Before - Legends A Jedi's Sacrifice (a KOTOR fic) authors note--6-27

just wanted to say that an update should be in the next 2 days i hope. i wanted to have it up sooner, but my schedule just isn't cooperating and when it is my MUSE isn't cooperating..
a few of you told me that they hoped shadows wouldn't interfere with this story and i told you it wouldn't and i'm keeping to that. this fic is my priority and shadows is a fun little side project. i haven't worked on the next part of shadows and i won't until i get this next part posted.
like i said, by friday night the update should be ready! hopefully sooner!

 

Blah blah blah schedule. Quit your job (Or school). Ignore your friends and family. Spend all of your time writing solely to entertain us.

Carnage, the ever so patient one.

 

page 10!! and i only missed my self imposed deadline by an hour! (board time anyway )
Carnage04- i knew before I started my fic that a few of my friends that wanted to read it didn't know anything about kotor. hence, my first chapter containing a general history or revan and the important events in kotor. plus i try to sneak in background info here and there when i can for those not kotor familiar! i've tried to make it not TOO obvious or redundant for those that already know kotor and it seems i've done a decent job of it!

------------------------------
They were approaching Yavin IV and Bastila had no idea what to expect.

She hardly slept again last night, which had become something that didn't strike her as odd anymore. She had her little habits and silly rituals she'd do in an effort to pass the time while Dorak and Jolee slept like the dead. She thinks she probably wouldn't know what to do if she actually slept through the night
again for once.

Two nights ago she passed the time by reading Dorak's files on Yavin IV and Naga Sadow. She cared little for Sith history and geography lessons. Not like Dorak, who lived for knowledge of any kind. But she wanted to be as prepared as possible for this journey. So she skimmed the information and found what she deemed the important parts.

Naga Sadow was an ancient Sith Lord that tricked his enemies into believing he was dead when it became clear the the Great Hyperspace War he started was about to end with his defeat. He fled to the far reaches of the galaxy and ended up on Yavin IV.

He was not alone. He had a host of Massassi slaves that treated him like a God and built temples on Yavin IV in his honor.

He kept various Sith artifacts in these temples. Each temple he filled with elaborate defenses and traps protecting what was hidden in their catacombs.

The Sith do enjoy their little games.

Slowly, as the centuries passed the temples were looted.

There was one particular temple, however that proved a more difficult conquest. It became a bit of legend in the circle of Sith and adventure seekers who were curious about it's contents. But all who entered that temple came out empty handed if they even came out at all.

Her thoughts are inturrupted and she hears Dorak's voice from behind her. "We're entering Yavin IV's atmosphere. We'll be landing soon."

She turns to face him. "This is a long shot that we even find what we're looking for isn't it?" she asks, her voice giving away that the question was a formality and she already accepted that fact.

"I didn't even want to tell you about it Bastila." he answers truthfully. "The information I found suggests Sadow kept
his extensive records of Sith history here. And the research I've done hints at he kept it in the temple that is our
destination. It is a long shot. Based on educated guesses and assumptions. And this will no doubt be dangerous.
But I knew that knowing all that you still wouldn't hesitate to go."

"You're right about that." Bastila says quickly agreeing.

"And I told you I'd help you." Dorak replies. "So that's what I'm going to do."

-----------------------------------

"Is that the temple?" Jolee asks pointing to a Massasi temple a good distance ahead, the top of it peeking through the jungle canopy.

"No Jolee." Dorak replies, trying not to be annoyed. "It's further into the jungle then that."

Jolee grumbles a bit to himself and the three of them continue on.

They landed as close as they could to the temples location, but the dense jungle made that the only place with a big enough clearing to land on was a good distance away from their destination.

So that means they got to walk. A nice long walk through a jungle where the heat and humidity was bad and the various creatures roaming around could be worse.

Luckily no creature encounters yet. Except for a variety of species of bugs that all loved to bite. And th

 

The Sith do like their little games

*shivers* now that's a bit of creepy forsehadowing if ever anything was!
and lol! i loved the three of them trudging through the jungle- some funny stuff there!- especially Jolee's comments especially the Naga Sadows spirit quip and this (my favourite part)

Jolee stops for a second, and scans the surroundings. "Something is wrong." he points out. "I think we're going in circles. These trees look the same."

"........we are in a jungle Jolee." Bastila reminds him, trying to be patient. "Every inch of it looks the same to me."

Jolee thinks about that, and then continues to follow Dorak, who was leading this little expedition.

"Still.." he says mid-stride. "Too bad the mysterious path to the temple Dorak told us about seemingly doesn't exist. We could be hopelessly lost and not even know it."

"That isn't my fault!' Dorak replies quickly. "There WAS a path at one time I'm sure. But from the time my source of information was written until now, obviously it was taken over by the jungle."

"Bah that's you Jedi's excuse for everything." Jolee complains. "You're never wrong you're just occasionally misinformed."



Loved and ooh new character! Friend or foe, i wonder?

 

Good job! Jolee was priceless, almost every line he said i loved. Keep up the traditional Jolee wit in the future!

 

Once again you have produced a top notch update, obi!

I loved the banter between Jolee and Dorak... you have Jolee's character down perfect. I love it!

And a new charcter. I can't wait to find out more about him.

Keep up the great work.

Cheers,
Wyo

 

Gando better realize how much I love him..she thinks to herself.

Bastila is suddenly shocked out of her self pity and miserableness as suddenly a body laying presumably dead on the jungle floor comes into her view.

Dorak and Jolee see it too. They all move with a renewed sense of energy to the body and as they get closer they notice that there is more then just one body.

Bastila sees five in the general area. that's never a good sign...

Teth Aron... the only other living being in the vicinity of these dead bodies? There could be a few reasons for that... Many of which are bad

Bastila's comments about traveling through the jungle

great update obi_webb!

jcs

 

*sighs happily*

Another chapter to tide me over

Though everyone has already said it, Jolee was awesome, and the banter was great.


Jolee stops for a second, and scans the surroundings. "Something is wrong." he points out. "I think we're going in circles. These trees look the same."

"........we are in a jungle Jolee." Bastila reminds him, trying to be patient. "Every inch of it looks the same to me."

I'm self-identifying with Jolee. That's something I'd say!


Teth Aron, huh? A random guy, the only person alive near five dead (and some decapitated) bodies, just chilling near Naga Shadow's hang out spot, wearing dark jedi attire...it sound suspicious...but it could be something twisty.

Great update!

 

Hmmm... I wonder where this could be going. Well, I don't know, but I CAN'T WAIT to find out. This is something new and interesting in the flip side of the story, and I believe it's also mandatory. What I mean is that you have the Gando half of the story (main half, with Gando on his mission to plant his size 12 all up in the Sith's asses), and you have your other half (Bastila trying to find Gando). Well, we already know the main half is going to hold our interest due to it being about Revan destroying the Sith (and some great writing by the way), but to keep the "Bastila half" as good as the "Revan half," you have to include things here and there, and this dude in the jungle in a dark Jedi cloak adds exactly what the story needs: mystery, a new character, and a chance for some action. You don't even have to fulfill all three of these, but any single one alone adds complexity and depth to your plot, and it's THAT kind of thing right there that keeps us hooked. What this boils down to is that you seem to have a natural feel for keeping your story able to hold our attention. Good job on this. Now, I'm just as excited to see what this mofo's doin' out in the jungle as I am to find out what happens in the next chapter with Gando. Excellent work, my friend!

Scoundrel

 

That update was much different than I expected. I thought that Bastilla & Company's journey would be interesting, but somewhat uneventful. It just became rather eventful. Five dead warriors that are apparently followers of the Sith and a new mysterious character. Very interesting. It would appear that Aron was the one that killed the Sith, and an enemy of the Sith is a friend to the Jedi. The Dark Jedi robes though....hmmmm....Infighting amongst the Sith or the only Jedi type Robes available?

You do write grumpy old Jolee quite well. Good stuff.

I don't know if you care about galactic maps or pay attention to them or if they have any bearing on the story....but a quick observation or two.

Bastilla and Gando are going in seperate directions. Sullest and Yavin are in almost opposite directions for Coruscant. Hmmmm. Could there be more than one section of the Sith Empire? Could it surround the galaxy?

Was Degobah known space at this time? Heading out from Sullest leads you there....

Carnage

 

I'm not really here ...I just wanted to let you know that I've read this update and I love it...I'm going to post more tomorrow.



Edit: OK...b a c k ...I wated to add a bit more...I really enjoyed all the bantering and humor in this part....

"Bah that's you Jedi's excuse for everything." Jolee complains. "You're never wrong you're just occasionally misinformed."



Lots of info to take in as well and a new character! and of course Bastila!

Wonderful update - more soon?

 

Now that I think about it, it is interesting. Or are we reading into it?

 

thanks everyone! the next post MIGHT be up this weekend if schedule permits..

Stella Ripple- foreshadowing indeed! there will be a lot to deal with in the massassi temple and a big suprise too.. you'll see soon enough!

DarthReven- don't worry, he wouldn't be jolee if i didn't give him those little bindo-isms here and there! he won't shut up anytime soon, much to dorak's regret!

WyoJedi- thanks wyo! actually i think that jolee's character is the most difficult one to write! he has a very unique personality, and it's easy if you are familiar with jolee from kotor, to pick up any out of character lines, if they're there. i pick jolee's words very carefully!

Jaina Clan Solo- you'll find out exactly what the deal is with teth aron next chapter! he's a complicated character to be sure, things aren't always what they seem with him..


ImperialSpy- glad i was able to tide you over with this! i hope you sigh just as happily when you get to see the next chapter hopefully this weekend!

Scoundrel1100- you're quite right about the bastila half of this story. i knew from the start i was going to have to throw in some good twists and lots of excitment to keep readers attention when we were away from gando.
there will be PLENTY of action and some mystery to come from bastila's little expedition on yavin IV. what role teth aron will play in it, you'll just have to wait and see!
thanks as always my friend!

Carnage04- as i mentioned above, bastila's journey will continue to be QUITE eventful in the posts to come.. hope i continue to suprise you!
as for the sullust/yavin observation, gando knows where he's going and sullust is on the way toward the sith empire. bastila however, his no idea where the sith empire is at. yavin is a place where she hopes there will be records and maps of the empire so she can eventually find her way.
and as for dagobah, and the sith empire surrouding the galaxy i suppose you will just have to wait and find out!

Kestrel Kenobi- i love your bastila icon!
as for more soon.. well i don't know, i'm kinda busy and.. oh i can't refuse the batting eyelashes! the next part will be up soon!

 

Bastila knew right away that this Teth Aron character was the man who killed the five people that lay dead scattered at her feet. She could see it in his eyes. There was a fire there. He killed
these men and he enjoyed it.

She knew that look. She had seen it in many. She saw it in Gando's eyes once long ago. She saw it in Darth Malak's. She imagines that if at one time, had she looked in a mirror she would have saw it in herself.

That look was dangerous. It was the eyes of someone that would kill without hesitation if it was to their gain.

But she didn't know this man's agenda. The men he slaughtered seemed to be Sith. Of course Teth seemed to be a Sith himself.

She would not start a fight if she could avoid it.

Teth Aron asked them a question. What were they doing on Yavin IV? But the way she saw it, there were three of them and one of him and she was going to ask the questions right now.

"Did you kill these men?" she asks.

Teth Aron smiles. "Direct, aren't you?" he asks, looking at her like he was pleased with something.

"That isn't answering my question." she replies rather bluntly, ignoring his gaze.

"And you didn't answer mine." he says back.

It's silent for a moment. Teth looks intently at Bastila, as if trying to read her mind. Bastila looks at him, getting annoyed and fighting the urge to pull her double-bladed saber.

Finally Jolee speaks up. "Um, listen Teeth I'm sure you could stand there all day and look intimidating but some of us have things to do and the bugs aren't going away anytime soon and at this time of the day it's only gonna get hotter in the blasted jungle.."

"My name is TETH old man." he says for the first time letting some emotion come to his voice.

"Jolee, try not to upset him too much." Dorak says, wishing Jolee could go a minute without one of his little comments. "At least until we know he's a threat to us."

"I'd listen to him. He seems a wise man to me." Teth says allowing his voice to show he was making a veiled threat.

"Ah, you just don't know him that well Teeth." Jolee replies in a playful tone that infuriates Teth, but he attempts to keep his cool.

"I didn't come here to start any trouble with Jedi. I came here for ancient Sith relics.. which in fact is the only reason I can come up with you three would be in this jungle. So if you won't answer my question I will answer if for you. You came for something in these temples didn't you?" Teth asks.

"And these men just happened to get in your way?" Bastila asks feeling more impatient by the minute.

Teth sighs and shakes his head. "Am I not going to get any meaningful conversation from you until I tell you about that? Fine. Yes, I killed them. Happy now?"

"Why?" Dorak asks. "What did they do to deserve that?"

This time it is Teth that starts to look impatient. "What is it with you Jedi and why?" he asks. "You need to turn everything into this great mystery you have to solve! If you must know these men were coming with me on my little expedition. They knew the danger, but i promised what we would find would give them great power and wealth. Well late at night when we're all sleeping ONE of them wasn't and decided to sneak a look at my datapad. He found out that the what we were looking for wasn't
something he wanted to risk his life to for. His little cohorts agreed with him. They wanted to turn back. I said that wasn't a good idea. They persisted and.."

He extended his arms out at the bodies all around him.

"You came here for Sadows records.." Dorak says making the connection.

"Exactly what I'm here for." Teth says. "And that's what you're here for too I'd wager?"

"We are." Dorak answers.

That presented an obvious problem. They both wanted the same thing. And that fact, coupled with that Teth Aron just admitted he was responsible for the murder of five men had even Dorak ready to pull his lightsaber, expecting a fig

 

Wonderful chapter!
I loved Jolee's Teethy comments! Some very funny Jolee bits in there, but I liked how you ended the chapter, showing how serious and loyal he really is- it just makes me like him even more!

Hmm, Teth is certainly an intriguing character, for the moment it SEEMS alright since they found a common goal buuut he IS a Sith and he did murder the other sith, sooo.... I guess it can go any way (credit to your storytelling, that!) and I can't wait to see which way it DOES go in

 

Great job, obi!

There are some classic and pretty funny scenes.

"........we are in a jungle Jolee." Bastila reminds him, trying to be patient. "Every inch of it looks the same to me."

...

"Bah that's you Jedi's excuse for everything." Jolee complains. "You're never wrong you're just occasionally misinformed."


I loved that.

Also, I like the way you characterised Jolee and I really like this whole thing with Naga Sadow - he my favourite ancient Sith Lord.

 

Great update Obi...

lol - I love the whole 'Teeth' joke...and I think I like Jolee now as well!

He's right not to trust Teth - the whole thing has a 'tomb raider' feel to it - I'm all prepared for some kind of betrayal... ...

Glad you like the icon

 

Well they appear to have a truce... for the moment Teth Aron seems like a fairly 'honorable' Sith... but that could change at any moment.

Jolee Bindo was going to be keeping a close eye on Teth Aron too. Dorak was a by the book Jedi, and while Bastila was officially a Jedi no longer she still acted like one more often then not. Jolee just saw himself as a man with a lightsaber who knew the Force as well as anyone did.

I loved this peice... it gives a wonderful picture of who each of the characters are. And I definately like how Jolee sees himself!

His caution is probably going to pay off too,

another wonderful update!

jcs

 

Teeth !

Great update, I liked the balance of humor and seriousness, as well as the tie in with Naga Sadow. Can't wait to see what you do with Teth - as Sith go, he seems cool...but then he's Sith...

 

I love senile old men...or at least men who portray themselves as being such when they're constantly cranky and crotchety. This story takes place some time after KotOR I, so by logic, Jolee is a little older by now and has had even more time to get set in his cynical ways. This chapter is excellent in that it reflects what I just said perfectly. Jolee's mouth will show he's just that way too. Some very VERY funny stuff. I laughed out loud a couple times, and I don't do that when I'm reading other people's stuff. So I want to thank you for that, Obi. It was the bomb! That's right...I said it.

Also, I too am curious to see who's going to get their ass handed to them with this little alliance that the group has formed with Aaron. While they may have the same immediate goals, they will ultimately have a conflict of interest, and this intrigues the hell out of me. I can't wait to see who gets made into a lightsaber-kabob and served to the jungle on a silver platter.

I can't wait until the next chapter, so what I've decided to do is a mental probe on you, so I can just know right now, without having to wait, what happens next.

Scoundrel

 

I loved the Teeth comments from Jolee... that is so spot on for his character. I love the way you present him.

So now they have a Sith in their midst... hmm. This will be interesting to watch play out. There are a great number of possibilities that you have left open. Very good job! You're keeping me on edge waiting to see what comes next.

Cheers,
Wyo

 

Stella Ripple- thanks so much stella! glad the storytelling aspect worked well! this was a hard chapter to pull off in that regard. i wanted to make teth obviously not a great person, but i wanted to make it seem like he MIGHT be able to be trusted for the time being. also giving justifiable reasons why teth would be allowed to tag along in the first place.
teth's character will be explored much more soon. i'm fascinated with the concept of a sith cooperating with jedi and whether they can really trust each other and get along, even if they have the same goals.
nice chatting with you today! good deal to breaks from darth schoolwork!

Amon Amarth- good to see you fearless leader amon! (that is your title in my mind! )
a naga sadow fan huh? cool! who knows, his spirit might be popping up sometime soon..

Kestrel Kenobi- tomb raider is quite apporiate for this! i'm playing with some very tomb raider style traps for the temple.. i don't know if i'll be able to fit them in properly... i'm working on it and i'm hopeful i can make it work well!
a betrayal huh? you might be surprised! (my second devil face in this reply! i'm feeling devilish i think!)


Jaina Clan Solo- heh, that was my fave part of the last chapter too! i love jolee's crankiness and sense of humor, but he is far more complex then that too. i'm doing my best to do his character justice. you don't really know kotor except for this, but others do and i've mentioned before it's easy to spot jolee when he isn't in character!
talk to you soon

ImperialSpy- you never should trust a sith fully though huh? you are right to be wary of him! i hope to suprise you with where i take this.. {3!!)

Scoundrel1100- the bomb? glad i could make you laugh! i try to throw in little humor when i feel it fits!
and since you did the mental probe you know what i have planned! don't tell anyone though ok? i want them to be surprised!

WyoJedi- awesome obi icon!! and yes, many possibilities! i hope how i end yavin IV surprises even you! and how bout ending this with 4 so..

next part will be up as soon as i get it finished to my liking! which means, who knows? but i won't make you wait too long!

 

just wanted everyone to know that the next chapter of this is coming soon! within the next few days i'd imagine! sorry it's been a bit.. but you won't have to wait too much longer!

 

"We should stop and rest." Teth says, as they come into a small clearing in the middle of the jungle. Not so much a clearing really, but an area where the trees and vegetation weren't so rampant. As for as Bastila could tell this jungle went on just short of forever.

But they were within an hour of the temple. They were so close, and Bastila didn't even want to think about stopping right now. She's about to say as much, but Dorak speaks up first.

"What makes you think we should rest here? Our goal isn't that far away now." he points out.

Teth seems to sense she was inturrupted, or it seems that way from the look he flashes her way before he answers Dorak. She does her best to ignore him.

"I would imagine the trek through this jungle has tired you three as much as it tires me. I can guarantee that whatever lies ahead of us in this temple will be far worse then whatever the jungle can throw at us. Being fully rested for such an excursion is about a necessity."

"Um, actually Teeth.." Jolee replies, "we're not as tired as you because we didn't just get done murdering five of our companions."

Teth shakes his head, looking up the sky as if to ask an unseen deity, why me? "You Jedi have such one track minds!" He composes himself though, and continues, "This is a good spot to camp for the night. I know how to make decent bedding with some of the foliage around here. We can kill one of the animals roaming around.. make a nice little fire, which will keep the blasted bugs away.. Then in the morning we will be ready to finish this little expedition."

It sounded like a good idea. TOO good of an idea. Bastila didn't trust this Sith as far as she could throw a rancor.
But the jungle had taken a lot out of them. And this would be a good spot to rest.

"Fine. Let's camp here for the night." she says, suprising Jolee, Dorak, and perhaps even Teth himself. "Jolee, Dorak, you two can handle getting wood for a fire. Teth and I will find us something to eat."

Dorak and Jolee exchange puzzled looks, but they trust Bastila, so they both get to looking for some dry wood.

Teth shows Bastila a pleased grin. "Perhaps I was wrong about you. There might be a chance we can be friends after all."

"Shut up Aron." she says, as she starts off to find an animal that hopefully doesn't taste too horrible.

Teth Aron follows her.


--------------------------------------------------------

Mera Enda grabs Jerec's lightsaber from her belt.

HER lightsaber, she tells herself. This is her lightsaber. It was an extension of herself. She was one with it, and through the Force she could use it to defeat any adversary.

At least that what Gando tells her. She was working on that part yet.

They were on route to the Sith Empire. They had been travelling in hyperspace for awhile, which is usually boring, but for her, this voyage had been anything but. Gando Star had become a teacher to her. He taught her about the Jedi and the ways of the Force. It was all a revalation to her. The only ones in the Empire who learned anything about the Force were Sith. Those that had Force potential like Jerec and her, had no real way of learning about their abilities and harnassing them properly.

So Gando taught her, and she actually was teaching Gando too. He had many questions about the Sith Empire which she would answer the best she could. She told him stories of the Empire's corruption and those that tried to stop it.

She was anxious to arrive back home. She was anxious to see if Gando's crazy plan to put an end to the Sith Empire perhaps wasn't so crazy.

But they still had a good distance to go. And she had much more she wanted to learn.


"Query- Are you ready to begin your blaster deflection exercises meatba.. I mean Mera.." HK-46.5 asks.

"I'm going to have Gando give you a real blaster so I can deflect something that will actually damage you if you start to call me meatbag one more time." she warns him as she ignites her saber, it's blue bla

 

Took you long enough

That was a wonderful update!

It sounded like a good idea. TOO good of an idea. Bastila didn't trust this Sith as far as she could throw a rancor.
But the jungle had taken a lot out of them. And this would be a good spot to rest.

Oh that's frustrating, when someone makes a really good suggestion, but you don't want to agree just because they're the one that suggested it.

Luckily it seems as though Bastila isn't foolish enough to press on just because she doesn't like Aron. She has a good head on her shoulders.


She keeps trying. The time passes, but she has no way of knowing how much of it goes by. But before long, she notices she doesn't feel the blaster hitting her as much. She isn't aware of her actions, she just lets her movements flow freely. She starts to feel more and more the blaster bolts deflecting off her lightsaber.

Soon, she doesn't feel the slight sting of the blaster fire hitting her at all. The shots end up going everywhere. Deflected back at the floor. Some hit the ship's ceiling. A few even manage to hit HK. They hit everywhere.

Everywhere but her.

Yay! I'm so proud of her! She's going to have a good start to her education by the time they get into the Sith Empire.

and why am I not surprised that Gando was watching to see how she did?

I'm glad to see that your writing session was productive! This was a nice treat to read this morning!

jcs