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

GrandMasterKatarn - it wasn't a heart-to-heart so much as it was a means of clearing the air between them. Besides, I think it took more than that one conversation between Corran and Mara in I, Jedi in order for Corran to become completely at ease with her.

-DDR- - let me guess - fried by lasers, right? And I'm betting Booster's smarting over the lost opportunity to cash in big time with a recording of his first encounter with Corran. I think you would agree with me that a Corran/Mara novel would be an excellent idea. Maybe DR should give that idea some thought, and Stackpole and Zahn should be co-authors. Better yet - a Corran/Mara/Mirax novel, with Luke being an option to add.

Kerensa - the only times when Mara glamoured herself up and turned Luke into a bug-eyed, slack-jawed, drooling statue was when she donned that Kuati dress in Balance Point. She probably blew Anakin's mind away as well. As for Luke, it goes without saying how successful any attempts they might have made were. It's established that Corran made several attempts in I, Jedi. Whether or not I have Mara do the same is still in the air. About the only one who definitely didn't run afoul of Isard is the Emperor. If Vader and Thrawn did, they didn't need to worry because there's no way Isard could go after them and not attract Palpatine's notice and/or survive. I decided to include some of Mara's past experiences, and only the relevant ones. I know Zahn's writing another Mara novel. Depending on what's in there, I might add some more from that novel. But we have to wait for it to come out first.


Well I got on the ball this time and came up with this post for two reasons. First, I wanted to celebrate the Fourth of July. Second, my story Tionne's Yavin System Tour was nomiated for the Most Underrated Story award. Wish me luck on that one. And now, here's some more Mara.


Luke closed and locked the door to his office, and then turned his attention towards the other occupants. After the morning meal, he had asked Kam to take over the training of the other students while he focused on training Mara, building on the lessons he had given her two years earlier on Myrkr. But as they were leaving the mess hall, he asked Kam and Mara to accompany him to his office for a few minutes. He had wanted to talk to Kam about something ever since they had met. Unfortunately, other pressing matters had delayed the conversation for quite some time. He knew another opportunity would present itself once he established this Praxeum. However, since there was the possibility that Mara would be attending, he decided to wait until she arrived. He had thought of including Tionne in this conversation, but considering the nature of the topic, he felt it wouldn?t be safe to do so. Not yet, at least. He remembered an encounter he had after the destruction of the first Death Star. It was an encounter he had never forgotten, but it was only during the years since then that he had been able to understand some of the details of that encounter.

?What is it, Master Skywalker?? Kam asked as he adopted a formal tone.

?Kam, we?re not with the other students. So you don?t need to be so formal.? Moving to stand in front of his desk, he said, ?Kam, you have knowledge about the Jedi Order during the final days of the Republic. Mara, you have had access to the Imperial databanks. Since you were the Emperor?s Hand, your access level was much higher than most members of the Imperial hierarchy. Correct??

?Yes, and the Emperor confided in me certain things that not even Thrawn or Vader knew about.?

?I thought as much. Do either of you recognize the name Carrick??

Both of them shook their heads.

?What about Karness Muur??

?A name like that I would recognize,? Mara said. ?But I don?t.?

?I?m not familiar with it either, but I don?t like the sound of it.?

?There?s good reason for it. But before I get to that, I want t

 

Nice tie-in with VECTOR. Good post.

 

Good post, always good to see Mara. Interesting stuff about Celeste, hadn't heard of her.

Zahn is writing a Mara book?

 

GrandMasterKatarn - Thanks. I wanted to bring in a mention of Celeste for some time, but I wanted to wait until I saw any indication that the Jedi in the Legacy comics knew of her or learned of her. Since there's no clear indication that Luke informed the Jedi about her existence, that gave me a window to use.

Kerensa - There will be more of Mara. Just wait. If you want to learn more about Celeste, read the special Vector comic series, which spans across four time periods - KOTOR, Dark Times, Rebellion, and Legacy. So far, Zahn has written one book where Mara was the central character - Allegiance. He'll be writing another that's scheduled to be released two years from this coming October.


Well, it's definitely took me longer to get back here than I expected. First, there was the release of the Rebellion Era Campaign Guide, so I needed to make certain if any revisions were necessary. Fortunately, that didn't happen. Next, I had a case of writer's block in that I had trouble writing this post and the next post in my TYST. Then there was TYST being nominated for the Most Underrated Story. Thanks for the nom, but I didn't win. And finally, I have been asked by LukeSkywalker_2001 to participate in his Notes series. I have taken over the task of being Lama Su, the prime minister of Kamino in AOTC. I have made my first entries to two threads. Here are the links:

Jango and Lama Su - Prequel Trilogy Notes AU
Dooku and Lama Su - Prequel Trilogy Notes AU

Now that that's all cleared up, here's the next post.


Over the next several hours, Mara and Luke practically picked up where they had left off on Myrkr ? reaching out in the Force to sense the ambient life in the jungle, discerning the identities of the other students, telekinetic exercises. One of the major differences she noted in his training methods now from when they were on Myrkr and from her training under Palpatine was his repeated emphasis that she draws on the Force without touching on her emotions or the dark side. Though she had been trained to use it by Palpatine, she never drew on the dark side unless it was absolutely necessary. Nor did she use her emotions to fuel her strength in the Force. She always considered having a cool, level head a crucial factor in her line of work as the Emperor?s Hand. And after seeing what happened to Kyle on Dromund Kaas, she renounced the dark side and severed any connections she might have had with it, though she felt she never had any connection with the dark side in the first place.

After lunch, she listened to the Jedi lore from the Holocron. She appreciated the second mantra of the Jedi code pertaining to knowledge. Knowledge played a key role in her past missions. She always conducted thorough research in preparation for the missions, and a key piece of information often provided a vital key in the mission?s success. However, she wasn?t really that interested in the tales she heard. She had always been a person of action, though she had begun to curtail her predilection when she took over for Karrde as head of the Smugglers? Alliance. If the gatekeepers had mentioned any additional ways of touching the Force or any new Force abilities, she would have taken a deeper interest. The others, however, were more interested in the tales. Especially the silver-haired woman named Tionne. She absorbed the tales like a sponge. Recalling Thrawn?s predilection for art and knowledge, a part of her wondered if Thrawn would have been as interested in the Jedi lore as Tionne apparently was.

After listening to a little bit of lore, she was pulled aside by Kam. Considering her past training, he felt that she should receive lightsaber training, just as Corran apparently was. He chose to start off by asking her to go through a calisthenics routine with her lightsaber. In doing so, he would be able to evaluate her performance

 

Nice to have Kam and Mara talk things out. I always wondered why the novels didn't touch upon this. I would still like to see more povs from Dorsk 81, Kirana Ti, and others, but that may depend upon your posts. Great post, can't wait for more.

 

I enjoyed that post. It looks as if Wedge's humility has worn off on Corran. You write Kam well I have to say....he's one of those characters not made much of in the profic books which is a shame imo as he has a lot to offer. The Kam-Mara conversation was good and it looks like Kam has caused Mara to do some thinking about herself.

 

GrandMasterKatarn - I think the JAT touched on Mara's interactions with the students because she was there for only a brief time, and because there were several other main themes going on - beginning the new class of Jedi, Daala, Kyp, Furgan, Exar Kun, Ackbar, etc. You asked, and I delivered in this next post.

Kerensa - I agree that Kam hasn't been touched upon that much in the novels. The only times we see any sort of character growth or development were in the Union comics, Conquest, and the LOTF. I don't think Mara did any sort of introspection or examining of her life. At least, nothing that comes to the conversations she had with Luke in VOTF where we see them address and possibly answer how she served the Emperor without turning to the dark side.


Well, this is a special day - my birthday. As such, to help celebrate it, I decided to make a new post. It's not very long, but it's something. And it addresses something GrandMasterKatarn noted in his review. GMK, you asked, and I answered.


On the morning of the third day since Mara?s arrival, many of the students were once again performing morning exercises, but this time they were performing a calisthenics routine based on lightsaber drills that Kam had shown them. They wielded their wooden swords while performing the calisthenics, moving slowly yet with precision. But while they were performing this, they engaged in conversations, and the current subject of their conversation was the recent addition.

?I still don?t know what to think of her,? Zak commented.

Tash scoffed at his remark. ?You mean you still haven?t thought of a ?brilliant? plan to play your ?charms? on her,? she retorted, saying ?brilliant? and ?charms? with a hint of sarcasm.

Zak briefly flustered. ?To deny that she?s attractive would be to deny that the Empire was evil ? exercises in futility,? he responsed. ?But I remember her eyes, Tash. They may not be blue, but I could see that they had a lot of ice in them.?

?Yeah. Okay, I can see what you?re saying,? Tash said in response.

?I find her quite intimidating,? Dorsk 81 commented.

?That goes for me as well,? Tionne agreed.

?While I?m not willing to go as far as you have, I think we can all agree that she is one not to be underestimated or trifled with,? Zak added. ?She may be the noob in our group, but she?s not inexperienced.?

Everyone nodded at Zak?s statement.

?I?m not certain she can be trusted,? Tash said.

?Why do say that?? Tionne asked. ?Master Skywalker obviously trusts her.?

Tash wanted to voice her opinion that Luke might be wrong. She followed Luke?s suggestion towards Kyp, and the opportunity to stop a problem before it spiraled beyond anyone?s control slipped through their fingers. She wanted to send a warning out, but Luke said they had to trust the Force. I want to trust the Force, but trusting the intentions of one who uses the Force seems just as important. The way Kyp is now ? he can?t be trusted to use the Force properly. Just as I knew I couldn?t trust myself to maintain composure if I were to face Xux when she was here.

But she chose to remain silent. She could sense that things were tense enough as it was. She didn?t want to contribute to it. She didn?t know for certain, but she believed that Luke had been affected by what had happened to Gantoris and Kyp more than he was letting on.

?She willingly served Palpatine,? Kirana Ti said. ?She willingly embraced the dark side. On Dathomir, she would have been exiled to the wilderness.?

?I don?t know about the dark side part, Kirana Ti,? Tionne said.

?What?? Kirana Ti asked.

Tionne winced as she brought up unpleasant memories. ?Think back to how Gantoris felt in the Force when he faced off against Master Skywalker, or how Kyp felt right before he took off.?

With great reluctance, everyone recalled those moments and what they sensed in the Force. ?What do they have to do with this?? Dorsk 81 asked

 

First: HAPPY B-DAY, JediAlly!

Second: I didn't expect you to seriously have a different POV in this chapter, I was expecting more down the line. Can't complain, though, as I like reading Tash's POV.

Onto the story. I really liked how the students (Tionne, Zak, Tash, Keyan, Dorsk 81, Streen, Kirana Ti, and [I think] Kam) haven't been able to break the ice with Mara.

Great post, can't wait for more.

 

Hi,

I just discovered this story and I love it. I really enjoy your different POV's on scenes from JAT and I Jedi. Your attention to detail is amazing.

I love the tie-ins with the X-Wing novels and how both Corran and Mara got under Isard's skin.


I also liked the expansion of Corran and Mara's friendship and Mara and Kyle's friendship. Those are too often forgotten about in the novels.

I like how Corran, Mara, and Kyle don't fall into the Luke is the Jedi Master so he is always right and can't screw up trap that so many fall into.

 

First off, I want to apologize for taking so long to get back to this. DRL hit me with a sledgehammer. Now add to that a case of writer's block trying to figure out how to proceed next with both fanfics. I managed to figure it out, and I can say that for this story, this post and the next few posts are going to tie-in with the novels and occur almost simultaneously.

Next I had to look through the Essential Atlas and the Luke Skywalker bio in case anything needs to be revised, or worst case scenario end this story and start over with a "Saga" version of the story. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

GrandMasterKatarn - I admit I didn't expect to cover them all in one post, but given how short a time Mara spent at the Praxeum, I decided to get it out of the way now rather than later. And I think Kam at least tried to break the ice with Mara. At the very least, he might have melted off the snow that was on top of the ice. The ice is still hard, but the heat had made it possible for him to see his reflection.

Lady_Halcyon - I'm always happy to see another reader.


Like I said, I had a bit of trouble deciding where to go from here, but I came up with a solution. Also, this post and the next several ones are going to be tie-ins and occurring almost simultaneously. Now this is going to be a short post. I wanted to make it longer, but I've delayed things too long. Also, I decided to focus on one thing in this post. This is a direct tie-in with Dark Apprentice, and we get to see Cilghal's arrival at the Praxeum from her perspective.


Hyperspace resolved around the transport pod, and Cilghal could see the green moon in the viewport. She had managed to settle her affairs on her homeworld and request an extended leave of absence. It had taken longer than she had expected, due to the chaos caused by Daala?s attack. However, her superiors were overjoyed when they learned she would be attending Skywalker?s academy to become a Jedi.

?I have just contacted the Jedi academy and informed them of our immediate arrival, Ambassador Cilghal. We?ll be landing in a few minutes,? the pilot said.

?Thank you,? she replied amiably.

Ten minutes later, she had disembarked from the pod and was standing on the landing pad outside the Great Temple. As she waited for Master Skywalker to appear, she looked around to take in the surrounding terrain. The jungle is very different from the coral forests on the sea floor of home, and the structure appears quite old, she thought. She took in a breath of air. At least it?s humid here. Almost as much as it back home. I shouldn?t have too much trouble adapting to the change in terrain and climate.

Though she was slightly nervous, her diplomatic training allowed her to school her features and kept her nervousness at bay. However, it did nothing to the sadness she was still feeling over what happened to her uncle. Nor did it lessen her determination to become a Jedi so that she could help her people.

It was about a minute before the famed Jedi Master emerged from the hangar with an R2 astromech by his side. She didn?t know exactly how to take his ?delay? in arriving. Granted, she hadn?t thought to send a message beforehand, alerting him of her arrival. But she had thought Leia would have done that herself. Apparently, she hadn?t, and considering the situation back on Coruscant, she couldn?t blame her for forgetting. Seeing that he was now approaching, she turned to face the pilot and gave a gesture of thanks and farewell.

When he was before her, she greeted him. ?Master Skywalker, I am Ambassador Cilghal from Calamari. I have a message for you.? She reached into her robes and produced the copper and gold disk containing Leia?s message.

?Artoo,? she heard him say to the astromech. The droid came forward, and she knelt down to place the disk into its drive. She watched as Master Skywalker listened and reacted to Leia?s message. When the message was finished, she had expected Master Skywalker

 

Hey there. Been away travelling for a while so am way behind. Back now...obviously....so will get reading again.

 

I would have gotten to this sooner, but DRL hit me hard. I enjoyed Cilghal's entrance to the Jedi Academy. Can't wait to see what happens next

 

-DDR-, GrandMasterKatarn, good to see you're back.

I got hit with a big dose of writer's block for this post and the new one for TYST. Then I had to pry myself away from an addicting game. I wanted to hold off until next week, but I decided to keep this separate from the next one. And I can tell you this much - the next one is going to be appropriately timed. Being released on Halloween. That should give you an idea as to what's coming up.

For now, though, let's pick up where we left off with Cilghal. This is another tie-in with Dark Apprentice and I, Jedi.


It was early afternoon, and Cilghal was sitting in a common room contemplating the past few hours. After Master Skywalker had taken her to her new quarters, he introduced her to the other students that were attending the Praxeum. She received a warm welcome from most of them. The blond male named Brakiss seemed cool to her presence. The stern one named Kam Solusar and the woman named Mara Jade just gave her a curt nod as a greeting. She could also see that her arrival seemed to have brought some enthusiasm into their eyes. More and more she was wondering just what was going on here. About the only mystery that seemed to match this was the one she had about Mara Jade. She was certain she had heard of her from somewhere before.

She spent the time between then and midday meal watching the others practice using the Force and receiving her first lessons from Master Skywalker. The lessons included the Jedi Code and learning the first two areas of Force skills ? Control and Sense. When she managed to sense the Force within herself and surround her, she felt as though she had caught a glimpse of an ocean far vaster than the oceans of her homeworld of Dac, with currents and tides that travelled and touched the entire galaxy. But it was for a moment. She had wanted to sense it again, but she was too excited, and it eluded her. She recalled Master Skywalker chuckling at her reaction and explaining that it was how the others had reacted when they consciously reached out and sensed the Force for the first time.

He then explained that he wanted to help her develop a foundation in those areas before starting on the final area of Alter, in which she would learn to use the Force to ?alter the universe? around her. It was an elaborate way of saying, ?learning to use the Force to manipulate matter and perform telekinetic feats.? He then said he suspected her primary strength would lie in the Alter area, given her affinity for healing. He explained that Control would allow a Jedi to heal oneself, but to heal others, a Jedi needed to combine one?s skills in Control and Alter. Over the next several days, he would incorporate self-healing techniques in her lessons. As for those techniques used to heal others, he knew of several, but his skills in those areas were limited. And he didn?t know the full range of healing skills. He had asked the Arranda siblings to go through a cache of reader disks he had come across several years ago. She had been told it was a large cache, so their search would take some time. She had no problem with that arrangement, for it would allow her to build on the fundamentals so that when the time comes, she would be ready to learn the more advanced healing skills.

Now she was here in the common room with several of the others. She had heard about Tionne?s songs and wanted to listen to one. She wasn?t the only one, as the elderly hermit Streen, the Dathomiri witch Kirana Ti, Keyan Farlander, and the somewhat enigmatic Keiran Halcyon and Mara Jade were also apparently eager to listen, and Master Skywalker seemed to be overlooking all of them. She saw Tionne shyly glancing at Keiran from time to time. It would seem that there might be a tide of romance between the two of them, she thought.

She was interrupted from any further musings when Mara Jade approached her. As she watched, Cilghal noted the somewhat Imperial air about Mara Jade?s approach. It was enough to mak

 

Cool post. So Cilghal's the one to break the ice? If so, I think I can guess as to what the next post is about.

 

GrandMasterKatarn - If you're thinking Cilghal's going to learn the 411 on what's going on, you're right and wrong. You're wrong insofar as that doesn't happen in this post. You're right, though, that she does learn, but I don't think I'm going to make a post about that. I might refer to how she reacted in a future post, but again, I can't say if I'm going to make one. Think about what today is, and you should have known who's going to appear in this post.


And without further ado, let's shift back to our main villain. And it's another direct tie-in with Dark Apprentice.


Though he would have preferred to move about at night, Exar Kun had been more active ever since Kyp had left. He had been expending energy to keep track of Kyp Durron as he ?sorted? his thoughts. The further Durron got from the moon, the more energy he had to expend. When Durron dropped out of hyperspace yesterday morning, he was surprised to learn he had traveled to Endor of all places. Despite the distance that separated them, he was able to sense Durron?s thoughts. When he did, he chuckled. Ah, so Durron?s hoping to hide from me and find some insight by visiting the burial site of Skywalker?s father Darth Vader. He will soon learn that there is nowhere in the galaxy that he can go to that would elude my notice. For a moment, a strong presence in the dark side diverted his attention from Durron. He sensed that it wasn?t on the moon, but in space. He then realized what he was sensing ? the site of the destruction of the second Death Star and of Palpatine?s ?death?.

He sensed that Durron had come to believe that the powers he was offering weren?t completely evil. My new protégé believes he can still bridge the gap between the light and the dark. He believes he can use his newfound powers and remain with the light. He chuckled as he recalled Ulic Qel-Droma once had the same thoughts. Though Exar Kun still thought Durron was being naïve, he acknowledged Durron?s willingness to take dangerous risks if they yielded great rewards. That is proper Sith thinking, Exar Kun mused. However, he?s not exactly thinking like a Sith. Durron is still thinking of the New Republic, believing they would benefit the most from his actions. A Sith should think of himself or herself and hoard the rewards that were earned by embracing the dark side. He acknowledged that the New Republic would benefit from Durron?s private war against the Empire. But it should be Durron who reaped the most benefit. This was something he would need to get Durron to understand.

He waited while Durron searched the site of the bonfire, hoping he would find some answer. He felt dark pleasure as he sensed Durron?s hopes were reduced to nothing, just as Darth Vader?s body had been. He also sensed Durron believe that he understood the dangers better than Anakin Skywalker had and that he could guard himself better from the lure of the dark side. Oh, the irony, Exar Kun thought with dark mirth. He believes he?s not as naïve, when in fact he is. He has yet to realize that he?s further on the path to the dark side than he realized.

He managed to draw strength from Durron?s bitterness as any of his pleasant thoughts about Han twisted and became thoughts about Kessel and how he and his family had ended up there. Then he sensed a transformation occur within Durron. The turbulent storm that had pervaded his thoughts dissipated. His raging emotions cooled, then became like ice. He then sensed Durron?s resolve to solve the New Republic problems by himself. Then he heard Durron say something that brought a smile to his face.

?Now I am the Lord of the Sith.?

No, Durron. At least, not yet. But you?re definitely proving to be a worthy apprentice.

Now that Durron had firmly committed himself to the dark side, Exar Kun began to use the Force to guide Durron subtly on his vendetta. It would be similar to how he and Qel-Droma had proceeded against the Republic long ag

 

If only Kun could see the flaws in his plan.. then he might be able to salvage it... but, thankfully... he doesn't.

 

Good point in that earlier post about Cilghal's even tempre being a good addition. Interesting the way the different personalities of the group interact and bring out either the best or the worst from each other. You show the social side of the Jedi Academy group well.
Good chat between Mara and Cilghal. I also liked the bit about Cilghal sensing the Force like a wide ocean.
Funny how these darksiders all think they're cleverer than each other Dumb lot. Kun is sure enjoying toying with Kyp.

Great posts

 

GrandMasterKatarn - I think Exar Kun will make the same mistake nearly all other Sith Lords have made. Darth Bane was perhaps the only one to recognize the mistake and take steps to avoid it - the Rule of Two.

-DDR- - she might be a diplomat, but Cilghal always struck me as being rational and cool-headed. I admit I haven't considered the personalities. The only times we've seen the social side at the Praxeum was perhaps in the YJK, when we see how the twins interact with their friends. As for Cilghal's view of the Force, Mon Calamari tend to think in nautical terms. If you've read Rogue Squadron and Wedge's Gamble, Admiral Ackbar used them from time to time whether he's attending a mission briefing or a meeting amongst the leaders of the New Republic.


Gah! Did I get tied up. I'm working to get certified in Microsoft Office, hoping it'll increase my chances of getting a job. The classes are over, but while I'm at home, I'm taking practice tests over the net to get ready. I'm allowed two minutes per question, so I have at least two hours to take each practice test. Then I have the option of taking practice tests in the classroom before I decide to take the certification test. I'll be going for Microsoft Word 2007 on Monday. Powerpoint should be next, followed by Excel and Outlook. I'm still struggling with Access at home. Don't know if I'm going to bother with it. Then I got to consider the fact that I can't practice Outlook at home because 2003 is available, but not 2007. In any event, I?m hoping to get this done with before Christmas. And I wanted to get this out a few days ago before or during Thanksgiving. Gah!!


Anyway, let?s get back to the story. And it?s yet another tie-in with the novel.


Even though he was looking at the remains of the Tedryn Holocron and inhaling the acrid smoke wafting up from the remains, Luke didn?t notice them. His mind kept reviewing what had transpired over the past few minutes. First, something, or someone, had somehow destroyed the Jedi artifact. There is no death, there is only the Force. Life creates the Force, and upon death, life energy becomes part of the Force. However, that part of the Jedi code didn?t apply to artifacts like the Tedryn Holocron. The Tedryn Holocron ? a repository of Jedi history and lore going back at least four thousand years ? was gone forever. Not only that, his best hope of finding the answers he needed was gone as well.

Tied in to that was his other concern. He had wanted to learn what happened to Exar Kun, so he consulted with the gatekeeper Vodo Siosk-Baas. He knew that the Jedi had launched an attack on this moon. The attack obliterated the surviving Massassi, but when he asked about Exar Kun?s fate, all Luke heard was that Exar Kun was able to do something. But what? he thought. Escape? Go into hiding? Did he take the same path Darth Bane did ? create a secret order of Sith to work behind the scenes? Is a disciple of this order behind the troubles here? Luke had been certain he was on the right path to finding the answers he needed. Now, he had more questions than ever.

His musings ended when the door opened, and Artoo and Corran entered his room. Looking at the remains, Corran asked, ?What happened??

Luke looked at Artoo. ?Artoo, close the door.? After he saw Artoo do what he asked, Luke turned his attention back to Corran. ?You remember I said I?d check the Holocron for more information about Exar Kun.?

?I do.?

?There was. Vodo-Siosk Baas was modeled on the Jedi that trained Exar Kun. I used him as a vector for my inquiries about what happened to Kun.? He gathered himself before continuing. ?Baas went to Coruscant, to speak to his disciple, to get him to return to the way of the Jedi. Kun killed him in the Senate Chamber.?

?That?s not good news.?

?No, it isn?t,? Luke agreed with him solemnly. ?When I asked what happened?? He gestured to the remains. ?In the resulting fire and bright light I thou

 

Thanks for the wonderful post.

Good Luck on your certification tests.

 

Lady_Halcyon - Thanks.

Only one response? I guess everyone getting the winter or holiday version of DRL - college finals, Christmas shopping.

Well, so far I got certified in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I was hoping to get certified in Access and Outlook before Christmas, but the system went down. They said it'll be fixed by Monday at the latest. Looks like I'll be aiming for before New Year instead.


Here's the last tie-in for a while, but I'll be doing that again soon enough.


Later that afternoon, Mara was with Corran in the hangar doing another lightsaber exercise under Kam supervision. The foundation of this exercise was parrying remotes, but Kam didn?t stop there. First, he turned out the hangar lights. He had eight remotes hovering in the darkness following complex interwoven paths that had one sometimes eclipsing another or going behind a pillar. Kam was forcing Corran to expand his awareness to cover the potential bind spots.

Each of them had to contend with four of the remotes, but they weren?t assigned specific remotes. In addition, none of the remotes were assigned a specific target, which meant any of the remotes could target any of them at any time. They gained a point for every shot they parried and lost one for every shot that got through. However, the hardest part was that this was an exercise in teamwork, and that she had to work with Corran. She had always preferred to work independently while following the Emperor?s orders. When she did work with others, either it was at the Emperor?s command or it was because she felt it would help improve the chances of her completing the mission successfully. While she succeeded in those missions, most of the time she had conflicts with the other individual. These conflicts were the result of the other individual?s ego, ambition, or incompetence, which threatened the mission. On a few occasions, the other individual acted like a true professional, and those missions proceeded with a minimum of complications.

Corran might have been Corellian and a Rogue, but he knew how to act like a professional, most likely because of his CorSec training. Under other circumstances, she would have had no problems working with him. However, since the start of the exercise, they had been in close proximity of each other, often back to back. She was forced to restrict her movements and momentum, keeping her lightsaber in front of her for most of the time. If she were to swing her arms to her side, she could have hurt Corran inadvertently. If she could have put some distance between herself and Corran, she wouldn?t have had that concern.

She had lost track of how long she and Corran had been doing this exercise, but she was beginning to reach her limit, and she was certain Corran was too. She took some consolation that Corran was in the same situation as she was. A remote was getting ready to fire above and behind his head. Under other circumstances and in his boots, she would have raised her blade and stab it behind her head; but that would have skewered her head. So Corran chose to jump high, and then follow through on that move. He caught the shot on the tip of his blade, and while he was laughing at his success, she whirled her blade in a complete circle underneath him, catching three shots coming in at different angles.

She went to block another shot and found Coran?s blade intersecting with hers. Corran used this to throw himself backwards. She, on the other hand, spun away from three darts; however, one of them hit her on her right shoulder. The sting slowed her motion, allowing another pair to strike her right hip. She continued spinning out of control and fell to the floor. She started to get up, and batted away one shot, but her legs collapsed from underneath her when a shot hit her on the small of her back. She found herself on her belly with her legs tangled, her deactivated lightsaber next to her left hand. She knew she was a perfect target for the remotes.

The next thing she knew,

 

Great two posts.. DRL hit me hard. I have no job, but I am continuing to search for one.. the holiday mad-sales/hiring weeks have left me alone again as i face yet another xmas drawing my own xmas cards to give to my friends and family

 

Finally caught up on the last few months of posts, I am still reading. Great work JA, I'm enjoying your fleshing out of Mara, and how the events on Dromund Kaas are still affecting her. Looking forward to the next chapter.

 

GrandMasterKatarn - I hear you about having no jobs. Does that mean you're not going to spend Christmas with your family? That's sad. Hope you're using a computer to make those Xmas cards.

Vialco - glad to see you're back. DRL hit you as well, huh? Glad you like how I'm writing Mara. I don't think she really got any fleshing out until the Hand of Thrawn Duology. I think you got Mara confused with Kyle. I don't think Mara was affected that much by what happened on Dromund Kaas. If you're talking about Mara's concerns about whether or not she brushed the dark side - I'm drawing that from the Hand of Thrawn Duology.


Well, I said I hoped to have the next post up before Christmas, and I did it. And this one isn't a tie-in.


Deciding not to intrude on Keiran?s and Mara?s conversation, Kam had left them to find Luke. While he was doing that, he reviewed their performance in his mind. Individually, they had done well in fending off the remotes. Their teamwork, on the other hand, needed work. Granted, they were able to cover the other at times, and Kam gave Keiran credit for going to Mara?s aid when the remote?s shots knocked her to the floor. However, he noted that there were moments of hesitation between them. He could accept some of that. It was their first time working together, and they needed to get a feel of how the other worked. They were also well aware of the dangers inherent with the lightsaber and exercised caution lest a move resulted in a serious accident, at the very least.

However, he recalled how in his father?s time, the bond between Master and Padawan was strong enough that they could anticipate each other?s movements. They were able to work together and function as one. The primary key to this was placing their complete trust in the Force. A secondary key, though just as important, was their ability to place their complete trust in the other. He could sense the bond of trust between the two of them. However, he could sense Keiran needed to work on the first one. He had noted that Keiran seemed to hold back nearly all the time. Sometimes, Keiran?s tendency wasn?t a bad thing, as evidenced by his defensive nature when using his lightsaber. Then again, his reserved nature kept his sensory range close to him when he started with remote deflection training.

His analysis of the two ended when he sensed something in the Force ? a wave of despair. He went towards where he sensed the disturbance and found himself in the living quarters. He sensed there were three people in the room, and though he sensed one was the primary source of the despair, the other two were feeling pain as well.

A few moments after he knocked on the door, it opened, and he saw Zak on the other side.

?Hi, Kam. What?s up?? he asked.

Kam noted the subdued tone in Zak?s voice. He hadn?t known Zak long, but he knew if Zak talked in that tone, then there was something serious bothering Zak. ?I sensed a disturbance ? a wave of grief. Is there something wrong??

He saw Zak look away from him before he opened the door further. ?Come on in, Kam.?

When Kam entered the room, he saw Tash and Tionne were also in the room. He could also see that Tionne was the source of the grief he had sensed because she was sitting on the bed sobbing quietly on Tash?s shoulder, who was sitting next to her.

?What happened?? Kam asked.

He saw Tash look up to answer him. Though she wasn?t crying, he could see the sad expression on her face. ?We were looking through the reader disks when Luke? I mean, Master Skywalker came to find us. He said?? Tash took a moment to compose herself. ?He said the Tedryn Holocron is no more.?

?What?? Kam asked. He wasn?t certain he had heard correctly.

?The Holocron was destroyed,? Zak clarified.

Shock coursed through Kam. When he first saw the Holocron, he hadn?t thought much of it until he touched it and saw the simulacrum of Bodo Baas appear. ?What exactly happened??

He shi

 

Normally I wonder why I got no responses, but I chalk it up to the holiday season.


Well, I said I hoped to get this out before New Years, and I made it. It's a short one, but it's helps move the plot forward and sets up two forthcoming tie-ins.


Later that night, Mara was sitting on her bed. She felt tired and wanted to go to sleep, but she was too deep in thought for sleep. Ever since her training session with Corran, or rather what Corran had told her after their training session, she had felt worry and concern creep into her. In order to control them, she had spent the time reviewing the situation, just as she had done many times on her missions for the Empire.

She didn?t like what she was seeing, not at all. It all started when she sensed the presence of the dark side on this moon when she arrived. Then she saw Kyp Durron, a teenager with a lot of power and bottled-up rage and no self-control go ballistic and apparently get an upper hand on Corran in a Force duel without anyone else, including herself and Luke, noticing before taking off in her starfighter. Later, she learned what happened to Gantoris and about the dark history this moon apparently had.

The situation was bad enough with just these facts. However, from her viewpoint, it was much worse. She could place most of them blame on Luke?s shoulders. First, there?s his decision to stay on here. That?s like having me, Luke, Corran, or one of the others here sitting in one of Karrde?s bases or on the Wild Karrde with Karrde?s pet vornskrs Sturm and Drang nearby ? you know that sooner or later, those two are going to give the Force-sensitive trouble. You don?t sit around waiting for that kind of trouble unless absolutely necessary and with a well thought-out plan. You avoided it if you know it?s there or make a hasty escape when you learn about it. Once again, she had to shake her head in disbelief at Luke?s choice to have no ships here. When she heard Corran?s explanation as to why they were still here after Gantoris died, she had to admit it made sense at the time. However, she knew that what happened to Gantoris and Kyp could have been avoided in the first place.

So she came back to her question ? why did Luke stay here in the first place? She could think of only two possibilities. First, Luke didn?t sense the dark side presence when he came here. Back when he first joined the Rebellion, she would have accepted that answer. After what happened over the past year, she knew that wasn?t the case. It had to be the second possibility, which was he felt he could deal with whatever was causing the dark side presence and all the problems that were plaguing the academy.

If that were so, then Luke?s plan sounded easier than it actually was, especially if the source was indeed the specter of an ancient Sith Lord. She knew, from her own experiences on Dromund Kaas, that dark side spirits could possess specially created statues and could animate corpses. These served as the spirits? means of attacking others, and she learned that once those bodies were destroyed, the spirits were completely impotent. However, the spirits she encountered on Dromund Kaas were guardians ? strong but not on the same level as a Sith Lord who knew Force knows what kind of powers. If he did destroy the Tedryn Holocron, he had one major advantage of the spirits of Dromund Kaas ? he didn?t need a physical body to alter the material world.

And that?s just on that side of the equation. Mara also considered the shape Luke was in, and she wasn?t feeling reassured. He seemed intent on trying to solve the problem by himself, just as he did against Vader, C?Baoth, and that thing last year. As she had thought when she arrived here, it made sense from a strategic point of view to confront Vader at Endor away from the rest of the team. And he had a personal stake in the confrontation. C?Baoth?s clone ? he tried to help him. Save him from the dark side and his madness. But it turned out to have been a futile ges

 

It's been a long time since I read JAT so this is proving kind of fun. Just finished Part One--Thank you for keeping everyone in character. I am especially curious to see what happens to Dorsk 81/82, Kyle, Kam, Luke, and Streen. Am curious if the rivalries, mistrust, and friendships will begin appearing as early as Part Two--I have noticed that Kyp appears to still be absent...wasn't it Han that really became aware of the kid?

Part Two: Through p.89

Uh oh, Exar already is watching Gantoris and Streen?never did like him. Been a while since I read any of the novels but it looks like from how you?re presenting this that the X-Wing series coincided with JAT time-wise. Did it? Nice to see Gavin and Wedge too. I know it happened but have no idea how or when: Kam and Tionne married?on the surface it seems an unlikely match but for me SW has many of those: L/M. H/L, A/P, J/TK?yet it works. Though, A/P and L/M I usually find annoying. I?ve liked Lando since ESB, he?s pretty cool. It is also nice to see my Main Man, Biggs Darklighter mentioned a bit here?being such a minor character he doesn?t seem to get much appreciation/recognition?usually only as a relative of Gavin?s. Nice, you had Lando do for Tash and Zak what I did for my main family of characters in my story: Unlikely Family, introduce hot chocolate.