| Author |
Topic:
The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT - Luke, Leia, Vader, Han, Mara, OCs and more!) - new post 2/29/08!
|
ViariSkywalker
Registered:
Aug '02
|
Date Posted:
6/12/03 9:47am
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - updated 6/10
|
|
Up! (Working on next post)
-----signature-----
Big Sis of Lady_Rae  Veil of Shadows (OT AU, L/M) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/28500417 The Dark Fire Chronicles (OT AU) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/11960028  ANGST!
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
ViariSkywalker
Registered:
Aug '02
|
Date Posted:
6/12/03 11:02am
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - updated 6/10
- Date Edited:
4/27 10:30pm (4 edits total)
Edited By:
ViariSkywalker
|
Chapter Two: Intricate Deceptions
Nights were always quiet on Alderaan, and Javan would not have had it any other way. Standing on a balcony of the Royal Palace, he let the cool wind sweep across his face, the scent of new flowers a gentle reminder that the planet was experiencing its annual rebirth. The young man relished in the silence. The palace was a very peaceful place, an attribute which appealed to Javan even in his childhood. Still there came times when even the attentions of Organa relatives were too much to bear. When that happened, Javan ran off to his special balcony. Here he could always be alone. Here he could always think clearly. In his youth he would come to the palace with his father and visit Bail and his wife. If he concentrated harder, Javan could almost remember coming here with his mother. But that was a long time ago, and now he was grown.
Javan’s lips curved into a wry grin as he combed his fingers through his black hair. His father, Orin Madai, always laughed at him whenever he mentioned how adult he was. “You’ll always be my little boy,” he would chuckle merrily. Javan would shake his head in quiet amusement. He loved his father, but the man had never been one for politics. He saw Javan’s ambitions as childish pastimes and nothing more. Someday he would show him. He’d make his father proud. He’d make Bail proud.
Another grin.
Bail Organa was a different person entirely. He openly welcomed Javan’s interest in the Senate, and was always available to talk to the young man about his ideals and positions. Perhaps it was because the viceroy and prince of Alderaan had never had a child of his own. Javan was sometimes more like the child Bail should have had, rather than merely the son of a cousin. And sometimes Javan found himself wondering what it would be like to have Bail as a father. He would have lived in the beautiful palace, instead of a lavish city mansion. He would have been addressed as “Prince” or something to that effect, and he would have grown up in Bail’s impressive shadow.
When truths like these occurred to Javan, he realized how fortunate he was to have been born a Madai with ties to the House of Organa. He was free to follow Bail’s path without feeling pressure to do so. It was an act of love – love for politics, love for the people, and love for his cousin – rather than an act of inherited duty. It didn’t matter that he was not Bail’s natural son. He was the senator’s protégé, his more-than-son. That was all that really mattered.
Javan sighed and looked up at the distant stars. Somewhere out there was a power-hungry man who fed off of the ignorance of billions upon billions of living, breathing beings. He twisted their fates around his finger as if they were delicate threads. He could twist more and more, and when one snapped, he would continue on without a care. And now he was trying to do that to Bail and to Alderaan. Javan didn’t know if there really where any Rebels on his beloved planet, but if there were, it was Palpatine’s own fault. The whole Rebellion was started because the greedy old man didn’t know when enough was enough.
Sometimes the young diplomat wished he could do more. Yes, he was a skilled politician, but certainly not one of the brilliant ones. He was in the beginnings of his career, and already he was twenty-three years old. Practically middle age when he considered such bright stars as Mon Mothma, Padmé Amidala, and Bail Organa himself. They had all started in politics before age twenty. Senator Amidala had been fourteen when she was elected Queen of Naboo! Javan shook his head. What could he possibly do for his people? Amidala had defeated the invaders of her planet, Bail had been a leader during the Clone Wars…what mark could Javan Madai leave?
Again, the young man sighed. With the look of a man who had gone in search of answers and found none, he turned away from the dark sky and ventured indoors, leaving his balcony in silence.
***
-----signature-----
Big Sis of Lady_Rae Veil of Shadows (OT AU, L/M) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/28500417 The Dark Fire Chronicles (OT AU) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/11960028 ANGST!
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
ViariSkywalker
Registered:
Aug '02
|
Date Posted:
6/12/03 11:26am
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - new post 6/12
|
uppers for my readers! 
-----signature-----
Big Sis of Lady_Rae Veil of Shadows (OT AU, L/M) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/28500417 The Dark Fire Chronicles (OT AU) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/11960028 ANGST!
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
tatooinewizard
Registered:
May '03
|
Date Posted:
6/12/03 1:05pm
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - new post 6/12
|
|
Short but good.
-----signature-----
Dolores Lennox--SMG I (The Murderer)
Fics in bio (The Legend of Black Saber--Winner for Best OC Story)
lordmaul13's partner in crime 
"I'm the man in the box"--AIC
There is no peace, only emotion
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Mystic_Ally
Registered:
Feb '03
|
Date Posted:
6/12/03 1:20pm
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - new post 6/12
|
|
hhhmmmm, that Javon sounds vedy vedy interesting. I also wonder whats in store for him!
-----signature-----
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Lady_Moonbeam
Registered:
Aug '02
|
Date Posted:
6/12/03 1:32pm
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - new post 6/12
|
I'm growing fond of Javan. I like his views on politics and his connections to Bail--very interesting. I hope he continues to appear.
I love some of the phrases you use:
Somewhere out there was a power-hungry man who fed off of the ignorance of billions upon billions of living, breathing beings. He twisted their fates around his finger as if they were delicate threads. He could twist more and more, and when one snapped, he would continue on without a care.
and
It was an act of love – love for politics, love for the people, and love for his cousin – rather than an act of inherited duty.
are my favorites.
-----signature-----
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
ViariSkywalker
Registered:
Aug '02
|
Date Posted:
6/12/03 4:33pm
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - new post 6/12
|
TW - yep, it was short...but I hope to more than make up for that with the next post or two.
Mystic - wait and see
Moon - I'm growing fond of Javan...I hope he continues to appear. Don't you worry about that...we'll be seeing lots of the young Alderaanian  And thank you for the lovely compliments on those two passages. You make me blush!  <-- see!
Haha...glad you're all enjoying this!
Next post coming up soon...hopefully tomorrow!
-----signature-----
Big Sis of Lady_Rae Veil of Shadows (OT AU, L/M) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/28500417 The Dark Fire Chronicles (OT AU) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/11960028 ANGST!
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
ViariSkywalker
Registered:
Aug '02
|
Date Posted:
6/13/03 11:13am
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - new post 6/12
- Date Edited:
4/27 10:30pm (7 edits total)
Edited By:
ViariSkywalker
|
This one's a little on the darker side.
***
Chapter Two cont.
Aidan Rennal was not the brightest man to walk the scum-infested lower level of Imperial Center, but he knew when he was being followed. That might have had more to do with instinct than intelligence – he had felt that someone was following him before he ever saw it with his eyes. Aidan chuckled softly. This snoop didn’t know what he was getting himself into. If he thought it was going to be a quick fight, he had another thing coming to him. Aidan might not have had the sharpest mind, but Force knew he was quite capable in other areas.
Oh yes, how the Force did know.
The spy grew braver as Aidan traveled further into the criminal underbelly of what had once been Coruscant. He pulled his cloak tighter around his body as he passed several pairs of hands reaching out from the garbage piles. It was disgusting really. Aidan charged through the crowd, ignoring their futile pleas. He had one purpose for being down here, and one purpose alone. A mere spy would not stop him.
Taking a right turn he approached a dead end. Looking about, he saw that the spy was gone. No. Not gone. Just hiding. He closed his eyes and reached out mentally. There! A crashed speeder provided cover for the spy. You don’t know who you’re dealing with. Aidan smirked in the dim light and headed for small door in the building to his left. Placing his hands on the steel surface he saw the lock on the other side clicking softly, saw it settling in the correct notches, saw the door open with a groan. Opening his eyes, he saw the shadowy hall revealed, and smiling slightly, he stepped through the door.
Without bothering to close the door behind him, Aidan strode silently down the poorly lit corridor. He knew his predator would follow him into the murky darkness. Or rather, his prey. When he reached a junction where the lights failed completely, Aidan stepped off to the left and flattened himself against the wall. He didn’t need the light.
The man crept quietly past Aidan, apparently hesitant to continue without the lights. Aidan heard him stop and begin to backtrack. Suddenly and without warning, the man pulled out a blaster and pointed it at Aidan. “Don’t move,” he hissed, leveling the weapon at Aidan’s chest.
The stunned young man regained his calm. “You don’t have a chance.”
“Shut up and keep still. I’ve got the blaster.”
In half a heartbeat the blaster was ripped from the would-be-assassin’s hands and flew into Aidan’s palm. “Wrong,” he whispered ruthlessly. Without hesitating, he shot the man in the legs.
Screaming out in agony, the assassin fell to the floor. Aidan dragged him further down the corridor, where he could better see the man who had tried to kill him. He was about the same build as Aidan, with a blue bandana wrapped around his curly blonde hair. He looked to be about twenty-five, a little younger than Aidan. Pitiful.
“Who sent you,” Aidan growled, getting the most obvious and important question out of the way.
The assassin gritted his teeth. “Go to hell.”
Not quite the answer he was looking for. He pulled out a vibroblade that had been concealed beneath his cloak. “I’ll only ask once more.” The blade hummed as it came closer to the wounded man’s throat. “I must tell you, I really don’t appreciate it when people try to steal my jobs.”
The man stared up at Aidan hatefully, sucking in a deep breath. “Go…to…hell.”
A devilish grin played across Aidan’s fiery features. “I plan on it.” Tucking his blade under his cloak, he again pulled out the blaster and promptly shot the man between the eyes. Too bad he couldn’t get any information out of the little parasite. It would have been useful to know who was trying to get in on his business. An assassin was never safe.
No. That was not true. An assassin was safe when the Force was his ally. Aidan glanced down at the lifeless body. An assassin was never given a moment of peace, that was all. Not that Aidan minded much. After all, he was the best.
***
The throne room was dark, as usual. That was the way Emperor Palpatine liked it. So much easier to immerse himself completely in the dark side when the room was equally dark. He relished in the grim shadow that he cast, and he delighted in the power he felt when he sat upon his throne. It was all quite fitting, he mused to himself.
On his throne, the Emperor laughed inwardly. He was watching three small holovids, all of a trashy alley in the lower levels. In one of the holovids, a red-haired man in black clothes opened a locked door without apparent effort. Moments later, a brash young blonde man clutching a blaster followed him inside. The second holovid showed the red-haired man leaving quietly, a wicked smirk flashing across his face. The third showed two big men hauling out the body of the blonde and tossing it onto a pile of trash nearby.
Turning back to the second holovid, the Emperor rewound and stopped at the point where the redhead was in clear view. “So,” he murmured softly, “this is the man who killed the Hutt crime lord.”
“Yes, Your Excellency. Surna the Hutt.” The man in front of the throne looked up from the floor, remaining in a kneeling position.
“Interesting. He also eliminated a competitor.” The Emperor stared at the holovid with some fascination. “Find him. Have him brought to me.”
“Excellency, he seems to possess strange powers…” the man trailed off, unsure of how to continue.
“Mara,” the Emperor barked. Out of the shadows behind the throne appeared a young, fiery-haired girl. Her bright green eyes flashed in the dim light of the holovids.
“Yes, my master?” Her voice was confident and unafraid.
“You are to assist Captain Cryger in bringing in this assassin. This will be a test of your skills so far. Do not fail me.”
Bowing her head, the girl responded without hesitation. “It will be done as you command, my master.”
“Leave me, and return when it is completed.”
The girl and the captain bowed, the girl perhaps not so much as the man, and then they departed from the Emperor’s chilling presence.
***
Told you. 
-----signature-----
Big Sis of Lady_Rae Veil of Shadows (OT AU, L/M) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/28500417 The Dark Fire Chronicles (OT AU) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/11960028 ANGST!
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
tatooinewizard
Registered:
May '03
|
Date Posted:
6/13/03 12:04pm
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - update 6/13
|
|
That was great! I enjoyed myself anyway. I'm curious about what will happen to Aidan now.
-----signature-----
Dolores Lennox--SMG I (The Murderer)
Fics in bio (The Legend of Black Saber--Winner for Best OC Story)
lordmaul13's partner in crime
"I'm the man in the box"--AIC
There is no peace, only emotion
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
ViariSkywalker
Registered:
Aug '02
|
Date Posted:
6/13/03 4:50pm
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - update 6/13
|
Glad you enjoyed it! I wondered if it would be too dark, but hey...if there were no villains, there'd be no story. 
-----signature-----
Big Sis of Lady_Rae Veil of Shadows (OT AU, L/M) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/28500417 The Dark Fire Chronicles (OT AU) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/11960028 ANGST!
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
ViariSkywalker
Registered:
Aug '02
|
Date Posted:
6/13/03 6:21pm
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - ANOTHER update 6/13
- Date Edited:
4/27 10:31pm (6 edits total)
Edited By:
ViariSkywalker
|
Chapter Two cont.
The training room in Darth Vader’s personal quarters was alight with brilliant color and silent save for the hum and clash of weapons. If anyone were to see Leia Naberrie at that moment, they would have had trouble believing she was a princess.
They would have thought her a fierce warrior instead.
She cartwheeled with one hand, grasping her lightsaber in the other as she dodged her father’s swift kick. He was agile for a man of forty-two, and still incredibly powerful. Age, it seemed, had only increased his strength. In his youth he had been a formidable opponent – Leia had heard stories of the Jedi Purge, and she shuddered at the thought of meeting her father in any such duel. But now he was no longer formidable. He was unstoppable. Which was why he was training her to be able to defeat him.
Leia crouched low to the ground, then sprang into the air, flipping over his head while blocking his attack. Red blade met blue as she landed behind him. He shoved her hard with the Force, knocking her backwards onto the ground. Thrusting her lightsaber up to meet his, she rolled away and jumped to her feet. They circled one another, father and daughter, Vader holding his lightsaber over his head, Leia holding hers out in front of her, letting it sway back and forth. It cast its blue light across her damp face as she exhaled.
“Good.” Her father brought his lightsaber down and deactivated it. Leia watched warily, choosing to keep her weapon ready. Dry amusement flashed across her father’s face. “Leia?”
The princess’s stony countenance melted into a grin. “It is unwise to lower your defenses,” she mimicked.
Vader smirked, his eyes shining with a humored light. “You remembered. Very good.”
Leia deactivated her lightsaber and bowed to her father. He returned her bow with a slight bend at the waist, a sign of superiority. Her father was always the honorable warrior. He would rather face an enemy in physical combat than destroy them through lies and deceit. But certain things had to be done. That’s what he always told her anyway.
Stray thoughts like those always led her toward numerous questions. Questions that were normally left unanswered, if her father had anything to say about it. Thinking of honor, she wondered if her father had behaved honorably during the Purges. She didn’t know much about them, having been only a newborn when they began. Most of the information on them was wiped off of the records, just like the Jedi themselves. What little else remained were the memories of the older generation. Her father’s generation.
“Father?” Leia hooked her saber on her belt and wiped sweat off of her forehead. Her brown eyes were wide with curiosity. “Why do you train me?”
The man looked suddenly older and inexplicably darker. “You know why I am training you. Don’t ask questions needlessly, daughter.”
Any other person would have cowered in fear and begged forgiveness for their blatant stupidity. Not Leia. She was stubborn in a way that even she did not fully understand. It was an attribute that her father did not possess in so great an amount, so she could only assume it came from her long-dead mother.
“Father, I know that you want me to become the next Sith apprentice.” It was true. Her father had told her that this was the entire purpose of the unique middle names that were given to her and Luke when they were born. Ember and Shade. It had been too early to determine which twin was most fit to be a Sith, so they’d both been given names that would be suitable. Leia sometimes wondered what had compelled her father to choose those particular names.
“Then what is it, daughter?” Vader asked impatiently. If there was one characteristic that truly described her father for the whole of his life, it would most likely be impatient. Luke had inherited that. Leia was stuck with being overly outspoken. Which was why she had trouble containing these questions when she was around her father.
“Father, ever since I can remember I’ve been told of my destiny. How someday I will be Darth Ember, how I’ll be not only the greatest apprentice ever to live, but I’ll be the daughter of the Sith Master.” Leia held out her fingers to count each memorized line. “Anger and hate are my allies. My skills with a lightsaber will someday be as renown as yours, and you will proudly say that I am of your blood.” Leia paused for a moment to let her words sink in, then continued. “But Father, there’s one thing that troubles me.”
“What is it, my child?”
Leia took a steadying breath. “My name.”
Vader stared at her silently, not a thought or emotion apparent on his face, nor in his presence. Leia met with only a hazy fog when she tried to reach his mind. It had always been so, as though something were hanging over her father, inhibiting his ability to reach out to others. “Your name?” he murmured, a hint of something odd in his voice. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it was, but she knew for certain that she had somehow affected him.
“Yes.” The look on Leia’s face was almost beseeching. “I don’t want to change my name when I’m a Sith. How can I be anyone but Leia? How can I give up my brother? If I change my name, I may still be your daughter, but what is there to show that I’m Luke’s sister?” She watched as Vader seemed to turn the thought over in his sharp mind. “I don’t want to be Lady Ember. I want to be Leia.”
“You can still be Leia. Nothing can change that.”
Leia eyed him quizzically. “Really? Are you sure?”
“Daughter, what nonsense do you speak?”
The princess stepped closer to her father. “I have never asked you this before, Father, but I want to know. What was your name?”
He staggered as if struck. “It is of no consequence.” He turned away, grabbing his black cloak.
“I want to know—”
“You will not know!” Vader roared, whirling on the young woman. She backed away in true fear. Never before had her father spoken to her so. She bit back tears.
“You gave me my mother’s name, but you don’t expect me to keep it!” She felt one drop slide down her cheek and cursed herself inwardly for crying in front of him. “If your name doesn’t matter, why should mine?” Now with more tears dripping freely down her face, she fled from the training room, heading for the sanctuary of her own quarters.
The last glimpse that she caught of her father was of him standing in silent, confused anger as his dark cloak fell to the floor.
***
-----signature-----
Big Sis of Lady_Rae Veil of Shadows (OT AU, L/M) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/28500417 The Dark Fire Chronicles (OT AU) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/11960028 ANGST!
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
tatooinewizard
Registered:
May '03
|
Date Posted:
6/13/03 6:44pm
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - ANOTHER update 6/13
|
|
I was just about to retire when I saw that you'd posted more, so I read it. Another good post, it keeps getting more interesting. I'm looking forward to the rest of this story.
-----signature-----
Dolores Lennox--SMG I (The Murderer)
Fics in bio (The Legend of Black Saber--Winner for Best OC Story)
lordmaul13's partner in crime
"I'm the man in the box"--AIC
There is no peace, only emotion
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Mystic_Ally
Registered:
Feb '03
|
Date Posted:
6/13/03 8:03pm
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - ANOTHER update 6/13
|
|
awesome post, Aiden! That Aiden sure is a cocky fellow, what was it that Luke said in the throne room? "Your over-confidence is your weakness"? I think it was that, well anyways, thats the first thing I thought when I read this. Yipee, Mara's on a mission! Its so cool how everything is coming together...
-----signature-----
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
Mystic_Ally
Registered:
Feb '03
|
Date Posted:
6/13/03 8:10pm
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - ANOTHER update 6/13
|
imagine my surprise when I saw that there was MORE!
Very cool training session, I like the part about Leia not wanting to change her name, very in character for both of them and it definitely struck a chord with Daddy Darth!
-----signature-----
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
ViariSkywalker
Registered:
Aug '02
|
Date Posted:
6/14/03 8:09am
Subject:
RE: The Dark Fire Chronicles (AU OT) - ANOTHER update 6/13
|
TW - glad to know that you caught this before leaving, and more will be up soon!
Mystic - thanks very much! Aidan was fun to write, as was the scene between Vader and Leia. I love Vader/twins moments! 
-----signature-----
Big Sis of Lady_Rae Veil of Shadows (OT AU, L/M) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/28500417 The Dark Fire Chronicles (OT AU) - http://boards.theforce.net/b/b1/11960028 ANGST!
|
|
|
Quote Reply |
Active Topic Notification |
Private Message |
Post History
|
