Jedi Council Forums - Gods of Dark and Light--2007 SUMMER FANFIC NOMINEE

Locked Topic | Read Only Topic | Previous Active Topic | Next Active Topic

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 » - ~~Previous~~ | Next | Reload

Author	Topic: Gods of Dark and Light--2007 SUMMER FANFIC NOMINEE
Darth_Marrs Registered: Feb '06	Date Posted: 7/29/06 9:34pm Subject: Gods of Dark and Light--2007 SUMMER FANFIC NOMINEE - Date Edited: 7/24/07 6:09am (47 edits total) Edited By: Darth_Marrs
	NOMINATED FOR THE SUMMER 2007 FANFIC AWARDS FOR: Qualified nominations: Best Action Best All Around Best Crossover Best Epic Thanks to all those who nominated this story for the awards. Win or lose, it has been a blast and I owe it all to you. Thank you. Author: Darth_Marrs Title: Gods of Dark and Light Timeframe: End of ROTJ and beyond (not counting prologue) Summary: What happens when the ascended godlike beings known as the Orii, who are rampaging through the Stargate Universe, suddenly show up to convert the empire? Any who do not follow the Path of Origin must be destroyed. Characters: Everyone I could find from movies, books and video games. Vast majority are cannon or semi-cannon. A few are from Wookiepedia. A very few OCs. Disclaimer: I bow before the Lucas. He is eternal and forever. All things related to Star Wars are his and now and forever shall be. This is an homage only, and is not intended to make any form of profit. Any failures of character or plot are mine alone, for his work is flawless, especially the later movies. Likewise to Stargate, of which I am also a huge fan. Also, I am an unabashed newbie at posting and fan fiction. I've been lurking for a year, and have enjoyed every story I've read. I accept my inexperience for just that and would welcome any feedback. And now... Gods of Dark and Light Prologue: The Seeds of Forever (80,000 years BBY) The ship appeared with a flash of hyper-spatial radiation that many millennia in the future would be labeled after a sentient name Cronau, who thought himself brilliant for discovering something that had been known and documented before his race even discovered space travel. Almost immediately upon emergence into real space, the massive craft began listing, and soon the listing turned into a completely uncontrolled tumble. Toward the rear of the elongated oval ship, brief bursts of orange flame marked ruptures in the hull. The explosive out-gassing and flames acted like weak thrusters, further disrupting the ship’s flight path. Inside the dying craft’s bridge, a desperate captain shouted to his navigator: “Where are we?” “Unknown galaxy,” the navigator called back. “The enemy struck as we were entering hyperspace. We super-accelerated to intergalactic speeds.” “Ship status?” The navigator turned, her brows creased and her lips white. “Sir, she’s done for. There’s nothing I can do.” The captain nodded his acceptance of the navigator’s word. He would sense a lie as surely as he could sense the navigator’s distress. “Is there any hope Atlantis was able to track us?” “I don’t see how, Captain,” the navigator said. “We’re four galaxies away.” She left her station as, through the view port, the stars spun chaotically with the tumbling of the ship. “And we both know that the Wraith are moving on Atlantis. They won’t be able to save us.” “There’s a habitable planet nearby!” sciences called out. The view port blinked as the ship’s fading sensors honed in on a jewel of a planet, shining with the same green vibrancy and beauty as their lost home world. "Can we make it in our jumpers?” the captain said. “With only a few days flight,” sciences replied. “But captain, we never established gates in this galaxy, and the jumpers aren’t hyperspace enabled. We will be trapped there.” The captain gave a decisive nod and stood. “It’s better than the alternative. Without thruster control, this ship will tear itself apart in minutes. Give the order to abandon ship; we’ll make best speed to the planet and worry about the next step after we survive this one.” Chapter One: From the Jundland Wastes (80,000 years later) Jabba the Hut was dead. Mos Eisley seethed with the news that the crime lord had been killed by a Jedi. Those few from Jabba’s palace who survived even knew the Jedi’s name, but fewer still knew the Jedi in question had grown up within just a few hundred clicks of Jabba’s home. Mara Jade knew. She had studied everything she could about Luke Skywalker, and had even been to the site where his Aunt and Uncle had died. She had watched him face down the grotesque crime lord without ever loosing his calm; regal in the Force. It seemed almost a shame to have to kill someone who seemed even to Mara to be so…good. But her Master’s command could not be ignored. It was simply a twist of fate that she could not get on Jabba’s sail barge to finish her job. If she had been, she had no doubt the Hutt would be alive, Skywalker would be dead, and her Master’s wrath would not have burned through her mind with such terrifying agony. She lingered on the desert planet to formulate her next move. Someone who did not know her might think she was licking her wounds, but that someone would have died quickly and in great pain had they been stupid enough to mention any such thing to her. Rather, Mara told herself, she was deciding how best to fulfill her promise to her master that she would not fail again. Things were happening, she knew, that did not give her much time. Although her Master chose not to share everything with her, Mara knew that his master-stroke against the Rebels was close at hand. Even now, Darth Vader was on the new Death Star, ensuring its timely completion. And her Master himself was soon to join the Dark Lord personally. “Do not fail me again, my servant,” the emperor had whispered into her mind, after her screams of agony had stilled and the pain subsided. “I will await you on the Death Star.” Her ship was prepped, and she knew she would have to leave soon to join her master, but still she lingered. In the mornings she pulled herself out of the cot on her shuttle and stared at the featureless gray of the ceiling tiles, as if waiting for something to happen. She could not pinpoint exactly at what point she realized why the emperor had been so harsh to her, but nonetheless realization eventually surfaced. The emperor had punished her not just because she had failed; but also because he seemed to know that some small part of her had wanted to. Luke Skywalker was not the evil murderer the emperor had portrayed him as—the man who murdered a million citizens on the first Death Star. He had stood looking at Jabba without any sense of hatred or repulsion. All Mara had felt from him was unshakable determination and even regret over what he knew would have to be done. Mara had killed many people in her service to the emperor, but never anyone who projected such a sense of goodness. She simply did not want to kill him. “There’s only one thing to do,” she decided aloud after her third day languishing on the desert planet. “I’m going to do my master’s bidding. I am going to kill Luke Skywalker.” She left the shuttle that morning with a spring in her step for the first time since the day she failed her Master. She would hunt down Luke Skywalker, and kill him without mercy. Only then would she be able to prove to her Master that she was his loyal servant. As she stepped out of her hanger to make final arrangements with the garrison commander, however, she felt a sudden weight descend on her shoulders, as if suddenly the mass of whole galaxies had been dropped on her. She stopped in her tracks and looked around, trying to identify the feeling of heaviness and where it came from. It took only a moment for her eyes to spot the source of her feeling. She saw a gaunt man, with deathly pale skin and eyes that appeared covered in cataracts, though he seemed to be able to see clearly enough, moving toward her. He walked with a large stick, topped by an ornate white crystal, and the air around him seemed to deaden as he moved. Though he moved slowly through the bustling hot streets of Mos Eisley, silence followed in his wake as sentients of every description left off their fighting, haggling and other pursuits to follow the stranger with their eyes. Mara had enough training in the Dark Side from her master to recognize a disturbance in the Force; but her training was not sufficient to explain the feeling of dread that struck her so forcefully. The gaunt figure reached the center of the largest intersection and simply began to speak. “Hear me, people of this world,” he said. His voice boomed through the dusty, narrow streets with such force it seemed impossible not to pay attention. It was the same voice her master used when addressing large groups, which he rarely had to do anymore. Mara realized she had stopped breathing at the sound of the voice, and had to physically will herself to breathe again. “I bring great news from beyond the outer rim,” the man said. “Salvation has been found, and the path to enlightenment and ascension can be yours. For too long have you all traversed in the darkness; now I have come to show you the cleansing light and fire of your gods. Rejoice that the Orii have at last found you, for your salvation is nigh!” The crystal flared with bright white light, and Mara’s breath was pulled from her lungs under the force of the happiness that jolted through her body. As quickly as the feelings came, though, she shrugged the euphoria off for what it was and stared at the strange, gaunt man. “Who are you?” she demanded, a hand on her blaster. “I am a Prior of the Orii,” the man said, directing his death’s head eyes toward her. “I am a servant of your gods. And I have come to spread the word of Origin, so that all may glory in the Orii, and know the path to ascension.” “And what if we’re not interested your gods or your religion?” The Prior lifted his chin. “Those who do not walk the path of Origin, Mara Jade, must be destroyed.” He knew her name! Her body stilled as cold crept up the base of her spine. She could count on her fingers the number of people alive in the galaxy who knew her real name, and far more not alive who had found out. Instinctively, she pulled her blasters and fired. The crowd of locals screamed and ducked out of the way. The prior simply lifted his staff and the blaster bolts bounced harmless toward the sky. The man held his hand toward her, and she felt herself pulled from the ground, through the air, into his waiting grasp. This close to him, the man looked like a living corpse, but with no smell at all; not even his breath carried a scent. “Tell your master, Mara Jade. The Orii are coming. All who do not accept Origin must be destroyed.” He let go of her neck, but she did not fall. He held her in the grip of his power just as her master had many times before. His hand remained closed into a fist in front of her face; quickly he opened his fingers, and with the motion Mara Jade flew forcefully back across the street to slam into the wall of her own ship’s hangar. “I beg you all to take the teachings of Origin to your heart,” he said to the remaining onlookers. He held up a worn book, and then gently placed it in the hands of an old Rhodian female who stood nearby. “Read this book, and let the glory of your Gods enter your heart. I will return in two week’s time, and teach you more.” The gaunt, pale figure in white robes turned and began walking away, back toward the Jundland Wastes from which he came. Mara watched him leave with a mixture of hate, loathing; and absolute terror. She tried picking herself up and realized with a sense of shock that at least four of her ribs were broken, that the gurgling in her throat came from her left lung, and that she could not feel her legs any more. “Master!” she called into the Force. “You must hear me!” -----signature----- "Spock!" "Yes Captain!" "Be one with the horse." "Yes, Captain." Gods of Dark and Light; Heaven Falls Legacy of the Red Sun; Children of the Red Sun Blue Sun Down; The Boy Who Fell
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Darth_Marrs Registered: Feb '06	Date Posted: 7/30/06 7:37pm Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU c/o
	Here's Chapter Two. In the event anyone wanders by, they'll get a pretty good look into it at first glance. Enjoy. Chapter Two: A Disturbance in the Force. Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith and feared servant of the emperor, knelt before his master in a silent battle to keep his chaotic emotions in check. He had felt his son proceeding to the sentry moon, where the emperor had not. Emperor Palpatine sat on his massive throne, flanked by crimson guards and a pair of ministers nearby, his chin lifted as if listening to the will of the Force itself. When he spoke, it was slowly and with great weight. “I have felt a disturbance in the Force,” the emperor said. Vader looked up; had the emperor sensed Skywalker after all? “Yes, my master.” “Things are no longer proceeding as I have foreseen.” It was an admission Vader had never heard his master make. “Tell me, my friend,” the emperor continued, “have you ever heard of the Orii?” “No, my master.” “Neither have I, and yet in the past seven days their servants have reached out to over fifty of my most secret and effective agents on as many worlds. Every one of my Hands has been contacted, as well as every top spy I keep. And the message is always the same—accept their petty religion, or die.” Behind his mask, Darth Vader blinked in disbelief. “They threaten us?” “Many of my hands are force adept, Lord Vader. Not to the level of a true apprentice, but enough to defend themselves adequately. The most recently contacted Hand attempted to kill one of the messengers of the Orii. She and an entire division of our best stormtroopers were killed instantly, and I’ve just been informed that the rest of the world they were on has died of some unidentified plague. My physicians assure me they can isolate and cure the disease before it travels off-planet, but these Orii have already killed one of my top agents and an entire world of over a billion loyal imperial citizens. And another Hand on Tattoine reported that the Prior there deflected her blaster bolts and levitated her with enough force to break her back.” “These Priors are Jedi?” Vader asked, stunned at the thought. The emperor sneered. “The Jedi have always been weak and puny. This new threat is greater than any the Jedi could have presented, even at their most powerful. But this presents us with a quandary. What to do about the imminent rebel attack?” Vader’s mechanical breathing paused, causing the emperor to cackle in delight. “Yes, old friend, I was bait in a trap that would destroy the rebels. And I could still act the part, but the Force is warning me not to ignore these Orii and their priors. Therefore, we must choose which course to take.” “The hyperdrive systems on board the Death Star are operational, My Master,” Darth Vader said, “as are the weapons systems.” “But the superstructure is vulnerable.” “We are installing planetary-level shielding over the primary weapon, but the southern superstructure is still vulnerable, My Master.” The emperor meditated in silence, and then spoke his will. “Evacuate Endor immediately. The materials needed to continue the construction of the Death Star are already on board; we are going to leave our sanctuary moon.” “The weapons systems have not been tested yet, Master.” “They will be soon enough,” Palpatine said decisively. “We shall show these Orii the true power of the Dark Side of the Force!” “As you wish, My Master.” * * * “A disturbance in the force have I felt. Great danger does the galaxy face. Strong you must be to build the new Jedi order. Start, you must, with your sister.” Yoda’s last words still burned a path through Luke’s mind as he trailed behind Han and Leia through the primeval forests of Endor. His eyes were constantly flicking to Leia’s direction as he wondered just how to tell her that not only was she his sister, but she was the daughter of the man she hated more than anyone in the universe, even more than the emperor himself. Behind him, the rest of General Madine’s special operations commandoes moved through the forest in absolute silence. If not for the droids, the party would have been invisible. For the tenth time, Luke wondered what possessed Han to bring C-3PO along on the mission. Artoo had a logical purpose to crack any codes or computer programs they might encounter, but the golden protocol droid was utterly useless, and stood out terribly in the forest. His concentration was broken by a whisper on the wind. He looked up, closed his eyes and opened himself up to the Force. Ahead, he knew that Han and Leia were formulating a strategy concerning a pair of speeder bike troopers they had sighted. Suddenly, though, Luke knew such strategy was unnecessary. “Wait, Han,” he whispered to his friend. “Something is happening.” “What, kid?” Han Solo, one-time smuggler and now acting general in the Rebel Alliance, followed the direction of Luke’s nod and watched as the bike troopers stood up from their various tasks and put their hands to their helmets as if listening. As one, they all ran back to their speeder bikes and soon were zooming away through the forest. “What was that about?” Han said. Behind them, Artoo began beeping and whistling furiously. “Oh my,” C-3PO said, throwing his hands into the air. “Artoo says he has intercepted an open imperial broadcast ordering all forces to evacuate the moon immediately for weapons testing!” “Oh no,” Leia whispered. “That means they have the station operational!” “We’ve got to warn the fleet!” Luke said. “To hell with the fleet, we’ve got to get outta here!” Han said. He stood up and waived to the column of rebel troops. “Back to the shuttle, on the double! We’ve got to evacuate the moon!” When they reached it, the Tyderium sat in the clearing draped with camouflage nets just as they had left it. However, as they neared the ship, they saw a strange figure standing directly in front of the boarding ramp, holding a staff. Luke stepped forward, drawn by the odd twisting he felt in the Force. “Son of Skywalker,” the ghostly figure said, “I have come to show you the path of Origin. Follow this path, and no evil can touch you! The Orii could strike down your enemies with but a touch of their will, for they are the true gods of the universe. Accept their teachings of Origin, and you will know peace.” “I don’t care about peace, I care about getting off this rock,” Han shouted. He started running toward the figure when something lifted him from the ground and tossed him back into the waiting arms of the soldiers behind them. Luke stared in shock, but then quickly shook it off and stepped forward. “Evidently you know who I am. We mean you no harm, but we must leave this world.” “Yes, I know who you are, son of Skywalker,” the figure said. “I have come to show you the power of the Orii, so that you may believe in them, worship them as your gods, and follow the path of Origin.” “If you know who I am,” Luke said, “then you must also know that I follow the path of the Force.” “The Force,” the Prior said, laughing. “The Force is abomination and trickery. The Orii existed before the Force, and will exist long after. They have spanned galaxies, and their power cannot be challenged. Those who do not follow the path of Origin must be destroyed.” “Luke,” Leia whispered. “We don’t have much time.” Luke breathed deeply to center himself in the Force, drawing it in with each breath. “I have no wish to harm you, but I must ask you to move aside.” “If you can move me, do so.” Luke reached out with the Force to lift the Prior as gently as he could. Nothing happened. Luke’s eyes snapped open as he tried again, with the same results. The Prior reared his head back and laughed at the attempt. “My power is greater than the Force, son of Skywalker. I am a servant of the Gods!” He held out his staff, and Luke suddenly felt himself tossed into the air like a toy to the terrified gasps of his comrades. Instantly every commando in the field dropped to their knees and opened fire. The Orii contemptuously raised his staff, stopping the blaster bolds a meter from his body. With a further shake of his staff, every rebel felt themselves thrown back, Leia, Han and the droids included. The sudden shock of movement forced the air from Luke’s lungs, but while the prior’s attention was on the commando team, he gathered the Force into himself and landed on his feet, rather than in a pile of broken bones. “You are powerful,” he conceded into the silence following the failed barrage of blasters. “But do not underestimate my own power.” He blurred into motion, his lightsaber igniting as he charged the Prior. The green blade of energy collided with the prior’s staff as if striking another blade, and the two were at an impasse. This close, Luke could clearly see the milky coating over the creature’s eyes. The prior grinned. “You cannot win, Jedi,” he said gently, as if to a foolish child. “The beings in this galaxy shall worship the Orii, or be destroyed by them. You cannot…” Luke spun out of the deadlock while the ghoulish figure boasted, and instead of swinging his saber, he thrust the blade with Force speed directly into the Prior’s chest before the man could deflect it with his staff. For the first time, Luke saw shock and surprise on the man’s face. “There shall always be more,” the prior whispered. Suddenly, he burst into flames with such terrible heat it forced the young Jedi back. “What was that about?” Leia demanded. “General,” the troop sergeant said. “We don’t have a lot of time.” “Right,” Han said. “Everyone in the shuttle now. Derlin, signal the fleet to abort.” In moments the shuttle was airborne and accelerating toward the cobalt skies of Endor. The atmosphere flickered and faded away before the purity of space. “Chewie, keep us on the other side of the moon from the Death Star, and keep a look out for those star destroyers!” Chewie growled an affirmative, but Luke kept his eyes on the stars beyond the windows. “The star destroyers are already gone,” he said, as if speaking to himself. “Vader has already left the system.” Beside them both, Leia said: “How much longer until we can make the jump into hyperspace?” “We should be free of the gravity well in about a minute or two.” The Force began to tremble in anticipation. Look closed his eyes, reaching out with his mind to try and interpret what he felt. He was not so experienced in the Force yet to be able to instantly understand everything he felt. In this, though, he began to understand. “We may not have that much time,” he said. “The death star is firing.” “How do you know, kid?” Han asked, although he already knew. Suddenly the stars in front of them dimmed before the flash of light from behind, and milliseconds later the shuttle rocked furiously with the first compression waves from the destruction of the moon. “Chewie!” Han pleaded. “Arrrghhh,” Chewie roared as he pressed the hyperdrive control. The stars blurred into a blue tunnel and the imperial shuttle vanished seconds before a large fragment of the destroyed planet blew past. -----signature----- "Spock!" "Yes Captain!" "Be one with the horse." "Yes, Captain." Gods of Dark and Light; Heaven Falls Legacy of the Red Sun; Children of the Red Sun Blue Sun Down; The Boy Who Fell
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
VaderLVR64 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 7/30/06 8:04pm Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, pretty much everyone
	A great start! I love how you're bringing everyone in on it. Could you please PM me with updates? Thanks! -----signature----- R.I.P John, Alex, Jason, and Christian Never forgotten Soldiers' Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ 2114 soldiers waiting for someone to care
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
PonyTricks Registered: Jul '03	Date Posted: 7/31/06 6:52am Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, pretty much everyone
	EeeekkK! Endor is gone?? No Ewoks? How will the galaxy survive? -----signature----- Brain: Now, Pinky, if by any chance you are captured during this mission, remember you are Gunther Heindriksen from Appenzell. You moved to Grindelwald to drive the cog train to Murren. Can you repeat that? Pinky: Mmmm, no, Brain, don't think I can.
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
RedGold Registered: Nov '04	Date Posted: 7/31/06 10:18am Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, pretty much everyone
	ooooooo.... best of both worlds like to see more -----signature----- Legend... Recluse... Forgotten... Will one day return... http://www.starwarsfanfic.com
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Darth_Marrs Registered: Feb '06	Date Posted: 7/31/06 11:59am Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, pretty much everyone
	I've got readers! And yes, no Ewoks. I don't like Ewoks. Ewoks are the pure, distilled essence of evil. Ewoks are the true power of the dark side. So, I killed them. Bwahahaha. Just wait until you see what I do with the Bothans. Let's just say the Bothans refused to follow the path of Origin. -----signature----- "Spock!" "Yes Captain!" "Be one with the horse." "Yes, Captain." Gods of Dark and Light; Heaven Falls Legacy of the Red Sun; Children of the Red Sun Blue Sun Down; The Boy Who Fell
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
LeatherNeck Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 7/31/06 12:03pm Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, pretty much everyone
	Ori huh? Well it seems Luke was able to handle the prior effectively, which means the Ori themselves either don't care about the Prior or the Alterrans are present in this galaxy. -----signature----- I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me! -Stuart Smalley( Al Franken SNL character, 80s) Franken for Senate!
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Darth_Marrs Registered: Feb '06	Date Posted: 8/1/06 8:31am Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, pretty much everyone
	Here's where things start getting interesting. Also, I don't like Bothans. Chapter Three: The Prior Home One thrummed with activity. That was the only way Luke could describe the feeling in the Force, as if it were thrumming. His mind was already raw from the cry in the Force of all the lost life that had been Endor. He hadn’t realized until they died that the planet had housed many sentient beings, numbering in the millions, and that with a callous wave of his hand the emperor had condemned them all to death simply to test his latest machine. The fully functional Death Star, however, was only one of the many things of concern for the Rebel Alliance. In briefings a day after the ground team rendezvoused with the fleet, Bothan spies reported a new religion springing up across the galaxy that posed a direct threat against the emperor, and it was supposed that this religion was why the emperor himself had pulled the still incomplete Death Star out of its hidden sanctuary, to battle the religious extremists. Two days later, reports came over the holonet of a mysterious plague that wiped out Bothawui, the Bothan home world, and somehow spread quickly through the galaxy targeting every living Bothan, including the Alliance’s spies. In a matter of days, the entire Bothan race had died without a single blaster shot being fired. Even without the genocidal plagues, the religion spoken of by the Priors itself felt terribly wrong to Luke. The Force did not feel right around the Prior that had challenged him on Endor, and word that similar beings were appearing all over the galaxy filled Luke with a sense of dread whenever he meditated. And on top of everything else causing Luke concern, there was the thought of what to do about Leia. His sister. The daughter of Darth Vader. In the officer’s mess, between strategy meetings with the alliance leaders who were trying to guess what was actually happening with no hope of actually guessing right without additional information, he watched his sister and Han. In all the rush of escaping Endor and the revelations about the changes in the emperor’s strategies, he had not been able to tell her the truth. Now, a week later, he began to wonder if he even should. Ever since they had saved Han on Tatooine, her behavior toward the man had changed completely. Although they still argued, Luke sensed an open amity in their sharp words, and at this very moment, Leia sat next to the former smuggler so close they touched from thigh to shoulder. It was the closest thing to a hugless hug as Luke could imagine, and did not fool anyone in the mess hall. “They make quite a couple, don’t they?” Wedge Antilles said as he walked up beside his commander. He had just finished his own dinner and was wiping a smear of sauce from his flight suit. “Sorry you missed her?” Look turned and stared. “What do you mean?” “I just remember you and the princess had something going there for a while. I distinctly remember hearing about a kiss in the medical bay on Hoth.” Wedge grinned; Luke grimaced, then realized Wedge was right. There had been a kiss, and it had been exciting. No one had ever kissed Luke like that, and he found he liked it. Now, in retrospect, he knew she kissed him as a substitute, and for the life of him he was very glad. “I love her like she was my own sister,” Luke said. “I’m glad they’re together. She might civilize him.” “Think he’ll make her more roguish?” Luke clapped his friends shoulder and shook his head. “Han has about as much chance of changing Leia’s character as I have of making Darth Vader a good guy.” Wedge didn’t understand the peculiar laugh Luke gave at his own joke. * * * Darth Vader did not like Mara Jade. Even more so, Darth Vader did not like Tatooine. He hated the dust that got into everything, even clogging his breathing mask. He hated the memories that haunted every hazy mirage he saw. Being on Tattoine with Mara Jade made the Dark Lord of the Sith doubly irritated. Vader had landed with two entire legions of the empire’s best stormtroopers; they were experienced, crack professionals who had voluntarily joined the empire, rather than be conscripted or cloned as many of the empire’s forces were. These men were elite and prime material for promotion if they survived. They included the 501st Battalion, Lord Vader’s personal command, and they soon had all of Mos Eisley under strict imperial control. Mara had been waiting for him when he walked off his shuttle, dressed in a dark officer’s uniform without insignia. Her flame of red hair was carefully gathered under her cap. She attempted to stand at military attention, although he noticed she seemed to be favoring her left side. “Jade,” Vader said as he spotted her. “Walk with me.” She fell in step beside him, to the right and slightly behind. He walked quickly as always, but with a touch of irritation realized she was not keeping up. She grimaced and tried to walk faster. “You shall tell me everything you reported to the emperor about this ‘Prior.’” Mara nodded and began her report while trying to keep up with newly healed ribs and a recovering lung. “He was humanoid, with a bleached coloration and cloudy eyes, as if he should have been blind from cataracts. He deflected my blasters using a staff as if it were a light saber, levitated my body easily and threw me across a street.” “You were injured?” “I am recovering well, but yes, the Prior threw me against a wall with sufficient force to break four ribs, one of which punctured a lung, and shattered two vertebrae of my spine. I’ve just emerged from a Bacta emersion and required a replacement of both injured vertebra. I have machinery in me now.” Vader turned and looked down at the Emperor’s Hand. In her uniform with her hair collected, he was surprised to see how very young she was. Though her words were old, she was in fact but a child, near in age or possibly even younger even than his son. In fact, she was only a little older than he himself was when he lost his arm. Under the crimson hue of his enhanced vision, she appeared weak and pale, completely unlike the Jade he had watched grow up in the palace. “He frightened you, this Prior?” She held her chin up and glared at him; he noted the way her hand twitched, as if restraining an urge to assault him. Young or not, Mara Jade was smart enough to know the danger of that, and restrained herself to a glare only. “I do not fear anyone.” “You fear your Master, Jade.” “So do you!” she declared, once more showing her youth in the spiteful retort. Vader contemplated showing her the danger in challenging him. However, he knew her to be a favorite pet of the emperor. Rather, he simply said: “Yes.” She blinked at the admission, for once caught completely by surprise with the monosyllabic admission. “I asked the question, Jade, to gauge him, not you,” Vader continued. “Your feelings are irrelevant in my judgment of you, but may be useful in my assessment of the Prior. Again, did he frighten you?” Mara pulled her eyes away from the black mask and toward the desert shimmering under the planet’s terrible heat. “Yes,” she admitted between gritted teeth. “The power he wielded was like nothing I’ve experienced, except for that shown by our master.” Though Vader sensed it was a difficult admission for the child, he simply didn’t care. “I have positioned the fleet around the planet in a blockade. Each ship has the full spread of its sensor packages directed to the surface of this planet. We are at this moment tracking the movement of every being alive on Tattoine. We must determine where these priors are originating, and then hunt them down.” “Yes, Lord Vader,” Mara said. “The time I saw the Prior, he walked into town from the direction of the Jundland Wastes, which is…” “I know where it is, Jade,” Vader said. His breathing did not pause, but there was a cadence in his nearly monotone mechanical voice that made the young Hand pause and look at him in confusion. For some reason, Darth Vader sounded almost…wistful, as if remembering something that caused far more pain than anything should cause to a Dark Lord of the Sith. The Prior came near the end of the afternoon, two weeks to the day from his last visit, walking into town as before. However, this time, no civilians stopped their activities to watch his path. The streets were completely deserted. The Prior continued walking down the street, clutching his staff, with the same confident expression on his pale face, as if he were leading a horde of followers. He must have seen Vader and the thousand storm troopers long before he actually arrived. But he continued walking at the same unabated pace, never letting his eyes waiver from a point just about the dark lord’s helmet. He continued walking until he stood a mere ten paces away from the might of the empires’ finest, in the middle of the evacuated town. “Welcome home, Lord Vader,” the Prior boomed in a voice that carried to every last ear in the town. “Have you come to bow down to the Orii and learn the path of Origin?” Vader ignored Mara Jade’s startled stare and walked toward the prior. “I have come to give you the Emperor’s answer, Prior of the Orii.” The menace in his voice chilled even the burning heat of the Tattoine afternoon. The prior lifted his chin and said: “The Orii are eternal and forever. The Orii see all. The Orii saw you as a boy on this world, just as we saw your…” Vader’s saber lashed out with inhuman speed, only to be stopped by the Prior’s staff. The troopers behind him shifted uncomfortably—many had fought under Lord Vader before, but none had never seen anything stop the inevitable death his light saber wrought. “You cannot stop the Orii,” the Prior said with a ghastly smile. Vader stepped back and deactivated his sword. The troopers were shocked, but Mara understood. The Dark Lord’s orders were to learn about this new enemy, and then destroy him. “Where do these Orii originate from?” “The Orii are eternal and forever,” the Prior intonted. He spoke in with a chanting rhythm, almost as if he were singing a song. “They are not known in this galaxy. Where did you come from?” “I came from a galaxy far, far away from this one.” “How did you arrive on this world?” “By the Will of the Orii.” “And how is that Will executed? Did you come by ship?” “The Orii have given their faithful servants ships greater than any your puny empire can imagine. You will know this soon.” Mara did not like the sound of that, but Vader simply nodded. “How many priors like yourself are there who serve the Orii?” “As many as the Orii wish there to be. All serve the Orii to their fullest potential, and may be made a prior by the Will of the Orii.” “And what is the Path of Origin?” “The Path of Origin is the Will of the Orii, explained so that the lesser mortals of the universe may lead a good and virtuous life, lay down their arms, and learn the way to Ascension.” “And what is Ascension?” “Ascension is the blessing of the Orii for those who follow the Path of Origin. Those who ascend become as gods and join as one with the Orii.” “And what is your name?” This last question made the Prior pause for the first time. “I have no name. I am the Prior.” “What name were you born with?” “I have been reborn as a servant of the Orii.” “But you have not always this way. I sense you were a human once. Your name was…yes, it is still there in your mind. Daseth. That was your name. Your mother was Dalea, your father was Dazac. You had a sister and two brothers. Your family is dead, because they did not follow the path of Origin. You killed them with your own hands.” If Vader thought the personal information gleaned from the Prior’s mind would shake him, Mara saw that the Dark Lord was mistaken. “All who do not follow the Path of Origin must be destroyed. It is the Will of the Orii.” At that very moment, a dilapidated old landspeeder fell out of the sky directly toward the Prior’s head. Mara had not felt or even seen the Dark Lord of the Sith levitate the landspeeder until he released it to plummet toward the still speaking servant of the Orii. The Prior looked up at the falling landspeeder and lifted his staff defensively. The speeder stopped in mid-air. At that very second, Vader ignited his light saber and slashed easily through the Prior’s torso. The Prior’s head snapped down with a stunned expression. The landspeeder fell, completing what the light saber had begun with a wet crunch. A heartbeat later, a billow of fire flashed under the landspeeder, only to burn quickly away. Vader flipped the speeder with a flick of his wrist and a nudge from the Force, and where the Prior’s body parts should have been was only a blackened smudge in the dust. He turned and looked at Mara Jade. “You were afraid of this creature?” he taunted. She stared at him with narrowed eyes and forced her heart to be still. She had feared the Prior, but now she had something new to fear. For all that she had respected Vader in the past for his position with the Emperor, she had never seen the full extent of his own power in the Force. Now that she had, she found she feared him almost as much as her master. She did not like the feeling. After shuttling back to the Executor, Vader knelt before the oversized holographic image of the emperor. “Report, my friend.” “The Prior had a great deal of power,” Vader said truthfully. “Your Hand admitted she even feared the creature.” “Mara Jade admitting fear?” the emperor mused. “You dispatched it, of course.” “Of course, my Master.” “And yet…?” “My Master, I defeated it because the Force was with me. I sensed no fear in this creature, and confidence that even knowing who I was it could have defeated me. Although I have disabused it of this notion, were it not for my strength in the Force, I have no doubt events would have played out differently.” The emperor considered his words, and then spoke with the slow, hypnotizing cadence that had lulled so many of his enemies in the past. “I lost another servant today, sent to Dantooine to quell a Prior uprising there. An adept of the Inquisitorius. Two thousand storm troopers were lost. However, I have also lost contact with the escort sent there. Five destroyers.” Vader looked up at his master. “Though I have seen no evidence of it, the Prior said the Orii had given their followers powerful ships. Perhaps the lost destroyers are the first evidence of that. Any religion is bound to attract some followers.” “They are an abomination in the Force,” the emperor said. “I sensed it as well, my Master,” Vader said. “A black hole where the Force should be. I believe these creatures to be a great threat to the empire.” “Indeed. And we shall bring the full force of the empire to deal with them. The Death Star is heading toward Dantooine. I shall remain aboard to oversee the destruction of these Orii craft. The fleet is to rendezvous there in four days. I shall have the exact time and coordinates sent. I want the fleet and the battle station to arrive simultaneously.” “It shall be done, my Master,” Vader said. The hologram flickered out and Vader stood to find Mara Jade staring at him nearby. “That thing could have killed us all if you weren’t there, couldn’t it have?” “Most likely,” Vader agreed. “You’re going to need all the Sith you can get to fight them,” Mara said. She bravely stepped forward. “Take me as your apprentice, teach me the ways of the Sith so I can fight for my emperor!” He stared at her for a moment, and then slowly squeezed his fingers together. Mara grabbed at her throat and gasped for breath as her feet lifted off the floor. “This is the way of the Sith, Mara Jade. Betrayal. You serve the emperor, and you have killed many in his name, but you have never felt the true power of the Sith. Hatred is the door to the darkside, but not the destination itself.” He let her fall gasping to the deck and looked down at her, an enraged child with flaming red hair. “There is darkness within you, Mara Jade,” Vader said, “but you will never be Sith. You care too much.” With that, the Dark Lord of the Sith stepped past the Emperor’s hand and left his chamber. “I have killed hundreds, Vader,” she spat after him, when the door had already closed. “And I have enjoyed every death!” Even as she said it, though, she knew in her heart that he had been right. -----signature----- "Spock!" "Yes Captain!" "Be one with the horse." "Yes, Captain." Gods of Dark and Light; Heaven Falls Legacy of the Red Sun; Children of the Red Sun Blue Sun Down; The Boy Who Fell
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
RebelMom Title: TFF Secretary Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 8/1/06 9:05am Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, Chap 3 posted
	Interesting. It looks like Luke and Vader are the keys to defeating these creatures since they are the only one who have survived encounters unscathed. -----signature----- Short Story: Pressure Point http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/26961243/p1/?7 Jacen Solo and Anakin Skywalker - as it should have been. TFF: Cheryl
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
VaderLVR64 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 8/1/06 9:06am Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, Chap 3 posted
	Loved Vader's insight into Mara's character! He stared at her for a moment, and then slowly squeezed his fingers together. Mara grabbed at her throat and gasped for breath as her feet lifted off the floor. “This is the way of the Sith, Mara Jade. Betrayal. You serve the emperor, and you have killed many in his name, but you have never felt the true power of the Sith. Hatred is the door to the darkside, but not the destination itself.” He let her fall gasping to the deck and looked down at her, an enraged child with flaming red hair. “There is darkness within you, Mara Jade,” Vader said, “but you will never be Sith. You care too much.” With that, the Dark Lord of the Sith stepped past the Emperor’s hand and left his chamber. “I have killed hundreds, Vader,” she spat after him, when the door had already closed. “And I have enjoyed every death!” Even as she said it, though, she knew in her heart that he had been right. -----signature----- R.I.P John, Alex, Jason, and Christian Never forgotten Soldiers' Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ 2114 soldiers waiting for someone to care
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
RedGold Registered: Nov '04	Date Posted: 8/1/06 12:23pm Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, Chap 3 posted
	Great update, I love Vader/Mara's discussion at the end especially. -----signature----- Legend... Recluse... Forgotten... Will one day return... http://www.starwarsfanfic.com
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Darth_Marrs Registered: Feb '06	Date Posted: 8/3/06 9:58am Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, Chap 3 posted
	VaderLVR64 posted: Loved Vader's insight into Mara's character! Thanks. It turned out a lot better than I feared when I first wrote it, and then rewrote it. And then wrote it again . RebelMom posted: Interesting. It looks like Luke and Vader are the keys to defeating these creatures since they are the only one who have survived encounters unscathed. Not to give away the whole story, but yeah, they're important. I love Vader's character and all of the possibilities inherent in it. I'm struggling a bit with Luke--I don't want him coming off as a Mary Sue character. Hopefully I'll be able to keep that under control. Also, I should say something here about the Orii ships in this chapter. I started this before the latest season of Stargate, and so I had no idea what the Orii ships looked like. The ships on the series are intruduced later on as "attack ships". The ships in this chapter I'll call destroyers and are fundamentally different than those seen on TV. A bit of creative license on my part. This chapter is where the story really gets moving, and the true threat of the Orii is revealed, and the whole galaxy is thrown into turmoil. I hope you enjoy. Chapter Four: Family Princess Leia Organa threw the flimsiplast report down on the desk of her cramped office aboard Home One and rested her head in her hands. General Solo was on training exercises that day with Red, Blue and Green squadrons, putting them through their paces. The thought of a former smuggler and pirate not only leading men in the Alliance, but by all accounts leading them exceptionally well, was enough to make the princess smile. “After all,” General Madine had told her just that morning, “he was actually an imperial navy officer for a brief time. He did quite well at the Academy. It is not entirely surprising to find he is a natural leader.” A natural leader, Leia thought to herself with a rueful smile, and a hell of a good kisser. Her door chimed, and a moment later at her invitation opened to reveal Luke. The thought of kissing Han and then having Luke show up made Leia’s cheeks blossom with a red blush. Of course, Luke noticed and blinked. Lately, since he claimed to be a Jedi, he noticed everything. “Is this a bad time?” “No! Of course not, please come in. Do you want anything to drink?” “No, I’m fine, thank you,” Luke assured her. He walked over and sat in the center of the five chairs facing Leia’s desk. As he sat, dressed as always in his black uniform that was not a uniform, his eyes poured over the piles of reports on her desk. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your desk that…untidy.” “We’re trying to figure out what to do next,” Leia admitted. “We gathered every resource we had, tapped every credit we could get our hands on, to perform the assault at Endor. Now that there is not going to be an assault, Mon Mothma and the rest of the advisory council are looking for something to do.” Luke nodded. “I understand, better than you might think.” He leaned forward and put his hands on her desk. They both noticed the glove he wore over his sword hand—the damage his artificial hand received on Tatooine during Han’s rescue had not been repaired yet. “Leia, are you happy with Han?” The question hung in the air, and Leia leaned back away from the young man that had become such a presence in her life. In a small way, she feared this would happen. Men demanded resolution, she had found. Absolutes. Either a friend or a lover, and even among her closest friends, they had to know. But for the life of her, she did not want to hurt Luke. She loved him, nearly as much as she did Han. “Luke, you know I love you. Ever since you and that scraggily nerf herder charged into the Death Star like idiots to save me, I’ve loved you. You saved me from that monster—I can never forget that.” “I suspect that if that monster knew who you were, he would have treated you differently. But you didn’t answer my question. Are you happy with Han?” She turned away and looked out toward the stars. They were flying within a few million miles of a black hole with a massive disk that shone brighter than anything else in that quadrant, partially to obscure any imperial sensors that might have been in the quadrant. “I…I…love him too, Luke. I love you both. But with him, it’s different.” She turned and gave her most sympathetic smile to the farmboy and hero of the Alliance. “Yes, I am happy with him. I can’t imagine why or how, but I am happy with him.” Luke leaned back and nodded. “That’s good, Leia. It’s right that my best friend and my sister should be happy together.” It didn’t click at first. Rather, Leia felt a rushed sense of relief that Luke wasn’t hurt by her admission of feelings for one disrespectable former smuggler. “I’m glad you understand, Luke. It’s been…” She stopped, her eyes widening as she stared at him. “Wha…what did you say?” Luke smiled. “I’ve been playing this moment over and over again in my mind since I returned from Dagobah, trying to find the perfect way to tell you, or even if I should. I thought you would need proof, so I had Too-Onebee run a blood scan so I could show you something more compelling than just the word of a dying Jedi Master, and a conversation with a second one already dead.” He added a small piece of flimsiplast to an already large pile of similar sheets. Leia stared at it a moment as if afraid to touch it. Finally, with a slight shake of her head, she picked the flimsiplast up and studied it. “You are adopted, Leia,” Luke continued. “You already knew that. What you didn’t know was from whom. Your birth name is Leia Skywalker. You are my twin sister.” She stared at the genome comparison test, then up at Luke with her mouth hanging open. When she found words, they were disbelieving. “That’s just not…Luke, what are the odds of us coming together like this? It was just sheer chance that you found R2 and C-3PO at all. How could we even be sitting here like this?” “I grew up within a stone’s throw of a meddling Jedi,” Luke reminded her. “Ben Kenobi was always close by, watching me, secretly guiding me. He is the one who urged me to go to Alderaan. And as for the droids, you were purposely seeking him out, remember? I’m not sure it was chance, destiny or just Ben being Ben. As for saving you there…I fell in love with you the moment I saw you; you were familiar to me in a way I couldn’t describe. Ben knew who you were, of course, and he knew the time for us to meet had come. I imagine if he had lived, he would maybe even have told us. But now, looking back, I realize why he lied, why he and Master Yoda split us up and made sure we had no knowledge of the other.” “What could possibly have convinced them to do something so cruel as to take us away from our family?” Luke leaned forward, reached across the stacks of reports, and took her hands in his. “Do you believe you are my sister, Leia?” She slowly nodded. “Yes I do. Somehow, I’ve always known.” “Then believe me now, for what I’m about to tell you won’t be easy to hear. We were split up, and our identities safeguarded, to protect us from our father.” “Our father?” “Yes. He was once a powerful Jedi, but he succumbed to the Dark Side of the force and became a dark lord of the Sith and the emperor’s apprentice.” Leia pulled her hands free from his grasp and began shaking her head. “Luke, no, no no no no…” “Leia, Darth Vader is our father,” Luke continued softly. “His real name was Anakin Skywalker. And I believe there is good in him still—I felt a conflict in him on Bespin, when we fought. He had every chance to kill me, Leia. But he didn’t.” “No, he did that…” she said, pointing at the glove, “instead. Luke, I can’t believe this. What he did to me…” She looked up, suddenly understanding Luke’s earlier reference. “So he didn’t know.” “At that time he didn’t know about either of us, and he still doesn’t know about you. Ben and Yoda were able to shield you when you were young. But the Force flows in your veins, Leia. You have the same Jedi potential as I do. You must be trained if we’re going to defeat the empire.” “And be like him?” The revulsion in her face set Luke aback. “Not like him, Leia. Like me.” His calm voice broke through to her, and she found herself looking into the depths of his eyes. “I wish I had eyes like yours,” she said softly. “I would have broken the hearts of all the courtiers in father’s court if I had eyes like yours.” Luke stood, stepped around her desk to kneel beside her and wrap his arms tightly around her. “I’ve always loved you for you, and now I have even more reason to love you. And as a former farmboy who almost drooled himself into dehydration just looking at your hologram, I can assure you that you almost certainly did break the hearts all the young men in your adopted father’s court. You are beautiful, and Han Solo is one lucky nerfherder.” “So you don’t mind Han and me?” “No, it feels right for you to be together.” “Should I tell him?” Luke considered. “I leave that decision in your hands. In the meantime, though, we must begin your training. The Force has been whispering a warning to me, ever since Endor, that we will be facing a terrible challenge, a challenge only the Jedi can hope to overcome.” He took her hand and stood, lifting her out of her seat. “You mean right now?” “There is no better time, Sis.” She nodded, and then grinned. “What do you want to bet I’m the older one?” Luke laughed as he led her by the hand out of her office. * * * The world of Dantooine hung like blue-green pearl in the otherwise empty sky. Orbiting a small yellow star and with a population only in the millions, the planet had never been near the heart of galactic affairs. In fact, it had been so remote from those affairs Princess Leia had named it as a diversion to save her beloved planet Alderaan from the first Death Star. The attempt failed, of course, but Dantooine continued. Until now. With coordination made possible through technology and the power of the two Sith lords commanding them, the new Death Star came out of hyperspace just outside the orbit of Dantooine’s first moon within milliseconds of the arrival of one hundred star destroyers, led by the massive super star destroyer the Executor. The super star destroyer took its position directly in front of the incomplete southern hemisphere of the station. Seconds after the arrival of the Imperial Navy, five ships came into view of the Death Star from the other side of the planet, pitiful in numbers and size compared to the overwhelming might of the empire. Vader stood on the bridge of his ship, Admiral Piett a step behind. “Only five ships, m’lord?” Piett said. “These Orii creatures must be mad.” Vader said nothing. The Force trembled around this world, crying out as if sickened by a cancer in life itself. The Orii had indeed entrenched their beliefs here, and those beliefs were repugnant not just to Vader, but to the Force itself. Below him, a miniature hologram of the emperor appeared. “Lord Vader, you and the fleet are to keep the enemy vessels from escaping only. The Death Star will deal with them and their new planet directly.” “Yes, my Master,” Vader said. Piett nodded and looked out the window to watch the glorious victory. It was a victory in which enough imperial might to wipe out a thousand planets confronted five puny ships each a third the size of a dreadnaught. “Lord Vader, since it does not appear we will be needed, are there any other duties you wish me to attend to?” “Remain at your post, Admiral,” Vader said. “I sense there is more to this than meets the eye.” Piett snapped to attention. “Yes, m’lord.” The five enemy ships came in view of the naked eye as tiny white dots hovering just on the horizon of the planet. The sensors in front of Vader displayed each as perhaps one hundred meters in length, shaped like oblong ovals. Piett could see neither obvious signs of weapons, nor any sign of defensive measures at all. The ships took up a position between the Death Star and the planet. Suddenly, a voice boomed through every ship in the system, simultaneously as if from the heavens themselves. “Glory be to the Orii! Those who do not walk the path of Origin must be destroyed.” In answer, the Death Star fired its primary weapon. Piett remained by Vader’s side and watched as the beams conjoined to form the massive super-laser that lashed toward the five ships. Not only should the laser destroy the ships, but the planet below as well. The beam impacted the ships. The two ships on either end of the row of five darkened, and then exploded, but the three center ships remained intact and, at least on the surface, unharmed. The planet below was untouched. “How is that possible?” Piett whispered. “The center ships are absorbing and channeling the energy,” Vader said. Although his mechanical voice was monotone, Piett thought he heard a note of awe in the Dark Lord’s words. “I don’t understand how that can be possible.” “Neither do I, Admiral,” Vader admitted into the hushed shock of the bridge. After a few minutes of deathly quiet, the Death Star fired again, at reduced power since the station did not have sufficient time to completely recharge its weapon. The beam again struck the Orii ships, and again the two ships on either end darkened and exploded, finally leaving just one vessel. Suddenly, a streak of solid white light erupted from the nose of the Orii ship toward the Death Star. The Death Star was equipped with shields nearly on the order of planetary shielding, and where the superstructure was complete, should have been impervious to any attack save from another superlaser. The Orii beam sliced through the shielding as if it weren’t there, and began burrowing into the hull of the Death Star. The beam continued firing in one long lance of destruction. “Order all ships to open up on the Orii craft, all batteries,” Vader ordered. “The Intrepid and Chryselaa are to move to intercept immediately. If necessary, they are to interrupt the beam physically.” Piett relayed the orders and immediately the two smaller destroyers lurched forward toward the Orii vessel. Thousands of turbolaser batteries opened fire on the lone Orii vessel, pumping enough destructive energy to destroy a world many times over. The ship continued firing its laser into the superstructure of the Death Star with no obvious effect from the Imperial fire. “It’s already burrowed 40 kilometers into the station,” Piett said, looking at his strategic displays. “The weapon is heading for the station’s hypermatter reactor!” “The emperor is aboard that station,” Vader said. “Intrepid, intercept that beam!” Though the captain of the Intrepid knew it to be suicide for himself and his crew, he gave the order to move his ship forward without hesitation. Piett watched with pride as the Imperial navy once again showed its true mettle. Then he gasped as the Orii beam easily ripped through the shields of the Star Destroyer, and a moment later through the body of the ship itself, to continue boring into the Death Star. The destroyer continued its forward momentum, carrying more and more of its superstructure into the path of the beam, until its reactor was finally struck, and the whole ship erupted in a single burst of flame fueled by interior air reserves. When the flame died in the vacuum of space, the beam continued its relentless attack on the Death Star while large pieces of the dead destroyer drifted into a decaying orbit around the planet. “All ships, move to intercept,” Vader ordered. “Admiral, ramming speed. We shall destroy the enemy ship ourselves.” The fleet of destroyers flew toward the lone Orii vessel as the Death Star began moving back away from the planet. Even with its movement, though, the beam continued to bore through toward the hypermatter reactor deep within. “All hands, brace for impact,” Piett announced through the com. Gods or not, omnipotent or not, the lone Orii vessel apparently was unable to overcome the laws of inertia, mass, and the sheer size of the Executor. Over 19,000 meters of durasteel, turbolasers and fusion ripped through the tiny vessel, leaving nothing but rubble in its wake. Even as small as if was, however, the shock of impact rippled through the entire craft as collision alarms ran through the ship. “We’ve suffered hull damage through the entire front quarter of the ship,” Piett said, amazed. Impacting a dreadnaught should not have caused as much damage as the small Orii ship did. Then the admiral’s eyes passed by another sensor. “Lord Vader,” he said, his voice catching. “We were too late!” Vader turned to look out the port viewer and saw the surface of the Death Star sprouting flames. “Master,” he said aloud. There was no answer, only a chillingly cold emptiness in the Force where his master had once been. Only then did Vader realize the Emperor’s observation tower had been point zero where the Orii beam had struck. The master of the Galactic Empire had died instantly, and so quickly with such overwhelming power, that the Force itself barely had time to register his passing. “Move the fleet away from the Death Star immediately,” Vader said. “The blast from the station will destroy this hemisphere of Dantooine; we will conduct a Base Zero Delta on any habitable surface that remains. There is nothing more to be done here. When we have cleared the wreckage, contact Grand Vizier Sate Pestage on Coruscant. There is much we must discuss if the Empire is to survive.” “The Emperor, Lord?” Piett asked. “Fallen to the Will of the Orii,” Vader said darkly. -----signature----- "Spock!" "Yes Captain!" "Be one with the horse." "Yes, Captain." Gods of Dark and Light; Heaven Falls Legacy of the Red Sun; Children of the Red Sun Blue Sun Down; The Boy Who Fell
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
RedGold Registered: Nov '04	Date Posted: 8/3/06 10:38am Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, Chap 4 posted 8/3
	Leia knows and Palpy is dead... I call this one a win. -----signature----- Legend... Recluse... Forgotten... Will one day return... http://www.starwarsfanfic.com
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Darth_Marrs Registered: Feb '06	Date Posted: 8/3/06 7:27pm Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, Chap 4 posted 8/3
	Thanks, Redgold. This is a pretty epic story--I needed to get the important stuff out pretty early. Thanks for reading! -----signature----- "Spock!" "Yes Captain!" "Be one with the horse." "Yes, Captain." Gods of Dark and Light; Heaven Falls Legacy of the Red Sun; Children of the Red Sun Blue Sun Down; The Boy Who Fell
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
JEDIFLYSWATTER Registered: Dec '04	Date Posted: 8/3/06 8:09pm Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, Chap 4 posted 8/3
	Good job Darth. I just found this story and really do like it alot. You have a good handle on the personalities of the characters. Plus Palpy was taken out too. Always a plus. -----signature----- New Orleans will rise from the ashes! You knew it was a rattlesnke when you picked it up. Kitty cats do not lie about love.
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History
Darth_Marrs Registered: Feb '06	Date Posted: 8/3/06 8:31pm Subject: RE: Gods of Dark and Light--AU C/O with L/M, H/L, lightside Vader, Chap 4 posted 8/3
	Thanks! Always a pleasure to kill Sith Lords. -----signature----- "Spock!" "Yes Captain!" "Be one with the horse." "Yes, Captain." Gods of Dark and Light; Heaven Falls Legacy of the Red Sun; Children of the Red Sun Blue Sun Down; The Boy Who Fell
	Locked Topic \| Active Topic Notification \| Private Message \| Post History

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 » - ~~Previous~~ | Next | Reload