Jedi Knight Nartris Venn whirled his lightsaber left and right in broad slashes of green light. He patted the curly head of the young boy that clung to him.
“It’s alright,” he said soothingly, picking up the child with his free arm. “Just keep your eyes closed a little longer. We’re almost there.” The child mumbled something in assent.
Nartris stepped over the armored bodies of his previous antagonists and continued down the rocky tunnel, listening intently for any warnings of trouble. The clatter of chitinous feet sounded a little ahead. Nartris could not see much in the darkness of the tunnel, even with the glow from his lightsaber illuminating the walls, but he could feel them coming – dozens of them.
He had been distracted from his diplomatic mission by the young child’s call for help, and they had been wandering the tunnels ever since, trying to avoid the spiny, meter-long arachnids that lived there. Nartris had no wish to fight the creatures, far from it. He merely wanted to get out of the tunnels with the child before he started suffering permanent claustrophobia. Regrettably, the tunnels were more complicated than any maze he had ever seen, and he had never possessed a very good sense of direction.
Since he had nowhere else to go, Nartris continued steadily towards the creatures. He reached out to them with the Force, trying to convince them of his peaceful intentions. Unfortunately, the creatures had very simple minds, dominated by only one command, Eat!
Nartris wished he didn’t look so tasty.
The arachnids scuttled closer. Nartris paused just before reaching another side tunnel and was bracing himself for another battle when an idea lit up his mind like a glowlamp. He drew on the Force, concentrating on the creatures, capturing the essence of what they wanted, and then projected that essence, dangling it before them like a lure.
He waited as they came closer and closer, and hoped his brilliant idea would work. Well, he thought, if I fail this time, it’ll be a fiasco just spectacular enough to join the ranks of my other catastrophic plans.
He concentrated harder. The arachnids followed his lead, scuttling deep into the side tunnel after the elusive temptation. Nartris released his hold on the creatures' minds, deactivated his lightsaber, and piled rocks to cover the tunnel entrance.
It worked, he thought. I just hope that isn’t the way out.
He continued on his journey until he finally discovered a way to the surface, and emerged into the sunlight, cradling the now-sleeping child in his arms. He had walked a good distance from the burrow before the boy woke up.
“Are they gone?” he asked worriedly, blinking his eyes.
“Of course,” Nartris reassured him. “Now…” he began, contemplating the unfamiliar terrain around him,
“…Do you have any idea where we are?”
That is a very very short Fic. I would like it if you got this in the Jedi Archives. I hope for a Sequel to this Fic.
Well, I actually wrote this to enter in a short story contest, but I was thinking of expanding on it. I've got an idea for a plot, unfortunately some of the details are rather hazy towards the end, so if I do post more, it'll have to be after all the kinks are worked out.
Love the punch line. :)
Welcome to CEC! Feel free to check out the stickies for more info and to leave tips of your own. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or another moderator. Whenever you want to put something in the Jedi Archives, the sticky there called How to post your fanfic here (
http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?t=167872) gives you the low-down on how to do that.
Have fun writing!
I've got a question. I'm thinking of writing more to this fic, but I'm not entirely sure if I will. If I do, it will make the story much longer. Should I get just this story posted in the Jedi Archives anyway, or should I wait for the day when/if, I finish the entire thing?
An excellent piece. The author ended it and wonders if she should continue. I say, yes!
Eh...It's a good shortie...Nothing more, just a good shortie. Love the punchline, too.
Great fic!
Although a little short, it was still very good, loved the punchline as many of the readers. :)
great fic, looking for more.
Alright, I promise I'll write more stuff on the character at least. This particular fic is done though. Later, though, after Christmas. Thanks for reading.
Hey, no problem. I love your fic, actually
Great! You should really write more fics.