Thanks for the replies, and a belated welcome to mowat. Hope this chapter comes close enough to granting your request. This post should answer a lot of everyone's questions, and some will be answered in the next chapter, which is the last one for Book Two. I should have it up either Monday or Tuesday.
Book Three will take place almost entirely on the planet Lorrd, and you'll see more of the rest of the gang, too. I'll probably start posting it toward the end of the week.
It's time we got back to a little bit of mush, don't you think?
A Journey of Discovery ― Book Two: Pledge
Chapter Nineteen
Luke shivered slightly, gripping the blanket tighter around his shoulders. It was several minutes before his sleepy mind wondered when he'd acquired the warm covering. Lifting his head and rubbing his eyes, his focus shifted to the shadowy figure a few meters away.
"Mara?"
"Ah, good. I was just about to wake you."
"That didn't feel like only a half hour nap." Luke eased to a sitting position, wincing as stiffness and a dull ache radiated out from his left leg.
"It's still the middle of the night," Mara said with a shrug, as if that fact negated his directive on how long to let him sleep.
"Mara ..."
"You needed the sleep," she said. "You'll be able to travel much faster now that you've had some rest."
Luke shook the leaves and dirt off the blankets and began folding them into compact squares. "I could have gone into a healing trance if I'd known you were going to ignore my request," he grumbled.
"If you'd known I was going to ignore you, you wouldn't have lain down at all," Mara rejoined. "Just admit I was justified and we can be on our way." With a slight quirk of her eyebrow, she held out his makeshift crutch.
"All right," Luke muttered reluctantly, positioning the support under his arm. "Maybe we can make better time now. But we still need to hurry." He looked back in the direction of the village. "No sign of the Prudens, huh?"
"Not a peep," she assured him as she hoisted her gear onto her back. "Good thing, too. We're like sitting mynocks in these blasted flightsuits."
"How was I to know that you'd have boyfriends after us?"
"Boyfr— Aughh!" Mara's indignation turned to amusement as she observed Luke's struggle to keep from laughing. "Very funny, farmboy."
"Just because they're out of range of our senses doesn't mean they've given up," he pointed out, making a valiant effort to take their pursuers seriously.
"I know, I know."
Her weapons once more in their proper places, Mara pulled on her heavy gloves. As welcome as the warm hand coverings were, she hadn't wanted to risk their cumbersomeness taking the edge off her efficiency if trouble had shown up while Luke was asleep. With both of them now alert and with the cold night air having a biting sting to it, Mara felt she could afford the risk. Frozen fingers wouldn't be very efficient either. She glanced to the side, where Luke's ungloved right hand rested lightly on his lightsaber, and smiled to herself in satisfaction. It was his turn to take point duty anyway, she decided.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Mara and Luke continued their trek into the next evening, pausing only for brief rest breaks. Luke was eventually able to shift his crutch's usage to that of a walking stick. True to his earlier assertion, he obliterated their tell-tale footprints in the snow behind them. But neither of them voiced aloud the verity that his actions were no guarantee of their eluding any followers.
As the weary pair passed a stone outcropping, Luke paused, looking back over his shoulder at the natural formation.
"Hmmm ..." He retraced his steps and bent to gaze beneath the overhang. "I thought so."
"What are you gawking at?" Mara mumbled, stifling a yawn.
Luke straightened up, a crooked grin lighting up his features. "You don't recognize the luxury suite I brought you to after your little ... uh, mishap?"
Mara pulled aside a clump of protruding branches and peered into the dark hole. "You could be right." She glanced up at him. "Break time?"
"Sure." Luke pulled out a glowrod and waved his wife inside. Shining the light around, he surveyed the bare cavity. True to their orderly natures, not a shred of evidence remained of their previous visit, but there was no doubt in either of their minds that this was the same small cave.
Mara wasted no time spreading a blanket out on the hard ground. "Smoked meat and narberry bread sound all right?" she asked, pulling cloth-wrapped packages out of the half-full rucksack of provisions.
"Uh-huh," Luke murmured as he endeavored to wedge his glowrod into a jagged fissure in one wall. Sinking down next to Mara, he gratefully accepted the small slabs of supper she held out. "I'll say one thing," he mumbled, chewing slowly on the heavily seasoned jerky. "The food on this planet sure beats anything in the mess hall." He bit off a corner of blue-tinted bread. "You gonna remember how to cook any of this?"
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Mara admonished, nudging his foot playfully. "And I doubt we'd find too many rishhares hopping through the streets of Coruscant, or narberries growing on roof-top gardens."
"Other things could be substituted," he returned, washing his portions down with a swig of cold spring water. "That's probably what the Prudens wanted you for – a cook and a housemaid."
"It would take more than those three ruffians to domesticate me," she growled, getting up to retrieve some makeshift napkins. "The entire Imperial and Rebel fleets put together couldn't make me do anything that I didn't want to."
"And here I thought I could handle you all by myself!" Luke instantly knew he had said the wrong thing as Mara loomed over him, arms crossed.
"'Handle' me?"
"Uhh ... take care of you?"
No better. Mara's foot began to tap impatiently.
"Adore you? Worship you? Grovel at your feet?"
Mara called on all her training to retain her dangerous expression as Luke continued to blink at her with his penitent blue gaze.
"Love you?" he whispered.
"Ahh, there is hope." She knelt back down, leaning over to give him a kiss. "Those worshiping and groveling ideas don't sound bad, either."
"I'll keep them in mind," he returned dryly, refilling her collapsible plasteel cup from their canteen. He helped himself to more of the cool, refreshing liquid, then raised his cup in a toast. "Here's to us. May our lives be ever filled with the joy of each other's love, the satisfaction of helping others in every way possible, and the knowledge and skill to restore the Jedi Order."
"Pretty eloquent for a moisture farmer," Mara complimented, clinking her cup against his. "Though I know you were dying to add 'adventure and excitement' to the list."
"A Jedi craves not those things," Luke replied solemnly.
"Right. Tell me another fable." Mara helped Luke rewrap their leftovers, then began to pick up the blanket they'd been sitting on. Luke's hand shot out to stay her motion, however.
"No, leave it."
"Shouldn't we be going?"
"I think we can afford a short nap." He softly stroked her cheek, then brushed a strand of stray hair behind her ear.
"I thought we were in a hurry," Mara protested weakly, even as she followed his lead in sinking back down to the blanket. "It took me over eighteen hours to get this far from the ship. Surely it took you nearly as long."
"No, not really." He gave an embarrassed little smile. "But I ran the whole way."
"Ran?"
Luke shrugged self-consciously. "You were hurt."
Mara stared at him in unabashed admiration. He never ceased to amaze her; he actually ran more than thirty kilometers because he thought she was in danger. "Well, I don't feel like running to that Sith-forsaken B-wing, so we'll go with my estimate. We would make it back by lunchtime tomorrow if we got going now."
"So we'll get there two hours after lunch." Luke scooted closer to his wife.
"I'll take first watch." Mara had the distinct feeling the only watching Luke'd be doing would be to watch her.
"I think it would be safe for us to sleep together." He gently tugged her to a reclining position. "Don't you?"
"Together? Uhh ..." There was no mistaking the desire burning in her husband's blue-eyed gaze. "Are you sure that's a good idea? The Prudens—"
"Will have to get their own girl," he finished. Lying on his side and facing Mara, Luke let his fingers trail across the front of her rough flightsuit, slowly pulling the front fastener open.
"Luke ..."
"Hmm?"
"It's the dead of winter, and we don't have any fuel for the heaters."
He paused and held one hand out above his head. A spare blanket lying atop one of the packs flew into his grasp. "We'll stay warm."
"You actually think we should ... right here, on the—"
Luke interrupted her with a quick kiss. "Mara, I ..."
"I know, I know. You're on your honeymoon." Mara leaned over and pushed Luke down by the shoulders onto his back, then crawled on top of him. "So am I, farmboy. So am I ..."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
When the cold chill of a blade against her throat woke Mara Skywalker, her first thought was of Luke. But she didn't have to consciously reach out to feel his warm presence next to her. Her subsequent thoughts were annoyance that they could be so careless, and relief that they had put their clothes back on. Squinting awake, Mara made out a burly form outlined against a ray of sunlight streaming in through the mouth of the small cave.
Hold on ... sunlight? Mara grimaced to herself. Blast it, they'd overslept, and it could very well be their downfall.
"Don't ye be movin'." The owner of the harsh voice next to Mara's ear crouched behind her, wielding the razor-sharp hunting knife.
Mara paid no heed to the man's gruff order; she twisted her head around enough to spear her attacker with a venomous glare. "Odus Pruden – what a surprise."
"You're all making a big mistake."
She shifted her attention to her husband as his tranquil voice filled the small cave. The third intruder, Odus' brother Eli, stood over Luke's prone body, an arrow in his drawn bow nudging the Jedi's chest.
Luke's warning was met with a round of contemptuous guffaws from the trio of attackers.
"The only mistake we made was not killin' ye dead two days ago," Eli Pruden retorted. He pulled his bowstring more taut, daring Luke to move. "I'll not be missin' this time."
Mara's eyes darted across the gloomy space. Now where ...?
"Lookin' fer this?" Tors Pruden tightly gripped Mara's blaster in his massive paw. "Ye'll not be castin' a sleepin' spell on us agin," he growled, awkwardly waving the weapon back and forth.
"We could cast a spell on her," Eli suggested. "Make it a heap easier to tote her back."
"You're not toting me anywhere," Mara returned in a low, controlled voice as she tried to remember if she'd left the blaster set on stun or kill. Her eyes continued sweeping around the cave. Lightsabers ... Where in blazes were their lightsabers? (Luke! Are you just going to lie there?)
(Patience, Mara.)
Mara ignored the infuriatingly calm voice echoing in her mind. Patience was what one employed when stalking a target or waiting for a restaurant droid to bring your order. Action was needed now, before one of them ended up dead.
(Reach out with the Force, Mara.)
(To strangle them?)
Luke's sigh of exasperation came across both mentally and vocally. (Extend your senses outside the cave, Mara,) he continued, not flinching a bit as the arrow poked harder against his flightsuit. (We'll soon have more company.)
"Git up, lass." Odus yanked on Mara's arm, jerking her to her feet roughly. He jabbed the knifepoint against her ribcage. "No witch tricks, or Eli there might be losin' his grip real quick."
"Thought that was already your plan," Mara said, her attention divided between trying to pinpoint what Luke was sensing, and trying to stall for time. She probably could disable her own assailant before he could plunge his blade into her side, Mara thought to herself. But before Eli's itchy fingers released the deadly arrow, or cousin Tors began experimenting with her blaster? Mara wasn't sure, especially when Luke seemed determined to play the passive victim. And uncertainty bred failure.
"Ye think we be heartless?" Tors rebuked. "Killin' a man in front o' his woman?"
"Didn't stop you from shooting at him earlier," Mara returned.
(Are you stalling them or encouraging them, sweetheart?)
Mara glanced down to meet Luke's upraised eyebrow. (You seem to have cornered the market on stalling.)
Luke decided he'd better give Mara a brief synopsis of his plan, such as it was, before she launched into her own brand of retaliation.
(Go outside with Odus and Tors. I'll put Eli out of commission, then join you.)
(And the purpose of this brainstorm is?)
(Less chance of anyone getting hurt if we're out in the open.)
Mara growled in annoyance as Tors Pruden tightly tied her outstretched wrists with a rough piece of cord. "Hey, take it easy!" She gave Luke a final scowl before the brazen ruffians began pushing her outside. (There are only two people in this cave whose health I'm concerned about. Your scheme had better work if you hope to be one of them.)
After Mara's forced exit, Luke looked up at his lone remaining adversary. Eli Pruden grinned lecherously above him in anticipation of an easy kill. The Jedi's carefully thought-out plan of putting the man into a sleeping trance was suddenly shattered as blood-thirsty, animalistic hunger assaulted his senses, chilling him to the core. The danger he felt was almost immediately accompanied by a cacophony of feral growls, snarls, and screams.
Wild animals! And Mara's hands were bound ...
Faster than the woodsman could blink, Eli's victim became his attacker.
Luke swept the bow and arrow aside with an effortless Force shove, the wooden weapons snapping as they struck the cave's rock wall. He leapt up, twisting his body midair and pinning Pruden to the ground in one fluid movement.
"Sorry, no time for finesse." Drawing back his arm, Luke slugged the struggling man across the temple, knocking him unconscious. Rushing to the cave entrance, he absorbed the grim scene before him in a blink of an eye.
The Prudens were struggling under attack from what must be feralines, Luke decided, recognizing the sleek-pelted creatures from descriptions he'd been told. He could barely make out Mara on the far side of the clearing, but her sense in the Force was strong and resolute. It was clear that the savage, powerfully built beasts had their human victims outnumbered nearly four to one. Sharrets were scattering into the forest, yelping in terror, while the high-pitched squeals of drobbins added to the horrific bedlam.
It was all Luke could do to restrain himself from jumping into the fray barehanded. If only he had his lightsaber ...
A Jedi and his lightsaber, a special connection they have.
Luke blinked as Yoda's voice filtered through his head, and a sense of calm wormed its way into his anxious psyche. Reaching out with his hand and sweeping his mind across the surrounding bushes, he concentrated on that mystical connection. The nearby din drowned out the rustle of leaves as not one, but two, lightsabers flew toward the waiting Jedi. He hadn't expected Mara's saber to respond to his call, even though it had been in his possession longer than the one he'd built.
Grasping a lightsaber in each hand and whirling around, Luke was a blur of motion as he made his way to his wife's side. Mara had jerked her blaster from Tors Pruden's grip and was firing with pinpoint accuracy despite having her hands still tied. Catching her attention, Luke dipped a blade as she held her wrists out, slicing through the rope. He tossed her saber toward her hilt first, the blade stilled locked on.
Slashing, slicing, skewering, the two Jedi labored to keep ahead of the pack of beasts. Hearing a desperate cry behind her, Mara spun around to see Odus Pruden nearly hidden under the bulk of an enormous feraline. She drove her blade through the animal's tough hide, then kicked the dying carcass aside with her foot. Mara winced as she saw her kidnapper's vacant stare. Odus's throat had been ripped open by the feraline's powerful jaws, and blood gushed from the jagged wound.
Knowing that the man was beyond help, Mara directed her attention back to the ongoing battle. Fearless and tenacious predators, the feralines kept attacking in a vicious frenzy. Not yet noticing his cousin's plight, Tors was hacking wildly with his long hunting knife. Confident of Mara's ability to defend herself, Luke had made his way to a pair of frightened drobbins straining against their reins. A third mount lay dead on the ground, its flesh being hungrily devoured by two of the carnivorous beasts.
"Luke, watch out!" Mara shouted, spotting one of the creatures stalking her husband from behind. She regretted letting her blaster drop when she'd reacquired her lightsaber. Her anxiety was replaced by surprise as a volley of arrows shot out from the surrounding trees, dropping the animal in its tracks. Her eyes widened even further as Hiley and Efam appeared in the clearing, shooting arrows as fast as they could from the backs of their terrified steeds. Younger and nimbler, Jaco had already dismounted and was weaving a path of destruction, a short hatchet grasped in one hand and a wide-bladed knife in the other.
With the arrival of the newcomers, the tide of the battle quickly turned in the humans' favor. Within minutes the last of the ferocious animals lay dying on the ground.
"Not that I'm ungrateful in the least," Mara panted, "but what in blazes are you three doing here?"
Stroking his drobbin's shaggy neck soothingly, Hiley slid off his mount's back with a wide grin. "We thought ye might need a bit o' rescuin', but I'm a-thinkin' ye would'a managed fine without us." He eyed the glowing blades in Luke and Mara's hands, and surveyed the carnage spread about them.
"Aye, but we was expectin' only to meet up with these two-legged varmints," Efam added, warily approaching Tors Pruden. "Where be yer kin, Tors?"
The bearded woodsman gazed glassy-eyed around him, finally noticing that he alone of his family stood in the gore-strewn clearing. "What ... Odus!" Tors rushed to his cousin's lifeless form. "No!" He half-rose, searching desperately for the last member of his group. "Eli!" His wild gaze fell accusingly on Luke. "Ye killed Eli, din't ye?"
"No, no," Luke hurried to assure the distraught man. "He's safe; he's in the cave." At Tors' disbelieving grimace, he added, "He's unconscious, but he'll be fine."
Hiley ducked into the entrance to the small cave, emerging a moment later. "Aye, Eli's inside, out colder than a snuffed-out candle."
Efam turned to the two Jedi, who had by now hooked their lightsabers to the outsides of their blood-splattered flightsuits. "Are ye unharmed? We feared this bunch was goin' after ye when Jaco's cousin saw 'em loadin' up supplies and talkin' 'bout gettin' even."
"We was hopin' to catch 'em 'fore they could get the jump on ye," Jaco added. "But it looks like the feralines bushwhacked the lot o' ye." He grimaced in Luke's direction. "So what'd we miss?"
"Not much," Luke muttered, his attention riveted on Tors Pruden. "Excuse me." Limping slightly, he made his way over to the despondent man's side.
"They surprised us as we woke this morning," Mara took up the tale. "Tors and Odus dragged me outside, while Eli stayed behind in the cave with Luke to ... to kill him." She glanced briefly at her husband as he led Tors toward the cave. "That's when the feralines appeared out of nowhere."
"The Prudens aimed to kill ye?" Hiley asked in amazement. "We never figured they'd stoop to murder."
Mara nodded numbly, not bothering to answer.
Luke and Tors soon emerged from the cave, supporting a woozy Eli between them. Jaco took Luke's place as Eli staggered toward his fallen brother.
"We'll take Eli and Tors back to Zembuhl," Efam promised. "And we'll see that they pay fer what they did."
"Don't be too harsh on them," Luke objected. "They lost a brother and cousin; that should be punishment enough." Noticeably favoring his left leg, he gestured toward the transgressors. "We'll help bury Odus before we leave."
"Nay, we can do that." Efam studied the younger man with a worried expression. "The feralines take a swipe at yer leg, lad?"
"No." Luke straightened up, affecting an appearance of well-being. "It's nothing."
Mara's pointed glare was harder to avoid. "Did you open up that wound? And don't try to lie to me again."
Luke started to protest, then shifted his gaze to the ground. "Maybe," he finally mumbled through clenched teeth.
"Ye were wounded 'fore today?" Hiley asked, joining the conversation. "Let's take a look."
"The Prudens first ambushed us two days ago," Mara explained, as Luke slumped to the ground in resignation and unzipped his suit. "They got him in the leg with an arrow."
"Aye, lad, ye are leakin'," the toolcrafter said with a smile, attempting to lighten Luke's mood. He peered closer as Mara knelt and began unwrapping her husband's blood-stained bandages. "What be that sticky goo round the cut?"
"It's a kind of medicine," Mara replied, applying a new bacta patch. "It helps the injury to heal." She wound fresh dressings around Luke's thigh, then gave him a hand up.
"It was working until just now," Luke said.
"Ye should rest a spell," Efam remarked. He bent over to scratch behind the ears of one of his own sharrets he'd brought. "Let yer leg mend 'fore walkin' on it."
"Humph. Good luck talking him into that," Mara said with a snort. "He's as stubborn as they come."
"We really can't afford to wait," Luke protested. "We have an appointment to keep, and we're behind schedule as it is."
"Then ye should borrow a pair o' drobbins fer the rest o' yer journey." Efam loomed over the smaller man, his hands on his hips. "We insist."
"But ... but ..." Luke shook his head, grasping for an excuse.
"Jaco and me, we'll ride with ye, and bring the mounts back," Hiley spoke up.
"Aye, and I'll stay here and keep an eye on Tors and Eli," Efam added.
"What if more feralines show up?"
"They be territorial," Jaco said. "There'd not be another pack anywhere near these parts."
"Ye know it be the sensible thing to do, lad," Efam stated. "I'll have no trouble handlin' those two." He nodded toward the pair of grief-stricken cousins.
Luke shot a questioning look at Mara, but she only shrugged and mouthed back 'Your call.' He shut his eyes briefly and took a steadying breath. It was the sensible thing to do, as Efam said. Perhaps it was time he started being sensible.
"All right," he finally acquiesced. "We'll take you up on your offer." He glanced once more in Mara's direction. If she was surprised by his decision, she gave no indication, either outwardly or emotionally.
―――――
It didn't take long for Luke and Mara to gather their belongings and load them onto Efam's stout drobbin. As Luke tightly cinched the strap holding the last bundle, he stared across the animal's back at his wife.
"Do you think I made the right choice?"
"Do you think you did?" she returned, tucking under a loose end of rope.
"Are you going to force me to psychoanalyze myself now?" he complained.
Mara only raised one red-gold eyebrow, a slight smile playing about her lips.
Luke frowned at her and leaned against the swaying animal. "They're our friends, Mara. They rode all the way out here to help us. I don't think we should just brush them off."
"I'm not disagreeing." Mara reached across and took one of his hands. "But I don't think letting Hiley and Jaco see the ship is what you're beating yourself up over." She tugged on his hand. "Is it?"
"No." Luke shook his head tiredly. "I should have sensed those feralines long before they reached us. I was aware of our friends drawing near, so why not the danger of the wild animals?"
"Maybe because Hiley and the others are our friends. They were easier to recognize. Maybe the feralines weren't a threat until they caught the scent of the drobbins or sharrets. I don't know." Mara let Luke's hand drop. "Don't you think I've been asking myself why I didn't sense the feralines, or the Prudens, for that matter? I'm the one who's always bragging about my heightened sense of danger. I thought the foreboding I felt meant your 'don't get anyone hurt' plan was going to backfire."
"It was far from an unqualified success."
"Luke, Odus Pruden's death was not your fault, or my fault. Truth be told, it wasn't even his own fault. It was an accident of nature."
"That doesn't make it any easier to accept. I should have been able to prevent his death, but I didn't."
"You aren't responsible for the safety of every being in the galaxy." Mara came around the front of the drobbin and pulled Luke into a hug. "That doesn't necessarily mean I want you to change, though. I love you just the way you are."
"Lucky for me." Luke leaned down and accepted her tender kiss. "Now I guess we'd better get moving, so we can shock the socks off Hiley and Jaco."
"You've got it, Jedi." Mara smiled brightly. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually going to be glad to see that bucket of bolts."
"That makes two of us, my dear."
―――――
Less than an hour later, the travelers mounted up for the last leg of their journey. Efam assured the others that he and the two Prudens would take care of burying Odus, deeming that there would be less trouble with the surviving woodsmen during the undertaking if Luke and Mara were out of sight.
"Don't ye worry now," the pub owner called, waving a farewell. "Just take care to keep outa trouble yerselves."
"Will do," Hiley replied before turning to his comrades. "All set?" At everyone's assent, the group began trotting away.
"Hear that, Skywalker?" Mara commented wryly. "Stay out of trouble."
"I think he was talking to you," Luke rejoined, leaning forward to pat the ragged mane of the drobbin he'd 'borrowed' from the Prudens. He found this animal was much more enjoyable to ride than a tauntaun. "I'm not the one that's skittish about riding."
"I can ride any animal you put under me," she shot back. "I can't help it that this one is jittery."
"You be pullin' too tightly on the leads," Jaco advised, coming up alongside her. "Give 'im a bit o' slack."
As Mara grudgingly accepted Jaco's instructions, Hiley dropped back to ride next to Luke.
"Ye know, lad," the toolcrafter began, "it hadn't escaped our notice that the direction ye and the missus are headed ain't nowhere near any body o' water, leastways fer another week's ride."
"We didn't think you'd miss that," Luke conceded. "But it won't take us long to reach our destination. If we set a steady pace, we should be there by early evening."
Hiley shot him a curious look. "What does this boat o' yers float on?"
"Well, you'll have to see it to believe it." Luke gave a little chuckle. "Actually, you probably won't believe it even after you see it."
"That so?" Hiley grinned in anticipation of a phenomenal journey's end. "In that case, why we be moseyin' along this slow?" He spurred his mount to a sudden gallop. "Hee-yah!"
―――――
The quartet was approaching a small hill late in the afternoon when Luke reined his drobbin to a stop. He glanced over his shoulder at Mara, who nodded with a knowing smile.
"Just beyond this coming grove of trees there's a rocky plateau," Luke informed the two villagers. "That's our destination."
"Already?" Jaco trotted ahead, motioning to his longtime friend. "C'mon, Hiley, let's take us a look at this boat."
Mara hung back a moment, a smirk lighting up her wind-chapped face. "This should be interesting."
Luke grinned in agreement. "Right. And I for one don't want to miss their reaction." He dug his heels into the flanks of his mount. "Let's go!"
―――
Luke and Mara had barely reached the crest of the hill when they overtook the stunned figures of their friends.
"Divine One, preserve us," Hiley breathed in astonishment, his eyes wide as saucers.
Jaco couldn't even spit out that much.
