only a few minutes before they whipped around a corner and saw a small figure clothed entirely in white sprinting along, hair streaming behind her like dark and white ribbons. Behind her were no less than a dozen armed men, all in shockingly pink uniforms, firing at her heedlessly.
Obi-Wan reacted almost too quickly to see properly. He dove into the street in a path that intercepted the fleeing young woman, causing her to skid to a stop and slam right into Danielle's waiting arms. Shoving the girl behind her, Danielle instantly drew back and began firing as Obi-Wan deftly snapped each and every of the innumerable shots back at their attackers. At first, they thought they were doing well; then another dozen guards spilled around the corner, looking mad as hornets and all too willing to add their fire to their comrades'.
Good though he may be, Obi-Wan was impossibly outnumbered, even for a Jedi. He was still deflecting all the shots, but their attackers were moving slowly forward, and in a moment they'd be able to shoot past the arc of his blade and hit the Jedi and his two charges.
Desperate, Danielle looked over her shoulder. "Sweetums!!!"
With a stentorian roar of pure rage, the Nexxu leapt clear over her and Obi-Wan and straight into the midst of their attackers, long tail whipping furiously and jaws snapping angrily. Panicked, they scattered at first, unable to cope with a giant monster attacking them out of nowhere.
However, it was only a matter of time before they regained their wits and killed the unguarded Nexxu. Horrified, Danielle increased the tempo of her shots, focusing so intently on keeping her beloved Nexxu safe that she didn't even notice the single foe who crept away from the others to sneak past the arc of Obi-Wan's still-flashing blade.
She heard only a sharp laugh before she whirled, horrified, to see a dark man looming over her, leering horribly. Stumbling backward, she fumbled for her gun as he leveled his at her head-and a gunshot sounded.
Danielle gasped, thinking, for one endless moment, that she'd been shot--but then she realized it was her attacker who was stumbling away, a bloody hole in his stomach. She turned, amazed, and saw the girl, still a pool of white robes on the floor, had half-risen on one arm and raised a gun to shoot the man off Danielle. She was still in that position now, trembling all over, face as white as her dress.
"Thank you," Danielle gasped, astonished; she would have said more, but a shot got past the arc of Obi-Wan's blade and singed her sleeve, and she returned to the battle at hand.
Obi-Wan had seen Danielle's near-fatal accident and was now growing dangerously angry. She could feel it in the increase of his blade's tempo, the hum of dark energy around him, even over the hellish noise of shots and Sweetums' terrifying battle cries. Pausing a moment in his defense, he flung out a single hand and summoned the Force. As one, their attackers slammed backward under a wall of the Force-power, some not getting up again. Danielle heard the girl behind her draw in her breath in astonishment, but she didn't have the time to spare to look at her, so she merely continued firing.
Just as they were beginning to tire and it seemed no more aid was coming, a shout from behind the pink-clad men made many of them turn. There, to everyone's astonishment, were perhaps three-dozen white-clad guards and young women, all armed, firing at their attackers with determined cries.
After this, it was a rout. The battle continued for only a few moments more before the pink-clad men threw down their weapons and surrendered.
As soon as their weapons had been gathered, a single dark-haired young woman strode forward, expression frozen in icy rage. "Prince Lyle of Gerogonia," she intoned coldly, "you stand charged of kidnaping and assault with intended rape against my handmaiden, a one Lady Kristae of Naboo. I, Queen Amidala of the Naboo, will see you brought to justice before the Senate and the High Court for these crimes. For your actions, the negotiations between our governments are now considered null, as your father is already aware. Have you anything to say for yourself?"
A tall young man, one of their surviving attackers (five of the two dozen had been slain or severely wounded), met her eyes for a long moment. At last, he shook his head slowly.
"Then I will see you in court," Amidala said coldly. She gestured to her men. "Take them away."
The white-clad guards marched the Gerogonians off roughly in the opposite direction as Danielle stood staring in astonishment. Before she could speak, however, the girl who had been the cause of all this trouble dropped her gun with a cry and sprinted across the causeway, throwing herself into the open arms of the Queen, who received her with a cry of joy. The others mobbed around her as well, sobbing and laughing to have her back. "You're safe! You're alive!" was repeated over and over amidst all the other babble.
Danielle wanted very badly to talk to them, at least ask what was going on, but she heard a low moan and turned.
Obi-Wan stood there, lightsaber disengaged in his hand, face pale and haunted. His blue eyes blazed with a terrible fire. "Danielle," he whispered, shaking his head. "I--I was so angry --Force help me, but I almost--"
It was impossible not to know what he meant. Danielle had seen the rage in his face, felt the dark energy swirling around him in such stark contrast to the Light that usually radiated from him. But she hadn't known he had realized it, as well.
Danielle went to him and pulled his head down to hers, wrapping her arms around his neck. Shaking with the aftereffects of his near-fatal mistake, he returned the embrace, drawing strength from the absoluteness of her love. Sweetums, uninjured from the battle, sidled up to them, whining anxiously, and butted both of them.
"Shhh," she whispered soothingly, stroking his back as he shuddered into her shoulder. "Shhh. You didn't and you wouldn't have. I know you wouldn't have. That's not who you are, Obi-Wan. It's not."
It was some moments later before he was able to release her, and even then, he was still visibly shaken. "Thank you," he whispered, blue eyes bright and less haunted than before.
Danielle smiled and ruffled his spiky hair with long familiarity, winning herself another smile. "You're welcome," she said tenderly. Then, giving him a moment to recover his dignity, she turned to watch the events that unfolded.
The girl was still throwing herself from one white-clad figure to another with loving disregard for onlookers. "Sache!" she now cried, latching onto another young woman. "God, if you hadn't taught me all that self-defense, I wouldn't be here now!" Her voice, Danielle noted with a strange sensation, was weirdly familiar.
Amidala, extricating herself from the crowd, approached Danielle and Obi-Wan, trying not to eye Sweetums with too much apprehension. "Hello. I am Queen Amidala, of the Naboo. I cannot express to the two--excuse me, the three of you," she corrected herself with a smile, glancing at Sweetums, "how grateful we are for your aid. Without you, I've no doubt our dear Kristae would be dead or recaptured right now. We all owe you our eternal gratitude. May I have your names?"
"I'm Danielle," she introduced herself, hoping the single name would suffice. "This is Obi-Wan Kenobi, of the Jedi order." It felt a little strange to introduce the two, having looked down the long corridor of history that lay before them and knowing how interconnected their two lives would eventually become.
Suddenly Danielle's throat felt a little tight. Unless events were somehow altered, it couldn't be too long now before the Trade Federation blockaded Naboo. And then . . . Qui-Gon . . . No!
Amidala neatly derailed her train of thought. "It is a great honor. Now," she glanced back over her shoulder, "I should like to introduce--"
She was cut off by a deep and tremulous gasp from behind her. As Danielle watched in astonishment, the crowd of white-clad figures parted, allowing the girl they had originally saved to come through.
"Holy shit," she breathed in that same, eerily familiar voice. "Danielle!"
Danielle stared at her blankly. How did this girl know who she was? She was wholly unfamiliar, dressed as she was in that stunning white dressed with dagged sleeves and her long brown hair in a disarray of curls and ribbons . . .
Then she focused on her astonished face, shockingly free of glasses and subtly made up, and knew.
"Krista!" she breathed weakly.
For a moment there was utter silence as the two girls faced each other. Then Krista was off like a small bullet, throwing herself into Danielle's arms with a cry as everyone stared on in total amazement. Danielle caught her with the ease of long practice, swinging her much smaller friend in a wide circle as they both laughed with joy.
"God, God, God, you're here, too! I don't believe it! I don't believe it!" Krista gasped over and over, hugging her taller friend so tightly she nearly cracked a few ribs.
When they finally released each other, they clasped hands tightly. "This is . . . this is so creepy!" Danielle said. "All this time, I thought I was the only one . . ."
"Me too," Krista agreed. She eyed her friend in wonder. "How long . . . ?"
"Weeks. It's starting to feel so real . . . you?"
"Same here. Geez, Danielle, where have you been?"
"The Jedi Temple. I'm living with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon," she added maliciously, watching Krista's eyes pop nearly out of her head.
"No fooling? Well, as you can see, I've been on Naboo." She lowered her voice so the onlookers couldn't hear. "I woke up in some effing meadow and people were calling me 'Handmaiden' left and right--"
"Similar story here, except nobody knew me. Wow, Krista, look at you! I almost didn't recognize you, in this getup! Your dress-the makeup-your hair--" She fought incredulous giggles.
"What do you think you're talking about? What are you, some kind of Jedi now, in your fancy boots and hanging around with Obi-Wan? And what's with the frickin' Nexxu?!"
"Excuse me, ladies?"
Both girls stopped talking, only to realize that everyone else was staring at them in total bewilderment. It was Amidala who had voiced the question.
"You know this girl, Danielle?" Obi-Wan asked just as Sache said, "You two know each other, I assume?"
"Uh . . . yeah," Krista said with a grin, turning to face her queen. "My lady, this is Danielle, one of my oldest and bestest buddies." Danielle favored them all with her stupid smile.
Obi-Wan looked totally lost. "But, Danielle . . . you have amnesia. How is it that you remember this girl?"
Danielle shrugged and smiled shyly. "I don't know. I just . . . do."
Krista bluffed admirably; but then, this was no surprise. Krista had always been able to lie extremely well (practice makes perfect, perhaps?). "Amnesia? Well, I can answer a few questions, to be sure. She's an old friend of mine from the little town where I grew up, on Naboo. We were best friends for several years, but she left for Coruscant to . . . study, wasn't that it? Take an apprenticeship under someone?"
Danielle tried to look thoughtful and bewildered all at once. "Yes . . . yes, that sounds a little familiar. For . . . archaeology, wasn't it?"
"Don't remember," Krista said with a shrug and a grin. "But if you have questions about her past, I can probably answer most of them, and help her regain her memories." The two girls grinned at one another in perfect understanding.
Obi-Wan looked devastated. "Well, then," he said softly. "Now you can go home."
Danielle's head whipped up and she met him stare for stare. Leaving Krista, she walked back over to him. "I may have been raised on Naboo," she said quietly, "but my home is here now, Obi-Wan. With you, and Qui-Gon, and Sweetums, and even Gumbi." She smiled gently.
He returned the expression hesitantly, then with all the brilliance he normally exuded. "Well, then, well met, ladies," he said formally, with a deep bow. "If you would like to clean up or tend to any injuries, I can offer you the hospitality of the Jedi Temple."
"Thank you, Master Jedi," Amidala said with a smile, "but as we'll probably be here for a while, I imagine we'll take rooms at the Palace. We do have to testify against the Gerogonians, after all. We'll be here for weeks at the very least. During that time," she bent a kindly smile on Danielle, "you're welcome to stay with us, dear."
"Thank you, your majesty," Danielle said, inclining her head, "but I stay with the Jedi. However . . . I would ask if perhaps Lady--Kristae," she stumbled only a little over the name, "would like to stay with us, for the duration of the stay. We haven't seen each other in many years."
Amidala looked at her inquiringly. "Kristae?"
Krista looked at Danielle and Obi-Wan and smiled. It was an extremely predatory expression, and Danielle had absolutely no doubt about exactly what her diabolical friend was planning when she said, "If you don't mind, your majesty, I'd love to."
"As long as we get to see a bit of you, after having been so worried," Sache said tartly, putting her hands on her hips.
"That's not a problem," Krista grinned. "The Palace is right next to the Temple, I think? And how could I live without seeing all my girls?"
"Then it's settled," Danielle said magnanimously. "Krista will stay with us, and we'll help you convict those Gerogonian scumbags." She winked at a very amused Obi-Wan, then smiled at all the Nubians. "Welcome to Coruscant, everyone."
When Annie had finished, Obi-Wan sat silently for a very long time.
"It is . . . hard to credit," he said at last, shaking his head. "But you know so much . . . I do not know how you could know so much. Surely anyone might now how I trained Anakin, and Qui-Gon before me; most records may have been destroyed, but certainly not all, and memories go on eternally. And some of the events of the rebellion, yes, you should know. But the other things you know--of Vader's redemption, Yoda's training of Luke, their parents; and, before that, of Naboo--that was well-documented, to be sure, but Geonosis? And what you say happened to Anakin, on Tatooine, with the Tuskens--I never even knew of that." He looked up at her at last, obviously torn between wonder and skepticism. "I simply don't know what to think."
Annie shrugged. "You don't have to believe me," she said gently. "But that is the truth as I know it, and I will stand by it."
He looked at her keenly. "And I can sense no deception in you, either. By the Force, you really are telling the truth, aren't you?" He looked amazed. "Perhaps somewhere in our galaxy is an account of the doings of your own planet."
Annie jumped. Somehow, this possibility had never occurred to her. She was so used to looking at this experience as a one-way kind of thing, the real person in the unreal world, that hearing it might be a joint problem unsettled her seriously. That meant--there could be Star Wars people wandering around Earth!
She wasn't sure whether the thought of that was wonderful or terrifying. (And it explained that guy in her History class, too . . .)
"This necklace you speak of--may I see it?"
She drew it off her head with an unfathomable reluctance. It had been weeks since she'd even remembered it existed, so accustomed had she grown to wearing it constantly, and she hated somehow to remove it. It reminded her, again, of the One Ring; could the pendant be subtly manipulating her?
After a moment Kenobi shook his head and handed it back. "It means nothing to me. I do not know the script in which that is written. I am sorry, but I cannot help you with that."
She slipped it over her head again. "That's all right. I just . . . I guess I was just hoping you might have some answers, is all."
The spirit stood and drifted to the window. "All these past weeks I had thought my work complete. I have seen the Skywalker saga to its conclusion; at least, so far as it concerns myself. The Emperor and Vader are dead; the Rebellion has triumphed. But now . . . the Force presents this entirely new mystery to me, and I do not know what to make of it."
Annie looked shyly away. "But . . . why did you help me, then, and bring me here?"
He smiled wryly. "You might say it was just a lingering remnant of my old Jedi training; protect the innocent and all that. But I will confess there was more to it than that; a premonition, of sorts . . . I knew I was meant to bring you here, when you wandered into the Judland Wastes."
Annie stared at him. "Why?"
"That I do not know. I do not question the will of the Force; I merely obey it."
She blinked, rather uncertainly. "So . . . what do we do now?"
He turned and smiled at her. "We wait."
"Wait? Wait for what?"
"You'll see."
The days she spent in Kenobi's hut were surprisingly peaceful, and helped her regain some measure of sanity and calm. Her tasks were few and simple; she cooked, cleaned, gathered moisture, did simple repairs, looked through his old things quite shamelessly, and talked with the spectral Jedi Master. He taught her no small amount of things; about the galaxy in general, about Tatooine, about surviving in the desert, even about the Force. It was truly fascinating, and all new to her.
It was no surprise, then, that she fell into life at the little hut rather easily, making that common mistake of growing too comfortable in her surroundings. Thus, it was only natural that the harmony she had created for herself should be interrupted.
She was in the kitchen one day, singing one of her hit songs aloud to herself she scrubbed dishes. To her right, they seemed to be drying themselves as Obi-Wan, not bothering to become visible, helped her out with the task.
It was some moments before she got a sudden sinking sensation that someone was watching her. For a moment she tried to ignore it--then she heard the door open behind her.
She whirled, the plate she'd been cleaning dropping to the floor with a crash, to confront the newcomer. She saw who it was--and stopped dead.
Luke Skywalker stood before her, in the flesh, sandy hair tousled by wind and sun and black boots dusty from the trek inside. He was dressed all in black, not a very intelligent choice for desert dwelling, but he seemed impervious to the heat, and Annie remembered he'd grown up here. His eyes, so shockingly, purely blue, were wide open and fixed squarely on her.
For a moment neither spoke, trying to fathom what they might possibly say. Then, at last, Annie summoned her courage.
"Er . . . hello."
He blinked, and recovered. "Excuse me. I had no idea . . . do you live here now?"
She frowned slightly. "I don't live here, no, but I have been staying here for the past few days. Waiting for . . ." She trailed off, realizing in that instant. "You," she whispered.
He stared at her. "Waiting for . . . me? Do you even know who I am?"
"You will find," an ethereal voice said, amused, "that she knows a good deal more than she ought to."
"Ben!" Luke sounded relieved. "I came here to find you."
"And now you've found me. What did you want?"
Luke looked at Annie uneasily, and she found herself suddenly unable to breathe. My God; here she was, standing in a room with the one, the only, the very real Luke . . . Skywalker!
"Well . . . I'd rather hoped to discuss a few things . . . you know . . . in private."
Kenobi laughed again, become visible at last. "My dear boy, I don't think there's much you can have to say that this little wonder doesn't already know. In fact, I think she knows more about you than you do. She certainly knows far too much about me for my peace of mind." He grinned at her, and she grinned back easily.
Luke frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Explanations later. Suffice it to say that she is a rebel that I found being menaced by Tuskens out in the desert, and I saved her and brought her here to meet you."
Annie bobbed a little curtsey, feeling more than slightly mad. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Annie."
"And I'm Luke Skywalker," he replied, rather unnecessarily.
"Right." She looked at Obi-Wan. "Well?"
The specter shrugged benevolently. "Tell him. Tell him everything."
Annie gave a deep sigh. "Why don't you sit down? This is probably going to take awhile."
Some hours later, there was again silence in the kitchen.
"Well," Luke said, looking at the mug of 'strong liquid' (as Obi-Wan had previously dubbed it, handing it to the Jedi shortly after the beginning of the narrative). "Well, well, well, well--"
He might have gone on like that indefinitely had not Obi-Wan interrupted. "Yes, thank you for that brilliant observation, Luke. I think she knows everything is well."
Luke glared at him. "You expect me to just take that in stride? This girl knows more about me than even I do, for Heaven's sake--"
"Think that's bad, do you?" Obi-Wan countered. "You should hear everything she knows about me. Downright frightening, when you think about it."
Luke blinked at her. "You . . . you know about him, too?"
"All the way back to Naboo," she said.
His blue eyes widened. "Naboo. The planet you say my mother came from." He turned huge eyes on his mentor. "You . . . you knew my mother?"
Obi-Wan snorted. "Of course I knew your mother, you idiotic boy. We were quite good friends, in fact, after a fashion. I knew her even before your father did. How else do you think you got here?"
"I . . . I . . ." Luke seemed dumbfounded, and Annie remembered that his past had always been a mystery to him. "It's just . . ."
"And if you think that's bad," she said cheerfully, "you should hear what I know about the future."
They stared at her again.
"Uh, forget I said that," she offered quickly, and Luke's jaw dropped open as Obi-Wan fought a grin.
"Enough tales," the spectral Jedi Master said firmly. "We need to figure out why you're here and how to get you home."
Annie cleared her throat softly, and they both looked at her. "Actually," she said softly, "I can't go home just yet."
"You . . . can't? Why?"
Annie looked at the table. "I have . . . friends . . . whom I left behind. They . . . they were in trouble, I think. The imperials had just come for them."
"Imperials?" Luke said, surprised. "But the Empire's been overthrown."
Obi-Wan snorted. "Out here, they probably don't even know that yet, my boy."
"And . . ." She looked up, a strange but unshakable determination in her face. "I ran, before. Well . . . Cassie told me to run, and I didn't know what else to do. But now . . . I know what I have to do." She looked from Luke to Obi-Wan. "I have to go back. I have to find them, and help them if I can, in any way."
Obi-Wan and Luke exchanged a glance. "That's certainly a brave idea," the Jedi said slowly, "but a little . . . unreasonable, don't you think?"
For a moment, fear tightened Annie's chest all over again. Then she thought of the night she'd spent alone in the desert, certain her friends were dead and that she was all alone. She thought of them helping her, guarding her, even aiding her rise to fame. Very briefly, she thought of Laura and Krista and Danielle, somewhere probably searching frantically for her, and how it seemed she'd never get to see them again. She thought of leaving Cassie and Essra to die when there might be any other way.
"I don't care," she whispered. "The risks, the odds . . . I don't care."
Two sighs escaped in uncanny unison at her words. "Sounds like someone I know," Luke told his mentor.
"Just one person?" was the ghost's response.
Luke grinned, conceding the point. He looked at Annie again, and his blue eyes were calm. "Well, if that's your decision, there's no dissuading you. However--"
Annie looked up sharply.
"However, I don't think your cause could be any the worse for wear for having a Jedi on your side," he said lightly.
Annie stared at him for a long time. Then, slowly, she started to smile.