Jedi Council Forums - Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han -- Complete 3 September

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Author	Topic: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han -- Complete 3 September
Jade_eyes Registered: Aug '04	Date Posted: 8/15/07 5:36am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	Luke's impatience to be up and doing again, not wanting to be placated or coddled, realizing he's being ungrateful to Han and Leia... All this feels like Jedi-2B's "Shattered Remembrance." Hope things turn around though they seem to be at the end there. Love Han and Leia in this. Hopefully, next time, Luke can appreciate their ... bickering -----signature----- E-sib to Mira_Jade, whose yummies inspire & gooify !! We Squee! in tandem Our Nyota/Spock love knows no bounds--we have superb taste in soulmates Have a bucket Cheesecake Squggles!
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dancing_star Registered: Feb '07	Date Posted: 8/15/07 6:27am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	Awesome update! Thanks for the pm! Poor Luke though. If he keeps blaming himself for Pag's death, it's going to eat him alive. And disobeying the med-droid. Luke, you'd better listen to your friends if you want to get well. And appreciate when they're trying to help because they love you and only want what's best. I liked how Leia and Han came and just sat down beside him, offering their silent comfort. Great update. Can't wait for more! -----signature----- God bless America and our troops. "The LORD gives strength to his people. The LORD blesses his people with peace." Ps 29:11 ~~~ "Darkest Hours, Brightest Hope" (fic below) http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/29811085/p1/
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PonyTricks Registered: Jul '03	Date Posted: 8/15/07 6:42am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	slaps Luke Hey, Han and Leia are only trying to help! -----signature----- Brain: Now, Pinky, if by any chance you are captured during this mission, remember you are Gunther Heindriksen from Appenzell. You moved to Grindelwald to drive the cog train to Murren. Can you repeat that? Pinky: Mmmm, no, Brain, don't think I can.
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dollfin220 Registered: Jun '07	Date Posted: 8/15/07 6:57am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	This story is absolutely wonderful. I love your work. Your characterizations are dead on. I love the interactions between the characters. I have to say I think you are my favorite author, great job!! Cara
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Golden_Jedi Registered: Jun '05	Date Posted: 8/15/07 7:39am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	Everyone in the Rebellion accepted the risk of their own death. Everyone had lost friends. Some had lost lovers. Everyone dealt with it differently. Luke had had friends die before – good friends, people he cared about. Biggs. Ben Kenobi. Even his aunt and uncle. Those were deaths he hadn’t been able to do anything about. Biggs and Ben had been gone in an instant. His aunt and uncle had died when he wasn’t there. He didn’t have to deal with this in any of those cases. He didn’t have to face the knowledge that it could have been him, maybe should have been him, not them, that died. No. Not like this. Not like knowing it had been him who crashed the ship, futzed the landing, wasn’t good enough, and someone else was dead because of it while he languished here in a comfortable medbay, healing at his supposed leisure. I had to quote all that because... it was so spot on. -----signature----- New Bespin Café - come visit THE place for H/L fans http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/29538471 Diving (a H/L intertrilogy AU) http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/27836852
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snowspeeder_gunner Registered: Apr '07	Date Posted: 8/15/07 8:11am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	Awesome story! I love the interactions between Wedge and Luke. Could I be added to the PM list please? -----signature----- haha! it's like the stars are my icon!
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dianethx Registered: Mar '02	Date Posted: 8/15/07 8:52am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	I loved his impatience to be moving. I think it's all part of the grief, that he took the blame for Pag's death and he needs to run away from it for a time. I loved that Han and Leia were arguing while Luke was going through such a tough time - makes it seem more real. Great job. -----signature----- Betrayal - http://boards.theforce.net/s/b1/10935143 updated 11/2/09 jedidas3's Master Merlin - Diplomatic Immunity - http://boards.theforce.net/nswff/b10808/30459852
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VaderLVR64 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 8/15/07 11:46am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	As always, your work moves and awes me. I'm so jealous... Your gift is so very evident in this story, as it is in all of your work. It didn’t matter. He still felt completely empty. Pag was still dead. Luke slumped back against the wall. His legs gave out, and he slid down, coming down hard on the cold floor. He drew his knees up, ignoring the pain now burning in his muscles, and lowered his head into his arms. He felt Leia sit on one side, her hand light and warm on his arm. Han sat on his other side, his shoulder solid against Luke’s. They stayed that way, neither Han nor Leia moving or speaking until Luke finally raised his head. Then they helped him up, supporting him either side, back into the bed. “Give me some space,” Luke said, not looking at either of them. “Please.” He felt bone-weary, knew he was being ungrateful, a bad friend, unable to find it in himself to care. Leia and Han left. Luke rolled onto his side and stared at the wall, trying not to think. -----signature----- R.I.P John, Alex, Jason, and Christian Never forgotten Soldiers' Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ 2114 soldiers waiting for someone to care
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strwbrystarshine Registered: Feb '05	Date Posted: 8/15/07 1:01pm Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	I like the way you write Luke's impatience and his emptiness, his need to do something--anything. Your characterizations of Leia and Han are also spot-on. Well done, as usual. Looking forward to the next update! -----signature----- "Cade, you don't need spice. What you need is a good soothing cup of hot chocolate." Have you hugged your fan fiction author today? ~Fics in Profile~
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Angelmine_29 Registered: Aug '04	Date Posted: 8/15/07 9:25pm Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	Wonderful!! You had me hooked with the first three paragraphs! Well, honestly, you grabbed my attention with the before ESB era tagline - I'm always hunting for some really good Luke stories from this timeframe. Another very well written story - love it so far! Will you please add me to your PM list? Thanks!
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StarFighter5 Registered: Jul '03	Date Posted: 8/15/07 10:11pm Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	I need to stop reading fic so late a night so I can actually leave a good review. It seems that Luke will heal physically but wil the mental anguish really ever fade? -----signature----- "I hope I slept with you to get the job. if not, then who the hell was that guy?" - Carrie Fisher "Now that I'm a pez and a lego, I shall want for nothing else." -Jeremy Bulloch "Thank you for going to the movies. Especially mine." - George Lucas
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Abeja Registered: Apr '07	Date Posted: 8/16/07 6:19am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	I just found that story- and you write so well! I loved reading this. It seemed so fragile, Luke thought. The games they played, building who they were, what they believed, in the middle of a war where it could all be gone in an instant and all that would be left were memories, so flimsy and forlorn. This one was just one of my favourite parts in your story. You really have a gift with words- and you made me shiver with that sentence. Please update soon and, could you add me to your PM list, too, please? Abeja -----signature----- e-sister of Rosa-Belle "Give every day the chance to become the best day of your life." http://boards.theforce.net/Message.aspx?topic=27935778&brd=10476&replies=0 Shadow Bird "It's worse than that." - Hobbie Klivian
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Blue_Milkshake Registered: Nov '05	Date Posted: 8/16/07 8:03am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	Oooh, I like! Your insights are wonderful. Could you please add me to the PM list? -----signature----- Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer. --Dave Barry
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Knight_Aragorn Registered: Jun '03	Date Posted: 8/21/07 3:49am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	Jade_eyes: Hm, I'm not entirely sure what you mean. I actually started this fic a few months ago, so if there are similarities with Jedi-2B's story, they're coincidental. Thanks for the comment on Leia and Han's characterisation. dancing_star: Thank you, very glad you enjoyed the update. PonyTricks: Aw, leave the poor boy alone. He can't help it if the author's making him mope. dollfin220: Thank you very much. Golden_Jedi: That passage came me some problems, so I'm grateful to hear you liked it. Thanks for reading! snowspeeder_gunner: Great to hear! I'd like to see more Luke and Wedge fic from this era around, but my Rogue knowledge is quite limited, I'm afraid. Thanks for reading, and I'll add you to the list. dianethx: Leia and Han do like to argue at this point... well, most points, actually. Thank you very much! VaderLVR64: Thank you. strwbrystarshine: Thanks! Glad what Luke's going through came across. There's more angstin' to come, too. Angelmine_29: I like this timeframe too. Thanks for reading, and I'll add you to the list. StarFighter5: I do that too, and then wonder why my spelling is so bad. Thanks for reading. Abeja: Update coming up shortly. Thank you for the reply, glad you enjoyed the first couple of parts. Will send a PM your way. Blue_Milkshake: Thanks! And will do, no problem.
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Knight_Aragorn Registered: Jun '03	Date Posted: 8/21/07 3:56am Subject: RE: Pieces of Air -- ESB-era short story, Luke, Leia & Han
	He was released from the med bay a few days later, restricted to light duties only, no flying. That meant paperwork – flying a desk, the Rogues called it, a fate worse than death. That didn’t seem quite so funny now. It was good to be out of the infirmary, at least. He’d worked hard to get back up to scratch, spending hours exercising until his legs didn’t threaten to dump him on the floor at every second step. He still was less steady than he liked, forced to walk at a slower pace that usual, and with a slight limp the med droid said would vanish. His legs still ached quite severely, but he kept that to himself, not wanting to be further confined to sick bay. The med droid wasn’t going to return him to full duty for at least a week as it was. Luke spent his first day reading over the reports that had accumulated on his desk in the time he’d been incapacitated. He found it unnervingly hard to concentrate. His legs began burn after sitting for too long, and Luke had to get up. The air felt cold, despite the heavy cold-weather gear he wore. Leia came in late in the afternoon. He saw her white-booted feet stop in the doorway. “Luke?” “Down here,” he said. The feet came forward, then disappeared as Leia came around his desk. She looked pale, her dark hair held back in neat braids. “What are you doing down there?” Luke shrugged, not quite looking at her. “More comfortable.” Leia crouched next to him. “Are your legs hurting?” “It’s fine,” Luke said. She looked at him dubiously, but, unusually for her, didn’t pursue the matter. “What are you working on?” Luke lifted the datapad he held in his lap. “Reports. Paperwork waits for no man.” “Or woman,” Leia said with a smile. Luke tilted his head in acknowledgement. “Luke,” Leia said after a while, hesitantly, “I wanted to talk to you about your wingmate. The man who died.” “Pag,” Luke said shortly. He suddenly felt even colder. “Yes,” Leia said. “You know they held a service for him.” There was a silence. Luke said, “No, I didn’t.” “It was in that first week. You were in and out of consciousness.” “I see.” “I’m sorry, Luke – ” “It doesn’t matter. I didn’t know him very well, anyway. We weren’t friends.” “Luke, what happened to him wasn’t your fault.” Luke shook his head, not looking at her. He wanted to get up, walk away, but didn’t trust his legs to let him stand, and didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of her. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Leia was silent a long time. “All right,” she said. “If you change your mind…” “Yes. Thank you.” “All right,” Leia said again. She paused again, then said, “I should go, unless you want me to stay.” Luke didn’t look at her, said nothing. She rose and left. Luke had a nightmare about the crash that night. They’d started in the med bay, and always ended in Luke waking, gasping, shivering with lingering cold. He couldn’t remember the details of the dreams any more than he could remember specific details from the crash itself except in random, confused flashes. Somehow that lack of remembering made it worse, not better. He felt as though if he could just remember what was in the dreams, they might stop. He motionless in the darkness after he woke. His legs ached furiously, his heart was still beating rapidly in his chest, and he thought for a while he was going to be sick. He turned on his side. His room felt cold, and very empty. The silence, broken only by his ragged breathing, was eerie. It was too much like the silence as he bled alone in that tiny broken cockpit, a dead man behind him, wind seething outside. Luke clenched his teeth to stop them chattering, and closed his eyes. There was a briefing about the new arrangements for transport in the morning. Luke slouched at the back, bleary and in pain. His leg was bothering him this morning: perhaps he had lain badly on it in addition to the nightmares last night. Afterwards there was meeting of squadron commanders and fleet command. Luke attended with Wedge, who was still acting commander for engagements until Luke was cleared for full duty. They sat with the leader of one of the other squadrons, Nakari Cata, a woman about Luke’s age from Agamar. “So when are you back in the air?” she asked him. Luke shrugged. “Soon, I hope.” She shook her head sympathetically. “I was grounded for a while last year. Nearly drove me crazy.” “Oh, well, there’s plenty of paperwork to keep me busy.” Luke glanced at Wedge. “My executive officer is great that way. Leaves me all the good stuff.” Nakari laughed. Wedge held up his hands. “Hey, I’m only a lowly lieutenant. I’m not qualified for that paperwork stuff. I leave that to the commanders.” “Yeah, thanks for that,” Luke said dryly. “Boys, boys,” Nakari said, with a shake of her head. “You offering to help, Commander Cata?” Luke asked. “I’ll stick to my own if it’s all the same to you, Commander Skywalker.” “Dash the poor man’s hopes, Nakari,” Wedge said. “He’ll live,” she said, resting a hand lightly on Luke’s shoulder as she stood. “See you later, boys.” Luke stared after her. “Speaking of paperwork,” he said. “See you later, boss,” Wedge said. “Drills to organise.” “Traitor,” Luke muttered as he left. He had a checkup later in the week. The med droid was tied up with another patient when he arrived, so he had to wait for a human medic. Luke gave him vague answers, not enjoying being back in the confines of the med bay. “All right,” said the medic when he was finally through. He marked something on his clipboard. “Looks like you’re about physically fit to fly again, Commander.” Luke blinked at him. “What?” “You’re cleared to go back in the air.” “Already?” “You’ve made a remarkable recovery, Commander. Faster than we expected.” “What about my leg?” “Well, I wouldn’t recommend any long hyperspace jumps for the time being. We’ll ease you back with atmospheric flight to start with…” The man looked up and caught Luke’s expression. “Is there a problem?” “No.” Luke frowned. The medic made another note, then said, “I’m only saying you’re physically capable to start going up again. No one’s going to force you out until you feel ready.” “No, it’s just – I’m surprised,” Luke said. He paused, and blurted, “I didn’t think I’d be cleared until my legs stopped hurting.” “You said they weren’t.” The medic frowned at him. “They’re not, not all the time. But I get shooting pains, especially in my left leg, if I sit or stand for too long.” “You didn’t mention this before.” “I forgot.” “How often does this pain come? Once a day?” “More than that. Every few hours. Depends what I’m doing.” The medic frowned further. “Maybe that assessment was premature. I’ll give you some meds for the pain, and I’d like you to report back here for exercises. We’ll consider your flight readiness again in a couple of days.” Luke walked back from the med bay via the hangars. He hadn’t been there yet, a lapse that hadn’t seemed odd until now. A few people greeted him; he nodded back absently. The reconditioned airspeeders were there, techs and pilots milling around them. Snowspeeders, most of the base had taken to calling them. They looked exactly the same to Luke, the new heating units in the drive compartments hidden under the metal casing of the engine. Exactly the same. Luke watched a pilot prep for launch, a ball of cold and pain growing in his chest. “Something I can help you with, Commander?” One of the techs came up behind Luke, and he started. “Just checking out the recon work.” He attempted a smile. “Looks good, doesn’t it, sir? Nothing to worry about with the work we’ve done on these babies. They’ll fly smooth as a whistle.” “Looks great.” Luke stepped back, turned, and walked away. Wedge was waiting when Luke got back to his office. “How’d you go with the medic?” Luke looked away. “No joy.” It was hard to sleep at night. Luke’s discomfort rose as he lay in the dark, and he dreaded falling asleep and dreaming. Inevitably when he did sleep, the nightmares came, and he woke bathed in sweat, his leg aching, his heart pounding. He went back to the med bay a few days later and reported the pain was still there. The med droid marked something down, advised him to continue exercising his legs, and told him to come back a few days later. Nakari sat across from him in the mess hall as he ate a late evening meal alone. “You look wrecked,” she said. “Thanks,” Luke replied wryly. “You know what I mean.” Luke rubbed his forehead. “I haven’t been sleeping well.” “Yeah?” She tilted her head. “Yeah,” Luke said. He watched the way she moved her hands as she lifted food to her mouth. She wasn’t beautiful, but her dark hair was soft around her face, and her eyes were warm. She was a good pilot, a very good one. He admired that. She smiled, and he wondered if she was aware of the way he was looking at her. He felt his face warm, and glanced away. “It’s funny,” she said, “how we deal with death. Often it makes us want to reaffirm life more than ever.” “I suppose so,” Luke said. “That’s not a bad thing,” she said, her voice quiet, her eyes warm. Luke said nothing. She smiled, and stood. “See you round, Luke.” Luke closed his eyes. He suddenly, desperately wanted to feel warmth for a change. Wind howled somewhere outside the base, barely audible under the buzz of conversation in the hall. Luke shivered, and rose, heading for the door Nakari had exiting through. One post to go! And with a guaranteed dose of Han and Leia.
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