A/N: Hi! Wow...for once, I actually can't think of anything to say. Huh...Oh well. Anyway, yes, I know this chap is a little different then what I said it was gonna be and it's a little short, but hey...I liked it, so I hope you do too:) Now, you've all done really perfect with all the wonderful reviews, but please, if any of you start to get bored or have any suggestions, please let me know. This doesn't mean flame though, mind you. Just constructive critisizm...you know...friendly stuff;) Shoutout time!
kenjigirl: haha...like you don't already know;) hmmm...BOXES! hahaha...
Ara Goddess of the Broken: I really do love your reviews:) Thankx as always.
mentalkid: Good question. I would explain it to you now, but most of it is explained in the chap. What's not really said, you can probably put together yourself. Thankx for the review...I'm glad you like it:)
ZELINIA: Haha...really? Aww...I wanna hear what happened, but if it's too embarassing, I won't push;) Hehe...cool! You like cockney too! It's my fav accent:) Especially 'bugger' and 'bloody', as you've probably already figured out. I'm glad you could see the similarities between the training scene and the original Star Wars too:) Hehehe...I thought making them somewhat similar added to the humor of it:) Thankx again for droppin' a line again!
sodbuster: Wow...it was really recommended to you? That's awesome! You just made my day saying that:) Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and give me such a flattering review even though you're not really into Star Wars. Hope to hear from you again in the future!
Relyan: Thankx:) Actually, I've always wondered the same thing. After reading so many other stories on fanfic, I thought it was time somebody tried to explain what everything tastes like. I'm glad you like all my wacky little descriptions:)
NeoStrand: Hmm...interesting thought. I'll have to keep that one in mind:) Thankx so much for reviewing! I hope you continue to enjoy it:)
len: Thankx:) Hope you like the new chap!
Chapter 7:
The Poetry of Space
"Oww.." Khyra awoke from sleep with a slight wince in her back. She had spent the last two days training vigorously, and was beginning to feel the affects. She had done extremely well with only one blaster, and even when Obi-Wan activated a second, she only missed a couple times. But even so, the shocks of the stun lasers were enough to singe a few nerves.
Time seemed to be horribly distorted within the confines of hyperspace, but everything inside her told Khyra it was morning. Late morning, as Obi-Wan hadn't wakened her as he had before, but still morning.
Climbing slowly out of bed, Khyra sat on its edge with her feet resting on the cold floor and elbows resting on her knees as she sleepily cupped her head in her hands. 'I knew I shoulda listened to Obi-Wan when he said to block that one blast.' came the annoyed Irish-accented voice in Khyra's head.
Just barely making it into the fresher, Khyra stood as tall as she could and shook off the stinging sensation running up and down her spine. 'No pain, no game, I guess.'
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"...You shoulda seen it, Master! Shari screeched and fell off into huge mud pit right when Master Tie-naa came out of the temple!" the excited voice of a young boy shouted happily over Obi-Wan's comm. link communicator and echoed through the cockpit of the Cruiser.
"And did you have anything to do with Shari falling off the yuel, padawan?" Obi-Wan spoke into the comm. link with a voice normally held by a suspicious parent seeking to learn the truth of their child's troublemaking.
"Ummm...well, Master, it's like this," the young voice came again, only this time much less confidently.
"Padawan..." Obi-Wan's voice was edging on a dangerous mix of exasperation and amusement.
"Uhh...well," there was a brief pause before the young one continued as if he were searching for a way out of the punishment he knew was to eventually come. "You're breaking up Master...I-I can't...I can't here you." wrong answer.
"Anakin...you and I both know you can hear me just fine. Now answer my question."
"I'm sorry, Master." the voice of the one named Anakin finally broke down into confession. "I know it was wrong, but it was so priceless! After all, you always said she needed to be taught a lesson for being so cocky all the time."
Obi-Wan sighed. It was true. He had always thought that blasted little child needed a good talking to...but that's still no excuse for his padawan's behavior. 'It did sound quite funny though.' Obi-Wan's rebellious thoughts fought with his reasoning as a Jedi Master.
"Master?" came Anakin's sheep-like voice awaiting a harsh reprimand.
"I'm still here...just thinking of your punishment." Obi-Wan tried wholeheartedly to keep the smile out of his voice. "How about one month of kitchen duty when you return to the Temple?"
"Yes, Master." despite his shame and annoyance at his master's sternness, Anakin still managed to remain respectful.
"Oh, and Anakin?" he paused. "Nice job. I wish I could have seen her smug little face covered in all that mud." Obi-Wan knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't resist laughing with his padawan for a few moments. "Enjoy the rest of your vacation, young one."
"Thank you, Master." Anakin's voice was much lighter and happier now. "May the Force be with you."
"And you as well."
Hanging up his comm. and loosing himself in his thoughts, Obi-Wan didn't at first notice Khyra standing in the cockpit's doorway.
"So you do have a padawan." said Khyra with a happy smile lighting her face.
"Hmm? Oh, yes..." Obi-Wan turned at the sound of Khyra's voice and allowed a proud smile curve the corners of his lips. "he's a rebellious one, but he has a good heart."
"How long have you been teaching him?" Khyra asked while taking a seat in the co-pilot's chair.
Obi-Wan's smile faded a bit and Khyra could feel that strange aura of sorrow growing around him again. "About a year now. My Master was originally going to be the one to train him after I became a Knight, but when he was killed by a Sith lord a year ago, it became his dying wish for me to train Anakin in his place."
So that was it. The sorrow that came from Obi-Wan was for the loss of someone who was no doubt very close to him. Khyra tried to think of something to say as she noticed the brilliant sapphire blue draining out of Obi-Wan's eyes into a dull, colorless grey. "I'm so sorry...for the loss of your master."
Obi-Wan sighed with the grief floating deep in the heart of the conversation. "He was the closest thing I ever had to a father, but his memory will always live on with the Jedi and his presence will always be found in the Force."
Not knowing what to say, Khyra simply spread a sympathetic smile and nodded solemnly.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Hey guys," came Zeru's relaxed voice from the doorway. "sorry to interrupt, but the Mybis System is approaching our sights. We'll be leaving hyperspace shortly."
"Good. Prepare us for landing Zee." Obi-Wan requested with a cheerful tone seeping back into his voice. As odd as it was, even his eyes began to fill back with color. Like a color-drained photograph returning to its youthful vigor, they were.
As seduced as she was by the brilliant oddity of her friend, Khyra forced herself to pry her focus from Obi-Wan to the equally captivating view outside the Cruiser's giant windshield.
With Obi-Wan beside her working at a series of toggles and switches, Khyra couldn't help but let her senses become entwined with the spinning world around her. Razor sharp spikes of shining blue and blinding white collided with the ship's hull and reflected off with not even a mark of damage. With the surreal feeling of clear water curving around her body, Khyra felt the ribbons of light wrap around the Cruiser and gently pull it forward.
"It's beautiful," Khyra spoke softly.
After looking toward her and out to the vision ahead, Obi-Wan sighed, "Yes it is. It's strange...I've gone through hyperspace a thousand times, but I've never really noticed the beauty of it."
"And so calm." Khyra closed her cerulean eyes and leaned back into the chair. "It's the Force, isn't it?"
With a quizzical look shown by someone taken by a great surprise, Obi-Wan replied, "The Force is everything. It shines within everything; both living and dead." he paused. "It does seem to have a greater presents up here though, doesn't it."
"Yeah." for a serene moment, there was a peaceful silence that rested down on the cockpit like a warming blanket. "'With a soft light of embracing beauty, thou cometh. In a powerful aura of blue and white, these threads of peace beg thou not to fear. To a strange new world thy mind flies. In a battle to face, thou will not fear, for the light surrounding me is pure.'"
Obi-Wan turned his sight to Khyra in request for meaning of her strange words. He did not have to wait long.
"It was written by an Earthly writer named Heisui." Khyra smiled and turned to Obi-Wan. "Though, I'm beginning to think he was really from Earth either."
Obi-Wan laughed softly. "From what I've seen lately, that might very well be possible."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"We're all set back here, Obi." Zeru's voice suddenly came through the Cruiser's comm. from the back of the ship.
Reluctantly, Obi-Wan peeled his sight from the nearly unbreakable bond that had formed between his and Khyra's piercing eyes. "Alright Zee. Set the stabilizers and prepare to leave hyperspace."
"Yes sir!" Zeru mocked happily.
"Strap in. Last time I came to Mybis it was quite a bumpy ride down." Obi-Wan said to Khyra while taking manual control over the Cruiser. "Stand by, Zee." he spoke into the comm.
"Ready when you are bro." Zeru's voice again echoed through the cockpit.
"Right."
With Khyra (though much more relaxed then during takeoff) supporting herself from the growing turbulence around the ship with a firm grip on her chair and all coordinates reached, Obi-Wan prepared to exit the hyperspace stream. "Hold on..."
In one fierce (but strangely smooth) jerk, Obi-Wan shut off the hyperspace generator and pulled the ship to the right. With the silent movement of a tree falling in an abandoned forest, the Cruiser swerved to the right and found itself suspended in a moment of blinding white light. In what seemed like an eternity, the ship's engines powered down and the great light slowly disappeared into the sight of a small, green planet layered with a blanket of purple over its atmosphere and a bright crimson sun off to the distance.
Khyra awed at the vision of the outstanding ball of color resting peacefully within the intense black of space. "Is that Mybis?"
"That it is." Obi-Wan smiled. "The people are generally very friendly too."
"Is that rare in your galaxy?"
"No more rare then it is on Earth, I'd imagine." he shrugged.
"Oh...that rare, huh?" Khyra laughed sarcastically as Obi-Wan pulled the sleek Cruiser through space and into Mybis' purple atmosphere.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Shards of the lavender haze bounced off the Cruiser's hull and wrapped snuggly around it like guiding hands would support a young child just learning to ride a bicycle. Further and further the shining ship flew closer to the planet's surface. Khyra astounded at the stunningly beautiful tropical planet emerging before her. Giant trees the size of Earth's largest skyscrapers shaded the surface with large, brightly flowered leaves and vine-like branches while smaller plants underneath thrived in the humid cool of the climate. An odd phenomenon, Khyra thought too, to be the soft raindrops falling from the canopy of the trees. No clouds were found in the sky and there was no sign of rain but the wet dew coating emerald leaves; but still, there was rain.
With all her focus on the new environment around her, Khyra barely noticed the immaculate city built in the walls of one of the huge trees. Carved as perfectly as a sculpture completed by a master worker, the city wrapped around and through the alien tree as if they were made for each other. Pathways and decks made flawless roadways from treetop to tree root and house to house along the way. Whatever kind of people built this place certainly knew the meaning of 'symbiotic relationship' with their environment.
Her wandering thoughts were finally jerked back to the present when she felt a slight jolt from under the Cruiser and noticed they had landed on a thickly packed dirt platform.
"We're here." Obi-Wan said happily while working the control panel to turn off the ship's engines.
A/N2: Yes...I know. Cliffhangers suck. But they make writing so much fun:) MUHAHA! Okay, now, incase anybody out there is wondering when the 'action' is going to start up, don't worry...it's coming! And I promise it will be (at least, in my opinion) well worth the wait:) Till next week, later!