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Author	Topic: Crossroads-A Jedi faces tragic choices during the Yuuzhan Vong War
Jedichrono Registered: Jan '07	Date Posted: 1/21/07 9:52pm Subject: Crossroads-A Jedi faces tragic choices during the Yuuzhan Vong War
	My first posted fanfic! Any feedback would be stupendous! Title: Crossroads Time frame: 4 years into the Yuuzhan Vong invasion Genre: Drama Characters: All my own except a message to Luke Skywalker. Summary: A Jedi faces tragic choices during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Disclaimer: The universe belongs to George and LFL, but its heart is all ours. “You killed my squad," The look in her blue eyes is durasteel. "You didn't kill me." Grip tightening on the hilt of her lightsaber, resolve tightening in her chest with the searing agony of loss, she strikes. Yuuzhan Vong warriors are built for battle. Solid mass, muscle and determination combine to make them unsurpassed by any opponent. But they rarely get to face off against Jedi. This is a unique opportunity for them to serve the Gods by defeating the legendary Jeedi they had heard so much about. They don't stand a chance. 24 Years After New Republic. 4 Years into the Invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong. Planet Caluulon A pinwheel of light, movement and slaughter rain down on them in the unlikely form of a petite young woman. Her long brown hair swirls behind her, matted and singed, a trail in her wake. Her body is battered and abused. Cuts. Bruises. Blood. Two broken bones. If it wasn't for years serving the force, Jedi Knight Arley Sunrider would have been crushed under the blow of the Vong amphistaff some time ago. She opens herself to the rush of the tide, letting it fill her and guide her. The force is always there for her. It is her only chance to strike back at those that killed her squad...and her love. The force helps funnel her determination, her need for justice, her need for..vengeance? Is that cold knot in her chest more than just sorrow? It feels like an empty pit at her center and she tries to convince herself that she has calmed her need for revenge. That this is just doling out justice against those who would hurt others. On the other hand, they need to be taught a lesson. And the force has sent her to teach it. Turning to face her last opponent, she finds him sitting still and quiet at his terminal. His face is a scowl and he doesn't move, but offers no other actions. The Yuuzhan Vong version of a meek scientist. The tizoworm wriggles in her, causing a disturbing reminder of how different they really are from each other. The slimy traveler in her ear is crucial to her getting what she wants. This is how the Yuuzhan Vong translates the languages around them to their own language and allowed her to understand theirs. It works on vibrational messages enacted to the brain or something. Arley isn't one to listen to scientific jargon. What is comes down to, honestly, is that he isn't going to respond. With a look in her eye that would cause a wookiee to rip its own arms off, she asks "where is the cube?" Her voice is quiet and under control, but the lightsaber in her hand is slightly wavering. The Vong sits in front of her, scowling his hatred. She is a storm cloud converging over him and still he does not yield. "You saw what I did to those warriors. If you don't tell me where the cube is hidden, by the force, I will strike you down just as well." His continuing silence does nothing to tide her frustration. Her body stands tense, and her face reveals little of the war within her. Then she turns her back to him and walks to the pucker that is the door. It opens to receive her and swallows her as she passes, taking her deeper into the living facility. Her direction leads her into another tube. It's slimy and smells bad and feels just plain unusual to be walking through, but it does give her a sense that she is accomplishing something active. The process of physically moving forward, exhausted step by step lets her move further away from what just happened. She was SO close to ending it for that..shaper? That is what they call the Yuuzhan Vong scientists, right? Well, whatever. She was going to strike him down for not helping her. He was no threat, just in her way. Is this what her actions have become? The dark hole in her chest slips its way down to the pit of her stomach, and she feels like she might lose her last ration bar. (How long had it been since she last ate anything?) "Jeedi" the gravelly voice interrupts her thoughts and she looks up to find two warriors standing ahead of her. They must be higher up in rank than most of the ones that she has fought. They are more noticeably scarred and mutilated, with their arms having some kind of whipcord tentacle coming out from their wrists. She stands ready to cut them down, but they do not advance on her. "War Commander Valmin Carr is expecting you. Come." So that was it, she finally got their attention. How many Yuuzhan Vong does it take to get to the center of their forces? A huge, bloody number, apparently. That doesn't make her feel any better. They guide her through a twisting maze of corridors and rooms, none of them seeming very memorable. How was she going to find her way back? The small convoy walks into a room that is much more interesting and notable: the launch bay. A calm form of chaos rules here with Vong members running from place to place carrying plants and membranes and insects from ship to ship. Humming comes loudly from the room and Arley' ears pop right away. She can see the famed dovin basals from the ships and in the room itself. These are what help the Yuuzhan Vong use to keep their fleet and other operations running. They are a type of living being that generates fields of gravity. They serve many purposes, like moving the ships through space and providing them shields. She's never seen them this close up before, and it makes her head hurt with whatever pressure they put out. Looking around, she wonders why the Vong themselves aren't affected. Are they so different internally that the pressures aren't pushing in as intensely? Do they wear some kind of protective headgear to allow them to avoid the pain? Ah! You know, it's probably that they enjoy the pain itself. That would seem much more likely. They walk up to what looks like a giant puckered tropical plant. The subdued pink hues across the outside almost make Arley smile. Nothing like going to a major battle in a pink flower, right? Having never been inside a Vong ship, she is amazed at how different things are. There are seats, and what looks like some controls, but it is very quiet without the sound of engines. Looking through the thinner membranes that allow views of space, she can see the planet sink quickly behind her. There is no command from navigation granting them permission to leave and she can't even see a communications node of any kind to make contact with. Other ships glide back and forth from the massive ship above, all of them smooth and in control, with no signs of engine trails behind them. As they advance further up out of the atmosphere of Caluulon, asteroids are held as if frozen in time. Deciding this must be the work of a Yuuzhan Vong coordinator of some kind or a larger gravitic creature, she turns her attention back inside. She'd better focus her energies and thoughts while she had the time. She manages to clear her head and reinvigorate herself, but the landing of the ship brings her back to the now. Her body and mind begin to agonize her again and she takes a few extra moments to stop that with some deep breathing techniques and the force. The time spent still can't get rid of the cold pit of her stomach or the ache in her back between the shoulder blades. A good bacta dip would feel like a miracle right now. The door to their flower shuttle springs open as they get near it and her escorts march along in front of her, expecting her to follow. Typical male, she thinks! In seemingly no time, they have halted their march and quick stepped to the sides of the entrance to a room. She strides forward, pulling the force through her and brushing the lightsaber at her side to make sure it has not gone far. She feels certain she will need it. She enters an almost cavernous room with a stretched esophagus for the ceiling and a tough but slightly spongy dark red floor. It feels like walking into an open mouth. It's relatively barren, but still large, so not a command center or a throne room. More of a meting room, perhaps? A warehouse? It's dark with the lichen across the walls glowing dimly. A hazy red mist fills the chamber, stagnant without airflow. Sitting expectantly on a central raised dais is a massive slab of Yuuzhan Vong. He is very deeply scarred with three lines running definitively across the left side of his face. A pucker sits where his eye would be and he wears a large robe that shifts as he stands to greet her. "Jeedi," the low booming gravel in his voce sets her spine tingling. Or is that the force warning her? "You have traveled long to reach me. I am as...excited by this visit as you are. I am War Commander Valmin Carr. Why do you come here?" "I know you were in charge of the raid on the Jedi Library on Ossus. There are people who say you took some of the Holocrons stored there." She pulls her lightsaber from her belt, extending the green blade with a SNAP-HISS. "I'm here to take them back." "I'm surprised you're here at all. Surely you feel it by now? Upon you reaching the laboratory, we let loose a pair of Uuun-chi." His cracked lips pull across his sharp teeth in the closest thing to as human smile possible. It is terrifying. "Yes, you've certainly never heard of these before. Our shapers just recently finished creating them. They crawl through your body, making their way to your center and eat their way out." Oh, Sith! Her thoughts race. That hollow spot in my chest! "My information tells me you Jedi can't indicate us through your abilities. It may come as a surprise to find this in you? That wasn't the Darkside at all! How far have they gone by now? "I am told it is a wondrously painful encounter. I hope you enjoy it." Her head is down, hair, blood and swelled tissue obscuring her face. Obscuring the look of concentration and inner feeling going on. She bites her swollen lip, causing a bit more pain that goes completely unnoticed. Pure shock and sorrow grip her for an eternal moment. Tears well in her eyes and furious anger boils through her. A wailing shriek erupts from her lips. "I WAS PREGNANT YOU SITHSPAWN!" In a rage she leaps at him, plunging her green lightsaber towards him and grinding her teeth together in hopes of stopping the pain. He takes some lightning quick steps back and throws off his cloak. She comes up short when a pair or bone wings extend themselves from his back. He uses this moment with style, using the momentum of his upper body to circle around and bring his weapon smashing into her shoulder. Her whole body lurches to the side with the impact and she spins away, dodging off to the right side. She brings her arm around for a swipe on the back of the leg, hoping to catch him, but the blow glances off his armor, as she guessed it would. The bone wing slams her across the face, though. She should have anticipated this, but her nose begins to bleed and her face throbs. Again she launches at him, this time enforcing her legs with the force. Like a spring coil her body flips through the air, sailing high and graceful right over the blur of motion from his counter strike. Lightsaber strikes rain down on his head and move across his back as Arley tries to land a blow though any gap in his armor. The standard Yuuzhan Vong armor has a spot on the neckline that makes an easy entry point for a lightsaber tip looking for a score. It seems natural that the War Commander has a better issue, but this is like the bunker that won't crack! Times up! His body pulls away and his staff comes whirling in a tight, controlled arc that should smash her in the ribs. Instead, she blocks with a two handed hold, a pillar of light intended to stave off his strength and impact. The power of his swing pushes her as she holds off the assault, but causing her feet to slide her across the arc of his arm. It is very obvious that she needs to end this quickly. She moves to offensive; slashing, blocking and spinning her body and saber as a single unit. Light strikes and moving faster than can be seen is the way to survive this fight. If she can keep him off balance, she can finish this. It takes two parries and a thrust on his end before she realizes her mistake: his staff has a glowing crystal center to it! The same type of crystal used to make a holocron! Her mouth drops open, and her second of hesitation is just what he is looking for. He turns his thrust into a gouge with the point digging into her side as she tries to roll away from the blow. Lightning quick and with the force of a blast door, he uses the blunt end to smash her leg. A bone cracks like thunder in the relatively quiet room. Tears spring to her eyes from the shock and pain and she chokes it down, still hoping to win this confrontation. By now the red mist is thick and heavy and it's been floating around their movements. She stares blankly into his eyes as her body is pulled up into the shadows, gone in a swirl. His eyes scrutinize every bit of the ceiling, his hands clutching his staff in frustration. "I see you've taken a rare Jedi legacy and twisted it." Her voice is everything from every nook of the chamber. "I want it back." "You have no claim over this." His eyes are calculating and careful, a predator waiting out it's prey. "That area was lost to our invading forces. Consider it the spoils of war." The flash of her blade slices the air as she rolls out of nothingness and stabs his chest. He's not quick enough this time, but the armor saves his life: her down thrust etches along his shoulder and slices his bicep. Expecting the backlash this time, she uses the force to pull herself away and back into the mist as his wing tears through the space that would have been her abdomen. He anchors his legs and begins spinning his staff. It is a methodical bit of hand movement with some swirling gestures that causes the stone in the middle to begin to glow. Melded in the center of the two entwined amphistaffs, the light it produces is a glare of burning, white energy. Arley can feel it through the force! Her shock and hesitation can't keep the words tumbling from her mouth "You're touching the force!" A feral grin is the only response from the war commander. His new toy has revealed her location to him. In the glare of the light, time slows down. A white haze has burned the room and their vision, but he can feel and see Arley perfectly. His strike is faster than light and he sweeps through it at his prey. She has no chance to move or prepare, before she can even finish her sentence, he rams the end of the staff through her abdomen and into the rock face behind her. The white light throbs enough to make their ears hurt , her head pound. It burns out the room. It burns out the fierce smile of triumph from Valmin Carr. It burns out all reality. The ringing and pounding in her head, replacing it with soothing, deafening silence. A shadow fights against the white starkness that is everything; an ambling figure, resolving with proximity. It looks vaguely human to Arley's distorted senses, but long tentacles from the top of it's head turn it into a grotesque nightmare. The indistinct image resolves into an actual horror as the being comes to a halt right in front of her. Silhouette and shadow show jagged teeth and bruised, pulpy flesh makes up the face. A long, living cloak sheathes the person in wet tissue. Arley recognizes the being as a Yuuzhan Vong. A graveled almost-whisper escapes from between his cut lips. "Hello. My name is Alun Ta'Kar, I was a Jedi Master during the time of the Hyperspace War. How have-" Arleys' stomach turns and her head flips. "How can you be a Jedi? You're a Yuuzhan Vong, right? " His eyes tighten, appraising her for signs that he's being made a fool of. “Yes. I was a Master in my day. Why do you find that to be such a surprise? We are a fierce species, but still in tune with the force." "HA!" barks from her mouth and a scowl twists her face. "The Yuuzhan Vong has ripped this galaxy apart. Even the Jedi have been hunted!- " she chokes on the words, eyes welling up. "The Jedi are always hunted, child." His quiet voice of steel pulls her back. "It is the trade for the abilities we command. To be Jedi is to help at our own peril. Better to spend our time absorbing the pain from others and use it to STRENGTHEN ourselves." His voice adds slight emphasis on this. "Your people don't register in the force. They leave no trace or signal that they ever did. They came in from outside the galaxy and bombarded our people. They're monsters who worship pain and it must be put to an end!" Her voice gets shrill as her patience and frustration build. He spends an eternity staring down at her. Still appraising, and now probing through the force, as well. And she can feel him! He pulses in her perceptions; a surge in the force like any other Master would feel. "I'm sure much has transpired in the galaxy in the millennia since I left it. I forged this holocron in the hope that I could... instruct others. As I stated, my people do not like to be taken lightly. Whatever has caused this situation to transpire interests me, but there is nothing I can do about it in my current state." Arley eyes him for a long time, debating her words and bringing her actions and emotions back under some control. "The holocron you built has been destroyed. The central crystal has somehow been reformed into a staff being used by a Yuuzhan Vong War Commander. Your method of teaching and education has been permanently destroyed by one of your own." "I think not." His gaze warms a bit as it falls on her. "In fact, the force has guided me to this most crucial moment so I can continue my lessons." The bleached room of white light is still there and time is in the same moment. A look of victory and pride glows in the hollow eyes of the War Commander. The staff is glowing and burning in his hand, but he washes in the pain and triumph. Until a hand jolts out of the glare to clench his wrist in a smashing grasp. With unbelievable power, the hand wrenches his hand back, causing a sickening snap of bone in his arm. A slight gasp of shock escapes his lips, just before a fist crushes against his face. His head whips back, the hardest hit he’s ever had sends him sailing with a pulsing, bloody face. Arley Sunrider is a beacon of the force. It rushes through her, using her as a conduit to attain its needs. Now she finally has the understanding that she has been seeking. An understanding that the Jedi have been seeking for eternity. Exhibiting amazing control, she pulls the staff out of her body. Instead of letting herself fall to the floor, she floats herself to its surface. He glares out in her perceptions now. As clear as any other living being, she can sense the Yuuzhan Vong clearly in the force as if they had always been an integral part of it. Which makes him an easy target. Her anger and frustration help her to core out her insides. She forces her own will upon the rush going through her, tainting the room with the darker red mist and swirling it about with her intentions. Valmin Carr, War Commander of the Yuuzhan Vong and one of the figureheads of her personal destruction, is scared. She glowers at him as his body raises into the air, pulled by forces he cannot comprehend. She holds him there, enjoying his quick discomfort. Their eyes meet, and they both know that she has got the best of him. A look of grim satisfaction sets into her eyes as she clenches her hands together. The rush in force energy rends the floor as the bedrock below them leaps from its proper resting place. Two massive halves of earth tear up through the room, destroying the room itself, and crush Valmin Carr instantly. Smoke crowds the room, battling the red mist for territory. Arley hurls forth a few racking coughs as she wavers on her feet. The room is demolished and disgusting, looking more than anything like the inside of a gorged stomach. The bedrock she pulled up has seemingly killed the beast used for this structure. How long before the atmosphere starts slipping into the room? They flew to an asteroid, right? She unconsciously pulls with at the familiar force form of her lightsaber, and it skims across the rubble pile and slings to her belt loop. She finally lets her legs crumble beneath her, making a soft slap noise as her body lands. Her mind and actions still on the auto pilot of shock, she mends her wounds best she can, using the tricks ingrained into her as a Jedi and her new techniques of harnessing her pain to add more power. Emotions wash over her as she stares beyond the destroyed room, and into her destroyed heart. She killed him because he deserved it, right? It wasn't for revenge, or because he killed- Her heart and mind sink to the presence she can now feel devouring her from the inside out. A reminder of what that creature took from her brings forth a feral snarl from her and a hand gesture that pulverizes the beast within her, stopping its purpose and life. The faint presence of two dead within her mauls her conscious thought and sends her on a rampage. More animal than Arley, the staff of Valmin Carr plummets into her outstretched hand and the hunt begins. ***** Wiping the vomit from the corner of her mouth, Arley suffers another convulsion. She takes shuddering breath before standing. No matter what she feels in the Force, it can’t make up for the anguish they’re experiencing. The Yuuzhan Vong are dying. As far as her senses can reach, they’re dying. They can’t figure out why or what is happening to them. It’s as if the gods that have always given them purpose and support have decided to smite them down instead. No reason. Did they make a mistake? There is no battle for them: just wiping out of existence, their bodies and constructions seeming to melt in a red, pulpy mess of burbling disgust. She had no problem killing them when they faced her. This is not the way a warrior should die. Arley can’t understand. Why did she get this amazing insight into their life just to have it taken away? Why would the Force guide her to this place in life and give her this if it was planning to stop her from doing anything with it? They were being eradicated and she might die with them. She shoves these raw thoughts to the corners of her mind and decides to focus on staying alive within this maelstrom of destruction. If she doesn’t get transport before the whole place erodes, she’s gonna be sucking space! Slipping and sliding along the wet mucus is enough to keep her stomach churning, but seeing the place melting around her serves as a wonderful motivator. She books it down the length of a corridor, seeing into other rooms as the puckered entries begin to sag and give way, looking like a liquidating nerf steak. Most rooms have Yuuzhan Vong inside of them, in various stages of pain. Tuning herself more into the Force, the speed gets poured on as she blurs down the corridors. A flicker of a presence stops her in her tracks. The damage isn’t so bad out here yet and it almost seems it be coming from a central location instead of hitting them all at once. She notices all this subconsciously as she tuns her active mind to seeking the source of the disturbance. It’s like some one took their force presence and cloaked it. It feels squished like some pressure has been put on it. Her feet carry her towards the room opening a few slots back. Three questioning Yuuzhan Vong give her strange glances as they make their way past. She realizes with an internal jolt and slight blink that she noticed them in the force as regular signals and they aren’t the disturbance she’s looking for. What does it mean that she can sense them now? Has her mind and outlook changed so much with her…instruction from Master Alun Ta’Kar? She now feels and senses them all around her, and its their massive and sudden deaths that will haunt her. Arriving at the entrance to this room brings her back to the now. This room doesn’t look much different from the others to her. A tiny area, there is a round bulge from the wall intended to be a seat of some kind. Like a honeycomb against the wall lie a series of small storage areas. The bubbling, deteriorating substance has begun its effect here as well, coming to claim the Yuuzhan Vong and all their creations. It makes it a simple act for Arley to sink her hand past the raw red pucker that likely remains impassable normally. Elation and shock trill through her body as her fingers dash across the wonderfully welcome feel of hard technology! With a brace and a grin, she pushes her arm further into the slimy opening, forgetting all the discomfort of the act, and pulls forth a majestic sight: the triangular form of a holocron! Her face almost splits in half as she inspects its gleaming metallic surface. It’s this moment that the wall decides to slough off, oozing onto the floor, a reminder to hurry. She takes the hint. Tucking her find into her tunic, she grabs the staff more firmly in her pale hands and returns to her mad flight towards the shuttle area. The pace of the destruction causes a chaotic scene when she arrives. Yuuzhan Vong are flooding into the chamber from many directions, and rushing with purposeful and determined actions, an ant colony at work. Something stands out in Arley’s mind as wrong, but she just can’t place it. She busies herself with fighting her way to a shuttle up near the front of the space, hoping to reach a transport and not be challenged for it. The massive room seems to be having problems getting the living creatures out of the maw of its chamber. It looks like they’re not being given clearance to leave. Arley almost pitches to the ground when she realizes: the controller for the Yuuzhan Vong (Yammosk whispers a quiet, gravelly voice into her mind) has been killed! The sense of presence it was pushing on her has left at some point. The yammosk was what kept things sitting where they should and stopped the ships and asteroids in one piece! Arley could feel the horror in her own stomach as she realized how futile all their efforts were. Without the yammosk to guide and maintain, they would all be in free fall! Launching herself through the air with the greatest of force ease, she lands delicately and with firm feet upon the top of a ship near the entrance. As a reward for opening the hatch, two Yuuzhan Vong call her nasty names and strike out. They are not warriors, so the attack doesn’t mean as much to her. Her heart isn’t in vengeance or any more sacrifice on their part. Too many are pounding on her emotions now, their deaths throes hard to take. She shoves this pair back with the force, hoping not to tie them into the crush on her mind. The controls of the pod are alien, but not as much so as they once were. While continuing to battle off the occasional entrant into her getaway vehicle, the cold voice in her head helps her get lifted and on her way. By now the din in the bay itself is a mix of agony as many are taken by the bubbling doom and more fear for their own lives as even the proud and strong Yuzzhan Vong have realized they refuse to die in this cowardly way. A few have discovered how to open the bay manually, but part of that may be it’s weakened state as even it’s massive maw can’t seem to escape the coming end. Escape! Mighty escape from the animal in which she met and defeated the War Master, claiming more prizes than she was really hoping to on this journey! She is well aware of the immediate and continuing danger, though. Her prizes and victory will mean nothing if she can’t navigate herself safely to the surface of Caluulon and get an actual, not breaking-apart transport! Taking the ship smoothly away from the docking bay, a quick acceleration zips her away from another transport. Not being nearly as careful as Arley, they were making their own way out; which was almost right through her! Dodging through an opening, she blasts herself into the middle of chaos. Her head spins a tad as she sees nothing but stars and planet and other ships all streaking across her view in blinding patterns. A hard pull on the controls slows it down, but she’s probably going to end up pasted. She thinks she should be long gone from her asteroid of origin for this flight, but they’re all pool balls tumbling about. A few of the floaty rocks are bouncing off other transports as they make a run, causing both to split open while most make a spin for the outer reaches of space. Too many are jumping planet-ward, hoping to make their presence known with the planet resident registry. Most of those are burned before they can break atmosphere. But not all of them. It’s one of the industrious ones that bounces against Arley, causing her to smash into her Yuuzhan Vong neighbor. His thoughts are venomous in the force as he gets shoved aside and bursts into flame in atmosphere. The bash gives her a turn and keeps right on turning in a spinning plummet right for the surface. To add insult to injury, her pod dies with the rend on it’s flesh and the skin dries and hardens, causing massive cracks in the vessel that break it apart. It’s probably for the best that Arley blacks out moments before that happens. ***** Wiping the vomit from the corner of her mouth, Arley thinks, “I’ve got to stop doing this! I’ve never thrown up so much in my life! Well, except when…” “Again this report is coming to you live from the planet Caluulon, which has just been placed under quarantine. Witnesses say the Vong in the area have been infected and are dying from some kind of disease. We can see a kind of red mist hanging in the air and officials have decided to shut down the entire planet to keep contamination to a minimum. “No one is really sure of what is going on, but rumors persist of a biological weapon called Alpha Red as being involved. We now go back to the scene of-“ Arley Sunrider has never felt more shaken. Everything she’s been taught, all she’s ever held dear have all been taken from her and left a very changed young woman. Whatever her next move or decision, she has lots of thinking to do. Lucky for her the freighter she-loaned- has lots of fuel and supplies and can drift while she figures it out. The gravelly voice speaks in its’ soft voice to her, reassuring and slightly thrilling “Why don’t you inspect your other prize?” The triangle is a smooth technological rock in her hand. As if such things were common place, it springs to life at her attentions. Lights flicker on and a ghostly glow leaps forth from the relic. “Ah. I see you seek further knowledge of the Darkside,” intones a strong male voice from within a veil of shadowed hood. “I am Master Volger. What do you require of me?” 24 A.N.R. Freighter She-Devil “This message is for Master Luke Skywalker. As you know, my team went on a mission to investigate the rumors of stolen Jedi holocrons. We failed miserably. My entire team died. I had to kill War Commander Valmin Carr. And after all that, we didn’t even find any remaining holocrons. They must have all been destroyed in the raid. "I’ve done some terrible things, and I’m sorry I let you down. I agree that the Yuuzhan Vong can be disgusting, horrible nightmares. But I think there’s more to it. Something incredible about them that we’re not seeing. I was at Caluulon when the Alpha Red was released. Genocide was committed right next to me, and I had no sense of it at all. Powerless. So now I’m infected with the virus as penance. "For these reasons, I’ve decided to head into the Unknown Regions. I can no longer fight or be a part of the Jedi Order and resign my standing as Jedi Knight. Do me one favor? Tell my father I love him. Thanks for everything Master Skywalker. This is Arley Sunrider, signing off.” Again, this is my first post and all replies and comments are appreciated! I've been writing for years, but this is the first time I've put it someplace public. Thanks for reading!
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Jedi-Ant Registered: Jan '07	Date Posted: 1/22/07 2:00am Subject: RE: Crossroads-A Jedi faces tragic choices during the Yuuzhan Vong War - Date Edited: 1/22/07 2:02am (1 edits total) Edited By: Jedi-Ant
	Jedichrono posted: “You killed my squad," The look in her blue eyes is durasteel. "You didn't kill me." Grip tightening on the hilt of her lightsaber, resolve tightening in her chest with the searing agony of loss, she strikes. Yuuzhan Vong warriors are built for battle. Solid mass, muscle and determination combine to make them unsurpassed by any opponent. But they rarely get to face off against Jedi. This is a unique opportunity for them to serve the Gods by defeating the legendary Jeedi they had heard so much about. They don't stand a chance. Ooooooh.....good intro!!!! Excellent discriptions!!! Jedichrono posted: A pinwheel of light, movement and slaughter rain down on them in the unlikely form of a petite young woman. Her long brown hair swirls behind her, matted and singed, a trail in her wake. Her body is battered and abused. Cuts. Bruises. Blood. Two broken bones. If it wasn't for years serving the force, Jedi Knight Arley Sunrider would have been crushed under the blow of the Vong amphistaff some time ago. She opens herself to the rush of the tide, letting it fill her and guide her. The force is always there for her. It is her only chance to strike back at those that killed her squad...and her love. The force helps funnel her determination, her need for justice, her need for..vengeance? Is that cold knot in her chest more than just sorrow? It feels like an empty pit at her center and she tries to convince herself that she has calmed her need for revenge. That this is just doling out justice against those who would hurt others. On the other hand, they need to be taught a lesson. And the force has sent her to teach it. Wow! Another wonderful passage!!! This Jedi Knight Arley kinda reminds me of Jaina... Jedichrono posted: "I'm surprised you're here at all. Surely you feel it by now? Upon you reaching the laboratory, we let loose a pair of Uuun-chi." His cracked lips pull across his sharp teeth in the closest thing to as human smile possible. It is terrifying. "Yes, you've certainly never heard of these before. Our shapers just recently finished creating them. They crawl through your body, making their way to your center and eat their way out." Oh, Sith! Her thoughts race. That hollow spot in my chest! "My information tells me you Jedi can't indicate us through your abilities. It may come as a surprise to find this in you? That wasn't the Darkside at all! How far have they gone by now? "I am told it is a wondrously painful encounter. I hope you enjoy it." Argh! Sounds just as awful as they pesky voxyn...on second though, maybe more so... Are they going to break out of her chest like "Alien?" Jedichrono posted: Her head is down, hair, blood and swelled tissue obscuring her face. Obscuring the look of concentration and inner feeling going on. She bites her swollen lip, causing a bit more pain that goes completely unnoticed. Pure shock and sorrow grip her for an eternal moment. Tears well in her eyes and furious anger boils through her. A wailing shriek erupts from her lips. "I WAS PREGNANT YOU SITHSPAWN!" Nooooo!!!! Her last connection to the love the Vong slautered!!! Those evil, tattooed freaks are going DOWN!!! Jedichrono posted: “This message is for Master Luke Skywalker. As you know, my team went on a mission to investigate the rumors of stolen Jedi holocrons. We failed miserably. My entire team died. I had to kill War Commander Valmin Carr. And after all that, we didn’t even find any remaining holocrons. They must have all been destroyed in the raid. "I’ve done some terrible things, and I’m sorry I let you down. I agree that the Yuuzhan Vong can be disgusting, horrible nightmares. But I think there’s more to it. Something incredible about them that we’re not seeing. I was at Caluulon when the Alpha Red was released. Genocide was committed right next to me, and I had no sense of it at all. Powerless. So now I’m infected with the virus as penance. "For these reasons, I’ve decided to head into the Unknown Regions. I can no longer fight or be a part of the Jedi Order and resign my standing as Jedi Knight. Do me one favor? Tell my father I love him. Thanks for everything Master Skywalker. This is Arley Sunrider, signing off.” I do hope Luke gets this message... Well, what I wonderful job you've done!!! I usually get bored with fics that are mostly OC's, but this was so interesting and so well-written that I couldn't stop reading!!! I love the Yuuzhan Vong war in the NJO books...that and the whole A/T business was the only thing that made them worth reading...so you deserve a pat on the back for taking something I love and making it better!!! I hope to read more soon! Let me know when you update please!!! Ant. BTW....FIRST!!!!!!!! -----signature----- There is pleasure in the pathless woods, There is rapture on the lonely shore, There is society where none intrudes, By the deep sea and the music in its roar; I love not man the less, but Nature more. - Lord Byron
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Jedichrono Registered: Jan '07	Date Posted: 1/23/07 11:51am Subject: RE: Crossroads-A Jedi faces tragic choices during the Yuuzhan Vong War
	Thank you for the kind words. I'm excited about the story and am stoked to hear I am not the only one! I think the interesting bits about the NJO are the struggle the Jedi face against their own morale code and the true test for each one comes in finding what they will do when pushed to their extremes. It's also about the relationships and what is happening with them in a time long after the influence of the films. Arley is amazing because she's tough and has great potential, but by the time we see her in this story, she's already lost so much that she's fought for in this one mission and then War Commander Carr takes what little is left. She's truly at a division point in her life and weighing her choices will turn her whatever direction she ends up next.
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