Beyond - Legends Amethyst of Sernpidal (NJO AU; SkySolos, Psylocke, etc.; updated 3/11)

Author's Note: Updating this intro ...

Disclaimer: They're all either LFL's or Marvel's, with the occasional OC thrown in. No money is being made off of this. It's all fictional.

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(20th Century Fox, LFL, and Marvel Comics logos appear, fade)

(30-something upper-class British woman begins to speak)

Speaker: The world knows me as Lady Elizabeth Braddock.

(purple butterfly flickers, vanishes)

Speaker: But I've been much more - mutant. Heroine.

(Flicker of a face, red tattoo down one side)

Speaker: Villainess. Assassin. Shadow.

(Flash of steel, a gasp - then silence)

Speaker: And even dead, a few times.

(Flickering lights in desert coalesce)

Speaker: Well ... I got better.

(Zipping noise; flash of blue and white jumpsuit)

Speaker: But as usual, that was when things got ...

(Blue flash of light on snowfield)

(Betsy Braddock wakes on dusty field, looks up)

(Moon rapidly grows closer in the background)

(Wookie growl; Betsy turns, her eyes widening)

Speaker: Interesting.

(Opening chords of Duel of the Fates)

(Images flash by

(Luke Skywalker hands Betsy a Jedi robe)

(Coralskippers scream past Belkadan)

(Plif the hoojib stands on a Senate pod's edge, glares at Borsk Fey'lya)

Plif: Your obstructionism borders on treason!

Fey'lya: And a hoojib will lead us? (Laughter)

Gungan voice: He's a better choice than YOUSA.

(music intensifies)

(Luke, Han and Leia walk with Polis Massans toward a stasis pod)

(Fyor Rodan smiles over a drink)

(Anakin Solo blocks thud bugs, stands over Mara)

(Betsy dances before a chuckling Hutt)

(Mezhan Kwaad snarls as Zeltrons slide down ropes from damutek ceiling with blasters firing)

(Kyp Durron smirks; Betsy raises an eyebrow)

(A baby cries, cooes in the arms of a figure in white)

Woman's voice: I never - never got to -

Tearful Luke: I know. But now ...

(Two Vong hold amphistaffs as spears, aim at Anakin; Betsy gasps)

(Jaina cries in Jag's arms, looks at a mournful Zekk as he puts his arm around a woman in a black dress)

(Vergere sees Betsy and Ganner on Yuuzhan'tar, frowns)

(Music crescendoes)

(Nas Choka's lips curl as Ewoks storm a Vong fleet tender)

(Star Destroyers and Mon Cal cruisers converge on Yuuzhan'tar)

(Jacen and Onimi lock hands around each other's throats)

(Betsy lunges at Shimmrra)

(Nom Anor gasps at a flash of green - and runs)

(Jedi, stormtroopers, GA SpecForces, Wookies, Nagai and Zeltrons charge Slayers)

(Luke looks up, sees Mara wreathed in flame)

(Fade to black)

NJO: Amethyst of Sernpidal

Coming soon ...

[ *grabs first reply, and keeps it to add proper comments later* ]

- The Imperial Ewok

So,...
Betsy is Mara?

Mara's Mara. She also is more than she seems.

Betsy's Betsy, though. She's just not Earth-616 (the canon Marvel Universe) Betsy ...

There's a LOT of backstory to be revealed, and much of
it will make up (hopefully) future stories in this timeline.

I should probably proceed with the dramatis personae (not all characters are listed ...):

(warning: quite tongue in cheek; mild spoilers)

Alema Rar: Jedi apprentice/later Knight (female Twi'lek)

Anakin Solo: Jedi apprentice/free thinker/dummy (male human)

Bela Hara: Jedi apprentice (female Barabel)

Betsy (Elizabeth) Braddock: telepathic and precognitive X-Man/Lady of House Braddock/Jedi apprentice/later Knight (female human, X-factor positive)

Boba Fett: bounty hunter/Mand'alor (male human)

Booster Terrik: captain, Errant Venture/Corran provoker (male human)

Borsk Fey'lya: New Republic Chief of State (male Bothan)

Cal Omas: Senator (male human)

C-3PO: protocol droid

Chewbacca: first mate, Millennium Falcon (male Wookie)

Cilghal: Jedi Master/healer (female Mon Calamari)

Corran Horn: Jedi Master/energy conduit/Booster target/fall guy (male human)

Dani: resistance fighter (female Zeltron)

Danni Quee: former Ex-Gal member/scientific advisor/attempted Jacen-wrangler (female human)

Den Siva: warrior (male Nagai)

Elegos A'Kla: Caamasi intendant (male Caamasi)

Eryl Besa: Jedi Knight (female human)

Fyor Rodan: Senator from Commenor/skilled weasel (male human)

Ganner Rhysode: Jedi Knight (male human)

Gilad Pellaeon: Grand Admiral, Imperial Remnant (male human)

Han Solo: captain, Millennium Falcon/nerf-herder (male human)

Iella Wessiri-Antilles: former NR intelligence agent/resistance fighter (female human)

Jacen Solo: Jedi apprentice/later Knight/generally confused (male human)

Jaina Solo: Jedi apprentice/later Knight/Goddess/collector of green-eyed men (female human)

Jag Fel: green-eyed gentleman/pilot, Chiss Ascendancy (male human)

Jar-Jar Binks: Senator from Naboo (male Gungan)

Jovan Drark: Jedi Knight (male Rodian)

Jysella Horn: Jedi student (female human)

Kam Solusar: Jedi teacher/warrior/yippie-ki-yay (male human)

Kettch: Wokling (male Ewok)

Kiro: resistance fighter (male Iskalonian)

Krasov Hara: Jedi Knight (female Barabel)

Kolot: Senator from Endor/former Rogue Squadron pilot (male Ewok)

Kyp Durron: green-eyed rogue/Jedi Master/professional gadfly (male human)

Lando Calrissian: baron-administrator/resistance fighter/too cool (male human)

Leia Organa-Solo: former New Republic diplomat/Hutt slayer/nerf-herder-wrangler (female human)

Lowbacca: Jedi apprentice/later Knight (male Wookie)

Lusa: Jedi apprentice (female Chironian)

Luke Skywalker: Jedi Master/Farmboy/Wormie (male human)

Mara Jade (?)-Skywalker: Jedi Master/Farmboy-wrangler/? (female human ... and maybe more)

Mezhan Kwaad: Master Shaper/heretic (female Yuuzhan Vong)

Miriala: wife of Kolot, mother of Kettch (female Ewok)

Mirax Terrik-Horn: "antiquities procurer"/resistance fighter(female human)

Myri Antilles: student (female human)

Nen Yim: Shaper Adept/heretic (female Yuuzhan Vong)

Nom Anor: executor/grandmaster-class weasel (male Yuuzhan Vong)

Octa Ramis: Jedi Knight/apparent bodybuilder champion (female Chandrilan - near-human)

Onimi: "jester," High Court of Shimmrra (male Yuuzhan Vong)

Plif: Senator from Arbra/resistance and commando leader (male hoojib)

R2-D2: astromech droid/Skywalker Family Holocron/hero

Raynar Thul: Jedi apprentice/later Knight/fashion victim (male human)

Saba Sebatyne: Jedi Knight (female Barabel)

Seef: villip-tender (female Yuuzhan Vong)

Shimmrra Jamaane: Supreme Overlord, Yuuzhan Vong (male Yuuzhan Vong)

Sinsor Khal: biogeneticist/sadist (male Hapan)

Syal Antilles: pilot trainee/student (female human)

Ta'a Chume: Erenada (Queen Mother)/goddess-of-weasels (female human)

Tahiri (Riina) Veila (Kwaad): Jedi apprentice/later Knight/dummy-

"HUSH! Be silent! Behave! There is more here than we can hope to understand. ..." - Uncanny X-Men Annual 14, Psylocke's advice to Jubilee


Chapter 1

A second ago, she'd been in Antarctica.

WHAT the bloody ... ? Betsy Braddock - looking 33, chronologically 43, and feeling utterly drained - asked herself as she sat up and looked around.

Wherever she was, it wasn't that pleasant, physically or to her recently-restored telepathy.

Dust started clogging her nostrils, and she could see the sky red-shifting as some kind of storm swept clouds by overhead. Worse, the local astral plane was vibrating with panic, terror, and other base emotions.

But all she had to do was look up.

There was a very. Large. Moon. Falling.

That prat Lehnsherr! If he threw me back in time to some primeval point before the moon moved away from Earth ... Betsy growled inwardly, standing and looking around.

There were ruined homes, and the ground quaked, so she doubted this was some kind of primitive Antarctica - even IF she'd been moved spatially as well as temporally, to some prehistoric time in the Savage Land.

Prehistoric time. When ISN'T it prehistoric? Betsy thought ironically as she mentally scanned the area ...

and her eyes widened as she saw the other sentients fleeing.

Some were human. Most ... weren't.

BOSKA!

A family of green-scaled, snouted, antennaed beings ran past, while Betsy looked to see an orange-skinned being with twin tendrils hanging down his back helping an old human woman from the ruins of a quake-broken home.

... Greedo ... no, Rodians are the species ... Betsy sensed ...

No. Just - no. She'd traveled interdimensionally hundreds of times, yes, but THIS?

Not possible. Not even REMOTELY possible. It's got to be some insane hallucination - Charles Lehnsherr hit me with some kind of telepathic or biotoxic hallucinogen. Or Mojo grabbed me mid-jaunt ... I HOPE not, but he's done it before ...

"Growrrll?"

And then, Betsy's jaw dropped, as she turned.

And looked up into a furry face.

Wookiee. Big Wookiee. With a bandolier.

Betsy reached out tentatively, some subconscious reflex from her noble upbringing causing her to brush dirt from her blue and white SHIELD jumpsuit.

And her mind confirmed what her eyes were telling her ...

as her inner teenager squealed.

He's REAL ...

"Chewbacca? THE Chewbacca? Forgive me, but - yes, I do somehow understand you; I must've picked up your language when I brushed your mind," Betsy said, trying not to smile absurdly while the ... Wookiee ... growled.

... Chewie ... yowled kindly but firmly; this was the planet Sernpidal, and there was a moon falling on it. So, if Betsy was going to get a ride, they had to leave NOW.

"Right. Lead on, please," Betsy said, keeping pace while they jogged.

All right, I've finally snapped. But at least it's a FUN hallucination, and beats being dead ... again, Betsy reasoned.

And of course, where there was Chewbacca ...

The beat-up star freighter in the distance struck Betsy silent for a heartbeat. She'd loved the original movie when she was a girl, finding refuge from her peers' expectations and the doldrums of noble society.

Her twin Brian had often ruined it by muttering about the violations of the laws of physics, so after the fifth time at the theatre, Betsy had stopped taking him along.

And maybe she'd had a more selfish reason ...

who was standing in the ramp, pulling robe-clad people aboard.

He was older, grayer, but still ... Han.

Han Solo ... Betsy mused - and then she pinched herself.

OW. Wait a bloody minute, if I've yet to sense anything awry or deceptive about this ...

"- hey, sister! You gonna sit here and let a moon become your new hat?"

The voice stirred Betsy from her reverie, and she returned Han's cocky grin. "Long way from a haberdasher, Captain. Let's fly, shall we?" Betsy replied, jaunting aboard the Millennium Falcon as Han raised an eyebrow at her.

"Half-Zeltron, huh? Just k

"H'lo, Brian."

"Oh my ---, Betsy! You were dead."

"I got better."

"How totally X-Men."

"Hey, you've done it too, baby brother."

"I figure it runs in the family."

- New Exiles # 1, reunion between Betsy and Brian
Braddock

Chapter 2

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25 ABY: Two standard days after the destruction of Helska IV: Somewhere along the eastern branch of the Hydian Way, approaching Toprawa:
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"OK. Explain this again. A little more than three weeks ago,your previous body was slain by a sword-wielding maniac, then you died, and your spirit wandered an astral plane before a teenaged demigod pulled you back and stuck you in your original body?" Jacen asked, arching an eyebrow.

"That's the long and short of it. I'd hesitate to call Franklin Richards a 'demigod,' though - he's quite humble about his powers, very cautious. Admirable traits for a reality warper," Betsy said, sipping a glass of water.

To her relief, the Skywalker-Solo clan had mostly accepted her as being sane - Cilghal hadn't found any biological reason why Betsy should be mad, and she'd evidently passed whatever measure of psychological testing that might've been done. Or at least Luke's word gave Betsy a free pass.

It was another Skywalker descendant, however, whom Betsy worried more about. Anakin wasn't taking his grandfather's skeletons well, Betsy had sensed before they'd left the New Republic Star Destroyer Rejuvenator.

He'd been shielding, even to Betsy's telepathy - Cilghal was working on an explanation of why Betsy's telekinesis was apparently Force-generated, but her telepathy worked regardless of whether Betsy was using her mutancy or the Force - but she'd learned to read people well before mastering her psionics.

Saved time learning which loft parties to avoid and which to attend ... Betsy recalled from her hedonistic days as a model.

She snorted inwardly at the utter psychological distance of her current status from who she'd been - recently resurrected and now space/time displaced mutant crime-fighter turned Jedi apprentice.

It was light-years from the reckless, well-meaning telepathic party girl whom STRIKE had recruited barely out of boarding school.

And all just another reminder that, cliche or not, she was in a galaxy very far, far away.

But she'd been able to tell Anakin's need for someone to talk to. Some things didn't change, regardless of the planet (or system) one found oneself at.

Red-rimmed eyes, a forced smile, typical teenaged male bravado. The poor boy was seeping pain, and he was still distant, toying with some bit of machinery even as he fought curiousity at Betsy's stories of Earth.

Time to draw him out of himself more ...

"Anakin. Your siblings say you've a brain for physics. Know much about alternate-universe theory?" she asked.

Anakin's eyes brightened a bit, before he straightened up in his seat at the Falcon's game table and gave her a polite smile - he was as much his mother's son as his father's, or he at least cared enough to show Betsy respect.

The difference between him and Jacen - the older brother was observing the letter of the laws of etiquette, but the younger followed the spirit of the law - was vast, Betsy realized.

Or maybe Anakin was just more inherently compassionate. Ironic, given that Jaina - who was so like Betsy with her fire and adventurous personality that Betsy had immediately taken a liking to her - described Jacen as the empath.

Of course, Manuel de la Rocha is an empath, and he's a bloody monster in human clothing ...

"I've heard some of it. That every choice we make, causes an equal and opposite reaction - that somewhere, an alternate timeline is caused where we did the opposite of what we did here," Anakin said, and at least Jacen didn't snort contemptuously.

J

Shush!

And the Marvel one?

*chuckle*

Is she quoting the Pythons?

He really does just give those things away, doesn't he

Tells us where we are.

*Padme hides her face in her hand*

Not a ringing endorsement.

Betsy brought in the recipie? Or do they use japor berries?

*Hutt laugh*

"We're under attack... from fun parts of the continuity?!"

I like that 'ship.

How very Vergere.

Yub yub! BARBECUE!!

This is where the fun begins?

More review of the Dramatis Personae and the actual 'fic scenes soon.

- The Imperial Ewok

I should've remembered it ...

Hey, Xavier probably trademarked "I got better" ...

She'll update the color soon enough.

And maybe, as in Australia, add body armor?

Hey, he'd work for a blaster power pack a day. Easy on the NR treasury.

Or is there a possibility of a dark horse candidate .. ?

No, not K'krukh or Vos !

Well, I think a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster was last seen in Coruscant Nights ...

Well, better her than Booster.

Karrde has a very wide net of contacts?

Now whether it stays afloat ...

Thanks!

Onderon1

You can edit it in?

Pursued by the Spanish Inquisition?

And maybe, as in Australia, add body armor? [/quote]

Does she get turned into a Twi'lek assassin by some Hutt?

*groan*

Have a hot chocolate?

True!!

And a full set of back issues?

They are from Marvel Star Wars, after all.

I can see them arguing about who bails, and who paddles?

What do you mean by " "...?

And now... the cast-list!!

Brace for laughter?

A good trajectory for Alema.

I'm not sure about some possible doctrinaire connotations of "freethinker", but...

Good to see him!

He's the straight man?

Somehow, I now have the image of Jacen/Dani!

Being kept away from Dani by Danni?

That said, Dani and Danni probably understand each other, after what Da'Gara did...

I never thought Rodan was a real weasel. Compared with Lando and Karrde, he's an amateur plotter: too much the straight man?

</Han> "NERF-HERDER"

Should Ben be worried?

Now I have an image of a scene involving these two, and cucumber sandwiches.

And, Jag's not a Chiss Ascendancy pilot until at least Destiny's Way.

Yub yub!!

*snorts* They made Kolot a SENATOR!!

Wearer of capes?

Betsy wouldn't find that weird!

Why

A good idea ...

The Spanish Inquisition has Sentinels?!

No, no; she decided after Storm's team first tangled with the Reavers that she needed real armor, instead of that flimsy pink body stocking ...

it's ironic that Betsy went from a fairly tasteful first costume, to a practical one, to ... can we say ----floss, here?

These days, 616-Betsy's wearing a Mara-esque outfit - albeit with a belly shirt - so she's a bit more conservative.

I deserved that.

Rodan might refuse it on general purposes ...

I'm rereading DW right now, after getting back from the library, and the ... purity ... of his anti-Jedi bias (at least early on in the book) is interesting.

And he *is* more of an amateur than Lando and Karrde.

If anyone could get them, Talon could!

And the price in RL of actual back issues is ridiculous.
Thank heaven for reprints.

You are so right ... Betsy and Kyp are too alike. And how long they have until one or the other rubs the wrong way will be telling ...

What do you mean by " "...? [/quote]

Just an invitation to sit and stay a while.

She needs one.

Luke will be getting several more smacks upside the head here, than in canon, about paying attention to who's going dark ...

After Myrkr, the kid'll be angstful ... for a time. But he's Anakin; sitting around and grieving isn't something he does, at least not for long.

That "Khapet al'Yun" title had to come from somewhere.

The big furry guy's gonna have a role or two to play.

Even if he can't necessarily stand his brother-in-law ...

He certainly seems to be the one taking the punch-lines, not giving them.

Kiro might have something to say about that.

EXCELLENT points, my friend. Although it seems as if Danni, throwing herself into her work, was able to recover ... well, more quickly, than her fellow Dan(n)i?

Or maybe that was just burying herself in work to avoid pain.

As above, I'd have to agree. It's interesting to see his ... fervor ... especially since I remembered about his brother.

How ironic. A straight-laced Senator, yet I can't stand the character. How utterly ironic.

(ducks DL-44 aimed his direction)

Ben's eyes are blue, IIRC - besides, she's his b

"Eat your heart out, Bruce Willis!"

- Betsy Braddock escaping Genoshan Magistrates during the X-Tinction Agenda crisis, Uncanny X-Men 272

Chapter 3

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25 ABY, 17th of Fifth: Two 1/2 standard days after the destruction
of Helska IV, along the eastward branch of the Hydian Way:
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"You've befriended them quickly."

Betsy glanced up from her food - the nerfsteak was delicious, although she'd had to fight back an absurdist desire to ask Han if he'd killed the nerf himself - and saw Leia sitting at the holotable with her.

The Solo children were scattered around the main hold - Jaina checking systems, as Anakin and Jacen sparred carefully - and the Noghri were off somewhere; Han and Chewbacca were up in the cockpit, keeping track of their flight.

"They're very kind. You're all extremely gracious, given that I came bearing bad news," Betsy said - she still felt horrid, shocking the Skywalkers and Solos with the details of Anakin "senior's" fall ...

Leia got a mug of some steaming beverage from the autochef, then sat back down and smiled - bloody hell, she looked like she had in the original trilogy, just a mite older -!

"Betsy, you saved Chewie's life. And I'm not about to blame my ... father's mistakes on you. Believe me, I've had the better part of 30 years to get used to the reality of having Darth Vader for a parent," Leia said - and this time, her Force-presence was assured, while her intent was friendly.

Betsy was deeply honored, but also sensed Leia's emotions flicker toward concern when she glanced at Anakin and Jacen - and Betsy suddenly guessed part of why Leia was approaching her.

"Leia. I know how young men can be. Believe me, I have absolutely no untoward interest in your sons. Once, there was a boy who saved me from mental enslavement, and he held feelings for me. I had to gently but firmly dissuade him," Betsy said, remembering Doug Ramsey.

Leia's mental tone shifted to relief, respect - and a flicker of amusement. "Whatever happened to him?" she asked, and Betsy returned her grin.

"He grew up, and eventually married a very nice young woman his own age. They're deliriously happy; he's a code-breaker for an international spy agency on our homeworld, and she's a medical student," Betsy said between bites of nerf-steak.

Doug. Rahne. You've probably heard by now that I'm missing ... oh, Brian ...

Betsy fought back tears, but she looked up at a light touch on her shoulder, and Leia smiled more gently.

"If there's anything we can do -" the Princess of Alderaan asked, and Betsy radiated gratitude.

"Just - being here, is amazing, and greatly comforting. I hope I'm not annoying you with my moments of 'I'm with the Skywalkers and Solos!'" Betsy laughed.

"You're a lot calmer about it than most people. Actually, the idea that we're considered fictional somewhere in the ... multiverse ... is humbling. But welcome," Leia said, finishing her sentence with a snort before sipping her drink.

Then she went pale, and Betsy felt something roiling - someone was in pain, and not terribly far away - and Jaina clutched her chest, while Jacen and Anakin ran to help her -

"HAN! Out of hyperspace, NOW! Something's happening to Mara!" Leia shouted, running down the access bay to the cockpit. The Falcon came to a stop, and Betsy waved a hand at the teens to stay where they were while she went to investigate.

"Oh! Lady Braddock! Perhaps you can -" Threepio asked, but Betsy had to rush past him with a muttered apology when she entered the cockpit; Leia was at the comsuite, talking in a headset, as the Jade Sabre floated nearby.

" - stabilized; she had another attack. Not nearly as bad this time, but I don't want to risk taking her all the way to Polis Massa. We need to make for Yavin," Luke said over the ship-to-ship coms.

"We're coming too - don't argue, Luke. You deserve to be there as well as us when

"I do not pry into friends' thoughts, Havok. Nor enemies, without cause. If you don't know that by now, you don't know me."

"You're right there, Ms. Braddock ... because I don't know you."

- Betsy Braddock and Alex Summers, discussing telepathic etiquette and trust issues, Uncanny X-Men 249

Chapter 4

----------------------------------------------------------------
21st of Fifth, 25 ABY: Jedi Praxeum, Grand Audience Chamber, Yavin IV:
----------------------------------------------------------------

Well, the honeymoon's over ...

Betsy hadn't expected dogmatic stoicism from a Jedi Order which allowed its members to marry and have children - both of which she believed helped the new Jedi avoid the fatal errors of their predecessors - but she'd at least expected a certain amount of respect.

Well, maybe psychically-knifing Kyp during sparring the other day hadn't been that wise ...

She'd followed Anakin into the meeting Luke had called to discuss recent events - including the renegade actions of Wurth Skidder, a Jedi who had inadvertently worsened a war between two planets called Rhommamool and Osarian to the point of interplanetary nuclear war.

And then Betsy promptly found a dark-complexioned young man in midnight blue and black robes, with black hair, glaring at her as she passed by a rather large knot of youngish Jedi.

"A problem?" Betsy asked, and the tall Jedi - who reminded her of Neal Shaara, to a degree, before Neal had shaved that moustache and beard that hadn't fooled anyone as to his real age - composed himself a bit, especially when Kyp glanced at them.

"Betsy Braddock, Ganner Rhysode. Lady Braddock's not to blame for Miko's death, Ganner," Kyp said a little reprovingly - and the nod he gave Betsy, with a flicker of politesse and invitation in the Force, indicated that he didn't blame her.

Miko ... Betsy remembered, then, the report of the Vong invasion that Luke had composed for all the adults in the Order, and she felt a pang of sympathy about Kyp's former apprentice dying horribly.

"Nevertheless, I doubt you're going to support Kyp. These threats sweep across the Outer Rim, a dagger poised at the wider galaxy, and you're receiving special treatment from the Masters when accomplished Knights are getting slaughtered," Ganner said, his ice-blue eyes reminding Betsy of ...

She squelched the thought - Warren was a long way from here - and put as much ice in her reply as she could.

"I never asked for special treatment, Knight Rhysode. However Master Skywalker and his family treat me is their choice, and I'm grateful for their hospitality," Betsy replied.

Ganner took a step back, and Kyp chuckled - but a tall, powerfully-built woman with black hair and small scar by her left eye stepped forward and frowned at Betsy. "And yet you're here when Miko died," the other woman said, as icy as Betsy.

"If it helps, miss, less than three weeks ago I was murdered. I have a habit of turning up alive - the Force, it seems, has a strange sense of humor when it comes to my finding eternal rest," Betsy shot back, bringing a strange look to the brunette's face.

"Octa - Betsy, please. Miko was Octa's ... they were very close," Kyp said, stepping between the women. Betsy blushed, and both women muttered apologies before Betsy walked away.

"Betsy." She turned, and looked at Kyp, who half-smiled and said, "Look, you're good in a fight. We could use someone like you ..."

"HA! You MUST be kidding - and please do not throw lines from Han Solo at me! I own both the VHS and DVD copies of the original trilogy!" Betsy laughed.

She stopped, though, when she realized how oddly Kyp's sympathizers - and the "Luke-side" Jedi, on the right-hand side of the room - were staring at her ...

"It's a long story. Let's just say Betsy's really not from around here," Kyp said, before whispering in her ear, "I'd thought we'd agreed not to spread the whole 'the Jedi are fictional' thing around?"

"Then stop trying to recruit me. Arrogant as your

a crazed blue ewok pointed me this way, and I'm happy he did. An interesting story you've got going on here Onderon, any possibility of getting on a pm list?

thanks!

Thanks.

I'd be happy to PM you - both when this, and the related arc of Ben stories I'm writing, are updated, if you'd be interested ...

Respectfully,
Onderon1

Just a reply to the FIRST update, belatedly, because the new limits on the number of quotes that work properly in a reply is REALLY going to kick in if I do more at once.



Great start, though!!

Isn?t that the one with the story that really jumped the snark?

?I don?t think we?re in Marvel any more, Lockheed??

Wasn?t Bad Moon Rising one of the original Captain Britain arcs, too?

Well, Claremont DID write the Willow sequels, and their main plot-points ARE in the StarWars.com Databank?

You write that old-fashioned Britishness really well, you know?

And, it?s a good perspective for a character to deal with this sort of situation.

[face_jag]

I like the way you introduced the Falcon here, and then led on to Han. From Betsy?s inner teenager, to her inner child, and inner? horndog?

I like the diaogue ? the implied contrast with Betsy

Well, with time-displaced ghosting reality-warpers, things get weird.

(can't believe I typed that with a straight face.

Could well have been. Unfortunately, the only access I have to that stuff is through uncannyxmen.net's spotlight profiles.

Thanks. Ironic, though, since I've only the faintest shreds of Britishness in my family tree.

Many RL polls keep putting Han much-higher rated than Luke.

Must be the bad boy ...

Is it so incongruous? Both noblewomen who maintain a certain dignity - but aren't afraid to kick shebs when necessary?

She was dead at the time in 616-canon, and so missed it there.

Here, it hadn't happened yet before she was reincarnated and then got teleported away ...

That the Force is more fundamental than rational thought; that traditional telepathy is more of a front-brain thing. That's my working theory, anyhow.

Well, her one "return" to XXM in 616 was in XXM 5, where her spirit encounters Bishop in Dreamtime before getting yanked away by her crazy brother Jamie.

Here, I'd say continuity - already on the path less taken, long before now - diverged somewhere in XXM 3-5; Betsy-in-her-original-body was reincarnated, here, only a day or so after her death, which compresses the events of XXM 3-5 here into a very narrow timeframe ...

"Out of the way, flyboy! Somebody's got to save the Wookie!"

Thanks. I wanted Chewie back, so ...

(head-desks) Note to self: Edit ...

Uhm, sure ...

(thanks for making me look like I put more thought into this than I did.

(bows gratefully)

I was trying to capture the idea that Betsy has no idea of what happened after ROTJ - to really grab onto the idea of a casual fan landing in this situation.

Yeah, the average SW watcher at the coffeeshop might suppose that H/L had a family, and that Luke restarted the Order, but DE? TTT? ETC.?

Like a foreign language to them, I'd imagine.

It isn't SW without the droids. And they're a great access point, IMHO.

Plus maybe Thre

"Let me guess - you forgot all about me, at least in any way that mattered. Well, why not? I was gone, I was dead. End of story. But now I'm back. So, what next?"

- Betsy Braddock, afte her ... eh, third or so resurrection, talking with her fellow X-Men, Uncanny X-Men #455


Chapter 5

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21st of Fifth, 25 ABY: Dantooine, Outer Rim, Galactic Northeast:
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"Ghaa - ?!"

"Aunt Mara!? What was that?!" Anakin asked, setting down the cargo pod he'd been told to move without the Force - he'd felt some kind of surge of emotion from his mom, and he and Aunt Mara sensed something from Uncle Luke -

And if it's coming from across the galaxy, all the way at Polis Massa, it's gotta be important, Anakin realized, looking at his aunt as she rested in the cargo doorway of the Jade Sabre.

She was doing better - more color in her face, and her green eyes alert and focused - but he wished she wouldn't keep giving him so much grief just because he worried about her health. Uncle Luke had asked him to watch out for Aunt Mara -

"Solo. I kid because I care. Besides, if I didn't like you, you wouldn't be here, Luke or no Luke. And whatever happened to him and your mom wasn't a negative - in fact ..." Aunt Mara said.

Then she smiled, kind of weird, like she'd gotten a gift she wasn't expecting, and Anakin called, Mom? What happened?

Mom was happy and sad and confused and joyful, all at once, and she sent back, She's ALIVE, Anakin!

Huh? Who - Anakin wondered -

and then he realized.

And then he tried to pick his jaw up off the ground, as Aunt Mara laughed - young and free and happy, like she hadn't been in months.

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Grand Concourse, Galactic Senate Building, Coruscant, Core Worlds:
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"It can't be - ?!"

Jaina almost staggered; she couldn't believe what her mom and Uncle Luke had found - !

Or who, she thought, still amazed as she leaned against a wall and looked over at a worried Danni Quee.

"Just - a message, through the Force, from my mother and uncle. They've found - a big surprise, on Polis Massa," Jaina explained to her new friend - the extragalactic researcher was a talented, if reluctant, student in the Force, and Danni's bravery and kindness despite her recent trauma had touched Jaina.

Someone else who's lost so much for no good reason. Another 'little' person compared to the oh--so-high-and-mighty Senators, Jaina thought, shoving the bitterness aside.

She'd fought hard just to get them in the Senate doors, calling on old favors owed to her mother and/or the Jedi, after the cold shoulder from the Senate Scheduling Office.

Someone doesn't want Danni to address the Senate, and the list of suspects can be counted on one hand - no matter what or who the family found, I won't desert Danni. Especially to face the Senate, with so many sentients sniffing for Jedi blood ...

The comparison - non-humans compared to a pack of animals - troubled Jaina; she loved Chewie as another uncle, and had plenty of non-human friends ... so why was she suddenly thinking so Imperial-like?

"If your family has found something so important, Jedi Solo, perhaps your time would be better served attending to filial duties? Or is this a 'Force-feeling'?"

Jaina cursed herself - she'd been too focused on Mom and Uncle Luke's happy message that she hadn't been casting about in the Force for eavesdroppers.

And she couldn't think of few others worse to have lingering around than Commenorian Senator Fyor Rodan.

He was human - in the same way that Tarkin or Motti had been human, as far as Jaina was concerned - but she swore she could sense a conniving pre

"You were fooling!"

"As you Americans say, 'playing possum' - to draw you in close so I can seize control of your mind ...and turn your considerable abilities to my advantage."

- Alison Blaire, the Dazzler, and Betsy Braddock, discussing telepathic tactics, c. Uncanny X-Men # 217

Chapter 6

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21st of Fifth, 25 ABY: Jedi Praxeum, Yavin IV, Outer Rim Territories, Galactic East:
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"This is - madness!"

"Not the first time I've heard such a claim, Corran. But you forget, my first duty as an enhanced-power operative was as a spy - and I wasn't trained in just the espionage arts. I can fight, as well," Betsy said from behind a dressing screen in the quarters she'd been assigned.

After the revelations of Ahsoka Tano's existence - and the survival of Padme' Amidala Skywalker - there'd been a quick meeting of the Jedi Masters (Betsy was surprised, albeit not entirely shocked, at the lack of a formal Council - Luke had had to restart the Order from scraps of knowledge, after all) as to what should be done about the matter.

The Padme' situation was well in-hand - Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie were en route from Polis Massa with Padme', whom Betsy very much wanted to meet - but the knowledge that Anakin had had a Padawan was too chancy to ignore.

There are still plenty of people who wish bloodshed for Vader's savagery. His former Padawan would make too tempting a target for revenge. Thus, why we need to move - and who better than a telepath, as well as a Force-sensitive, to search out someone who may well not wish to be found? Betsy thought, reviewing her meeting with Corran, Kirana Ti, Kyp, Kam, Tionne, Streen and Cilghal.

Hyperspace skewed even the most powerful attempts to reach someone in the Force, so efforts to ask Luke what he felt should be done were useless; conjecture was that when Obi-Wan Kenobi had felt Alderaan's death, it had been the vast number of lives taken that had hit him so hard.

So - with not a few misgivings - the Masters had agreed to let Betsy pursue the matter of Ahsoka. With help, of course - she was too much a veteran X-Man to go running around a strange new galaxy without assistance.

Especially since the one clue they had led right into the proverbial lion's den ...

Ahsoka was instrumental in saving the life of Jabba the Hutt's son, Rotta, during the Clone Wars. Records indicate that Jabba died without any named heirs ... but that could just as easily have been a feint to protect a then-underage heir. After Leia killed Jabba, his father Zorba tried to claim the throne, but vanished under mysterious circumstances ... leaving a power vacuum, Betsy recalled from her studies as she adjusted her disguise.

And where better, anyhow, to start walking the hero's road in this galaxy, than Tatooine?

She grinned - despite knowing better - the teenaged fangirl in her giggling for a heartbeat at the idea of visiting Tatooine.

But it was the veteran warrior in her who looked herself over in the full-length mirror, then stepped from behind the screen.

Corran's blush, and dropped jaw, were exactly what she'd hoped for.

"The only part of this 'caper,' as Rogue would term such a jaunt, I feel reservations over, is whom I have to travel with - but we play the hand we're dealt, as my teammate Gambit taught me," Betsy said, pulling a traveler's cloak on as she entered the hall and faced her mission partner.

"And I appreciate your willingness. After all, I'd be a poor backup if I held a grudge. Shall we?" Kyp Durron - picked for his adaptability - asked, a too-understanding smile on his lips beneath his disguise as a Kuati telbun.

"Certainly, 'Kad Harenon,'" Betsy said, effecting her best haughty attitude.

"Your mistress commands you take her to her meeting with the dread Talon Karrde ..."

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Hyperspace: Outer Rim,

Incidentally, I like your inclusion of little bits of trivia from the various novels even if I wouldn't have gotten the Gavin/Fey'lya byplay if I hadn't just reread Isard's Revenge last week.

Thanks.

It's important, to me, that I keep what worked from canon, even as I put new spins on what - for me - didn't.

Borsk wasn't one of my favorite characters when I first really dug into the EU; he still isn't, but there's a nobility beneath the smarmy politician, if you dig deep enough.

That said, I still applaud Booster Terrik for smacking Borsk around at least once for messing with Gavin/As'yr. Maybe they were doomed to break up ...

but it shouldn't have been because of some bigot.

Thanks again,
Onderon1

a beautiful post, and as mentioned the way tidbits of EU history are interwoven is great. Great job!

Thanks, Kidan.

I wasn't sure how Han and Padme' would interact, at first - but she's shown a touch for the common man in canon, and Han (Wookie co-pilot or not) has always struck me as about as "common" as SW's heroes get.

And keeping Padme's reactions real, as far as how much of the galaxy has changed around, her, is critical, AFA I'm concerned. She's keeping it together for the moment ...

but strength only goes so far. That said, neither is she going to crumble.

If there's one thing Padme' does well, IMHO, it's rally others to a worthy cause.

And the Hutts - I'm so going to have fun with where that's going ...

Thanks again,
Onderon1

"Times like this, it feels like we endure all the grief there is ... but we're not allowed to enjoy any of the fun."

"Perhaps that is part of the price we pay for being who and what we are?"

"Perhaps that isn't enough."

- Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel I) and Betsy Braddock, commisserating on the cost of being a hero, Uncanny X-Men 246

Chapter 7

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21st of Fifth, 25 ABY: Westbound along the Hydian Way:
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"I suppose, honestly, I shouldn't be surprised that it takes longer than it seemed in the movies to get from one side of the galaxy to another," Betsy admitted.

Nevertheless - even itching in her disguise as a Kuati noblewoman - she was having an incredible amount of fun.

I'm going to Tatooine. Searching for a missing Jedi and potentially facing Hutts. What would the others say? she wondered, smiling a little despite the sorrow she felt at being so far from home.

There'd been nights, of course, since arriving, that she'd awoken from some shapeless nightmare - fears of never returning to Earth - but she'd quickly made friends, and had a purpose, even a calling.

The warrior among the stars. Life I'd dreamed of, with all the perks - even my own lightsaber, Betsy marveled, smiling despite herself at the bemusement coming from the pilot beside her in the Lambda-class shuttle.

"Most Lambdas have a Class 1 hyperdrive - and being Jedi with ... interesting ... friends ... we have access to more such ships than the usual spacers. I guess I tend to take it for granted, spaceflight," Kyp - who'd doffed the absurdist hat his disguise as Betsy's telbun required of him - said, smiling in a friendly fashion.

She still wasn't sure what to make of him. Yes, he was brash, defiant and prone to a more violent solution to problems than she might prefer - but then, she'd dated enough such men over her life, and was an "action junkie" in her own way, that she was loathe to point fingers.

It's his arrogance that rankles, Betsy realized, glancing over at Kyp.

It didn't help that he was handsome, on top of confident and skilled.

Kyp grinned at her, then, and said, "Your thoughts betray you."

Betsy stifled a blush - she was grateful to Tionne for sharing as many Jedi biofeedback exercises as she had - and replied, "Merely an observation. I'm still getting used to this ... transparency."

"You're used to armor, then. Your mental shields are very good - but your Force signature radiates the truth on levels conscious thought rarely touches," Kyp pointed out.

For an instant, the face of Alex Summers - Betsy's former teammate, Havok - superimposed itself over Kyp's, and Betsy remembered something the volatile plasma projector had once told her:

"Armor's a good metaphor for you, Psylocke. It hides a lot more than just your body."

Except - Alex suffered from such insecurity for so long. It took leading X-Factor to truly allow him to leave the shadow cast by Scott, and Kyp is much more confident, Betsy considered.

She wondered if a similar metaphor might not apply to the tension between Kyp and Luke - Luke was vastly less uptight than Scott Summers, but he was still light-years more self-controlled than Kyp.

And given what happened shortly after Alex's quote - the shattering of the "Australia team" of X-Men, at Betsy's panicked mental urging, no less, to escape the cyborg Reavers - Betsy wasn't in any great hurry to examine the comparison.

Not one of my prouder moments. And the rift my actions created between Alex and I took years to heal ...

She turned back to the conversation, replying, "That correlates with the sensations I felt when saving Chewbacca - I tapped into the Force by reaching into a subconscious level. I had to set aside my conscious mind - heh. 'Unlearn what I had learned.'"

Ky

Another great post. Nice to see them all coping with everything--or at least trying to

"All they see in me - all they acknowledge - is my shell! "

"The sweet, innocent, genteel Princess Di facade. How do I show them the tiger within!?"

- Betsy Braddock, shortly before being accepted as a full member of the X-Men, Uncanny X-Men 213

Chapter 8

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21st of Fifth, 25 ABY: Senate Convocation Chamber, Coruscant:
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"... so once again, the Jedi misappropriated military and other resources to use against - what? Pirates? At most, a heretofore unknown nonhuman race who may have only been reacting to Jedi aggression?"

Jaina tried not to ball her fists - she was disgusted by Pwoe's accusations, especially the idea that the Yuuzhan Vong were the victims - but kept her silence.

Kriffing hard, though. Really kriffing hard ...

"Senator, please! The Jedi weren't attacking anyone - these Yuuzhan Vong destroyed Sernpidal, altered Belkadan's atmosphere, attacked Dubrillion and infiltrated Helska! Miko Reglia and untold other people are dead ! These attacks are far beyond the scale of piracy!" Danni pleaded.

"While I would agree with you in the case of Sernpidal, Ms. Quee, I far more suspect the use of some heinous Imperial Remnant superweapon, contracted out to anti-New-Republic proxies, than the idea of 'extragalactic' invaders," Pwoe gurgled dismissively.

~How DARE you! Ms. Quee testifed - at no little cost to herself, I might add - about the obscene mental torture she was forced to endure watching the death of Miko Reglia, and you dismiss her warnings as Imperial insurgency ?! This is NOT a time for politicking, Pwoe! If we don't at the very least send a task force to head off further assaults, we are abrogating our responsibility to protect the people who elected us!~ Plif sent.

A good number of the other Senators - especially Senator Triebakk from Kashyyyk, and Senator Elegos A'Kla, the Caamasi Senator from Quence Sector - stood and applauded, and Jaina was glad they were on the side of the Jedi ...

but there were at least as many Senators who were frowning, or who were at least quiet.

"Order! There will be ORDER!" Mif Kumas, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate, bellowed, and Jaina was glad she'd been able to keep her self-control.

Finally, Borsky Fey'lya coughed into his com-pickup - he made a habit of this sort of drama - and said, "While I sympathize with Ms. Quee, and the refugees from Dubrillion and Sernpidal, I cannot in good conscience commit further New Republic military forces without a better understanding of this threat. I hereby suggest a study be started by the New Republic miltary to assess the nature of these 'Yuuzhan Vong.'"

"With all due respect, Chief Fey'lya, the military have conducted a study. We're finishing the report now, based on what data we've recieved from the Rejuvenator, refugees and the Jedi Order," Colonel Darklighter said, standing - he was staring at Chief Fey'lya, and Jaina shivered at the anger the colonel had for the chief of state.

"Ah, yes. The Jedi. A thoroughly unbiased source of intelligence," Fyor Rodan snorted.

Jaina had to restrain her own anger, then, but Colonel Darklighter just smiled a little darkly. "It's interesting that you mention that, Senator Rodan. I just happened to be next on the list of public speakers, and my topic is connected to Ms. Quee's report. It seems one of the results of the NR military report is questionable suppression of intelligence about the Yuuzhan Vong. Including sightings of their coralskipper craft near Garqi," he said.

Garqi?! Jaina thought, surprised and worried - she looked at Colonel Darklighter, who was smiling even more now, and Chief Fey'lya was angry and scared.

If the Vong are that far Coreward already, the Senate doesn't dare ignor