I hadn't gone far, when I saw a glint off a mirror perhaps up in a tree that settled on my face. Looking up, I saw Debbie and Andre--I'd rather they were miles away and safe.  One, I didn't really trust them to have my benefit at heart and I saw no way that they could help me without coming to peril themselves.  Still they were there and I hoped would remain out of sight.

The marketplace was unlike anything I could have expected. Beings of every shape and size moved amongst each other, stopping in front of stalls to barter for goods. But the entire place was oddly quiet, in fact the only voices I heard were usually the Vendors to their help, or amongst the people not currently shopping.

It wasn't until I got close enough to a stall that I saw why. The buyer would point out an object, and the vendor would place it on the table between them. The buyer would then place his money (I could only assume the small, moss green gems everyone had was money) or wares on the opposite end, and both sides would then move their contents closer to the center, or pull back depending on what was added or removed to their respective piles. When both piles were in a stripe painted bright yellow down the center of the table, did they shake hands and the barter was considered done.

The fact that this was all done without a word spoken mesmerized me, and I was threatened away from several bartering tables after watching the transactions for hours. Silently I untucked my shirt and let it fold loosely over the jeweled pommel of the wildflower, silently praying it was still the plastic FX lightsaber that began it's life with me.

A flash of light came from another tree down the way. I squinted into it and Saw Debbie and Andre, mouthing something at me. Suddenly they tilted the mirror up, and i heard a gasp behind me. I turned fast, hand on my blade, but all I saw were a couple of guys squinting as Debbies mirror blinded them.

Then they blurred a bit, nondescript robes gave way to military looking uniforms and rather nasty-looking maces. But then the light was gone, and the two figures were just another pair of shoppers. I tried to not stare and quickly turned a corner. Debbie and Andre were gone from their perch. So I was being followed.

Thanks.

after re-reading it I am inclined to agree with you, I should not work on such things when sleep-deprived (take note the time I posted that).

I was trying too hard for the "pick me up and read me to find out what's happening!" style, way too needy from my standpoint.

As for the Physics and science fact regarding the story, I'm still juggling between a particle or an energy wave for the final draft. the initial concept was inspired by the Dust from the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. As I'm writing, I'm consistently picking at my Fathers mind (aerospace engineer and true renaissance man of sci-fi), as well as my collection of decade-old college physics books for terms and definitions.

"how can I assist you?" I croaked.

I had a brief moment of clarity, staring up at the man before me. For a moment I understood my place in events, everything clicked into place, and the truth that the fate of more than just earth might be resting on my shoulders, all of it depending on the choices I made.

But then the sheer amount of events focused solely upon me flooded over my thoughts, and I found myself just as lost as before. My mind reeled. was that flash the wildflower telling me to be careful? was the wildflower sentient? so many questions and it seemed the only people with the answers wanted to use me and keep me dumb.

The king smiled widely. I could imagine that sharks had that smile when they knew they had the slower, stupider fish. "My boy, you do not merely 'assist' the king," he spoke in silky smooth words. I looked over to see Reza practically swooning, just from the sound of his voice. "You serve the kingdom, and I, as the agent for the needs of the kingdom, will be the one directing you to better aid us."

It took effort to hide me wincing. I mean, he just said "you're my slave" in a very roundabout way. I guess if his voice had the same affect on me as it seemed to have on the rest of his subjects (even D'vaisa seemed to be teetering on her many legs), I might already being pledging my allegiance to him... er, the realm.

I tried my best to look lost (which was pretty easy), the last words of Andre and Debbie were ringing in my head. "I....I need some time to rest" I said softly, "may we speak again soon?" I tried to give him puppy eyes. I mean, if he was going to treat me like a stupid child, then I can use that to my advantage.

The kings smile faltered, turning almost into a scowl before he seemed to recover. "Of course, my boy, the resources of my castle are yours to use, until you are of sufficient health to start your duties to the Realm". with that he turned and flowed, no stepping, it was like he glided, out of the room.

     I gave her another withering glare and considered jumping out of the helicopter.
   

    The helicopter flew over rolling forests of green and blue and, I kid you not, Mauve. I hardly registered the landscape as I stared out the side, before a sudden realization hit me.
    "Waitaminute," I blurted out, making both my guardian and Andre Jump in surprise, "if this power gives me what I need when I need it. Why the heck did I have to ask for pants when I was being rescued!?"
    Debbie snorted, I declined to glance at her, though the joke seemed to be well known to all but me, because everyone in the 'copter was smiling. "what?" I asked, fighting in Vain to keep from melting into a shy puddle on the floor.
    "S... hehe... s.sorry Joey. It's just, you're in Wildflower now. We don't live with such... rigid rules of decency as Earth has." Debbie snickered as she looked to me.
    I looked down at the pants I now wore. Up until now the feel of cloth around my waist and down my legs was a comfort I didn't know I missed. But looking down at them, I noticed the Fabric was little more than thin Gauze, I'd be better off naked.
    quickly moving to hide myself more, I scowled at the rising chorus of giggles coming from the three of them. "well, ok..." I winced at how meekly my voice came out. "but if I am bound to wildflower the realm, what does this stupid FX lightsabre have to do with this?" I waved a hand, swiftly of course, past the rather beaten-looking handle poking from behind my back.

Without my realization, my very first reaction was flicking that Force FX lightsaber to life. Then perhaps a big old by the book gulp.

The FX Lightsaber illuminated the room in a wavering green glow, showing me a mass of thick fur covering whatever had crashed. two bright dots, reflecting the light, centered on me and the whole bulk of it began turning. What could I do? in sheer reflex I lunged with the my mockery of a weapon, the dull plastic tip poking the thing right in the eye. It roared, and I was gone, already leaping out the hole in my wall and towards that depressing knight. He just stood there.

I'm not sure if this has popped up before (and obviously before my time if it has), but I have to try.

One of my favorite writing practices in college was the round table. the entire class sat in a circle, the teacher gave us the opening line, and passed the paper all the way around. Everyone added 1-5 sentences continuing the storyline, and the final product was read back at the end of the day.

I've never done this on a forum (though I am sure it has been done before someplace), but I think it could be fun. And the potential for the story to be near-endless is too good to pass up.

rules.
These are open for variation, since I'm new to the mechanics of something like this. I'm using corrupt-a-wish as a basis for some of the rules

1. Keep it between 1 and 5 sentences each post. This is not gonna be heavily frowned upon if broken, but at the same time, a multi-paragraph post is a no-no
2. Try not to follow yourself in posting. I see this as a variation on rule #1. but if no one adds a line for weeks, and you want to, go ahead
3. be considerate of the storyline. This could potentially go anywhere, but "and suddenly a ninja jumps out" would look kinda hokey.
4. quote the last line before your addition. This is just so we can all read the story in sequence, filtering out posts not part of the round table.
5. if, when you post,you get the "warning, a reply has been made recently", please take note if this is an addition to the story and don't post yours. I know this is a nasty rule, especially if this thread gets some high traffic. but this isn't an addventure, and things could get really messy really fast.

Let me know what you all think, if there is a definite positive opinion on this, I'll post the first line and let go of the reigns 

Ok serious reply now. Ask around. not quite an interview but not quite an editor either, just have somebody you can call up/e-mail whenever you're stuck on some detail.

Ever read all the thanks and credits from the authors in the beginning of the book? Half the list are just like "thanks for helping me with this detail" and such.