| Author |
Topic:
Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery -- **Completed 10/31**
|
Lilith Demodae
Registered:
Oct '99
|
Date Posted:
6/27/04 5:15pm
Subject:
Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery -- **Completed 10/31**
- Date Edited:
10/31/07 8:28am (61 edits total)
Edited By:
Lilith Demodae
|
Thank you for your patience. I got a new comp, got my old hard drives copied over, got my programs re-installed and can now start posting at last. Just as a heads-up, this one won't be as action-packed as the last one.
And now, without further ado.... Perfect
_________________________________
My life is perfect. There really is no other way to phrase it. I know it sounds trite, perhaps even cliche, but that does not make it any less true. After all, cliches become that way when overuse is taken to its extreme. Extreme situations require extreme terms, possibly even extreme cliches. So it is with my life. Besides, understatement only works when someone realizes that you are not pushing things nearly as far as you can, and I've never much cared for it anyway.
My home is supremely beautiful. An entire floor in the Lorrus tower is given over to our quarters. The rooms are spacious, open and airy, looking out over wonderful vistas of the sprawling city. Situated well above the traffic lanes, we are ensured that the rushing streams of vehicles will not mar the scenery or intrude with unwanted noise. Every furnishing has been chosen for aesthetics as well as function, each matched to the others in a common theme of modest conspicuous consumption. After all, what good is money if you don't spend it making life easier or more comfortable for yourself? We have all the best appliances and conveniences, droids and assistants. Luring our cook away from Senator Denali wasn't easy, but was oh so very worth every incentive required to manage that feat.
The entire floor just below our quarters is my garden. A piece of historical and botanical preservation I can't help but be proud of, it is made up entirely of plant species native to Coruscant, some of which have come to the very edge of extinction and are kept from that fate by my garden and others like it. Flagstone paths wind throughout, and enticing conversation niches of small glades carpeted in soft grass open here and there at comfortable intervals. There's been many a lovely dinner party hosted there and I can only praise my landscaper in the most lavish terms.
My responsibilities are light, or at least they have been since... and they prove sufficient to keep me from boredom. Besides keeping the household running smoothly, I usually arrange my husband's social schedule, making sure that he meets with everyone who needs his time and whose time he needs. I'm good at it, which only follows I suppose. After all, I used to be his secretary and a household is so much easier to run than a multibillion credit company.
And finally there's my husband of seven years. Eseladai Tolwyn, president and CEO of Xanthus Corp., is everything I could possibly have wished for and more. At one point eight meters he is fit and trim, with not a spare gram of flesh on his body. Lean and handsome, his cheekbones are high and his nose aquiline, aristocratic even. I love running my fingers through the short, tight curls of his hair, as carbon black as my own. He owns my heart, lock, stock, and crate. I have never doubted his devotion to me, his soul-deep love, and I never will.
I know very well that there are people out there who will never experience such good fortune as I have found. I used to be one of them, even joined a swoop gang very briefly, but I fought my way free of the streets, determined to climb as high above them as I could.
Dai has done much the same, though he made it much farther than I before he stopped. He lifted me higher than I could ever have dreamed I would go. For me there are no more worries about enough food at the end of the month, enough credits for rent at the beginning of the month, enough time in the day, enough sleep at night. No, the days of scrabbling for every decicred are over forever, and I only look back long enough to remind myself of how much better my life has become since I met Dai. Instead of an endless progression of drudgery and despair eking out a bleak and bare existence, my days pass in a slow parade of simple pleasures, punctuated with social events, and frosted by the companionship and enduring love of Dai.
So you see, my life is perfect. Perfect house, perfect job, perfect marriage.
And yet...
-----signature-----
This post is brought to you by:
Vetinari / Vimes '08
Scorpion pits and Justice for all
Once a Talon, Always a Talon!
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Shaindl
Registered:
Jun '02
|
Date Posted:
6/27/04 5:50pm
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
Whoa. If that's Crash talking, she's changed just a bit. What a start, Lilith - can't wait to see more. Might Obi-Wan be making an appearance...?
Shaindl
-----signature-----
Halfway Moment - Qui, Obi, Anakin AU - http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/20110461/?0 - UPDATED JULY 3!
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Layren
Registered:
Oct '03
|
Date Posted:
6/27/04 6:04pm
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
ooohhh the sequel is here at last!!! And I agree with above sentiment ... man Crash has changed if that's her...
Great job can't wait for more! Glad you got your computer troubles sorted out 
-----signature-----
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Lilith Demodae
Registered:
Oct '99
|
Date Posted:
6/27/04 7:37pm
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
|
Oh, forgot to mention... this takes place about five years after the first story.
-----signature-----
This post is brought to you by:
Vetinari / Vimes '08
Scorpion pits and Justice for all
Once a Talon, Always a Talon!
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Jemmiah
Registered:
Mar '00
|
Date Posted:
6/27/04 10:42pm
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
You've started it! How wonderful!  Wow, if that IS Crash then things certainly have changed in the space of five years just as everyone else has observed before me. Can't wait to see where this one goes, Lilith!
-----signature-----
The new improved Hell's Chance Cantina!
Home for many assorted JA fanfic stories!:
http://www.hellschancecantina.com/index.html
Open to all: have a go at Star Wars Caption Contest no.7:
http://www.hellschancecantina.com/Caption_comp.html
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Lady_Excalibur
Registered:
Jun '04
|
Date Posted:
6/28/04 5:00am
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
|
Oh this looks just great! I can't wait for more.
-----signature-----
Yes, tiggers are wonderful things...
A sock by any other name would still smell as sweaty
Just pull the thing out of the stone, stupid!
Dirty Old Lady Sock of VaderLVR
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Tanith
Registered:
Nov '03
|
Date Posted:
6/28/04 5:14am
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
Yay - a start on the sequel.
Can't wait to find out who's talking/thinking in your post - I'm guessing not Crash - as the narrator has been married 7 years, and the original story is only 5 years before.
Or, you could be playing with us 
-----signature-----
Area 42 - Edinburgh's sci-fi club: http://www.area42.org.uk
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Miska
Registered:
Apr '02
|
Date Posted:
6/28/04 6:16am
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
|
WOW- that's coming on really strongly...literary characters should know by now not to call something perfect, because whenever they do it all changes for the worse You've definitely whet my anticipation now, and I can't wait for the next part!
-----signature-----
You know it's love when you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams.
H/L and L/M fics in my bio!
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Healer_Leona
Registered:
Jul '00
|
Date Posted:
6/28/04 6:40am
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
I was more than thrilled to see this started.
Yes, this character sounds like she does have the perfect life, one I certainly wouldn't mind. I especially loved the description of the garden on the floor below! I chuckled at her speaking of cliche's because we all know she totally jinx herself by telling us of her life.
Post soon, post often!
-----signature-----
and i feel them drown my name
so easy to know and forget with this kiss
i'm not afraid to go but it goes so slow
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
mouse2
Registered:
Oct '99
|
Date Posted:
6/28/04 8:26am
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
Hooray! A new Lilith story! And this time I don't plan on living in lurkerdom. (That is if my nine month old will let me.)
Hmmmm... I don't think it's Crash. I think for her perfect would equal boring.
Looking forward to more!!
-----signature-----
Want to know what ANTAR and TLST are? Visit Hell's Chance! http://www.hellschancecantina.com Proud Master to Lola64! I've gone into lurking mode... If you need me feel free to PM me...
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
PadawanKitara
Registered:
Dec '01
|
Date Posted:
6/28/04 3:31pm
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
That can't be Crash- I think it's Barbie 
-----signature-----
Courtier of the Royal Order of Shambling Dufi
We are Dufi...Resistance is Futile!
UCLA BRUINS
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Ping
Registered:
Nov '98
|
Date Posted:
6/29/04 10:03am
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
Glad to see you picked a title--I like it!
*chuckles evilly* It's SO much more fun when you know what's going on. *eg*
-----signature-----
One Ping Only.
Chewie lives.
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
-Z-
Registered:
Dec '03
|
Date Posted:
6/29/04 3:30pm
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
Nice prologue. Looking forward to the rest!
Should I read the first story to better understand this one?
Wait, nevermind. I'm going to go read it anyway.
-----signature-----
"...Who said anything about slicing you up, man?
I just wanted to carve a little Z on your forehead..."
Check profile for stories.
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Herman Snerd
Title:
- Archive Editor
Registered:
Oct '99
|
Date Posted:
6/30/04 8:39pm
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
|
Imagine my surprise to stumble across the sequel just as it's beginning.
-----signature-----
Have a question or suggestion for the Archive? PM Mariah anytime. Voted Dork Magazine's "Sexiest Nerd Alive" for 2008 http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb237/Snerdmania/DSCF0113.jpg A .jpg is worth a thousand .txt's.
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Lilith Demodae
Registered:
Oct '99
|
Date Posted:
7/1/04 7:17am
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery
|
Whoa! It looks like I got most of my old readers back and a few new ones! Cool!
Shaindl -- Sorry, no.
Layren -- Thanks, my new comp is soooo zippy. 
Jemmiah -- Thanks, and me, too!
Lady_Excalibur -- Thank you, and welcome on board!
Tanith -- Play with you? Why would an author ever want to do that?!
Miska -- Ah, but she doesn't know she's a literary character. If she did, I'd be in big trouble. My mantra is,"My characters must never know...."
Leona -- Not as thrilled as I was to be able to start posting. \:)/
Mouse -- I don't mind lurking, lurk away if you must. Just a little postie once in a while to let me know you're still there.... The feedback junkie must have her fix.
Ping -- No gloating, or I'll stop using you as my sounding board.
-Z- -- Actually, yes, reading the other one first will make this one make more sense, in the long run.
Herman!!! -- Welcome back! It's good to see you around here. (meaning one of my threads)
____________________________________
Sunlight slanted across my face, warming my skin and brightening the place behind my eyelids to a rosy glow. I stretched, the silk sheets slithering across my skin in a hedonistic caress. Smiling, I ran clawed fingers through my hair, scrubbing at my scalp, and luxuriated in the sensations. I drew deep breaths of the fresh air coming through the open balcony door, savoring each wonderful lungful. Glorious, just living and breathing at that moment and taking it all in was glorious. There was something about mornings, whether the sense of newness, or perhaps the feeling that the whole world pauses for just a moment to catch its breath before plunging forward once more. Morning had to be my favorite part of the day.
Turning my face into the sunshine, I reached out with my left hand. The other side of the bed was long empty, the body heat dissipated. My husband was an early riser, gone to work before the sun ever got high enough to shine down on our bed. The Force only knew why I might have expected him to be there, since there had been no sound or motion that might draw my attention.
With a small sigh, I opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling. The textured pattern under the paint led my wandering gaze here and there as I thought of nothing much at all. Sunlight glimmered and danced at the corner of my eye, reminding me that the day spun on, whether I got my lazy carcass moving or not.
Finally, I pushed myself up and swung my legs off the side of the bed. Twitching the sheets into a more conventional arrangement, I straightened things a little then padded across to the refresher. I paused at the window, pressing one hand against the cool transparisteel. The city was spread out beneath me in a glittering grey and white panorama. Sunlight clung to the eastern faces of buildings, running down and disappearing toward the ground, like a giant bucket of honey splashed across the world. My gaze was caught in the distance by the layered courses of the traffic lanes, the arteries of the vast city, carrying its lifeblood of commerce to every far flung limb. Something about the moving vehicles riveted my attention and made me uneasy. I stared hard at them, trying to find the source of my anxiety, but I could detect nothing amiss.
Pulling away from the view, I continued on, dragging my sleepshirt off over my head and dismissing the strange feeling as nothing more than the remnants of an already forgotten dream. As I stepped into the refresher, I dropped the shirt in a corner for the droid to collect for cleaning. The slightly cool spray of the shower helped me wash away the last lingering bits of sleep.
Wrapped in a warm robe, my hair bound up in a gleaming white towel, I went back into the room and crossed to the vanity. PC-46 was already waiting for me with my breakfast. The droid whisked the damp towel away from my hair even as I seated myself, and proceeded to comb and dry the thick, black mass.
"What's my schedule today, Foursix?" I asked before selecting a thin wedge of toasted black bread spread with pale green shi'rz preserves.
"Master Malos has asked to review the plans for the dinner party with you over lunch so that he can arrange proper security and get the menu sent to the caterers, mistress Tolwyn," the droid responded instantly in a soft alto voice.
"No, no, no." I sighed, dabbing away crumbs from my lips with a snowy napkin. "He knows very well I have luncheon with Vrenna Rhysode today. I won't have him interrupting and I certainly won't have him looming. He's been with us a long time, and I know he worries about me, but having him solicitously by my side the entire meal will make me look scared, weak, or in need of looking after, and that's not the impression I want to give that gossip monger. He can talk to me before, or after, but not during lunch. Besides, that party's not for another three days and Dai hasn't even finished the guest list yet." I chewed my lip for a moment as I thought. "Tell Thackary not to worry about the caterers, that's my job and I certainly don't need his help at this late date. I'll com Dai and see if I can't nail down some sort of tentative list so he can at least begin planning the security end of things though."
"Yes, mistress Tolwyn."
"Did Dai mention when he expected to be home tonight?"
"Master Tolwyn said he had a board meeting immediately after lunch, but that he did not expect it to last long. He said he would probably be home early today."
"Excellent." With a contented sigh, I leaned back into my chair and relaxed while the droid finished its work.
*******
Hair primped and curled, nails lacquered, make-up applied with the deft touch that only a superbly programmed droid could achieve, and dressed in a light pants suit of cream colored silk and a linen blouse of light grey-green, I moved into my husband's home office. Foursix had gone off to relay my messages to our head of security, so I needed to go about my end of the deal. My spike heels sank a full centimeter into the plush grey carpeting as I crossed to the old-fashioned real wood desk. Pulling the chair away from the computer terminal, I sat at the corner in front of the communit and dialed up my husband's work number.
"Xanthus, Mr. Tolwyn's office."
"Jonica, is Dai busy?"
"No, Mrs. Tolwyn. I'll put you right through." The grey-skinned near-human disappeared from the screen almost as fast as she had appeared and my husband's lean, handsome visage replaced hers.
"Darling." Those deep blue eyes scanned my face quickly, worry tightening his features. "Are you feeling all right? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, nothing at all. As the doctors and I have been telling you all along, I'll be fine."
Lips set in a rueful twist, he sighed. "As long as you are okay, I can handle anything else. What can I do for you?"
"The dinner party, Dai. Thackary needs that guest list. You know how he gets if he can't sort out every last detail at least a day in advance."
"He bothering you again?" I nodded and blue eyes sparkled at me as Dai grinned, a wonderful sight that blunted the sometimes harsh lines of his face. "Yes, I know exactly how he gets. Tell you what, I promise I'll write up a list and send it over by eleven. You can look it over and see if I've missed anyone. Does that work for you?"
"Perfectly. Thank you, love."
"I'll see you when I get home."
I blew him a kiss and cut the connection. Standing, I put the chair back in front of the computer and then I stood there, staring at the machine a moment. I've never gotten along well with computers, just well enough to get my work done and no more, and yet they held a strange fascination for me. I often itched to play around, to see if I could learn a little more, but I was also terribly afraid of making some horrible mistake and ruining something important of Dai's. That fear had always overwhelmed any exploratory longings, and no doubt always would. Giving the computer a last confused frown, I left the office and moved on with my day.
-----signature-----
This post is brought to you by:
Vetinari / Vimes '08
Scorpion pits and Justice for all
Once a Talon, Always a Talon!
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Herman Snerd
Title:
- Archive Editor
Registered:
Oct '99
|
Date Posted:
7/1/04 11:42am
Subject:
RE: Crash Course 2: Perfect -- OC/drama/mystery -- updated 7/1
|
It's good to see you around here. (meaning one of my threads)
Hey, we Oct. 99'ers gotta stick together.
-----signature-----
Have a question or suggestion for the Archive? PM Mariah anytime. Voted Dork Magazine's "Sexiest Nerd Alive" for 2008 http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb237/Snerdmania/DSCF0113.jpg A .jpg is worth a thousand .txt's.
|
Locked Topic |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
