Date: Sat, 28 May 2005 18:44:48 EDT
From: THRAWN5678@aol.com
Subject: Chosen One's Choice - Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply
anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you
are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, all
Star Wars characters and the trademark of Star Wars itself is the property
of George Lucas and Lucasfilms.

Author's Notes: Thanks to all who reviewed, I appreciate it. Here's the
revised second chapter of Chosen One. Hope you enjoy

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Chapter 2

Sion found himself sitting, cross-legged, on a grassy hilltop. He was not
aware of how he had gotten there, but somehow that fact didn`t concern him
in the least.  He looked out at the world around him. He could hear birds
chirping from a nearby tree. The sky was a beautiful blue. The two suns in
the sky shined down upon him as he sat there and stretched out his
feelings. He could feel the Force, as it flowed around and in him. The
birds, the tree; everything could be felt through the Force. Then he felt
another person approaching. Using the Force, Sion could sense the tension,
the worry in the person's emotions.

"Sion? Sion!! Where are you?" called the unknown person. Sion knew that he
knew this person, but for some reason he couldn't think of who it was. He
just knew that this person cared for him, and that he reciprocated those
feelings.

Flash.

Sion found himself lying on the ground in the Jedi Temple, in the
Archives. The room was a complete mess, bodies strewn about the floor. In
front of him were two Jedi, faced off against one another. One of them was
cloaked and hooded; all Sion knew was that they were fairly tall, and
wielded a silver-bladed lightsaber.  The other Jedi was shorter than the
cloaked Jedi. His sandy-colored hair was picking up weird highlights from
the blue-bladed lightsaber in his hand.  Unfortunately, try as he might,
Sion couldn`t recognize either Jedi.

"You will not hurt him, ever," proclaimed Sandy-Hair, gesturing towards
Sion with his lightsaber.

"Hurt him? I would never do that," replied the cloaked figure. "I'm his
only chance of survival."

"It's your very idea of protection that will hurt him," said Sandy-Hair
loudly. He raised the lightsaber in his hand, getting into a guard
position. The other raised his lightsaber as well, and struck. The two of
them dueled with their lightsabers, with no hint of either having an
advantage. Sion instinctly knew that if one won, he would be safe. But if
the other won, a fate worse than death awaited him. But he was unsure of
which one he should cheer on, as he still did not recognize either of them.
All of a sudden, the whole room began to shake. The two Jedi dueling paid
it no heed, as if they did not notice at all.

"Sion!!! Sion, wake up!!"

Sion blearily opened his eyes. He managed to focus them enough to see the
face of Anakin right in front of him.

"A..Anakin?" asked Sion.

"Yup, it's me," said Anakin cheerfully. "Have a nice snooze?"

"I guess so," said Sion groggily. "I had some pretty intense dreams.."

"Intense dreams?" asked Anakin thoughtfully. "I thought that Jedi didn't
have dreams.  We have visions."

"Well, I'm not a Jedi yet," said Sion. "So I'm still allowed to have
dreams." With that, Sion stuck his tongue out at Anakin.

Anakin just shook his head, trying to fight back laughter.

Fully awake by this time, Sion focused his gaze on the smiling boy in front
of him.  He still couldn't get over how handsome Anakin was. He looked into
Anakin's eyes, mesmerized by the hazel orbs that looked back at him with a
combination of mirth, slight worry over Sion's physical condition, and a
certain twinkle that Sion was unable to identify.

Hoping to break the now awkward silence that had befallen them, Anakin
gestured to the table next to Sion's narrow bed. "I brought you some
food. It's from the cafeteria, but I figured this way you wouldn't have to
overexert yourself just for this stuff."

"Thanks, Anakin," said Sion shyly, quickly turning his head away. 'You
idiot!' Sion silently berated yourself. 'Why don't you just blatantly check
out his arse while you're at it! There's no way he couldn't have noticed
the way I was looking into his eyes.'

"Sion?" said Anakin, looking at Sion, who was gazing off into space as he
was engaged in his internal dialogue.

"...Huh?" said Sion, turning back to Anakin while still avoiding the
other's eyes.  'Don't mess it up anymore,' he said to himself. 'Maybe he
didn't notice the way you were looking at him.'

"Are you ok?" said Anakin, concerned. After all, that bolt had hit Sion in
the head.  Who knew what kind of damage those bolts could do to an
unprotected head?

"Yeah, I'm ok," said Sion, giving Anakin a slight smile. "I was just
thinking."

"What were you thinking about?" asked Anakin, rather curious to find out
what was causing Sion to act so peculiar and space out.

"Nothing much," said Sion quickly. "How much time before the afternoon
gong?"

"You've got enough time to eat all your food, if that's what you're
wondering about," said Anakin, smiling. Then he glanced at the
food. "Though whether that's good news or bad news..." He still wondered
about what was on Sion's mind, but he pushed that thought to the back of
his mind.

Sion grinned at that. He momentarily lost his grin when he saw the food. It
was one of the cafeteria's specialities: an unrecognizable pile of brown
glop. Of course, the cafeteria's other specialities consisted of the same
glop in different colors in a vain attempt to disguise the fact that they
served the same glop every day at lunchtime. Fortunately, it was usually
edible. Usually.

Sion sighed. "You'd think that after all this time, they'd find something
that was just as nutritious as this stuff that actually looked decent.."

"Well, you know," said Anakin, "Jedi are supposed to judge things by their
worth, not by their looks."

"Then why do all of the Jedi eat elsewhere?" asked Sion with a smile on his
face.  "Unless they're with their Padawan for one reason or another, you
never see a Jedi set foot in that cafeteria." He reluctantly shoveled in a
bite of the glop. Fortunately, it didn't taste that bad this time.

The two continued making fun of the "fine cuisine" being served in the
cafeteria as Sion ate his food. As the conversation progressed, however,
they touched on more important matters, such as their Jedi training. As
they talked, Sion was able to see, firsthand, that Anakin was indeed as
cocky as everybody had made him out to be. And yet, Sion found it
impossible not to like him anyway. If nothing else, Anakin's overconfidence
and brashness made him stand out from most of the other Padawans and their
attempts at humility.

Sion also realized that a lot of Anakin's brazen attitude could be
attributed to his belief that Master Kenobi was holding him back out of
jealousy for Anakin's stronger abilities. Thus, Anakin was always trying to
show off his powers, to show he was capable of being a Jedi. And all that
led to was more chastisement by Master Kenobi about Anakin's brashness.

And yet, Sion could tell that Anakin was genuinely fond of Master Kenobi
and viewed him as a father figure, very similar to Sion's own feelings
about Master Windu.

Just then, the afternoon gong sounded.

"Oh no," exclaimed Anakin, jumping up from his chair. "I'm late!! I'm
supposed to meet Master Kenobi in the Archives right now!!"

"It's alright," said Sion. "Just tell Master Kenobi that you were helping
me." He then got up from his bed. He felt momentarily dizzy, and swayed a
bit. Anakin instinctively braced Sion with his arms, holding him upright.

"Are you alright?" asked Anakin, very concerned. "I can tell Master Windu
that you tried to make it to see him..."

"I'll be fine," said Sion with more conviction than he actually felt. He
gently but firmly removed Anakin's arms from around him, and tried to walk
towards the door.  However, he hadn't regained his equilibrium after the
bolt from the drone, and Sion took one step to fall towards the
floor. Anakin just barely managed to catch Sion in his arms.

"My hero," said Sion jocularly, trying to hide his embarrassment of the
fact that Anakin had had to catch him, and that he was now being held up by
Anakin. Anakin gently brought Sion back to his feet, but still had a firm
grip on Sion.

"Ok, Sion," said Anakin firmly. "You're staying in this room, and that's
final."

"Fine, fine," Sion conceded. "I guess you're right.. I can't even get out
the door."

"I'll tell Master Windu that you won't be able to meet him. You just stay
in that bed, and I'll be back later to see how you're doing."

"Thanks, Anakin," said Sion gratefully. "I appreciate everything you've
done for me."

"No worries, Sion," said Anakin with a smile. "What are friends for?" With
that, Anakin gave Sion a brief but firm hug. Sion returned the hug a tad
tentatively, worried that a certain something might crop up that would
indicate to Anakin that Sion might be interested in more than just
friendship. Fortunately, the hug was brief enough that Sion wasn't betrayed
by his little friend. Helping Sion get back on the bed, Anakin walked
towards the door, still keeping his eyes on Sion. "I'll see you later,
Sion. May I join you for dinner?"

"Sure," said Sion. "I'll probably be up and around by then, so we'll meet
in the cafeteria. See you later, Anakin." Anakin gave Sion one more smile,
then left the room, the door closing behind him.

"If you only knew, Anakin," Sion mused to himself. No matter. Anakin was a
great friend, and Sion considered himself lucky that he'd actually gotten
the chance to know him. Turning his mind to other matters, Sion picked up a
datapad. Although much of his training was hands on, some of it was still
boring notes and text about different topics, such as the history of the
Jedi, and of the Republic. Pulling up the current reading material up on
his datapad, he soon became engrossed in the founding of the Trade
Federation and other such commercial guilds.

-----

"There you are," said Master Kenobi disapprovingly. Anakin had outdone
himself this time. Obi-Wan had been waiting in the Archives for over half
an hour.

"I'm sorry, Master," said Anakin apologetically. "I had to help Sion out,
and I ended up having to make a detour to the Jedi Council room."

"And how is Sion Jardian?" asked Master Kenobi inquisitively.

"I think that the bolt temporarily threw off his sense of balance, because
he couldn't hardly stand up by himself, and he almost fell flat on his face
when he tried to walk.  I informed Master Windu; or rather, I left a
message for Master Windu informing him of Sion's condition, so that he
would not expect Sion in his quarters. He was still meeting with the Jedi
Council when I arrived there."

"Well, I'll forgive you just this one, my young apprentice, since you had a
legitimate reason for it. Next time though, I would appreciate at least a
message from you or something. I don't much appreciate having to wait for
your convenience," said Master Kenobi, frowning.

"I'm sorry, Master," said Anakin. "I promised I'll be more considerate in
the future."

"Very well," said Master Kenobi, apparently satisfied with his Padawan
learner's response. "You must become accustomed to using the Archives
without the help of the Archivist. So, I want you to spend the rest of the
afternoon using the resources of the library to research one planet. You
must create a report consisting of a brief summary of the ancient history
and modern history of this planet. Also include a few stories of the works
of any Jedi from that planet, if any. Summarize the planet's medical
programs, and also their law enforcement system. I'll expect this done in
three days time. Meet me here in the Archives precisely at the afternoon
gong on that day. You must also meet me at the fourth gong on all of those
days for lightsaber practice with Sion Jardian. Other than that, your time
is your own until your report is to be turned in. I suggest that you use
most of that time for your report."

"Yes, Master," said Anakin. 'What planet should I pick?' wondered
Anakin. He knew that his Master would most likely veto Tatooine or
Coruscant. Coruscant was far too easy to research, Tatooine was too
familiar to Anakin. His mind then wandered, as minds are wont to do. His
mind drifted to thoughts of Sion. Anakin felt drawn to Sion, had felt that
way since meeting him. His beautiful green eyes. One could get lost in
those eyes. His quirky little smile. His slight sexy accent. And that inner
fire that Anakin could sense lurked behind the shy exterior. So different
than the other Padawans Anakin had been with. 'Where did he say he was
from?' Anakin thought hard, suddenly eager to find out more about the
planet that Sion was from. It might come in handy.  Also, perhaps he could
his report as an excuse to get closer to the tow-headed boy.

"Well, Anakin, which planet are you thinking of?" asked Master Kenobi.

"Corellia!" said Anakin, suddenly remembering.

"That's fine," said Obi-Wan. "Good luck, Anakin. I expect you'll do well."
With that, Master Kenobi turned and left the Archives.

Anakin headed to an empty terminal, and started his research. The
historical research was easy enough. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of
it. Corellia was a bustling planet, and quite important. The medical
programs were also easy to research.

Eventually, Anakin looked at the time on the terminal screen. He was amazed
to see that much time had passed. He quickly pulled out a datacard and
uploaded all the data he had collected onto the datacard, so that he would
have the information at his fingertips when it came time to write the
report. He placed the datacard into his tunic pocket, logged off of the
terminal, and stood up. He walked towards the exit quickly, hoping to catch
Sion as he was going to dinner.

-----

Sion sat in his bed, reading about the circumstances that had led up to the
Trade Federation's failed blockade of Naboo. He heard the door open, and he
looked up, expecting to see Squall or Anakin walk in. He was amazed to see
Master Windu.

"Sion," said Master Windu, nodding his head. Sion started to get up out of
bed to bow respectfully, but Master Windu waved him back down. "According
to the message Anakin Skywalker left, you're having trouble keeping your
balance. So please, remain in your bed. I needed to discuss something with
you. But first, I thought I heard you discussing Count Dooku at breakfast
this morning. What were you saying?" Master Windu sat down in the chair
next to the bed.

"Well, Master, it's really nothing," said Sion, modestly.

"Leave that for me to decide, young one," said Master Windu calmly.

"Yes, Master. Last night, I had a dream. I was sitting on the Jedi Council,
having just investigated the Separatists. Master Yoda asked me what I knew
of them, and I told Master Yoda that I had discovered that Count Dooku was
leading them. Master Yoda said that the Count was his old apprentice. Then
I answered a question from you, about his motives. I didn't know them, but
vowed to seek them out. Master Ki-Adi-Mundi declared his confidence in my
ability to do so, after which I woke up."

"Very interesting," said Master Windu, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I
must say, your dream seems to have been more than just a dream. Just this
morning, the Council discussed new intelligence; namely, that Count Dooku
is indeed leading the Separatists."

"Really?" asked Sion, shocked.

"Yes," replied Mace Windu. "Also, it is a little known fact that Master
Yoda was indeed the Jedi Master of Count Dooku. It has been some years
since Count Dooku left the Jedi Order. Few are the number of Jedi that even
recall meeting him; fewer still are the Jedi aware of who his teacher
was. There is no reason why you should have known this. Your dream was
indeed true."

"But what about the Jedi Council part? I'm not a part of it. It wasn't
entirely true," protested Sion.

"Your dream foretold the future. The immediate future, to be sure, but the
future nonetheless. Who knows what the distant future holds? I think you
have it in you to be on the Jedi Council. Have you had any more visions
that might have any significance?"  asked Master Windu.

"Well, I had a weird dream this afternoon," said Sion, thinking back. "In
the first part, I was sitting on a grassy hilltop, under two suns. I was
sensing the nature around me with the Force, and a voice called me. It was
urgent, and worry-filled.  I didn't, and still don't know who it was, but I
instinctively knew that I cared for this person."

"There doesn't seem to be any points of significance, but one never
knows. Go on."

"The second half, I was laying on the floor in the Jedi Archives. It was
completely wrecked, and there were bodies strewn about the floor. In front
of me were two Jedi, both trying to protect me by defeating the other. The
first one heavily cloaked, seemed significantly taller than me and wielded
a silver lightsaber. The other was shorter than the first Jedi, was
sandy-haired, and carried a blue lightsaber."

"Did you recognize either of them?" asked Master Windu, intrigued.

"No, Master Windu," said Sion. "Somehow, their faces were cloaked in
shadow, though they both held lightsabers."

"Interesting," said Master Windu. "It shouldn't be too hard to find out all
of the other Padawans and Jedi, apart from you, who wield silver
lightsabers, as they are fairly rare. Unfortunately, blue is a very common
color, so I'm not sure how much you'll find out on that front." Mace Windu
stood up. "I'll let you investigate who the other silver blade wielders
are, and discover the identity of the two mysterious Jedi are. If you have
any other visions, please tell me."

"Yes, Master," said Sion.

"I came down to commend you on a decent first day, training with Anakin,"
said Master Windu, switching subjects. "Obi-Wan tells me the two of you
seem to work well together. Keep up the good work, and never become
complacent. Always strive for more."

"Yes, sir," replied Sion.

I must be going," said Master Windu. "We're meeting with Supreme Chancellor
Palpatine later today. Take care of yourself, Sion. Meet me after the
Council meeting tomorrow."

"Yes, Master," said Sion, nodding his head.

Master Windu opened the door, and walked out. As he left the room, he said
to a person in the hallway, "You can go in now." With that, Squall poked
his head in the door.

"Hey, Sion," said Squall. "You doin' ok?"

"Hey yourself, Squall," said Sion, smiling. "Yeah, I'm doing all right. I'm
having problems keeping my balance, but other than that, I'm feeling good."

"Do you think you'll be able to make it to dinner?" asked Squall. "I hear
we're having bruallki!"

"That's a rarity," said Sion, his mouth starting to water at the thought of
it. "If you can help me to the cafeteria, I should be ok. By the way,
Anakin is interested in joining us for dinner. Is that ok?"

"Why wouldn't that be ok?" asked Squall, just as cheerful as
ever. "Something to remember: powerful friends are always a plus. I mean,
look at me." Squall gestured to himself. "I'm only of middling strength in
the Force. However, I hear that Anakin is the strongest Jedi out there,
even stronger than Master Yoda, and you're like right up there with Master
Windu! Lots of powerful friends for Squallie here!"  He laughed.

"You know, you're something else," said Sion, unable to hide his
amusement. "But let's head on over to the cafeteria. After all, it'll
probably take us a while to get over there with me being at less than 100
percent."

"That sounds like a plan," said Squall, nodding. He helped Sion up from
bed. Luckily for Sion, the dizziness was almost gone by now. The room was
just slightly spinning.  Squall put Sion's arm over his shoulder so that in
case Sion started falling, Squall could catch him. The pair made their way
like this from Sion's room to the cafeteria.  Squall made Sion sit down
while he grabbed their food.

Soon, Squall was back with two trays of food. He set one tray down in front
of Sion, and placed the other in front of the chair across from Sion.

"Smells pretty good, doesn't it?" said Squall, plopping down in the chair
next to Sion. "Looks like even these guys can't create bad food everyday!"

They had just started eating when Anakin burst in. He headed straight
towards the table where Sion and Squall were sitting.

"Hey, guys," said Anakin. "I was hoping I wasn't too late.. I had to do a
bunch of research on Corellia for Master Kenobi."

"Corellia?" asked Sion, surprised. "That's where I'm from. Why Corellia?"

"Master Kenobi told me to write a report on a planet, and I figured there
was plenty of material in the archives about Corellia, and I knew that
Master Kenobi wouldn't object to it, like I know he would if I picked
Tattooine or Coruscant," said Anakin quickly. It wouldn't help his plan out
if he told Sion that he'd picked solely because it was Sion's home planet.

"Well, if you need any help on it, you can ask me," said Sion. "I mean,
you'd think I'd know about my home planet."

Bingo! "I think I might take you up on that offer, Sion!" said Anakin,
smiling. "When is a good time for you?"

"How about after dinner?" asked Sion. "It's only because of today's
incident, that my schedule's light tonight."

"That'll be fine!" said Anakin, delighted.

The three spent the rest of the dinner getting to know each other
better. Anakin found himself almost jealous of Squall Antilles. He envied
the closeness between Sion and Squall, and wished his and Sion's
relationship even be half as close. Between the nudging, and the punching,
and even the tickling that went on, it was obvious that neither of them had
a problem with lots of physical contact. But at the same time, Anakin found
it impossible to not like Squall, as his irrepressible wit and ready grin
seemed capable of weathering anything. Also, Anakin could see that Squall
was a very loyal friend of Sion's, and would do anything and everything to
protect him.

They were still chatting as they walked down the corridors in the living
quarters for all the Padawan learners.

"Listen, guys, I have to finish something for Master Derka, so I'll see you
later," said Squall. He and Sion exchanged brotherly hugs, then he stuck
out his hand to Anakin.  "Listen, it was great to finally get to know you,
Anakin.  I'll talk to you later, man!" Anakin took Squall's hand and shook
it, and Squall pulled him into a brief hug.  He laughed at Anakin's
expression and ran off.

"He's probably the friendliest guy I've ever met," said Squall smiling. "He
gives people he's known for ten minutes hugs, and usually gets a kick out
of their expressions. Also, he never walks when he can run. Who knows why
he does what he does?"

"Well, he's a really nice guy," said Anakin, smiling as well. 'Well, he
didn't seem to have a problem with Squall giving him frequent hugs; maybe I
can get away with it too,' thought Anakin. `I just hope the two of them
aren't involved.'

Before long, the two of them were sitting comfortably in Sion's room on his
bed. They were side by side, with their backs against the wall, close
enough to chat, yet not so close so as to be deemed intimate.

As it turned out, Sion knew a great deal about Corellian Jedi, since he had
started researching them soon after arriving at the academy. Nejaa Halcyon,
the Jedi who had brought him here, had told him a few stories of famous
Corellian Jedi to help convince him to become one himself. Since then Sion
had been hooked.

Anakin dutifully put down all the names in his datapad, whilst his mind was
elsewhere.  His thoughts were busy trying to figure out the best way to go
about romancing Sion.  Unlike the other guys and girls Anakin had been
with, Sion was very shy. And while Anakin did find it rather endearing, it
also made it that much more of a challenge.  Good. Anakin had always
thrived on challenges. Anakin looked at Sion, who was going on about some
Corellian Jedi. If it had been any other time, Anakin would have listened
intently to the story, as he shared Sion's fascination with stories about
the Jedi of old. But right now it unimportant. As Sion continued, Anakin
created and discarded a half-dozen plans of conquest, before finally
deciding on the direct method. Besides, it had worked well in the past.

And with that decided, Anakin leaned over towards Sion and kissed him fully
on the lips.

**************************************************************************

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Squall Thrawn
THRAWN5678@aol.com