Star Wars:

When Alderaan Went Kablooey...

 

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Author: Marina Kenobi

Summary: A simple tale of a group of people whose lives were affected by the destruction of Alderaan.

Spoilers: For the original Star Wars movie, but who hasn’t seen that?  A few spoilers for some of Corra Ven-Jade’s stories.

Disclaimer: As much fun as it would be to own the Star Wars universe, I don’t.  Mr. Lucas does.  I just borrowed it for a little while… I don’t think anyone would want me to have control of it permanently!  I’m not making any money off this story.  I also stole most of Corra’s characters for this story…They’re kinda fun to play with!  (I promise to put them back when I’m done…)

Feedback: Marina_Kenobi@yahoo.com or Arcadia_Organa@hotmail.com …I like constructive criticism, not flames!

Acknowledgements: My fearless editor Marista…thanks for taking time to look for my mistakes.  And muchas gracias to Corra…for the laughs, ideas, snacks, encouragement, characters, Mr. X, and duct-tape…

 

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“If I hear one more Imp complain, I think I’m going to scream,” Aryn announced a few days later, sinking into one of the chairs in the private lounge of the Thul flagship.

         

“It’s that bad?” Arcadia asked.  She was sitting at the hologaming table, in between moves in her game with Leonia.  Bornan was in another chair studying a trade report; Mrlin was fiddling around with one of the computer consoles; and Jakory was intently studying a play script from a spot on the floor near Dia.

         

“Worse,” Aryn answered Arcadia’s question.  “I still don’t understand how these bumbling fools created a government that actually works.”

         

“Or does it work?”  Leonia questioned, her move finished.  “Perhaps we are only meant to think—oh, stang.”

         

Arcadia had won the game with one move.  It was the third time in a row Leonia had lost to Dia.  She was not a happy camper.

         

“Why don’t you see if you can beat her, Aryn?” Leonia asked, exasperated.  “I’ve given up on ever winning.”

         

“Sure.  Why not?” Aryn agreed.  She took Leonia’s spot at the hologaming table.

         

Leonia wasn’t really interested in watching the game, so she looked around for something else to do.  Her eyes fell upon Jakory.

         

“Little brother!” she exclaimed.

         

“Hmm?” Came the response.  He was only halfway paying attention.

         

“Do you remember any of those defensive moves that one squadronmate was teaching you?”

         

Jakory tore his eyes away from his script.  “Yes, I still remember most of them.  Why?”

         

“Could you teach me?” she asked.

         

Jakory shrugged and put down the script.  “Sure, if you want me to.”  He stood up and stretched.  Then he set about teaching his older sister some new tricks.

         

Mrlin and Bornan watched for awhile.  Then they began to quietly discuss some of the current political situations.

         

Arcadia and Aryn were engrossed in their game.  Dia heard her husband speak at one point, telling his sister, “Now, this hold works a whole lot better if you apply a little bit of your Force skill…” but she didn’t pay too close of attention.  She was concentrating on deciding where to move when she felt a gentle brush against her skin, in her abdominal area.  At first, she didn’t realize what was happening, but after the second movement, she quickly caught on.  Her child was moving.  Her child was alive!  Her husband had to feel this.  “Kor,” she called towards her husband.  Arcadia placed a hand over her stomach, trying to track the movement.  She kept her eye on the game.  Her husband had not come.

         

“Kor!” she demanded lightly, moving her piece.  Aryn sat, trying to consider her move.  When Aryn had moved and there was still no husband by her side, Arcadia tried again.

         

“Ja-kor-y!” she demanded, exasperated.  She took her eyes off the game and looked to where Jakory had been, trying to see what was keeping her husband–

         

And felt her heart jump into her throat.  Jakory and Leonia were both crumpled on the ground, unconscious.

         

“JAKORY!” Arcadia shrieked.  She dashed to her husband’s side.  She heard Mrlin shout Leonia’s name as well.  Dia knelt down next to her husband, cradling his head in her lap.  There was blood oozing from a gash on his right cheek, near his scar that was located by his right eye.  “Can I get a wet rag?” she breathed out.  Less than a minute later, Aryn was pushing one into her hand.  “Thanks,” she whispered.  Dia tenderly dabbed Jakory’s face with it, taking extra care not to hurt his wound even more.  When she had dabbed his whole face, his eyelids started to flicker.  Hazel eyes suddenly appeared.  Jakory tried to sit up.

         

“NO!” Arcadia said firmly, pushing him back down.  “You’re going to lay there.  Stay.  I’ll sit on you if you try getting up again.”

         

Jakory smiled weakly.  “That might not be so bad,” he whispered.

         

Arcadia glared at him fiercely.  “You stay put, flyboy!”

         

Leonia was stirring as well.  She didn’t appear as eager to sit up as Jakory had been.  She weakly brought her hand to her head, grimacing.

         

“What happened, Nia?” Mrlin asked his wife, crouched by her side.

         

“I’m not entirely sure yet,” she replied wryly, then coughed.

         

Jakory spoke up.  “One minute I heard millions of voices, including my mom and Jana…The next thing I knew, Arcadia was washing my face and I was laying here on the floor.”

         

“You heard voices?” Dia asked cautiously.

         

“He wasn’t the only one, Dia,” his sister commented, slowly easing herself up assisted by her husband.  “Only after I heard those voices—with Mom’s being rather distinctive—I didn’t hear anything.  Silence.  Then I think I collapsed.”  Leonia had a funny look on her face, like she was figuring something out and she didn’t like what the results were.

         

“Well, I didn’t hear anything,” Bornan spoke up.  Arcadia didn’t catch the rest of what he was saying because her husband attempting once more to sit up distracted her.  True to her word, she sat on his stomach so he couldn’t sit up.  She leaned closer to his face and spoke to him in a low voice.

         

“You don’t listen real well, do you?”

         

Jakory gave her a small grin.  “Oh, my hearing’s fine.  But it’s so much more fun getting you annoyed.  You look very sexy when annoyed.”

         

Arcadia rolled her eyes.  “Whatever.  You’re impossible to deal with.”

         

“But that’s why you love me, right?”

         

“Sometimes even I don’t know,” she replied.  She tucked her short hair behind her ears to get it out of her face.  Changing the subject, she asked, “Do you think this was a Force-related incident?”

         

Jakory narrowed his eyes in thought.  “You know, it very well could be…” He remained silent and thought for a bit.

         

As Arcadia watched him think, the movement in her abdomen began again, reminding her of why she had first wanted Jakory to come to her.  Without saying anything, she slid back to the floor, took Jakory’s hand, and placed it on her belly.  He sat up cautiously, wary of his wife’s reaction, and tried to figure out why she had his hand over her belly.  Then the baby moved again.  Jakory’s hazel eyes widened.  He looked up at Dia, down at her belly, and back up again.

         

“Wow,” was all he could say.

         

“That’s your child, Kor,” Dia told him gently.  “Your son or your daughter.  Alive, and moving around.”

         

Jakory looked back down at his hand.  “Amazing.  And hard to believe.”

         

“He or she started moving a little while ago, before we discovered you had collapsed,” Arcadia informed him.

         

Jakory smiled faintly.  “Since we don’t know the gender…can we refer to the child as ‘she’?”

         

Arcadia laughed lightly.  “If you really want to be outnumbered…”

         

Her husband shrugged, embarrassed.  “I like girls,” he muttered.

         

“Don’t worry, Kor, I think it’s cute,” she said, smirking.

         

There was no other sound in the room.  All eyes were on Arcadia and Jakory.

         

“What are you doing?” Mrlin asked his brother-in-law, breaking the silence.

         

Jakory looked up at Arcadia.  She shrugged.  “I guess it can’t be prevented now.  They might as well know.”

         

“Know what?” Bornan asked suspiciously.  Leonia stared at her brother and his wife for a moment; then her eyes lit up with comprehension.

         

“Arcadia’s pregnant,” Jakory announced proudly, his heart filled with joy.

         

Leonia was the first to speak.  “Congratulations, little brother,” she said, somewhat seriously.

         

Everyone else put in his or her own congratulations.

         

“How far along are you?” Aryn asked.

         

“Three months,” Arcadia replied.

         

“And you’ve known for how long?” Leonia questioned.

         

“Two months,” responded Jakory sheepishly.

         

Leonia shook her head.  “And you didn’t even tell the future aunt,” she said, mock-admonishingly.

         

Bornan’s comlink went off.  He spoke into it for a minute.  He turned pale, shut off his comlink, and went immediately over to the holovid display.  He flipped it on.

         

“What are you doing?” Aryn demanded of her husband.  He didn’t respond as the news came on the holovid.

         

The room grew deathly quiet as they understood what had occurred while watching the news.  A moment later, hysterics started.

 

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