From: JackeeC <74363.2566@CompuServe.COM> Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: XJEDI VOL TWO! 7/24 Date: 23 Jan 1996 03:43:00 GMT NOTICE: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ XJEDI VOL. ONE YOU WILL BE SOOOOO LOST THAT ANY ATTEMPT TO READ THIS BEFORE READING SAID WILL BE A PURE LIVING NIGHTMARE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. VOL. ONE IS AT : gossamer.eng.ohio-state.edu ftp.cs.nmt.edu http://www.ftech.net/~monark/starwars/sw.htm (starwars web page!) OR YOU CAN JUST E ME... (74363.2566@compuserve.com) Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story belong to someone else. Specifically, Mulder, Scully, Skinner and certain other characters that true philes will definitely recognize all belong to Fox, Tenthirteen, Chris Carter respective actors or their mothers, estates, rich aunts, basically not to me. Also, Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, etc., etc., true... well, you know who you are, you'll recognize the ones from the galaxy far, far away. They belong to George Lucas and/or LucasArts. But, I say all this to say, hey guys (and gals, it's multiple choice) they don't belong to me, and none of the above mentioned organizations even know who I am, much less gave me permission. I am making no money on this and no infringement is intended. Also, any and all medical facts are derived from my trusty home medical advisor or my imagination. In other words, I made it up. So please, don't try this at home. And a very very big *THANKS*!! to Ainsley for editing. :) I have seen the err of my ways and it ain't pretty. Once again, feedback is appreciated and welcomed. So complaints, criticism, oohs and aahs, outright flames, hugs, threats, screams, and anything else you can think of that I haven't covered, should be addressed to me: 74363.2566@compuserve.com Part 7 Volume 2 XJEDI by Jackee C. BREAKING THE WAY ---------------- CEstallian System Luke Skywalker piloted the small V-Eiker luxury craft into the misty upper atmosphere of CEstallia, marveling at the hazy blue fog that seemed to cling to the ship. CEstallia had few natural resources that would have been in demand by the Empire. Luke supposed that was why it had been left alone, aside from the taxes, of course. The geological make up of the planet was unlike any Luke had ever visited. It was a dual star system, yet the suns didn't appear to burn away the heavy mists in the upper atmosphere. When the craft broke through the mists, a beautiful panorama opened before him. There were waterfalls everywhere, shining like glimmering steps among islands of land. The effect was beautiful. Some of the falls stood nearly into the mist of the upper atmosphere. The suns served to give the world a softly lit haziness. Immediately upon breaking through the blanket of mist, Luke felt a profound peacefulness. He wondered if the telepathic race below were projecting these feelings for the benefit of the children; they could certainly use it, judging by their fear and disorientation when he'd first met them. A tracking beam directed the ship to the side of the larger of the falls within Luke's view. Curious as to the reaction of the children, Luke activated the ship's internal monitors. Two New Republic doctors had accompanied Luke on the trip due to slight variances in human and CEstallian physiology as well as to examine the odd scars the children had received. Threepio was also along. The children were all watching the planet through the external monitors, awed. Luke smiled at that; he was awed himself. He wouldn't have been surprised to see unicorns dancing around the pools beneath the falls. "CEstallian to V-Eiker," sounded over the comm system. Luke activated the channel for a reply, "CEstallian," he returned, "this is V-Eiker, receiving you loud and clear." He replied in the same manner as the speaker had spoken. But, he didn't know why the person had said 'CEstallian' instead of 'CEstallia'. He filed it away. "A delegation will meet you once you are in the landing port. Welcome to our World, honored one." Honored one? Luke thought. What had Leia told these people? They had taken no interest in the Empire as far as he knew, and even less in the rebellion. The information package that Leia had provided told him that this planet was ruled by a council, and tended to keep matters within its society personal, and felt that others should do the same. It was rare for a CEstallian to leave the home system, rarer still for them to take sides in any battle or skirmish. The package had gone back 500 years. It seemed that before that time there was little information regarding this mysterious race. For the past one hundred years, though, people had brought their mentally damaged to CEstallia. The CEstallians prided themselves on their understanding of the mind. Not only humanoid, but an extreme variety of other species as well. The holo-images provided with the package showed the CEstallians to be human in appearance, except for the unusual gray eyes they all possessed. There also seemed to have a deep affinity for their planet, since the CEstallians didn't wish to die or be buried elsewhere. The space port itself, though carved out of the rock of the falls, was thoroughly modern. Its walls were molded with gleaming plasteel, and had serveral dozen landing stations and a transparent transport tube system built into the molding. The transports' running lights could be seen as they shot along their individual courses. Threepio was ordered to remain with the ship due to the CEstallians' aversion to off world droids, even with a restraining bolt. Threepio's services as a translator would not be needed, anyway, since the comlinks he'd programmed as translators were working fine. Each person wore their own personal link on their lapels, including the New Republic doctors and Luke. Threepio had taken care that a CEstallian language program was installed as well as Basic. As the group exited the ship, they found that an honor guard waited beyond the docking doors. The children's eyes widened even more when a gold walkway shimmered into appearance through the middle of the guard. A man dressed in flowing robes stepped around the guard and approached. "Welcome," he said in accented Basic, arms spread wide to encompass all of the group. "I am Arric of Council CEstallian. I will be your escort. If you will follow me." He turned and led the group through the guard and into one of the transport tubes. Once they were inside the tube, Arric focused shimmering gray eyes on Luke. The doctors and the children faded to the background of Luke's perception as Arric spoke softly to him. Arric then turned away from Luke and pressed a button in the wall. Luke blinked, feeling almost as if he had been let go. He looked at his traveling companions, but no one else seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Luke didn't sense any deception from the man, only a quiet sense of duty and professionalism. He would go when they came for him, if for no other reason than curiosity. The transport tube settled on a level that seemed only slightly lower than the docking bay. Arric lead the group out of the lift, down a hall and into the suite of rooms reserved for the children. To Luke's surprise, they all adjoined. There were fourteen rooms, one for each of the children and the young woman. The rooms met in a large semi-circle. The central room contained toys that put more sparkles, if that were possible, in the children's eyes. The rooms that filled the other half of the circle were an eating area, rooms for the New Republic doctors and a room that Luke couldn't quite figure out the purpose of. It was just a big empty room. On a whim, he sent a mental question to Arric, Arric looked vaguely surprised for a second before answering him, again mentally. * * * * * * Luke's quarters were separate from those of the children and the doctors'. He'd asked Arric the reason for this on the way to his quarters and had received the reply that he was not a part of their circle of recovery. Had Luke been placed within their circle, the children would see his departure as an empty hole in their world. Arric said that it was vital for their circle to remain intact. Now, Luke waited. Arric had left him nearly twenty minutes earlier. So he decided to do some meditating. Since he wasn't sure what to expect from the Matriarch that Arric had mentioned, he felt it was best to at least be calm and relaxed when the time came. Closing his eyes, Luke reached out to the force and allowed his mind to drift among those who'd arrived with him. The doctors were in conversation with one of the CEstallian doctors. The children were being entertained; Luke couldn't help but to smile at that. Then, he reached further, trying to get a deeper feel of the place. "STOP!" Luke's eyes flew open. Who had said that? He looked around the room. There was no one there, only silence. A door chime broke the silence. "Enter," Luke called after a final once over of the room. A pair of guards stepped into the room. "You will come with us," one of them announced. <...?> Somewhere in space, Millennium Falcon Scully, Mulder and Rae all stared at one another in shock as the whine died down outside the ship. "If I click my heels three times do you think we'd be home?" Mulder asked, slipping into Mulder-mode. "Couldn't hurt." Rae said from the spot on the floor on which she'd landed after Mulder had pushed her onto this vessel. "We need to stabilize this man," Scully told the two of them, looking again at her patient. He was looking alarmingly pale. "I'm going to look around to see if I can find some first aid." "I'll help you," Rae said, getting up from the floor. Mulder looked around the room, taking in the various panels and odds and ends. "This must be the hooptie of spaceships," he murmured. "But, somebody has to be flying this thing." He didn't see anything that, to him, even remotely, resembled first aid. He wandered along a white walled corridor into a large open room, eyes scanning the various panels and unidentified mechanisms, seeing nothing at all familiar. The corridor continued on the other side of the room, Mulder followed it. This corridor was not nearly as bright as the other had been. He debated drawing his weapon from its holster, then dismissed it. He was the invader here, after all. The corridor opened into another room, smaller than the one that led to the ramp. Mulder's eyes passed over the many objects, some vaguely familiar, some downright strange. A bunk with a locker beneath it gave him pause. It somehow seemed a likely place for supplies. Mulder opened the locker. At a glance the contents looked useful. He pulled the locker out from beneath the bed and through the corridor and back to the ramp room. "Scully, I think I've found something," he called to his partner, who was back at her patient's side. The words were barely out of his mouth before a beeping sounded and a strange rolling sound came from the doorway he'd just passed through. The round barrel shaped body of a white and blue robot rolled into the room. It focused its huge red light...eye? from Mulder to Scully. All the humans in the room froze; Mulder was half bent over the locker. The robot continued to make the strange squawks and beeps, that to the humans sounded disturbingly menacing. When its squawks grew in intensity, Scully instinctively huddled closer to her patient. The robot began to rock agitatedly back and forth. A panel in its body slid open, from which a three pronged appendage slowly extended. Scully's eyes widened in alarm as she looked at Mulder. The robot continued to roll threatningly forward. She saw Mulder slowly ease into a standing position behind the robot, who continued to make the strange squawks and beeps at her. Scully looked back at the robot, careful not to make any sudden moves. She didn't want to upset the thing any more than it already was. Suddenly an electric charge shot out of its arm and struck Scully's shoulder. "Oww!," she shrieked, jumping back and rubbing her shoulder. "It shocked me!" Mulder pulled his gun and aimed it at the thing. "Stay back!" he yelled at the robot as he stepped around to face it. Rae ducked behind him. The robot's barrel shaped body rolled forward, throwing another bolt of electricity at Mulder's hand. He dropped the gun. The robot continued to roll forward, beeping and squawking nastily. Mulder pushed the two women behind him and continued to back away from the thing. He noticed that there was what appeared to be a doorway behind them. If they could slip inside maybe they could find a weapon of some kind. Scully steered Rae toward the doorway, her thoughts echoing Mulder's. When the door slid open behind them, they immediately ducked inside. Scully and Mulder hid along each side of the door. Rae ducked behind Mulder's side. Scully held her gun aloft in the ready position, while Mulder searched for anything he might use as a weapon as they waited for the robot to enter the doorway. All were stunned when the door slid shut with a gentle swish. A span of a few seconds passed and the door didn't open. Scully and Mulder looked at one another, realization dawning. They had been trapped! Outsmarted by a robot! "I can't believe it!" Mulder exclaimed, as he tried stepping before the door that refused to open. He tried to push it open, and Rae and Scully joined in. It didn't work. After a minute Rae gave up and leaned against the door. Her hands were on her knees and her head bowed, hair blocking her face. Both Scully and Mulder eyed each other uncomfortably as Rae's shoulders began to shake. Scully accepted the responsibility of dealing with crying clients...witnesses...whatever Rae was. Stooping over, she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Rae, honey, it's okay. We're going to get out of this. I know it looks a little bleak right now, but you've got to have faith." Rae's shoulders shook even more. Scully gave Mulder a desperate look; this wasn't working. Just then, Rae stood up. Tears streamed down her face, but she wasn't crying. She was laughing, so hard that she was choking. "You guys," she got out between giggles, "I'm so sorry," she covered her face with her hands. "When I get really nervous or scared...I laugh." She continued to laugh hysterically leaning against the door. "I mean," she tried to talk again, "look at us." She waved her arms around the room, "We're stuck on a runaway space ship, trapped in a...a closet, by a little white robot!" "Are you smacking her or am I?" Mulder asked. Scully looked over at Rae still giggling against the door as if considering her partner's proposal. Then, coming to the realization that Mulder was seriously awaiting her reply, her brows went up in surprise. "Mulder-" she started warningly, but she never got a chance to finish her statement. Because suddenly, the entire ship shuddered with a sickening BANG! Both Agents' eyes widened. Rae, whose laughter had calmed to the occasional giggle, froze for a full second before bursting out again. Scully and Mulder sighed and turned away. What else could possible go wrong today? * * * * * * An hour later they could still hear the occasional mournful beep and whistle coming from the other room. Rae, who had managed to calm herself, now sat in a corner, asleep, arms propped on her upraised knees. Mulder and Scully mirrored Rae's position, having thoroughly checked the room for anything that might help to get the door open. The search had been fruitless, save for something that resembled a towel. Mulder had taken the opportunity to clean what he could of the soot off of his face and hands. He had a feeling his shirt was a total loss. The smell of burnt warehouse now clung to the air in the small room. "You think our friend out there is a doctor?" Mulder asked, head still down on his knees. "Dunno," Scully shrugged, even though no one was looking. "Think he has any food? I'm *really* hungry." "What?" Scully taunted in an exhausted voice. "No seeds?" "Oh yeah..." Mulder said, searching through his pockets. Scully looked up with interest. When Mulder pulled the half filled zip lock from his pocket, she scooted near him. She placed her open palm before him. "You, Scully?" Mulder spoke, pretending shock. "I'm starving Mulder; don't make me wrestle you for those," Scully replied, only half serious. "Oooh, don't tempt me," Mulder said as he grinned and dumped some seeds into his hand and then handed the bag to Scully. "What do you think they do for a trash can around here?" Mulder asked around a mouthful of seeds. Scully shrugged. "I was gonna use your pockets..." "Oh no," Rae spoke from the corner, raising her head from her knees. "I was really counting on this being a *really* bad dream. No offense to you guys," she added. Then she saw what they were doing. "Food!" she exclaimed, scooting closer. Scully passed the bag to Rae. "Where are you guys putting the shells?" Rae asked. "Mulder's pockets..." Scully said gesturing toward him. "Hey, I object!" Mulder said, trying to defend himself. "Shhh..." Scully said suddenly, "Do you hear that?" They listened for a second. Then they heard...voices. Seeds forgotten, all three sprang to their feet and immediately began to pound on the door and yell. end part 7 =========================================================================== From: JackeeC <74363.2566@CompuServe.COM> Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: XJEDI VOL TWO! 8/24 Date: 23 Jan 1996 03:45:21 GMT XJEDI part 8 (vol. 2) Previous disclaimer/s still in force. Coruscant, Imperial Palace Leia Organa Solo was back to worrying. Luke had been gone for hours and still there was no sign of Han. Of course, it wasn't unlike Han to be off doing something and then to forget the time. Yet... A soft chime sounded at the message center of her desk. "Yes," she answered it, after pressing a button in the panel in an upper corner of her desk. "Madame Organa Solo, there is an incoming urgent personal message for you. Do you wish it delivered to your home computer or your office?" The mechanized voice of the message delivery droid ended with a soft click, which indicated the call was being recorded. "Send it through to my office computer," Leia said, hope stirring. Perhaps this was word from Han. "Very well," the voice responded before breaking the connection. Leia chewed her lip as she waited anxiously for the file to make its way through the complex mail system of New Republic Headquarters. Because of the very real possibility of files being contaminated with virus bombs, each piece of incoming mail was thoroughly scanned. Before the computer could completely flash 'message ready', Leia punched the open file switch. It was a brief message from Han and Chewbacca. It read: -POINT OF ORIGIN ALPHA CODE GRID: 30-12-17-3-2-22 Immediately following were a standard set of coordinates for their heading. There was no further information. The time read twenty four hours earlier. Twenty four hours and no word. Something was wrong--Leia could feel it. Still hopeful, Leia searched the data base for the location the coordinates represented. The information proved to be less than helpful. It was a point in space, not a planet or star for light years. Leia toyed with the idea of going out to those coordinates herself, but then decided to talk to Luke first. His stronger force ability would reach past the anxiety she was feeling. Clearing the screen, she pulled rank and put in the very expensive Interstellar call to the CEstallian system. CEstallia, somewhere in Central City. Luke was led to the outside of a room with a plain, white, manually operated door. The guards led him there and then left without a word. They walked to the end of the long hall and stationed themselves there near the transport tube. A voice said to Luke. He looked up at the door. It seemed to be made of wood, a very ancient practice. Grasping the knob, he turned it and pushed. Nothing happened. The knob turned but the door wouldn't budge. A small chuckle sounded, Luke frowned. What was going on in this place? Who was it that was speaking to him? the voice whispered. Luke gave up on understanding the game, closed his eyes and reached out to the force... A gentle breeze ruffled his hair and the soft scent of delicate flowers drifted over him. Luke opened his eyes. He was still outside the door. When he turned the knob this time the door opened. Cautiously, he stepped across the threshold. A small featured woman with long shimmering silver hair stood near an open window. A gentle breeze blew into the room bringing with it the smell of the delicately scented flowers that grew along the fall. The woman sat staring directly at Luke as he stepped fully into the room. Her eyes were the same shimmering silver gray as her hair. There was no dark pupil. In one moment, she looked ancient, the next like a young girl. Her skin looked as young and full as an infant's. Luke had absolutely no idea how old this woman might be. Luke looked at her in stunned amazement, "You knew Y- " he got out before she silenced him with a hand. Luke nodded. "Come," she said aloud, "let's have some tea." she added. "It's probably not what you're used to at home, CEstallian tea is unique. Luke took the tea she offered and sipped it. The warm, fruity smelling steam tickled his nose. "Why don't we sit near the windows and enjoy the view?" CEstallia suggested. Two lounge chairs sat near another window. As Luke approached, the room began to slowly tilt. The tea cup slipped from Luke's hand in what to his mind was slow motion; it seemed an eternity before the cup reached the floor. He heard CEstallia's apology clearly. If Luke hadn't been concentrating so hard on standing up, he would have wondered if that was some sort of insult. He felt CEstallia grasp him about the waist and help him to sit gently down. He turned to thank her, but found he couldn't keep his eyes open. Millennium Falcon "Wait a minute, you guys," Rae said, breaking off from her part in trying to get the attention of whoever was speaking on the other side of the door. "Look at this." She pointed to a faint edge in the wall near the door. Both Scully and Mulder quickly lost interest in what was proving to be a futile effort, anyway. The voices simply continued as their cries went unheard. "It looks like a panel of some kind," Scully said, stepping in for a closer examination. The edges faintly formed a rectangular outline. "Well, let's open it," Rae said, reaching into her pocket. She smiled in satisfaction as she pulled out her multitool. She'd always figured that one day the little gadget would come in handy. Scully raised an eyebrow when she saw what Rae had in her hand. She kept one just like it in her purse. Rae pried at the faint edges of the panel with the knife section. She was only able to get up an edge, just enough to see faint green and red light flickering beyond. "Hey! I think this is some kind of control panel," Rae said, excited. "I just can't seem to get it all the way up," she gritted as the panel popped back into place. "Let me try it," Mulder said, reaching for the knife. Rae handed it over reluctantly. She'd wanted to be the one to open it. After all, things like this had been part of her job. 'Had been was right' and inner voice replied. Rae forcefully pushed the thoughts of work away. It only reminded her of how turned upside down her life had become in the course of 24 hours. She was not ready to deal with that. Mulder examined the area that Rae had worked on. He placed a hand on the rectangular surface for leverage and placed the knife in the bottom outline. Beneath his palm the panel gave slightly. He drew his hand back in surprise at the movement. The panel slid up and open. "What'd you do?" Rae asked. She could have sworn that he'd barely even touched the knife to the wall. Mulder shrugged. "I guess I've just got that Midas touch," he said, preoccupied with what had been hidden by the panel. Rae and Scully leaned in for a better look. Red and green lights were illuminated within the enclosure. Several bundles ran through the enclosed space. Beside and beneath the bundles was a square control pad containing back-lit buttons. To one corner of the enclosure were two valves with color markings. "On T.V. there's always a manual override placed conveniently near the locked door," Mulder said, already pondering which button to push first. "Yeah," Rae said, leaning in. "How about this one?" She pushed one of the green buttons on the panel. The color of the button seemed to darken. She pushed it again and held it for a few seconds. Everyone looked expectantly in the direction of the door. Nothing happened. "Hmm. Maybe I should try one of the red ones," Rae mused aloud as the two agents looked on. There was a soft hissing sound and the red button went completely dark. Everyone looked at one another for a second. Nothing else happened. "How about that valve?" Mulder asked, pointing toward the object in question. Rae made a face, "Dunno. It's worth a try." She stepped back slightly for leverage. It wasn't easy to turn. She moved further back to allow Mulder access after he made a gesture to help. Scully frowned thoughtfully. In her opinion, if something was difficult to turn, there was a reason. That hissing sound that the red button had made hadn't filled her with confidence, either. "We don't know what we could do by indiscriminately pushing buttons," she spoke up. "These can't be all that important," Mulder reasoned. "Since they're in this...," he gestured vaguely about the room, "closet, we could probably assume these controls belong to some of this door's mechanisms or maybe some minor system for just this room." "Like what, Mulder?" Scully asked. "For all we know this could be an auto-destruct switch." Mulder shook his head. "The self destruct is always in the engine room or on the bridge." "But how can you know that? For all we know this could *be* the bridge," Scully said, exasperated, rubbing a hand over her brow. She was getting warm. And Mulder watched way too much T.V. Mulder turned the valve before answering. Nothing happened. "It's perfectly logical. Think about it, Scully..." He turned to face her. Rae tuned their debate out as she stepped closer to the door. The voices outside were still going on but there was another sound. "Uh-Ohh," she whispered. Both Scully and Mulder froze at her softly spoken word. * * * * * * Han Solo opened his eyes to the sound of voices. The blurry vision of white light focused into the corridor ceiling of the Falcon's entry hall. Han couldn't quite remember how he'd gotten there, but he knew continuing to lie there would get him nowhere. He made ready to get up from the floor. The tightness in his right shoulder stopped him--that and the way the room tilted disarmingly. He immediately squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, though it was very slowly, it still took several seconds before the room would settled down to one single image, instead of three. The voices, however, didn't go away. Han took in a breath and tried again. This time he leaned heavily into a side panel, and hoped that the pounding in his head would abate. No such luck. When Han was finally to his feet, he tried to access the damage to his person. He grimaced when he saw what had become of his favorite shirt; the one Leia had given him on their last anniversary. Blood covered fully half of it and what wasn't blood-covered was cut to shreds. "Wonderful..." he muttered under his breath, pushing unsteadily off from the wall. He had to find Chewie. But first he needed something to steady his head. The med. locker, for some reason, wasn't in the main galley, but sat near where he'd only just picked himself up from. He figured Chewie had left it there. Han slapped a small stabilizer patch behind his ear and at his temple. He felt relief from the headache and dizziness almost immediately. The voices sounded much clearer than they had before, if a bit fast. Han wondered where the voices were coming from. It sounded as if they were being piped over the Falcon's comm system--but from where? "Chewie?" he called out as he headed toward the front of the ship. Along the way, his foot splattered into something wet. He looked down to find a growing puddle of a yellow liquid being released from a valve near a storage room. "Chewie!" * * * * * * Mulder jumped back toward the panel to try to shut off the valve. The puddle beneath the door seemed to grow steadily larger despite his efforts. And, unless it was his imagination, it was getting downright warm. He could feel perspiration beading on his brow. Rae looked at the switch pad and tried to remember exactly which button she'd pushed first. Maybe pushing it again would shut whatever was leaking off. Scully kept her 'I-told-you-sos' to herself. She did step back against the wall, arms folded, to watch Mulder and Rae try to figure out what they'd done, though. Then a sound caught her attention. A sound other than the voices that were still speaking. "Listen." she said, holding a silencing hand up to the two working at the panel. The sound came again. The panel was again forgotten. "Help us! Open the door! Help..." the three of them again, returned to banging on the door hoping someone would hear and take mercy on them. They were all stunned when the door slid open, much slower than it had slid shut, to reveal the man who had been shot, standing before them wearing a mutinous expression. It didn't matter that they didn't understand a word of the angry torrent that followed; they got the message loud and clear: He was not happy to see them. The sounds of the little droid rolling their direction didn't make them feel anymore at ease. They'd all jerked to attention at the sound. "What now, Mulder," Scully asked. "Are we going to be thrown out the airlock?" Mulder was about to respond when a voice, sounding very much like Scully, began to speak in a different language. The man looked up and about him in surprise. "Well I'll be..." Han started then looked back to the trio. "And that isn't totally out of the question," he said pointing a finger in their general direction. Mulder, Scully and Rae were surprised to hear what he'd said translated over the comm system. They were even more surprised when the meaning sunk in. The sounds of the little droid were rolling closer. Rae glanced at the two agents and at the man who'd just threatened to throw them out of the airlock. Scully had taken off her jacket, exposing her holster--and her gun. In a split second decision, Rae dived for Scully's gun and swung it on Han. "Alright!" she squeaked out. "You're taking us back to Earth!" She had meant to be a little more forceful, but her hands trembled and her voice was a little less than steady. It didn't help at all that the translator mimicked the shakiness in her voice. Han looked at her as if she were a complete idiot. Scully sighed and rolled her eyes. Mulder raised a hand to his brow squeezing his temple. "What do you think you're doing?" Han asked. The translator tracked his words over the comm system. "Put that thing down!" That was when Artoo rolled into the room. He let out a rude sounding series of squawks and chirps. His extension arm came up and ready. "Rae," Mulder said quietly, "I think you should give that back to Scully now." Rae glanced at Mulder uncertainly. "You sure?" she asked. Mulder nodded ruefully. "I don't think our friend really means to harm us." Mulder raised his eyes to Han, who still carried an expression of utter disbelief. Han did nod his head, though, to confirm the statement. Scully held her hand out to Rae. After a second, Rae carefully placed the gun there. "Thank you," Scully said, none too happy. Rae looked contritely around her. She'd been trying to save everyone and now they were all mad at her. "I'm sorry I broke your ship," she said, a giggle worked its way to the back of her throat. Her eyes watered and she blinked rapidly with the effort of holding it back. "Uh...it's...nothing," Han said. "Just a fluid leak." He didn't want her crying all over his ship. It was probably better to tell her later that the fluid that was leaking all over the floor was coolant fluid. "It'll be okay," he added when she still looked close to tears. The fact that Han was trying to be nice pushed Rae over the edge. >From his expression alone, she suspected that the yellow fluid was more important than he was letting on. The giggles won. "Here we go again," Scully said. Coruscant, Imperial Palace "I'm very sorry, Madame Organa Solo. We are unable to locate your party. Perhaps he is exploring." The voice responded wearily to Leia's inquiry. At first the operator had acted as if there were no Luke Skywalker on CEstallia. Leia had finally convinced her of her credentials. "Could you please just check one more time?" Leia requested politely. She would have asked that someone go and personally check his room, but that would probably be pushing it. She didn't want to become 'accidentally' disconnected. Besides, Luke wouldn't ignore a page. But she really felt the need to talk to him. Tapping a nervous finger against her desktop helped a little. "Madame," the voice returned. "Once again, I'm sorry. I'll be sure to inform him of your urgent inquiry as soon as he returns to his rooms. CEstallian Out." The operator disconnected, more than a little irritated. Leia rested her head in her hands, fighting the urge to scream. Where could Luke be that they couldn't locate him? Where was Han and Chewie? What was going on?! Leia, unable to sit behind her desk any longer, shut down her office systems and headed for her quarters. She wouldn't be able to get anything done, anyway. She needed to clear her head. She would do what Luke did. Millennium Falcon Han sat on the bunk across from his stowaways. Rae had finally managed to calm herself and he'd gotten the valve shut off and had recharged the hydraulics for the door before it had bleed off completely. He'd allowed the red-haired woman to look at his shoulder wound, reluctantly, after she'd said she was a doctor. And now that she was done, he had questions. Lots of questions. Han stared steadily across at Mulder, Scully and Rae. He still didn't know what to make of them. But, at least Artoo had managed to activate the Falcon's old translator program. It had come in quite handy on several occasions in his former line of work. In the business of buying and selling, however illegally, it was good to be able to communicate in something other than Basic. But, he really hadn't had occasion to use it since he'd met Leia. He was actually surprised it still worked. It basically had the same programming as Threepio, only in a less portable and less flexible form. It was capable of accessing only a handful of languages at a time. It was currently tracking his words, and replayed them in the language Artoo had programmed it for--whatever that was. The voices he'd heard must have been the translator on audible scan. "Alright," he said. "Let's take it from the top. Where's Chewie?" Han's expression did not falter as he waited for the translator to track. "They took him," Mulder said as if that explained everything. "Really?" Han asked sarcastically. "I sort of figured that. *Who* took him? Where?" Mulder glanced at Scully. 'They' had always been explanation enough on Earth. How could he explain who 'they' were to an outsider? He didn't think calling them 'the bad men' would quite do it. So, he cleared his throat and tried again. "The men who shot you have him." So much for dramatic effect. "Was he hurt?" Han asked in a carefully neutral tone. He'd been afraid *they* would be the 'they' Mulder was talking about. Whoever they were, they had weapons, primitive, but deadly nonetheless. He would need help getting Chewie back; especially with a hurt shoulder that he wasn't sure would make it back to Coruscant, much less survive a rescue. If Artoo had found it necessary to pull out of there, they must have been in serious trouble. "They shot him with a tranquilizer dart. It just slowed him down," Mulder replied. "Do you know where they took him?" "No," Mulder shook his head. "No idea." Han sighed. For the briefest second, he wished he'd told Luke where he was going. But, there was no time for that kind of thinking. The Falcon wasn't going to fix herself. * * * * * * Mulder found himself knee deep in dirty machinery. A foreign looking tool of some sort fell from an overhead railing, narrowly missing him. "Sorry," Han said. "Shoulder's not what it used to be." He stood, balanced precariously atop coolant piping. He worked one-handedly, his back propped against the lower paneling for the landing controls. He'd tried to explain to Mulder what needed to be done, but telling him what to do hadn't worked out so well. Since the translator had turned simple words like 'hammer' into 'hand held impacting device'; instructional terms had become indecipherable. In the end, he'd taught Mulder the name of the tools in Basic and did the work himself, while Mulder passed him the tools. Mulder handed the tool back to him. "So, there's been interstellar travel for centuries?" "Yeah," Han answered. "Far as I can tell. Where I come from, we don't much think about it. It's a way of life. Back in my smuggling days..." "You were a smuggler?" Mulder asked, awed. "Smuggling what?" "This and that," Han replied. "I'm civilized now, just don't ask my wife." Mulder chuckled. Scully had told him to keep an eye on Han. With his wound there was the very real possibility of infection or shock. Mulder found that talking to Han was like talking to a long lost friend. He didn't mind his assignment at all. Scully and Rae were busy refilling the coolant system with whatever spare fluid Han had been able to dig up. It hadn't been nearly enough. It was going to be nothing short of a miracle if they could keep the engine temperature within spec. Of course, Han didn't tell his passengers that. "Do you think the temperature's going to come down in here?" Mulder asked, running a sleeve over his brow. "Dunno." Han said, checking over his handiwork before slamming a panel shut. "That oughtta do it," he murmured. There was a slight twinge in his shoulder. He gingerly peeked under the jacket he'd pulled on over the bloody shirt. He didn't want to know what it was going to feel like if he didn't get back to Coruscant soon. There weren't many pain blockers left. "I wouldn't count on it though," he added, "had to reroute most of the coolant fluid to the engines." Han stepped slowly down from the piping. While Mulder replaced the tools, he activated the comlink. "Artoo, you done clamping that linkage?" A series of beeps and whistles sounded over the link. "I take it that was a 'yes'?" Mulder asked, looking up from the tool box. Han nodded following his train of thought. The translator had not bothered trying to simulate a voice for Artoo. The only way to truly know what he was saying was to read it from the tracking screen in the cockpit. Artoo had probably done that on purpose. "So where are we headed?" Mulder asked as they went up the corridor toward the front of the ship. "Home. For reinforcements." Earth Friday. Chewie awoke to find himself in a brilliantly lit room. The walls were made of a white padded material and extremely bright lights shone from a ceiling that was perhaps 15 meters tall. The bed that he lay on was made of the same soft padded material as the walls. There was a fountain in the corner with water constantly circling down a drain, there was a tray of a strange fruit near the water. Chewie let out a mournful cry. He'd been separated from his honor family. He took seriously the life debt he'd made to Han Solo for saving him from slavery. That bond had long ago transferred to Leia and their children. They were his family now. Chewie remembered that Han had been hurt and the other human had taken him. He didn't remember much else. Chewie had one objective at the moment--escape and somehow find his friend, because he had a really bad feeling about this planet. End part 8 =========================================================================== From: JackeeC <74363.2566@CompuServe.COM> Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: XJEDI VOL TWO! 9/24 Date: 23 Jan 1996 03:46:13 GMT XJEDI 9 (VOL. 2) ALL PREVIOUS DISCLAIMERS STILL IN FORCE. FUTURE ONES TOO FOR THAT MATTER. Benjamin Adams was on a mission--a most secret one. The small Karamac Cruiser that he piloted was said to be one of the fastest, most maneuverable ships in the MW galaxy. Ben knew this was true in both galaxies. They'd tested the thing with the Earth pilots, but they'd been too weak. The stress had made them ill. In the end, only those strong in the force could handle this one and he could handle it well. The carrier ship had dropped him at the Auxillary Station in the Milky Way. The Cruisers had been moved there after that incident at Ellens when that F.B.I. Agent had managed to get inside. The Group had been convinced by the incident that the 'aircraft' was incompatible with human physiology and not worth the risk of exposure. But, of course, they knew nothing about the force. Few did. They had killed the Project, which had fit quite well into the plan of the Inner Circle. The 'aircraft' had been ordered disassembled. The Inner Circle had acquired it and put it on a private carrier and delivered it to an auxilary base hidden in the Milky Way. There, it had been fitted with hyperdrive engines. The true nature of the ship had remained secret to the Group and only the Inner Circle, an even smaller group within the Group knew of it. And only the General, the true Leader, knew everything. Even his own son, a much respected member of the Inner Circle in his own right, didn't have the complete picture. But, he was beginning to figure it out. Now, he piloted the ship toward a hidden clinic on a secret planet, in the heart of territory that few knew the Emperor had held. Precise coordinates had to be used if the ship was to go undetected by planetary scans. He'd committed the coordinates and names and places of each doctor to memory. He was due to collect the first member of the team. The Emperor had prepared for every contingency. Even his death. Millennium Falcon Dana Scully wiped her brow with the back of her hand. The thin blouse she wore clung to her back like a very irritating second skin. The yellow liquid in the coolant compartment gurgled and spewed as it sank slowly throughout the system. The fluid was meant to be added at a regulated pace by a pumping system, on the ground, in a well equipped hanger. But since they were hanging in space with engines off-line and no power to speak of to spare for a pump, Scully and Rae were given the unenviable task of refilling the coolant drum--by hand, using buckets. The two were forced to fill the drum and then wait while the liquid seeped into all of the necessary systems. The job had long since grown old. But, there was no way Scully was going to allow Han to do it. In fact, to Scully's way of thinking it would have been absolute justice if Mulder and Rae had been the ones to pull this particular task. Han had explained that the engines needed to be repaired, but could not be restarted until the coolant level was high enough. So, she'd volunteered Rae and herself for refill duty while Han and Mulder worked on the engines. The sooner they got Han to a medical facility, the better she'd feel. Judging from the amount of blood-loss he'd suffered, she was surprised he was still upright. Those medical patches must contain a pretty powerful stimulant. But, even a strong stimulant couldn't last forever. His body would eventually demand rest. At least Mulder was with him, helping with the engine repair, where he, and by extension, she, could keep an eye on him. Han had, at least allowed her to check his wound. Once. The area was completely covered over with what appeared to be a patch of human skin. It had sealed the wound nicely. Han had called it synthflesh. Artoo had done wonders. Her contribution to his care had been to convince him to wear a sling to immobilize his shoulder somewhat. Glancing over at Rae, she saw that her head was nodding. Scully elbowed her softly. They both needed to be awake, if not alert. Sleep was currently not an option. There was more coolant fluid to tote...whenever it worked itself down sufficiently. Scully had come to find that the fluid compartment was a bit temperamental. She glanced at the face of her watch. It was 0507. Friday. Well, one thing was for sure, there would be no date tonight. * * * * * * Han eyed the gauge of the Falcon's backup panel. It wasn't going to hold. Mulder, with a pair of Han's overalls pulled over the once white T-shirt and dark dress slacks, was trying to work a pair of hydrospanners. Han pushed himself wearily away from the panel on which he'd been leaning. Han's lightheadedness was turning into outright dizziness. They'd been in hyperspace for quite a while, and were still hours out from Coruscant. But the Falcon, in true form, was limping her way home. None of the ship's systems had appreciated two rough rides through that vortex; no matter how short they'd been. And the 'experiments' with the coolant system hadn't helped. "Come on, we gotta get this level up if we don't want these babies to burn up under us. That'll have to wait." Mulder's bloodshot eyes looked to Han's equally exhausted ones, "Sure," he said. This flying around in outer space was not all it was cracked up to be. He followed Han to the engine chamber. Again. Earth The General puffed away on the ever present cigarette. The meeting would convene soon. He waited at the head of the table, pleased with himself. He had captured the Wookiee from that renegade ship. It could be the tool he needed to press his advantage. That traitor, One, would be punished for his failure. Someone had gotten through the Gate. That someone had to have had a key. There were no more keys in the home galaxy, except for the keys One and his people possessed. The General had made sure that no one else on Earth, save himself, had access to the keys in this galaxy. The General's mouth twisted with distaste when he thought of the way that One had broken the news to him. He had been shocked. Worse than the shock of it, was that his father, Palpatine, had been betrayed by Vader himself! The General remembered vividly the occasion when his father had informed him that Vader would be his right hand. He had been bitter. But it was with a bit of grim satisfaction that he considered his father's reaction when he returned. Palpatine would have to admit that his son had been correct. Blood ties could be stronger than force ties. Palpatine had sent him to this place when he had first began to acquire power. To scout out this galaxy, to organize, to prepare, to conquer from within, to restart the work that had been left off so many years before by the ancient ones. It had taken time for him to build his Circle and acquire the needed materials for the ships. He had not needed his father's presence for the taking of this galaxy. The force was useful for some things. But, not for all. The General's own hard work had gained him his power in this place. This galaxy *would* be his. But, he had much more work to do. There were other *visitors* to contend with, now. He didn't have the time or manpower to retake the Empire. If he were to leave, the other *visitors* would gain the upper hand in this galaxy. He had one option. He would implement the plan his father had set in place so many years ago. The curtains rustled and four robed figures entered the darkened room. They glided across the floor to the table, standing to one side of it-- they chose not to sit. The hoods of the robes fully obscured their features. Anyone looking on might have thought they were a group of monks, for, these little ones projected an image of height that they didn't have. "Report," The General ordered disinterestedly. One of the elfin men stepped forward and removed his hood. The gray skin was slightly mottled green, showing that he was still 'young' among his kind. "Why are *you* here?" The general demanded in a softly ominous voice. The elfin man held his ground. He was not afraid of the General. He disliked him as intensely as One did. But, the deal had been made. "He attends other matters," the elfin man said. The general blew his smoke down the length of the table. He liked it better when he didn't have to see these creatures, only the evidence of their work. Perhaps he should have kept better tabs on them over the years, so that this situation might have been avoided. But, he knew, they only told him what he directly asked. He suspected that One had found other 'matters to attend to' because he did not wish to be punished. Perhaps One had chosen not to inform him of Palpatine's death because he wanted the other galaxy for himself. The General smiled a humorless smile. One did not know what he did. If he did, he would not have revealed his duplicity. One *would* be punished for that indiscretion. "Continue," he told the little man. The little man's eyes narrowed. He would have to warn One. The General was too used to the humans inability to sense the emotions of others; humans ignorant to the power of the force. The General was far too satisfied with himself. He was hiding a secret knowledge. It was vital to survival for the little man and his kind to know the General's secrets. "Someone else has taken the Hinderer. The probe ship recorded it and a Correllian freighter jumping into hyperspace." "Where did it go?" the General asked. "We are not sure, we believe it may have gone to the capital city of Coruscant." "Why did you not follow?" "You forget, we cannot enter the galaxy proper. *You* have not lived up to that part of the deal. You have not found a way to remove this... impediment." Only the slightest amount of bitterness crept into his voice. "I do not forget." The General smiled. "Patience. Have you devised a plan to retrieve your companions and any...cargo?" "One is working on that." "*I* have devised a plan of my own." The General said dismissing One's work. Then, "there is another matter. The Correllian freighter came *here*. I wonder how they gained a key to the Gate? Surely, there is not a leak in your association?" The elfin man's color deepened dramatically. The General continued, "I have captured one of them. A Wookiee, find out who he is, and bring the information back to me, he is a bit...uncooperative." There were ways to make a Wookiee talk. But, none easily available on this planet. "A Wookiee?" the elfin man asked surprised. "You have a Wookiee here?" The General looked icily at the little man. He would not stoop to repeat himself. "Do you know something of it?" was all he asked. "There is a certain Han Solo, husband to Leia Organa Solo, who is a member of the New Republic Council. He possesses a Correllian Freighter and a Wookiee associate, Chewbacca. They are most influential people, known across the galaxy as heroes. If they have the Hinderer, matters are worse." "Why is that?" the General asked, growing more irritated. One had warned of rough times ahead. "Leia Organa Solo is sister to Luke Skywalker son of...yes," the little man nodded as the General began to catch on. "Son of Anakin," he finished. Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader, the one who had betrayed his father. His children had stolen the Empire?! He remembered what his father had told him so long ago: 'The Skywalker's will leave a great mark on the galaxy. Remember, son, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.' The General forced the hardness from his face. The anger would strengthen him, but he didn't want to give these ones the pleasure of seeing that they had affected him. A smile spread again. They would all pay. They didn't know what he knew. His father *would* avenge himself on the remaining Skywalkers. CEstallia, somewhere in Central City Luke Skywalker lay stretched out on the lounge. CEstallia sat over him, watching him. He had known instinctively to trust her. Yoda had promised that he would when the time came. She had kept an eye on him in her meditations; he could still be trusted. His difficult time remained in his future. CEstallia closed her eyes and joined him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luke found himself standing on a path, the sound of running waters not far in the distance. He could smell the delicate aroma of the flowers that peppered the nearby rock walls. CEstallia's double suns shone hazily through the treetops. he wondered. This would be a perfect place for meditation. The very atmosphere of the place inspired calmness, tranquillity. A moment later, CEstallia appeared. "What is this--," he began to speak, but his voice echoed distorted and unnaturally loud. CEstallia placed a finger over her lips, Luke asked, gesturing at the beautiful surroundings. CEstalllia reached out a hand and plucked a berry. Handing it to Luke, she added, Luke popped the berry into his mouth. Lifting his brows he added, She gave him a look full of meaning. she raised her arms gesturing at all that surrounded them, Luke's eyes widened. Seeing that Luke's questioning look only deepened, she continued. She led him to a rocky outgrowth that was just the right height for sitting and began her story. CEstallia paused to release a heavy sigh as she recalled a painful memory. Pushing it aside, she continued.