Jedi Council Forums - Embers (Anakin Solo, Tahiri, prequel era characters, OCs, no Vong, AU ) ~~ Updated 12/15

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Author	Topic: Embers (Anakin Solo, Tahiri, prequel era characters, OCs, no Vong, AU ) ~~ Updated 12/15
Kahara Registered: Mar '01	Date Posted: 3/6/04 4:34pm Subject: Embers (Anakin Solo, Tahiri, prequel era characters, OCs, no Vong, AU ) ~~ Updated 12/15 - Date Edited: 12/15/04 5:12pm (22 edits total) Edited By: Kahara
	Summary: An unwise experiment by a Dark Jedi in the New Republic era (Anakin Solo is about 15) brings a massive number of Jedi and Dark Jedi from around the time of the prequels back to life. Unfortunately Palpatine is one of those who return, creating a threat to all the New Republic has built since his last death. The Jedi who have been brought back do not remember anything after the time of their original deaths, and have a major clash of cultures with the new Jedi. The story will mostly focus on Anakin Solo, who must decide where his loyalties lie and what path to follow in a galaxy changed almost beyond recognition from both the era of those who have been revived and from that which he grew up in. Credits: Thanks to Xeana, who beta-ed this for me. Disclaimer: I think everyone reading this knows I don't own Star Wars. Anything you recognize is copyright to somebody else. Anakin muttered uneasily to himself. Vague images snarled in and out of his dreams. Himself and others running, trying to escape. A gray-eyed, greenish-skinned girl looking at him and explaining sadly that she couldn’t let them leave or they would all be punished. Fighting a whirlwind of yammering figures that suddenly appeared to block the scratched durasteel doors of a huge room, leaping too far in pursuit-- the sudden, unbelievable, incomprehensible pain as he crashed and rebounded off of a slate gray wall and plummeted to the ground, except it wasn’t ground. Must be slag from the exit’s control center this couldn’t be an accident history doesn’t repeat itself that way without help it must have been arranged somehow the son of a diseased rancor isn’t content to imprison and force me to be a killer he has to destroy me what makes me myself has to make me just like the other can’t let me be different remember who I am have hope know that I have a family know that I refuse WON’T be a traitor to my own heart. And then there was the chaotic impression of some huge fiery creature taking hold of him, scratching with acidic claws, tearing at his throat, his chest, his insides, his shoulder, his legs, everything all at once. Slowly, he regained consciousness. The pain was still there, though it was dulled. Maybe he'd been given painkillers of some sort. The first sound he became aware of was a harsh, measured gasping noise—one that he’d heard only in historical documentaries on the holovid. Instinct took over, only recognizing the noise as a threat and not reasoning how its half-remembered source could possibly still exist in the universe he knew. Stranger and more terrible things had disappeared from the face of the galaxy only to reappear without warning. He should know. He would not be in this place, or the place he had been before at least, if it had not been so. Anakin remained completely still, partly to assess the situation and partly because he somehow felt that he couldn’t be seen so long as he made no movement. Tentatively, he scanned his surroundings with the Force. It was difficult work due to the fact that he had to shield himself carefully. Shrouding his emotions in an intricately constructed layer of false darkness while not allowing himself to be affected too much by the feelings he projected took less energy now than it had at first. It still required concentration, though. If Palpatine or any of the instructors sensed him using the light side openly, he would be in deep trouble aside from what he’d already gotten himself into through the group escape attempt. He searched for signs of heat outside himself. Trying to sense minds would only alert any Force sensitive his probe came into contact with. No heat signatures he detected seemed to be the kind that might be given off by a living being, even a mostly cybernetic one. However, Anakin couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was very wrong here, that there was some possibly dangerous anomaly. Anakin opened his eyes slightly, then more fully as the blurry picture revealed there was no one else in the room. A rather large amount of medical equipment was neatly arranged near the bed where he now lay. This must be an infirmary of some sort, then. That wasn't too surprising since he ached severely from whatever had happened to him in the last chaotic moments he could recall. Attempting to sit up, he found his movement restricted by several tubes that for some reason had been inserted into his left arm, and also by a bulky, plasteel armored outfit that reminded him worryingly of something he’d seen before. Carefully, he removed the tubes with the help of the Force. Disgusting. He examined the all-too-familiar suit, trying to sense how to remove it. He wasn’t sure how he intended to escape from the installation-- which must still be the Chkenna Indoctrination and Training Center he’d grown to know and hate-- in nothing but the attire he was born with, but he was strangely desperate to be rid of this thing. It wasn’t just the connection to the last being he knew of who’d worn such a thing. There was something else; something that his conscious mind hadn’t quite grasped yet. As he reached out to sense it, he felt the strongest, most complete sense of panic and helplessness he’d ever experienced. There was no way to remove the—machinery. It wasn’t just an imitation; it was made to function because he himself would be unable to function without it. There was no way he could be free of it, the thing composed what would have been at least half his body, and now that he was paying attention he could tell it was performing a number of vital functions. That constant, maddening rasping sound was coming from him, not a former Sith returned from the grave. He should have realized it couldn’t be his grandfather, who had turned back to the Light before his death. He wouldn’t have likely felt any threat from the man, would have expected the presence to be friendly, if anything. Besides, a clone wouldn’t have the same injuries as the person who’d been cloned, and surely no sane creature would voluntarily choose to live in this way. The noise was unbearable. Anakin gritted his teeth. He would not scream like some sort of idiot who couldn’t accept the misfortune he was responsible for. It was his fault, his bad planning. He should not have told Ystas and Delbin the escape plans ahead of time. Both were so afraid of what might happen to them in this place, having seen the fate of others like them. Ystas was a Zarine, a member of a humanoid species originating from Zarixial near the Outer Rim. The Imperials’ xenophobic attitudes made them particularly intolerant of her real or imagined errors. Delbin had Force abilities that were weaker than average. They were what most students at the Center referred to as ‘saber practice targets.’ These conscripts’ only purpose for being brought there seemed to be as entertainment for the instructors, who took a great deal of enjoyment from tormenting and killing them in much the same way as a nexu would its wounded prey. Really, they’d had every reason to be frightened, and he could see now that he shouldn’t have burdened them with the knowledge of something with such potential for trouble if they were caught. It was natural that they’d lost their nerve. The tension of waiting for an escape when they had resigned themselves to dying in the Center must have been unbearable. He could have simply told them at the last minute. Then neither of them would have had time to consider the consequences. And now they were probably dead, along with the others, because of his poor judgement—numerous executions were seen as an efficient way of keeping order and Anakin doubted the pair’s status as informers would have saved their lives. All of them had deserved so much better. Delbin had been one of the bravest people Anakin had ever met. He often helped and defended the other ‘saber practice’ students, and even took credit for their mistakes in group exercises. There had been a few close shaves, but Delbin always seemed to be at just the right place at the right time to escape from any harm. In one incident, he had escaped incineration by mere seconds when a fuming instructor had received a call to tend to some emergency. By the time the problem (a pair of mynocks had escaped from a supply ship and started a large flock which was feeding off of and destroying one of the main power generators) had been dealt with, the Dark Jedi had forgotten about Delbin entirely. Varsha sometimes referred to him as ‘one of the idiots that the Force protects,’ He’d had less fear of death than most of the other trainees, but perhaps hope had been the one thing he couldn’t handle. Ystas was probably the kindest person in this place, and she was always willing to help bandage a wound not considered serious enough for medical treatment by the instructors, or listen to the anxieties of others. While she was not silent like Orinda, she had developed the ability to blend in as much as possible quickly and Anakin hadn’t learned much about her in the two weeks she’d been with them. Anakin hated to think of either of them dying with the knowledge of their betrayal. It was unfair in a way he couldn’t express in words. They shouldn’t have had to bear the guilt when it was he who had put them in a situation neither could cope with. And then there were the others—- Varsha, Phelan, Orinda, and Taveiran. They had been betrayed by him when he informed Delbin and Ystas of his plans without asking their advice or permission to do so. He’d never known Orinda very well; she never spoke and the only clue as to what she might be thinking was in her sculptures. She made them from materials found around the Center. They almost always portrayed graceful feline creatures with flame-colored eyes, sharp claws, incredibly long tails, and two large, curved tusks protruding from each side of their faces. Tharajis, Varsha had told him. Apparently she and Orinda shared the same home planet, Kersen, and the creatures were some kind of legendary beasts from its folklore. They were supposedly familiars of the world’s mythical race of sorcerers. The sculptures had once annoyed Anakin, as Orinda seemed to make a point of leaving them where everybody was bound to trip over them. He didn’t dare hope that he’d stumble over a new one after leaving the medical center. When Anakin was brought to this place, Varsha had been the one to tell him the things he needed to know. Things like who was basically trustworthy, who he would have to watch his words around, the instructors’ pet peeves, which species of mess room glop were edible and which were popularly believed to be poisonous or still alive. She had helped him and Phelan learn how to create the illusion of dark side use without succumbing to it in reality. They had not been exactly what he would call friends, as she tended to distance herself from everyone. It was a symptom most long-term residents of the training center developed, though they might show it in different ways. Varsha tried not to show her loyalties in public, so as not to become involved in the group rivalries that were common. Other students who had turned Dark could in some cases be nearly as dangerous as the instructors, especially when fighting among themselves for prestige. However, she had shown herself to be an essentially decent person in Anakin’s opinion. She was one of the few people in the Center that he trusted almost completely and had been responsible for a great deal of the escape strategy. Her observant nature gave her a familiarity with the training center that others lacked. It was hard not to notice Taveiran. He had a very strong sensitivity to the Force and enjoyed playing pranks nobody else would have considered and putting things out of place. The latest stunt had involved breaking into the machine most of the teachers used to wash their clothes. Those who washed most of their outfits at the same time ended up wandering the halls attired in a radioactive-looking shade of pink, and smelling strongly of flowers. Tav claimed it was a vast improvement fashion-wise for most of them. He seemed to live to introduce an element of chaos to the sterile and orderly environment of the Center. Tav could be somewhat nerve-wracking to be around as he had little of what the rest of the galaxy considered common sense and one could never tell when he’d decide to stir things up. Most students attempted to keep at least a ten foot distance between Tav and themselves, knowing that anyone who strayed too close ran the risk of being ‘accidentally’ hit by an electrical discharge with the unrepentant prankster’s name on it. Like Delbin, he had somehow always gotten himself out of any scrapes. In his case, this was mostly thanks to his knowledge of all escape routes, ability to create distractions, and skill in hiding and sneaking around. Phelan was a close friend who arrived at the Center a few days after Anakin. The newcomer had looked even more shaken and panicked than Anakin felt at the time. They had quickly become allies, learning together how to survive in their new surroundings. Both had felt their emotional control slipping dangerously sometimes in their first months of imprisonment. They had depended on one another for support and warnings if one began showing dark side behavior. It was very possible they would have both fallen quickly without the help of this system, given Anakin’s self-doubt and Phelan’s short temper. The Talaean couldn’t even drop one of the second-rate communicators used within the installation without spewing language that would be considered unnecessarily obscene on Nar Shaddaa. However, he also was able to point out with blunt honesty the times when Anakin became ridiculously concerned over some minor error in his logic or actions. He wondered how Phelan would have gotten along with Tahiri. They both had the same stubbornness and distaste for comfortable lies, but Phelan was serious and dour nearly all the time, while Tahiri was generally exuberant and talkative. Most likely they would have driven each other utterly insane. Why did he always think of Tahiri? He hadn’t seen her for over a year and she was probably at the other end of the galaxy. At least she couldn’t be harmed by his latest stupidity. He couldn’t help wishing she were there, though. Before his capture, they had faced everything together, as a team, ever since his first year at the Jedi Academy. Somehow they’d always come out all right, no matter what happened. Anakin hated the idea of her having to deal with this place, but still longed for her presence sometimes. She was the one who had never lost faith in him when he was unsure of himself, and had been certain that things would work out for the best even when they appeared hopeless. Anakin now desperately needed that belief, but wasn’t capable of feeling it. That Force-forsaken sound still echoed in his ears; the patient, serpentine laughter of a demon that has seen galaxies form and fade away, and that knows it has all the time in the universe. He felt desperate, trapped. The urge to claw the machinery that was beginning to feel like an infestation away clambered up his spine and threw itself against the barrier of his rational mind, biting and screeching. He had to get out of here, out of this, now. Maybe he could take off the respirator at least, see if the Force would let him breathe without it. It might work if he was extremely careful. No. Anakin shunted the thought aside with what was left of his strength. He had no experience with such usage of the Force. There was no guarantee he would survive such an experiment. He reached inward through his own mind, searching for the knowledge he had hidden there. Palpatine and the teachers at the Center had put a great deal of effort into erasing his memory of Jedi philosophy and of abilities that pertained only to the light side. Knowing that it would be impossible to simply resist forever, he had instead concealed the knowledge a little bit at a time so that it appeared the elimination had been successful. The actual hiding of the memories was not terribly difficult; his ability to understand and create mechanical systems had been surprisingly useful in making the complex barriers. However, it was nearly impossible to keep the knowledge of what he was doing with the information secret. He could not simply lock it away or he would forget he needed to finish, and that the memories had ever existed. It had taken an enormous amount of energy and he had nearly collapsed from exhaustion during training several times before the deception became easier through increased skill. There were techniques he had learned for blocking pain, though he’d never had reason to use them for anything like this. Trying to relax and focus, Anakin had to push back panic again as he realized that, of course, the rhythm of his breathing which was often used as a focal point for most pain-reducing methods was alien and uncontrollable. He concentrated on simply letting the tension drain away and allowing the unfamiliar pattern to continue, not fighting it. It was here to stay, and he may as well get used to it now. There was no way he’d ever get out of here if he was constantly battling against the mechanisms that preserved his own life; it would be better for him to accept their presence for now, learn how they worked. It would be very unpleasant to escape from Chkenna, only to find out the hard way that an ‘off switch’ or tracking device had been installed somewhere. Scanning for that could wait for later, when he would hopefully have recovered a bit. He numbed the complaining nerves carefully. To do so without caution could damage them—an easily fixed problem most places, but the Center’s medical care was typical of Imperial facilities, which were notoriously bad. Eventually the awareness of his location faded slightly and Anakin managed to drift into a state that wasn’t quite sleep, but was close enough. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -----signature----- Chaos, confusion, disorder... my work here is done. Embers-- an AU (Anakin Solo, Tahiri, Qui Gon, Obi-Wan, Luke, Jaina, Jacen, OCs, and others) http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15141665
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Anahiri Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 3/6/04 5:07pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	Very Interesting! So Anakin was kidnapped and had his memories messed with? I can't wait to see all the jedi and sith that are brought into this story! Also more soon? plz? Anahiri -----signature----- Cialia Ja'Kialin, Jedi Knight (shadow -- ex-sith lordess) of The Jedi Temple of Kaholen (Jedi Jacuzzi RPG on Yahoo) Bonds of Light - SbS AU - A/T - http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15148366&start=15149528
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Anahiri Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 3/6/04 8:06pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	I'm uping this from page 2! -----signature----- Cialia Ja'Kialin, Jedi Knight (shadow -- ex-sith lordess) of The Jedi Temple of Kaholen (Jedi Jacuzzi RPG on Yahoo) Bonds of Light - SbS AU - A/T - http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15148366&start=15149528
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Kahara Registered: Mar '01	Date Posted: 3/6/04 9:30pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	Thanks Anahiri. Actually pretty much the only thing messed with was his memories of actual training in certain aspects of Force usage. Not that the 'bad guys' wouldn't probably like to give him total amnesia, but attempting to do so would create a pretty violent reaction I would think, more trouble than it would be worth. Only trying to erase memories with less of an emotional connection would probably be easier. At least that's how I explain it. I'll have some more to post tomorrow. -----signature----- Chaos, confusion, disorder... my work here is done. Embers-- an AU (Anakin Solo, Tahiri, Qui Gon, Obi-Wan, Luke, Jaina, Jacen, OCs, and others) http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15141665
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Anahiri Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 3/7/04 10:47am Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	I can't wait! I always love it when people decide to 'cross era's' within the star wars timeline... especially when Anakin Solo is involved... -----signature----- Cialia Ja'Kialin, Jedi Knight (shadow -- ex-sith lordess) of The Jedi Temple of Kaholen (Jedi Jacuzzi RPG on Yahoo) Bonds of Light - SbS AU - A/T - http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15148366&start=15149528
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Kahara Registered: Mar '01	Date Posted: 3/7/04 10:16pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU) - Date Edited: 8/28/04 9:38am (7 edits total) Edited By: Kahara
	I'm an AU fanatic as well, Anahiri. I'm afraid this part won't include anyone except OC's, but the next will center more on what some of the canon characters are doing. Just to clear up any confusion, the people in the training center referred to by Sith ranks (Lord This and Lady That) aren't really Sith, though they use the same custom of changing their names and having titles. Of course some of them think they're Sith, but they are actually more of a watered-down version that was originally created as an experiment in organization and training methods at the Shadow Academy. The only traditional Sith in this story are from canon. “Lady Cynaiad?” She whirled to face the speaker, the sleeve of her robe scattering the sliced remains of some unidentifiable small creature. Melanc jumped back to avoid the debris, his lip curling slightly in disgust. One never wanted to get too close to the results of Kivyan’s favorite hobby. Rumor had it that some of the things in various states of dissection lying about her quarters were once sentient, still living, or both of the above. “What?” she demanded impatiently. “If I’ve told Agwara once, I’ve told her a thousand times to keep you pathetic, sniveling larvae out of my way. This had better be something important for once.” It wasn’t bad enough that Brakiss had seen fit to saddle herself and her apprentice with a pack of useless idiot trainees during their time at the Shadow Academy. Their new superiors had dumped even more of the mindless garbage at their doorstep. Though in truth they usually avoided her, (thankfully she wasn’t required to take any part in their training and could leave that infuriating little task to Agwara) somehow they always managed to interrupt her when she was most absorbed in her work. Melanc glared resentfully, then caught himself and returned to the standard blank expression that most tried to retain in dealing with Geir Kivyan. It was impossible to actually look friendly towards her, but outright disgust could get a person in deep trouble. “I’ve been sent to inform you that our group will be receiving a small number of new students.” He handed her a datapad displaying a list of names. Delbin Jaresh, Varsha Amethar, Taveiran Kehire, Orinda Rhywan. She hurled the datapad back at him, and he yelped as the transparent screen shattered, leaving tiny shards embedded in his arm. “Leave. Now!” she spat, and Melanc scrambled out the door. I can’t believe this. Why should we have to deal with traitors and juvenile delinquents, along with all of these other incompetent washouts? She and Agwara were already the dumping ground for seemingly the majority of trainees too stupid to be trained elsewhere. The last thing needed was this. All of the students on that list were involved in that inept escape attempt that had taken place a few days ago. Kehire and Jaresh had been well-known creators of trouble long before then. Now she would be forced to deal with them. They will stay far away from me if they know what’s good for them, they should have been executed on the spot after their little stunt. She disliked the idea of more students at any rate. The ones already present occupied the majority of her apprentice’s time, and caused her to behave strangely at times. Lady Agwara was normally the picture of competence and obedience. Unfortunately, she had odd quirks that had made Cynaiad nervous for most of the time they’d been acquainted. There were times when she would point blank refuse to obey some order, and would instead act on her own. Often there was no discernable reason, or one that seemed at odds with her usual personality. Always she accepted any and all punishment afterwards. She never showed the slightest sign of insubordination until the next time, when Kivyan would again find herself facing an oblivious stranger who seemed to neither know her nor fear her. Cynaiad wasn't intimidated by Agwara herself, but this other being was terrifying in its unpredictability. Once it had manifested itself in the middle of a routine lightsaber training session, suddenly breaking away and running to the central Shadow Academy combat arena. Then it had begun wiping the spotless floor with a rag it had torn from its uniform somewhere along the way. She had asked what in the Sith hells it thought it was doing, told it that it wasn’t a cleaning droid, and the floor was clean anyway. It had stared vacantly up at her with no trace of recognition. After a moment of what looked like contemplation, it whispered that it had spilled blood all over the floor. Shouldn’t it clean the floor so the others wouldn’t slip in it? Another time, during the attack on Yavin IV, it had tried to kill Kivyan. A trainee whose name she’d never committed to memory had been wounded by a carnivore. She had told Agwara she would have to kill him or he’d slow them down. Whatever it was had grabbed her by the throat, and she had just known it was going to snap her neck when one of the students had somehow convinced it to let go. Kivyan had tried to have Agwara executed after that. They had been among the few groups the Imperial Remnant managed to rescue after the attack on the Jedi Academy failed. The Dark Jedi who looked through her memory for evidence, however, had attributed the event to a hallucination on Cynaiad’s part, probably caused by the jungle heat. Nonsense, of course. The truth was, the remaining ‘Sith’ groups wanted all of the trained fighters they could get. No one could deny Agwara was that. Now that the Dark was gaining strength and more people, there would likely be less of a fuss, but the memory of the incident had faded somewhat and Kivyan had convinced herself it was unlikely to happen again. After all, it had been around three years and her life had never been threatened since. Besides, most of the possible replacements were either more dangerous than her present apprentice, or complete idiots. All the same, this increase in the number of trainees bothered her. She knew they were likely to be more loyal to Agwara than to herself. While they were, in her opinion, weak and stupid on the whole, nevertheless she didn’t like being so outnumbered. She resolved to think this through more fully later, and returned her concentration to her work. -----signature----- Chaos, confusion, disorder... my work here is done. Embers-- an AU (Anakin Solo, Tahiri, Qui Gon, Obi-Wan, Luke, Jaina, Jacen, OCs, and others) http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15141665
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Kahara Registered: Mar '01	Date Posted: 3/9/04 5:36pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU) - Date Edited: 8/19/04 3:54pm (3 edits total) Edited By: Kahara
	Following in the wake of Brakiss, who seemed to have been assigned as his escort, Anakin could only be thankful that the man had foregone his usual glaringly bright silver robes. His eyes still had not entirely adjusted from the darkness of his room in the medcenter. The lights had malfunctioned soon after he first woke up and hadn’t come back on before he was hurried out of the room by Brakiss this—morning, afternoon, evening? He had no idea what time it was or how long he had been recovering, if one could call it that. No one had so much as stuck their head through the doorway to check on him in all that time, and he felt as though what injuries could heal had only halfway done so. He supposed Palpatine must have wanted him to brood over the pain. If that was the case it had been a successful strategy. It was nearly impossible to remain calm when one felt like hell warmed over an incinerator. Perhaps the lighting had been intentional as well? Being physically in darkness before turning -- that must be the point of this, his illusion of being an eager convert had to have been destroyed by the escape attempt. No, before. His encounter with the flaming remains of the control center, or at least something like it, had obviously been planned. Maybe the traditional method for making someone into a Sith is somewhat like that for growing fungus. Keep them in the dark and feed them poodoo, he thought, needing to laugh at something about this situation because it was too horrible to be real. He had adjusted to the fact that life was obeying people hated, following arbitrary and cruel rules and orders, seeing those few people in this place he had allowed himself to care for treated like they were nothing, and never standing up for them or himself because it would only lead to pain and would change nothing. He’d even become used to knowing that his life no longer included the family and friends of the world he had left behind, and he would most likely never see them again, though he was determined to never stop trying to get home. But nothing could have prepared him to deal with this. The probable loss of his friends and allies who had been part of the escape attempt was devastating enough, but never even in his worst nightmares had he imagined being trapped into his grandfather’s old role as Darth Vader the way Palpatine seemed to be trying to make him be now. It had to be part of the man’s insanity, this belief that Anakin could be forced to mimic the past so exactly. As if he could take orders from--that. Even the thought of it brought an overwhelming sense of rage that made his head ache, distracting him from everything else. Anakin tried to rid himself of the feeling. He knew it would make him vulnerable to the mind games the Emperor was so fond of. It refused to budge, lodging its sharp nails in his skull like a sea squirrel in the branches of its coral home. He hated this, hated being immovably chained to this place and this damned role by little more than wires and air. Of course, leaving had been nearly impossible before. But there had at least been the knowledge, taken for granted, that he would be able to survive outside the Center should he ever manage it. As expected, he had found a number of tracking devices and enough explosives to level a small cargo ship scattered throughout the life-support systems. It could take years for him to disable the things without triggering them or alerting any machines set up to monitor them to his tampering. Brakiss halted suddenly in front of a pair of doors Anakin remembered well from nearly a year ago. He’d been summoned to the Emperor’s throne room not ten minutes after he was brought to the Center. It had not gone well, to say the least. The aftereffects had been extremely painful for several days, and he had had problems with uncontrollable twitching in his hands for weeks. The hair had been the least troublesome, but the most embarrassing, frizzing up in a way that looked downright ridiculous. That was one effect of Force-lightning he had never heard of, and would have been just as happy never to learn about. He watched in slight confusion as Brakiss turned and walked away without a word. Very odd. From Jacen and Jaina’s stories, the man usually couldn’t resist talking whenever he had an audience for his ego. Anakin had been surprised to see Brakiss had been revived since most of those who were had been born much earlier than him. Then again, he'd heard that the genetic material used in Zalrin’s mess of an experiment had been taken from a repository collected by Imperial scientists throughout the years the Empire was in power. Brakiss certainly would have been alive and known as a Force-sensitive during that time. Truth be told, he didn’t care that much one way or another. He was stalling. The doors slid open as though his thoughts had been heard. They probably had. Reluctantly, he walked inside, trying not to flinch as he heard the doors slam shut again behind him. -----signature----- Chaos, confusion, disorder... my work here is done. Embers-- an AU (Anakin Solo, Tahiri, Qui Gon, Obi-Wan, Luke, Jaina, Jacen, OCs, and others) http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15141665
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Anahiri Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 3/9/04 6:26pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	I missed a post?! Anyway, great job! I can't wait for more! -----signature----- Cialia Ja'Kialin, Jedi Knight (shadow -- ex-sith lordess) of The Jedi Temple of Kaholen (Jedi Jacuzzi RPG on Yahoo) Bonds of Light - SbS AU - A/T - http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15148366&start=15149528
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kristeh Registered: May '03	Date Posted: 3/10/04 6:19am Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	Hi, Kahara, This is an intriguing concept, and you're off to a great start! Poor Anakin, sounds like he's really been through the wringer already. And I'm very curious about Agwara. Looking forward to more. Kristeh -----signature----- God has not promised us a quiet journey, but He has promised us a safe arrival. List of fics in profile-Skywalker family AUs
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Kahara Registered: Mar '01	Date Posted: 3/11/04 7:27pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	Thanks, both of you. Yeah, I'm really mean to poor Anakin. cringe Bad Kahara, bad! If all goes well I'll have a new post up some time tomorrow. -----signature----- Chaos, confusion, disorder... my work here is done. Embers-- an AU (Anakin Solo, Tahiri, Qui Gon, Obi-Wan, Luke, Jaina, Jacen, OCs, and others) http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15141665
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Kahara Registered: Mar '01	Date Posted: 3/12/04 5:20pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU) - Date Edited: 8/27/04 8:02pm (4 edits total) Edited By: Kahara
	Chimalys Ianth walked swiftly down the corridor, heading for the last door in this hall. Evicting the amazingly stubborn friends and relatives of the Force users who now composed the majority of Coruscant Central Hospital’s patients at the end of visiting hours seemed to have become her responsibility. Certainly it was a job nobody else wanted to do. The hospital had been overflowing with Jedi ever since this batch of patients had been brought in. There were so many of the patients alone that at least half had still not been able to be removed from their odd stasis. Trying to do so too quickly, when these people were first discovered, had resulted in injury and even death in a couple of cases. So now the doctors were being very careful. However, this meant there were thousands of Jedi and others still trapped in their coma-like state. Some had not been matched to any records, even their names remaining unknown. She sighed, running her pass through the scanner to get into the room. Not that she had anything against Jedi, actually it was rather fascinating to get to know some of them as real people rather than pictures in the news. However, those who were close to these Jedi patients tended to be Jedi themselves, and they were extremely difficult to convince to leave. Like this bunch. They were nearly impossible to remove by any method, as she had learned over the past several months. Three heads turned towards Dr. Ianth as she entered the room, wearing almost identical obstinate expressions. Luke Skywalker was of course, instantly recognizable. She wasn’t sure how he knew the patient in this room—what was his name, Kinovee? There were so many names to remember, it was hard to recall. Then there were the others, who might have introduced themselves a while ago, but she didn’t remember the names. One was rather frightening blond woman, maybe about 25 standard years old. The other, who didn’t look a day over fourteen, was tall and awkward-looking, with long brown hair that hung past his shoulders. He seemed to be attempting to grow a beard, with rather scraggly results. He was a Jedi, a Jedi Master in fact, which she knew only because she had had to deal with him when he was still a patient. That had been even more aggravating than this unpleasant task. She supposed she should just be grateful the Mon Calamari girl wasn’t here today. That one really knew how to make a person feel guilty. She looked at the group, seeing the determination in their eyes, and decided that this time they were unlikely to even listen to her arguments. She didn’t enjoy using this method to clear them out, but sometimes there was no other choice aside from allowing them to set up camp permanently. Dr. Ianth pushed a button on a control panel located near the door. The bench the visitors were sitting on slid back into the wall, dumping them unceremoniously to the floor. She looked at their faces and stepped back, wondering if Sith weren’t the only ones capable of killing a person with sheer concentrated anger. “It’s time. Out with all of you!” She crossed her arms trying to give her sternest look. Actually, the doctor was rather touched by their devotion to their friend, but they would become insufferable if they knew it. The odd group climbed to their feet and walked out of the door, muttering all the way. Leaning against the wall, Dr. Ianth smiled in relief. Finally. The last ones, for today. Her heart jumped when she heard a low whooshing sound that seemed to come from the left. Sithspit, she knew that noise. It was the sound the shields around the high-security ward made when someone entered it. Some of them had to shut down to let the person through. The door shouldn’t open to anyone without a pass, but everyone was always alerted when somebody did so beforehand. It was a precaution in case one of the Dark Jedi inside somehow came out of the stasis and escaped. There had been no such warning this time, and she doubted anyone else had heard it, this end of the hospital was deserted except for the last of the rooms for Jedi in stasis and the high-security section, where nobody normally went. It wasn’t even guarded by a living being, just a high-tech security system and some mystical weirdness the Jedi claimed to have put there. Too startled to think about calling security, she ran towards the high-security ward as fast as she was able. She saw that the door had been left open, and crept in, not sure what she expected to find. Dozens of stasis chambers as they had originally been found lined the room, the faces of those within emotionless. A fairly large percentage were intimidating simply by their appearance. Some showed strange tattoos, scars that ran in grotesque patterns, sharp predatory fangs and claws on species that wouldn’t have naturally possessed them. In Dr. Ianth’s opinion, though, these were the least frightening. The ones that truly chilled her blood were those who looked utterly ordinary in every way. She could have passed by them every day of her life, and never suspected anything of their true nature. They were physically ordinary people, only different from herself because chance or fate had given them a connection to a mysterious energy field, and for some reason they’d made the wrong choices in using it. Sometimes only one wrong choice, one that just happened to be irreparable. Hearing soft footfalls near the end of the room, she rushed toward the sound. She only stopped at the last minute, suddenly remembering that anyone who came to this place in secret was more than likely dangerous. The other person did not even notice her presence, however. It was the teenage Jedi she had just kicked out of what’s-his-name’s room. His eyes were fixed on one of the chambers, and he moved forward as if in a trance. “No, you don’t want to do that!” She wasn’t sure what ‘that’ might be, but she knew of the occupant of that particular apparatus. Even being in the same room as him probably shortened one’s life expectancy by several years. Many of those who had been assigned to check up on him before it was realized that he must be a Dark Jedi had suffered from inexplicable headaches, exhaustion, and recurring nightmares. One had even sustained electrical burns somehow, which had been the reason for his being moved here. He still had not been identified. The boy continued towards the chamber, stopping before where it was laid on its shelf. He stared at the figure within, a human who appeared no older than he himself did. The being, whoever, he was, had long black hair that shone even in the dim blue light of this room. His skin was so pale it appeared to glow surreally. Dr. Ianth remembered hearing him referred to as ‘the vampire.’ The unconscious figure certainly bore a certain resemblance to the traditional image of the enigmatic supernatural beings rumored to stalk nearly every world inhabited by humans. Yet he looked peaceful, serene. It was hard to imagine that such a creature could ever be dangerous. Reaching out slowly, still appearing hypnotized, the brown-haired boy looked as though he were going to lay his hand on the transparisteel covering of the container. “Don’t,” she whispered, a feeling of dread paralyzing her. As the Jedi touched the surface, flickers of blue light appeared on it, twisting around and under his hand as if they sensed its presence. He snatched it back, hissing loudly and shaking it. He seemed to become aware of Dr. Ianth’s presence, then, turning around to look for his observer. She walked towards him cautiously, asking, “How did you get in here?” “I have a pass.” “Oh.” She watched him, wondering how he had acquired a pass. As far as she knew, the only people authorized to be in this area were specially trained doctors and security, and a few high-ranking Jedi. Obviously the Jedi was connected to the person in that container, but how? “Do you know him?” She gestured at the stasis chamber. “No. I never knew him.” His eyes were so ancient. How could she have ever imagined him to be younger than a thousand years? “All right. Let’s go.” She knew he had been concealing something, but then she had noticed that Jedi tended to keep their pasts to themselves. Besides, he had a right to keep some secrets from an almost complete stranger. Ianth had always sensed he was a good person. It was unlikely he would endanger anyone; he seemed like somebody who would take his duty to the welfare of others very seriously. They left in silence, except for the echoing growl of the shields returning to full power. -----signature----- Chaos, confusion, disorder... my work here is done. Embers-- an AU (Anakin Solo, Tahiri, Qui Gon, Obi-Wan, Luke, Jaina, Jacen, OCs, and others) http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15141665
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Anahiri Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 3/12/04 6:30pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	Very intriguing! I can't wait to see how this turns out! Great job Kahara! Anahiri -----signature----- Cialia Ja'Kialin, Jedi Knight (shadow -- ex-sith lordess) of The Jedi Temple of Kaholen (Jedi Jacuzzi RPG on Yahoo) Bonds of Light - SbS AU - A/T - http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15148366&start=15149528
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Kahara Registered: Mar '01	Date Posted: 3/13/04 7:51am Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	Thanks, Anahiri. I'm going on a trip and probably won't be able to update until Thursday, so don't think I've dropped the story. Just won't have access to a computer for a while. Bye. -----signature----- Chaos, confusion, disorder... my work here is done. Embers-- an AU (Anakin Solo, Tahiri, Qui Gon, Obi-Wan, Luke, Jaina, Jacen, OCs, and others) http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15141665
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tenelfan14 Registered: Apr '03	Date Posted: 3/13/04 8:47am Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	Ooo! very grippign story!! i like! -----signature----- "No one worth posessing can be quite possesed."-Sara Teasdale "I am strong, I will not drown in my sorrows. I am me." Tahiri Veila from "Mystery Deep" Comming Clean: http://boards.theforce.net/Beyond_the_Saga/b10477/14728249/?20
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Anahiri Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 3/13/04 5:35pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	UP! -----signature----- Cialia Ja'Kialin, Jedi Knight (shadow -- ex-sith lordess) of The Jedi Temple of Kaholen (Jedi Jacuzzi RPG on Yahoo) Bonds of Light - SbS AU - A/T - http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=15148366&start=15149528
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Cat_Orange Registered: Dec '02	Date Posted: 3/20/04 10:38pm Subject: RE: Embers (Anakin Solo, AU)
	Would you believe I went through a million pages and a million users to find this thread? Well, not a million but close to it. Anyway, I'm glad you did eventually put it up and it's not gathering dust somewhere else. Great start, I've never exactly been 'into' Beyond the Saga but this looks very interesting. So up and please update! -----signature----- Best friends with Jess (the future Diva of Broadway!) No touchie my donutie Sleepy Tower: Sir. Percy Blakeney
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