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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Beyond - Legends "Highsummer" (NEU/Legends AU; J/TK, Allana, OCs, c. LOTF; happyfic/philosophy/etc.)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by Onderon1, Mar 14, 2018.

  1. Onderon1

    Onderon1 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2008
    A/N: Just another semi-spoileriffic flash-forward in my oddball AU, one dealing with Jacen's fate (Just Say No To Caedus!)

    Usual disclaimers - LFL's are LFL's, they're all Disney's (except for the OCs), and yes, the Sephi is
    TOTALLY a bad Legolas expy I cooked up for this. :p

    *********************
    Coruscant, 40 ABY:
    *********************

    Lothenglar slipped from shadow to shadow, tracing the vua'sa's messy trail; fortunately, this time, it was just a cthon.

    Still, the arglenarach beast is working its up way the food chain. TIme for a Warder to step in, the hunter thought, blond hair pulled back into a functional tail, occasionally brushing his pointed ears as his blue eyes darted to and fro.

    He wore simple vua'sa-leather armor over a green tunic and leggings woven from Vong-moss - not the traditional materials, but the Sephi who'd made the fallen "Jewel of the Core" their home upon hearing its' life-song had adapted.

    Despite what the Jedi might think, there were many strains of the Force's tune. And Coruscant once again sang to the void.

    Forests - FREE-STANDING FORESTS! - had filled entire districts, while ponds, lakes, and even small seas sometimes could be found during the wanderings between those regions which RePlanetHab had reclaimed.

    Reluctant agreement between the bioforming agency and the waves of settlers who'd helped repopulate (and partially tame) the planet had limited the redevelopment of the former capital of the Galactic Alliance. Truthfully, there were few survivors of the former ecumenopolis who'd wanted to return, whether out of the chance to escape the crushing gaps in classes, or to not face the horrors the Yuuzhan Vong had unleashed upon "Yuuzhan'tar."

    The Senate, in a gesture to protests from Alsakan and other ancient leaders of Core civilization, had agreed to move between worlds every year (and the jobs which would've been reinstated setting up infrastructure on Coruscant thus benefitted many planets).

    As for the Sephi - well, forests had long ago been their primary domain. Wanderers of their kind had settled here, and intermingled with the various species who'd come back to try and reclaim "Lost Notron."

    Lothenglar had long ago learned to accept the quaint human references to "elf-kind," or - among some Corellians, "the Fair Folk" - as polite honors. Certainly, his looks and air of exotic presence drew more than a few females to him ...

    Frolic later, lad. For now, mind's eye on the foreground, he heard his ward-father Balrerin's voice remind him, and Lothenglar swept the area.

    He didn't have to wait for long - the still bloody-toothed vua'sa appeared in the distance, fortunately upwind.

    Lothenglar nodded, quickly nocking a bow made of greel-wood and mynock-wing string, and focused the Force.

    Battle strike, in all its' myriad variants between Force traditions, was an extremely ancient and simple Force power, enhancing a warrior's blows or aim and the damage done. The Jedi were hardly its' only users.

    Just as important as its ease of use was its' effectiveness against a wide variety of enemies - even the Force-resistant.

    The arrow was true; the vua'sa didn't realize the danger it faced until it was struck down, and it died without struggle.

    Lothenglar moved quickly - a meal as rich as a vua'sa would draw scavengers and lesser predators quickly. He didn't like the idea of fighting with more Vonglife, or the resurgent native species like hawkbats, granite slugs, or cthons.

    The Sephi dressed the vua'sa quickly, leaving the innards for the lesser creatures, and headed back to the encampment his tribe were sharing with the followers of the Lord and Lady of the world (RePlanetHab disliked such referents, but the dull bureaucrats had no artistic soul, as far as Lothenglar could tell - not like the commingled Sephi-human tribe, anyway).

    He returned quickly, returning the polite nods of the female watch-warriors to either side of the gate to the World Brain. The former Senate Plaza had been fortified with a mix of duracrete and locally-grown wooden stockade walls, while a massive wroshyr seedling had blazed up before the massive Well building and provided the Sephi with a village.

    The former duracrete ground before the Well had been covered with dirt, and a satisfying carpet of green rolled before Lothenglar, encouraging him to remove his boots - but he made sure to give his prize to the cooks and leatherworkers, first. He'd enjoy his choice of the first pair of new boots crafted from the vua'sa, after tonight's feast.

    For the moment, though, he removed his footwear, smiling indulgently as he felt grass once again between his toes.

    "Loth'glar!" the Sephi heard, and he laughed as a short pair of reddish-blond-haired streaks hugged his legs.

    "And how, Little Princess, are you and your prince-brother doing today?" Lothenglar asked, smiling at his greeters.

    Like many of the children born at the village, Allana and Tace Djo Solo were watched over as part of a large group - there were few parents who wanted to isolate their younglings from getting to know others, and the interplay of varying philosophies and species was good for everyone.

    The preschoolers were especially popular, due to their gentle, happy natures (that, and their father was critical to Coruscant's slow reversion from Vong feral-ness). The children wore green shorts and sleeveless green tunics, with wreaths of flowers in their hair, and their grey eyes were alight with joy as they accompanied Lothenglar to the Well.

    "We learned 'bout stars and planets and galaxies today," Tace explained, quite grave beyond his years as he held Allana's hand and they nodded to the Hapan and RePlanetHab personnel streaming in and out of the Well's entrance.

    "Mama says the Yuuzhan Vong came from a whole other galaxy. That seems really far away," Allana agreed, giggling when a nexu cub raced over to her, wrapping itself around her legs before she lifted it and nuzzled its' fur. "Hey, Anji."

    The cub purred, and Lothenglar gave it a respectful nod - the little one was devoted to its mistress, but it was still a nexu.

    Nevertheless, I've no doubt that the daughter of the Khattaz al'Yun and the Erenada-in-Exile can handle one nexu, the Sephi mused, bowing at the waist as he and his odd little entourage reached the inner Well - and the world's true gardeners.

    Tenel Ka Djo Solo smiled in welcome, sweeping her children into a hug - she'd eventually accepted a left arm, regrown from her own cells by her Jedi lover, so there was no risk of transplant rejection.

    Freed from the courtly intrigues and barbarism that haunted Hapan courts, Tenel had embraced her Dathomiri side once again, and wore a classic green lizard-scale skirt with a spear slung over her back, her rancor-tooth lightsaber at her side.

    "Thank you for shepherding these little veermoks home, Lothenglar," she said, smiling at her children's laughter.

    The twins' eyes widened as the World Brain rumbled, and a figure who'd been standing atop a spire of yorik coral-reinforced duracrete, waving his hands like a concert director, stepped back, the Force's song quieting as he approached. (Of course, with life so widespread on Coruscant these days, the song never entirely faded - but this was the conductor.)

    "Indeed, Lothenglar - and thanks, also, for dealing with that vua'sa. Nasty piece of work," Jacen Solo said, scooping either of the twins up into his arms as they hugged him (and Anji squirmed, mewling happily).

    Lothenglar nodded with respect; Jacen was far from the scrawny, self-absorbed boy whom he'd met years ago on Yavin (it'd been only in passing, then, and at the time, they'd been far further apart philosophically than they were now).

    The eldest son of House Solo had grown in maturity and wisdom, his body corded with muscle and scars. Jacen wore a simple kilt and boots, a bandolier thrown over one shoulder and a floral wreath decorating his brow. His brandy-brown eyes shone with happiness as he set his children down, and he took Tenel's hands in his own.

    "The work's done for today, and the World Brain's ready to doze. Shall we feast?" Jacen asked, to his family's cheers.

    The twins ran ahead, and Jacen prompted a girlish laugh from Tenel Ka as he took her hand and led her after them.

    Yes, there are far worse fates than to be guiding the reclamation of one's birthworld, with loved ones at your side ...

    The Sephi tip-saluted the World Brain - one never knew when a planet-class telepath might be involuntarily eavesdropping - and said a silent prayer to the Force and the Sephi's pantheon for his fortune, friends, and home, before following.

    The Mandalorians, durasteel as they were, had a few bits of wisdom. Family is more than blood was one Lothenglar liked.

    ******************

    :)
     
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  2. Ewok Poet

    Ewok Poet Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2014
    A bad Legolas expy? I'm all ears! [face_laugh] However, I can see a bit of some Robin Hood type in him. A bit.

    There being so many diverse Force user groups, beyond the narrow-ish realm of the ones we know best, is always a good element in a story. The Sephi sound intriguing, to say the least. They can hear a planet and it calls out to them. Coruscant's current strangeness, that's pervasive to both the Humans and the Vong appears to be an element of some sort of a terra promesa to them. There are bad things from both worlds, but also the best of both worlds. Seeing this and seeing the fusion of both extremes makes the planet bearable - and I'm one of those folks who never liked it.

    And wow, Jacen and Tenel Ka have a second wee one and they're all living the same way like Jaina and Ganner do in the other story you posted recently...or similar. The way the word "galaxies" is italicised in what Tace says makes me think of the balance, once again. The GFFA was always inwards in a way and with the exposure to a completely different system, from billions of light years away, it became something different and it should be that way. Mix and match. Never be the same again. Why the heck not?

    The balance further reflects in the combination of the protagonist's Mando quote at the end and the moment he steps on the grass and feels it with his feet. Just bloody perfect!

    P.S. I googled the word chton and came across one of my favourite words EVARR as its synonym. YES, YES, TROGLODYTES. MOAR TROGLODYTES! [face_monkey]
     
  3. Onderon1

    Onderon1 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2008
    EP: Thanks again! :D

    This was a fun leap forward to write, on several levels; most basically, giving Jacen and Tenel Ka a happy ever after.

    I've long believed that Jacen is fundamentally unsuited to be a Knight; he's so terribly conflicted between his own desires (Force-fascination, love for Tenel, a desire to matter) and the expectations of being a SkySolo that, in Legends, it destroyed him in the end. :(

    Jacen can fight; he can win ... but there's an ugly streak in him that shouldn't be encouraged. And before the NJO, he even sensed that - his recklessness with a lightsaber at the Shadow Academy that risked opening him to Brakiss' manipulations, and later, his accidental maiming of Tenel Ka in Lightsabers, were warning signs that Jacen tends to take things too far in combat.

    This turned overtly nasty in the NJO in his picking on Anakin ... and while Vergere tried to get Jacen to face his inner demons, he eventually failed to look deep enough (and/or accept what was there).

    As for Tenel ... she never wanted to be Queen of Hapes. But tragic circumstances left her no choice. :(

    Here, though - Jacen can be the gardener he's best suited to be (sanely, and with checks and balances), and Tenel can be her Dathomiri self again. You raise another excellent point, in that Coruscant could've used a bit more wilding than it had - plus, I never bought that it became so easily reinhabitable after the alterations the YV put it through.

    (And, if the government's moving from world to world, it's another crossover with the NEU. ;)

    Plus - Tace. :) I never liked the idea that Allana had to be an only child, and twins are common among Skywalker descendants. ;) (It doesn't hurt that the kids are being raised far away from Hapes - there's a very good reason why Tenel needn't worry about Hapan intrigues, but I've yet to reveal just why that is ... ;)

    The Sephi are actually an established Legends species - but I did rather like the idea of them being comfortable with the traditional fantasy tropes of elf-kind: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sephi/Legends

    At some point, I'll work on something with Anakin and Tahiri after the war. I just have to get there ... [face_blush]
     
  4. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    @Onderon1

    :) [face_sigh] :) [face_sigh] How GRATIFYING this all is! [face_dancing] Thank you for giving J/TK an ending suited to their soulmateness ;) and their temperaments and strengths. @};- [:D]
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2018
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  5. SiouxFan

    SiouxFan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2012
    I really like the way you ended this! If only characters in universe would have followed that advice.

    I have a hard time picturing TK with two arms, but that is just my problem. Jacen in a kilt is almost as hard to picture...I keep thinking of Christopher Lambert in Highlander.

    You realize, of course, that you've got a whole back-story to this that just HAS to be written! Like why are they the 'Erenada in exile'?

    Thanks for this!
     
  6. Onderon1

    Onderon1 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2008
    SiouxFan: Welcome, and thanks for reading. :)

    Tenel's decision IU to resist getting a prosthetic long seemed like a pride issue to me; true, she's a very competent warrior, but she's also limiting herself (even having the Force as another option). Jacen being able to grow her a truly flesh and blood replacement seemed like the best route - and, also, dovetailed nicely with his possible POV that since he'd (accidentally) taken the arm, he'd want to give it back.

    The kilt is something of a nod to certain of the YV - they've been known to wear kilts. And Jacen's a bit more laid-back, here. :D

    AFA why Tenel isn't running Hapes in this AU - I do have to write that one ... I've been debating whether to introduce the character responsible over in Songs of Yun-Bantha (the wrap-up to my Vong War trilogy, which I really will update soon, I promise ... [face_blush]), or in another tale ... [face_thinking]
     
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