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Topic:
The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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Terek_Deckard
Registered:
May '06
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Date Posted:
8/30/06 8:27am
Subject:
The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
- Date Edited:
9/26/06 8:24am (8 edits total)
Edited By:
Terek_Deckard
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Title: The Sandtrooper’s Story - Installment II
Author(s): Terek_Deckard
Timeframe: Just Pre-ANH through ANH
Characters: ANH Sandtroopers as they assemble and are deployed, Lord Vader, a foolish Senator, an old man, a boy and two droids, a Wookiee and his pilot friend
Genre: Action/Drama
Keywords: Sandtrooper, 501st Legion
Summary: The formation of a new Sandtrooper unit on Tatooine, and the events that unfold around our group.
Notes: This is written in the same vein as Shadows of the Empire. It’s Star Wars, from a B-Camera perspective, as seen by the Sandtroopers of the 104th Moisture Farm Patrol.
Disclaimer: I am just playing in George's Sarlacc Pit here. The obvious characters belong to him, the rest are of my making.
If you are just finding this, check out Installment I here:
http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=24597606&brd=10476&start=24621091
TIMEFRAME:(Immediately follows Installment I and the hasty exit of the Millenium Falcon from Mos Eisley Spaceport, docking Bay 94)
Falker paced back and forth across the floor of the open bay pit looking up at the melted metal pipes hanging from the smoking, sooty wall as he received the name of the departing ship from the port authority. The top rim of docking bay 94 had been blackened and burned by the main engines of the departing Millenium Falcon. He confirmed with the crews of the Star Destroyers Offender and Seether, that the ship in question had run from them, and escaped into hyperspace.
0600 and Rogue carried the lifeless body of Taka out of docking bay 94, leaving the corpses of Tyrell’s troops lying in the sand. There would be an inspection team here soon, but Taka deserved a better fate than to be picked apart in the official investigation process. Ddraig found a repulsor sled in the upper hallway and met them at the top of the stairs. The bloodied, broken body of their comrade was gently lowered to its surface. Everyone stood silent for a moment, staring down at what could easily have been any one of them. Without a word, the sled was slowly and reverently moved down the hallway, past a silent Garindan, toward the street.
Any thoughts Rogue and 0600 may have had about Taka buying his way out of prosecution alongside them for the Belliran V Massacre were now gone. In the darkness of our shuttle flight, he had said he thought they were dead in the med lab when he was released. Even if he had bargained his way out, he had now sacrificed his life for Rogue, repaying any debt he may have had . . . real or imagined. Felth walked behind a bit, and seemed to be somewhat preoccupied. 4120 fell back to see what was wrong. “Nothing . . . just going over what just happened . . . making sure I did what I should have.” 4120 reassured him, “I’m sure we all did the best we could, given the circumstances.”
Felth was going over the firefight in his head, glad that no one in the group had seen him shoot his own squad leader in the back. It had been a gut-wrenching decision, made in a millisecond, and one that had absolutely surprised him, but he now felt that the Rebellion was doing the right thing . . . the Empire was wrong . . . oppressing worlds across the entire expanse of the galaxy. He had worked so hard to locate the missing data and prove himself, and now, he knew he was trapped in that role of dedicated Stormtrooper . . . he knew the Empire would find him if he deserted and jumped sides. He could now be of much more value to the rebellion by remaining within the Empire, and funneling information to their cause. This newly assembled unit seemed to be a smart group though . . . he would need to be vigilant at all times until he was allowed, by the inspection team, to return to his post on board the Devastator.
* * *
The interior lights of the sealed meditation chamber were dimmed to near absolute darkness . . . its occupant in a deep meditation. The obscure layers of consciousness slipped elusively by as the human brain, of what had once been Anakin Skywalker, fed on the energy from the Midichlorians coursing through what was left of his bloodstream. He felt the pulse of his heart in his upper arms and the trunk of his body . . . his cybernetic limbs still felt foreign . . . cold. At first they had been ungainly and awkward . . . forcing him to re-learn standing and walking all over again.
During those dark days following his defeat at the hands of his Jedi master, he had worked endless, grueling hours in his private chambers . . . practicing with one, and building to several, seeker remotes and assassin droids to master his new limbs. His ravaged body and blistered, deformed skin ached and burned beneath his suit and helmet . . . but not nearly as hot as the hatred that burned in his heart for his former master. He repeated painful motions over and over again . . . learning the new subtleties of moving through fight stances on his cybernetic legs, and regaining the dexterity and masterful control of his dominant lightsaber hand. He allowed himself to feed off the intense pain, focusing it, channeling it . . . bringing the force around him to a constant, controlled boil.
His cloudy thoughts now mingled with the energies of the dark side . . . losing himself in its inky, warm liquidity as he sought answers to questions that had plagued him since discovering Obi-wan still among the living. He allowed himself to slowly drift closer to the light side Force energies than he had since yielding to the Sith teachings of Palpatine, so long ago. He needed to sense others from his lost order . . . he heard the suffering cries of the Jedi he had helped decimate . . . he heard Qui-gon call out to him . . . “Anakin, NOOO!” . . . he remained focused . . . he was searching for answers, looking for clues to be revealed, any sense or feeling of a reason why Obi-wan might possibly have been on Tatooine with a new apprentice.
Obi-wan hated Tatooine . . . he would not have been there willingly. He remembered the stories his former master had told him about the damaged, leaking hyperdrive engine and the emergency landing with Qui-gon and the Queen . . . his fragile beauty, Padme. He had been concerned that they might have been stuck on the desert planet for a very long time . . . it made no sense that he would have returned there.
As his meditative trance became more focused, images began appearing in the mind’s eye of the dark Lord . . . he saw an emerging asteroid field . . . planetoids tumbling silently . . . one of them shifted and became master Yoda, tumbling off into a gathering fog, shrouding the edges of his vision. He calmed himself and became even more centered in the Force. There were clouds, rain and mud with the cries of unseen animals hiding in the shadows of colossal trees draped with vines . . . then, through the parting cloudy haze, he saw Obi-wan holding an infant in his arms and heard a voice call out, “Luke”. It was the shallow, but unmistakable, sweet sound of his wife’s voice.
His heart beat increasingly faster, pounding in his ears now as the images became disjointed, fast-morphing flashes in his mind as he abruptly ascended from his unconscious state too rapidly . . . he saw Padme lying on a table, speaking to Obi-wan, then falling silent as the life drained from her face . . . which then became a mound of sand, blowing off the table in a wind across an emerging Tatooine skyline at sunset . . . a hooded Obi-wan now stood amidst the blowing sand with the child, walking into the sunset . . . then the blowing sands consumed him and gave way to careening, colliding asteroids which became two combatants engaged in a furious lightsaber battle . . . he was fighting someone dressed in black, whose movements were attacking, aggressive and Sith-like . . . then intermittent, cloudy flashes of him throwing a dark-robed figure over a balcony . . . amidst tangled streams of Force-lightning raining down on him, killing him . . . then, he emerged from the trance. His eyes fluttered opened wildly in the darkness of his meditation chamber, lacking the ability to form tears, but filled with the pain and grief of his loss all over again. His chest heaved as he gasped for air, raggedly breathing in deeply.
* * *
-----signature-----
Terek Deckard TD-2187 Sandtrooper, 104th Moisture Farm Patrol Check out "The Sandtrooper's Story" http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=24597606&brd=10476&replies=30
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Trojan_Rabbit
Registered:
Aug '06
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Date Posted:
8/30/06 10:57am
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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It's nice to see you continuing this story!!
I like it so far.
Please add me to your PM list.
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Trojan_Rabbit
Evil Plot Bunny
"Give in to your aggressive feelings, boy."
"No, I'll never turn to the plot bunnies."
"It is unavoidable."
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Oh_Behave_Kenobi
Registered:
May '06
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Date Posted:
8/30/06 11:34am
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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I love it! Glad to see you are writing more on this.
Please PM me as before.
Thanks!
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Oh-Behave Kenobi
Shagmaster Jedi
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Ocelotl_Nesto
Registered:
Oct '04
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Date Posted:
8/30/06 1:46pm
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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Fun post. I like the description of the dark side meditations. It is just as murky as the light side.
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Terek_Deckard
Registered:
May '06
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Date Posted:
8/31/06 4:34am
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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Ocelotl_Nesto posted:
Fun post. I like the description of the dark side meditations. It is just as murky as the light side.
Thank you. I am enjoying writing stories set in "The Saga" timeframe so much more now, having the characters' past revealed. It leads to a much deeper, realistic exploration of thoughts and emotions.
Thank you for reading, everyone. More will come soon.
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Terek Deckard TD-2187 Sandtrooper, 104th Moisture Farm Patrol Check out "The Sandtrooper's Story" http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=24597606&brd=10476&replies=30
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Terek_Deckard
Registered:
May '06
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Date Posted:
9/7/06 5:19am
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
- Date Edited:
9/7/06 12:50pm (2 edits total)
Edited By:
Terek_Deckard
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Thanks for reading everyone. Here's a little more:
4120 piloted Tyrell’s shuttle out across the sand waves heading toward the heart of the Dune Sea. Captain Tyrell and his men were dead . . . they wouldn’t be needing it anytime soon. The members of the 104th MFP were seated silently in the jumpseats along both side walls.
Taka was the first to fall in the line of duty in this new post, and Rogue now prepared him for his final resting place. We all watched as he placed Taka’s E-11 in his hands, carefully placing one hand on the grip, the other under the barrel, and laying it across his chest, as if he were standing at the ready. Etz nodded knowingly, “You can have my blaster when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.”
Rogue turned to him, nodding, “Exactly.”
It was a cocky phrase that had been uttered by virtually every trooper, in every session on Carida when sidearms were issued to a new class.
The ship began to slow and finally hovered over the ridgeline of a large dune. 4120’s hands moved over the controls as he lowered us carefully to the ground. Topolev and Blade opened the hatch and extended the boarding ramp as the rest of us unclipped and slowly pushed the sled down to the sand.
The afternoon light was fading fast . . . we were bathed in a dark orange glow as the twin suns sat just above the horizon. 0600 walked away from us, facing the two fireballs, then stopped and looked down at his feet, kicking at the sand a bit, “This is a good spot.”
We moved the sled over to him and lifted our dead from it, placing him gently in the sand on his back, blaster held up to his chest, staring up into the stars. We all stepped back a pace and respectfully removed our buckets. Only the sound of the wind blowing past us was heard.
Blowing sand began to collect around Taka’s body, mounding up against it as we watched silently. Rogue spoke, “He gave his life to save mine, this new Sandtrooper. And as a Sandtrooper, we offer up his body to be returned to the sand . . . to become one with it.” He knelt down and grabbed up a handful of sand, and tossed it across Taka’s chest, “Pleasant journeys, my friend . . . pleasant journeys”, then turned and walked away silently with his bucket in hand as the wind continued to whip around us.
We all gave a moment of still silence, then one by one dropped a handful of sand on Taka’s body. The evening winds were picking up now . . . drifting even more sand around the one we were leaving behind as we all silently boarded the shuttle. Topolev and I were the last to board, taking a final look back at Taka as we ascended the sloped ramp. We had all seen troopers fall in battle, many of them friends . . . I just didn’t think it would be happening this soon after arriving here.
The white of his Impervium had almost been swallowed entirely by the time we lifted off.
* * *
-----signature-----
Terek Deckard TD-2187 Sandtrooper, 104th Moisture Farm Patrol Check out "The Sandtrooper's Story" http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=24597606&brd=10476&replies=30
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Oh_Behave_Kenobi
Registered:
May '06
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Date Posted:
9/7/06 5:52am
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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Nicely done. It was like a funeral at sea, with the dead slipping under the waves of the DUNE Sea.
Please continue to PM me as you update!
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Oh-Behave Kenobi
Shagmaster Jedi
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Trojan_Rabbit
Registered:
Aug '06
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Date Posted:
9/7/06 6:03am
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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I came back to read the new post and actually re-read the others as well. I like it more each time I read it. It seems to really fit what would have happened after the Falcon dashed away, and Vader's meditation was great!
I like that he is getting flashes of things to come as well as the past. Always in motion, the future! This could get interesting in a hurry as he starts to see possible futures, as the secrets of the past are revealed.
The new post is nice too, like Oh_Behave_Kenobi said, it was like a military funeral at sea. I could see the solemn troopers in the fiery orange light of the dying suns as they say goodbye to their friend and fellow trooper.
Don't forget to PM me!
-----signature-----
Trojan_Rabbit
Evil Plot Bunny
"Give in to your aggressive feelings, boy."
"No, I'll never turn to the plot bunnies."
"It is unavoidable."
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Ocelotl_Nesto
Registered:
Oct '04
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Date Posted:
9/7/06 9:26am
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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I liked the segment of "you can have my blaster when..."
Although I admit that when I read that I thought of Men in Black and how the alien found the terms acceptable.
I liked the imagery of the dune sea.
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Jade_Pilot
Registered:
Dec '05
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Date Posted:
9/7/06 10:32am
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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Great job and wonderful story! Very intense moments with Vader!
Bravo! 
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"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." ~ Gerald Ford
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Terek_Deckard
Registered:
May '06
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Date Posted:
9/7/06 12:43pm
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
- Date Edited:
9/7/06 12:44pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Terek_Deckard
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Thanks Jade_Pilot!
I am really enjoying writing Vader now that the information from EPIII has been revealed. It makes him much more complicated, and the Original Trilogy new again for the watching.
I will have more soon.
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Terek Deckard TD-2187 Sandtrooper, 104th Moisture Farm Patrol Check out "The Sandtrooper's Story" http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=24597606&brd=10476&replies=30
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Terek_Deckard
Registered:
May '06
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Date Posted:
9/13/06 2:15pm
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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Bumped...so it will appear just behind Installment I
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Terek Deckard TD-2187 Sandtrooper, 104th Moisture Farm Patrol Check out "The Sandtrooper's Story" http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=24597606&brd=10476&replies=30
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Oh_Behave_Kenobi
Registered:
May '06
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Date Posted:
9/13/06 2:20pm
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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I just re-read this new Installment, and I really like the way I see the Dune Sea in my head, with the troopers silently leaving their friend behind.
Very nicely done. In your PM you said you had been busy, but have plans to post more soon, please do so and drop me another PM when you update. I really want to see what happens on Tatooine while the rest of A New Hope is unfolding.
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Oh-Behave Kenobi
Shagmaster Jedi
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Raptor517
Registered:
Sep '06
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Date Posted:
9/13/06 6:42pm
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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I really like the way you get inside each person's head, especially Vader's. I also hope to read more about the Trooper who is going Rebel. Keep writing, and please PM me!
Raptor517
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Terek_Deckard
Registered:
May '06
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Date Posted:
9/14/06 5:59am
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
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Thanks very much for reading, Raptor.
I really appreciate the feedback, please keep it coming. I am a newbie here and can use all the feedback I can get.
If you have only read the second Installment, check out the first here:
http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=24597606&brd=10476&start=24621091
-----signature-----
Terek Deckard TD-2187 Sandtrooper, 104th Moisture Farm Patrol Check out "The Sandtrooper's Story" http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=24597606&brd=10476&replies=30
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Terek_Deckard
Registered:
May '06
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Date Posted:
9/18/06 6:29am
Subject:
RE: The Sandtrooper's Story - Installment 2
- Date Edited:
9/21/06 12:42pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Terek_Deckard
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Here's a little bit more. I didn't get as much time as I would have liked to write, but let me know what you think . . . and where you think the story might go from here.
The bluish-white haze of the afternoon sky had given way to the amber and bronze tones of the early evening and had now yielded to the suffocating blackness of a moonless Tatooine night. 4120 had bypassed the spaceport protocols and set our shuttle down in the open courtyard behind our new barracks. We all moved quietly out of our seats and headed for the fresh air outside. I stepped off the bottom of the lowered ramp into the now-cool sand and ran through the events of this very long day as we all walked toward the back of our building.
Rogue opened the rear armored door of the barracks and we entered through the storage area, stepping around our supplies, still piled high on the repulsor sled. I secured the door after Topolev and Etz came through, and was about to make my way through the bunkroom to the office out front when I noticed a lever on the plates of the armored wall behind a storage crate.
I looked around . . . no one was hanging back, so I reached over and pulled on the lever. It resisted a bit, but then rocked to one side. As it did, I felt a slight rumbling under my feet and the supply sled began to lower into the floor. The entire recessed center of the room was a lift system that was now lowering to a sub-level. I watched as it slipped out of sight below the floor and came to stop several meters below.
I leaned over the edge to look down as lights flickered through a doorway leading away from the platform below. The others were now standing in the doorway behind me. I looked back over my shoulder, “Check this out”. With buckets off, 4120 and Rogue were first through the door to inspect my discovery, closely followed by the others. Topolev whistled as 0600 and Ddraig walked to the edge. Falker spoke up, “It looks like a supply cache. We used something similar on Talasea while I was there training on their orbital platform.”
Rogue turned to me, “I see another control lever down there. Call it back up. Let’s see what’s down there.” I nodded, “Sure”, and stepped over to the lever, giving it a pull in the opposite direction. The floor shook again as the lift rose from the lower level until it docked once again with our level. Everyone stepped onto it, crowding around the supply sled. I threw the lever and stepped on as once again it descended.
We came to rest on the lower level, and the open doorway revealed a dark room with flickering, malfunctioning luminaries. We all stepped through the door into the relative darkness of the next room. The air here was stale and the only working luminary hung from a wiring harness flickering and swinging as we moved past it, sending sporadic, rocking shadows across the room and up the walls. It was very hard to make out what was here with the light strobing as it was. There were more supply crates, several items draped in large canvas tarps and large bay doors on the opposing wall.
Etz was looking under the edge of one of the tarps when Blade stepped up from the other side and pulled it off. Dust flew off, swirling up in a cloud and hanging in the still air.
-----signature-----
Terek Deckard TD-2187 Sandtrooper, 104th Moisture Farm Patrol Check out "The Sandtrooper's Story" http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=24597606&brd=10476&replies=30
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