"Master? Wake up. Master!"

Paul's eyes shot open, and found he was staring at a man's bare feet. He looked up, and saw that he was dressed in an apprentice uniform. The Jedi gasped when he realized who it was...

"Jakob?!" Paul asked, his voice in a blend of anger and fear. The Jedi quickly leapt to his feet, reached down and gripped his lightsaber. He quickly held it out in front of him and placed his thumb on the switch...and stopped.

"I lost my lightsaber weeks ago." he stated aloud. Jakob, so young and bright before the 'situation' at the Praxeum, smiled. "And this isn't real."

Paul lowered the saber and looked around. His surroundings were no longer of the cold, heartless atmosphere of an Imperial prison, but that of a green, lush meadow.

The sun was shining brightly, and he could hear birds in the air. There was a great river behind Jakob, with a waterfall at the end. It was awhile before the Jedi realized where he was.

"Yavin? The river close to the Praxeum?" he asked. His apprentice nodded. "This is a dream then..."

Jakob's smiled faded as he nodded yet again. "Do you have any idea what you're becoming, Master Arrakeen? Do you realize what is happening to you?" His former master shook his head, his eyes still focused in disbelief on Jakob. The last time Paul had seen him, Jakob's face was dark, almost lost in evil. His eyes were devoid of all free thought and life...

"The Force is not leaving you, Paul. You are not losing its power, and the midichlorians are not dying out." he said. The Jedi raised an eyebrow.

"Then what is it? Why doesn't the Force work when I want it to, and when it does, it wields far more power than I wanted?"

"There is a war inside you, Paul," Jakob replied. "A war between Light and Dark, and in each battle both sides have become stronger and stronger."

"Your reaching a point, Master, in which one side will become too powerful for the other. And when that happens, your power will become equal to that of the greatest Jedi in history. However..."

Jakob sighed and looked away from Paul. "If the Dark Side wins, not only will it dominate your destiny...but the destinies of others. Already it has gained advantage over you, using your long-contained despair and rage to influence your judgment and actions."

Paul thought about the two sisters at the cantina...and about Jaz and the other Jedi Petrolu. Had the Dark Side held a grip on Paul the whole time?

"Why...are you telling me this? Who...what are you?"

"I'm a reflection of a memory you have forgotten. And the message I carry...comes from many lost Jedi in the Force. They see the Dark Lord you may become...and the Hero that continues to fight against it."

Paul lost feeling in his legs again, and sat down on the grass. He stared at his hands, wondering about the strength he could wield in the galaxy. "Where..." the Jedi began to ask, not looking up at his Padawan. "Is Jakob...the real one...now?"

His apprentice squatted down and looked at Paul. "He has gone to Coruscant. He seeks the aid of the Empire against the growing numbers of Jedi and the Sith civilization."

Paul looked up at him. "The Sith?"

"Jakob considers them a threat to his goals of conquest. He understands that if only a small group of Force-users exist, he could easily take control."

The Jedi Master sighed and scratched the back of his head. "There's nothing I can do about it now. I'm imprisoned here, and probably facing death."

"Don't worry about it," Jakob said standing back up. "The Force will help you escape..."

Paul looked up at him, and realized his vision began to darken. The feeling of warmth from the sun was gradually replaced by the coldness of his cell.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Jakob began to say, though Paul could only hear his voice as his apprentice was covered in a dark shroud.

"The Imperials killed Jaz."

Paul felt dead at the sound of her name...

Meanwhile...

"Uh, Corporal? We got a situation here!" said the monitor sentry. The officer walked up to him and looked at the monitors.

"What is it?"

The sentry pointed at one of the cells. "The Jedi Arrakeen, sir...well...he ain't breathing. And the life line just went dead on him. No heart beat at all."

The officer quickly lunged forward and switched on communications to the medical center. "We have an emergency situation in Force Cell 1138! Immediate transportation to the health facility NOW!"

He switched the frequency to one of the garrison commanders. "Get me Sorben Tarnus! We have a problem with one of the Jedi..."

[ 12-17-2002 09:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Paul Arrakeen ]

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"Belay that order!" I barked harshly. "The soldier who carries that Jedi ANYWHERE will have to answer to me personally!"

I clicked off the transmission with a decisive snick, but only after hearing a responding, "Yes, Sir." Then I turned on my heel and proceeded to the cells. I wanted to see for myself what was going on with this other prisoner, particularly since I had just finally come to an idea of what to do with him.

But if he's going to be idiotic and try to pull some kind of Jedi mind-trick stunt, well...

I'll have to renig on my thoughts of release, and order his execution anyway.

I hurried on, my boots clanking against the durasteel, echoing into the distance like the sound of a storm coming up over the horizon.

--------------------

"Jedi-I want to become a Jedi!" The young boy excitedly screamed. It wasn't like any boy in hte universe at the time before the destruction of the Jedi Alligence didn't want to become a Jedi. This statement probably would have been discarded quickly with a few reasons why, but the eyes of the boy..

The eyes were a green pale orb, circling along the pupil of the sun. It shined so brightly with passion, it seemed as if it was a weapon that could penetrate even the hardest medal within the galaxy.

"Well can I?" He happily smiled, leaping back on the couch, his faced masked with innocence.

[ 12-24-2002 12:43 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Shawn didn't even so much as bat an eye when he saw the disappointment in the boy's face. He handed the kid a few credits. "Get yourself on board a public transport vessel and get home, wherever that is. We've been freed."

With no further ado, Shawn turned on his heel and left to the streets of Coruscant, all the while pondering just what he might do next. Though he was still very troubled regarding what he believed to be Galen's and Darra's deaths, he didn't quite know where to go to resolve the questions that were still unanswered. He needed time to think this over, so perhaps now was the time to check on things regarding young Thea and Yaoksi Joao. Shawn pondered this then nodded to himself, also making mental note to contact Loban so that he did not feel as though he were not missed. For in fact, as Shawn realized his current situation and pondered the demise of the Jedi, he knew in his heart that the young man was missed more than perhaps he even knew.

[ 12-24-2002 01:39 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Mara1Jade ]

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The boy, heaving as he walked at the same pace as the man, began to speak, "I'm comin' with ya'. I have no where else to go, I have no home."

Gaining back his fatigue he arranged himself to a standing position, instead of a slouch, and walked beside him awaiting the reply of the man. He knew it would probably be one of anger, but their was no telling with such a physically lacked expressive man as the Jedi was.

--------------------

He couldn't exactly leave the kid stranded on Coruscant, even though he suspected this "kid" could probably take care of himself. He had been attacking a base on Tatooine, after all.

Shawn considered further.

Maybe it would be a good idea to return to Tatooine first before checking on Thea, anyway. Jamel could then get to his home planet and Shawn could try to contact Loban. Besides, Shawn suddenly appeared to have all the time in the world, so an extra leg in his journey wasn't exactly going to spoil his plans.

His final decision made, Shawn finally spoke. "Allright fine. I'll get you back safely to Tatooine, and then we'll see how things go from there. I haven't really any other place to go myself. And aside from that, I'm not even positive how we're going to get off Coruscant, either."

With nothing more than that, Shawn turned and again proceeded forward with the young Jamel trailing happily behind him, pondering just how in fact they would get successfully off the planet. They were in Imperial City, after all, and therefore were surrounded with businesses. The small matter would be finding a ship dealer. The larger one would be convincing the dealer to sell without cash up front.

But then, Shawn was beginning to get an idea regarding that...

[ 12-24-2002 01:22 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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"Our commander believes that it could be a Jedi trick."

The sentry shook his head. "That's impossible! His entire cell is--"
Beep...Beep...

He whirled around in the charge towards the monitors.

"He got a heartbeat...looks like he's breathing...."

The officer nodded. "Good. Then the discussion is over." He turned to walk away.

The sentry, still staring at the monitor which held the Jedi's cell in view, shouted to him. "But he's not moving much! We should at least--"

The door slid shut, cutting him off again.

"It's gonna be one of those days...

Within the cell...

Paul didn't move. He didn't want to. He just laid there, staring at the wall. Many thoughts and ideas were going through the Jedi's mind, but he couldn't ascertain any of them. He wouldn't allow it.

Let them no know mercy, Arrakeen. Let them know pain instead. was one thought he had.

Justice will be done in time, Arrakeen. You are not ready yet, for you have much to do. was another.

The Jedi didn't choose, though. He just stared at the wall...

--------------------

Reaching up, Jamel tugged at Shawn's robe, attempting to gain his attention. Shifting his finger toward the man who was carrying the map immeditately after the attention of Shawn was grasped he smiled.

"See, I told you I could be of help. Should we get one?"

--------------------

He'd been thinking of bartering his ship back on Tatooine for one here, but he really hated to leave Coruscant in debt, not to mention he'd have to come BACK at some point to pay or else make some sort of arrangements for the other ship to be picked up on Tatooine. With the way Coruscant was these days, coming back here could get messy. And Shawn did hate lose ends...

He turned his eyes back to the map, still considering.

Back in the days of the New Republic, traveling as a Jedi wasn't always pleasant but it was always possible. There were several public transport vessels that would allow Jedi as passengers for free; granted, the accomadations weren't all that wonderful.

And there was always the ole' Ben routine. Find someone who is traveling off-planet anyway and promise them payment just as soon as you get to your destination.

Now that...just MIGHT be a good possibility...

Shawn turned his attention the map again, his eyes focusing in upon a nearby cantina. He nodded once to himself, folded the map, then looked to Jamel.

"We're gonna take a visit to this local cantina called the Blue Asteroid," Shawn told him. There's always someone who might like to get off the planet in those places...

...especially if getting off-planet involves payment. But watch your step, this place could be rough..."

At that final statement he placed a hand on Jamel's back, guiding him forward as they began to travel the streets of Coruscant towards the cantina.

[ 12-19-2002 10:36 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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A rough place, I would guess so, it is Coruscant. I think this is the center part of the universe, and all the Imperail sympathizers and soldiers reside here, along with just normal citizens. Shawn is right, I better pay attention, anyways he might end up showing me a force trick or too, he seems nice so far.

Motioning his finger out his mouth, he laid them at his side noticing that the man's arm was placed on his back, guiding him to the entrance of the Blue Asteroid. Jamel's eyes widened in puzzelment, though his feet continued to motion on. He hadn't seen a catina like this, most of the ones he had seen were dirt covered place that sent the visitors down steps, but this one was much more polished and elegent settelement. The building was illuminated by the surrondings of board advertisments of the city and vibrant with the blue and purple colors of its exterior.

"Were's going in a palace like that? Thats a Coruscant catina? It's so pretty..." The boy ended his exciting statement, glancing up at the eyes of Shawn, spectating his observaration of the place. It seemed emotionless, as though the man had seen everything in the world,a dn this was just another particle, but when the man obsereved by the boy a brightening smile came upon the man's face and the two headed toward the door of the catina.

Heading into the bright, exciting scene, but lull in sound, their was an immeditate surveying, attempting to find the one that they seeked. Someone with the attitude, and perception of a traveler, one who wanted to get out this scene. Jamel quickly taking a recess in his gaze, he took his head to stare at Shawn's face.

"What are we going to do now?"

--------------------

Sorben wasn't fooled in the least bit. He hadn't risen to become the head bounty hunter of the most elite bounty hunter guild by being gullible; his eyes narrowed and he cocked his helmeted head to one side. Then he abruptly spoke up.

"You're not fooling anyone but yourself, Mr. Arakeen," he announced his presence with the near-mirroring of his thoughts. "I have dealt with too many Force users to be taken in by the attempt you just made to escape from here."

He paused, shifting his weight. His armor gave an ominous creak as he settled himself more comfortably before continuing.

"The Empire doesn't gives a Wookiee's big toenail about what transpired between you and your last apprentice," he said abruptly. "What is of concern to us is the bringing of this benighted galaxy to the kind of order necessary to maintain it successfully, order it has not seen in far too lengthy a time. Spice shipments lost to agents unknown and the shady doings of the Hutts are not conducive to that order, Mr. Arakeen. Neither is the impersonation of an Imperial officer, which is why your compatriot was summarily executed."

Now he paused, letting those last words sink into the mute Jedi's skull, that the quiet message carried with it would be clearly understood.

For the Jedi was not yet targeted for execution. And he very well could be, at a time in the not so distant future.

He voiced that thought aloud.

"You can prevent yourself from sharing Ms. Corona's fate, Mr. Arakeen," he said simply. "And be let free; that is, as free as one can be under certain extenuating... personal circumstances. Free to continue your life, such as it was, searching for whatever it is you have been searching for....

"We all search for things, Mr. Arakeen. In fact, should you decide to comply with the Empire, it might be so grateful as to see into those mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of your apprentice. You could be completely cleared of any wrong-doing.

"If, of course, you prove innocent in the matter."

And if not, then perhaps a Jedi such as yourself, with such darkness hanging over his soul, could be persuaded into joining us at some point down the road. There are... other users of Force out there, Force both strange and familiar; Actar and his new re-born soldiers are powerful, but a purely Dark One is nothing to sneeze at. He just might prove useful to us, more so than Actar in all his self-assurance might understand.

Nodding to himself, he finished with, "There is much afoot on Tatooine, Mr. Arakeen. While the Empire might at first be thought prone to react in a solely militant manner, there is something to be said about one shade slipping into the night to obtain a goal.

"We would offer you the chance to be that shade, Mr. Arakeen. No tricks, no strings. Just certain... assurances on your part that you will live up to your end of the bargain. You may, in turn, be assured the Empire will live up to its own."

[ 12-22-2002 01:51 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Sorben Tarnus ]

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"Yah, Im going to be out of here after a few more drinks. Your welcome to come, I got alot of space." The green skinned Rodian stated, his rough clothed over-coating fluttering as he took a quick spin around sipping his drink. The way he was fluent in the speak of the human suggested he wasn't born on the Rodian's home planet, or his language would be of them.

"Nyah, Im really just out here to scope the place, had to get away from the kids. I wouldn't wanna just leave without any talk, I love those kids, but they just sometimes get on my nerves, so I just needed a break and a bar is the best place I knew of." The human male replied, placing his hands on the polished glass and gulping down another Correlian Ale and gesturing for yet another.

"Hehe, yah maybe your right- your been drinking to much ale in the first place, you'll end upp in some trouble. Well see ya pal, probably on my next trip back, if I do come back" The Rodian patted the man on his back and headed toward the door as he waved back at the man.

"Hmm..I wonder..?" Jamel pondered outloud to himself, his fist tightening as he looked down, his features exposing his mind was boggling with ideas. Suddenly popping his head up without his ears ranging to the sound of Shawn's voice, he dashed ahead toward the Rodian with a smile on his face, sliding infront of him.

"Excuse me mister, I and my brother Shawn overheard your conversation with the man at the bar and we just wanted to know if we could be boarded onto your ship. We really need a ride to get back to our home." Jamel said in a pleading voice, his hands clasped together as he came kneeling position.

"Oh of course, but where are you going?" Rodian replied in a inquiring fashion.

"Umm...we are heading to Spira to see my mother, but tell him were going back to Tattonie, it's suppose to be a suprise for him." Jamel smiled as sadistic, and michevious pleasure came upon him only in emotion, but asuring himself with a jerk of his face that it wasn't displayed.

"Oh okay, lets go then.." The Rodian came from his hunching position to talk to the youth and headed toward the door, followed by the boy who grabbed Shawn's arm.

"I managed negotiate with the Rodian and we're on our way back to Tattonie." Smiled up at him in pleasurment, as he happily motioned on behind the Rodian outside the doors of the catina.

--------------------

The Jedi still laid there, motionless, taking in the officer's words.

...Maybe...

Paul thought about his current situation: he was trapped on Tattooine, imprisoned on a heavily guarded Imperial base (or was it a ship?), no allies, no weapons, and no clear route of escape.

...Maybe...

"How," the Jedi's lips moved, but other than that and blinking, he made no other movement, "Did she die?"

--------------------

"Wait," Shawn said, holding a hand out palm outwards to stop the Rodian in his tracks. The Rodian seemed a bit disgruntled at this sudden order but managed to comply, at least for the moment, perhaps because he was seeing credit amounts in his line of sight. Shawn let his calm and cool gaze fall directly into that of the Rodian's, seeming to look right through him. "We will not be traveling to Spira," he said without so much as an explanation concerning his knowledge regarding the deception. "It is very important we return to Tatooine; I have a ship on planet there I am willing to turn over into your hands in exchange for passage there. It is a modest freighter but has only been flown once. I think you'll find it worth taking the boy and I as passengers," he said, his look never shifting.

The Rodian seemed to consider this, then replied. "Tatooine, eh?" he queried. "My ship is in poor repair, I could use a new one," he commented. Then he motioned for Shawn and Jamel to follow him. "My ship is docked this way."

Shawn nodded but once, then motioned for the Rodian to lead the way, only taking a brief moment to turn and regard Jamel, a reprimanding look in the depths of his greeny-blues. With no more than that he began to once again lead Jamel along, following in the steps of the Rodian and wondering exactly why he was starting to feel a slight ripple of unease in the Force with every step he took...

[ 12-22-2002 10:51 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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"No!" The boy blurted out abruptly, forcing the two partners to a halt. Throwing his head up, his eyes strenghted with a weird, undetictable anger. His eyes widened, and his teeth gnashed against each other, exposed by his open mouth. Grabbing the hand of Shawn, he rushed ahead beside the Rodian. Jamel's eyes glanced up at the face of the Rodian who seemed to gain emotional disturbance in their equal proportion on the street.

I knew it, something is with this guy and us being behind him has to be some kind of link with it. I'll just have to wait to see what..... The boy thought, looking down into his fist as his idea came to an end.

Taking his eyes upward he glanced up at Shawn who seemed to find confusion in the sudden change of position, but he'd just have to be told about the action's reason later.

Suddenly they stopped at the docking bay where the Rodian inserted his #ID Number for his ship, and as the green creature entered the other hand that was unpreoccupied shifted toward his belt. Quickly the man turned around with an Imperail blaster in his hand, pointed directly toward the two, but with closer inspection he noticed the boy wasn't within his sight.

Then it was pain

The Rodian fell limp upon the surface, motionless on the ground. Jamel was behind him with a knife within his hand, flipping it skillfully as blood dripped simultaneously.

"Come on Shawn, lets get in.." Jamel began, with a frown upon his face, expressing the displeasurment in injuring the man, though it was out of protection it was still sadistic in his youthful eyes. "He'll be okay, he'll knocked out. I hit 'em at his temple point with the hilt. So lets get in.."

Jamel reached down into the pockets of the Rodian and took the accessiors needed in flight of the object as well as the landing. Securing them within his pocket, he rushed toward the door and opened it as he stepped in, awaiting the response from Shawn.

[ 12-24-2002 12:47 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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The Force DOES guide us along in life...perhaps there is more reason here that this young boy crossed paths with me than I might have realized. He seems to have some fine skills, and he does want to help...

"I think we'll take our Rodian friend along for the ride. Good or bad, I don't want to...appropriate his ship, it's not an honest thing to do. I just want passage to Tatooine. We'll just...borrow from him and send him on his way after we've made it safely to our destination," Shawn decided, dragging the Rodian on into his ship and closing the hatch behind him. "Besides," Shawn continued, glad to be out of the way of any public scrutiny, "I suspect this guy is the type that just might tell the officials we attacked and robbed him."

With nothing further than that for the moment, Shawn headed for the cabin of the small freighter, leaving the Rodian laying in the floor in eye and ear-shot should he return to consciousness. Then, sitting at the controls with Jamel taking a seat next to him, Shawn called for clearance after telling Jamel to keep an eye on the motionless Rodian. In only a matter of a few minutes, they had hit sky and were on their way to Tatooine in the safe confines of hyperspace. Only then did Shawn turn to regard Jamel, his senses still keenly attuned to the Rodian as well. "You responded quickly to the Rodian's intent to attack," Shawn stated obviously. "Your skills are impressive. You have some experience in fighting, am I right?" he added quietly, then falling silent as he waited Jamel's answer, suddenly curious about his background.

[ 12-24-2002 01:47 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Mara1Jade ]

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"Yah I do...I know it's weird and freaky, but it happened. I could just tell that something was happening wrong, then I focused more on the Rodian guy-he was going to do something so I had to react. Im sorry for hurting him, I know it was wrong.." Jamel ended with a sudden pause, shifting hsi eyes back down in displearument of his uniqueness amoungst those he was around.

He felt that when one was unqiue they'd be different, and difference was alwys seen as a problem where he was from. It wasn't every day that someone on Tattonie could sense the approach of something almost as easily as actually seeing into the future, and react to things so quickly-even with his Teras training no one in his class was reacting like him, and that was a speck of the reason why left. He hated being an outcast, along with the pain of being beaten by his father. It was too much to handle for anyone, specially for such a young child.

Turning around in his seat as the cast of object of his own ability, tears slowly trickled down his face, as his hands covered his eyes.

"Im a freak." He muttered to himself only loud enough for the Jedi could hear.

[ 12-24-2002 12:50 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Shawn paused at that, pursing his lips a bit as he sensed the Force prodding him along to continue with his next thoughts. He let his greeny-blue eyes fall into the teary and quizzical pair of Jamel's, "I've been the subject of such misunderstanding myself. And so long as you need a friend, I'll be more than happy to make sure you are taken care of."

[ 12-24-2002 01:52 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Mara1Jade ]

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How could he reply...?

The boy was hesitant on the response, running his hand slowly along his face, drying his tears as quickly as possible. He smiled pleasently and he shook his head as he spoke.

"Yes, I would have the pleasure of staying with you, sir."

When stopping his head from shaking he bobed it back once, attempting to throw away the emotion of joy so he would be polished, and perfect for the great moment. Warmth ran through his bieng as he drew himself to a stand.

"I'm..confused...Wha-What now?"

[ 12-24-2002 12:52 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Grimacing at the gore of his handiwork, Shawn deactivated his lightsaber and returned it to his belt, now turning his attentions to the wide-eyed Jamel, regretting that the boy had to see this. He placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing him towards the back of the ship so that he would not see the extent of the Rodian's injury for too long. "For now we will continue to Tatooine," he said, finishing the answer he had been giving before the Rodian had attacked, all the while leading Jamel to the sitting area in the back of the ship. He let the boy sit at a couch, then once again squatted so that he could look into his eyes. "I have a... friend there I'd like to contact," he explained, "And the Force is guiding me to continue on that quest."

At that he stood. "I'll...clean up the cabin of the ship. The Rodian should recover; although he has been injured, a lightsaber wound does not bleed as does the wound associated with some other weapons. He'll just be... inconvienced a bit due to his harmful intent."

At that Shawn returned to the cabin after retrieving some rags from the back of the ship so that he could clean up the blood before it began to dry. Reaching for the still-groaning Rodian, he placed him in a healing trance and then moved him to a bunk, only then returning to Jamel.

"We will not be bothered by him for the rest of our journey," he said, nodding back in the direction of the now-unconscious Rodian. "Once we reach Tatooine I'll make arrangements for him to recover elsewhere."

Shawn now sat next to Jamel, a question now surfacing in the forefront of his mind. "Did you know your parents well enough to know if either of them were Force-sensitive?" he queried, hoping to draw Jamel's attention towards something other than what had just occured in the cabin. "It's possible, but not likely, that you came upon your ability to react so quickly if the Force is running in your family," Shawn stated, quieting at that and simply waiting.

[ 12-24-2002 12:56 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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"I'm not completely sure, but my late mother could have been. It's hard to tell, though she did manage to calm me so easily at times." Jamel responded, his voice whittered by his own confusion and puzzlement that his mother was more than just that of a mom; she was a Force-sensative being.

Jamel had suddenly found interest in this Force. Though he knew it was a gift that he was blessed with, it seemed that their was little that he knew of it since his residence was normally on the Outer Rim. It was much he didn't know even about Jedi's, other then they were spectacular creatures, blessed with great powers that made them a superior, but used this in the path of the good. Blurting out abruptly, he mirrored his voice with his sudden break of action when his head leveled with Shawn.

"What is this..this Force? I know so little of it, and what is the purpose of the Jedi!" The boy inquired, his tone firm as his voice casual and concerned. Glaring with the eyes of confusion at the Jedi, he huffed from his enthusastic jump of questions.

--------------------

"Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine were such dark jedi, using the Force to boost their own strengths so that they could mantain control of the Universe. This of course, eventually backfired. Though one cannot lose his Force-sensitiveity, the Force does not remain with those who use it for power and to destroy the very life that makes it grow. Those who use the Force only when necessary and only to protect themselves and others are the ones who succeed. Being such a guardian can be difficult and strenous at times, but the connection one feels with the Universe when acting in such a manner is simply priceless."

He paused at that, letting Jamel soak in his words. "So in truth, the only purpose of the Jedi is to protect and defend life. You will understand it more clearly in time, my young friend," Shawn ended. "But now we should get a bit of rest. You have experienced much in this one day, and we will have much to do and discuss when we reach Tatooine, which should be in about twelve standard hours. You can take a bunk in the back if you wish, I will remain here and keep an eye on the controls. The Rodian will not disturb you, he will not be able to break free of the healing trance until I pull him from it," he assured Jamel. Then he added, smiling a bit once more, "Even those adept in the Force need their rest."

[ 12-23-2002 05:05 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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Throwing himself in the bunk, he sat motionlessly looking up the ceiling. His mind drifted into his past, thinking of his beautiful mother, and how she used to sing him asleep. She was the core of his life, and still to that day of jam-packed events she was still his core. He had the feeling she was out there, still watching over him as his sweet guardain.

The thoughts of such stirred him so, like the song that his mother so blissfully song. Remembering every word he happily drowned in the void of delightful illusions, sitting in the..

Castle in the Sky..

[ 12-23-2002 05:14 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jamel Garth ]

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"How she died is really no concern of yours, Mr. Arakeen," I finally answered. "She died as one would expect a traitor to the Empire to die: by execution. But since you seem to find some kind of morbid interest in this, I will tell you this much. Her death was painless and... relatively quick."

My eyes narrowed to black slits behind my visor as I looked into the tiny cell occupied by the ex-Jedi. It was not that I was that interested in what words he might answer. Indeed, I was more concerned with what his body movements would be telling me in the next few moments.

I fell silent, not deigning to expand on Ms. Corona's execution, other than a quietly amended, "And you can be assured that execution was in fact carried out, Mr. Arakeen. I witnessed the disposal of her remains myself."

--------------------

How cruel the universe can be... he thought, the only one he had control of now. And yet, I have the strength to change that.

"What would you have me do?" Paul asked, his eyes opening. He placed his hands on the floor and pushed himself up onto his knees, but he didn't stand up.

--------------------