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Author	Topic: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Updated 10/3/08!
YodaKenobi Title: TFN EU Staff Registered: May '03	Date Posted: 5/30 3:04pm Subject: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Updated 10/3/08! - Date Edited: 10/3 4:40pm (20 edits total) Edited By: YodaKenobi
	Title: Legacy of the Sith (Book 3): The Lands of the Dead Author: YodaKenobi Timeframe: Post-New Jedi Order, 32 ABY Characters: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, Tahiri, H/L, L/M, Kyp, Jag,everyone else who's ever been seen, spoken, or mentioned in a SW story Genre: Adventure, Mystery Keywords: Spaceman Spiff Summary: A mysterious empire controled by a Sith Lord from deep in the Unknown Regions has become a part of the Galactic Alliance and is determined to destroy the Jedi Order. Notes: This is the sequel to "The Age of Heroes" and "Exodus." Don't let the prologue fool you, Legacy of the Sith takes place 3 years after my New Jedi Order AU series ("Revolution," "The Eighth Cortex," and "The Living Force"— links in my profile) which replace "The Final Prophecy," and "The Unifying Force," an an alternate ending to the NJO. For new readers unsure about jumping into something that's already covered a lot of ground— don't worry Background information will be given as we go so it won't be difficult to follow. This story takes place 6 months after the events of "Exodus," which puts us in late 32 ABY.during the "Raithian Wars"— a period long ignored. Coverart by Maggy Dramatis Personae Aero Gin; bounty hunter (female, unknown species) Alema Rar; Sith Acolyte (female Twi'lek) Anakin Solo; Jedi Knight (male human) Ayddar Nylykerka; Galactic Alliance intelligence director (male Tammarian) Baliss Phlora; Jedi Apprentice (female human) Ben Skywalker; Jedi Student (male human) Boba Fett; bounty hunter (male human) Booster Terrik; captain, Errant Venture (male human) Brosh; commander of Thrawn's household phalanx (male Chiss) C-3PO; protocol droid Cakhmaim; Leia Solo's bodyguard (male Noghri) Callista Ming; Sith Acolyte (female human) Cilghal; Jedi Master, prisoner (female Mon Calamari) Corssa; Imperial Commander (female Chiss) Dorrin Kogg; senate speaker (male Sermarian) Emala; war profiteer (female Squib) Evlyn Tabory; agent of the Chief Syndic (female human) Faybol; Darth Malig's Hand (male Kuhr) Ferani; Tenel Ka's Chamberlain (female human) Fyor Rodan; Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance (male human) Garm Bel Iblis; general (male human) Ghost; Imperial Stormtrooper (male human) Gijjle Vo Mio; Lord of Treasure (female Twi'lek) Grees; war profiteer (male Squib) H'sishi; crewmember, Wild Karrde (female Togorian) Han Solo; captain, Millennium Falcon (male human) Harrow; Sith Alchemist (male Rezor) Hunter; Imperial Stormtrooper (male human) Jacen Solo/Darth Havok; Sith Apprentice, General of the Raithian Armies, and First King of the Hapes Consortium (male human) Jagged Fel; CEDF Commander (male human) Jaina Solo; Jedi Knight (female human) Jer'um; Raithian Commander (male human) Jorj Car'das; former smuggler (male human) Jysella Horn; Sith Acolyte (female human) Kenth Hamner; Jedi Master, prisoner (male human) Kirana Ti; Jedi Master (female human) Khrom; Lord of Law (male, unknown species) Kurol; shared consciousness of Faybol's brood Kyle Katarn; Jedi Master (male human) Kyp Durron; Jedi Master (male human) Kyrn; Colonel, Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet (female Chiss) Lando Calrissian; entrepreneur (male human) Leia Organa Solo; Jedi Knight (female human) Lorra Klorne; Commander, Galactic Alliance Fourth Fleet (female human) Lowbacca; Sith Acolyte (male Wookiee) Luke Skywalker; Jedi Master, prisoner (male human) Malig; Dark Lord of the Sith (male, unknown species) Mara Jade Skywalker; Jedi Master (female human) Malachor; prisoner (male human) Marekk; Lord of Lords (male human) Meewalh; Leia's bodyguard (female Noghri) Mirax Horn; art dealer (female human) Nyll; Commander of Raithian Elite Commandos (male human) Na'rul Thun; smuggler (male Gotal) Oaxley; Lieutenant, Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet (male Chiss) Octa Ramis; Jedi Master (female human) Orad Guthree; farmer (male human) Otakahn Rai; Lord of Occultism (male humanoid) Pyke; prisoner (male Zabrak) R2-D2; astromech droid Raynar Thul; Sith Acolyte (male human) Reevor Dactoy; Lord of Machines (male Kel Dor) Relequy A'Kla; senator (female Caamasi) S1-D1; Tendrando Arm's decoy droid S2-D4; Tendrando Arm's decoy droid Saba Sebatyne; Jedi Master (female Barabel) Salo; prisoner (male, unknown species) Sayge; captain, the Exodus (male human) Sha; Lord of Creed (female Spindo) Shada D'ukal; Talon Karrde's business associate (female human) Sligh; war profiteer (male Squib) Soontir Fel; Chief Syndic, Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet (male human) Strack; colonel, Raithian Army (male, species unknown) Streen; Jedi Master (male human) Strafe; Imperial Stormtrooper (male human) Ta'a Chume; former Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium (female human) Ta'laam Ranth; Minister of State (male Gotal) Tahiri Veila; Jedi Knight, prisoner (female human) Talon Karrde; independent information broker (male human) Tekli; Jedi Knight (female Chadra-Fan) Tenel Ka Djo; Jedi Knight and Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium (female human) Tionne; Jedi Master (female human) Tesar Sebatyne; Jedi Knight (male Barabel) Than Ulgran; director, Galactic Alliance Security (male human) Thrawn; former Imperial Grand Admiral (male Chiss) Traest Kre'fey; Admiral, Galactic Alliance Fifth Fleet (male Bothan) Tresina Lobi; Jedi Master, prisoner (female Chev) Triebakk; senator (male Wookiee) Trima-ogo Iamodi; Lord of Science (male Glyphix) Tweeter; Jaina's astromech droid Valin Horn; Jedi Knight (male human) Vergere; former Jedi Knight (female Fosh)* Vigorn; Head of the Queen Mother's Royal Guard (male human) Voss Parck; Admiral, Empire of the Hand (male human) Vox; Raithian Admiral (male human) Wampa; Imperial Stormtrooper (male human) Wedge Antilles; retired general (male human) Wrev Caster; Jedi Knight (male human) Zekk; Sith Acolyte (male human) Zil Bahete; Lord of Wisdom (female human) deceased "You are forever lost to the worlds you knew. Your friends mourn, your father rages, your mother weeps. Your life has been [i]terminated; a line of division has been drawn between you and everything you have ever known. You have seen the terminator that sweeps across the face of a planet, the twilit divison between night and day? You have crossed that line, Jacen Solo. The bright fields of day are forever past. "There are no Jedi here. I am your guide through the lands of the dead."— Vergere, Traitor. Darkness wrapped around Anakin like a cloak and whispered to him like a mother. It promised him a face of durasteel and a heart of ferrocrete. It offered him supernovas of power and the unflinching will to use it. He had been to this place before, often. It was his oldest dream, perhaps dreamed for the first time when the clone of the Emperor Palpatine touched him through his mother's womb. And when he learned about his namesake, his grandfather Vader, the dreams grew stronger, more detailed. He saw futures in which he was grown, his blue eyes gone as gray as hull plating. He saw himself in Darth Vader's mask, the Knight of Darkness reborn.— Anakin's dream, Edge of Victory: Conquest. "Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying." "He could actually save people from death?" "The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities... Some considered to be unnatural."— Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker, Revenge of the Sith*. Special thanks to jagsredlady for her betawork, guidance, and all-around awesomeness. -----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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YodaKenobi Title: TFN EU Staff Registered: May '03	Date Posted: 5/30 3:04pm Subject: RE: a story - Date Edited: 5/31 3:40pm (2 edits total) Edited By: YodaKenobi
	Prologue: Guthree's Farm There is a wound cut in space. A jagged gash torn through the fibers of the galaxy that writhes and throbs and grows in swirls of gas particles and clusters of screaming white stars. The webbed cloud of emissions and plasma shimmers and churns in deep reds and violet, bleeding into the endless black far beyond the Outer Rim. Against this wound, this nebula, a warship appears. The Imperial Star Destroyer Admonitor slides through the star-flecked abyss, its hulking ion drives cooking a trail of blue efflux and banks listlessly away from the distant mass of weeping dispersal. It is two years after a band of rebels destroyed the Empire's Death Star at Yavin— two years before the battle of Endor when the Emperor will die, seventeen years before peace between the Empire and these rebels will be official, twenty-three years before the Yuuzhan Vong will invade and tear the galaxy asunder, and thirty years before another empire that calls itself the Raithians will worm its way into the Galactic Alliance at the behest of a mysterious Sith Lord. The arrowhead-shaped warship drifts forward and comes to rest above a moon, the planetoid's atmosphere gleaming with the ethereal brilliance of reflected sunlight from the system's primary. This is when the Admonitor's belly hangar opens and a white Lambda-class shuttle falls gently through the star destroyer's atmospheric containment field, its wings unfolding like a crane, and a vanguard of two TIE fighters dropping down beside it. The shuttle pivots and its own drives flare in a blue band, shooting towards the moon below. It takes only minutes for the vessel and its guards to burn through the wisps of clouds and vapors of the moon's atmosphere and come to land in a clearing on its surface. This is Caro 2. The only habitable satellite of the six moons orbiting an otherwise useless gas giant of the same name. It was colonized more than a millennium ago by Republic settlers anxious to work what they believed was exceptionally fertile farmland. While much of the moon was still verdant and thriving, some regions have become barren and desolate, with ramshackle villages built around dustbowls that have become nearly deserted. The shuttle's landing ramp lowers in jets of flushing exhaust and two figures emerge. One is an aging human with a hawkish nose and dark hair that is quickly transforming to silver. He is dressed in the gray khakis of an Imperial Captain. His name is Parck. The other is a tall being with blue skin and glowing eyes of scarlet. His name is Thrawn. A brilliant strategist and fleet commander, Thrawn was elevated to the rank of Grand Admiral despite the rampant xenophobia in the Empire. The pair marches down the ramp and begin to make their way across the terrain in curtains of blowing dust and tangles of shriveled foliage and yellowed grass. Ostensibly, they have been sent to map the Unknown Regions as punishment for their involvement in a cabal's attempt to take control of the Empire. In reality, the failed coup d'état was orchestrated by the Emperor himself, as a means to send Thrawn and Parck into the Unknown Regions for his own purposes. "This is a complete waste of time," Parck grumbles, squinting to keep the gusts of dirt from his eyes. "We're chasing shadows." "If there are shadows, Captain, then there is something casting them." "Perhaps I'd have more faith in this little exploration if you would tell me everything the Emperor disclosed to you when he banished us out here." Thrawn only smiles, the slightest hint of amusement tugging at his lips. For months they have been searching the Unknown Regions, using the resources Emperor Palpatine has given them in secret, to locate a fleet and people the ruler has assured them is lurking outside the farthest edges of known space. They've heard horrific tales, pursued every rumor and clue, and have yet to find a solitary shred of physical evidence that such an empire exists. They approach a cluster of modest dome-shaped huts nearly identical to several they can see in the distant murk of the late-afternoon horizon, carved of white stone and brushed with dirt. When the pair is only a dozen meters from the farm house, a man appears in the doorway, obviously alerted by the whine of the shuttle's repulsors and intent on investigating the trespass. He is a grizzled old man with skin made leathery from a lifetime of the sun's abuse, a chin raked by white stubble, and a hand missing two fingers. It is the pale eyes of the human that Thrawn finds most intriguing, however, for when they set on his visitors they widen with cold fear. The old farmer is clearly terrified in that moment and Grand Admiral Thrawn imagines he has never seen a Chiss before. "Greetings," Thrawn calls to the man as he and Parck close the distance. "Hello," he replies in an accented drawl. "My name is Thrawn and this is my associate Voss Parck." "Guthree," the man nods. "Is there something I can help you with, friend?" "Orad Guthree?" Parck questions. The farmer hesitates. "Yes..." "Well, Mr. Guthree," Thrawn smiles. "We've come to see you." "I was afraid of that," he replies, before gesturing to the open door of his hut. "Come on in." The Grand Admiral and Parck exchange a look of surprise before slowly following the strange man into his home. Most of the hut's interior is bare, with few decorations outside of a handful of holographs on the wall and furniture that appears as though the old man pulled it out of the rain two decades ago. "I've never met anyone from the Empire before." They follow Guthree beneath a low-arched doorway to his kitchen where a wobbly table is parked and ringed by three chairs. He gestures for them to take the two seats in front of them. "Can I offer you something to drink?" "No, thank y—" "Stimcaf would be nice," Parck interrupts. He always complains about the taste of the caf from the Admonitor's processor nozzles. Guthree nods and smiles before fishing out three mugs from his cupboard and filling them with the lukewarm liquid he has sealed in a canister on his counter as the Imperials take their seats. He returns to the table, the mugs rattling in his trembling hands as he passes them to his guests and retreats to the far side of the table. "Now what is it you gentlemen wanted to see me about?" Guthree asks, punctuating his question by taking a long gulp of caf, as if he is trying to hide behind the mug. "It's good," Parck lies after a sip of his own. "We're on a very unusual mission, Mr. Guthree," Thrawn explains. "We're... looking for something. Something of great importance to the Empire." "Oh, I doubt you'll find anything like that out here. Unless the Empire is after soil that won't grow nothing." Thrawn offers a quick smile of amusement. "Have you ever heard the tales of a fleet deep in these regions of unparalleled power? Of an empire that could rival our own?" "Oh, the Conquerors," Guthree nods. They've heard of the Emperor's enemies referred to in a variety of tongues, from dozens of different alien races in their search of the Unknown Regions, and they are often referred to simply as The Conquerors, or something close in translation. The tales are horrific, describing a race and a fleet that dismantles their opponents upon invasion, enslaving their people and cannibalizing them into an ever-growing war machine. As outlandish as the stories sound, the utter fear and conviction with which the tellers relay them and the fact that the Emperor is concerned enough about this threat to send Thrawn along with a significant portion of the fleet to discover it, frightens the Grand Admiral more than anything he will ever come across. "We've been searching for some trace of them," Thrawn continues. "Or a way to locate the sectors they control." "If they even exist," Parck adds with a derisive snort. "Better if it's a myth, I think," Guthree responds. His hands are trembling again, violent enough that a plume of caf splashes over the lip of his mug onto the table. Somehow, he steadies himself. "My cousin went searching for them many years ago," Guthree goes on. "I was just a boy then, didn't really understand what was happening. There was a team of them, explorers who wanted to see if the legends about the Conquerors were real... they never returned." "Do you know where they went?" Parck asks. "Nah. I saved the coordinates from my cousin's notes for where they planned to start in my journal there," the farmer says, gesturing to an old datapad on the counter. "But where they ended up... nobody knows." Thrawn glances down at his caf, sees a few specks floating on the surface and permacretes his decision not to drink it. "That would be very helpful, thank you." "You're not the first person to come here looking for those coordinates, you know?" "That was the other thing we wanted to speak to you about, Mr. Guthree. We spoke to a Duro spacer on En'lest named Bargo who told us you'd had another visitor." Orad Guthree chuckles for the first time and its clear he's missing teeth as well. "Old Bargo. I guess a story like that gets around, eh? What did he tell you exactly?" "He told us to see you," Parck replies. "He said you'd tell it better." "Ah." "So who was this visitor?" Guthree grows nervous again. "I don't want no trouble, friends..." "You're not in any danger from us," Thrawn assures. "It's not you I'm afraid of..." "We won't tell anyone," Parck says with a grin, leaning forward. "I promise." Guthree shakes his head. "He'll know..." Thrawn and Parck exchange another look. "Who?" "I don't know what he was, but he came here about fifty years ago... looking for the coordinates like you fellas. I don't know how he found me, how he knew..." "You didn't see him?" Thrawn asks. "His face was... wrapped in rags," Guthree explains. "All I could see were his eyes and... they were horrible, friend. Yellow like some reptile, but wreathed with red..." "Why do you think he hid his face?" "I don't know really, so I wouldn't know who he was, I guess. But he was injured, real bad, I think. He was holding his side a lot and he seemed to be in pain. Maybe something had happened to his face and he didn't want people to see. "His voice was... like nothing I've ever heard before. It was so clear, but garbled at the same time. It was warped. Like he had two voices..." Parck raises a brow. "Did he have a name?" "He said to call him 'Adas'... that seemed to amuse him." "What about a ship?" "Some Nubian model, I think. Real sleek for a guy wearing a cloak and rags. But that was the least peculiar thing about the fella', so I didn't say nothing." "What did he say?" "He said he needed my help— that I was supposed to help him. He claimed he had a vision, that he could see my future. Said he knew about my cousin and that he needed the coordinates. "I thought he was mad. I was a much younger man back then, but I've never been so frightened." "Did he threaten you?" "No, no. He said he needed the coordinates and that I was supposed to help him. Then, he asked me what I wanted more than anything in the galaxy." "What did you say?" Guthree shrugs. "How do you answer a question like that? I just laughed and said I'd like a million credits. But he didn't like that much." "He didn't?" "No. He said it was a foolish thing to ask for when someone was offering you anything. 'What good is money?' he said. 'What would you use it for? What is it you really want more than anything? If no law of man or nature ruled you, what would you ask for? What if your imagination was the only limit, Mister Guthree?'" "So what did you say this time?" "My wife." "What?" "My wife Meryll. She'd died that winter. Wandered out into the hills one morning because she'd seen a whisperkit, but she must have gotten lost... She froze out there... So I told him, if I could have anything in the galaxy, I'd want Meryll back." "Did he like that answer better?" Thrawn asks. "Oh yeah," Guthree replies. His voice is now strung with bitterness. "He said he could do it, that he could bring my wife back." "What did you do?" "I asked him to leave. A man doesn't joke about that kind of thing! I wasn't scared of him after that, just angry... But he didn't leave..." Voss Parck is leaning so far forward that his chest is nearly touching the table. "What did he do?" The old man makes a fluid-filled groan before downing the last of his caf. "It's better if I just show you." With that, the farmer rises from his chair and heads for the back door. Thrawn and Parck exchange a look of bewilderment and then follow after the man in a restrained scramble. The back door slides open with a hiss and the drone of ailing motors to reveal a field of dried grass and soil that looks as though it's been ravaged, plowed into fruitlessness. A wooden fence borders the glades of drought separating Guthree's farm from the thickets and forest of crooked trees beyond and the snow-capped mountains on the horizon. There were several breaks in the long fence, where entire beams are cast off their support and lying askew in the dirt. "I had a nerf," Guthree says, leading them towards one such break, stepping over the toppled lumber to make his way out into the forest. "A male. He got sick and I didn't realize how bad it was getting... He'd died the day before the stranger came here." "I'm starting to see a common theme in all of your stories," Parck replies dryly, following the man into the woods. The farmer seems oblivious to the captain's sarcasm. "The stranger wouldn't leave when I asked him to. Instead, he came out back here where the nerf was lying beneath the sun. There were flies gathering and the stink was horrible, but I hadn't gotten around to doing anything with it yet. Things just seemed so hard after losing Meryll, ya know? "... Anyway, this fella walks right over to the nerf and looks at it for a minute before laying his hands on it." Guthree moves around a thick tree with massive gnarled roots and a pair of dark shapes become visible on the forest floor a dozen meters away. The old farmer continues while Thrawn and Parck squint, trying to make out what lies ahead. "He touched it?" Parck asks in disgust. "I could see electricity dancing off his fingers, like he was pumping it into my livestock. After a few minutes, he broke contact and stepped away. Then, an instant later, it happened." "What?" Guthree stops and turns to look at his guests, his eyes distant and horror-filled as if he's reliving it all again. "The damned nerf stood up. Flopped right over onto its legs. He snorted and chuffed and made all sort of angry noises. The look in his eyes was that of some feral beast. "After a few minutes he charged through the fence and ran out here into the forest." "And what did you do, Mr. Guthree," Thrawn asks, ducking a low branch. "I ran. The other direction of course, but I wanted as far away from that... that thing that could wake the dead, as possible! Ahh, here we are." The two shapes on the forest floor are a pair of animal carcasses— one a feline predator and the other a larger animal so rended that it is unrecognizable. Both are surrounded by stained crimson grass and have been gutted by sharp tusks or horns, their insides chewed by whatever had killed them. "Don't tell me this is supposed to be your nerf," Thrawn says, gesturing towards the larger carcass. "No, it's not him," Guthree replies. "This is what he did." "What?" "He lives out in the mountains but comes here every couple weeks and makes a kill." Thrawn's glowing eyes narrow. "But nerfs are docile creatures— herbivores. No nerf could have done this." Guthree snorts. "That's not even the real scary part, friend. Most nerfs, they only live ten, maybe fourteen years if you don't work them too hard. It was forty-nine years ago that this maniac showed up on my farm and did whatever it was he did... "A few people have tried to kill it over the years, but I don't think it can be done. It's immortal." Both Thrawn and Parck stare at the old man, wondering if his tale is possible in any way or if he's simply gone mad. "Did you ever see him again?" Parck asks finally. "This Adas?" Guthree shakes his head. "I returned to my farm the next day and he was gone. My datapad was moved out and on the table so I knew he'd taken the coordinates before leaving. I tried to forget all about it, but I couldn't. As I slept that night, all I could do was think about what had happened, to wonder if I had stayed, if he could have brought Meryll back too..." The old man’s eyes begin to fill with tears. "But then, I started to wonder what that creature did here while I was gone... I couldn't shake this feeling... I went out to where I'd buried Meryll that winter, and I started to dig." "No..." Parck says so softly that he does not realize he spoke. "I dug that night until I found her coffin. But when I opened it... there was nothing inside." A long silence follows, before Thrawn speaks. "That is quite a story." "I wonder," Guthree sobs. "If she's out there somewhere. If he made her into a monster like that nerf... I..." Again, the Imperials wait a moment while Guthree composes himself. "Was there anything else?" Parck asks. "Anything about this visitor we need to know." "Well, there was one thing." Reaching into his pocket, Guthree pulls out a piece of flimsiplast that looks as though it's been folded and unfolded a million times. "This was on the counter when I finally returned home." Thrawn takes the flimsi from Guthree and unfolds it as Parck looks over his shoulder to read. On the sheet are a few handwritten lines in Aurebesh, the marks beautiful and elegant at times, but others are erratic and jagged. This is what it says: Mister Guthree, Many years from now, two men will come to see you. One will be human and the other will have the eyes of evil. They will ask you for the coordinates. Kill them both. Thrawn hears the rattle a moment before he lowers the flimsi and sees the muzzle of the blaster pistol shaking in Guthree's hand. "I'm sorry..." he says. "But I'm scared he'll come back..." The blaster sings out in a flash of blinding energy and Parck goes down, the bolt scorching through his shoulder. Thrawn dives to the ground, freeing his sidearm and aiming all in one smooth motion before the aging farmer can train his blaster on the Chiss. Another burst of scarlet follows, leaving a smoking hole in Guthree's chest. He falls to the ground, dead. The thirteenth Imperial Grand Admiral pushes himself to his feet and stares down at the farmer's body, his great mind reeling. "Are you okay?" "Yeah," Parck groans from behind. "I'm just great." -----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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Maggy Registered: Oct '04	Date Posted: 5/30 3:06pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/ - Date Edited: 5/30 3:07pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Maggy
	Final version coming next week next week?! looking forward to it -----signature----- The Revenant - http://boards.theforce.net/a/b10477/28313064 - co authored with Jedi Ant "Maggy rawks " - YodaKenbi
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Ultima_1 Registered: May '01	Date Posted: 5/30 3:17pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	Nice start. Definitely not what I expected as the prologue. I'm assuming that the Conquerors are the Raithans and that Adas is Malig. -----signature----- Fanfic Padawan of NYCitygurl Legacy of the Force: Endgame http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28169084/p1/?1
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Rigil_Kent Registered: Jan '04	Date Posted: 5/30 3:21pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	Just now getting all the way through the immense body of work you've done, YodaKenobi, and I must tip my hat to you for writing some damned good Star Wars fics. If the EU went in this direction during the NJO, I might actually still be reading the profic instead of avoiding it like the plague. Kudos. Eagerly looking forward to the next installment... -----signature----- The Dark Side is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be ... unnatural. -Darth Sidious. Tyranny Reborn: http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28516174/p1 Shattered Dreams: http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/2926341
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GrandMasterKatarn Registered: Feb '08	Date Posted: 5/30 3:31pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	I love it. What a great way to start out a story. An immortal nerf . Reminds me of Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and Torchwood. -----signature----- Revan+Bane+Exile = Kyle Katarn "Expletive: Damn it, master, I am an assassination droid... not a dictionary!" - HK-47 "My first apprentice was a female Twi'lek named Jaden Korr" - Kyle Katarn
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zonzo Registered: Dec '07	Date Posted: 5/30 4:32pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/ - Date Edited: 5/30 9:41pm (1 edits total) Edited By: zonzo
	Awesomesause. Good to see some action going on so early. I'll continue to watch and wait. PM me if at all possible. -----signature----- Awesomesause. New word of the year. Making a Life (Legacy-era, 132 ABY)- http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28526177/p1 To Venture the Dark Places- Dark Luke AU- http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/28652606/p1/?9
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PointGiven Registered: Dec '06	Date Posted: 5/30 4:54pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	YodaKenobi posted: Jysella Horn; Sith Acolyte (female human) uh-oh YodaKenobi posted: Malachor; prisoner (male human) I guess this is what you meant by the quote in your trailer Luke: "what kind of name is Malachor?" I was hoping it was the planet but you may get to that. Great Prologue! I'm also suscribing to the idea that "Adas" is Malig. Have you by any chance read The Monkey's Paw? It's a short story which involves three wishes. One wish is to bring someone back from the dead but it turns out to be like the nerf and the wife in your story. I was wondering if that influenced you. -----signature----- Proud Obama Campaign Worker. FIRED UP AND READY TO GO!!!
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Clone_Cmdr_Wedge Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 5/30 5:28pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/ - Date Edited: 5/30 5:31pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Clone_Cmdr_Wedge
	New Fic posted dance YK:There is a wound cut in space. A jagged gash torn through the fibers of the galaxy that writhes and throbs and grows in swirls of gas particles and clusters of screaming white stars. The webbed cloud of emissions and plasma shimmers and churns in deep reds and violet, bleeding into the endless black far beyond the Outer Rim. Against this wound, this nebula, a warship appears. The Imperial Star Destroyer Admonitor slides through the star-flecked abyss, its hulking ion drives cooking a trail of blue efflux and banks listlessly away from the distant mass of weeping dispersal. Cool. Trying to go for an OT type opening with a Star Destroyer? FYI, I had the opening to RotJ (When Vader arrives at DSII) going for most of this chapter. Felt kinda apropriate. The shuttle's landing ramp lowers in jets of flushing exhaust and two figures emerge. One is an aging human with a hawkish nose and dark hair that is quickly transforming to silver. He is dressed in the gray khakis of an Imperial Captain. His name is Parck. The other is a tall being with blue skin and glowing eyes of scarlet. His name is Thrawn. Ladies and Gentlemen, the awesomness meter for the prologue has just burst. Thrawn offers a quick smile of amusement. "Have you ever heard the tales of a fleet deep in these regions of unparalleled power? Of an empire that could rival our own?" "Oh, the Conquerors," Guthree nodded. Yep, he's heard of them. They've heard of the Emperor's enemies referred to in a variety of tongues, from dozens of different alien races in their search of the Unknown Regions, and they are often referred to simply as The Conquerors, or something close in translation. The tales are horrific, describing a race and a fleet that dismantles their opponents upon invasion, enslaving their people and cannibalizing them into an ever-growing war machine. Maybe I'm thinking of this too straightfowardly, but it would seem to me if some group like that was as big and powerful as they were said to be, they wouldn't be 'just rumors'. We're aren't exactly talking about 300 AD where there were it took weeks to get news from one place to another. Besides, they didn't seem to be that advanced in AoH and Exodus. "I don't know what he was, but he came here about fifty years ago... looking for the coordinates like you fellas. I don't know how he found me, how he knew..." "You didn't see him?" Thrawn asks. "His face was... wrapped in rags," Guthree explains. "All I could see were his eyes and... they were horrible, friend. Yellow like some reptile, but wreathed with red..." Now that was either someone with some serious drug and sleep issues, or it was a Sith Lord. Then again maybe it was both... I'm betting that this 'stranger' was Malig. "I don't know really, so I wouldn't know who he was, I guess. But he was injured, real bad, I think. He was holding his side a lot and he seemed to be in pain. Maybe something had happened to his face and he didn't want people to see. "His voice was... like nothing I've ever heard before. It was so clear, but garbled at the same time. It was warped. Like he had two voices..." Darth Nihilus + Frank = Darth Malig? "No, no. He said he needed the coordinates and that I was supposed to help him. Then, he asked me what I wanted more than anything in the galaxy." "What did you say?" Guthree shrugs. "How do you answer a question like that? I just laughed and said I'd like a million credits. But he didn't like that much." Darth Nihilus + Frank + Mr. Morden = Darth Malig (Babylon 5 reference FTW!) There were several breaks in the long fence, where entire beams are cast off their support and lying askew in the dirt. "I had a nerf," Guthree says, leading them towards one such break, stepping over the toppled lumber to make his way out into the forest. "A male. He got sick and I didn't realize how bad it was getting... He'd died the day before the stranger came here." "I'm starting to see a common theme in all of your stories," Parck replies dryly, following the man into the woods. Dead ends? "Don't tell me this is supposed to be your nerf," Thrawn says, gesturing towards the larger carcass. "No, it's not him," Guthree replies. "This is what he did." "What?" "He lives out in the mountains but comes here every couple weeks and makes a kill." Thrawn's glowing eyes narrow. "But nerfs are docile creatures— herbivores. No nerf could have done this." Guthree snorts. "That's not even the real scary part, friend. Most nerfs, they only live ten, maybe fourteen years if you don't work them too hard. It was forty-nine years ago that this maniac showed up on my farm and did whatever it was he did... OH MY GOD! It's the T-Virus I tell ya! Get the zombie repellent! Sheesh if this keeps up, I may have to petition that this becomes the 'cover' for this fic: (Apologies if this hurts anyone.) "A few people have tried to kill it over the years, but I don't think it can be done. It's immortal." Has anyone tried using Rocket Launchers, Magnum Revolvers, or A Really Big Laser Cannon? "But then, I started to wonder what that creature did here while I was gone... I couldn't shake this feeling... I went out to where I'd buried Meryll that winter, and I started to dig." "No..." Parck says so softly that he does not realize he spoke. "I dug that night until I found her coffin. But when I opened it... there was nothing inside." Uhhhh, did they ever find her.... Mister Guthree, Many years from now, two men will come to see you. One will be human and the other will have the eyes of evil. They will ask you for the coordinates. Kill them both. Ok, now here's something I never can get with people who can see into the future and tell someone to do something like this: Why didn't he just say 'In 50 years an Imperial Grand Admiral by the name of Thrawn and his assistant Captain Parck will come and ask for the coordinates. Please kill them'. I mean sheesh, with a description like that, the farmer might have killed a few innocent people. Thrawn hears the rattle a moment before he lowers the flimsi and sees the muzzle of the blaster pistol shaking in Guthree's hand. Has Garrus shoot Guthree The blaster sings out in a flash of blinding energy and Parck goes down, the bolt scorching through his shoulder. Thrawn dives to the ground, freeing his sidearm and aiming all in one smooth motion before the aging farmer can train his blaster on the Chiss. Another burst of scarlet follows, leaving a smoking hole in Guthree's chest. And here I half expected Rukh to have killed Guthree. Great start, by the way. -----signature----- “You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you've created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done anymore.”-Admiral Adama, 'Battlestar Galactica' "All warfare is based on deception." -Sun Tzu,
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corran2 Registered: May '06	Date Posted: 5/30 5:31pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	Wow! That was an amazong start, your best yet! Just so many shocks! I loved starting it out with Parck and Thrawn! I loved Parck from "Empire of the Hand", and Thrawn is always awesome. So Malig went to see this Farmer Guthree, and can possibly see the future. We'll the flashbacks be a regular thing for this story? All I know is its going to be one heck of a ride! -----signature----- He changed the rules-Benjamin Linus MacCain/Palin 08! God Loves You! Current TV Show I'm viewing on DVD: The X-Files Season 4 Currently Reading- Bag Of Bones By Stephen King
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iamobiwan1970 Registered: Aug '05	Date Posted: 5/30 5:56pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	Wow! We're off to a great start. I'm loving the mystery of going "back in time" to Thrawn and Parck visiting the farmer with the "immortal nerf" ! The visitor had power greater than Palpatine I fear. Our heroes are in for a long painful battle. We're those they were searching for the Vong? The writing is incredible, your descriptions and characters are outstanding. It's always a pleasure to read your work. -----signature----- Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there, with open arms and open eyes.
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canadianjedimama Registered: Jan '08	Date Posted: 5/30 7:31pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	Okay...I have a confession. I will not be able to participate in the Friday-First contest until the end of the summer. I'm coaching Darth Toddlers soccer team at the usual time that you post... Unless, you'd like to change your posting time to suit me better? Well, Wes, I must say...WOAH. I'm slightly confused...but not really. I'll have to read it a time or two more to fully appreciate it, methinks. But dude, Thrawn/Parck is teh coolness. I might even go as far as to say "Thrawn/Parck '08" Cause voting for them makes your defeat democratic! Great start, can't wait for more! Cyn -----signature----- Lucky member of the Jagateers, my e-sister's of Jag-love! Current avatar is a homage to my first ban.... I stink at Shelf of Shame! But I'm playing again!!!
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Tahi Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 5/30 8:40pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	Yay! We're off again. I love the beginning - and even better the fact we've gone temporarily back in time to one of my favourite eras (before the Dark Times, before the NJO ). The mystery is very cool, and I'm sure it will deepen. I love mysteries even though I'm usually the last person to guess right. LOL Great to see Parck and Thrawn again, too. Awesome beginning with the evocation of the time frame and the planet. I won't make any conjectures at present, but there are lots of possibilities racing through my head. Great stuff. -----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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FORCEBlLADE Registered: Mar '03	Date Posted: 5/30 10:11pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	I did not wxpect that sort of opening. Great way to start this fic and get us freaked out - at least getting me freaked out. Can't wait for more. -----signature----- "Once you start down the dark path, forever will itdominate your destiny." :Yoda "JEDI CONFLICT" http://boards.theforce.net/Beyond_the_Saga/b10477/17951268/?13
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TelannaTani Registered: Jun '05	Date Posted: 5/31 11:21pm Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	mind boggled by the hints and ideas running through the head Adas, huh? Interesting. 48 years prior to Battle of Yavin. Very interesting indeed. Excellent start, my friend. Great way to get this party started!! Voz -----signature----- John 8:31-32 Callsign: "Voz" Padawan to BigFatty
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Diamond_Revelation Registered: Feb '03	Date Posted: 6/1 7:06am Subject: RE: The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Posted 5/30/
	ooo its good to be starting on the next story! I wasn't expecting to go back in time though! Great opening Yoda. I look forward to seeing this story unfold and to having questions answered. -----signature----- Call me Diamond Retired Dark Lady of the JCC Crossover Index - http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=20456978&start=20463089
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