Beyond - Legends The Age of Heroes (post-NJO AU: Anakin, Jaina, Jacen, L/M, H/L, Tahiri, Kyp,Jag) Sequel 2/2/07!

Someone wise once told me that if you can't be in first place, be in last place. Either way, you'll get noticed. So here I am, last to review again.


They certainly can't tell what Callista had meant to him at one time...

[face_puke]

Luke often wishes he were as shrewd as his wife.

But he isn't. For all his wisdom, Luke Skywalker still retains some of his innocence from boyhood, and enthusiasm that will stay with him to the end.

It is his part to play. Everyone's actions will bring about the end in one way or another, and Luke's more than most.

This is where Denon is cast into darkness.

Geez, you certainly know how to paint a picture of gloom. Why do I think that Luke's naivete will cause some unpleasant things to happen? *slaps Skywalker* Snap out of it!

"You asked for Skywalker," Mara said, confidently taking the seat opposite the gray-eyed woman. "That's me now incase you hadn't heard."

You go, Mara.

Callista took a deep breath, as if she was also overcome by the emotion of the situation. "It was an army like no other I've ever seen. This empire has conquered thousands of peoples, enslaved and incorporated them into their war machine. That stealth ship is just a pebble in an asteroid field. Their fleet of ships dwarfs what the Alliance has and their firepower is insurmountable.

Somebody give this woman an Academy Award, or whatever the equivalent of it is in the GFFA. I don't trust her. [/voice-Mace]

"They have been watching us, preparing for this moment for centuries, when they would destroy us and the galaxy would be theirs. They are strong, and cunning, and ruthless, and they are coming here for us.

"Faybol showed me that we are doomed."

Someone's up to no good, but who? Curiouser and curiouser.

Wonderful post as usual, YK. Even when it's not a fast-paced action scene, you manage to create that edge-of-your-seat feeling. I really liked the interrogation scene, very well done. Both Callista and Mara seemed to be posturing, and Luke squirmed a bit.

The plot thickens and I can't wait for more.

 

Magnuskn: What´s a "promise" about that? Sounds more like a "threat" to me.



I love your long chapters, so go go long chapters!

I appreciate that, thanks




sporky: Of course you are...you wouldn't have invented him if you weren't!

I didn't invent him, his parents did

Hm...I know I have that one. I'll have to go reread it then.

The Dark Tide books rule!

*squeals* New post!







Red: Someone wise once told me that if you can't be in first place, be in last place. Either way, you'll get noticed.

I like that say, but I'd notice you anywhere you posted

So here I am, last to review again.

Glad to have you

[face_puke]

[face_clean_up_on_aisle_5]

Geez, you certainly know how to paint a picture of gloom.

I'm a very depressing person

Why do I think that Luke's naivete will cause some unpleasant things to happen? *slaps Skywalker* Snap out of it!

Your insight serves you well It will

You go, Mara.



Somebody give this woman an Academy Award, or whatever the equivalent of it is in the GFFA. I don't trust her. [/voice-Mace]

I don't trust her either

Someone's up to no good, but who? Curiouser and curiouser.

I can't tell you yet

Wonderful post as usual, YK. Even when it's not a fast-paced action scene, you manage to create that edge-of-your-seat feeling.

Thank you, I'm glad it was still exciting

I really liked the interrogation scene, very well done. Both Callista and Mara seemed to be posturing, and Luke squirmed a bit.

Wouldn't you be in his shoes? How uncomfortable *giggles*

The plot thickens and I can't wait for more.

Thanks so much for reading

 

Chapter 3: The Piringiisi Wheel

Inside one of the sixteen hangers on the outer ring of the Piringiisi Wheel, a cadre of Warlord Vyler's battle droids watch as two Jedi Interceptors are pulled through the blue glow of the energy seal by the battle station's tractor beam. The droids are bulky and powerful, taller than the average human male with thick reinforced laminanium plating that can regenerate and incases droid brains from Telti. Heavy blaster canons are built into their fists, which are strong enough to smash through most beings skull as easily as they would bash an egg, while two glowing red eyes are fixed into the droids' stout heads.

They are meant to intimidate and they do a fine job of it throughout Sullust.

Fear is as much a weapon as the battle station itself— the real weapon where Rivult Vyler is concerned. His campaign to take control of the SoroSuub world is as much appearance as force.

Terror is his true weapon.

Fear is control.

The SoroSuub Guard Units are the symbolic face of it all, and two dozen of them are now surrounding the Jedi Interceptors with their fists aimed at the transparent canopies as the fighters are lowered to the deck, the power cells for their blaster cannons humming in a rising pitch.

They have no intention of taking the Jedi alive.

But that's okay, because the two Jedi inside the Eta-7's have no intention of going quietly.

As the Interceptors are released from the tractor beam and dropped unceremoniously to the hanger deck, the SGU's realize Vyler's miscalculation. Their droid brains make the connection moments before the green fire lancing out from their captives' vessels incinerates armor plating, servomotors, and circuitry— though their enemies are trapped, their weapons have never been disabled.





Anakin Solo's thumbs embraced the firing studs on the control yolk of his starfighter, watching as his lateral laser cannons tore Warlord Vyler's minions to pieces, each green blast searing through the droids' torsos, their legs and upper bodies flying back and clanking on the metallic surface of the hanger deck like some lifeless doll cast aside by an indifferent child. Beside him, Wrev's blue Interceptor had opened fire as well, as the SGU battle droids recovered from what qualified as droid "shock" and were pelting the Jedi's hulls with powerful red bursts from their blaster cannons.

Unable to activate the shields after struggling with the tractor beam, Anakin knew the Kuat engineered fighters couldn't take much more of the battle droids' abuse and hope to fly out with any semblance of space-worthiness. When one of the hulking droids attempted to attack the ship from its stern, he kicked his sublight thrusters, letting two meter long cones of blue flame erupt from the drives and engulf the hapless SoroSuub creation.

Anakin's maroon-painted Eta-7 shot across the hanger deck, clipping a pair of battle droids with the ship's stubby wings and spearing one with the forward mandibles, the impact jolting the young Jedi forward as R2-D2 let out an angry screech from inside the port socket. Fearing serious damage, Anakin cut the drives and broke hard, his fighter skidding across the deck and spinning 180 degrees to avoid the barrage of streaking crimson.

Before the Interceptor had even come to rest, Anakin had undone his flight restraints, popped the transparisteel canopy, and was freeing the lightsaber hooked at his left hip— the lightsaber that had been constructed by his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. Anakin had taken up the weapon when his Aunt Mara was badly wounded by Supreme Overlord Shimrra and used it to destroy the Yuuzhan Vong leader, and the true power behind the throne, Onimi. With Anakin's own lightsaber destroyed, Mara had insisted he keep hers, passing on what had become a Skywalker family heirloom. Wielding it gave the young Jedi a greater connection to Mara, his uncle, Luke Skywalker, and the grandfather he'd never known.

Wrev was already out of his fighter, blue blade flashing all around him as he deflected cannon fire harmlessly and cut through battle droids with a degree of skill that few in the Order possessed. Anakin leapt out onto the wing of the Interceptor and activated his weapon with a snap-hiss, a brilliant beam of cobalt blue light erupting from the polished hilt as he was immediately assailed by a swarm of red blasterfire, swatting away the searing bolts with reflexes only possible with the precognitive sense provided by the Force.

Stepping off of the wing, Anakin met the droids rushing to destroy him head on. His dark cloak flowed around him, making his movements all the more graceful as he twirled his blade in diagonal hacks and sliced through the bodies of the first two SGU's he met. Wielding the weapon in his right hand, he spun the blade to deflect two more blasts and severed one of the droid's cannon arms, before easily slashing through another's brain casing from left to right.

Pirouetting through the sea of enemies, Anakin's blade whirled behind his back, a wheel of light that sent their fire ricocheting off in all directions and leaving more smoldering metal appendages on the deck.

Thanks to the success of Lando Calrissian's Yuuzhan Vong Hunter droids, battle droids had become a force in the galaxy again after the Empire's ban on them, and new developments had created an even greater desire for them. Anyone with a big enough bankroll could create an army strong enough to protect or conquer whole planets. Fortunately for the Jedi Knights, their were few in the galaxy who could afford the heavy price tag attached to each laminanium-armored droid, but Warlord Vyler was one of the wealthiest beings to ever live.

The development was unfortunate because it was the Jedi and the Alliance military who were having to deal with the inventions more often than not. It was power hungry monsters like Vyler building them when Cal Omas couldn't pay his increasing tab to Tendrando Arms.

These droids couldn't just be slashed— they had to be precisely dissected. Anakin's blue beam of light traced glowing amber scars across the dark reflective armor of the SGU's, dismantling hip joints and severing limbs as he weakened them enough to stab through the battle droids' thick chest cavity and the power core inside.

"Is it just me, or have these things gotten stronger?" Anakin said between breaths as he fell back to back with Wrev.

The older Jedi sent a Force shove to one of the battle droids and watched its already weakened limbs pop off with the impact on the scarred deck. "Still better than fighting the Yuuzhan Vong.

Luckily for the two Jedi inside the Pirinigiisi Wheel, there were few SGU’s left to battle in the hanger after they’d torn through the droids’ numbers with their starfighters’ laser cannons.

Anakin spun and decapitated the last of the SGU's with a powerful two-handed swing and watched as its body crumbled to his feet. The sound of the two blue blades shrinking away filled the air as the Jedi deactivated their weapons. The hanger deck was littered with droid wreckage, mangled limbs, and torsos with smoking scorches still glowing dimly from the lightsabers' trails.

"Well, that wasn't as easy as we'd planned," Wrev said, absently scratching his long curls of dark hair. "Perhaps if your apprentice had gotten the tractor beam down, we could have made a proper entrance."

"She's doing the best she can," Anakin replied, hooking his lightsaber to his belt and glancing around the hanger. There weren't any H-12 Firestreamers docked inside the gleaming walls and blue energy seal. "Let's just be glad that Vyler doesn't appear to have sent any more of his droids this way."

"That doesn't really make me feel any better— it only means they're gathering somewhere else and waiting for us."

"We'll be fine," Anakin assured. "Once we find her we can capture Vyler and end this."

"No argument there," Wrev said, resuming with some of the confidence Anakin was used to seeing as he tapped a severed SGU's head with his boot. "I could do this all day— where is she?"

Anakin's eyes were closed in concentration. "With Vyler— in the command center."

"That will make things easier," Wrev replied with a grin. "We might wrap this up quick enough that Commander Klorne will forget about our late arrival."

Anakin didn't say that all he wanted to do was return home...

R2-D2 whistled a question at him as he and Wrev began to stalk towards the hanger's main exit.

"No, Artoo— stay with the ship. We may need it to fly out of here depending on how this goes.

"We'll be back shortly."

The two Jedi traveled through a few corridors and small compartments, their long cloaks sweeping behind them as they moved before reaching one of the long "spokes" that ran to the bulk of the Piringiisi Wheel.

Just as Anakin was about to step into the tunnel, Wrev's hand gripped his arm, pulling him back. The younger man shot a questioning look to the other as Wrev nodded towards something attached to the bulkhead.

"Trip mines."

Anakin saw now that several small gray devices were fastened to the walls of the corridor, faint blue beams of light passing between them at varying heights and angles. If they were to walk through any of the beams, Anakin was sure that there were enough explosives there to end their lives.

"I'll take care of it," Anakin responded, tone even as he placed his right hand on the bulkhead and took a cleansing breath. He closed his eyes and reached out in the Force for the trip mines blocking their path.

The youngest Solo child had always had an almost mystical connection to machines that seemed to defy reason, and even he couldn't explain. It was this ability that allowed him to operate Centerpoint Station and the planetary repulsors in the Corellian system without a clear understanding of why.

He felt the trip mines in the Physical Force, the circuitry and filament, thinking hot thoughts. When he opened his eyes the barely visible beams of blue were completely gone and a faint mist of smoke trailing from each detonator could be seen where their insides had melted.

"You have to teach me how to do that someday," Wrev said after a moment of surveying Anakin's handiwork.

"I wish I knew."





The two Jedi steadily marching down one of the Piringiisi Wheel's connecting spokes are on a path for the battle station's command center. A man watches the live security feeds from there as the intruders dismantle all the SGU droids they encounter along the way.

He is not happy.

His name is Rivult.

With each SoroSuub-engineered droid turned into spare parts, he feels all he has worked for slipping out of his grasp. He's felt this way before— the last time he was on the planet he longs to control when the same two Jedi came storming into his base and destroyed everything for him.

But the warlord didn't give up. He rebuilt. He rearmed. He became more powerful.

He vows that this time will be different.

Vyler is a survivor. He'd survived Palpatine's fall when many of Sullust's citizens would have liked to have thrown him off of SoroSuub's Ruling Council and probably execute him. Instead, Vyler's cunning allowed him to build more power and kept SoroSuub the strongest manufacturing conglomerate in the post-Empire galaxy.

When the Alliance was weakened by the Yuuzhan Vong, he saw his chance and took it, clutching SoroSuub and Sullust in his hand without fear of intergalactic reprisal. The Jedi had managed to take his prize from him once, but it wouldn't happen again.

Or so Vyler wants to believe.

In his heart he knows things are grim. He looks over at his young Jedi prisoner, hands in binders as she stands a few meters away on the command deck flanked by a pair of SGU's.

There are three Jedi now on his battle station— the weapon he had been so sure would be his key to victory. If Solo manages to get control of the Piringiisi Wheel, the tide of the battle will turn, and Rivult Vyler will be captured.

There is only one way he knows of to stop the Jedi— but it requires a grand sacrifice. The battle may already be lost, but Vyler can escape and kill Solo and Caster if he is willing to do something painful.

Rivult Vyler will not go quietly.

This is when Warlord Vyler realizes that more than anything, more than winning the battle at Sullust or keeping the Piringiisi Wheel, he wants Solo and Caster dead.

For the young woman whose hands are locked in binders behind her back, the experience on the Piringiisi Wheel is quite different. She is fearful for her own life as well as others. There is an overwhelming sense of failure inside of her after being captured before completing her first solo assignment. She wonders how disappointed Anakin will be in her. She wonders how many will die and suffer on Sullust because of her failure.

When she considers it logically, however, she knows that this isn't the case. Even if she does take responsibility for the lives Vyler has destroyed, she realizes that the ultimate purpose of her assignment was fulfilled— Anakin and Wrev are on board. Her failure to deactivate the tractor beam has probably made things more difficult for the two Jedi Knights, but it hasn't stopped them. With the exception of her humiliating capture, everything is going as planned.

She has only to wait for the rescue she knows is coming, both longing to and dreading seeing her master's face again. From the angle she's standing at, surrounded by SGU battle droids as well as the human and Sullustan soldiers helping Vyler, she can't see the security screens. She does hear, however, the sounds of lightsaber combat beyond the reinforced durasteel blast doors that have sealed them inside the command center.

When the doors slide open, a faint mist of smoke wafts inside to the sound of an SGU's vocoder malfunctioning as its lightsaber-scarred body clanks to the deck.

Two Jedi stroll in.

Confidence radiates from them the way the gleaming blue light shines from their lightsabers— they've already taken the command center with their entrance.

The outcome is already decided.

What's to follow is just automation.

Simply going through the motions pre-programmed inside them by the Force.

This is the encore.

This is the victory lap.

Her eyes focus on Anakin— deep blue eyes and tousled hair, his slim features wrapped in a cloak nearly as dark as his black surcoat.

Her heart doesn't skip a beat when she sees him— it feels as though its stopped completely in her chest and has begun to swell. She knows that these are dangerous feelings to have for her master, that it could destroy her training and life— she also knows that he could never return these feelings. She is a child to him.

But she can't help it.

She loves Anakin Solo.

Watching him storm in to her rescue only makes the feelings more intense. However, the rush of blood and fluttering she feels in her stomach are soon replaced by shame as Anakin fixes his azure gaze upon her and the humiliation of it all comes back to her.

"Jysella," he says.

The young woman looks up, not even realizing she'd averted her eyes and stared at the deck.

Her name is Jysella Horn.

Without him even saying it, she can read the question in Anakin's eyes. She doubts it has anything to do with the Force or a connection between master and apprentice— to her, his eyes are just that expressive.

"I'm all right," she says.

This is true, ignoring her bruised pride, which will take more than a bacta tank to heal. Warlord Vyler's droids haven't harmed her. He is only holding her hostage.

Anakin nods, accepting her answer.

Jysella's dark eyes find Anakin's partner for a moment and her mood changes again. She loves Anakin Solo— her feelings for Wrev Caster are very different. A little taller and broader through the shoulders than her master, Wrev's sand-colored robes can't hide the darkness Jysella sees in him.

This is the man who bears much of the responsibility for her father's death. Her body tenses as the memories flood back.

Still, she won't let herself hate him. She doesn't give in.

The two Jedi Knights have spread out, slowly walking a few paces apart along the curve of the command center as Warlord Vyler's minions stare on in silence, waiting for the next move.

Except for Warlord Vyler himself— he is unusually calm for someone facing two Jedi.

This is where things unravel.

This is where the automation is interrupted.





"You're late," Vyler announced, mouth twisting underneath his heavy reddish beard like a vibroblade in Anakin's guts. "I wouldn't want you to miss the finalé."

Anakin and Wrev were slowly circling the people gathered in the command center, traversing about halfway and then pacing back. Behind Vyler and his men were a string of transparisteel panels that gave a startling view of the stars beyond and the horrific battle taking place around them. Security screens and command consoles blinked multicolored lights, as a cluster of SGU's surrounded Jysella.

"It's over, Vyler— there is no escape," Anakin replied evenly, keeping his humming blade held casually at his side.

The warlord's sick chuckle that followed made Anakin more uneasy, but he refused to show it. "On the contrary. I'll be the only one here getting out alive." The former Imperial held up a small control device in his left hand. "This battle station has now been programmed to self-destruct."

"You wouldn't dare— this battle station cost a fortune and if it's destroyed you will be as well."

"Wrong again," Vyler responded. In the Force, Anakin sensed no deception from his enemy. It is at that moment that Anakin realized he was wrong. The warlord knew that his attempt to retake Sullust had failed, that he would be imprisoned, that the Piringiisi Wheel would be confiscated. Vyler had accepted it all— and now he was desperate. The one victory he could still claim was to kill the Jedi and if that meant destroying the weapon that he would lose anyway, Rivult Vyler was willing to make the sacrifice.

Still Anakin failed to see how the man thought he would have any hope of escaping the blast. If it had come to him sooner, if he'd understood that Jysella was not a hostage, but a diversion, he might have been able to stop it. As it was, the mystery of Vyler's confidence didn't fully fall into place for the young Jedi until the words left the warlord's lips.

"Kill her."

Two of the SGU's surrounding Jysella turned to face the young girl whose brown eyes were wide with terror as the battle droids arms twisted to aim their blaster cannons at her head.

Anakin reacted on instinct, instantly reaching out with the Force and tugging the arm cannons over a few inches before they could discharge and harm his apprentice. The first volley struck a control console while the other droid actually blasted his counterpart, leaving a smoldering hole in the SGU's laminanium armor.

Wrev had already vaulted over a row of consoles and was cutting through the SGU on Jysella's right when the entire command center sprang into action. A half dozen battle droids and the same number of humans and Sullustans advanced on the Jedi as the compartment erupted into chaos. Warlord Vyler, for his part, used the opportunity to slip out through the doors Anakin and Wrev had just broken into, as did a few of his sentient comrades who were smart enough to realize that the base would be consumed in flames shortly before what was left of their corpses would join the stars in the great vacuum.

Anakin grimaced, hating letting the man escape, but knowing he had to save Jysella— there would be plenty of time to get Vyler later. The Jedi leapt over the railing to follow Wrev, his dark cloak billowing as he came down onto two SGU's, planting a boot in each of their chests and kicking them to the ground. Turning quickly, he beheaded one of them with a swift one-handed stroke.

One of Vyler's human guards attempted to assail him from behind and Anakin spun around, smashing the pommel of his lightsaber into the man's head and laying him out on the deck. It might have seemed pointless to worry about sparing the lives of Vyler's cronies, especially when they were sure to die when the battle station was destroyed. But Anakin was a Jedi Knight. Whenever possible, it was his duty to avoid taking lives. The traitors would die, but it wouldn't be by his hand.





Jysella watched in amazement as Anakin and Wrev worked in concert, blue blades whirling, deflecting blaster bolts, and showering the command center with cascades of amber sparks every time they cut through the torsos of the SoroSuub battle droids. As her master neared, Anakin spun behind her and quickly slashed through her binders, freeing her hands from confinement in between catching the streaking red lights on the beam of his lightsaber.

"Thanks," she said, but Anakin had already moved on, booting a stout Sullustan into a console as Wrev dismantled an SGU with all the precision of a turbolaser.

Suddenly Anakin spun toward her again, reached inside his cloak for something attached to the back of his belt and then tossed it to her. "Catch!"

Jysella snatched the spiraling object out of the air on reflex, the familiar grip of the polished silver cylinder sending memories of her late father flooding through her mind. The weapon of Corran Horn was now hers, a memento of the greatest man she'd ever known.

But like her father, she wasn't about to let anything distract her when action was needed. Her thumb was already activating the lightsaber when one of the remaining battle droids had fixed its sights on her.

At fourteen, Jysella's body was growing faster in some ways than others, leaving her feeling awkward and clumsy at times. Tall and bony, Wrev had even referred to her as "sticks," because her long legs looked even thinner when sticking out of the apron of her robes. The one time when Jysella felt that awkwardness disappear was when she had her father's weapon in hand.

The gleaming silver blade erupted from the hilt and lashed across the dark armor, reaming the droid limb from limb until it was reduced to smoldering scrap on the command deck.

Within seconds the remains of the other SGU's joined it, along with the six unconscious forms of Vyler's people.

Anakin shut down his blade and Jysella did the same, panting from the excitement more than any exertion as her little heart raced. The firm grip of her master's hand came down on the right shoulder of her brown cloak. "Are you sure you're okay?"

The young woman nodded. "Yes. Anakin, I—"

Her master cut her off with a wave of his free hand. "Not now— we'll have plenty of time to talk later if we can stop Vyler."

Jysella nodded reluctantly, resisting the urge to throw her arms around him.

"There!" Wrev exclaimed, pointing at one of the security screens still working.

Jysella and Anakin stepped around to see Vyler and a few members of his army moving down one of the long corridors of the Wheel's spokes.

"He's heading for one of the hangers," Anakin discerned.

"And he'll be sure to detonate whatever device he's got planted on this battle station once he's found a ship and escaped."

"We've got to catch him before that!" Jysella replied.

"No," Anakin argued. "Too risky, he's got too much of a lead and we'd be too far away from our starfighters to make an escape if he beat us."

Wrev nodded, turning away from the screen. "So we rush to our Interceptors and try and get out before Vyler is brave enough to hit the detonator— then shoot him out of space."

The pair began to move towards the command center exit at a frenzied pace before Jysella called to them. "Guys! You're forgetting that I don't have a fighter! How am I going to get out of here?"





Warlord Vyler was not a man used to doing much running. His appetite for fine foods was almost as vivacious as his hunger for power. So it was that the former Imperial was carrying a few extra pounds as he and his associates were making their way towards the shuttle he had in the number 6 hanger. Besides the fact that he could feel his gut jiggling beneath his dark blue uniform, the other thought that was spurring the human on was the idea that he'd actually defeated Anakin Solo— or the fear that he hadn't and the desire to escape before the Jedi caught up with him.

Anakin had been an irritant since his first attempt to capture Sullust and Rivult Vyler found himself filled with a sense of glee at the prospect of destroying the Jedi. He had to credit his foresight of outfitting the Piringiisi Wheel with a self-destruct program from the beginning in anticipation of just such an occasion— or near enough.

As he reached the hanger and laid his eyes on the white shuttle that would carry him to freedom, Vyler grinned beneath his reddish whiskers.





R2-D2 loosed a string of agitated tones and beeps, his primary display turning red as Anakin rushed up the slightly slanted wing towards the cockpit of his Eta-7, canopy still open from his last exit.

"No time to explain, Artoo— we need to get out of here as soon as possible."

The droid whistled an affirmative and Anakin could see Wrev hopping back into his own Jedi Interceptor a few meters away, as he secured his flight restraints.

Another question was chirped from the blue-domed droid in the socket as Jysella Horn began to scale the Interceptor's wing and crawl inside the cockpit with him.

"I know it's not safe to have two people in the ship, Artoo— but we really don't have a choice at the moment."

Having Jysella seated on the floor of the cockpit by his legs, back pushing awkwardly into his knee made the situation all the more uncomfortable, but Anakin really didn't care at that moment— he was thankful for the Eta-7's spacious cockpit and very glad that he hadn't taken an X-Wing to Sullust.

He was worried about Jysella’s position making it more difficult for him to use the fighters’ foot pedals, but he figured Jysella was a strong pilot like her father and could probably manage to operate the pedals with her hands as he gave the orders in their escape and pursuit of Vyler.

Anakin's danger sense spiked wildly as he activated the ship's repulsors, a warning through the Force that the Piringiisi Wheel was going to explode, the building tension seemingly in time with the rising whine the fighter was making.

"Just try and hold on tight," he said to Jysella— she had no restraints, nothing to keep her from being thrown around the inside of the cockpit if the Jedi Interceptor took heavy fire or the inertial dampener's hiccupped.

"To what?" She asked indignantly.

Good point. Jysella seemed to at least heed his warning and braced herself against the lower bulkheads that were built into the transparisteel canopy.

"No time to waste, Wrev," Anakin announced over his headset communicator, and engaged his drives, the Interceptor shooting over the deck and the mangled bodies of SGU's the Jedi had left there earlier.

"I know, I sense it too."

The two starfighters burst through the hangers blue energy seal at nearly the same instant, reentering the black vacuum, their sublight drives flaming blue behind them as they tried to put as much distance between themselves and the Piringiisi Wheel as possible.

"I see Vyler!" Wrev's voice yelled through the comm.

Anakin's icy eyes scanned his sensor screens until he found a small shuttle hustling away from the battle station. "I'm putting a call into Commander Klorne to tell her to use an interdictor to keep it in system."

"Look around you, Solo— they're defending the planet. They want Vyler's forces to leave— they didn't bring an interdictor."

Before Anakin could reply, the mighty battle station at their backs went supernova. There was no sound, only a blinding white light that pulsed, followed by a luminous explosion that seemed to expand in all directions, spewing quickly extinguished flame and the remains of the Piringiisi Wheel. The shockwave hit the maroon starfighter from behind, sending Anakin's head back hard into the headrest and blurring his vision, the entire Kuat-engineered vessel shaking around him like a Jawa in a Hoth blizzard. R2-D2 screeched loudly, as Anakin's teeth rattled inside his skull and he saw Jysella's hands clutching the bulkhead, knuckles still white when the tremors subsided.

In a daze, Anakin glanced up through his fighter's canopy to see Wrev's fighter still whole, a few more black scorches in the blue paint than when he'd last seen it, but still blasting through space. A quick glance at his own screens and Artoo's whistling scrolling across his console readout showed that no real damage had been done.

"Anakin?"

How long had Wrev been calling for him?

"I'm here, I'm here," he answered groggily as he found Jysella's eyes and knew that she was all right as well. "Wrev— we have to stop Vyler. If he makes the jump to hyperspace this will never end!"

Plasma and antifighter flak were firing all around them again as they found themselves shooting back through the battle the opposite way. "He's got to have the jump punched in by now and is just looking for a clear vector through this mess— we'll never catch him. Pull back, Anakin. You'll only get yourself killed trying to pilot that recklessly past the enemy warships."

Anakin didn't respond, only clenched his jaw and kicked the sublight thrusters harder, drawing power away from every available system including his shields to rocket the Eta-7 Interceptor through the chaos like a solar flare into a dying star.

"You are worse than your sister."

Despite Wrev's protests, his fighter was speeding past the lancing warships right at Anakin's starboard flank. Anakin let the reproach go unanswered. He worried about risking Jysella's life in the effort, but the simple fact was that Rivult Vyler's near limitless resources meant that if he was allowed to escape he could continue to inflict pain on the world of Sullust without end.

Another fact, was that Anakin knew he wasn't risking their lives— knew that blasts of torpedoes and particle beams wouldn't touch them. He didn't expect that anyone could understand why this was, when he felt he would never understand himself. It wasn't arrogance, or bluster. Only one of the inexplicable things he felt, he knew, as truth.

The ion drives in the stern of Vyler's shuttle were growing in his viewport, changing from one small dot of blue light into three individual flares.

Anakin Solo was going to end it.

His fighter whirled in a tight spiral as he dodged the blinding array of thick red beams streaming from nearby enemy cruisers.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Jysella whimpered, face only a few inches away from the forward viewport.

The grandchild of Anakin Skywalker could feel that the streaking white shuttle had found a clean vector and was about to disappear into hyperspace just as his sights lined up on the glowing drives. He squeezed the firing controls, the Jedi Interceptor spewing staccato blasts of green flame rapidly that detonated precisely where Anakin need them to. The ion canons pounded into the shuttle, disabling the shields and a host of other systems.

Rivult Vyler's drives went black as Anakin left it dead in space, blowing out a sigh of relief as he swung around to get out of the thick of the battle.

"Great shooting, Anakin!" Wrev's enthusiasm came over the comm.

"We did it!" Jysella exclaimed, before awkwardly hugging his leg and then going quiet, the shame of her capture clearly taking hold again. He would have to speak with her about it all soon...

"Yes," Anakin managed. "It's finally over."

What he was really thinking about was returning home. For Anakin, "home" was the most beautiful planet he'd ever seen— it was also where Tahiri was. He'd longed to return there for months.

He opened up his comm to the Alliance command ship. "Commander Klorne," he began. "We have disabled Warlord Vyler's shuttle when he attempted to escape— I'm sending you the coordinates. Have the ship tractored in and the warlord taken prisoner. He will be tried for his crimes."

The sound of the commander's smile was a rarity, but Anakin was certain he picked it up over the comm. "You've done it again, Anakin— I'll send a cruiser to tractor him in now. Hopefully we can get him to surrender his fleet so no more lives are lost needlessly."

"Indeed," Anakin agreed.

"Now, I don't suppose the two of you have a good excuse for getting here late."

Anakin stammered. It was Wrev who answered. "I'm sorry, Commander; what was that? The transmission has gone fuzzy— we'll try to find the origin of the disturbance."

"Very funny— Master Skywalker already contacted me and told us about Corellia."

"Uncle Luke commed to tell you that during the battle? That seems odd."

"No," Klorne explained. "He wanted to speak with you and Wrev. You're supposed to contact Skywalker on Denon as soon as possible.

"Something's happened."

 

Mine!

 

Holy sweet bantha dung Master Yoda, how could you?! Jysella/Anakin? *whips out her lightsaber as she sees all the A/Ters come running in an angry mob* Unless, of course, that love is purely in a Master/Apprentice way...

Once again, I must compliment you on how smoothly the Stover style works here, and how much I'm reminded of episode 3. And I love the Anakin/Wrev interaction too.

[More to go here later]

 

I must say, I truly appreciate your work, it is one of the things I always look forward to, when I am booting up my computer. One of the first things I do then is to check if you have updated.

Most excellent. Excelsior!

Magnus

 

for some reason I was thinking Tahiri was with them. I didn't catch padawan or wasn't thinking Knight or something. I just missed it. Senior moment. Let's hope Anakin doesn't copy everything his grandfather did. Poor Jysella - tough case of unrequited love. It's clear that Anakin only sees Tahiri. Hopefully Jys will get over it.

 

*eats popcorn, sitting in seat, glued to the screen in suspense*

So, we finally have confirmation on who Anakin's padawan is. Jysella... Could make things interesting. She's not a very developed character so she's sort of like on of your OC's. And she has her eye on Anakin....oh boy, that will make things interesting. Too bad Anakin's not looking her way. It's A/T all the way!
Nice chapter! Glad they caught Vilar. he seems like a typical warlord with his appetite for power the same as for food. I could picture him running to his ship due to your detailed descriptions...unfortuately. I really enjoyed this. I wonder what Luke wants, something to do with Callista? Will Anakin be heading home soon? And where is home?
C'mon, post again soon so you can anwser my questions! PUH-lease?

Looking forward to more.

 

I truly hope that you are not planning to broke Tahiris heart. It would really blow me out. And I would be mad at u.


You really seem to have a talent for writing in a ,,, I dont know,,, in a way that the story just draws the reader in. I dont know why, but I felt so nostalgic reading this post. Must be because of the similarities with the epIII. The similarities are good, but I do hope that you don't get drawn too far to that. I also love the way you brought the Anakin character back to its "origins" with the mechanical thing. The mine thing was just so Anakin 7(?) years at centerpoint st. Loved it


Great job YodaK, keep it up and bring out Tahiri a lot in the future.

 

YK:

W

H

O

A

H

!

!

!

Awesome. Just awesome.

- The Imperial Ewok

 

Up for now. I'll reply later

EDIT: Now for the reply...
Wonderful with Jysella and Anakin! I like the way the lightsabers were passed within families.

 

An excellent update YK. Your descriptions are perfect, and your new villain is extremely interesting, in a Nute Gunray kind of way.

 

That was great!

I wondered if it was Jysella... I just wasn't brave enough to say so.

Her heart doesn't skip a beat when she sees him? it feels as though its stopped completely in her chest and has begun to swell. She knows that these are dangerous feelings to have for her master, that it could destroy her training and life? she also knows that he could never return these feelings. She is a child to him.

But she can't help it.

She loves Anakin Solo.

Oh, Jysella. My heart hurts for her... you just know her little 14 year old heart is going to get broken, no matter how nice Anakin is about everything. And on top of that,who could blame her? What crazy person didn't see this coming a parsec away when they assigned Masters and apprentices? Would that be Farmboy? Has he forgotten his lustful, teenage looks at Camie at the Toshie power station (and she wasn't even a very nice person!)



Oh-oh! What's going on at Denon?

 

Whoa, Jysella, shouldn't be getting any of those feelings. Hope she doesn't get embarrased in public. One question, though, is she supposed to be that old by this time?

All and all, nice post.

 

Great, great post- and I like how you wrote so that we weren't sure if it was Tahiri or not. Good stuff, can't wait for more.

 

Evil...

I'm seeing some interesting parallels to ROTS...

I'm curious... Intentional or unintentional?

 

Good point, there. Noticed them, too.

Magnus

 

Yay! Yoda - I finished TLF and am going to catch up with this over the next week. Woohoo.

 

Red: Mine!

All yours




spork: Holy sweet bantha dung Master Yoda, how could you?! Jysella/Anakin? *whips out her lightsaber as she sees all the A/Ters come running in an angry mob* Unless, of course, that love is purely in a Master/Apprentice way...

There will certainly be no Anakin/Jysella in this fic. Jysella is 14 years old She just has a bit of a crush on her master.

Once again, I must compliment you on how smoothly the Stover style works here, and how much I'm reminded of episode 3. And I love the Anakin/Wrev interaction too.

Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it I'm pretty sure that's the last of any Anakin/Wrev interaction for the rest of the fic.

[More to go here later]

Looking forward to it.




Magnuskn: I must say, I truly appreciate your work, it is one of the things I always look forward to, when I am booting up my computer. One of the first things I do then is to check if you have updated.

Thank you very much I'm honored

Most excellent. Excelsior!

Thanks again!




RM: for some reason I was thinking Tahiri was with them. I didn't catch padawan or wasn't thinking Knight or something. I just missed it. Senior moment.

Nah, a lot of people assumed it was Tahiri, no biggie. I wanted you guys to think that

Let's hope Anakin doesn't copy everything his grandfather did. Poor Jysella - tough case of unrequited love. It's clear that Anakin only sees Tahiri. Hopefully Jys will get over it.

Yes, Jysella is still a child really. Typical of Anakin, he is unaware of her developing crush.

Thanks for reading, more Luke/Mara stuff in the chapter for you




JoD: *eats popcorn, sitting in seat, glued to the screen in suspense*

*Reaches over and steals some of your popcorn when you're distracted*

So, we finally have confirmation on who Anakin's padawan is. Jysella... Could make things interesting.

I hope so

She's not a very developed character so she's sort of like on of your OC's.

That's true.

And she has her eye on Anakin....oh boy, that will make things interesting. Too bad Anakin's not looking her way. It's A/T all the way!

Yes, this will definitely be A/T Should make a nice complication though

Nice chapter! Glad they caught Vilar. he seems like a typical warlord with his appetite for power the same as for food. I could picture him running to his ship due to your detailed descriptions...unfortuately.

Sorry about that. I hope you'll be able to sleep tonight

I really enjoyed this. I wonder what Luke wants, something to do with Callista? Will Anakin be heading home soon? And where is home?

Well, "home" is not Denon, I will say that much And yes, Luke's call to Anakin has to do with Callista's arrival.

C'mon, post again soon so you can anwser my questions! PUH-lease?

The next post really won't answer many of those questions

Looking forward to more.

I'm glad, thanks for reading




poku: I truly hope that you are not planning to broke Tahiris heart. It would really blow me out. And I would be mad at u.

As I've said, there will be no Anakin/Jysella in this fic That would be illegal (at least where I live ) and I'm fairly sure violate board rules.

You really seem to have a talent for writing in a ,,, I dont know,,, in a way that the story just draws the reader in.

Thank you, that's nice to hear.

I dont know why, but I felt so nostalgic reading this post. Must be because of the similarities with the epIII. The similarities are good, but I do hope that you don't get drawn too far to that.

That post was the last of anything so similar, I promise

I also love the way you brought the Anakin character back to its "origins" with the mechanical t

 

Whoops! I forgot to reply.

Another great post. The action sequence had just the right zip to it. I liked the similarities to the Invisible Hand sequence at the start of ROTS.

Although I was mildly surprised the villain didn't get away. Or did he?

Like others, I'm very amused by poor Jysella's crush, and poor Anakin's obliviousness. Why do I think Tahiri won't be so clueless? (By the way, Jysella is 14 and Anakin is about 21? Just making sure I did my math right with 32 ABY.)

Looking forward to more.

 

Lex is right.. who ever the member of the opposite sex is, they alway notice the little crush.

 

Lex: Whoops! I forgot to reply.

Seems like you remembered

Another great post. The action sequence had just the right zip to it. I liked the similarities to the Invisible Hand sequence at the start of ROTS.

Thanks, that will be the end of the overt RotS similarities, I think

Although I was mildly surprised the villain didn't get away. Or did he?

He didn't, and he's not really much of a villain. We won't see him ever again just a way of showing the Jedi being Jedi since the end of the NJO.

Like others, I'm very amused by poor Jysella's crush, and poor Anakin's obliviousness. Why do I think Tahiri won't be so clueless?

You are very sharp You are correct, Jysella's feelings will not go unnoticed by Tahiri

(By the way, Jysella is 14 and Anakin is about 21? Just making sure I did my math right with 32 ABY.)

Anakin is 22 by my calculations.

Looking forward to more.

Good to hear it, thanks so much for reading




TSF: Lex is right.. who ever the member of the opposite sex is, they alway notice the little crush.

That's true, and I think people have a tendency to watch the way members of our partners' opposite sex behave around her or him, so we know who to tell to take a hike

Tahiri certainly has a history of it

 

Well, I certainly like this new post. Makes you wonder what sort of state the rest of the galaxy is in, huh?

I'm reminded of the opening scene of Episode III... intentional?

Was Vyler a typical local plastel pot dictator, or will we see him again?

I'm suspicious about Callista's talk, though. Something doesn't quite ring right in her testimony.

The next post will involve Jaina, I take it?

Cheers
Pelranius

 

Great action, YK.

I'll add my own "poor Jysella" to all the others. But she does seem to have the Horn toughness...

Lovely and interesting writing, as usual.

oldj

 

YK: the fun has begun!!

Inside one of the sixteen hangers on the outer ring of the Piringiisi Wheel, a cadre of Warlord Vyler's battle droids watch as two Jedi Interceptors are pulled through the blue glow of the energy seal by the battle station's tractor beam. The droids are bulky and powerful, taller than the average human male with thick reinforced laminanium plating that can regenerate and incases droid brains from Telti. Heavy blaster canons are built into their fists, which are strong enough to smash through most beings skull as easily as they would bash an egg, while two glowing red eyes are fixed into the droids' stout heads.

These aren't your (lead characters' grand)father's battledroids!!

(but am I right in thinking that "from Telti" is a deliberate Stoverism? Very nice!! )

Anakin Solo's thumbs embraced the firing studs on the control yolk of his starfighter, watching as his lateral laser cannons tore Warlord Vyler's minions to pieces, each green blast searing through the droids' torsos, their legs and upper bodies flying back and clanking on the metallic surface of the hanger deck like some lifeless doll cast aside by an indifferent child.

Yippee!!

I like the mixed visual "metaphor" here, the shift from TPM to RoTS...

Before the Interceptor had even come to rest, Anakin had undone his flight restraints, popped the transparisteel canopy, and was freeing the lightsaber hooked at his left hip? the lightsaber that had been constructed by his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker.

He jumps the length from Naboo to Coruscant in a single bound!

Anakin leapt out onto the wing of the Interceptor and activated his weapon with a snap-hiss, a brilliant beam of cobalt blue light erupting from the polished hilt as he was immediately assailed by a swarm of red blasterfire, swatting away the searing bolts with reflexes only possible with the precognitive sense provided by the Force.

Stepping off of the wing, Anakin met the droids rushing to destroy him head on. His dark cloak flowed around him, making his movements all the more graceful as he twirled his blade in diagonal hacks and sliced through the bodies of the first two SGU's he met. Wielding the weapon in his right hand, he spun the blade to deflect two more blasts and severed one of the droid's cannon arms, before easily slashing through another's brain casing from left to right.

Pirouetting through the sea of enemies, Anakin's blade whirled behind his back, a wheel of light that sent their fire ricocheting off in all directions and leaving more smoldering metal appendages on the deck.

*hums "Duel of the Fates* loudly and slightly off-key*

That rocks!! Superb descriptions, immense fun to read...

These droids couldn't just be slashed? they had to be precisely dissected. Anakin's blue beam of light traced glowing amber scars across the dark reflective armor of the SGU's, dismantling hip joints and severing limbs as he weakened them enough to stab through the battle droids' thick chest cavity and the power core inside.

Hah!

"You have to teach me how to do that someday," Wrev said after a moment of surveying Anakin's handiwork.

"I wish I knew."

Perfect! Drol, dramatic, and with just a hint of mystery...

When the doors slide open, a faint mist of smoke wafts inside to the sound of an SGU's vocoder malfunctioning as its lightsaber-scarred body clanks to the deck.

Two Jedi stroll in.

Confidence radiates from them the way the gleaming blue light shines from their lightsabers? they've already taken the command center with their entrance.

The outcome is already decided.

What's to follow is just automation.

Simply going through the motions pre-programmed inside them by the Force.

This is the encore.

This is the victory lap.

Superb. I don't think it's a criticism to say it's a homage to Matt's RotS novellization, both in style and in terms of its meaning... but at the same time, th