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Author	Topic: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Finished 6/15/05
the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/11/05 1:38pm Subject: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Finished 6/15/05 - Date Edited: 6/15/05 7:05pm (4 edits total) Edited By: the_wandering_shadow
	The Last Command (AU, not of Zahn’s novel) This is for the OC Dueling Circle’s most recent challenge, where a canon character is helped by an OC, yet doesn’t realize it. Main Canon Character: Mara Jade Main OC: (not saying yet but I will admit that it does take awhile for him to come into the picture) Era: Slightly after ROTJ DISCLAIMER: George Lucas owns Star Wars, including Zahn’s OC Mara Jade) The Last Command by the_wandering_shadow I Mara Jade was sleeping deeply, locked in a maddening dream that she felt she would never escape. Yet only a moment later she was jolted awake by the voice of her Master, the Emperor. YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER . His voice was cold, demanding vengeance, as he revealed his will to his one remaining faithful servant. “Master,” Mara whispered, shaking as she sat up. The room’s darkness chilled her, although not so much as Palpatine’s voice did. Still she waited for him to say more; almost any words would have been comforting. Mara was beginning to remember her horrid dream. It was so vivid, assaulting her with a vile images that she would rather have not seen ever again. Darth Vader and his son Luke Skywalker were approaching the Emperor—her mentor, her Master, the only sort of father figure she’d ever had—the two had their lightsabers ready, which were alight with a hellish gleam, as they struck the Emperor down. Within the second Death Star, Palpatine’s lifeless body tumbled from his throne. “No…” Mara said, trying to force herself to believe that it was only a dream, nothing more than that, but she’d had Force-induced dreams before, some natural, though most of them had contained orders from the Emperor. Then she heard her Master’s voice in her head once more. YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER , the dark voice hissed. But Mara still didn’t want to believe that he was dead. The Emperor could not have been slain by two fools such as Vader and Skywalker, but if something so unthinkable had happened she would kill both Skywalker and his father. Vader, however powerful he thought himself to be, would pay. He would not take her Master’s place. Mara Jade, the Emperor’s Hand, would see to that no matter what it took. Yet she had already failed to kill Skywalker once on Tatooine. The blame had lain with Jabba the Hutt, the bloated slug who had thought himself the greatest gangster in the galaxy. But at least he , was dead, and for as much as Mara would have liked to have done the deed herself—for him having gotten in the way of the Emperor’s plans and letting Skywalker escape—Leia Organa had strangled the Hutt with the length of chain that he had used to hold her—the former Alderaanian princess—captive. The Emperor had left Imperial Center before Mara had forced herself to return from the desert planet. She was glad to find that her Master had left for the second Death Star already, that he was preparing to witness the Rebellion’s death with his own eyes. By the time he’d return to his Palace, Mara figured Skywalker would already be dead or at least pledged to serving the Emperor as his father had been. There might still have been punishment for her failure on Tatooine, but she had hoped that it would be less if her Master had gotten what he wanted. And now she was dreaming that Palpatine had been assassinated by both Vader and Skywalker… it couldn’t be possible. At least it didn’t make any sense. Her Master’s powers were far greater than that of the other two combined. Suddenly she realized, now that there was no longer a hint of the Emperor’s demanding voice, that a great commotion was going on outside of the Palace. The noise struck her ears with thunderous speed. What could possibly be going on? Mara pushed her vibrant, red-blonde hair from her eyes, and as she planned to get out of bed, she just barely heard the slight sound of her door chime, which was followed by a voice that seemed to be filled with both excitement and nervousness. “Lady Mara! Lady Mara! The Rebellion has just destroyed the second Death Star!” “Damn,” she murmured under her breath, a mesh of anger and sadness filling her. Her life seemed to be turning upside now, fate tossing her about wherever it pleased. She still held onto some of her prior disbelief, but even that was starting to slip away. “Lady Mara!” “I’m coming! ” she said, practically growling as she gritted her teeth. Mara flicked one of the smaller overhead lights on, walked over to the chair where she had placed her silk, crimson robe before bed, and she snatched up the robe, throwing it on and tying to pull it shut, as she walked into the elegant main room of her suite, and ordered the door to open. Standing there was one of the Palace servants, a human/Mirialan cross-breed. Mara thought the man’s name was Zoron something-or-other, but a triviality like the name of someone she barely knew meant nothing now. “The rebels have destroyed the second Death Star!” “So you’ve said,” Mara bit out impatiently. “And the Emperor was destroyed with it!” In pain, Mara closed her eyes. So her Master was dead, and now the only life she’d ever known had been shattered in an instant. Damn all those rebels , she thought, seething, Skywalker most of all . But had Skywalker, and Vader for that matter, been aboard the battle station when it exploded? It seemed likely, but Mara had to know for sure. She opened her eyes, the pain pushed out of sight by angry determination. “What about Vader? Did he die with the Emperor?” “Indeed, Lady Mara. Lord Vader’s death has just recently been confirmed.” “And what about the rebel Luke Skywalker? I heard that he was aboard the second Death Star. Did he die, too?” “It’s been rumored that he did.” “I don’t need rumors. I need facts.” Mara said, her green eyes were locked on the servant. “There has also been another report, not confirmed yet, My Lady, but it said that Skywalker escaped in an Imperial shuttle just moments before the blast. The unconfirmed documents also say that Skywalker took Lord Vader’s body with him to the Endor moon, where he and the other rebels are celebrating their victory. It doesn’t make any sense to me, but…” Mara turned her back on Zoron, ready to head back into her bedchamber. The servant asked, “Lady Mara, where are you going?” She quickly spun around, flashing her impatient eyes at him again. “To get dressed, so I can go to Endor. Skywalker will pay for what he’s done.” “But according to the report Skywalker had nothing to with—” “Oh, blast this report you keep talking about. Skywalker…” Mara’s voice trailed off. “Wait a minute, how have you gotten access to all these military documents? They’re classified.” “True…” The servant replied nervously. Maybe he just didn’t like the way Jade was looking at him, but Mara sensed a forthcoming lie. “B-but the guard-locks on all such files have been deactivated. I don’t know how, My Lady.” Mara grunted. This was such a waste of time. She had to catch up with Skywalker. So the best thing to do was pretend she believed the servant’s words. “All right. I’ll be ready in a minute.” As soon as the bedchamber door slid shut behind her, she twisted open the first of three control panels, which rested along aside it. She pulled a small blaster from beneath her nightgown’s sleeve and blasted the now exposed wires and buttons. Now there was no power to the main room. Zoron was trapped. There was no way out unless he wanted to plunge through a window to his death, and there was also no way to contact whatever sources were giving him his information… unless he had a comlink on him, but she doubted he was smart enough for that; he’d come to her with dirty hands after all. Mara re-holstered the blaster, and after a quick reach into her wardrobe, she obliviously pulled out a plain black jumpsuit, then she took off her nightclothes and put the jumpsuit on in their place. The whole time she did this, she was surrounded by loud screams. The ones outside were raucous and exuberant, inside Mara could hear Zoron crying out her name in a panic. “Shut up, you traitor,” she found herself murmuring, as she strapped on a pair of boots. When Mara dashed for the door and tried to open it, she found she couldn’t, and she grunted. It was her fault for forgetting that this exit would be sealed off as well. Mara lifted her hand, using the Force to call the lightsaber the Emperor had given to her long ago. It came out from under her pillow easily enough, but shuttered just a bit as it progressed through the room. Once the lightsaber was in her grasp, the young woman ignited the glowing purple blade and cut through the door. The only illumination in the main room came from Jade’s saber and the city lights shimmering through the window. Zoron’s sickly yellow complexion had paled quite a bit, and he was sweating profusely; Mara realized this right away as she strode though the large hole. “L-lady Mara,” he stuttered. “The power has gone out!” “I hadn’t noticed,” Mara said with very sharp sarcasm. “What are we going to do?” “Well, what I’d really like—” She was cut off by a loud rumbling; the building trembled around them and for a moment they had to fight to keep their balance. It seemed like there had been a ground quake, both of them would have believed it too except for what they had seen out the window beforehand. The many of the citizens, after putting forth a great amount of effort, had successfully managed to tear the Emperor’s statue down. How dare they? Mara thought, her mind swarming with fresh anger, which blossomed even more when she turned her stern eyes back on Zoron. No wonder she had always been so busy with her duties as the Emperor’s Hand. The galaxy was brimming with inconsistent fools. Mara was so furious about the toppled statue, and the people’s blatant disrespect toward the man that had ruled them all, that she wasn’t thinking straight. For some unknown reason she decided to give the servant another chance. Well, ‘chance’ wasn’t quite the right word, Mara realized. This would be more like a test. “You go contact a squadron of Stormtoopers—I’ll cut you a way out, of course—The crowd out there needs to be restrained, perhaps some of them should be arrested. I can take care of them after I’ve found Skywalker and dealt with him.” “But the Emperor’s dead, Lady Mara. Lord Vader, too.” With those words Zoron failed his test. Mara bitterness toward him grew; so did her anger. “So, you would let the Empire crumble without a fight?” “I am no soldier, My Lady. You know that—” “Shut up!” Mara spat. The hand with which she held her lightsaber trembled with fury. “I asked you to contact troops, not go yourself. Not that I’d let you go. I know you’d join that rabble in a instant and kriff the memory of the Emperor to heart’s your content.” Even without the vulgarity, Zoron knew that he had reason to be afraid, and he took a step back from the woman. “I… I… M-my Lady, I… I… I’d never…” “Liar! I know what you are! You’re at the very least a rebel sympathizer, but you’ve got to be more than that. How else would you have known that Skywalker had taken Vader’s body to Endor? Any Imperial that would have seen that for sure would have been obliterated by the blast. Only a rebel would have known for sure. So you must be a rebel spy!” “M-me, a spy? N-n-never!” Zoron said, as he tugged nervously at the bottom of his tan tunic. “Don’t deny it!” Even without using the Force, Mara knew she was right. “M-my sister, Baralia… She’s the rebel. She sends me encrypted messages after every battle, j-just to let me know that she’s survived… so I don’t worry.” “You have no sister,” Mara responded callously. She wasn’t entirely sure if Zoron had a sister in the rebellion or not, and if he, by some twist of fate, did have a sister at all, then Mara was appalled that he’d bring her faults out into the open, instead of taking the blame himself, since he was supposedly so worried about her. Jade stalked toward Zoron, the servant backed up as much as he could, until his back was pressed against the inoperable door. Mara saw, and smelled, urine rushing into the servant’s trousers. Her nose wrinkled with disgust, and once she had closed in on him, she slapped him with her free hand. “Ahhh!” he cried out, more out of fear than pain, and he fell to his knees, more urine escaping him. Looking down at him, Mara felt dizzy. A cold haze had engulfed her, as if her Master was nearby. Within the next moment, the Emperor’s voice blasted through her mind. YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER . When the commandment fell silent, Mara knew what she had to do. She used the Force to pick Zoron up—as Mara did so, he squealed like a Corellian farm-hog being placed in the slaughter-pen—and she flung the faithless servant into the wall, hard enough so that he lost consciousness. He couldn’t be left to escape, but she knew well enough that her killing efforts must be saved for Skywalker. Without a second look, she cut herself out of her suite and pressed on to the Palace’s main hangar bay. Mara only stopped once, at a communications console, to order a full stormtrooper squadron to quell the outside crowd, and also to order a few straggling troopers to arrest Zoron. Mara didn’t take time to wonder if her last demands as the Emperor’s Hand would ever be heeded. -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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lordmaul13 Registered: Oct '00	Date Posted: 6/11/05 5:31pm Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post I: Mara at the Imperial Palace
	Good start. You have me interested in how your OC will help her out. And will she actually kill Luke. There was only one minor thing. Mara didn't know until the Noghri told her during the mission on Wayland that Vader was Luke's father. But that's a pretty minor point. lordmaul13 -----signature----- tatooinewizard's partner in crime I can dream now, Joey. Oh, you wouldn't believe what I can dream of now. Hellraiser III Better Days Than These http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=27626554&brd=10475&start=27629823
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the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/11/05 8:20pm Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post I: Mara at the Imperial Palace
	Good start. Thanks You have me interested in how your OC will help her out. I'm glad. That's the point And will she actually kill Luke. I am not at liberty to say There was only one minor thing. Mara didn't know until the Noghri told her during the mission on Wayland that Vader was Luke's father. But that's a pretty minor point. I had already written most of this first post when that dawned on me. I thought about change it, but then I thought, "what the heck. It's an AU and I can do whatever I want." And as I've progressed in writing, it seems that leaving it in was for the best. -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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lordmaul13 Registered: Oct '00	Date Posted: 6/11/05 9:06pm Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post I: Mara at the Imperial Palace
	I definitely don't want you to tell me. I was just telling you I was wondering. And, as for the Mara knowing VAder is Lukes Daddy, it is your story and, as I said, it is a pretty minor point. lordmaul13 -----signature----- tatooinewizard's partner in crime I can dream now, Joey. Oh, you wouldn't believe what I can dream of now. Hellraiser III Better Days Than These http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=27626554&brd=10475&start=27629823
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the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/12/05 3:44am Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post I: Mara at the Imperial Palace
	I definitely don't want you to tell me. I was just telling you I was wondering. I know. I just wanted to say something funny And, as for the Mara knowing VAder is Lukes Daddy, it is your story and, as I said, it is a pretty minor point. I knew that too. I was just sort of describing my thought process while writing. And here's my update. The main OC in question will enter the post after this one. _____________________________ II Going to the Endor moon had been a waste of time, maybe not a complete waste, but enough of one to frustrate Mara even more. As she had suspected the rebels had not celebrated there long; a wise move on their part. There was still a great horde Imperial military personnel that clung to the Emperor’s memory, who all continued to hate the so-called Rebel Alliance. Mara had hoped she would find leads to where the rebels—especially Skywalker—were headed next. There were many leads, so many in fact, that most if not all of them were false. These were just little bits of information left to throw off any loyal Imperialists that might be trying to track them, just as Mara herself was doing now. She found many likely destinations: Bakura, Utapau, Naboo, Kashyyyk, Falcrin, and even Coruscant itself—although Mara felt that the rebels would have had to been acting far too rashly to waltz right into Imperial Center this soon. Amongst these bits of information, and a great scattering of dented stormtrooper helmets, she found another small data pad, this one was clearly a message terminal. For some reason, Mara found herself going out of her way to search the drafts folder (where all sent messages remained without encryption) There was only one message, and Mara found herself checking it out. It said: To my dearest brother: I have the best of news! The Battle of Endor has been fought and won! The war, if it is not over already, will be ended soon. I am so happy! Not only has the ground warfare gone well, helped along by the valiant work of many Ewoks. (Ewoks are the natives of Endor. You would not think that such small creatures would be so brave and cunning in battle, but they were of great help, as Princess Leia and General Solo were able to shut down Death Star II’s shield generator) The battle above Endor Moon was won as well, General Calrissian in Solo’s Millennium Falcon, penetrated Death Star II, and with no injury to himself or the ship, he managed to cause the demise of the battle station, and Emperor Palpatine with it. I know you are glad as well. Your treatment by most everyone in the Imperial Palace was worse than that of other servants because of our mother’s heritage. Now you can escape as you have so long wished to do! There is one thing about all this that confuses me. The Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker, that I have told you about so many times (even more than I have mentioned any of the other great heroes of the Alliance, as you can attest to!) He did something very odd. He was aboard Death Star II, just before it exploded. He escaped in an Imperial shuttle, bringing the remains of Darth Vader to Endor Moon with him. Jedi Skywalker held the solemn rite of funeral pyre for him, how could the son of the great Clone Wars hero Anakin Skywalker even think of honoring such an evil man. I know Jedi Skywalker has his reasons; the Jedi are forgiving ones after all, and I did kindly question him on it just before I started writing you. He said he might explain it to me later. I do look forward to that day! Well, I must go and enjoy our brief celebration, and get ready to leave. Do your best to feign loyalty to the late Emperor while you are still in the castle, at least to those who maintain their own loyal to him. Please, don’t go out of your way to do this, as you have a tendency to do. You know overdoing things always brings trouble to your doorstep! I will see you soon, brother Zoron, I promise you! Your loving sister, Baralia Veronis As she finished reading, a tear streaked unchecked from Mara’s eye. She couldn’t understand why she felt so choked up. The coward Zoron did have a sister connected with the rebellion, he hadn’t been lying about that, but so what? He betrayed this same sister, all because he hadn’t enough brains heed her sound advice. So what to that as well? Perhaps all this sudden sadness stemmed from the mention of her Master. Even in death, he still sat on the throne of her heart. His commands were still the air in her lungs. Yes… that was it. Mara dropped the small message terminal and crushed it underfoot. It was a useless bit of evidence for a charge of treason that would likely never be prosecuted, but Mara wasn’t even really thinking about this as she was doing it. The Emperor was on her mind once more, and she was lost in thought about something that had happened just as she had approached Endor, when her ship passed through the exact place where her Master had died. For awhile she could not continue with her progress. An ever climaxing chant of YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER filled her brain, and didn’t stop until she blacked out. At first she relived the dream—the truth—that had ripped her fragile life to threads, but then that vision subsided into another, which revealed her late Master—only he seemed to he alive, sitting on his throne, coldly eyeing Mara as she knelt before him. “My Hand,” he whispered to down to her, his voice almost echoing through this imaginary dark chamber. “Have you not heard my call?” “I have, Master,” Mara admitted with as much bravery as she could muster. “Then why is Young Skywalker still alive?” “I haven’t caught up with him yet. But I will… soon…” “And you will kill him the moment you find him?” the apparition pressed. Mara nodded, finally chancing to look her Master in the face. “I will, Master. He deserves to die for what he’s done.” “Good, good,” the apparition said as he stood. “Lord Vader has already paid the greatest price for his foolish inconsistency. His offspring must share in his fate. For notice, My Hand, Young Skywalker has accepted the Dark Side of the Force, and in time he will cause himself to take my place as Emperor. You do not want that, do you?” “I don’t, and I won’t allow it, Master. I hate him.” The Emperor’s specter had approached Mara then, a rotted sliver of a smile resting upon his lips, as he reached down, caressing her cheek. Mara had felt chilled and sickened by his touch; it felt so familiar and honest that she had wanted it to be real. It was after that that Mara finally eased back into consciousness, and after shaking her head, to relieve her mind of all afterimages, she proceeded to land on the forest moon. And now she stood there, trying to compose herself yet again. Though still feeling somber, Mara’s determination rose to the forefront, obscuring all vestiges of sadness. It was in that moment that she realized what her next destination would be. Though Coruscant seemed the most logical place to go if Skywalker was going to set himself up as Emperor, it felt wrong, somehow Mara found herself focusing on the most obscure planet of the bunch, Falcrin. Falcrin was the place where, over a millennia ago, the infamous Dark Jedi Avernus Starkiller had created a fortress. This fortress was to have been the place from where his descendants would rule the galaxy, after all Jedi and Sith had been eliminated from the picture. This of course had never happened, and all the Starkiller’s heirs had reportedly been purged by Malisk and Magnor, the Sith Lords who had lived one-hundred and sixty-five years before (although technically Darth Malisk had been a lady). Palpatine had told Mara about these facts early in her service. He did not believe that the Starkiller’s bloodline was completely dead, but he did not know where search for the remnants of that dangerous breed. “Even when I was the servant of Darth Plagueis, I was searching for them, ready to strike them down, to finish their purging once and for all. I never found any hint of them in all my years, but I feel that they still exist somewhere, and in existing they are a danger to me. You must be watchful, My Hand. They must not be able to complete the final goal of their ancestor’s plan.” Mara had been amazed. It was hard to believe that these Starkillers were powerful enough to hide themselves from a man of Palpatine’s greatness. Though she had never spoken it, Mara had later taken to the assumption that her Master was just being paranoid about this, that he was merely afraid of losing all that he had acquired in his lifetime, and now Mara wondered if Luke Skywalker was the last remaining descendant of Avernus Starkiller. It seemed more than likely at this point. Vader and Skywalker were father and son, together they had slain the Emperor. As far as Jade could see, it all fit together perfectly, and Palpatine had never sensed that an heir of Avernus Starkiller had been bowing before him for over twenty years, obeying his every command. Now that was strange, but as impossible as it seemed, perhaps there had been someone more powerful than the Emperor himself after all. With all these thoughts assaulting her, Mara made her way back to the ship she had taken from the Imperial Palace’s main hangar bay. It was a non-descript R9-S16 class cruiser, a plain private vessel with no Imperial or Rebel insignias—this had really been the best choice since it wouldn’t do for her to be shot down by either faction. -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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lordmaul13 Registered: Oct '00	Date Posted: 6/12/05 9:08am Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post II
	The plot thickens. It's nice to see the Starkiller line worked into this. lordmaul13 -----signature----- tatooinewizard's partner in crime I can dream now, Joey. Oh, you wouldn't believe what I can dream of now. Hellraiser III Better Days Than These http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=27626554&brd=10475&start=27629823
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the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/12/05 1:37pm Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post II
	It's nice to see the Starkiller line worked into this. Well, it's sort of like an addiction with me I consider it my own Star Wars canon. -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/13/05 2:56am Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post II
	up -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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emimar Registered: Apr '03	Date Posted: 6/13/05 3:44am Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post II
	I'll take a better look at this tomorrow, as I'm running out of time darn... -----signature----- Stories @ force.net's Jedi Council forums here: http://swcc.bravehost.com/index81.html Fan Art Thread http://boards.theforce.net/Fan_Art/b10020/20783536/?0 Web Journal: http://swcc1.bravejournal.com/ Save the Darwin's Zorro - eh fox
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the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/14/05 7:15am Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post II - Date Edited: 6/14/05 9:21am (2 edits total) Edited By: the_wandering_shadow
	Well whenever you have time, that's fine. Probably making an update today, before finishing it off tomorrow or the next day. -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/14/05 11:33am Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post II
	III Mara piloted the R9-S16—known as the Dangerous Liaison by name—down into Falcrin’s atmosphere. The place looked so desolate that she began to feel that way as well. She felt her heart sink, almost to the pit of her stomach, and tears threatened to overtake her again, but Jade managed to push them away. She would not fling her composure to the wind, not when Skywalker was potentially so close. It didn’t take long before Mara was able to spot the Starkiller’s fortress. Even from this great distance, the black-stone façade was imposing, a maddening sight as it had surely always had been. Yet the place looked as if it had been neglected for centuries, and still its spires tore into the sky, reminiscent of the Emperor’s own rotted fingers, as they beckoned her to the surface. Mara set the ship down on the castle proper. She released the hatch and landing ramp of the Dangerous Liaison , not really aware that soon she would make such a liaison herself. Jade exited the vessel. It had started to rain slightly, and the dark clouds which were filtering in, seemed to whisper rumors of approaching nightfall. The impending darkness seemed to give the structure an even more eldritch appearance, but Mara wasn’t put off. Skywalker, if he wasn’t already here—and he didn’t seem to be—then he would be arriving very soon. The heir of Starkiller would come home… But, but in fact, one of the greatest Dark Jedi ever to have been born of the Starkiller’s bloodline was already home, and Mara Jade was wrong, it wasn’t Luke Skywalker. * For nearly thirteen years Xcelcior Melgrot had been dead, killed by his last surviving descendant, while he himself had been at the peak of his power. Arrogance had clearly caused Melgrot’s lack of foresight; it had cost him his immortality, which he had preserved for over three-hundred and fifty years. The darkness that he had wielded all that time had engulfed him. It had long seemed that there would be no way to escape from it, and even more unlikely that it would just freely relinquish his tormented soul. But Xcelcior felt the iron fist of damnation relax, his soul was coming back to itself, if not to a body, and it didn’t take long for him to realize—in part—why this was happening now. Someone had entered the castle, a young woman strong in the Force, and the Force was apparently still with him as well, for he could see her: an attractive lithe creature, with hair seemingly made from fine strands of Coperean gold, and it wasn’t only the fact that Xcelcior could see her; her thoughts were at his disposal, and a great well of information sprayed around him like a geyser. Firstly he could feel her murderous intent. It was a command written inside her mind, but Xcelcior also sensed that it was a desire engraved upon her heart. This was surely something that he could use to his advantage, and tracking the woman’s thoughts, he learned something even more pleasing. Vader and his Emperor were dead; the Sith were no more. The Emperor’s arrogance had seemingly played a very crucial roll in their final destruction—apparently, arrogance was plentiful within the well of the Dark Side—and Xcelcior was filled with pleasure knowing that at least the Sith Master was now rotting in the same hell of darkness and pain that he himself had suffered in for over a decade. Most importantly, it was good to know that his blindness hadn’t made a millennia of family struggle all for naught. And it wasn’t as though Crin Fabian, Xcelcior’s murderer, could have continued the plot against the Sith… Fabian himself had shortly thereafter been killed while tying to call a horde of dark spirits into his body. Of course, according to this young woman’s thoughts, the Jedi were starting to reemerge, although the Knight she was intending to kill, she thought he was a Dark Jedi, and of the Starkiller line no less. Xcelcior was completely amused, a few Jedi were nothing. He had proven this long ago. Melgrot suddenly reached out, and sensed that the Coperean-haired beauty’s name was Mara Jade, and as this Jade woman closed in on him, climbing the winding castle stairwells and cautiously looking through each room, Xcelcior knew he would let her have her prize. Yet of course there would be a price for this. There always was. And so the Dark Jedi, plotting to deceive Mara, waited for her to come into his trap. * Mara was exhausted by the time she reached the top of one of the viciously tall spires. Sweat was trickling down her face, oozing out from under her hair. Her legs felt tight and heavy from too much climbing, and labored breaths rasped from her. Mara shook her head, somewhat upset at herself. For all the physical training and job experience that she’d had as the Emperor’s Hand, she felt she should have been doing better than this. She entered the oval room that was waiting for her. It was grand in size, yet completely unadorned, except if you counted the long bench that curved around nearly the entire room. The bench looked rather comfortable, a tempting thought for Mara, even though the color of the upholstery, only illumined by the dim light of her glow-stick, reminded her of dried blood. Mara was glad that Skywalker wasn’t here yet. She wasn’t ready to face him. She just felt far too weak. So Jade figured that it would be all right to relax a bit, although not too sleep. Sleep was not an option. At this point, she just hoped that she could hold out, and why couldn’t she? She’d been able to go on for days, even exerting herself, without sleep. Mara walked over the straightest part of the bench, feeling very strange as dual beams of silvery moonlight poured onto her through the large arch-shaped window on the far side of the room. Very weary, she laid down, demanding that she not fall asleep. It was more than possible that she had managed to miss Skywalker, and with the Dark Side of the Force as his ally, he could sneak in to attack her like a ravenous nexu, and then go unrealized until it was too late. Mara knew she couldn’t allow it, but she fell asleep anyway. -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/15/05 8:17am Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post III (Updated 6/14)
	IV When Mara woke up in the dark room, she felt very cold, and even though she shouldn’t have been able to see anything at all, she saw a tall figure looming over her. As Mara forced herself to sit erect, her first thought was that this black mass of a person, who was who was quite visible despite the darkness, must be Luke Skywalker. Quickly enough she knew that she was wrong. She spotted the black robe, the obscuring cowl, the pallid gnarled flesh. The Emperor’s sprit—Jade felt it could be nothing else now—was surrounded by such a powerful, soul-shredding aura that she felt sick and her skin immediately turned clammy. Mara tumbled to the floor with little of her usual grace, forcing herself to twist her knees before the apparition. Expecting punishment, she could not even look at him. After all the Emperor’s Hand was not allowed to show such a lack of self-discipline. Outside, the rain, which had stopped for awhile, had started up again, now throttling the desolate ground full force. It seemed as though Mara had only the rain to listen to for many long, cold minutes, but she was hardly sure of real time at all. “My Hand,” the apparition rasped, the scent of death filtering from him. “I am sorry, Master. Do what you will with me,” Jade said, her eyes closed. These were words that she had spoken a few times during her years of service, and the Emperor had never faltered in doing so. This time nothing happened. With a little hesitation, Mara opened her eyes and chanced a look at the specter, not knowing what to think. “I do not seek to punish you just now,” the spirit said, his mouth locked in a gaunt emotionless line. There was no mistaking the Emperor’s voice. “And I will not, unless you fail me.” Mara blinked, then bowed her head deeply. “I understand, Master. I won’t fail you.” “You shall be able to prove that soon enough. Young Skywalker is coming here now. By dawn, he will have arrived. You shall be there to meet him when he lands, to carry out my bidding.” Mara nodded, “Yes, Master.” For a moment, the only sound was that of the rain again. Mara shivered, and mentally blasted herself for it, but it was so cold. And when she released a few breaths and saw them transform into wisps of steam, she knew she wasn’t imagining the drop in temperature. Then the specter said, “I also have a gift for you, my Hand; a gift that will ensure Young Skywalker’s destruction.” Mara eyes shifted up toward the apparition again. She felt even more confused than before. What could he possibly have to give her here, unless it had nothing to do with this place and had instead been something he’d brought with him from the afterlife. Before Jade could question the spirit, he spoke again. “There is a compartment hidden in this bench, underneath the window. Pry it open.” Mara nodded and rose, then went to do what the spirit had ordered. Once the cushion was removed, she found herself staring straight into a small secret compartment. The only thing within was a thick, steel enforced duracrete cylinder. This couldn’t be it. But a moment later, the cylinder began to crack before her eyes, and with a sudden violent burst of the Force the duracrete blasted apart—this clearly came from the apparition, Mara was sure that she had not caused this. The dusty shrapnel sprayed forward, missing Mara’s face for the most part, except for her right cheek, and a few pieces pierced her shoulder and arm. While there was some pain, Mara found it easy enough to ignore, as she saw the two lightsabers that the duracrete had been sealing. She still didn’t understand. The specter explained, with a bit of relish. “These, my Hand, are no ordinary lightsabers. They are much, much more powerful than that. They are the legendary black-bladed lightsabers of Avernus Starkiller.” Mara was starting to understand, but not completely. She was in awe and believed the spirit, but still… “I thought they had all be destroyed, centuries ago.” “True, the Jedi destroyed most of them.” Anger began to filter into the apparition’s voice, but just as quickly it began to subside. “But not all of them. One remained…” He paused for a moment. “The other there was technically not birthed from Avernus Starkiller himself. His last descendant found the secret creation method and the correct type of crystal fragment and he managed to fashion his own.” More inflections of anger had crept into his voice, before leveling out with determination. “Take one and use its power to kill Young Skywalker.” Mara reached down in to the compartment, slowly, somewhat unsure of the weapons that lay within. They were definitely powerful, there was no honest way to deny that, for their rancid darkness beckoned to her. Jade felt waves of power toying with her flesh, filling her with cold exhilaration. As she was about to grasp the leftmost saber, the apparition hissed, “No, the other.” Though Mara didn’t know why it mattered, she jerked her hand away as if she had just touched a scaling kettle on a stove, and she wasted little time before locking her fingers around the other one. Touching the black-bladed lightsaber was like nothing she had ever felt before. It was ecstasy and hell all at the same moment, and the dark power that the object was pouring unchecked into her body was stronger and more contaminating that she had ever felt before. It pounded through her like a tidal wave. Mara closed her eyes, trying to get a hold of herself. All of these sensations were far too much to take, and yet she tightened her grip on it, so much so that the metal hilt dug to her palm slightly. Mara bled a bit, but she hardly noticed. She felt as though she were in a trance, but for how long she couldn’t say. When Jade finally came up from being mercilessly thrashed about by this energy, she felt electrified. All the negative feelings that she had ever experienced were welding themselves together to create the ultimate death machine. Mara wished that Skywalker were here this very minute. She could attack him, and he would never know what hit him. That thought made a slight smile creep onto her face. Mara stood, relaxing her now bloody grip on the lightsaber only slightly, but she felt strange, very defiant toward anything that might try to claim power over her, even the Emperor’s spirit. Yet as she turned around, Mara saw that the apparition had vanished, but before leaving her to revel in this new power, his voice penetrated her mind once more, speaking again the last command, but making one addition to it. YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER, BUT LEAVE HIS BODY UNDAMAGED. IT MAY YET BE OF USE TO ME *** Dawn was fast approaching and the Jade woman was already waiting for Skywalker in the fortress’s spanning entry chamber. Xclecior felt an amazing amount of pleasure, perhaps greater than any he had ever felt before. He would have never even dreamt that such a magnificent opportunity would be afforded to him; not after he hand been delivered into the hands of blackest death. But now the Force was with him again, and he would soon be granted the chance to again secure his immortality. And the body that Melgrot would be granted! It apparently belonged to the Chosen One’s son. In life, the Dark Jedi had had many visions of Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi’s Chosen One, turning to the Dark Side, and though he had turned back to save his son, the power of the Skywalker line could not be denied. Xcelcior was lost in thought about walking in flesh again, and also about gaining entrance to the Jade woman’s flesh as well. It had been a long time since he had felt that sort of pleasure, but it was a dangerous pleasure, he knew that too well. He could not allow another heir of Starkiller to threaten him. In the midst of these thoughts, he could feel Luke Skywalker descending into the planet’s atmosphere. Xcelcior’s powers had awakened so much that he could even touch Skywalker’s thoughts. The young Jedi was having doubts about coming and didn’t even know why he was landing here as a matter of fact. Xcelcior knew that such doubts must be abolished, and digging deeper into Skywalker’s thoughts, Melgrot easily found the key he could use to keep Luke from leaving. _____________ Final post tomorrow... -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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lordmaul13 Registered: Oct '00	Date Posted: 6/15/05 11:15am Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post IV (Updated 6/15)
	Good posts. They're like an old horror movie, with the rainy night and the castle. It even has the ghost. lordmaul13 -----signature----- tatooinewizard's partner in crime I can dream now, Joey. Oh, you wouldn't believe what I can dream of now. Hellraiser III Better Days Than These http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=27626554&brd=10475&start=27629823
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the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/15/05 5:05pm Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post IV (Updated 6/15)
	Good posts. They're like an old horror movie, with the rainy night and the castle. It even has the ghost. That's pretty cool. I hadn't even realized that. -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/15/05 5:09pm Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post IV (Updated 6/15) - Date Edited: 6/15/05 5:13pm (1 edits total) Edited By: the_wandering_shadow
	double post -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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the_wandering_shadow Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 6/15/05 7:01pm Subject: RE: The Last Command (AU, Not of Zahn's Novel: OC/DC challenge) Post IV (Updated 6/15)
	Well, I've finished so I thought I'd post the finale tonight, not that it matters either way... _______________________ V Luke Skywalker piloted his X-Wing into Falcrin’s thick cloud layer, a strange chill piercing his mind. He knew he should be continuing on to meet up with the rest of his comrades, but just recently, his Jedi hibernation trance had broken, and only one thought blazed through him, to his very soul: to pull out of hyperspace and to land his X-Wing immediately. He had obeyed this urge, but now he was beginning to have second thoughts. Maybe he’d just fly back out. That seemed for the best. From the droid socket behind the cockpit, R2-D2 gave a nervous twitter. Luke, without needing to look at the translation console, was about to agree with the droid, that it was perhaps a good idea to leave, but suddenly his mind filled a comfortably familiar voice. Luke… Luke… “Ben?” Luke asked, although he didn’t need to. He had no doubt that the voice belonged his earliest Jedi mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke… listen to your prior feelings. You must land here Even without being given a reason, Luke believed the voice. Obi-Wan had never led him wrong before. “All right, Ben,” he murmured, feeling reassured. R2 gave another nervous twitter, this one a bit confused. Luke smiled slightly as the X-Wing’s descent became more rapid. “It’s okay, Artoo, trust me.” After a thoughtful moment, the astromech beeped his compliance, although a bit reluctantly. Skywalker’s smile widened a bit. “You know, Artoo, I think you’re starting to sound like Threepio.” The droid whistled sharply, as if insulted. Luke laughed, unaware that it was the last time that he’d ever do so. *** Mara heard the X-Wing land, its respulsorlifts roaring, and in her mind’s eye she could see Skywalker taking of his helmet, and jumping out of the cockpit. He turned to say something to his droid—Mara was pretty sure it was something like ‘say put’, but that was just as well. She wasn’t in the mood for distractions—and now he was walking toward the castle. Mara reached underneath the dark, tattered coat she was wearing and brushed her hand against the black-bladed lightsaber, which hung from her belt. She closed her eyes in ecstasy and thought, it’s almost time… almost time. *** With quite a bit of effort Luke opened the fortress’s towering double doors and he poked his head into the deserted, vast entry room. “Hello?” Skywalker called, and only his echo replied. For some reason he repeated the greeting, and echoes again rebounded off the curved walls and ceiling. The whole thing seemed eerie, as if he might well find a spirit, but not a living soul. Still Luke waited a minute, being patient enough. Even then it seemed as if no was here, at least in this part of the castle, and he thought that perhaps he should leave. Maybe whoever owned the R9-S16 parked outside was not at the castle, maybe he or she had walked down to the nearby village. Or so Luke hoped. Something still wasn’t right. As the Jedi Knight went about mastering his uneasiness by mentally reciting the Jedi Code like a prayer— there is no emotion; there is only peace —but Luke got no farther than that before a figure came into few from the far end of the chamber. At first the person—a woman with amazing red-blonde hair—said nothing, as she walked toward the entrance, her strides graceful, yet confident. Luke entered the fortress, and closer this woman got, the more he realized how beautiful she was, even in her tattered, ankle-length coat. When she stopped, she took a good look at the Jedi, her radiant green eyes piercing. Then the woman spoke with a definite edge in her voice, “Well, it took you long enough, Skywalker. We’ve been expecting you.” Luke tried to reach out with the Force to gain more understand, but it didn’t take the Force to know that he was in trouble as the heavy doors slammed shut behind him. * Mara was a bit surprised that Skywalker didn’t even flinch, but maybe she shouldn’t have been, he had been one of the few who had ever dared to stand up against the Emperor, and he was the only that had ever survived. “Who is ‘we’?” Skywalker asked, sounding every bit as calm as he looked. Mara bit her lip. She knew Skywalker had to be toying with her. “You know…” Jade said, an almost dangerous quality lurking in her voice. “No. I don’t,” he said in return. So he wanted to play this game. Fine. It was last time he’d have the opportunity. “ ‘We’ includes myself, and someone you’ve killed… recently, of course, because I’m sure that there’ve been many.” Skywalker was apparently still in the mood to play. He looked confused, but the expression had to be feigned. “If you mean me fighting for the Alliance—” By this point Mara had had well enough, and spurred on by the deadly power of the black-bladed lightsaber, she snapped, “You know what I mean, Skywalker! Or should I say ‘Starkiller’?’ And without even consciously calling it, Jade’s new lightsaber flew into her hand ,and she ignited it. Skywalker’s confusion melted into shock when he saw the ominous blade appear, but he wasted no time in readying his own lightsaber. Mara was ready to charge at him, and she was so lost in her fury, that she was preparing to cut her target to pieces until Palpatine’s voice arose. “DO NOT USE THE BLADE; THE BODY MUST NOT BE INJURED.” At first Mara thought that the voice was just in her head as it had always been, but no, not this time. It was obvious that Skywalker heard the spirit’s words as well, but she did not give him time to dwell on them. Even as her blade flickered out, Mara began to enact a move that Darth Vader himself had been famous for. Normally, she would have strayed from using such a method, but in her mounting fury, and because she had to leave to body intact, Mara began to strangle Luke with the Force. And no matter how powerful Skywalker was, the power that the black-bladed lightsaber gave her was stronger still. He could not fight off the chokehold, though he tried desperately to do so. Soon he even lost the power to grip his own lightsaber, it tumbled to the floor with a clatter, and Skywalker himself followed the saber soon after. Luke Skywalker was dead, and Mara looked on at his undamaged corpse, satisfied that her Master’s order had been fulfilled. * And in the tower-chamber, where Xcelcior himself had died thirteen years before, the Dark Jedi knew that the Jade woman had completed her quest and that he, of course, had made it possible. Now she was indebted to helping him in his own quest. Xcelcior Melgrot, the greatest heir of Avernus Starkiller, would live again. -----signature----- Daniel Paul Harms (1958-2007) Yesterday I bought Harry Potter y Las Reliquas de la Muerte (Deathly Hallows in Spanish!) lordmaul13's PIC The new writing contest: http://boards.theforce.net/science_fiction_and_fantasy_books_and_comics/b10749/28279838/p1/?2
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