Beyond - Legends A Gathering of Light (EU, Jedi, concurrent with JAT and I, Jedi) PG-13 (Double updated 3/19/2012)

Hey, don't panic about not being read. My readers faded too. It's okay. I write the story for me. I think one of my problems, and likely yours too, is that my story has been going on a for awhile. I just don't update enough and people here come and go.

I wanted to go back and comment on the Kyp post (I'm a big Kyp fan and that's how I initially got into this story):


I could show you techniques that were lost thousands of years ago, secret rites and hidden doorways of power that no weak Jedi Master like Skywalker dares to touch. But you are strong, Kyp Durron? Do you dare to learn?"

And here Kyp sells his soul to the devil SW style!!!!

I always thought KJA could have been more explicit in what motivations Exar Kun had. Thanks for making it clear that Kyp was a means by which Luke was suppose to die. I?m assuming Kun wanted Luke?s body for his corporeal state (take the strongest one), but he might have wanted Kyp?s (or at least had it as a back up).

Tionne blushed as she acknowledged his point. Realization then struck her like a blaster bolt. He's holding me. In front of everyone else. It didn't help when Zak quipped, "I suppose that's one way of sweeping her off her feet, Keiran. Did you two plan that one out, or was this a spur of the moment thing?" Her blush deepened at Zak's implication and the chuckling she heard from some of the others. Part of her wanted to cover her face with her hair, for she knew it would be some time before she lived this down.

I like Zak?s humor here. It makes your story lively and the situations at the academy more real to me.

"Providing the coordinates for Yanibar is probably the only thing that the New Republic could do right now," Luke said. "Even if the New Republic were able to find either group and establish good relations with them, that doesn't necessarily mean they will have good relations with us. If there's to be any beneficial relations between the Jedi and either of these Force traditions..." He paused for a moment to look at Kirana Ti. "Or any other Force traditions we might encounter in the future, it'll be up to us to establish them."

Good wisdom and political savvy master Skywalker.


"Perhaps one day, your wisdom might match Master Yoda's." He then started smirking a little as he continued. "But that's highly unlikely. To have his wisdom, nine hundred years old, you would probably need to be."

She started blushing at Luke's compliment, and was feeling overwhelmed that he thought she could one day become as wise as Master Yoda

Is Luke flirting? That sly dog! I like the way everyone is bumbling along, trying to find their way in the Force.

Keep it up!

 

GrandMasterKatarn - At this point, no one knows about Visas Marr. But I do plan on bringing her into the story. I have segments of future posts written. Now it's just a matter of deciding when to bring these posts into the story. As for your request, I can tell you that one of them will be debuting not in this one or the next, but the one afterwards. And you're right. Anakin would die from embarrassment if Ahsoka and Padmé got along well and started exchanging stories about him.


iamobiwan1970 - I hear what you're saying about the readers. I know of another guy who writes in a different fanfic forum. He has written a good series, but has decided to call it quit with the series after the current story he's working on is done. And it's because he knows there are people who are reading the story, but not leaving any feedbacks about it.

As for Exar Kun's motivations, I know Exar Kun wanted to live again. But I don't know if he intended to take possession of Luke's body. Have you ever watched the Disney Cartoon Gargoyles? If so, do you remember the episode where Goliath, Elisa, Angela, and Bronx arrived back at where the castle once stood. There, Goliath kept seeing ghosts of the past and was slowly losing his mind. He eventually learned he was being drawn to a temple deep underground where the spirits of the Barbarian leader and the Captain of the Guard had been languishing for the past millennium. Thanks to the power of the temple, the two drew upon Goliath's life force to become solid again, and had they continued eventually return to life. That is what I think Exar Kun was hoping would happen if he absorbed enough power from the life force and dark emotions of others.

Glad you liked Zak's humor. I wanted to add that scene in for the humor and to continue the apparent Corran/Tionne romance.

Luke's policy towards other Force tradition - I think it's a case of letting the right people make the initial survey. I also think it's a situation that would fall under Jedi jurisdiction.

As for the ending between Luke and Tionne, Luke wasn't flirting. At this point, I don't think he has any interests in romance. He wants to focus on training new Jedi. No, that's just a banter between the two. As for Tionne's reaction, she always had a great deal of empathy towards others. She was more emotionally demonstrative, so I think she's the kind of woman who's easily made to blush. A trait my younger cousin's wife has as well.


Here's a surprise - another post so soon. The reason for this is because I want to make a certain post at the right time. The post in question is the next one, and I think you know when I want to make it. Both this post and the next one are direct tie-ins with Dark Apprentice, and this post helps to set up the next one. It's a scene from the book in question, but told from a different perspective.


With a grunt, Dorsk 81 heaved himself back upright after climbing up the steep hill. Brushing his hands on his fatigue legs in an attempt to get rid of the dirt and shrugging his backpack into a more comfortable position on his shoulders, he quickened his pace a little in order to catch up with the young Kyp Durron. As he did, he reflected on how he got talked into accompanying Kyp Durron again.

***

It was after the midday meal, and Master Skywalker had said they were free to do whatever they wanted. Dorsk 81 wanted to stay inside the temple, relax, and contemplate. He noticed that he was changing a little. He wasn?t getting as exhausted as he was at the beginning, and his body didn?t ache as much. That he was grateful for. However, he still felt a pain within him. It wasn?t a physical pain. It was something else. Something he hadn?t experienced before coming to the praxeum. More precisely, he had never experienced it before Gantoris? death. Gantoris had been the first friend he had ever had, and Gantoris? horrible death had had a profound impact on him. He had heard of ?the pain of loss?, yet had never experienced it before. N

 

Enjoyed that post about Tionne and her reasons for putting all her time into the holocron. I also thought it was an interesting question she raised about whether Jerec was a Matukai. It's obvious that at this stage Luke was still pretty uncertain about a lot of Jedi matters, easy to forget how he had to learn all this stuff along with his students.

You write Dorsk well I have to say. Spooky stuff in that last post. I assume that's not really Kyp's voice but Kun's. Uh-oh.

 

Interesting post. I like how you write Dorsk 81. Can't wait for more.

 

-DDR- - good to see you again. You're wrong about Tionne. She wasn't questioning if Jerec was a Matukai. She's questioning if Jerec's a Miraluka.


I'm glad you and GrandMasterKatarn enjoyed my depiction of Dorsk 81. As I said, the last post was a direct tie-in with Dark Apprentice.


Now how appropriate it is that I make this next post. It is Halloween night. The one night of the year where the spooks and supernatural take the center stage. Tonight, evil is at its peak. Only the foolish or the brave dare venture out tonight. And the same applies for those of you who wish to read this post. Prepare to see an evil mind at work. Brace yourselves as you receive an education in evil. This post is another tie-in with Dark Apprentice, and is a continuation of the previous post. And like the last post, it's told from a different perspective than what's presented in the novel. Proceed forward, IF YOU DARE! MWHA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!


As he waited for his disciple to arrive at his private sanctuary, Exar Kun contemplated on what he had learned today. As much as he detested the presence of the Holocron, he had to admit it proved to be a useful source of information, even if it had a Jedi-slant to it. He had learned bits and pieces of what transpired in the galaxy while he had been trapped on this moon. And today, he had learned of two other Force traditions that the Jedi had encountered in the last four millennia. He didn?t know what to make of these Matukai, though from the description of their philosophy, he believed the Matukai possibly acted in harmony with the Force. Possibly similar to how these Ithorian Nature Priests acted in harmony with nature. As such, the possibility of a Matukai turning to the dark side was highly doubtful. But there might be some Matukai methods that might be worth utilizing and corrupting with the dark side. He would reserve final judgment on that until he actually encountered one. He had to agree with Halcyon?s explanation on the likelihood of encountering a Matukai and with Skywalker?s assessment of the Matukai?s views towards the Jedi Order.

Similarly, the same could be said about the Zeison Sha, and that tradition held his interests. He had to chuckle at how their origins played a role in their view of the Jedi. The Zeison Sha were practically children of the Jedi Order; children the Order abandoned and left to grow up on their own. It's no wonder they resented the Jedi Order so. And the Order's policies towards children only widened the gap between the two. He took great pleasure in learning that Bodo Baas failed to bring the Zeison Sha into the fold.

The Zeison Sha embraced traits that he actually appreciated. The world on which their ancestors had settled had been harsh. In order to survive, they did what they had to do and utilized whatever means necessary in order to survive ? just as he did when he was trapped in that tomb on Korriban, hovering near death with his body broken. In so doing, they developed strong feelings of self-reliance and independence. Granted, they focused on the survival of the community, but as the Zeison Sha themselves admitted, these traits led some of their members to embrace the dark side. Also aiding these individuals who embraced the dark side was their mastery of telekinetic abilities. Bodo Baas was correct in that telekinetic abilities were the foundations of Force-based attacks. And if the Zeison Sha?s telekinetic abilities surpassed the same abilities of most Jedi, then they must truly be formidable.

The ability to wrap themselves with the Force to create a shield wasn't new to him. There had been many Jedi in his time who knew that power. Obviously the knowledge of this power must have been lost over the millennia. It was the only explanation to Bodo Baas' reaction to this power. No doubt he learned to do it himself by witnessing how the Zeison Sha used the Force to perform this, and then reintroduced it to the Jedi Order.

As for their weapon o

 

Caught up at last.

I love the way you evoke Tionne's love of history and her gentle sense of humour. She's one of the nicest Jedi isn't she in that she truly wishes the best of everyone, and she has no problem with knowing her powers aren't as strong as those of the others.

The Dorsk chapter was cool. I've often said that I love the way you write him. They're an interesting bunch in that they all have such different levels of ability in he Force.

Oh boy, Exar Kun is a cunning one. Really enjoyed the way you wrote in his backstory. I've always enjoyed that classic Jedi-Sith era, and Nomi Sunrider is one of my heroes - so I guess I'm like Tionne in that respect.

I feel so sorry for Kyp. Luke really failed him IMO. But there again poor old Luke had a huge task on his hands and a teenager like Kyp was probably more than he could deal with.

He had also given him pointers on how to draw on the dark side of the Force and use the power Solusar called battlemind, and how to drain the life energy from native flora and fauna to regain his strength and stave off exhaustion.
Interesting comment when you think about how Luke (in TCoPL) draws strength form the flora and fauna to save himself - and yet he does it in a cooperative way, in that the animals and plants let him. And he doesn't destroy them So sucks to old Kun and his slanted take on that skill.

Very enjoyable updates, JA. Your expansion of the events of this era is awesome.

 

Yep. Sounds like the typical Kyp: always being played.

 

Love the timing! Exar Kun and Durron "selling his soul to the devil" make for a perfect Halloween tale.

He saw Durron spread his arms wide, as if he were opening himself up completely to his teachings. Which he did with his next words. "Teach me more about the Sith ways. Tell me how to use these new powers so I can crush the Empire once and for all."

He had guess that this was Durron's reason for wanting to learn the ways of the Force. But Exar Kun had also sensed Durron's intentions for learning from him. He doesn't trust me because I intend to manipulate him and play him like a mesmerized convert. He intends to play the role until he has learned all that I know, and then strike out on his own. The fool! He has already turned to the dark side and is already a mesmerized convert. He just doesn't even realize it yet. But he will soon. And he will accept it as well.

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. It's so easy to see how someone so young and abused would seek revenge, and being strong in the Force just made Kyp a walking bomb.

"But we can continue. I can just drain the moss for more energy."

He's such an impulsive kid...but so dangerous. Really, Kyp became a good man, but he never wholelly let go of the powers he so naturally could use.

I liked this section of story and you wrote it quite well. Never give up...keep on writing!!!

 

Sorry for the delay. After the rush to make the Halloween post, I needed to hold off for a while. Then add in the release of the Clone Wars DVD... I wanted to get this out sooner, but I needed to think of how to word it right, and I think I got it.


Tahi - I think one of the reasons why I write Tionne in this manner is to offset the most recent image of her from Inferno. She and Kam survived, but we have no idea as to the long-term effects of what happened to her. Maybe we'll find out in the FOTJ series.

As for Dorsk, I saw it as a way to lead into Kun's training Kyp in the ways of the dark side. And it's been a while since I've tied-in with the novels by writing certain scenes from a different perspective. The same goes for Exar Kun.

As for Kyp, Gantoris was Luke's first true failure. Kyp was his second. Yet both were coupled by Luke pushing ahead rather than taking time off to reflect on what he endured under Palpatine. And it was Mara who did this in Vision of the Future. Luke even reflected that he and Kyp shared many similarities, yet I think the major difference was that Luke was able to grow up in a loving home, while Kyp grew up in a prison.

The scene you indicated in COPL, at first I had forgotten about it. And looking at it now, it is very different from what Exar Kun was teaching Kyp. Yet I don't think there has ever been an established power in Star Wars RPG that explained this. Maybe it's a case of the Will of the Force wanting Luke to live?


GrandMasterKatarn - while I agree that Kyp was being played, I have to wonder if Exar Kun compromised his plans to accommodate Kyp's thoughts. I base that on the conversation Luke and Corran had right before Corran left the academy.


iamobiwan1970 - you're about the only one who commented on my sense of timing with the last post. Hope it caused shivers down your spine. As for your likening Kyp for a Force bomb, the same could be said about Jaina and Jacen. Unfortunately, Jacen was unable to walk away from the path he had taken. And you're right, as Kyp taught Jaina a Sith power in The Apprentice.


GrandMasterKatarn, you sorta requested this, and I'm happy to deliver.


It was several hours after the Imperial attack that destroyed Reef Home and damaged several other cities on Mon Calamari. Relief efforts were well underway, and she, Ackbar, New Republic Minister of State Leia Organa Solo, her husband Han Solo, and former General Lando Calrissian were in Foamwander City. She was currently her way to a meeting room at the request of Minister Solo?s request, and as she did, she reflected on how her world and people had taken yet another beating by the Imperials today. They had not yet fully recovered from the World Devastators? assault the year before, and today?s attack would prolong the reconstruction effort considerably.

Yet the hardest hit her people had suffered had not been caused by the Imperials. Their most famous commander, Ackbar, had returned home in disgrace. While flying Minister Solo to a diplomatic meeting on the planet Vortex, he lost control of his ship and crashed, destroying a planetary monument and causing the death of hundreds of Vors. The investigation committee found nothing wrong with the shuttle, and in an effort to spare the New Republic any further embarrassment, he resigned his commission. Yet despite his fall from grace, her people still view him as a hero and respected his request for privacy and contemplation. However, she took what had happened to him personally because few knew that she was one of his nieces.

This morning, however, Cilghal felt a surge of hope when Minister Solo arrived and told her she had come to ask him to return to the New Republic because circumstances had changed. She had hoped that someone had found something to clear his name. Not knowing where he was, she took Minister Solo to the Knowledge Bank, the colony of sentient bivalve mollusks that served as a living repository of the history of her home world. It knew everyt

 

This was great. Fantastic. Finally, we get Cilghal. May I venture a guess and take it that the next post will feature Cilghal arriving?

 

Hey sorry I fell behind there. This story sure fills in some gaps in my reading, which is cool. Liked that background on Mon Calamari and the Knowledge Bank. Also the mollusks that contain historical data. Makes me wonder if maybe we have such things on earth but we just don't know about them.

Good to see Cilghal coming into the story and that earlier chapter with Kun working on Kyp was great, a bit chilling though in terms of psychology. Still I guess he IS a Sith.

 

Great post about Cilghal. It's certainly true that the New Republic was in a fragile state at that time, and that ploy to get Ackbar out of action could have led to disaster. He was such a pivotal person for the military.

I might not have been able to convince my uncle to rejoin the New Republic, but by becoming a Jedi, I can do what I can to fill the gap his departure has created. [/]
I liked that thought - very altruistic and typical of Cilghal.

I enjoyed those descriptions of Mon Calamari culture, especially the Knowledge Bank. I also enjoyed the way you took us through Cilghal's reasoning about why it would be good for her to train.

Another excellent post.

 

Hey, everybody. Sorry that this post is later than I expected it to be. I wanted to make it before the new encyclopedia came out, but maybe it's just as well that I waited. As I might have indicated in a previous post, I don't see stopping this story and making a "Saga" version of this story unless I receive official confirmation of the identity of any of the remaining three students. Corran, Kirana Ti, Brakiss, Kam, Gantoris, Streen, Dorsk 81, Tionne, and Kyle have been confirmed. Tash, Zak, and Keyan have attended, but never been confirmed as being part of the first class. If I received confirmation that any of those three have been part of the first class, then that would have been fine. Otherwise...


Since I'm intent on making this fanfic IU and as EU-compliant as possible, I am always on the lookout for anything that might shake things up. That happened once before when I learned that KJA wrote a short story about how Tionne ended up at the Academy. As such, there were two potential road stoppers, so as to speak. The first one was the new encyclopedia, and fortunately I found nothing in there that could have presented a problem. The other one is a forthcoming RPG supplement called Jedi Academy Training Manual coming out on May 19. I don't know if it'll identify the three remaining students, thus why I call it a potential road stopper.


Now that that's aside, here are my responses for those of you who posted.


GrandMasterKatarn - As I said, you were asking about Cilghal, and I delivered. You also asked about someone else. You were half-right. This post does feature another rival. So if it's not Cilghal, then there's only one person left.


-DDR- - Don't know if Earth has Knowledge Banks, but if they do exist, they're probably at depths in the ocean that we can't reach yet. And the previous post featuring Kyp and Exar Kun was supposed to be chilling. I did time its release for Halloween.


Tahi - Cilghal is perhaps the only other individual besides Leia who best exemplified the diplomatic role Jedi played during the KOTOR and Rise of the Empire Eras. She was also always giving others the benefit of the doubt, as we've seen in JAT, I, Jedi, and the YJK novels. And BTW, the Jedi Academy Training Manual I mentioned earlier - if it follows what I've seen in other sourcebooks, there's a chance it'll feature Saga stats for certain Jedi. Which means we might be seeing stats for Anakin and Tahiri in that book. I'll let you know when the time comes.


Now let's return to Yavin IV with this post. And this is a direct tie-in with Dark Apprentice and I, Jedi.



Hyperspace resolved around her fighter, and Mara Jade set her Z-95 Headhunter on a course for Yavin Four. She still had some reservations about this, but she had to get away from the Smuggler's Alliance for a while. She still had uncertainties about being the head in Karrde's absence, and she needed to sort them out. But she couldn't do it there, so she opted to take a "working vacation" of sorts.

So she was heading for Luke?s praxeum for three official reasons. First, she was going to see if there was anything she could learn from there that could be of use to her in running the Smuggler?s Alliance. Second, she didn?t know if Skywalker and his students have been keeping up to date with what?s going on in the galaxy. If they weren?t, then she would need to tell him about Admiral Daala?s strikes on the New Republic, including that recent attack on Mon Calamari. Tied in to that is the third reason. As she understood it, one of Skywalker?s students came from the colony that was relocated from Eol Sha to Dantooine. She had to inform that individual that Daala struck the colony on Dantooine, leaving no survivors.

She took a moment to consider Daala. The Empire's prejudice towards aliens was well-known. Besides Grand Admiral Thrawn, the only aliens who had a high position within the Empire were affiliated with the Inquisitorium or were adepts of the Dark Side. The prejudice tow

 

Mara Jade! and nice reference to Mysteries of the Sith. Unlike Denning, you remembered that Mara had been trained by Kyle Katarn.

I hope there will be some interaction between Kyle and Mara during the course of this story. Maybe some more of Kyle and Corran training? Not to pressure you, that is.

 

I have to admit, I was expecting a few more responses. But considering it's the holidays, I guess everyone's struggling against the weather as they get last-minute Christmas shopping out of the way or they try to get to wherever before Christmas dinner.


GrandMasterKatarn - I figured you'd be happy to see Mara finally arrive at the Praxeum. You'll be getting your wish about Kyle and Mara. As for Kyle and Corran training together... Scenes from Kyle's perspective or insights into what Kyle's thinking or feeling - those I had plan. If you mean something like the lightsaber session Corran and Mara had under Kam's supervision, I have to give it some consideration.


Fifteen minutes later, freshly showered and wearing a fresh jumpsuit, she was ready to address her next issue - satisfying her hunger. When the turbolift door opened, she was surprised to see who was there. "Kyle! This is a surprise," she said, which was half-true. She wasn't familiar with the temple's layout, so she expected someone to guide her to the mess hall. But she was surprised that Kyle was her guide. A part of her was expecting Luke. Given how she had already been trained in the Force, and given how he had provided refresher courses to her on Myrkr, she expected Luke to give her some additional attention that he wouldn't give his students.

"Hi, Mara. Didn't know if you'd be coming," he said with a shadow of a grin.

Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "You knew that I might be coming?"

"I figured since Luke invited me, he invited you as well. And since you weren't here when I arrived, I figured you were still debating on whether or not to come." With a shrug of his shoulders, he stepped aside. "Come on. I'll show you to the mess hall."

Accepting his answer, she accompanied Kyle as they walked through the corridors. "So how have you been, Kyle?"

She saw him hesitate a moment before answering, but that hesitation was enough for her. He's still troubled by what happened on Dromund Kaas. Should he even be here? she wondered. She couldn't deny that Kyle could become a powerful Jedi. For all intents and purposes, he was a Jedi in his own rights. But in her mind, a Jedi needs to have peace of mind. And from what she?s sensing, Kyle hasn?t found that yet.

"I've been doing okay. Jan and I have been doing patrols of the borders of Imperial warlords, monitoring their activities and so forth. Nothing like what you and I did on Altyr Five."

She knew that he was referring to her helping with the evacuation of the base while he went to the asteroid bases and destroyed them. Knowing that Kyle was avoiding the issue, she gave him a stern look and said, "You know what I mean, Kyle."

Sighing, Kyle said, "Until I came here, I avoided using the Force. Luke knows that I still have issues to resolve, so besides the group lessons, he's letting me proceed at my own pace. He hasn't asked me to train any of the others, though Keiran asked me to teach him something I know."

"Oh."

?Members of his family have a strong affinity for mind tricks and absorbing energy, but they have no telekinetic aptitude unless they channel any energy they absorb into bolstering their virtually nonexistent telekinetic abilities. Keiran has already learned these abilities, so I just showed him how to absorb Force energy.?

"I see." She had been hoping that Luke could somehow help Kyle get over his ordeal. But either Luke didn't know what to do, or he realized that this was something Kyle needed to do on his own. She also considered what Kyle said about Corran. His proficiency with mind tricks should offset his lack of telekinesis and similar abilities. She had to admit it would be interesting to see how he would fare once he set out to find his wife.

As they neared the mess hall, Kyle slowed down. "I think you should know, Mara. After Keiran left to show you to your quarters, Luke told the others about you."

"You mean..."

"That you had once been

 

I love reading angry teen Kyp! It was especially good coming from Mara's POV. Love how you inserted her thoughts that Luke was clueless as to how to deal with the kid. Love how she also thought he basically had no clue how to run the academy. Mara probably understood how Kyp felt, at least a lot more than Luke ever would.

 

I loved this post. Kyle Mara interaction was great. I'd swear her and Kyle and Corran were the Jacen, Jaina and Anakin of that batch

About the Kyle training Kerain, just like you did, in small snippets of conversation or from Luke's/Kyle's/Corran's/Mara's POV.

Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah everyone.

 

Great updates, JA. I really enjoyed the way you got into Mara's thinking. I agree with her take on Luke wholeheartedly - he made some bad calls with quite a few of his students. But there again, he'd been tasked with a huge mantle of responsibility, poor guy.

"Your father-in-law is Booster Terrik." With a shadow of a smile tugging the corner of her mouth, she added, "That's reason enough for anyone to go into hiding." She heard stories of how he and Booster met. Though she didn't know which version was the truth, she could see how anyone could have made a huge fortune by selling recordings of that meeting to smugglers, criminals, and even security personnel.
The Mara - Corran meeting and subsequent scenes were really cool. Interesting how similar their approaches are when it comes to getting to the nub of things.

Aha - now we're at the crucial point in Kyp's story. Well-written scene. I liked Mara's observation about how the Force must have been obscured by someone stronger than Luke at that oint.

I never knew that Mara had been trained by Kyle. Have I missed a book, or was that in a game?

Things are building to smash point here - very dramatic. Great stuff.

Hope you had a great Christmas. I'll check out your new stories now.

 

iamobiwan1970 - Good to hear from you again. Mara had always been more realistic than Luke in her views towards the Force and what it means and takes to be a Jedi. And while I never got any impression that she thought Luke was clueless about how to run the academy and how to handle Kyp, I do believe her views and opinions were similar to Corran's. And Luke and Mara should understand how Kyp felt. Luke's only family were killed by the Imperials, and Mara's way of life was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance at Endor, so as to speak.


GrandMasterKatarn - I'll consider what you suggested about Kyle training Corran, but if I do, it'll probably be a flashback or something. And as for your comparison of Corran/Kyle/Mara to Jacen/Jaina/Anakin, interesting but I have to wonder about it. I can see Mara-Jaina. Anakin would probably be a merger of Corran, Kyle, and Mara. Jacen is the one I have to question.


Tahi - Yes Luke had a huge dose of responsibility on his shoulders. But we have to consider Corran's and Mara's views as expressed in I, Jedi and Vision of the Future. The idea of making a fortune on Corran's first meeting with Booster was my creation. Especially since I got the impression that Huff Darklighter was a businessman who'd try to make a credit whenever possible. If by "obscured" you mean something like how Yoda kept mentioning the shroud of the dark side, then I don't think so. It's a power that appeared in I, Jedi. I believe it's one that the Jensaarai used to generate a bubble like the ysalamiri do. Anyone within the bubble can use the Force with no problem, but anyone outside the bubble trying to sense what's going on inside will have no more luck than Luke and Mara did trying to sense what might be in Mount Tantiss in The Last Command. Kyle helped refine Mara's lightsaber skills in the computer game Mysteries of the Sith. That's where they both went to Dromund Kaas, where Kyle fell to the dark side and Mara brought him back. You're right - we're starting to get to another climax. As for my Christmas, it was fine. Got to see my second cousin again - first wearing a Santa suit then wearing a reindeer suit. When he wore the suit, he was crying all the time. Don't know if that meant he didn't like it or if he was starting to get tired and cranky.


As I said, I wanted to make a post before the New Year, and I did. Let's see Luke's and Corran's private meeting from a different POV.


As he and Corran headed for the kitchen, Luke considered his thoughts towards Kyp. Kyp's earlier outburst towards Tionne's ballad had put him on edge. He claimed his statement was based on what he had learned from the Holocron. He could sense Kyp's turmoil and could tell his mind was working fast to come up with an explanation. He knew that Kyp had lied when he claimed he learned it from the Holocron. He saw Tionne's frown and sensed Corran wanted to say something before Artoo came into the room. He knew that they knew he was lying. He wanted to deal with Kyp then and there, but Mara's arrival pushed the matter aside for the moment. He did tell Kyp that they would talk about this later.

Mara's arrival also gave him an opportunity. After he had asked Corran to show Mara to her room, he asked the others to head to the mess hall while he checked on something. He went to the Holocron, and the answers he got from it weren?t encouraging.

Thinking about Kyp?s outburst and explanation, he placed his hand before the Holocron. He had learned to use the Force to sense the imprint of whoever had handled an object and discern a general picture of the individual?s identity. He did that now, and he could sense several on the Holocron. He immediately detected his own and disregarded it. He sensed a yearning for knowledge tinged with excitement, and knew that was Tionne. There was an imprint of a suspicious and cautionary mind. That had to be Corran. He also sensed Tash?s presence ? seeking knowledge, yet exercising great caution while doing so.

 

Fantastic! I liked this post. Nice POV from Luke.

 

More great chapters. It was good to see Mara's thinking about Luke, always interesting to read her in this early stage of the game before she got together with him. She and Corran are the voices of common sense in these chapters. I thought Corran's advice to Luke was on the button.....great bit of in-character writing there. But I also feel sorry for Luke as it wasn't an easy role for him to have to play. For a practical handson kind of guy (even though he was a dreamer), he must have found having to become a teacher and role model over night a bit of an ask.


Anyway I enjoyed these posts and like the way you fit it all into profic.

 

Woohoo - another post.

There was an imprint of a suspicious and cautionary mind. That had to be Corran. He also sensed Tash's presence ? seeking knowledge, yet exercising great caution while doing so. Caution for herself and the implications of the knowledge. He also sensed the very faint presence of his sister ? love and concern for him ? and Kam ? hardened by ordeals, yet loyal to the light. But he detected nothing that he could associate with Kyp. It confirmed what he had already known, yet he wasn't pleased by it.
Loved that little insight into the characters.

There was hesitancy in his voice, and Corran picked up on it. "You're not thinking that just because you were able to redeem the last Dark Lord of the Sith that Exar Kun might have had a change of heart, are you?"
Of course he is, Corran. Luke is the perennial optimist.

You're letting yourself think that if you'd been good enough, if you'd done everything right, your father could have, would have survived. You're thinking you didn't work hard enough to redeem him because, if you had, he'd still be here. And you're thinking if another Dark Lord had been redeemed, then you could compare what you did with what happened to him and learn if you really did do all you could do."
I think Corran is on to something there. And I agree with his opinion that ultimately one just has to embrace the reality and let go.

but you can't let your need for reassurance blind you to what's going on here, right now. Kyp is out of control and under the influence of someone that is steeped in the dark side. You have to talk to him and straighten him out."
Yep - Corran is right on the button here.

I love the way you write Corran.

I'll wait until morning before I confront Kyp. He should have calmed down by then.
Uh oh. I sense trouble. However, Luke IS in a cleft stick situation here - and you've proved that well. Really whatever method he adopted to try and placate Kyp wouldn't have worked. Any intervention now is too late.

Great post.

 

GrandMasterKatarn - Glad you enjoyed it. As I said, this is a tie-in with I, Jedi, and it's told from a different point of view rather than Corran's.


-DDR- - You're right about Mara and Corran being the voices of common sense. They're also two of the more realistic individuals to join Luke's academy. I drew a little on Mara's thoughts that were presented in The Thrawn Trilogy and the Hand of Thrawn Duology. And remember, this is a direct tie-in. All the conversations that took place were written in I, Jedi. I just decided to explore Luke's thoughts during this conversation. And as Mara said in VOTF and Corran hinted at in I, Jedi, at this time, Luke wasn't really ready to begin training a new order of Jedi. Glad you enjoyed the posts.


Tahi - He just learned to associate certain feelings and ways of thinkings to certain individuals. I think part of Luke's hesitancy was that so far, he hadn't heard any official confirmation of Exar Kun's fate. If he heard that Exar Kun was killed, then he might never have considered other options. His training and experiences had steered him towards certain ways of thinking, which Corran mentioned in I, Jedi. As for Kyp, in a way, he was in the same situation that Anakin was towards the end of ROTS. Nothing Obi-Wan or Yoda could have said or done would have made Anakin reconsider. The only one who might have had a chance was Padmé. Had Obi-Wan chosen to remain on the ship...


Let's go back to Mara, and let's see how she handles the next development.


When Luke returned, Mara heard him suggest to everyone that they leave Kyp alone for the moment. He said that he wanted to give Kyp a chance to calm down and sort things out on his own. Personally, she wanted to confront him and literally knock some sense into his head. She didn?t think Luke should allow this kind of insubordination and disrespect from any of his students, and she was certain Palpatine wouldn?t have tolerated it either. Three things prevented her from confronting Kyp. First, this was Luke?s academy ? his show, his rules, so as to speak. Secondly, she had a measure of Kyp?s power, and she knew that if push came to shove, she would be outclassed by Kyp. Even if she was still the Emperor?s Hand, and her powers were stronger, she wouldn?t have been able to handle Kyp. And third, in the past, she had interrogated suspects who were filled with fear and defiance, and on occasions, anger. Anger towards the Empire, she was able to handle and use to her advantage. Kyp?s anger, however, wasn?t just directed at the Empire. It seemed to be directed at everyone and everything. It was an uncontrolled, unfocused anger, and Mara didn?t know how to handle this one. Or rather, she wasn?t certain if her usual methods would be effective. Not now at least. He was out of control and over the edge, but he wasn?t insane like the leader of the BloodScar pirate gang, The Commodore. So she decided to take Luke?s advice and wait and see if Kyp calmed down.

A few hours later, her sleep was disturbed by Luke's astromech sounding all the alarms in the Temple. She immediately woke up and zipped up her flight suit. She reached out to the Force and didn't sense any immediate danger, like the Temple was under attack or something similar to that. When she did a headcount through the Force, she sensed one presence out on the landing grid. She sensed the individual's emotions, and knew it was Kyp.

Now what?s he doing? Oh, he wouldn?t. He wouldn?t kriffing dare!

She ran out of her room and made her way to the landing grid. She saw Luke in front of her and knew he intended to do the same thing as she was - getting to Kyp and stopping him before he left. Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, she saw it was too late to stop him. As the Headhunter shot into the starry sky, she yelled, "He's stealing my ship!" Before, her concern for Kyp was mixed with her initial dislike. Now, she was angry. Very angry. She turned to see Luke shaking his head in disb

 

Nice fic, I like what you're doing here, fillling in the gaps between the books, it's nice to see some actual Jeid training. And you write Exar Kun very well, I'm always a sucker for a well-written villain, and the fact that he get's defeated doesn't ruin it, for some reason. This is an awesome fic, and keep up the great work, I've read everything so far, and I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

Great post. Can't wait for more.

BTW have I done something wrong? I don't get the update pm's anymore.