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Eluding What Will Come (AU fic updated July 28, 2006)
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Pallas-Athena
Title: TFN Fan Fiction Archive Editor
Registered:
Nov '00
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Date Posted:
9/18/04 4:48am
Subject:
Eluding What Will Come (AU fic updated July 28, 2006)
- Date Edited:
7/28/06 12:14am (22 edits total)
Edited By:
Pallas-Athena
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Cover by obaona.
Nominated for Readers' Choice Romance, Male Original Character (Daven), Female Original Character (Nyssa), Female Non-Jedi (Nyssa), and Author in the 2004 Winter Fan Fiction Awards
Title: Eluding What Will Come
Author: Pallas-Athena
Timeframe: post-RotS, purge Era
Characters: OCs, Darth Vader
Genre: romance, short story
Keywords: OCs
Summary: A bounty hunter falls in love with her Jedi prey on the eve of his confrontation with Vader.
Notes: Written in very late response to the Purge Challenge.
Here I am with a little ficlet  I wasn't going to write on anything besides my current fic, but Amidala_Skywalker struck a deal with me that we both would write on the purge challenge. Well, two months later and she hasn't a page and I've got more than fifty! 
And thanks to both Amsie and Fate for their words of encouragement and betaing 
So, I hope you all like ... 
***
"You cannot run forever, Jedi!" The voice would have been lost to the winds had its owner not been yelling. "Stop!"
The man had clearly heard the order, but he decided to leap up to the meter-high durasteel guidance rail before facing his purser. The fierce night air blew a chill into his robes and through his tunics, but he did not shiver - he had long since trained his body not to react to such things. He pulled his outer robes aside and reached for the lightsaber hanging on his left hip. He did not ignite it, however. In fact, he didn't even bother to lift it off his belt.
He crouched on the narrow railing, grabbing onto the bar with his free hand for support. His stare and pose resembled a Binarian sabercat ready for the kill more than a human facing an attacker. He stilled and waited for the bounty hunter to strike.
The hunter stood a few meters away with her blaster raised and pointed at his chest. She steadied her hand for the shot against the gusts of air, but did not fire.
"Aren't you going to shoot me, Nyssa?" he asked in a low, growling tone. He was baiting her to assault first and she knew it.
It was a familiar routine: the end of the chase, which would lead to a showdown between the two. Nyssa would fire; Daven would block the bolts with his lightsaber. Sometimes he would even reflect them back to their originator, causing Nyssa to duck for cover from her own firepower. She had worn a person energy shield after their first few encounters, but, even if the blasts couldn't rend her flesh, they caused a dense plume of smoke after making contact with the shield. Nyssa would soon lose sight of her prey and Daven would disappear.
But she had never had him cornered quite so well before. His only two options were his surrender and execution or the two hundred-meter drop and the instant death that waited at its bottom.
He could resist his fate and fight her like he always did, but Nyssa had the feeling that even a Jedi couldn't keep his balance on that five centimeter-thick bar upon which he was currently perched.
"Give it up, Daven. There is no way out this time," she told him. She was yet unaware that her dark blonde hair had fallen out of its topknot and was currently waving around her face in a harsh dance with the wind. "I can make your death quick and relatively painless. Vader won't be so kind."
Nyssa did not bother to elaborate on her reference to the famed Sith. The cloaked and masked man had appeared at Palpatine's side the day the former Chancellor had announced himself as the Emperor of the New Order. Palpatine had called this black creature - who resembled a twisted and evil droid more than a man - his apprentice and servant. He then proceeded to place a bounty on every head in the Jedi Order, even the children and non-Jedi that were believed to have Force potential. Dead or alive, Palpatine offered the same reward - two hundred thousand credits per clearly identifiable head.
There were rumors that the Jedi the bounty hunters failed to collect became the special targets of Lord Vader himself and that Dark Lord was as brutal as he looked. Sometimes his Jedi opponent would fall in to him merciful combat. Those that he managed to capture, however, were tortured to death or worse - made to renounce the Jedi before their slow deaths.
Daven smirked at Nyssa, a look that betrayed his youth. His auburn hair was also flying freely in the extreme breeze. It had grown longer, Nyssa noticed, since she had managed to hunt him down last.
"There is always a way out, beautiful," he declared. He removed his left hand from the hilt of his lightsaber and released his right from the railing, standing up as he did so. "See you around." With that, he took a single step back and fell.
"Daven!" Nyssa cried as she lost sight of him. She heard no scream or even the thump of a body hitting earth as she dashed towards the edge of the building and leaned over the railing. She looked down, feverishly hunting for his corpse, but found nothing, not even the shadow of his retreating form.
Not that she was surprised - she should have expected Daven to have some sort of Jedi trick left to play. He had never once led her anywhere on one of their many chases without having a plan of escape.
"Damn," she said in an almost dutiful admittance of failure. She tapped the metal railing with her finger in frustration before turning away. She would catch him eventually - no, soon - she told herself smugly. He couldn't evade her forever. There would be a day when she would gladly present his head, still wearing that infuriating smirk, to the Emperor.
And she would finally win.
Why, then, did she panic when she saw Daven jump?
***
Because you wanted to kill him yourself, Nyssa continued to tell herself as she sipped down the last remnants of her drink. She had lost track of time as she sat in the dank and gloomy cantina, drinking away her self-loathing.
How many times had she come so close to catching that Jedi, only to have him and his bounty slip through her fingers? She had lost count. She remembered the first time she had seen the impressively long list of contracts posted at the local bounty office on Nal Hutta. The rewards offered were phenomenal - one catch would make for an early retirement, two would make for an extraordinarily comfortable early retirement. She had picked his name off the list at random, Daven Staver. The name looked boring, average, and woefully mediocre on its perch near the bottom of the list of mythically powerful beings - an easy catch.
That was two years ago. Since the day Nyssa had taken up Daven's contract she had pursued him from one end of the galaxy to the other: from the streets of downtown Aldera to a snow filled bank on Hapes. She even added the untamed wilds of Kashyyyk to her itinerary after the stowaway Jedi had boarded a slaving vessel.
As he escaped her time after time, she began to wonder if the prize was really worth the trouble or if the thrill of the hunt had simply taken over her motivations completely.
"Buy the wanderer a drink?" a calm but weathered male voice asked, breaking into Nyssa's thoughts.
She looked up sharply, recognizing the voice immediately. Its owner was also easily recognizable, even if he had changed clothes to blend in with the local cantina patrons. Apparently, Daven had traded what was left of his Jedi robes for a discreet pair of brown trousers and a black dewback hide jacket. If his lightsaber still hung at his side, Nyssa couldn't spot it.
His light blue eyes glistened slightly, acknowledging her surprise, as he sat down in the vacant chair across from her. He ran a hand through his hair, adjusting a few rebellious red strands.
"You have a lot of nerve, Jedi," Nyssa hissed, trying to sound irritated at his intrusion. She was secretly pleased that he was sitting in front of her, but she wasn't ready to admit the feeling even to herself. "What's to say I wouldn't blast you into tiny pieces now that you're in my sights?" She smiled coldly and narrowed her eyes as the misty green of her irises flashed.
"Oh," - he raised his eyebrows at the question - "the energy prohibitors the barkeep so graciously installed to reduce the fighting. Don't tell me you didn't notice that little cannon of yours fall down to minimum power."
She gave a low growl in response and quickly looked down to her belt to find that, indeed, her blaster's charge was flashing blue. Her eyes flickered back up to him, giving him a sour expression. She hefted her glass and filled her mouth with the last drops of bitter alcohol.
"You'll be happy to know that such prohibitors don't affect lightsabers, though," Daven continued brightly, watching her as she finished drinking. "So you really shouldn't try anything." It should've been a threat, but he spoke so carelessly that Nyssa could have easily thought he was suggesting what to order off the menu.
That was another of the many annoyances that were Daven Staver. Why did the man insist on being so pleasant, chipper, and positive? She had always heard that Jedi were stoic and calm, never letting their masks of solidity crumble. But there was Daven, telling jokes in the middle of combat, calling her "beautiful" whenever she came close enough to kill him.
It was as if he toyed with her, as if his bounty was some sort of game. He could have ended her life on so many occasions, yet he decided to keep the chase going.
"Why don't you just kill me, then?" she asked suddenly, catching Daven off guard. "You are armed and I am not. Kill me and end your trouble." She could feel her face grow hot. Daven's dive off the roof was yet another, no matter how small, indication of his true power. She had heard of Vader choking men to death without even touching them, and she had little doubt that Daven could do the same.
For years Nyssa had believed that the chase had been just as much a test of his skill as it had been for hers. Now she was not so sure. Daven's amused grin and head cocked to the side wasn't helping her feel any better.
"End my trouble?" he repeated. He shook his head after a moment's pause. "I'm afraid it would not be so easy. Rumor has it that you are one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy. All those assassinated separatist leaders and annihilated rebel cells and, oh, let's not forget the many, many dead Hutt minions make for a very impressive resume, if I say so myself." He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. His eyes narrowed judgmentally and his hardened features were in sharp contrast to the cheeriness of his voice.
"And?" Nyssa grumbled. Daven, despite his sense of humor, had still managed to assert the Jedi "holier than thou" trait, as she liked to call it.
"Why have a horde of lesser bounty hunters chasing after me when I could stick with just the one good one?" he stated rhetorically, nearly singing the words. "With you on the prowl after me, why would anyone else bother? I thought Vader might even forget about me, even if just for a little while."
"I get it," she nodded, displeased. "I'm your shield." She didn't bother to hide her annoyance.
"More or less," he shrugged nonchalantly.
"I hate you, Jedi."
"I know," he smiled triumphantly. "But I like you." His tone became suddenly sober, and he stared sadly at her empty glass. "Although our encounters have not always been - enjoyable - it was nice to have somebody there. A constant in my life of inconstancies, if you will."
"I don't understand. Why are you telling me this?" the bounty hunter tried to look stern, cruel even, but his dejected sigh caused her to worry. What had happened to the fearless warrior she had fought so many times?
"Vader is coming for me," he told her softly, almost in whisper. "You've taken too long, I think. I could not evade notice forever."
"Vader? How do you know?" Nyssa tried to hide her fear of the Dark Lord. True, she was not his target, but, if she got in his way, she could very well be killed. She had heard that he even murdered his subordinates when he was merely displeased. She could only imagine how he would treat a failed bounty hunter.
"I've sensed him," Daven said. He seemed unfocused, dreamy even. "He's here now, you know, on Corellia."
Nyssa allowed herself a sharp sigh. "You're going to fight him?"
"Do I have a choice?" he asked, misleadingly chipper. His empty smile, however, clearly showed his grief. "In truth, I had a nice little corner in the cargo hold of a ship bound for Manaan in the morning. I was going to slip out while you were in a drunken stupor."
She gritted her teeth at the comment. He had called her a "barbarian lush" on more than occasion and each time she returned it with "sexless drone." She certainly could have thought of some comeback in this instance, but his seriousness humbled her.
He smirked sadly at her annoyance.
"I came because I wanted to say goodbye," he looked at her, staring directly into her eyes. "I don't think I'll see you again, Nyssa. Take care of yourself, bounty hunter."
She nodded, trying not to let the sorrow overwhelm her; it was, at all, only a lost two hundred thousand, wasn't it?
"You too, Jedi," was all she found herself able to say. He nodded and gave her a small, mock salute before standing up silently and leaving her.
Leaving her alone. She watched him walk away from her corner booth, and she wished for another drink.
Say goodbye to your comfy retirement. The words echoed in the back of her mind. Well, fine, the thought was there - in there, somewhere - definitely, but it wasn't predominant. Actually, she doubted it would ever surface.
Say goodbye to Daven.
Her heart jumped up in her chest and did a small flip, causing her to come to a rather bizarre conclusion.
"Daven! Wait!" she shouted, but he was already out the door and out of earshot.
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VadersMistress
Registered:
Apr '04
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Date Posted:
9/18/04 10:49am
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella
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Say goodbye to your comfy retirement. The words echoed in the back of her mind. Well, fine, the thought was there – in there, somewhere – definitely, but it wasn't predominant. Actually, she doubted it would ever surface.
Say goodbye to Daven.
**Tear**
ARGH! I wish I had time to read all of this post, but I am forced to skim it. I am so sorry. But, I will tell you that from what I have read, it is amazing. You are doing a great job. I will not lie and say that I am the best about coming back and leaving feedback, but I do read them!!! But, if you PM I wil make sure that I leave feedback. I hope that doesn't put you out too much. Again, GREAT JOB!!!
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And what it all comes down to is that I haven't got it figured out just yet.
Would I rather be feared or loved? Um... Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.
Persia pwns your face.
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Lonewolf89
Registered:
Sep '01
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Date Posted:
9/18/04 8:11pm
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella
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Very good job, Pallas-Athena! Your OCs are great! Only one post and I already love them. 
Daven is really good. I enjoyed his banter with Nyssa, and his personality is interesting, especially consider the fact that he's a Jedi.
I also liked Nyssa's character. It was fun watching her feelings for Daven conflict with her need to do her job.
True, she was not his target, but, if she got in his way, she could very well be killed. She had heard that he even murdered his subordinates when he was merely displeased. She could only imagine how he would treat a failed bounty hunter.
This was a very good addition to the story because it gives them a common enemy.
I'm looking forward to reading more!
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Nom Anor: I witnessed the death of perhaps the greatest of them all, the one called Anakin Solo.
Anakin Solo: You want me to move? Come on and move me!
Jacen: Count on Anakin to be the last Human to get out of Duro space alive.
Member of the FADA & ATF
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Pallas-Athena
Title: TFN Fan Fiction Archive Editor
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Date Posted:
9/20/04 8:54pm
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella
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VadersMistress: I wish I had time to read all of this post, but I am forced to skim it. I am so sorry.
Oh, that's okay! Thanks for replying all the same. It means a lot because OC stories are so unpopular
But, I will tell you that from what I have read, it is amazing. You are doing a great job.
Thanks! 
But, if you PM I wil make sure that I leave feedback.
PM, okay got it
I hope that doesn't put you out too much.
Much, much better than getting no feedback at all  That's really scary
Lonewolf89: Very good job, Pallas-Athena! Your OCs are great! Only one post and I already love them.
Great, yay! These are my first non-villian, main character OCs, so of course I'm worried about them being Stu/Sue-ish, but I like them. I think they're fun, without being perfect people.
Daven is really good. I enjoyed his banter with Nyssa, and his personality is interesting, especially consider the fact that he's a Jedi.
Stoic, calm Jedi are boring  Just because you don't join the dark side doesn't mean you can't have a personality. In fact, I think it's the only thing that kept him sane.
I also liked Nyssa's character. It was fun watching her feelings for Daven conflict with her need to do her job.
Yeah, feelings are as a bad for a bounty hunter as they are for a Jedi, methinks
This was a very good addition to the story because it gives them a common enemy.
Vader is uber scary
I'm looking forward to reading more!
Yay! 
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Fate
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Date Posted:
9/25/04 1:09pm
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella
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*dashes in breathlessly* I'm here! I read it!
This is an amazing beginning to what I know will be an amazing story. And I really don't know why it's on page five.  Probably the OC 'thing' or something to that effect.
Anyway, I love it, and I want you to post more.  This was my favorite part:
She gritted her teeth at the comment. He had called her a ‘barbarian lush’ on more than occasion and each time she returned it with ‘sexless drone.’
I like her.  *smirks* And I'm adding this to my index. 
I hope you post more soon, Atty. 
For freedom. For justice. Viva la Rebellion.
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"Lord Sidious promised us a reward! A-a handsome reward!" "I am your reward. You don't find me handsome?" - ROTS WARNING: Only misery lies beyond this link. http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/20040924 Destiné, Handmaiden of the Crest.
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obaona
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Date Posted:
9/25/04 4:16pm
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RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella
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I really like this. You have two very engaging characters here, and I can't wait to see what happens. And then Vader, the purges . . .  Your Jedi is very Jedi, you know. I can see a Jedi being that way - they're not mindless robots of serenity, and you show that. And I like the bounty hunter. I like the whole thing. I just like it.
Good job!
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atty is the bestest! MS Word is designed by sadists with masochists in mind. - teh atty
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Pallas-Athena
Title: TFN Fan Fiction Archive Editor
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Date Posted:
9/26/04 11:23pm
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella
- Date Edited:
9/27/04 8:16am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Pallas-Athena
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Fate: *dashes in breathlessly* I'm here! I read it!
YAY! I knew you would!
This is an amazing beginning to what I know will be an amazing story.
Thanks! I hope it will be 
Probably the OC 'thing' or something to that effect.
Yeah, it's the OC effect! People just don't like them. My poor babies *pouts*
Anyway, I love it, and I want you to post more.
Yay! I will
And I'm adding this to my index.
Okay Nyssa is definately part of the underworld. I think Daven would deny his ablity to hang around such an element, though ... at least right now
oba: I really like this. You have two very engaging characters here, and I can't wait to see what happens.
Thanks! *does happy dance*
Your Jedi is very Jedi, you know. I can see a Jedi being that way - they're not mindless robots of serenity, and you show that.
Thanks. Yeah, what's the fun in serenity? I think if you wandered about the galaxy not feeling anything for anybody you'd be pretty insane by the time you reached Daven's age. It's human nature 
And I like the bounty hunter. I like the whole thing. I just like it.
Thanks, oba *dons happy hat*
***
The night breeze greeted Daven as he walked through the back ways of Coronet’s Blue Sector. The winds were much calmer and more pleasant than they had been atop the skyscraper; they were not quite warm, but a small comfort to a doomed man all the same.
Vader’s presence loomed ever closer, but Daven wasn’t heading directly towards the Sith Lord. Instead, he walked through a narrow alley and remembered the last time he had set foot on this planet. He was a fifteen year-old Padawan, proud to be at his Master’s side as the elder Jedi shared with his pupil the wisdom he had gathered regarding the world of Corellia. His Master probably hadn’t realized then that the advice he had given Daven would come to save the boy’s life a decade later.
Master Jedi Farani had not lived to see the galaxy’s plunge into darkness – he had died only a year after Daven had completed his trials. The young Knight was partly grateful for this – the noble Jedi would never be forced to watch the extinction of his people or be hunted to the death – but Daven missed his guidance terribly. It was in times like these, as he strolled alone along familiar paths that reminded him of happier days, that he ached for his mentor the most. The Jedi were dying, more and more frequently each day, and Daven could often feel their souls become one with the Force in peaceful, eternal rest.
Leaving him alone; one of the last of a fading race. His moments spent with Nyssa had lessened the pain, to his surprise, and she had somehow managed to become a welcome detraction. She was still a challenge, even if their skills were not on par, but he should have known that their galactic gallivanting wasn’t going to last forever.
He had assumed that she would get the best of him eventually; after all, he was out gunned, out equipped, and out shipped easily by the bounty hunter. Daven just didn’t want to quit so soon. He had seen so little of the galaxy, so little of life.
And now Vader was going to kill him. He could only hope that it would be a quick death, because he knew that there was no way he could best the Sith Lord as far greater Masters had fallen under his blade. Perhaps he could fight honorably and die with dignity.
A small chirp from the ground in front of him caused Daven to pause both mentally and physically. He squatted down to behold a baby kathmouse lying in his path, curled into a tiny, furry ball. It couldn’t have weighed much more than a dozen grams. Daven guessed that it was probably about five centimeters long. Its grey fur shook in fear at the human’s massive foot.
“I’m not going to hurt you, little guy,” Daven whispered, putting the Force behind his words. The mouse looked up slowly, and stared at the Jedi with curious black eyes. His terror forgotten, he ran away, disappearing into a dark corner.
“Be like the kathmouse,” his Master had once said when Daven had first encountered the little mammals. “They are quiet, peaceful and unobtrusive. They take what they need to live and nothing more. They only fight others when there is no place to run and no other options left.”
“That is cowardly,” Daven had commented.
“No, that is intelligent,” his teacher had corrected. “What sort of Jedi Knight will you be if you are always running into fights that you cannot possibly win? Ha! A dead Jedi Knight, I think!”
Daven had been embarrassed at the time of the conversation, but now he looked back on it fondly. He had taken his Master’s suggestions to heart and had, for the most part, played the role of a kathmouse over the last two and half years. He fought only when needed and ran when he could.
Not very noble, no, but what good was he dead?
He made the decision then. He was going to avoid Vader and try to make it to the shipping yard for that morning departure. Yes, he was going to run yet again, but this time he was going to run straight to the rebellion.
He stood and brushed his trousers off, feeling for the Dark Lord as he did so. When he sensed the ominous presence, he headed in the opposite direction.
A half an hour of jogging through alleys, jumping over fences, and blending in with crowds in the more populous sectors led him ever close to the docking yard. But Vader must have been aware of his dodging because the Sith still remained a dark cloud hovering in his mind.
Great, he was just going to have to be chased around the docks in circles all night.
“You are by far the most spineless Jedi I have ever had the displeasure of meeting,” the mechanical voice hissed a few meters behind him.
Daven stopped and swallowed harshly. His fear, a most basic instinct, threatened to bubble to the surface and overtake his body. He called upon the Force, nearly begging it to calm him, before he turned around to greet his purser.
The Sith Lord was exactly as expected – cloaked entirely in black, dark cape flowing behind him. His breath mask was formed into a menacing, droid-like shape, with two red eye screens peering out. A group of flashing lights on Vader’s chest clearly marked out a life support system, and Daven couldn’t fathom how a thing like the Sith could have received enough injuries to warrant it.
“Spineless?” he asked, amazed at how steady he managed to keep himself. “I prefer ‘cowardly’ or even ‘pathetic,’ since I do take great pride in the curvature of my back. ‘Sexless drone’ works well, too, but that’s not really a very appropriate in this case. Well, what, with your suit and all … it probably applies more to you than me, you know? Ah, no offence …”
His smirk was victorious as Vader continued to stand and stare numbly at him. Daven would have had Nyssa raving and attacking with that nasty little vibroblade she kept hidden in her right boot, but Vader didn’t twitch. For several minutes the two just stood motionlessly.
Daven didn’t bother to ignite his saber or make the first move; it wasn’t in his character to be aggressive. Let Vader strike, he would defend.
“You are unwise,” Vader finally spoke coldly. “You come before me and make jest, leaving your defenses lowered. You certainly will pay for your stupidity.”
Daven shrugged. “Better late than never.”
At that, Vader lit his saber and ran towards Daven, using the Force to propel his mass even faster. Daven gripped his weapon and powered it up mere milliseconds before the Sith’s blade came crashing down upon him.
Amber met with crimson, causing bright, multicolored sparks to fly chaotically through the night sky.
Vader was strong, unnaturally so even for his height and size, and Daven found himself being progressively pushed back. The Sith was quick despite the heavy suit and constricting mask, and Daven soon understood exactly why the Dark Lord had taken so many Jedi.
He blocked and parried Vader’s blows as best he could. Vader appeared to strike almost randomly – a jab to his mid side there, a swipe from the left here – but his confusing motions had a natural grace and order that showed that the Sith did indeed act with forethought.
His swings were wide and offensive rather than the defensive stances Daven practiced making it appear as though Vader was being driven by the characteristic rage of the Dark Side. Perhaps Daven could use the Sith’s rashness to his advantage.
He relaxed his mind, calling on the Light Side to give his muscles the extra strength he needed to push Vader back and allow himself some breathing room. The Force filled his body, dulling his sharp aches and clearing his perception.
He struck forward with all the vigor he could put forth, causing Vader to take a few measured steps back. Daven’s blows were short and tight as he kept his saber close to his body, leaving very little of his form exposed for the Sith to exploit.
“Are the rumors true?” Daven asked, puffing his words out as he drove his blade against Vader’s. When the Sith didn’t respond, the Jedi continued. “They say your parents abandoned you in a Naboo swamp, where two malfunctioning droidekas found you and raised you as their own.”
Daven had to pause in his narrative to block a few more aggressive attacks. Sweat dripped from his brow as Vader swung his lightsaber in a wide arch, attempting to decapitate his opponent. Daven moved back gracefully, allowing the blade to fly harmlessly by a few centimeters from his chest.
“They say that a Gungan scout found you,” he said through gasps of air, “and tried to take you back to civilization. But you … you believed that you were a droid, so … you built a droid suit to wear when you met the queen. They all thought you were crazy, but you could speak fluid astromech!” His smile was wide when he had finished recalling the humorous anecdote.
Vader said nothing in response.
“Nah, I didn’t think it was true.” Daven tried to sound courageous, even though he feared that the droideka joke would be his last. “Too bad. I was really hoping you could teach me how to beep the Corellian anthem. Wouldn’t that be gonzo?” He raised his amber blade and stiffened his two-handed grip on the hilt.
Vader attacked, aiming for the young Jedi’s midriff, but Daven saw the move coming and blocked with a graceful uppercut. These motions were followed by similar combat as each tried to wear the other out. Daven studied the Dark Lord and waited, planning his move.
Vader was clearly perturbed; he must have assumed that this Jedi would make for an easy fight. He was growing impatient as well. He struck loosely, aiming yet again for Daven’s head. The Jedi dodged the crimson blade, and saw his opening. He brought up his saber and sliced into Vader’s right underarm.
It should have been a lethal hit, but the Sith armor protected its owner. Daven’s blade still dug into Vader’s skin, if not as far as it should have, and the Dark Lord immediately let out a growl and vented his pain and rage through the Force.
The hate felt like a wave of murky water, throwing Daven off balance. He took a step back from the raving creature before him. Other emotions followed the hate – anger, pain, fear, jealousy.
The jealousy surprised him at first, but then, as he experienced the feeling deeper, wisps of images appeared before his mind’s eye. They were of him, actually, as a younger Padawan, towering over another’s view. His fiery auburn braid was looped over his ear, but he brushed it back with his hand dismissively as he clipped a practice saber onto his belt.
Daven had extended his hand to help the one that had fallen before him, but it was not taken. His pleasant smile faded, replaced by a blank look of confusion.
As he stared at Vader, he tried to match his own memories with what the Sith’s Force wave had shown him. Buried and often ignored, but they were there.
A lightsaber duel, only for practice, of course, in the Jedi Temple. He had won and he had been sixteen. He forced his own eyes to remember. His mental vision blurred, revealing an annoyed Padawan sprawled out on a black dueling mat.
The Padawan’s cold blue eyes were filled with equally cold hatred – a familiar hatred, actually, as Daven could literally see it swirling around Darth Vader.
The Jedi stared at his opponent, trying to clear the haze of his vision.
“Anakin? Anakin Skywalker?” The conclusion sounded foreign, wrong to his ears as he said it, but it was the truth all the same.
Vader had since recomposed himself and was ready to challenge Daven once more, but he stopped his prepared attack. The blood-red saber was lowered passively in front of its owner as the Sith Lord beheld the young Jedi.
Daven waited for Vader – Anakin? – to respond, to do or say something, but the masked man was motionless for several moments. Daven stood, watching him, too confused and surprised to strike.
“Anakin is dead,” he finally snarled. “As are you, Daven.”
“So that’s it, then?” Davan asked, not believing that the tall Jedi Knight with wavy dark blonde hair was the same being as the nightmare-borne creature that stood before him. “You betrayed us, your brothers?”
“You are not my brother,” Vader told him simply in a harsh, mechanical voice. To Daven’s utter astonishment, he disengaged the crimson saber and hooked it on his black belt.
Mesmerized and horrified, Daven could only stare at the Sith Lord’s hand as it rose up slowly to the level of his own chest.
A wind more powerful than those that blew across the iciest tundras of Hoth assailed him head on, and the hapless Knight was lifted off his feet. He sailed across the landing platform faster, or so he thought, that a speeder could have mustered. His fight was interrupted by his back’s collision with the hard stonewall of a watchtower. He slid down to the ground with an unceremonious thump.
He let out a small groan as he helplessly watched his lightsaber roll out of his hand and away from his reach. Undaunted, he attempted to stand, using his knees to support his hands as he rose. As soon as he did, Vader hit him again, and continued to do so until Daven could no longer return to his feet.
Cracked ribs, blood dripping from his nose, possible concussion … Daven was having trouble staying conscious. He felt more than saw Vader finally approach his bruised form.
“Useless like all the rest,” the Sith said, as if he were referring to a bad piece of nerf meat rather than a human being. Daven watched him through a swollen eye, trying to purge himself of the dark feelings for this man who had once been a Jedi. There is no passion; there is serenity.
“And now you will die.”
Daven felt the Force lifting him up to where his eyes were level with Vader’s mask. He struggled to fight the Dark Side’s physical hold, but his strength had long since vanished. He gasped in horror as the dark tendrils wrapped around his neck and began to squeeze like an invisible hand, choking him to death.
So much for the dying with dignity idea, Daven thought lazily as he felt himself slip away.
He felt his eyes close, probably for the last time, when the hold over his lungs was strangely released. There was a thunderous sound that caused Daven to return to consciousness.
His first thought was that noise ringing in his ears was merely some twisted hallucination, but his hard fall to the ground proved him wrong. The spots in his eyes faded to reveal Vader still looming above him, but blocking shots from a large blaster.
He looked up to recognize the hull of a very familiar ship looming just a few scant meters away – it was the Gray Star, Nyssa’s Nubian yacht; he had taken enough hits from its turrets to know that for a fact. Nyssa was only firing a Vader, though, leaving Daven completely unscathed. He stared at it, unable to believe or comprehend what could possibly be happening.
Was she helping him escape? Why?
When the ship’s hatch opened to give him entrance, Daven realized he didn’t have the time to answer that question.
Most likely Nyssa still wanted the bounty on his head, but that mattered very little to the half dead Jedi now. Nyssa would certainly be much less brutal with him than Vader, and he would get the final pleasure of denying that Sith his sadistic execution. A win-win situation.
He crawled and stumbled into the waiting ship as Vader continued to dodge fire. He collapsed ungracefully on the hard metal floor of an empty cargo hold and was lulled into a blissful unconsciousness by the sound of the starship entering hyperspace.
***
As much as Nyssa was compelled to vacate the pilot’s seat and run down to the cargo bay ramp, she knew that she had to make sure Vader and his minions wouldn’t be able to follow her trajectory. She had calculated a quick jump to a far point in the Corellian system, and, when the Gray Star emerged from hyperspace, she programmed the computer to take five random jumps, each of different lengths, across the Core systems and into the Middle Rim.
Satisfied that she had made a clean getaway, Nyssa removed her safety harness and proceeded down to the lower deck. She paused, however, right before entering the cargo hold.
Daven, from what she could see of the fight, was being completely pummeled to death. She could tell, even from her view in the cockpit, that he had been severely wounded. She had expected there to be a lightsaber fight; Daven on the losing side perhaps, yes, but nothing like what Vader was actually doing to him.
For all that she knew, Daven could have made into the security of her ship and then promptly died of his injuries. She could only hope that wasn’t the case.
She opened the inner airlock to find Daven lying motionless and face down. He was covered in blood, and a small pool of it had gathered around his head, sticking to her knees and hands as she sat next to him. She checked for a pulse, and was amazed when she heard a steady heartbeat. Despite the gore that was already there, it also appeared that he had stopped bleeding.
Nyssa allowed herself a sigh of relief as she half-dragged, half-carried Daven’s limp body into the ship’s small medical bay. Appearing to be of average height and build, Daven’s actual weight surprised her as she struggled to carry him in a position that was both comfortable for her and safe for him. She could only guess that the many acrobatics she had seen him perform were less about his control of the Force and more about the fine-tuning of his muscled body.
She pushed him up with a heavy thud onto the sick bed, noting for the first time the irony in the fact that she was going to use part of Daven’s bounty to purchase a repulsor lift and stretcher.
He groaned loudly as his body made hard contact with the bed, and his limbs twitched ever so slightly.
“Stop complaining, Jedi,” Nyssa grumbled as she wetted a sterile cloth to wipe the blood off his cuts. She applied the cloth to his face and he hissed in response.
“You are so ungrateful,” she continued angrily as she worked, clearing the dried blood away from his handsome features. “Here I am, risking my butt to save you and you can’t even wake up to say thank you! No, instead you grunt and groan and scoff at my meager med bay. But if you had just let me kill you like a good boy, we wouldn’t be in this mess! You wouldn’t be lying in my bay – my sick bay! – like a bloody goop pile and I wouldn’t be … I wouldn’t be …”
She slammed the rag against equipment table to vent her frustration. She knew the outburst wasn’t directed at the young man before her, but at herself, at her own feelings. She had never felt this way before; it just wasn’t like a bounty hunter.
“I wouldn’t be in love with you,” she finished softly, allowing the anger of her previous words to melt away. “Why are you doing this to me, Jedi? It must be some sort of horrible mind trick.” She fought the tears that so desperately wanted to surface as she cleaned the cloth for another sweep of his wounds.
She knew that, while Daven was prone to trick and mislead her pursuit when fighting for his life, he wouldn’t dare attempt to alter her emotions – he simply had, she believed, too much respect for her.
No, it was just his fiery hair that managed to produce streaks of gold when the sun was at a low angle, his blue eyes that reminded her of her homeworld’s sky on a perfect spring day, his face that showed compassion, strength, and humor all in one glance … she didn’t honestly know why she had denied it for so long.
She removed his clothing and, although she was indeed pleased with his physical conditioning, she left him bare only long enough to examine his injuries and apply bacta wherever she could. She then covered him with a warm blanket, and tried not to touch any sensitive wounds.
Building up more nerve than she thought necessary, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. It was hardly more than a little brush, but the sensation of the touch sent little ripples of exhilaration throughout her entire body.
“Sleep well, Jedi,” she said, trying to control her blushing cheeks as she turned to leave him to his slumber. “I hate you; you know that, right?”
She had a plan. She could most certainly convince Daven to stay with her and, perhaps, someday he would even feel the same way for her as she did for him.
***
Thanks to Amsie again for the beta
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obaona
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
9/26/04 11:35pm
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella
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Oooh. * story*
I liked the part with Vader - I mean, we all know he was this powerful monstrosity, and he killed a lot of Jedi, but you actually went into his fighting style, which I thought highly interesting. I hadn't thought of it like that, that kind of detail, or that thoroughly at all, and it was - interesting. And how he hunted the Jedi down, too, within the Force. Just ... hmm.
Daven's jokes, LMAO! I especially liked the anecdote about Vader and the swamps of Naboo. That was great. I was sitting here laughing, thinking how can I laugh when Daven's so near death? But you pulled it off. Brilliant.  And then his realization of who Vader really is - I hadn't thought of it before, but do you think Vader wouldn't have wanted the Jedi as a group to know Vader is him? Or that he was Anakin Skywalker, anyway *runs from mad Vader*.
Nyssa is great. You really show the individuality of both characters - they're not just a bunch of traits, either, but very real people in my mind. I've read few pro novels (SW or otherwise) that truly manage that in so little as you have here. Amazing. Can I steal your writing ability? But as I was saying (babbling), I really enjoyed Nyssa ranting at Daven as she tends to his wounds while he's semi-conscious. What a weird position for her to be in. Yes, she's in love with him, but it's not - gushy, certainly, or even insanely so, she just is.
I love it. Great job!
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atty is the bestest! MS Word is designed by sadists with masochists in mind. - teh atty
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DarthIshtar
Title: Former CR
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Date Posted:
9/27/04 12:17am
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RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella - Updated Sept. 27, 2004
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Eheeheeheeeeeeeeee...
Okay, I really like Daven and Nyssa. The whole thing about the Corellian national anthem was priceless, the medbay monologue better.
More, please!
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"I feel like a more down-to-earth Pink 5 when I'm writing Leah. Same attitude, less lip gloss." ~Me on how to get in the right mindset for Twilight fanfic.
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Amidala_Skywalker
Title: Manager Emeritus
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Jul '01
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Date Posted:
9/27/04 2:42am
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella - Updated Sept. 27, 2004
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*fawns, fawns, fawns*
*shrieks* I love this story! I love this story! Daven and Nyssa are so real. You know how quickly I got my hands on everything little piece of story you produced .
Readers, there is SO much more to come! Jayen should be beyond proud of this story and of her writing ability (I keep telling her!)
Now, let’s see if I can beta the next post ASAP .
Ams
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Thrawn McEwok
Title: TFN EU Staff
Registered:
May '00
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Date Posted:
9/27/04 3:04am
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella - Updated Sept. 27, 2004
- Date Edited:
9/27/04 3:05am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Thrawn McEwok
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P-A: Wow!!
Now that was good 'fic...
**is impressed**
Thanks to Ams for sending me this way...
- The Imperial Ewok
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A/T = OTP  "To write one Solo twin as an angstbunny, Master Skywalker, might be considered unfortunate. To write BOTH that way looks like carelessness."
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Pallas-Athena
Title: TFN Fan Fiction Archive Editor
Registered:
Nov '00
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Date Posted:
9/27/04 9:54pm
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella - Updated Sept. 27, 2004
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People are ... people have ... read and replied to my little story! I'm so happy! I love you all!
oba: I liked the part with Vader - I mean, we all know he was this powerful monstrosity, and he killed a lot of Jedi, but you actually went into his fighting style, which I thought highly interesting. I hadn't thought of it like that, that kind of detail, or that thoroughly at all, and it was - interesting.
Lightsaber fights are so hard to write. I'm sure I blabbled about this scene a number of times in stary thoughts Vader seems to make a lot of broad strokes in the OT, even holding his saber with one hand in ESB's duel, and seems overconfident more often than not. Think of what Obi-Wan could have done (if he had wanted to) when Vader aimed at his neck.
Daven's jokes, LMAO! I especially liked the anecdote about Vader and the swamps of Naboo. That was great. I was sitting here laughing, thinking how can I laugh when Daven's so near death?
I know I wanted to try to write a potentially dead serious scene broken up by one person's twisted humor. Daven is a true Jedi, I think, and, unlike Anakin, has learned to control his fear. And if you could use humor to your advantage by throwing your enemy off balance. Of course, it didn't work for Daven, apperantly
And then his realization of who Vader really is - I hadn't thought of it before, but do you think Vader wouldn't have wanted the Jedi as a group to know Vader is him? Or that he was Anakin Skywalker, anyway *runs from mad Vader*.
I don't know if he would have wanted everyone to know or not. *thinks* The potential to cause the Jedi even more pain by reminding them that they failed would probably be tempting to Mr. Dark Side. But the fact that Vader=Anakin is obviously not well known - Luke survives for 18 years with the name Skywalker and Anakin is still thought of highly amoung the rebel pilots in ANH. I think the Jedi that were personal friends of Anakin knew about him turning, but the word never spread to the other Jedi. There were like 10,000 Jedi at the Order's height and in a choatic time like the Clone Wars, information might not have reached all of them.
Nyssa is great. You really show the individuality of both characters - they're not just a bunch of traits, either, but very real people in my mind.
Well, you know about proper characterization from what I've seen People always say that making a good character is not making them perfect, but "give them character flaws." I think that's a silly way to see it  The best character is a three-dimensional person with likes, dislikes, a history, and reactions based on them. *gets off pedestal*
I've read few pro novels (SW or otherwise) that truly manage that in so little as you have here. Amazing. Can I steal your writing ability?
How am I suppose to respond to that? I don't think you need to steal mine, silly I'm still just glad they apperantly aren't Mary Sues. They are my first OCs. I haven't read a pro novel in so long. I ought to sometime
Yes, she's in love with him, but it's not - gushy, certainly, or even insanely so, she just is.
People that are not prone to gush probably won't even when they realize that they're in love. Nyssa isn't gushy, methinks She's more like "I love this guy, and, if he dies, I will be woefully miserable. So either save him or be unhappy." Still sweet in it's own right, but more real, I think.
I love it. Great job!
Aw. Thank you so much for replying Oba! I means so much to me!
Ish: I didn't know you were into OCs, Ish.
The whole thing about the Corellian national anthem was priceless, the medbay monologue better.
Two of my favorite parts I remember smirking, if not giggling while writing both.
Thanks a lot for replying, Ish
Amsie: AMSIE!
*shrieks* I love this story! I love this story! Daven and Nyssa are so real. You know how quickly I got my hands on everything little piece of story you produced.
Yep You know, hopefully, how much your encouragement helped me get this story to completion. We know that I wouldn't have started a purge fic if it hadn't been for you forcing me to plan out this bunny. And it wouldn't have gotten past page five if it weren't for your daily desire to read it. This is your story, Amsie, you know that, right?
Readers, there is SO much more to come! Jayen should be beyond proud of this story and of her writing ability (I keep telling her!)
Still not proud but glad major time that people are reading
Now, let’s see if I can beta the next post ASAP
No comment, only a smiley
McEwok: Thanks! *does happy dance*
And now, for your enjoyment, farm animals and a cup of coffee:
   
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Fate
Registered:
Apr '03
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Date Posted:
9/27/04 11:15pm
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella - Updated Sept. 27, 2004
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People are ... people have ... read and replied to my little story!
*snorts* I told you so. And it hasn't even been two weeks yet.
I loved it, of course - I actually loved this one even better than the last one. I loved the way you wrote Vader - it was flawlessly done. All too often people tend to slip into one of two traps - either painting him as some rabid demon or making him this weepy puddle of a man who knows not what he does, but is oh-so-very sorry for it. As amusing as those caricatures are, neither of them express what Lord Vader really is.
This is Lord Vader:
“You are unwise,” Vader finally spoke coldly. “You come before me and make jest, leaving your defenses lowered. You certainly will pay for your stupidity.”
*shudders* Again, flawlessly done.
That said, you had me cracking up throughout this whole thing, which was pretty ludicrous since I was also so afraid for Daven, I kept telling myself, "No, he can't die - this is a 50-page fic! We're only on page eight or something!"
But I couldn't help it. I laughed when he mentioned his great pride in the curvature of his back. I laughed when he started taunting Vader. Even the line I just mentioned about killed me, because it was so hilarious that Daven would be so absurd.
Moving on, I also loved how you wrote the scene where Nyssa realizes that she's in love. Again, it had me cracking up.
She applied the cloth to his face and he hissed in response.
“You are so ungrateful,” she continued angrily as she worked, clearing the dried blood away from his handsome features. “Here I am, risking my butt to save you and you can’t even wake up to say thank you! No, instead you grunt and groan and scoff at my meager med bay. But if you had just let me kill you like a good boy, we wouldn’t be in this mess! You wouldn’t be lying in my bay – my sick bay! – like a bloody goop pile and I wouldn’t be … I wouldn’t be …”
That's right, Nyssa - way to put the ungrateful sod in his place.
So basically and for the umpteenth time, I loved this story. I want more of this story. I hope Amsie'll be finished beta-ing the next part of this story soon, so I can read it. to both of you in the meantime, you for doing it, Atty, and Amsie for making you.
Oh, and Atty, when I got to your keyed-up livestock, I almost fell out of my chair.
For freedom. For justice. Viva la Rebellion.
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"Lord Sidious promised us a reward! A-a handsome reward!" "I am your reward. You don't find me handsome?" - ROTS WARNING: Only misery lies beyond this link. http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/20040924 Destiné, Handmaiden of the Crest.
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DarthIshtar
Title: Former CR
Registered:
Mar '01
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Date Posted:
9/28/04 12:46am
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella - Updated Sept. 27, 2004
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::Chin wobbles.:: I miss getting Fate reviews, because they're so fun. Pallas, until I came here, I did nothing but OCs and unconventional stories, like a woman Lusankya assassin, two Jedi who fall in love, the story of a few of the Endor pilots...
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Pallas-Athena
Title: TFN Fan Fiction Archive Editor
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Date Posted:
9/29/04 11:33pm
Subject:
RE: Eluding What Will Come - Jedi purge novella - Updated Sept. 27, 2004
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Fate: Oooooooooo, long reply! You're awesome, Desi
*snorts* I told you so. And it hasn't even been two weeks yet.
And I told me so, too. So I listen to myself less than I listen to you, even. I'm a strange person *shakes head* But I'm so glad that people are reading. You know that
All too often people tend to slip into one of two traps - either painting him as some rabid demon or making him this weepy puddle of a man who knows not what he does, but is oh-so-very sorry for it.
I know! Vader is a very nasty but efficient type of guy. Although he kills for very frivolous reasons, he still has reasons, you know? Even if Anakin had lived when he returned to the light side at the end of RotJ, he would, imho, be the type to say "yeah, okay, I made some really horrible mistakes and did awful things, but crying and begging for forgiveness won't help! I've got to start undoing some of the damage I've done."
*shudders* Again, flawlessly done.
Thank you, my dear!
That said, you had me cracking up throughout this whole thing, which was pretty ludicrous since I was also so afraid for Daven, I kept telling myself, "No, he can't die - this is a 50-page fic! We're only on page eight or something!"
Aha! I loved that that scene worked the way I wanted to. Of course Daven can't die yet! They haven't fallen in love with each other! They still need the kissies 
Even the line I just mentioned about killed me, because it was so hilarious that Daven would be so absurd.
That's right, Nyssa - way to put the ungrateful sod in his place.
He's an ... ingrate ...
to both of you in the meantime, you for doing it, Atty, and Amsie for making you.
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