| Author |
Topic:
This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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VaderLVR64
Title: Fan Fic Manager in Combat Boots
Registered:
Feb '04
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Date Posted:
4/25 7:17am
Subject:
This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
- Date Edited:
4/25 9:35am (4 edits total)
Edited By:
VaderLVR64
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Title: This Morning
Author: VaderLVR64
Characters: OCs
Notes: Written for the April Vignette challenge. Required words are bolded.
This Morning
My master seems distracted this morning. He does not tell me what is diverting his attention, but I sense his disquiet in the Force. He sits there at the table, sipping at his caf, his expression as serene as always. Beneath that calm and placid surface, however, there is a roiling turbulence I have never felt in him before.
I do not speak of it; that is not my place. Still, I sit here beside him and I wonder at it.
Master Dequay has always been a thoughtful being, contemplating the galaxy through peaceful eyes. To me, he is the consummate Jedi. Perhaps he is not as talented as Master Windu, or as wise as Master Yoda, but he has served the Order loyally all of his life, and for that I give him my admiration.
It is my most sincere hope that one day I will be the Jedi that he is. Every day I work toward that goal, seeking my master’s approval. Words of praise are given sparingly here at the Temple, but when they are spoken they are even more precious.
I have tucked away each bit of praise like a treasure, keeping them against despair and disappointment on lesser days.
He finishes his caf and gets up from the table, carefully washing his cup in the sink. Not once does he look over his shoulder at me and give me a smile as he usually does. Though I have never thought about that smile, taking it for granted I suppose, I find that I miss it terribly.
What is wrong this morning?
Is he ill? Worried? Angry? What is the Force whispering in his ear? Should I also feel something in the Force?
The questions run round and round in my head and I soon grow exasperated because I have no answers. I hate feeling ill prepared for a test, and this is what I feel like now. There are questions coming and I have no answers. A test that I will fail. Fear rises up in me and I ruthlessly push it down.
A Jedi does not know fear. I am a Jedi. Fear has no claim on me.
Then why do I feel so afraid?
I take the last sip from my own cup and wash it as my master did. We are creatures of habit, I suppose. There is comfort in the habits, and the familiar is soothing.
This morning is different, however. I sense it, though I do not know from which direction the change will come. When I walk out of the kitchen, my master is already dressed and staring out the window. What he is looking at, I cannot guess.
I go to my room and quickly dress as well, feeling too vulnerable in my sleep pants and tunic. I feel a restless urge to go and do, though where I would go or what I would do, I do not know.
Perhaps it is this same edgy impatience that has Master Dequay in its grip.
“Master?” I ask quietly. His shoulders stiffen as if he has forgotten that I exist. He turns and gives me a strained smile.
“Yes, Zxander?” His voice is calm, his expression serene, but his eyes…
They are a stormy dark sea of brown with flecks of black. I cannot bear to look in his eyes, so changed and changeable. “Is something wrong?” I dare to ask and my master sighs.
He shakes his head and turns away to look out the window once more. “The wind is changing, Zxan,” he says. His hands settle on his hips and his legs are planted widely apart. His stance is familiar; I have seen this same posture when he prepares to enter a battlefield.
Is there a battle coming to us?
The war rages on and on, no ending in sight. Not often does it touch upon Coruscant, but can we hope for that reprieve for long? Already, our planet bears the marks of death and destruction. Recent events have brought the war home to us, showing that none will be spared completely.
“The wind, sir?” He is talking of weather and I am thinking of war! How strangely the mind of my master works sometimes.
He turns and his smile is infinitely sad. “The way things are,” he replies enigmatically.
There are times when it is most frustrating to try to follow the mind of a Jedi Master. They live much within themselves, their thoughts a wondrous landscape that is difficult to negotiate when one is a mere Padawan.
“I don’t understand, Master.” I make this confession timidly, for failure to understand has always bitten me deeply. I want to know everything, and yet the more I learn, the more I understand that there is much I will never know.
A paradox that plagues me.
“I hope you never will,” Master Dequay says softly.
With that, he shrugs his shoulders and seems to push aside his uneasiness at the same time. We go about our day and nothing is different. I learn and he teaches. He instructs and I listen. I make mistakes and he corrects me.
I have always been an obedient padawan if not a brilliant one. What I lack in talent, I strive to make up for with diligence. Master Dequay says the trade is fair enough, and he has never seemed impatient with me. My progress as a padawan has been slow, but steady.
I work hard, for nothing comes with great ease to me. My gift is not bent toward radiance but rather toward gentle illumination.
The day passes both slowly and quickly, the moments lasting hours and the hours slipping by unnoticed. Master Dequay seems to be himself, and now I am the one who is ill at ease. His anxiety has infected me and I struggle against it.
Soon it is evening and we are sharing our meal. His earlier disquiet has returned and I am surprised to see him tapping his fingers against the table.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The rhythm of it threatens to drive me mad.
A scream breaks through the uneasy clicking of his nails on the table. That is a sound never heard within the Temple walls, I think to myself. The cries of children at play, the grunts of exhalation, but never a scream.
The sound carries terror in it. My heart grows cold, but my master’s shoulders merely slump in resignation as if he has been expecting this sound all day – perhaps all of his life.
Without a word, Master Dequay gets to his feet. For the first time since I have known him, he leaves his dishes on the table.
Oddly, that scares me more than anything else he has done this day, even more than the cry of pain and fear.
I go to stand beside him, noting that he has grabbed his saber. I pick up mine as well, not questioning the why of it.
He opens the door and sound seems to engulf us, water flooding over a dam. Screams. Blaster fire. The buzz of sabers.
Death.
Death has come to the Temple.
I hear the march of boots coming our way. More screams.
More death.
Master Dequay turns to me. “You’ve been a good, Padawan, Zxander,” he says softly.
I hear farewell in the words.
“Thank you, Master.” I am saying good-bye.
We turn and see the clones marching toward us.
-----signature-----
If you have to choose between tears and laughter, remember that laughter burns more calories. Army Mom! HOOAH! Adopt a soldier: http://soldiersangels.org/
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MsLanna
Title: CR GSFF Central
Registered:
Jul '05
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Date Posted:
4/25 7:29am
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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Break my heart, why don't you?
Wonderfully quite and sad viggie. My heart breaks for Master Dequay as he tires to keep the day as normal as it could be knowing what will happen later.  And Zxander, he never saw it coming, and now it's too late.
-----signature-----
Padawan owned by Corellian_Ale  Master of CloneCaptainRex.  Proud FanFic Master of Darth_Sathanos Why so serious?  Master of baritonejedi
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Jedi-Gon
Registered:
Nov '07
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Date Posted:
4/25 7:37am
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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...
I think I have just finished reading the saddest, most heart-breaking vignette ever - An amazingly well written one at that! That was astounding. Very, very well done, VaderLVR64. A great response to the challenge.
Aw, now you've got me all depressed.
But, all the same, it was very good.
-----signature-----
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent." -Qui-Gon Jinn, The Phantom Menace Duct tape is kind of like the Force - it has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together. Proud Padawan to Jinngerbread
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Takianna
Registered:
Apr '05
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Date Posted:
4/25 8:13am
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
- Date Edited:
4/25 8:14am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Takianna
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As always wonderful work. Such saddness. Great job!!!
-----signature-----
Mereel's perfect white smile never faltered. He took a short rod from his belt, an electroprod of the type farmers used to herd nerfs.
"Hi, Mama," he said. "Your little boy's back."
From Republic Commando: True Colors
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Alexis_Wingstar
Registered:
Sep '06
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Date Posted:
4/25 9:21am
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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Master Dequay turns to me. “You’ve been a good, Padawan, Zxander,” he says softly.
I hear farewell in the words.
“Thank you, Master.” I am saying good-bye.
Very well done.
-----signature-----
"Change. It can be good. It can be bad. It can be expected or come as a thief in the night. Invited or not, it always comes." ~Koria "Tender Shadows", co-written w/ The Musical Jedi "Two Peas Out of the Pod" http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/205643
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earlybird-obi-wan
Registered:
Aug '06
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Date Posted:
4/25 9:29am
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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so sad to see that master and padawan at that horrible day.
Great response to the challenge.
-----signature-----
writer and Star Wars fan
FANART [link=http://boards.theforce.net/fan_art/b10020/25793899]fanart[/link]
stories in my bio
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ratna
Registered:
Mar '07
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Date Posted:
4/25 11:14am
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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My gift is not bent toward radiance but rather toward gentle illumination.
What a beautiful sentence! (And what an awesome riff/contrast with Skywalker...)
And now that gentle illumination will be snuffed out!
I suppose Master Dequay did not alert anyone or attempt to escape or evacuate younglings because he just couldn't believe his premonition was real? Or it was too amorphous? Or was he hoping against hope?
Or was he submitting to the necessity of Fate, which requires the long, dark Night before the new Dawn can be born?
*sigh* Masterful as always.
-----signature-----
Ou n'a tu pas tellement aime quelqu'un que tu avais peur de l'aimer au peur des souvenirs?
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Jaina_and_Jag
Registered:
Apr '03
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Date Posted:
4/25 1:22pm
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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Great response! What a sad day! The day the Temple is overtaken. 
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azizah
Registered:
Sep '06
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Date Posted:
4/25 2:05pm
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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This was heartbreaking, but beautifully written. This line got to me especially
The sound carries terror in it. My heart grows cold, but my master’s shoulders merely slump in resignation as if he has been expecting this sound all day – perhaps all of his life.
Lovely response to the challenge.
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Helen_Taft
Registered:
Mar '08
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Date Posted:
4/25 2:31pm
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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Heartbreaking, simply hearbreaking. This is the one scene in the movie I never seem able to rewatch. Excellently written, so much so it's impossible to pin-point a favorite bit--every line resonated. Brilliant work! *bows*
-----signature-----
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randomangel22
Registered:
Feb '06
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Date Posted:
4/25 4:02pm
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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OMG that was just too painful.
Master Dequay had an idea of what was going to happen and chose not to frighten Zxander.
I always thought what the other Jedi thought as the clones came killed everything and everyone in their path.
This was brillant and so heartbreaking, especially the last few lines.
-----signature-----
I think the worst time to have a heart attack is during a game of charades...or a game of fake heart attack. --Demetri Martin
Yeah that would suck now wouldn't it?
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Gina
Registered:
Jun '03
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Date Posted:
4/27 10:13am
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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Stunning work, K!
-----signature-----
A long time ago in a house far away, there was a mother who was strong in the ways of the Force.
She "forced" her sons to clean their room, she "forced" her sons to behave.
- Part of a story written by my 9 yr. old sons I found while cleaning their desks
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Dana-Skywalker
Registered:
Jul '07
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Date Posted:
4/27 7:32pm
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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I hear the march of boots coming our way. More screams.
More death.
Master Dequay turns to me. “You’ve been a good, Padawan, Zxander,” he says softly.
I hear farewell in the words.
Stunning!
In one vignette, you captured the essence of two OC's, the Master/Padawan bond, and the indescribable sadness of not only the Temple's destruction, but the bravery with which the Jedi faced it. As always, wonderful work, VaderLVR!
-----signature-----
-taking a break from the Boards...DRL (aka school)-
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KELIA
Title: Fan Fiction Moderator
Registered:
Jul '05
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Date Posted:
4/28 3:28am
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
- Date Edited:
4/28 3:28am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
KELIA
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That was brutal.
How tragic Dequay and Zxander's last day was filled with the knowledge of impending doom.
I loved their last words to each other.
Great response to the challenge
-----signature-----
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slow_dawn
Registered:
Apr '06
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Date Posted:
5/25 1:28pm
Subject:
RE: This Morning - April Vignette Challenge response
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My heart grows cold, but my master’s shoulders merely slump in resignation as if he has been expecting this sound all day – perhaps all of his life.
Without a word, Master Dequay gets to his feet. For the first time since I have known him, he leaves his dishes on the table.
Oddly, that scares me more than anything else he has done this day, even more than the cry of pain and fear.
Loved this bit. Great work! I really enjoyed seeing things from this padawan's point of view.
-----signature-----
O, Life! That persistent struggle which rises slowly with with the warmth of dawn but fades quickly in the twilight of dusk! The Tragedy of Anakin Skywalker??? The Vig Challenge Board - http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/28176650/p1
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