A Parallel SW Universe

Hey,that's Anakin your talking about!Of course he wont listen to that no good emperor!
Rigth Raissa?

 

Up!

 

Anakin's ice blue eyes met the Emperor's gaze without wavering, and he stood firm, his face betraying no fear of the man who held the galaxy's life and death in his gnarled hands. "Never, " he replied. "I will never bow to you again."

"Then you will die," Palpatine hissed, trailing off into a raspy cackle. "Then you will die!" Luke stepped forward at some unspoken command, coming to heel at his master's side like a nek battle dog. His expression was deadly calm as he ignited his saber. He leveled the point of his blade at his father's chest. Anakin still didn't move, didn't flinch though the saber came within centimeters of him. Nor did he reach for his own weapon. Instead, father and son stood locked in a silent tableau, though the looks that passed between them were as piercing as any lightsaber. "I wonder which of you will prove stronger?" Palpatine mused. He laid a withered hand on Luke's arm in approval. "My apprentice, so young but so full of power now that he's surrendered to the Dark Side. Or his father, rich in experience, who abandoned all the strength I gave him." The Emperor chuckled, glancing between them with vast amusement. "An interesting contest, indeed."

Mara watched their exchange, her grip on her lightsaber's hilt growing tighter by the moment. Tension snaked through the throne room, twining around all of them except Palpatine who remained insufferably calm and sure of his ultimate victory. Leia stirred restlessly behind Mara, attention shifting from her father to her brother and the Sith lord who held him in thrall. Her thoughts spilled over into Mara's as she desperately repeated to hereself, *There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no passion; there is serenity.* Mara recognized it as a bit of the Jedi Code, which Yoda had tried to teach her during her time on Dagobah. She had argued with the Jedi master that this was an impossible standard, that no living being could ever act without emotion or personal motivation. She still found it a hard concept to grasp; apparently it wasn't bringing the Princess much comfort either. Though she chanted the litany, her anxiety grew to the point where even Han, oblivious to the Force as he was, picked up on it. Mara felt him tense for action and heard the click as he primed his blaster. "Solo?" she warned, knowing he was about to do something monumentally foolish.

He ignored her, of course, and pushed Leia gently behind him as he moved towards Luke and Anakin. But he merely flicked a contemptuous glance at Luke, and pointed the DL-44 at the Emperor. "I don't think you're in a position to be making those kinds of threats, Palpy," he remarked with a grin. "Six against two is pretty bad odds, even for you." Chewbacca growled menacingly in agreement, shouldering his own blaster, and after a moment's hesitation Lando raised his as well.

The Emperor seemed to notice the three of them for the first time, regarding Han as if he was a makant he had discovered crawling up the hem of his robe. "You insignificant little speck," Palpatine sneered. His bloodshoot eyes raked disdainfully over the smugglers, dismissing them with a single glance. "You dare to raise your puny weapons against me? You have no idea what you're dealing with."

Han's jaw tightened and he thumbed up the setting on his blaster. "I know this much: You're outnumbered and outgunned, and whatever mystical powers you have, I bet a blaster bolt to the head has the same effect on you as anyone." His grin stretched to bare his teeth like a Wookiee's snarl. "Wanna find out if I'm right?" Han jerked his head at Chewbacca, and in the next moment three blaster barrels were aimed straight at the Emperor's cowled head.

The moment after, the weapons ripped out of their hands and went spinning across the room. Han barely had time for a surprised squawk before he followed, swept aside as if by an invisible hand. He crashed against the far wall with a solid crunch and a bark of pain. Chewbacca howled and lunged at Palpatine; his paws grazing the Emperor's dessicated

 

*bites bottom lip* Another cliffhanger!

 

Argh!Not another cliffhanger!
Ok,you are evil.But at least it's a great post!I just hope you'll post more soon!

 

Han being his typical self gets into trouble again. Hope to see the cliffhanger ending post soon.

 

Hey I forgot about this for a while but now I'm back and I know that I would like to see the ending if anyone still has it!

 

The ending hasn't been written yet! (This sure is taking a long time, huh.) We're still working on it, so stick around and you'll get to see the end eventually.

 

Up with you.I hope it doesnt take too long to have another post....

 

I am SOOOOOOOOO sorry I haven't written anything on this story!!!!! I haven't been getting messages that people are posting to my threads anymore, (kriffing system changes!) and it finally occurred to me to check on this thread. Imagine my surprise when I found out there were actually new posts to it! I'll do my best to get something written ASAP. Unless you'd like to jump in here, Jeff42?

Anyway, I'll be be working on a new post.
Sorry!

Raissa

 

You're going to post,you're going to post!
**sounds like three year old** Yeappy!

 

"Go ahead, Princess," Palpatine continued to jeer at her, his smile a rictus over decaying teeth. "I can feel your anger and your hatred. I am unarmed. Strike me down, and your journey to the Dark Side will be complete."

Leia tightened her grip on her lightsaber, her hold on it so tense that her knuckles nearly turned white. It would be so easy to kill him. Just one sweep of her saber was all it would take. He was unarmed, old and decrepit. He deserved death for what he had done to the Republic--for the countless thousands who'd been enslaved, who had suffered and died at his command. For what he had done to her father and her brother, even Mara, making them servants of his evil.

For what he had done to Han.

So easy. One blow and his reign of terror ended.

But Leia hesitated, her silvery-blue blade wavering. As much as she wanted to see his lifeless form crumple at her feet, she knew it was wrong. She was a Jedi; Jedi acted in knowledge, when calm and at one with the Force. She was Alderaanian and believed in the triumph of peace over violence. To kill in the heat of her anger --even to kill the most despicable creature in the galaxy--would be inexcusable. She would be lost to the Dark side along with Luke. Leia put down her weapon. "I will not fight you." She turned to her brother, still locked in silent confrontation with Anakin, and stretched out her hands towards Luke. "Luke, come with us," she implored him. "Whatever he's promised you, it isn't worth your soul. Whatever deaths he's threatened for disobedience, they pale beside the hell he'll make of your life."

His eyes were hard and lifeless when they swung to meet hers. "The Emperor is my master now, Leia," he replied. "As he will be yours. It is our destiny to serve together."

"No." Leia shook her head adamantly; she reached out to him in the Force, hoping to find the earnest young man she'd first met on Yavin, Obi-Wan's earnest student, the pilot who had risked his life to save his best friend in the trenches of the Death Star. If that Luke still existed, he was buried deeply behind the cold durasteel fortress of the Emperor's servant. There had to be a crack in that unyielding façade; there had to be some goodness left in him somewhere. Leia plunged her awareness deeper into the Force, searching for any trace of her brother. "Luke, please don't do this," she begged. "We need you. We want you back with us." She thought she saw a flicker of emotion in his solemn blue eyes.

At the same moment, Leia heard a soft groan from the far corner of the throne room. Han! Her heart leapt. He was alive! Palpatine's cruel lightning bolts hadn't killed him after all. With a smile of pure joy, Leia turned to go to him. And the spark inside Luke's eyes was snuffed out in the second it took her to take the first step. Anger roiled through his thoughts; his expression accused her. She was a liar, just like his father, just like Obi-Wan. She didn't love Luke, didn't care at all as long as she could have Han. Leia froze in an agony of indecision. Han needed her; he was alive now, but how long could he last without a Jedi's healing touch? She gazed into Luke's face, willing him to understand that her love for Han didn't make her love him less. He stared back unfeeling, and she knew that her brother needed healing as much as Han did. Behind her, Han twitched convulsively, groaning louder. She couldn't abandon either of them, yet how could she help them both?

Palpatine gave a raspy chuckle. "So you have feelings for this worthless wretch, do you? I can save him as easily as as kill him you know." He smiled with cruel amusement. "Your life for his, Princess. Agree to serve me and he lives." She gasped, her heart sinking even further. He knew she would never agree to those terms. More was at stake here than the life of one man, even the man she loved. And so he would die. Slowly and in great agony. "Ah, I can see you think I'm being unfair. I'll make you a bargain--a duel for the life of your beloved." The last wor

 

Wow! You posted...finally This is getting good.

 

This doesn't look good. Brother against sister. Yikes.

 

Sounds interesting.

 

Anakin Skywalker glared at his former master as the Emperor's evil laughter filled the room. The Emperor's yellow eyes flashed hideously, not at Anakin, but--

*My children.* Luke and Leia were locked in combat, their lightsabers sizzling. *I cannot let them do this to each other!* Anakin took a deep, calming breath and stretched out to the Force. What he felt repulsed him. Darkness all around. Violence. Another battle raging, above the planet's surface. He could sense great desperation--the Rebels were here! But what had possessed them to come to the Had Abbadon system? Anakin's gaze moved to Luke. *Son!*

Tendrils of insidious energy penetrated the Force around this planet. Anakin traced them down from the minds of the Imperials above, through the atmosphere. Emperor Palpatine stood cackling at the dark web's center. Another tendril reached out into Luke's mind. *Fight it!* Anakin tried to apply light side energy, to break the evil grasp on his son. Palpatine was so strong!

*Leia.* That was Luke's voice! It barely reached Anakin's consciousness through the Force--*Leia, get out of here! Run away!* On the outside, Luke was furious, swinging his blade in horrific strokes toward his sibling. Yet he still had feelings toward her? He must, it was the only way . . .

Leia's eyes went wide. She backed up--right into a thick metal door. There was no escape. And Anakin sensed that, for his son, there was no escape from Palpatine's control. At least that was what Luke himself thought. *I have to do something about it!*

The Emperor's concentration was still focused on the dueling Skywalker twins. Off to the side, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca lay helpless on the floor. Anakin put thoughts of the suffering trio out of his mind for the moment and gestured toward Mara Jade. Quickly, with lightsabers extended, the pair advanced on their foe.

"Ah, so you wish to do battle with me?" Palpatine's gaze was on Anakin in an instant, and his cackling increased. "How ironic. My two former apprentices, both pathetic failures, come back together to face their master. You poor fools."

A lightning storm boiled between Emperor Palpatine's wrinkled hands.

 

More! More!

 

UpUpUp!

 

Palpy's got them under a spell. Go Anakin and Mara! Get rid of Palpy!

 

There will be a new post to this story very soon! It would have been done tonight, but *sigh* life, the universe, and everything got in the way of my plans. I promise there will be an addition this week, though!

 

Thank you, Raissa! I was hoping you would continue that. Hopefully I can write something pretty soon too.

"Life, the Universe, and Everything" is a great book, huh? ;-)

 

Once again, I apologize for taking so long to post this-- more of life, the universe and everything getting in the way. (unfortunately not the book, which is indeed very good. That would have been vastly more entertaining!) It's only half of what I intended to write, but I figured I needed to post *something*. So more to come, hopefully soon(ish). Hope you enjoy. ~Raissa


Blue lightning leapt from Palpatine's hands, and the jagged, crackling forks of fire seared the air around Mara. They sizzled past her as she whirled through the lethal bolts, singeing her hair and the gray fabric of her borrowed officer's jacket. As she fought her way through the energy storm, Mara could sense the Rebel pilots' lives winking out, small tremors in the Force, but she had no time to give them more than a passing notice. She swung her magenta blade furiously as she tried to keep up with the barrage. Beside her, Anakin fought with a single-minded passion. Mara knew that their purpose was not to defeat the Emepror; they sought only to divide his concentration, break his hold over Luke and the Imperials fighting over Had Abaddon. But Mara was beginning to think that it was unlikely. As hard as they struggled against Palpatine's violent energy storm, they had only managed to force him back a few precious steps. The battle raged in the skies of Had Abaddon. And Skywalker still dueled his sister with all the ferocity and skill that came from his mind-link to the Emperor.

Mara shook a clinging tendril of sweat-dampened hair out of her eyes and readjusted her hold on her lightsaber. A cold feeling of foreboding was beginning to claw at her heart. Palpatine was a fathomless well of evil, inexhaustible, unstoppable. It's hopeless, she thought, we can't win. They were all going to die. Once when she was very young, Mara had seen one of Palpatine's enemies die consumed by Force lightning. Even though she'd been the Emperor's Hand, certain all his decisions were right, it had been hard to stand emotionless like a good servant while the hapless man writhed. It had been a lesson for her about what it meant to displease her master. One she should never have forgotten.

It's not too late, an insidious little voice whispered in the back of her mind. You can still save yourself. Throw yourself at your master's feet and beg forgiveness for your faithlessness. You betrayed Lord Palpatine, and deserve death for it, but maybe, just maybe, if you abase yourself enough, he will be merciful and let you live.

She knew the voice well; she'd grown up hearing it inside her head. But he wasn't supposed to be in her thoughts anymore. She was her own person now; she was free! Mara faltered a step, just a few centimeters, just enough for a bolt of force lightning to make it past her blade. The blazing hot fire caught Mara in the side; pain lanced through her entire body. She was being ripped to shreds with a dull vibroshiv. Eaten alive by a rancor. Repeatedly shot by a fleet of Star Destroyers. A hoarse scream of agony tore from her throat, and she went down to her knees. *I don't want to die like this.* The thought swam through the fiery haze of pain in her mind.

*It will be a thousand times worse,* Palpatine promised, *unless you give in now.* A fresh spasm of misery shot through her, as if to underscore his words.

*Mara?* She opened her eyes a crack, enough to see Anakin standing over her. His red saber blurred through the air, neatly deflecting the Force lightning that would have burned her to cinders where she fell. *Can you get up?*

*I don't know,* Mara answered. She staggered a few steps before she was able to unbuckle her knees. The motion sent new fires sizzling through her nerves; she ground her teeth to choke back the whimpering cries that rose within her. Finally, Mara stood, facing Anakin. And heard Palpatine's command: *Destroy the Jedi, Emperor's hand. Prove your loyalty to me!*

 

Please continue!