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Author	Topic: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! twisted stories about death and Jacen - 7/29 Thank you
Emerald_Lady Registered: Dec '06	Date Posted: 1/26 5:21pm Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 1/21 The Family Tree
	But as with all such sensations, Caedus was able to accept it for what it was: the curse of the Master Force-user tuned in so acutely to the rhythms of the galaxy that he couldn’t help registering even the most distant and seemingly irrelevant events. That's our boy--arrogant to an unbelievable degree. “You’re looking a bit seedy,” said Ben who had emerged from his left and was studying him with a certain morbid curiosity. “Any thoughts about turning over a new leaf?” Oh, the puns... “But you have only yourself to blame. When I learned from Tahiri how you were using her, and about the other terrible things you have done in the name of the Force, I realized you had to be stopped. The Yuuzhan Vong were also aggrieved at your actions, especially as they are very fond of Tahiri, and they offered to help – hence the plant that has you tethered to the soil. They designed it especially for you. I simply masked its Force signature so you would think it was some kind of alien organism. Of course we didn’t slip through any wormholes – we hid.” Sweet justice. They played him like a violin. “I think we should call Jaina and tell her to join us because we need to make a visit . . . to reacquaint ourselves with the family tree.” Lovely! -----signature----- "Maybe he'd smashed her like a bag of chips in his drive to get some."--Jacob Black, Breaking Dawn "Every time you say Zekk abandoned Jaina in DJ, the Force kills a kitten."--jedi_of_ennth
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Mousie Registered: Oct '02	Date Posted: 1/28 9:07pm Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 1/21 The Family Tree
	That golf ball one was very funny and a bit naughty it was kind of nice that Tenel ka got a decent guy out of it because she sure deserves one. The ball idea made out of the ysalamiris was unusual and yet it kind of made sense ...... I've never thought about hopw Jedi would be cheating if they played sports but I guess they would. I've still got the other story to read yet, I've been having trouble with my computer sorrry -----signature----- given up on canon....I buy Tahi now Anakin & Tahiri 4ever
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BrentusofGath Registered: Aug '05	Date Posted: 1/29 12:13am Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 1/21 The Family Tree
	Those two would stop at nothing to try and pervert the good he was doing for the Galactic Alliance. He's so full of it, lol! He stared down at his feet in sudden realization, and horror. He was rooted to the spot! Excellent, he's decided to plant himself and dig into his new surroundings. "Except of course they begin as spiders - and you're not a spider, are you, Jacen? You're more of a life-sucking insect." A bug up her behind is there? but his trunk was fast becoming . . . well, a trunk. A trunk from which branches had begun to sprout He's just getting ready to 'leave', that's all. If he could just figure out how to stop his arborification, he would stand a chance. 'arborification'? LMAO!! That was terrific. "I don't think he's twigged that he's got a problem yet. Maybe he's not grounded enough yet. At least he could tell them their son was still alive; he'd just developed a sudden aptitude for photosynthesis. He's truly ready to feed off the light of the galaxy. And it did give a certain integrity to the feeling he'd always had that Jacen was not a chip off the old block at all, but more of a blockhead. Poor old Jacen was just waiting to become a pillar one could lean on. "I think we should call Jaina and tell her to join us because we need to make a visit . . . to reacquaint ourselves with the family tree." Truly, a copse to be proud of - taking a 'stand' amongst the other stalwart 'redwoods' of the family Solo. Great stuff, Tahi, you are the Queen of puns. Let's all uproot ourselves and sing your praises. Wonderfully hilarious story, as usual. -----signature----- In time or so I'm told, I'm just another soul for sale, oh well Feel it in my bones when you break my back, break it just to watch me bend Why'd you have to go and Let it Die? -Foo Fighters http://conscienceoftheking.blogspot.com/
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YodaKenobi Title: TFN EU Staff Registered: May '03	Date Posted: 1/29 5:03pm Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 1/21 The Family Tree - Date Edited: 1/30 7:41am (2 edits total) Edited By: YodaKenobi
	he had become aware, albeit belatedly, of the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of Zonama Sekot. I predict ZS is coming to kill him this time a state alleviated to a small extent only by the opportune discovery of an underground Commenorian group whose members made excellent, and credible, suspects for the spread of the afflicerus infection. He's such an ******* Mollified to a degree by the cathartic agony of several mass torture sessions See above both had tremendous Force power at their fingertips; both were one of a kind. Oh geez, and both have a planet-sized ego maybe even revelatory. He recalled his first contact with Sekot, and how it had tested him, along with his uncle and the others, in order to determine whether their intentions were worthy. It had even questioned his belief that peace could be obtained without fighting. He smiled. Sekot would no doubt be very interested to hear how his views on that issue had changed. I love how you drew that connection to the person Jacen was and who he is now. A great detail that often seems forgotten these days. Maybe he could convince it to join him . . . Now there's a frightening thought... “As I said – far too gracious. No doubt you have already sensed Sekot’s welcome.” She paused only briefly, as if to acknowledge that his choice of landing spot was sufficient answer to the implied question. “It hopes to talk with you later. It is a little preoccupied at present with a . . . recent problem that has arisen.” “Yes,” Caedus nodded. Jabitha cocked her head, studying him curiously. “Am I to take that to mean you know about it? You've done a great job writing this little mystery. I have no idea what's going on with Sekot, but I can't wait to find out. “It is, as you say, very mysterious.” She led him to a canopy that on closer inspection turned out to be a straight-trunked shrub with massive oval leaves. A disfigured Yuuzhan Vong, short relative to his companions and with one eye unfocused as in the way of blindness, was in the process of arranging some platters of fresh fruit and crescent shapes of what looked like baked dough. He ducked his head respectfully to Jabitha and scuttled away, in so much as a stocky humanoid with a limp could scuttle without falling over his own feet. Great descriptions Caedus had been busy Force-checking the food to make sure it was safe for him to eat. He was actually quite hungry, and the fruit certainly looked appetizing. And a great way of showing Jacen's increasing paranoia “So far the only one that fits the circumstances - and I think I’d better warn you that this is going to sound very odd – is that our world slipped out of the known universe for a while. One minute we were surrounded by our usual array of constellations and familiar space objects, and the next we were somewhere unfamiliar where, Sekot claims, there were no emanations it would recognize as Force-related. In fact it claims it heard nothing but a deathly silence, and felt nothing but a void.” She shivered. “The effects for us, although frightening, were nowhere near as unsettling as for Sekot. It is still shaken by its dissociation from the living matrix to which it belongs.” He wasn’t sure how factual many of his estranged father’s tales of derring-do were, but even he had to admit that Han Solo coming up with an adventure that involved something as esoteric as parallel universes from his own imagination was unlikely. Hey! “Metaphorically sampled and then spat out, you mean? Loved that. Caedus studied the malformed creature with a certain amount of distaste – Extolled Ones they called themselves now! Denial was a wonderful thing. LOL. Jabitha smiled. “I understand. Bava can accompany you. I’m sure you’ll be interested in seeing the changes his people have wrought.” Who is Bava really? Imagine leaking some fictional information, such as the gathering of a GA armada, to the Confederation, feeding them the co-ordinates of a wormhole and then watching them being sucked into it? If such a thing could be done, the results would be brilliant. Wormholes! The perfect trap for worms like the Corellians, the Bothans and the Commenorians, and all their slimy sycophants. He's pure evil. Worms, he sighed, and a wave of nostalgia swept over him as the connection between worms and gardening reminded him yet again of Vergere. Vergere, who had told him he was “the Gardener” – the one who was to weed out the bad from the good, the useless from the productive. The one who was destined to grow the perfect garden where all existed in perfect symbiosis. Well, he’d certainly made a start on the culling process with Mara. Perhaps soon it would be Tahiri experiencing the slash of his scythe, or Ben, or maybe the Grand Master himself. Weeds all of them, poisonous weeds, he thought as his gaze took in the abundance of flora around him. I really like the use of metaphor here, and again, appreciate that you're tying in things from the NJO and his training under Vergere. In reply Bava took a few tentative steps toward a row of eye level plants carrying husk-like seedheads, and cocked his head as if studying them. “This is very odd,” he muttered. “Look.” And he pointed at what Caedus thought initially were tendrils belonging to the plants in question, but on closer inspection turned out to be an epiphyte that had twined its way like a coiling serpent from stem to stem. Terrific descriptions. He stared down at his feet in sudden realization, and horror. He was rooted to the spot! The protuberance that had damaged his nose belonged to a root all right – the one that extended from the nearest of the boras and was now joined to his left foot. He felt the tingling sensation again, this time spreading up from his knee, and it was then that he remembered something Jabitha had told him on his very first visit to Zonama Sekot about the boras, and how they began life not as a plant but in animal form. He shuddered. Could it be that they hadn’t so much been animal as human? Brilliant! “It’s a bit like the trees on Dagobah, isn’t it?” Caedus’s eyes jerked open and he swung in the direction of the voice, but he couldn’t quite twist far enough around. “Except of course they begin as spiders – and you’re not a spider, are you, Jacen? You’re more of a life-sucking insect.” Caedus blinked as recognition of the voice dawned. Tahiri? What was Tahiri doing here? Vape it, forget about trivialities! Get the girl to cut you free. ; I love this post. “We are, as you say, in collusion, but it isn’t something I agreed to lightly, believe me. I just see no other course of action available to me. It was you Jedi who taught me about the dark and light sides of the Force and the existence of evil, so I am merely acting in accordance with your teaching.” Mara-Sekot paused, her expression suggesting she had picked up on his latest thought. “I know you yearn to see Vergere again, but since I sense from your emotions that she played a part in birthing what you have become, I refuse to oblige you. In fact I now regard her as an enemy and a trickster. And anyway,” Mara shrugged. “I prefer this form. Fosh are somewhat ludicrous looking creatures.” “You’re looking a bit seedy,” said Ben who had emerged from his left and was studying him with a certain morbid curiosity. “Any thoughts about turning over a new leaf?” Okay, that's the Ben I remember from Betrayal and love Han Solo sat for some time trying to take in what Luke had just told them. But the overwhelming thought that kept running through his head was relief that it was over. The fact that his son had gone from being out of his tree one minute to being part of the forest in the next was kind of a secondary consideration, although it was nonetheless valid. Her eyes, warm and soulful, dropped to meet his, and she smiled. “I think we should call Jaina and tell her to join us because we need to make a visit . . . to reacquaint ourselves with the family tree.” Someone needs to scold Leia, that was worse than Ben's This was awesome, Tahi The best post of this fic so far. It feels sort of Twilight Zone-ish, and I love the twisted revenge Luke, Tahiri, and Sekot had on Jacen. Jacen has become sort of like Ood Bnar sans the nobility Your writing is terrific as always, and I always enjoy the dark humor involved here, as well as the great dialogue between the characters. All the sci-fi misdirection was great, leading into a horror/sci-fi twist that was really well executed and described. Great post! -----signature----- FADA Therapist The Lands of the Dead: http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28522077/p1/ Blood Trail: http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28636429/p1 "We're Jedi, not assassins."— Anakin Solo
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SithGirl132 Registered: Dec '05	Date Posted: 1/30 4:28am Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 1/21 The Family Tree
	Even though I am a Darth Caedus supporter, I love your stories! So funny and cathartic. I loved "death by golf ball," fro some reason I see that as entirely plausible. And all the tree puns from the last one... oh, I almost died laughing! It's really nice to see some gravity and humor blended in these stories. I'll never play golf again. -----signature----- if loving you is wrong, i don't want to be right NaNo victim once again. give me coffee and no one gets hurt! Fics in Prolific Writers' Thread.
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Knight_Aragorn Registered: Jun '03	Date Posted: 1/30 5:00am Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 1/21 The Family Tree
	Finally got around to catching up! Oh, these are brilliant. I love the way you manage to capture Jacen's character perfectly before you finish him off. And also, it's very ironic that it's his own hubris that does him in, especially in his choice of names for the Anakin Solo. The last one was hilarious. Oh, the wonderful puns. Particularly loved Han's reaction. Blockhead! Pure genius, Tahi. -----signature----- Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. Pieces of Air (ESB short story, complete) - http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/27283200/p1
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Tahi Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 2/6 9:44pm Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 1/21 The Family Tree - Date Edited: 2/7 2:47am (3 edits total) Edited By: Tahi
	Thanks so much for all the lovely responses. SpiritOfEowyn Thanks, and glad that you like the weird forms of death. Nothing but the most twisted for our Jace. LOL Thanks for reading. Alkibiades Yes, this one was quite different - and more painful. Mwahaha. Glad you liked the torture of the tree. ZebulaNebula Yes, getting turned into a tree is not something that happens every day. Glad you liked the puns - I decided to trim away the dead wood and branch out a bit into the realm of punning. I enjoyed yours, too, BTW. Poor Jaina - now she has a wooden brother to match her wooden ex-boyfriend Ha - great line. But does she have a wooden heart? Thanks for the feedback - I enjoyed it. Diane Hey there - great to see you. I loved that he didn't see it coming, that he was his typical insane Caedus personality. Thanks. It's quite a challenge coming up with ideas that Mr Know-it-all Jacen wouldn't twig to - if you'll excuse the pun. Loved the inclusion of 'brat' from the latest book and the way he was using Tahiri. Luckily she came around. Yes, as you can see, I'm very disturbed about Jacen using Tahiri the way he is. (My kids say I'm very disturbed full stop. ) So it was nice in this story to be able to provide another way of resolving it. I do hope she DOES come around in canon! She seems very OOC at present. Irish Hi there. I loved the look into Jacen's thought processes....very disgusting. That's our boy - disgusting beyond belief. Marvelous marvelous update!!! Thank you so much! Thank YOU. I especially liked the Sekot-Mara, very cool. And I'm glad Sekot finally realized Vergere was a bit of a crackpot. Oyah - Why be a birdbrain when you can be a brainy bird? Huggles to you!!! And to you TSF Hey there I guess that's where us amateurs have an advantage - we don't have to conform to da rulz. Hee hee Thanks for reading. Entropist Hi - good to see you, and thanks for reading. And now, somebody get me an axe, please? TIMBER!!!!!!!! "Come on baby, light my fire!" I also have visions of the Monty Python crowd striking up with their "I'm a lumberjack, I'm okay" song. Ali How's it going, old buddy? I'm sure his pet vornskrs would love a Force-sensitive tree. In that typical doggy way Now that is a very cool idea. Jacen would be a marked man. Brentus Hi di hi Well, considering you're killing everybody who displeases you and distancing yourself from your family, it seems natural that you'd be friendless, brainless, classless, thoughtless and generally disgusting and annoying all at the same time. Just a theory though. Oh, well said old chap. Thanks. madman007 Well...this was...different. And original in a Greek Mythology kind of way. Heh heh - hadn't considered that angle. Looooved all the bad puns (except his tree; that was a stretch.) You really went out on a limb here. Yeah, sorry. Sorry, contagious. Could be Dutch Elm Disease!!! Or dry rot. Yeah, get the axe and sent it to the paper factory! We can all write "Jacen is an Idiot" on him! Or something similar. Now there's a plan. Thanks for reading - and for the great puns. Emerald_Lady Good to see you. Sweet justice. They played him like a violin. Hee hee, didn't they just? Thanks so much for reading. Mousie Hi there. Yes - it was a bit naughty I'm afraid. Too many Brit comedies. Sorry to hear about your 'puter problems. Very annoying. Yeah - it occurred to me that being a Jedi would make it easy to cheat at sports. Thanks so much for reading. Brentus Hey again. Excellent, he's decided to plant himself and dig into his new surroundings. Hee hee - well, everyone needs roots. He's just getting ready to 'leave', that's all. LOL - you could say that he's blooming. arborification'? LMAO!! That was terrific. Glad you liked it. Maybe he's not grounded enough yet. You're in your element, aren't you? Poor old Jacen was just waiting to become a pillar one could lean on. From being a right pill to a pillar in one easy lesson. Truly, a copse to be proud of - taking a 'stand' amongst the other stalwart 'redwoods' of the family Solo. LOL - LOVE the puns. Thanks for the feedback - very, very enjoyable. Yoda Hey there. I predict ZS is coming to kill him this time I was originally going to have ZS trick him into a hyperspace jump that would lead him into the same spot as ZS. LOL He's such an ******* Isn't he just? [shakes head] Oh geez, and both have a planet-sized ego Thanks for the comment about old Jacen vs new Jacen. I had to do a quick reread of several earlier books in order to get some background for this, and it really struck me just how different he is - andit was good to be able to use specific details. You've done a great job writing this little mystery. I have no idea what's going on with Sekot, but I can't wait to find out. Thanks - and glad that it wasn't too obvious. It's hard to not give it all away too soon. Who is Bava really? Bava appeared briefly in Dark Nest: The Joiner King - chapter one I think where Tahiri was solving a dispute between the the Extolled Ones and the Warriors. I decided to use that idea in this story, too. Okay, that's the Ben I remember from Betrayal and love You know, I'm so glad you said that because that is exactly the Ben I love too, and was trying to recreate here. Someone needs to scold Leia, that was worse than Ben's Yeah, bit Leia is da "feisty bad example grandma" so she can be as bad as she wants. Heh heh Thanks for the lovely comments. I was especially glad to hear that you liked the sci-fi red herrings and that you felt they worked. Always a bit tricky with that kind of thing. SithGirl132 Hey there - lovely to meet you. I loved "death by golf ball," fro some reason I see that as entirely plausible. Hee hee - thanks. Glad it sounded plausible. Thanks for the feedback, especially for the comment about the blending of humour and seriousness. I'll never play golf again. Ha - my evil plot succeeded. K_A Hi there - great to see you. I love the way you manage to capture Jacen's character perfectly before you finish him off. And also, it's very ironic that it's his own hubris that does him in Thanks. Well, in regard to the hubris, I think this is where the LotF series has some similarities with classic tragedy. And yes, it's often this that is the achilles heel of the main character. It's sure true of old Jace anyway. Thanks again for reading. Thank you everyone. Another one is on the way. So what or who will get him this time do you think? -----signature----- Anahiri #6 http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/18446448/p33 The magazine for A/T fans Many Happy Returns http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/11018706/p81/?2011 Master to THE_PIED_PIPER
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thusspakezarathustra Registered: May '06	Date Posted: 2/7 9:47pm Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 2/6 Author replies
	A tree!!! Oh happy day Very very punny indeed. Poor old Jacen is a bit green round the gills. LOL Really enjoyed this one. -----signature----- Life is just one damned thing after another - Jerome K. Jerome
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BrentusofGath Registered: Aug '05	Date Posted: 2/21 11:07pm Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 2/6 Author replies
	Are we getting anymore anytime soon? -----signature----- In time or so I'm told, I'm just another soul for sale, oh well Feel it in my bones when you break my back, break it just to watch me bend Why'd you have to go and Let it Die? -Foo Fighters http://conscienceoftheking.blogspot.com/
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Irish_Jedi_Jade Registered: Jul '07	Date Posted: 2/21 11:12pm Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 2/6 Author replies
	Yes....more? Please? -----signature----- would it kill the laws of physics to have the universe slow down for just a minute?!?!?!?! I'm missing America's Next Top Model for biology?!!?
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Tahi Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 2/23 3:37pm Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 2/6 Author replies
	Zara Very punny! Green around the gills! Ha ha. I seem to have unleashed a frenzy of puns with this story. Thanks, and glad you liked it. Brentus and Irish Yes - won't be too much longer. I admit that I had to divert from this to write more on my Many Happy Returns story that was in dire need of updating - but I will get back on to this now and finish the next post. Thanks for your interest. -----signature----- Anahiri #6 http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/18446448/p33 The magazine for A/T fans Many Happy Returns http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/11018706/p81/?2011 Master to THE_PIED_PIPER
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star_writer24 Registered: Aug '06	Date Posted: 2/25 9:24am Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 2/6 Author replies - Date Edited: 2/25 9:24am (1 edits total) Edited By: star_writer24
	Okay I just got the scoop on Revelation and I am in some desperate need of more DIE, JACEN SOLO DIE therapy! Let the assassinations continue! Great stories by the way... I love what you're doing here, though I must admit I am partial to the Anakin Solo one. -----signature----- "The Force of the girl combined with the boy's is a fearful power indeed. For now, I wish only to train them and watch over them."
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Tahi Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 3/2 1:31am Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 2/6 Author replies
	Hi there star_writer. Thanks for reading and I'm glad you're enjoying the carnage. LOL Why am I not surprised that you like the Anakin one. Not long now until Caedus dies again, thus time at the hands of . . . Heh heh -----signature----- Anahiri #6 http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/18446448/p33 The magazine for A/T fans Many Happy Returns http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/11018706/p81/?2011 Master to THE_PIED_PIPER
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Tahi Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 3/16 4:03am Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 2/6 Author replies
	Okay - sorry this took longer than I intended, but I had to spend a bit of time finishing Revelation and then skimming back through Fury. I really wanted to have this happen in the timeframe of the later book, but the scene it worked best in was near the end of Fury. This story can be read as an alternate ending to that book - well that's how I've written it anyway. I also had to find info on lightsaber construction. Thanks to both Thrawn and JediAlly for helpful information about lightsabers and crystals. I really appreciate it. So here we go again - this time with an AU ending for Fury. (And after reading Revelation, I wish something like this had happened!!!!) Famous last words Darth Caedus, Sith Lord in the making, didn’t need to see his reflection in the metallic cover of his datapad, as he clicked it shut, to know that he was frowning. Far from it; he’d begun to feel the familiar pressure like a tight band across his brow several hours earlier that morning, just after he’d activated the first in a series of holozine presentations by Dr Spong, the notable child development expert come holonet celebrity. The furrows had become more pronounced as the series progressed, until finally, after the learned man’s discussion on the necessity for artistic and creative stimuli in order to develop a balanced and inquiring mind, he had become so infused with guilt and despair that he had cut the connection, and switched off the screen. It felt almost as if the venerable doctor’s steely eyes were seeking his, and the eloquent hands were pointing at him in accusation. Bad parent! The words, even when only imagined, hit him like a blow. And the worst thing about it was realising the extent of his ignorance on the matter. What kind of a father was he to have never given any thought to the whole issue of child development? True he had been somewhat preoccupied with the tricky process of ridding the galaxy of its riff raff and reshaping it according to his will; but, even so, Allana was his child, his blood. How could he have been so remiss! How could he have been so dense? He tracked back over the days since he’d brought the little girl on board the Anakin, and it shocked him to see how he had missed the signs of what were, he now realised, examples of an intelligent child suffering from lack of parental involvement – something he of all people should have recognised. First there’d been the bubble incident, which had escalated into a flood requiring emergency action by a team of cleaning droids. Of course he’d been angry at the time, even though it was probable that the whole thing was an accident, and that Allana hadn’t purposely set out to flood his quarters. All she’d been trying to do was blow bubbles in the wash unit, and when he reconsidered it now in the light of Dr Spong’s revelations, he could see that the whole incident was an expression of childish creativity gone slightly askew. With the wisdom of hindsight he could see that she had indeed been quite enterprising, and had gone about the process of achieving her aim methodically. She’d placed three bars of his favourite Hessential antiseptic soap in the hand bowl and covered them with water from the reticulator. She’d used one of the thin plastine drinking tubes, that came attached to the Mr Blue milk packs that Caedus had stocked up on, as a blower, and had no doubt amused herself for quite a while, judging by the soapy residue he’d found sticking almost up to halfway on the mirror that hung above the unit. It was just really unfortunate she’d tried to clean up the bubbly mess. As far as he could work out, she must have let out the soapy water, turned on the spray to wash away the bubbles, and then gone away. Presumably she’d meant to go back and switch it off, but had forgotten, which wouldn’t have been a problem at all had the three bars of semi-congealed soap not blocked the outlet. It could have been worse; the reticulator had eventually cut out once its tank had been emptied, for, of course, it was refilled with the used water, from the various sanisteam and wash units on his section of the deck, after it had passed through an attached filter. Even so, it was amazing how much damage 200 gallons of water could do in a small space. It was also amazing how the stuff could find routes into places he’d thought well sealed, an epiphany too late to save the ngdin whose habitat in a recess beneath the chair of thorns had been flooded, and the poor creatures, unable to escape, had drowned. Again not something that Allana would have intended, but still, it was annoying. Ngdin were not exactly in popular demand and were therefore quite difficult to source. He sighed, reliving the exasperation. It was fortunate he was in the process of cultivating Tahiri’s allegiance, because she’d been only too pleased to use her connections with the Yuuzhan Vong on Zonama Sekot to acquire him some replacement ngdin in exchange for another visit with her ex-almost-lover, his dead brother Anakin. He was beginning to think that the brat might be doing better dead than alive in terms of close encounters of the passionate kind with his girlfriend. Who knows - maybe the Yuuzhan Vong had done him a favour. Not long after the flood there’d been the obstacle course incident, which might have done him some serious damage if his reflexes hadn’t been in tip-top condition. He’d entered his suite deep in thought after a conversation with Captain Nevil and had been somewhat surprised to find himself first in mid-air, flipping over his small day sofa, and then performing a forward roll down his occasional table which had curiously appeared upside down and cantilevered from the seat of the sofa to the floor. He’d disentangled his cloak from around his neck to find his daughter studying him, disgruntlement written all over her face. “You’re meant to start at the other end, Daddy,” she’d reprimanded him, pointing to the makeshift trampoline she’d made from the sofa cushions at one end of his writing desk. “And you’re meant to walk along the back of the sofa not somersault over it.” Had he not been so overwhelmed at hearing her address him as Daddy rather than just Jacen, he might have reacted badly. Instead he sat there on the floor of his quarters aware of the soppy grin creeping across his face. “Ah, Allana,” he’d said, teasing her, “I swear you’ll be the death of me.” Daddy, he thought. Yes, it sounds so right. He wished he’d been able to reveal the truth about their connection earlier, but it was the destiny of the Sith to suffer, and to suffer alone. Then just the day before, there’d been the incident with the crystals, or more precisely the designs for the crystal that would eventually take pride of place in his new lightsaber. He’d been experimenting with various possibilities on his datapad when Allana had come in to eat her breakfast, and it wasn’t difficult to see that she was quite taken with what he was doing. Even so, he would never have predicted that his daughter would borrow the datapad in his absence and carefully redesign his creations to create a profusion of glittering rainbow patterns that looked more like the kind of vulgar jewellery that her Hapan grandmother might have appreciated. That thought, in itself, was disturbing enough, let alone the fact the child had sabotaged his efforts. He’d been both surprised and angry. He’d even begun to question whether the collateral damage she was busy wreaking on his calm and orderly existence vindicated his decision to steal her from Tenel Ka. Left to her own devices, Allana was probably capable of destroying the entire ship single-handed. By accident, of course. A few hours later he had calmed down and began to put things back in perspective. It was true that he found her unpredictability disconcerting, but he loved her dearly and wanted her to be happy. He realised, with sudden, sinking clarity, that he was more than a little out of his league, and he had nobody to turn to for answers. All the people who could have been useful sources for advice on how to deal with young children were now either enemies or dead. So, who could help him? The problem hovered at the back of his awareness all day like a headache on the build, and, despite the pleasant distraction of his plans to capture Centerpoint, it was his first concern when he awoke early that morning. He’d switched on to HNE to catch up on what the galaxy had been up to over the last few hours, and then stopped, his fingers frozen on the button. Sometimes he truly believed there was such a thing as luck, or maybe he was just blessed with perfect timing. Whatever the case, he’d switched on during the advert break before the news, just in time to catch an endorsement for the famed Dr Spong’s latest child development series package The Human Child: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers, available now as a download for a very reasonable cost. Caedus had taken a very long breakfast that morning. It was, he decided several hours later, as he fumbled irritatedly with the caf canister in the bench top dispenser, more Tenel Ka’s fault than his. After all, it was her lifestyle that had dictated the poor child be maintained in secure suites and kept in virtual isolation, with only her stuffed toys and hologames for company. But it didn’t absolve him - he still could have made more effort to provide the kind of stimulating experiences the child needed – and no doubt he would have, if he had been informed. Well, now he was, and so he had no more excuses; he would have to start doing something quickly to compensate for his neglect. But the question was: what? He pondered the problem as he waited for the dispenser to mix and grind his special blend of beans. He was still working on it when the familiar rich, nutty aroma of hot caf drifted up in a waft of steam to tickle and tantalise his nostrils. And that was when he had the brainwave. Of course! The crystals! It was obvious that Allana had really enjoyed playing with them in virtual form, but how much better to have the real thing. Except it wouldn’t be just one or two, it would be a whole set of them, all in different shapes and sizes - just like in the jewellery set he’d seen recommended by Dr Spong as a suitable creative toy for little girls. He would drink his caf, and then set about searching the Coruscant consumer network on the hypernet for the best set he could find, along with some suitable puzzles perhaps and art materials. Anything for his dear little daughter. And hopefully there’d be no more accidents. Caedus was very pleased at how excited Allana was with her gifts, and he made every effort over the ensuing days to factor in quality interaction time with her. He even took it in his Sithly stride when she insisted he model some of her jewellery creations, and managed to remain a model of implacability when he realised, halfway through an unscheduled holo-conference with Admiral Niathal, that he was still wearing a sparkly bracelet. He wasn’t sure if it was good or bad that Niathal, whose distracted gaze had alerted him to the presence of the bracelet, made no comment about it – but he decided in the end it was good, because if she challenged him about it retrospectively, he could pass the incident off as a glitch in their comm connection. Phew! But even that potential hiccup couldn’t ruin his mood. Everything was suddenly going well. Allana was happy and busy – in a constructive way; the galaxy appeared to be ticking over without obvious calamity, and as a result he’d made excellent progress with his new lightsaber. All that was required now was the crystal. He had the perfect design selected; he had the furnace and the powdered elements ready. The next evening Allana went to bed early, and Caedus set to work. The process of producing a crystal, worthy of the lightsaber that would announce his ascendancy to Sith Lord, required patience and great focus – and Caedus committed himself to the task with a singularity that even impressed him. He remembered – although now the memory felt strangely dissociative, as if it belonged to someone else – building his first lightsaber. He’d been in such a hurry to complete the task, and had had to force himself to take his time. Jaina had found a power source for him, and he’d used existing pieces of metal in various shapes to make the casing. Finally, after several days of filing and connecting leads to the appropriate control buttons, he’d been ready to install the Corusca gem he’d found at GemDiver Station, one of Lando Calrissian’s typically speculative enterprises. The gem was part of his personal history. He’d used it to free himself when he was being held captive in the Shadow Academy. Him? Himself? No, that history belonged to Jacen Solo, not Darth Caedus. Caedus’s history was yet to be made – as was the red crystal that would sear his name on the galaxy. Morning arrived, and the Anakin resonated with the alternating rhythms of staff ending or beginning their duty shifts. Caedus released the furnace clasp and extracted the gem, cradling it with the tenderness of a lover. Multifaceted and glittering flame red, as if reflecting a fire burning within its heart, the crystal pulsated with life – new life. It awaited the story he would inscribe on it – the story it would help him inscribe on the waiting populace. He smiled at the fiery gem, and almost laughed at the welt its heat had branded into his palm. He was still smiling when he returned later that morning, having given the crystal time to cool, and slipped it into its nesting place inside the newly forged handle. He’d just paused to admire its perfection when his comlink burst into life – three chimes: urgent. Spirits rising further as he anticipated the next step in his programme to crush the rabid Corellians and bring order to the galaxy, he checked on Allana. Busy painting. All’s well. Two minutes later, he was on the bridge listening to Captain Nevil announcing their readiness for the assault on Centerpoint Station. Allana liked her painting set. The paint tubes had a thick brush on one end and a thin one on the other, and she had all the colours of the rainbow plus black and white. Daddy had showed her how to mix white with the colours to make pinks and pale blues, and had given her some little cups to mix her new colours in. She painted a picture of Mummy, taking quite a while to make the right colour for her beautiful hair, and used the fine tips of her brushes carefully to do little dots that looked like the jewels in her favourite necklace. She sat looking at it for a while, imagining what her Mummy might be doing; what games they might have been playing if she had been there rather than here; what flowers she might see from her window. She wondered how far away she was from her home, and when Daddy was going to remember to say the right words. It worried her that he kept forgetting even though he bought her nice things. She began to paint Daddy, but she couldn’t get his eyes right, so she turned him into one of the big hairy creatures her Mummy had told her were Wookiees. Their eyes were hard to see because of all their fur, so it didn’t really matter what colour they were. After the Wookiee picture, she painted a huge rancor, and then she added herself on top riding it. She imagined how it would feel being up so high. Would it be cold? She painted a triangle on her head that was really a hat. It was at that point she realised she’d run out of flimsi, so she began looking around for some more, first on the shelf above the caf machine and then on Daddy’s desk. She was sure he must keep some flimsi somewhere, for after all where had he . . . Oh, that’s right. He’d brought her some from his workroom, but that was one of the rooms she wasn’t allowed into. At least she assumed she wasn’t allowed in because it was always locked. She wandered out into the corridor and past the armoury. Maybe he kept flimsi in the storage cube just outside the workroom? Hopefully, she walked over to check, and then had the surprise of her life when the doors to the forbidden room swished open. She stopped, wondering what to do. Now that he was Daddy and not Jacen, had the rules changed? Or maybe he’d just left in such a hurry that he’d forgotten to lock up? Her feet hovered on the threshold – and then she saw a pile of flimsy at the far end of the big workbench. She was sure he wouldn’t mind if she took a few more pieces. In fact, he probably wouldn’t even notice. She crept over to it. She tried very hard not to look at the funny thing sitting in the middle of the bench, but it was too shiny to ignore. She thought it looked like something she’d seen before but she wasn’t sure, so she picked it up for a closer look. Inside there was something red and glittery – it looked like a jewel, a really big one. Curious, she turned the tube upside down and gave it a shake, and sure enough a large gem popped out on to the bench top. “Oooh!” It was the colour of fire. She picked it up meaning to hold it up to her eye so she could look at things through it, but it slipped from her grasp and flashed downwards, landing with a clunk. She searched the floor area around her feet, and then got down on all fours and poked around under the bench – but it seemed to have vanished. Allana almost began to cry, because she remembered how angry Daddy had looked when she played with his pretty jewels on his datapad. But suddenly she remembered her jewellery set and had an idea. A few minutes later, feeling very relieved that she’d been able to fix the problem herself, she put the tube back where she found it. Everything would be fine now. Fact, as her Mummy always said. That made her smile. Caedus rode the tides of the Force like a Chad surf-skimmer, master in his preferred element, channelling the ebb and flow of fear and exultation, exhilaration and despair, bolstering determination in his commanders, infusing doubt in the minds of his enemies. He was both conduit and controller; he was everywhere – omnipresent, omniscient, in one and in all. And so it came as a shock when Captain Nevil’s urgent tone pierced the expanding bubble of his Sith battle meditation. “Sir? We have unsubstantiated reports that there are Jedi and saboteurs aboard.” The bubble trembled, shrank a little as he withdrew and then stabilised, its meniscus firm once again. He was confident that, just for a while, it would be capable of maintaining its own integrity, because the motivation, the energy, to succeed that he had instilled in his troops had reached critical mass. And he knew that to turn his back on the Jedi would be suicide. Yes, he could sense them now: Luke, Ben and Saba Sebatyne . . . his mother. And they were coming for him. It was time they met their true nemesis. What glory would there be in allowing them to believe their misguided lives had been ended by Jacen Solo? No. No. The Force was speaking to him; the moment had arrived for Caedus, Dark Lord of the Sith, to become flesh. He turned to Nevil. “In five minutes, we will initiate Plan Bastion. You may time that exactly.” And without further explanation he departed the bridge. No time to explain the niceties to staff, and it was unlikely they’d understand anyway with their mundane perceptions. Five minutes proved to be an accurate estimate for the amount of time it took to return to his quarters, snap the handle of his new lightsaber closed, clip it into place on his belt and return to his commander’s chair. Soon his true persona would be blooded, literally, along with the new weapon – and his Sithhood would be sealed. He watched with a certain amount of wry amusement as the three Jedi, his former family and compatriots, fought their way past the stationed cadres of YVH combat droids and carved an inexorable path towards the bridge. He had lost touch with his mother early, meaning that it was possible she had fallen before the group reached the areas covered by holocam surveillance. He took his lack of emotional response to this thought as a benchmark of just how far he had progressed along his path – some might call it dark; he preferred to call it enlightenment. A blister suddenly puckered the centre of the bridge blast doors like an unseasonal bloom. Really, he thought, impatiently flicking the doors aside to reveal Luke, Ben and Saba poised in triangular battle array, this is all so ho-hum.. However, manners were manners: he acknowledged them individually and smiled politely. “Care for some caf?” Luke, assuming the role of spokesman, as always, shook his head. “Care to surrender?” Well, nobody could ever deny that Luke was the eternal optimist no matter how misguided he might be. Caedus wondered how that wonderful positivity was faring in the face of the barrage of blaster fire he was now facing from eight combat droids. He waited patiently, wondering if the Jedi trio would simply tire and succumb, or whether they’d come up with some creative plan to take out their attackers. Blaster bolts were ricocheting all over the place, pinging off polished surfaces and gouging searing heat trails through plasteel veneers. The acrid odour of super-heated chemicals filled the air. The bridge crew dived for cover behind their consoles, but Caedus simply reached down and plucked his lightsaber from his belt: his new lightsaber – the weapon of a Sith Lord. He posed with his finger on the button for the merest second – just enough time to catch Luke’s eye and smile. And then he pressed down, anticipating the effect the incarnadine glow of his blade would have: on his former mentor – a flag of despair; on him – fulfilment . . . ecstasy . . . Agony? Was the shriek that was splitting his eardrums coming from him or from the lightsaber? Something red had spurted up he was sure, but that didn’t explain the sticky wet stuff that appeared to be falling down on him from the air. Nor did it provide a reason for the sparks showering from the shapeless hunk of slag that was now fused to his hand. “Cease fire!” he screamed at the combat droids, but the command was lost in the deafening roar of their fire. Bolts zigzagged from droids to Jedi to Caedus until, torso and hair ablaze, he sank to the deck. The pain of being blasted to shreds was surprisingly difficult to embrace – even for a prize graduate of the Yuuzhan Vong. To his credit he did manage to remain conscious for at least two minutes after his heart exploded in a spectacular cascade of red gore. Whether he used that time wisely to admit to the error of his ways nobody could tell: it’s always very hard to read the expression of the dead, especially when their face has been completely burned away. Allana was sad to hear her Daddy had died, although the relief of being reunited with her Mummy rather overshadowed any sorrow she might have felt. After all, apart from brief appearances every now and again, some nice presents and some scary space trips, her memories of Caedus were a trifle ambivalent. But she did think of him occasionally when she played with her jewellery set, and she wondered if he’d ever found out about the red gem. And if he had, would he have been annoyed, or would he have smiled at her and said . . . what was it he’d said that time he fell over her obstacle course? Oh that’s right: “Ah, Allana, I swear you’ll be the death of me.” -----signature----- Anahiri #6 http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/18446448/p33 The magazine for A/T fans Many Happy Returns http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/11018706/p81/?2011 Master to THE_PIED_PIPER
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TahiriSoloFan Registered: May '03	Date Posted: 3/16 8:43am Subject: RE: Die, Jacen Solo, Die! short stories about death and Jacen - 3/16 Famous last words
	Flashbacks of Obi & Anakin! Great job with Allana and her antics....written just like a mum & grandmother. -----signature----- Auntie & the Chickens ~ currently on location in Egypt, Da'Nile! What's your favorite RotS scene? Member of TKL's Wraiths! AKA ~Auntie ~ Chicken Wrangler Extraordinaire~ Josh 1:9
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