As Long as You Both Shall Live; Completed 4/28 - SEQUEL IS UP! Follow the link :) 6/6/03

Just so everyone knows, I've made some decisions regarding the sequel (yes, I know it probably seems a little early to be thinking about the sequel since this fic isn't nearly over yet ). Well, actually, I should say sequels, since I've decided this is going to be a trilogy. The first sequel is going to take place almost entirely (if not entirely) within the Unknown Regions, and will be an odd sequel, in that it's a sequel to an A/T fic, and it won't involve A/T at all (lol). The main characters are going to be Jacen/Aylina and Jaina/Jag (Oh, btw, don't be too shocked if Jaina has a new last name in this fic ) -- the general premise is that Jacen accepted a position as the New Republic's ambassador to the Unknown Regions (not to spend time with Aylina or anything ), and he ends up in the middle of a war instead. The New Republic sends military aid in the form of a task force led by General Antilles, and, wouldn't you know it, Rogue Squadron and Jag's Clawcraft just HAPPEN to be part of the military reinforcements . Oh, and we get to see Dash Rendar again, and for a much longer/bigger part this time. He's going to be in charge of a volunteer colonial militia.

The second sequel will shift back to Anakin/Tahiri, and I can't say too much without giving away the plot, all I can say is it'll involve the Jedi Order's oldest enemies (though, in what form, I can't say without spoiling it), and it'll be cool. Just thought I'd give everyone a taste of what the future holds in store for our heroes .

 

Hey, welcome back, hope you enjoyed looking at colleges and such. Good posts and I just can't wait for the sequels. Mabie I could be persuaded to be more patient with a post?

 

A sequel? Looking forward to it.

Nice to have an updated dramatis personae too.

Good post.
I have a question:
How powerful are the Mon Cal defenders and Nebula SDs?

 

Compare to destroyers in real life navy

 

jonng- excellent question . Nebula- and Republic-class Star Destroyers are slightly smaller than Imperial Star Destroyers, but utilize more advanced technology, since they're fairly recent designs. A Star Destroyer could probably beat one of them in a slugging match, but in groups, they're probably frustrating as all heck for Imperial commanders . Star Defenders are the largest ships the Mon Calamari ever made; it's never been officially stated how big they are, some people say they could be as big as Super Star Destroyers. Buuuut... well, to be blunt, I'm a Republican, so I have to be conservative , I'm guesstimating that they're somewhere between ISDs and SSDs in size, but, in any case, they're the newest and most advanced ships in the New Republic fleet, so I'd say they're pretty darn powerful. Hope that helps .

 

Thanks J_A_S.

 

Eh, they're ships and they fire weapons. What else need we know? *sweet smile at author*

Great posts! And I'm back!

GO TAHIRI! GO ANAKIN!

*conveniently forgets that she already knows what will happen next*

 

Up!

 

Star Defender Rogue Spirit, Ryloth Orbit.

?General,? someone called, ?trasmission coming in for you from the flag ship.?

Wedge strode over to the communications area. The ship?s captain could handle the attack on the SSD without him for a few moments, at least. ?Very well,? he said. ?Patch it through.?

A small holo of Admiral Sovv appeared before Wedge, seeming more distorted than the distance between the two ships could explain. ?General Antilles,? he said, ?the command ship is under attack, we?ve got a dozen, I repeat, a dozen Star Destroyers and their TIE compliments on intercept.?

Wedge stiffened. ?I can be there in twenty five seconds, sir. If you??

?Neg that, Wedge,? Sovv replied. ?We have the firepower to take them, and your job is more important right now. Just be aware that I?m recalling Groups Wampa, Hawkbat, Howlrunner, and Womp Rat.?

That left Wedge?s group, Sandpanther, and the other two forces ? one Republic, one Corellian ? the only forces engaged in offensive action until the assault on the command ship was repelled. ?Very good, sir,? Wedge acknowledged. ?Antilles out.?

Wedge calmly strode back to the command and control section of the command deck. The battle was still progressing as it had been moments ago, with the Super Star Destroyer trying to muscle its way out of its predicimate, and the New Republic and Corellian forces holding steady. The view on the holographic status display had changed significantly, however. The task forces Admiral Sovv had recalled had already jumped to hyperspace. ?What?s the ETA on those defensive groups?? Wedge asked.

?About thirty seconds,? Captain Aeron replied.

?Sirs,? a sensor officer called. ?I?m picking up some kind of gravitic anomaly??

?Blast,? Wedge cursed. ?So that?s their game.?

Captain Aeron followed his train of thought easily. ?Interdictors??

?More than likely,? Wedge agreed. ?Sensors, have the task forces been pulled out of hyperspace??

There was a long pause. ?That?s a negative, sir. They have not.?

?Well, that?s odd,? Wedge said with a frown. ?What?s their ETA??

The other officer glanced down at his display, then looked back up, frowning. ?Three seconds ago, sir.?

Cursing under his breath, Wedge quickly strode back to the comm station and pressed the transmit control. ?Admiral??

?I know, Wedge,? Admiral Sovv replied evenly. ?We?re still trying to figure out exactly what happened.?

Wedge didn?t like this at all. ?Sir, our sensors detected a gravitic anomaly just after the ships jumps, perhaps it has something to do with all this.?

?More than likely, but until we know for sure, we can?t risk any more hyperspace jumps. We can?t lose any more ships. Understood??

?Understood, Admiral. Antilles out.? Wedge lowered himself into the command chair with exaggerated weight owed to his weariness. An uneasy feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach. ?Tell the task force to continue our attack pattern, and relay those orders to both the other task force and the Corellian fleet.?

?Yes, sir,? the comm officer acknowledged.

Wedge?s eyes focused on the planet just outside his viewport seekingly. What exactly was the enemy commander trying to pull? Even with the loss of the task forces, the New Republic fleet was still more than a match for the Imperial ships left in the system. And the sublight only handicap hardly mattered, since the Imperials were similiarly limited. So what did the enemy stand to gain from all this? Time, a distraction, or something else Wedge was overlooking?

?General!?

Wedge swiveled in the direction of Captain Aeron?s voice to find him staring slack-jawed at the holographic display.

?We have a problem,? Aeron said simply.

---

[b]Star Defender [i]Yavin[/i], New Republic Command Ship[/b]

?How many mines?? Sovv asked.

The tactics officer frowned at his display. From our vantage point, enough to lay waste to the entire planet?s surface.?

Sovv cursed. ?A scorched earth policy? Can they really be that desperate already? What else have you got??

?

 

Oooh, good post. Plot twists are fun, aren't they?

 

Yay! A post! With much plot development!

Ooooh, a ground assault. This will be fun. I'm guessing swinging lightsabers and Anakin and Tahiri saving the day.

 

Disappearing ships is not a good sign...but I hope Wedge and Sovv can figure it out in time.

 

Ryloth

Pretoris watched as the last of the mines was in place. The New Republic fleet pulled back, obviously unwilling to jeopardize the civilians on the surface. Fools. Weak, pathetic fools. Pretoris sneered and pressed the control to activate his comm array. ?Commander, tell our forces to fight to the death. We won?t take out the New Republic fleet, but we don?t need to any more. I believe we?ve forced their hand ? they have no choice but to engage us in a land battle. We have what we wanted.?

?Understood, sir,? the officer replied. ?All the trenches and fortifications are in place.?

?Excellent. You will coordinate the rest of the battle in my stead, I have another matter to attend to.?

Even the highest ranking of the Imperial Alliance forces didn?t dare question him. ?Of course, Lord Pretoris.?

Pretoris cut the transmission and left his command room, retrieving his lightsaber on the way out. Our time has come, Solo.

A snap-hiss from behind Pretoris stopped him in mid-stride. He slowly turned around to find himself facing a silver-bladed lightsaber being held by a grim Twi?lek female.

It was a very rare instance indeed where Pretoris was actually caught off guard. ?Alema? What are you doing??

?What does it look like I?m doing?? Alema hissed, a fiery intensity in her eyes that Pretoris had thought he had crushed a long time ago. ?You?re not hurting Anakin, or any of the other Jedi.?

Now, Pretoris felt his confidence restored, and barked a laugh. ?Alema, I don?t intend to hurt him. I intend to kill him. And if I am capable of that, what makes you think you can stop me??

Alema raised her chin defiantly. ?The way to the boy is through me.?

?So be it,? Pretoris replied casually, his crimson red lightsaber hissing to life. ?Prepare to die.?

---

Anakin approached the black hole of dark side energy cautiously with his lightsaber already drawn but not ignitied. As he rounded the corner, the sight that greeted him was the last thing he had expected. Alema, her lightsaber lying useless and unignited on the ground, was suspended in midair, clawing at her neck.

Anakin ignited his lightsaber with a thunderous [i]snap-hiss[/i], the comforting weight of the familiar weapon in his hand sparking the inherent confidence within him. ?Let her go,? he demanded authoritively.

?Ah,? Pretoris greeted, ?Jedi Solo. I?ve been expecting you.?

Anakin advanced cautiously, dropping into a defensive crouch. ?I?m not going to ask again.?

Pretoris shrugged casually. ?As you wish.?

Alema was suddenly released, hitting the ground with a dull thud. The only sign that she was still alive was the labored rising and falling of her chest.

Anakin circled Pretoris cautiously, waiting for him to make the first move. The Sith ignited his blood red lightsaber, holding it in a classic attack stance. As he studied his opponent, Anakin noticed that Pretoris?s ice-blue glowing eyes seemed to be gaining in intensity very gradually. He didn?t know what the signicance of this was, but it wasn?t likely to be anything benificial to him.

?Now we finish what we began,? Pretoris said calmly.

Instead of answering, Anakin finally decided he had had enough of this game and took the initiative by slashing his saber hard at Pretoris?s chest. The Sith blocked, riposted, and spun in a quick slash at Anakin?s flank.

Anakin managed to shift his saber just in time to catch the attack, let its momentum spin him inside of Pretoris?s guard, and made a quick slash at Pretoris?s unprotected legs, hoping to force him to disengage.

Pretoris did not; instead, he slashed his saber at Anakin?s head at the same time as Anakin?s attack. Knowing that the attacks would do their damage at roughly the same time, Anakin was forced to break off his attack just in time to arch his body under Pretoris?s swipe. Pretoris quickly took advantage of the awkward positioning to slash his saber down at Anakin?s throat.

Anakin blocked in time, but was forced off his feet by the force of the strike. He quickly

 

Incredible post!

Good to see Alema back on the good side, and another three-way battle with the Sith, excellent.

It seems a prophecy is about to be fulfilled

 

The duel begins. And Anakin and Tahiri are reunited.

 

Woah.Nice fight scene.

*Put's on sarcastic voice.*

Prophecy's?Don't ya just love them?

*Go's back to normal voice.*

Very nice work....i also read the info bout the next sequel's and they sound good and i can't wait to read.

nina

 

*BOUNCE BOUNCE BOUNCE*

 

Jaina threw her fighter into a quick bank, watching the TIE interceptor that had been on her tail overshoot, and quickly swung back into firing position, nailing it with a quad burst in the tail.

?Nice shot, Lead!? her wingmate called.

?Thanks, Two,? Jaina replied. She glanced at her threat board and saw that the entire squadron was engaged now. ?Rogues, let?s clean up the last of these TIEs as quickly as we can, I want to make a run at the capital ship formation before our big guns move into place.?

Without waiting for replies, Jaina throttled up and threw her fighter back into the combat zone. Her lasers flashed several times, lancing enemy craft with deadly light. It didn?t take long to finish off the rest of the TIE formation. ?Rogues, come around to one-seven-zero,? Jaina ordered. ?Everyone form on me and get ready to unload the rest of your proton torps.?

Jaina waited for her squadron to form up and then accelerated to attack speed, lining up the nearest Victory Star Destroyer in her sights. As they got closer, the massive craft?s anti-starfighter batteries began spewing deadly energy at the squadron. ?Break and fire,? Jaina ordered, throwing her ship into a quick climb, leveling off again, and unloading her proton torpedoes before finally breaking off again.

By the time Rogue Squadron pulled away and regrouped, the New Republic capital warships were in range and began hammering the Imperials with laserfire.

Jaina frowned at her display, seeing the smaller Imperial craft accelerating to flank speed towards the larger New Republic ships. That didn?t make any sense at all ? why not commit the larger ships to battle in a lopsided battle like this?

Jaina?s danger sense flared just as the dreadnaughts threw themselves into a New Republic Nebula Star Destroyer, detonating on impact, but crippling the larger cruiser. ?Rogues!? she shouted. ?Follow me back into the engagement zone, we have to stop those smaller cruisers before half our fleet is crippled!?

Suicide missions? Jaina thought to herself as she threw her fighter back towards the firefight. Are they that desperate already?

 

great posts, i think anakin and tahiri can beat that crazy dark jedi

 

Uh-oh. That's not good.

*tugs on author's sleeve* Umm, they're not going to LOSE or anything, are they? Cuz I really want them to win . . .

 

Em- Well, since you asked nicely... YOU GET TO WAIT TO FIND OUT WITH EVERYONE ELSE!!!

Oh, wait... you already know what happens... darn it all, a wasted mischief face .

 

Great post!!


POST MORE SOON

 

*pout* But I like finding out what's going to happen before everyone else knows! I've been a good girl! You can spoil me!

 

Em- Ohhhhkaaaaay. See *hushed whisper*, and THEN *more dramatic whisper*

There, happy?

 

uh oh.