|
|
|
|
Chapter Fourty Nine Feeling
somewhat lost on board the ship, Jae Lee Reklaw goes in search of his friend
Meesahran. With Xana trying to form a relationship with her newly revealed
family, Jae is not quite sure where he fits in at the moment, and he does not
want to be in the way either. Hoping that Meesahran will have something to
occupy the time left on their journey to the Sanctuary, he reaches out with his
burgeoning awareness sense when he suddenly can feel her fierce aggression
pouring out in the cargo hold. As he enters the doorway he knows where the
aggression is coming from; he finds her pounding away on a practice dummy. Her
kicks are ferocious and her punches are enough to make even the strongest man
cringe, but what Jae is most struck by are her agile dodges and flips. Meesahran
has truly grown into an amazing fighter in his absence. Flipping
over the dummy in a graceful and fluid maneuver that brings her back into
perfect position to deliver a death-blow and to notice Jae staring at her from
the doorway. “Hey! What are you doing there?” She asks, but with not so much
as even a trace of her breathing being labored. “Just
admiring the show, kid. Where’d you learn that stuff?” He asks as he walks
up to her, grabbing the towel on the bench at the doorway and throwing it to
her. Hanging
the towel around her neck, since she is not perspiring in the least, she laughs,
“Well, most of it I picked up at the Sanctuary, but Vic showed me a few moves
too… Mostly dirty tricks, but sometimes that’s what you need.” Jae
blushes slightly at the mention of Vic Orion and the suggested relationship
between the only two people he has ever called friends. “Yeah, well, I can see
that… So, what’s with the workout?” Jae tries to change the subject to
something a little more comfortable. “Oh,
well, when I get to the Sanctuary I usually do some sparring and I like to
prepared for the slaughtering.” Meesahran gives him a knowing wink with her
answer. “Wouldn’t
that normally involve working with something other than a dummy?” Putting
her hands firmly on her hips, “Well, now that wouldn’t be an offer, would
it?” Jae
begins pulling off his boots after he has thrown his jacket on a nearby chair,
“More like a challenge.” He displays his famous cockeyed grin with a gleam
in his eye. “That
sounds like a guerfel’s errand if you
ask me.” Tossing
his boots under the chair where his jacket is laying, “Well, you know the old
saying don’t you?… Saltan valoramosa n teval mor.” Meesahran
begins to laugh out loud at his rusty Corellian, “You need me around too much,
if only to keep your Corellian from getting so broken. It’s ‘tevalk mord,’
you big nerf!” Standing
up with a puzzled look on his face, “Really? Hmmmm… Guess that explains why
I always get a laugh when I say that line on Corellia.” Pulling his arms back
behind his back and linking his fingers, Jae brings his arms to almost over his
head in a stretch. After releasing his hands, he hangs his arms down at his
sides and then cranes his neck from side to side. Next, he brings each knee into
his chest and then rolls each of his shoulders. “Are
you ready yet, old man?… I can hear you creaking all the way over here.”
Meesahran winks at him with her little jibe. “Yeah,
yeah, yeah… You’ll be there soon enough, Mees.” Spinning his torso as far
around in each direction as he can, he then shakes his arms out while rolling
his neck around his shoulders. “All right, what are we doing? Street-fighting,
grappling, or straight out Corellisi
smackdown?” “Why
limit ourselves?” “Okay,
but we need some ground rules… If you’ve taken lessons from Vic, I know all
too well you could be capable of.” Jae notices the chronometer on his wrist
and takes it of, then throws it on top of his jacket. “Fair
enough… No low blows, no hair, no eyes sound good to you?” “And
no Force using?” Jae asks with a cocked eyebrow. “If
you insist.” Her wink is somewhat offsetting to Jae, and he begins to wonder
if he has not gotten in over his head again. They
slowly circle one another, trying to size up each other before the fight really
begins. After a minute of this, the anticipation is too much for Jae, and moves
in for the first attack. Getting all the way in to her shoulder, Jae figures he
has caught her off-guard until he finds his arm firmly in her grasp and he is
suddenly being pulled off-balance and hurled to the floor. Quickly returning to
his feet before she can move in for the kill. Seeing an opportunity to catch
her, he makes a low sweep-kick that takes her off of her feet, but not for long,
because she simply rolls out into crouch. Both
on the ready once more, they each calculate what their next move will be. Jae
catches the look in her eyes just before she cartwheels over to him and catches
him in a scissor kick, but Jae has one chance to escape his head hitting the
decking and that is go with the motion of the pull and then catching her in a
reverse scissor leg lock. And he does it perfectly. However,
apparently Meesahran has learned a counter to this move because she manages to
land a whole leg across his solar plexus, knocking the wind right out of him,
and giving her enough time to get back to her feet before Jae can lunge one more
time. Sputtering
from the loss of air, Jae is quick to rise to his feet just in time to thwart
Meesahran’s next move. She comes in at him with a high spinning kick that,
although it connects, could have been much worse. In order to recover from the
kick Jae takes her leg in his arms and throws it up into her face, in time for
him to land an elbow in her solar plexus and knocking the wind out of her fro a
moment. Taking
that moment to catch his breath, Jae figures that he just might have time to get
one more shot in before she can retaliate, but he is wrong when he feels her
iron fist in his side just before she manages to hoist him up on her shoulder as
she tackles him into the decking, knocking the wind completely out him this
time. Sputtering and coughing, Jae can feel the frustration welling up in him
and he struggles to maintain control over it. Focus… As
the air returns to his lungs Jae can sense Meesahran coming in to finish him off
and rears back on his hands and uses his legs to spring himself back to his feet
and the momentum helps him to complete the flip and catch Meesahran in a scissor
hold around her neck, throwing her to the deck hard. As
the light begins to fade from her eyes, Jae suddenly becomes worried that he
went too far. “Mees!… Mees, wake up!” Releasing his grip around her neck,
he reaches out and begins to cradle her head in his lap, pushing the hair out of
her face and trying to reach out to her, “Mees, come on, kid. I’m sorry, I
didn’t realize I’d make you hit the deck that hard.” Focus…
Jae stretches out once more, attempting to find her through their bond. “Hey,
no fair.” Her eyes start to flicker, “We said no Force using.” Her eyes
open fully and he can see that she is still a little dazed. “Chumani,
I swear you’re gonna be the death of me!” He shakes his head at Meesahran as
she begins to come around from the blow to her head. “Lucky
shot is all… Next time I’ll know better than to give you so much slack.”
She winks at him, but with enough difficulty that he knows she really caught a
bad blow. “Yeah,
whatever you say, Mees… Let’s see if you can stand up now, okay?” She nods
slightly and he gingerly assists her in standing up. Her legs are a little
wobbly, but she appears to be fine. Rubbing
the back of her head, while Jae holds on to her arm, “Man, that decking is
really hard… I thought it might have softened after all these years.” She
chuckles a little at her joke. “Familiar
with that decking, are we?” Jae gives her one of his patented grins. “Yeah,
well, don’t let Master Mussiri’s age and size fool you… That guy can pack
one spectacular whollup.” Jae
shakes his head in understanding, “You don’t have to tell me, he already
whips my tail every time we spar.” Walking her over to the billet towards the
back of the cargo hold, “Let’s get you to your bunk so you can lie down for
a while.” “It’s
not so bad, once you get used to the room spinning in three directions.” They
both chuckle at her joke this time, but under it all, Jae is really concerned
that he may have hurt her. As he helps her to lower to the billet, it is almost
as though she has picked up on his fears, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.
I’m a Corellian, we have thick skulls.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “You seem
anxious, young one… Is there something troubling you? Aside from your recent
beating, that is?” Master Mussiri places a caring hand upon his pupil’s
shoulder as he questions her mood, but also tries to lighten the situation. Looking up into
his knowing eyes, Meesahran shrugs, “No, it’s just that it’s been so long
since we’ve been back to the Sanctuary, that I’m a little excited to see
everyone.” Her anxiety is
obvious in her demeanor, but the master can appreciate her excitement. With so
many things changing in the galaxy, having the Sanctuary as a touchstone has
always provided Master Falion with great comfort. Seeing his apprentice
garnering such joy from the mere thought of arriving there lends a tender warmth
to his heart. “Yes, it shall be good to be home… Even it does turn into a
short visit…” Turning in her
seat, she faces her master with a puzzled look upon her face, “Master, do you
really think they will send us out again, so quickly?” Pausing a
moment before answering his student, “My child, there are a great many things
developing in the galaxy and I fear peace may not be one of them.” Looking deep
within herself, Meesahran comes to the same conclusion and nods her head in
understanding. Turning her gaze into one of youthful hope, she then says,
“Well, I hope I at least get a chance to spar with Master Bowen while we’re
there… It’s been a while since I had a good saber workout.” Adding a wink
to last words, Master Mussiri smiles at his young companions jibe and they both
a have a pleasant chuckle over the private joke.
Hearing
their laughter, Jae-Lee is hesitant to intrude, but decides that he has talk
things out with Meesahran and plunges forward into the cockpit. “Hey, what’s
the joke?” Stroking his
mustachio and turning to face Jae, Master Mussiri is the one to answer, “Oh,
just another attempt to make the old man fell evermore ancient.” Moving aside
to allow Jae entrance into the cockpit. “If you young people shall excuse me,
I must attend to my meditation. Good day to you both.” And with barely a
whisper, the master exits the cockpit, leaving Jae-Lee to make the first move. “Hey Mees,
you got some time on your hands?” He says while shoving his hands deep into
his flight suit pockets. Not picking up
on his intent, Meesahran returns to her instrument panels, “Yeah, sure,
what’s on your mind?” His silence
lets her know that he is after something more than a casual conversation, and so
she turns around to face him, “What is it, Jae?” As the words
roll off of her lips Jae can still see the effects of their recent match in her
eyes. They remain slightly glassy from the blow she received to the head. “Um,
hey… Are you sure you’re okay at the controls?” Unconsciously
reaching up for the bump on the back of her head, “I’m fine, really. As long
as I don’t move too fast, the room stays just where it needs to be.” She
gives him one of those winks that would probably melt anyone else; anyone who
was not Jae that is. “Still, I’m
really sorry about that. I just got a little carried away, I guess…” He
trails off just bit, biting back the guilt. “Don’t
worry about it, Jae. If the table had been reversed, I’d have taken the same
opportunity. That’s what happens when you match up. Besides, I’ve had
worse.” As soon as Meesahran catches sight of Jae wince with her words, she
regrets having said them, “Look, I’m fine, you’re fine, we’re all fine.
It’s done, and I don’t regret any part of it…” She crosses to him and
places a hand on his forearm, “Besides, now when that happens in a real fight,
I’ll know how to counter it.” Looking into
her eyes, and seeing the honesty there, Jae is able to relax a bit. “Thanks,
Mees. That means a lot.” Relieved of that pressure Jae plunks himself down at
the navigation station. “I don’t know, I guess I’m just a little at loose
ends right now.” Taking his cue,
she sits down in the pilot’s chair once more. “Worried about where you stand
with Xana?” “Ye-, well
no, not really. I never had any reason to think that would work, so I’ve got
nothing to lose there.” Meesahran shakes her head at his statement, “Look
Mees, quit the matchmaking petchuk. That’s the least of my worries
right now. I’ve got to decide how I’m gonna live my life after this… I
mean, I’ve spent the better part of my life searching for the impossible. And
even though I know that, it’s really hard to give up on something you’ve
spent your life doing.” Leaning back in
her chair and crossing her arms, she contemplates an answer before she speaks,
“Well, for me, I’d have to ask myself if what I was doing gave me any
satisfaction. Really, when was the last time you got any joy out of this
search?” “I know…
It’s just that it’s been my whole life. How do you give that up?” “How can you
hold on nothing for so long? I gave up finding ‘real’ family before I even
met you, Jae. And what I found when I stopped looking, was better than anything
I ever remembered family was supposed to be.” Jae is struck a
moment by her words. He never realized that by going on this fruitless (and in
the end pointless) quest, he has forsaken the only family he has ever really
known. All those years of being alone, all that wasted energy. How could I
have been so idiotic? Years of
practice. Jae blushes
slightly at Meesahran’s overhearing his thoughts. “Guess I
still need to work on not projecting that stuff, huh?” “Actually,
you’re getting much better… I just happen to be a pretty good empath.” The
two chuckle a little at the joke. “Though not
as good as some others.” Jae jumps a bit at the surprise visitor. “Hey, Xana…
You’re getting much better at that sneakin’ up thing.” Meesahran winks as
she teases her friend. “Do not even
try to play that trick, Meesahran… You felt my presence the moment I entered
the corridor leading to the cockpit.” Xana places a hand upon her hip,
challenging her friend to own up to the truth. “Yeah, well,
there’s that too… Hey, Jae, since you’re here and I got this amazing
headache.” She winks at him, “Can you handle the controls while I catch a
few Z’s before we reach the Core?” She gathers up her things and is almost
out the door before Jae can respond. Standing up to
answer her, “Yeah sure… What’s up with her?” He asks of Xana with a
puzzled look upon his face. “Sorry, that
was my fault.” His puzzled expression grows. Xana takes his arms and motions
for him to take his seat once more. “I asked her to give us a few moments
alone… When I came out of my room, I asked her, that’s why she knew I was
coming in.” Still puzzled,
but beginning to see that there are a great many things that he still needs to
learn, “Oh, so what’s this all about?” Xana takes the
seat beside him and takes Jae’s hands in hers, “I realized that I had not
even spoken to you in more than a standard day. I was worried you may have
believed I had forgotten about you.” She gives him a broad and very warm
smile. Melting from
that smile, “Yeah, well, I knew you had a lot going on.” Looking down at his
hands as he speaks. “Yes, I do,
but that does not mean you should not be included in those things. And I am
terribly offended that you believed you should.” Jae looks up
into her eyes with a start. Surprised at her statement he blunderingly tries to
respond, “Xana, I just-…” “No, I’ll not hear a word of it… I want you to come into the galley this evening and share a meal with us.” She places a hand upon his cheek and begins to stroke his face with her thumb. “My grandmother would very much like to know you better.” And a new fear has just fallen over Jae.
Creator: PtrsonsZOO (Jennifer)
*SPECIAL NOTE: Due to circumstances beyond our control, the rest of the story will be written by PtrsonsZOO (Jennifer)
Back to Index Continue to Next Chapter ©2004 Rocky
Mountain Fan Force |