Saga At the Turn of the Tide - ESB/AU, Luke - Updated 11/08/2008

Disclaimer: All characters, ships, lightsabers, dialogue, planets, ideas, accessories sold separately and galaxies far, far away belong to George Lucas. I just use them to have fun with my own imagination, in a non-profit manner.

This story is AU, and is a ?what if? piece. The 'what if' is Luke, and his decision to leave Dagobah. It?s a bit rough around the edges at this point. But, since this is my first post on the fan fic board, I just wanted to put it out here and see if anyone likes it?

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?Luke, you must complete the training,? Yoda pleaded.

Trying his best to ignore the diminutive Jedi Master?s words, Luke was still readying his ship for take-off.

?I can?t keep the vision out of my head, they?re my friends, I?ve gotta help them,? Luke said quickly, and rather irrationally.

?You must not go,? Yoda said, his voice more empathetic against Luke?s decision than to the plight of Luke?s friends.

?But Han and Leia will die if I don?t,? Luke retorted, frantically trying to rationalize his actions?and failing miserably at it. Yoda?s gaze did not change, nor did his stance.

?You don?t know that,? a familiar ghostly voice said, coming from the darkness of the swamp. Through the Force, Luke felt a strange but familiar surge, then it happened ? a ghostly, blue-hued image of Ben Kenobi appeared.

?Even Yoda cannot see their fate,? the ethereal Obi-Wan said to him, defending his Master?s words.

Luke was determined. ?But I can help them. I feel the Force.?

?But you cannot control it,? Ben countered calmly. ?This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the Dark Side of the Force.?

?Yes, yes, to Obi-Wan you listen,? Yoda added emphatically. ?The cave. Remember your failure at the cave.?

?But I?ve learned so much since then! Master Yoda, I promise to return and finish what I?ve begun, you have my word.? Yoda merely sighed and shut his eyes.

Kenobi tried again. ?It is you and your abilities the Emperor wants. That is why your friends are made to suffer.?

?That?s why I have to go,? Luke said with resolve.

?Luke, I don?t want to lose you to the Emperor the way I lost Vader,? Kenobi said, with underlying anguish.

?You won?t,? Luke said with determination.

Yoda challenged Luke?s reasoning. ?Stopped, they must be. On this, all depends. Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as his ally, will conquer Vader and his Emperor. If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path -- as Vader did -- you will become an agent of evil.? Yoda?s words were firm, and stinging.

?Patience!? Obi-Wan insisted.

?And sacrifice Han and Leia?? Luke asked, questioning them again.

?If you honor what they fight for, yes,? Yoda stated firmly.

?If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone,? Kenobi said solemnly. ?I cannot interfere.?

Luke was looking away. ?I understand.? For a hopeful moment, Luke looked as if he were about to reconsider. Without giving Obi-Wan?s words time to sink in, he scrambled up the ladder leading to the cockpit of his ship and said, ?Artoo? fire up the converters.?

Obi-Wan?s image held up his hands in one final, pleading gesture. ?Luke! Don?t give in to hate! That leads to the Dark Side!?

Yoda knew he and Obi-Wan had lost this argument. He gave the only advice he knew to give the boy now that Luke was going to leave. ?Strong is Vader. Mind what you have learned. Save you, it can.?

?I will, and I?ll return. I promise.? With a high-pitched roar, Luke?s X-Wing lifted off, leaving a distraught Yoda and Obi-Wan in a sea of bright white light, quickly fading to red.
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Kenobi?s ghostly image faded as Luke?s ship passed out of sight.

?Told you, I did,? scolded Yoda, ?reckless, is he. Now, matters are worse.?

?That boy is our last hope,? came Kenobi?s voice sadly.

Yoda?s eyes remained fixed on the sky. ?No. There is another.?

?Master, what do you think will happen to him?? Obi-Wan asked. ?There are many p

 

I'm interested.

 

Well, one fan is better than none so far!

This is the last post for the evening. I will be making corrections to smooth it out in the morning...



Ty

Note: Edited 03/18...it was late, and I was half-asleep when I wrote this post last night. When I re-read it...ick, is all I can say.
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Luke sensed the danger more physically than through his connection to the Force. He saw it out of the corner of one eye?his Force-perception more attuned to healing himself than his surroundings. It was the tail of a creature submerging less than 10 meters from the X-Wing.

Artoo gave out a series of warnings, but the time for Luke to act in a preventative manner was long gone.

It began as a low rumble beneath the depths of the swamp. The rumbling began to change, and Luke felt a vibration throughout the ship. Then, the entire X-Wing began to shake violently.

Losing his concentration on healing his wounds, Luke released himself from the Force and refocused his efforts on escape. His jowls were rattling along with the rest of the ship. Healing would have to come later, after getting out of the present danger.

The pain in his shoulder was excruciating, but the temporary surge of adrenaline allowed him to reach the manual release lever for the cockpit canopy. Luke pulled on it, only to find that it was jammed for some reason. He pulled again, harder the second time. It would still not budge.

An even more pressing matter came to Luke?s attention. Along with the violent rumbling, the X-Wing was being turned on one side by the creature beneath the depths.

Luke struggled with all his might, doing his best to set aside his dizziness, confusion and pain, to try and get the hatch open. Even as he thought the ship couldn?t get any further out of balance, the nose began to tilt upward.

Luke reached out with the Force, trying to figure out what the creature was doing. Was it devouring his ship? Was it just defending its territory and attacking?

Much to his dismay, Luke could not feel anything. His ability to use the Force had diminished considerably since before he crashed, due to fatigue and injuries. He began to become panicked. Yoda had taught him to remain calm, but how could Luke possibly stay calm at a time like this?

In a fit of desperation, Luke tried drawing upon the Force again, this time beating on the cockpit roof, trying to get it to budge. His hands rebounded back at him, the roof's semi-flexible transparisteel construction designed to withstand small hits from things like fist-sized asteroid fragments at high speeds. Luke hit the ceiling one more time, as if the stubborn cockpit canopy would move knowing that he was angry.

I must control my anger.

The ship was now nose-up, and tilted almost completely to the right with its left wing in the air. The shaking and rattling was becoming more than Luke could bear, or block out with the Force to keep his mind clear.

There was no other way. Luke did not wish to damage his ship beyond repair, but he had no other choice. Fumbling down at his right side, it took three tries before he got a grip on his lightsaber hilt.

Though he was tilted on his side, Luke pointed the lightsaber as best he could toward the top of the canopy. The ship was starting to sink; it was now or never. He thumbed the activator button on the weapon, and it ignited in a flash of blue, simultaneously stabbing through the transparisteel barrier between Luke and freedom.

Under Luke?s careful guidance, the blade cut a half-meter by half-meter square in the roof of the cockpit. Luke extinguished the blade, and smashed upward with his hands. The smoking material made a hiss as it fell into the water. Luke crawled out, trying to climb on top of his ship. Force knew what was under the depths, or how many arms it may have had to grab things. Luke didn?t want to find out if an extra appendage was available do to him what the creature had done with his ship.

Luke grippe

 

How is Luke supposed to get out of this slimy mudhole without his ship??

Don't give in to anger, Luke! That way leads to the Dark Side!!!

Great start, Stuart!

 

RebelMom: Thanks for the interest so far! I'll try to keep it going. Another JC forum user has been giving me some pointers.

LadyPadme: Thank you for the encouragement. And don't worry. AS far as Luke is concerned, well...just read on in the next installment.

 

Luke isn't having a good day. How's he going to get off the slimy mudhole without a ship?? I hope Artoo is okay.

 

Luke landed on top of the cart wheeling X-Wing, slashing at the first appendage he could reach, the lightsaber cutting and cauterizing it easily. Before thinking of what he was doing, Luke executed a back flip to the next nearest tentacle within reach, giving it the same treatment while in mid-air, then landing on another part of the craft that was above water. The creature continued moving, unfettered.

Luke had to jump from point-to-point on the X-Wing as he attacked, to avoid being thrown in the water. After the fourth tentacle was hacked off, the creature finally began to take notice. Luke sensed the danger behind him immediately. He stabbed backward behind his head at a tentacle that would have otherwise wrapped itself around his throat.

From below the watery depths, Luke heard a low-pitched gurgling sound. Almost losing his balance, Luke braced himself on the hull of his battered ship as it began to rise out of the water.

At long last, Luke got a really good look at his opponent. This was certainly no Wampa he was dealing with. The creature?s tentacles all led to a much larger body. The creature was covered in swamp-moss, but Luke could still make out most of it?and what he could make out did not look very appealing. The body, which was blotched with different shades of dark brown and green--had several ghastly-looking circular blobs around the top of it, to which Luke could only judge as being eyes. The tentacles seemed to end at a central orifice, which opened up to reveal what appeared to be a gaping mouth full of extremely sharp, curved teeth, all pointed in a clockwise direction. Its tail lashed out of the water a few meters away, ending in a large diamond-shaped point, no doubt giving it propulsion beneath the depths.

Luke anticipated its next move. It was still rising, and before long, Luke knew that he and his ship would be at least fifty meters or more above the water level. The monster began thrashing to and fro quite violently in what seemed to be an attempt to throw its intruder off balance ? and off the ship -- but Luke was going to be damned if this beast was going to take his ship down without taking him with it. Saving his friends was his top priority.

Although he lost his balance as the ship rose and changed its orientation, Luke maintained a hard grip on one of the side handles on the ship?s hull, his feet dangling toward the creature?s mouth, which could swallow him easily. He crawled further down the side of his X-Wing, and, letting the Force guide him, broke one hand free to power up his lightsaber again. He swiped downward at the beast, as hard as he could, with his weapon, into one of the creature?s eyes, and then slashed leftward at another eye, then outward at another eye, slicing each one of them in half. Globs of the most disgusting purplish goo were coming out of the eyes that smelled like the nine levels of Sith-hell. The creature?s attack slowed, but its remaining tentacles would not release the ship.

Luke vaulted back up to the top of the X-Wing, which was now belly-up again. The creature was still maintaining its grip. Was there no way to stop this monster? Luke was growing tired of this fight, but he was also becoming furious. This fury drove him on.

The creature's main body, now out of the water, had enough room around the outer circumference of its appendages for Luke to land on.

It?s a crazy idea, but what other choice do I have?

Crawling down to one of the craft?s wingtips, Luke readied himself with a deep breath, and jumped on the creature?s body. Angrily, he stabbed violently with his lightsaber at the main part of the beast where he was standing, pushing the blade all the way in to the hilt as he knelt down on one knee. The creature did not respond. But Luke did, the creature?s lack of response only infuriating him even more. Luke stabbed again in a different place, and again, and again, and again, then began slashing at the base of any tentacles near him.

"Let go of my ship!" Luke screamed as

 

Luke is in trouble now. Boy, did he really let the anger control him.

 

Oooohhh! * shivers *

I would NOT want to be around for Yoda ****-fit! If the little green one starts giving Lukie a piece of his mind this could get really messy...

Then again, Luke definitely deserves it for not heeding Yoda's lessons. Tsk! Tsk!

Great postie!

 

Rebel Mom: Yes, Luke is. And yes, he did.

LP: I know it doesn't seem like I'm going to give poor Luke a break, but don't worry.

That's all I'm going to say at this point.

I'm trying to put careful writing in the next entry...should be out today or tomorrow.

 

Yoda approached Luke slowly, hobbling on his gimer stick. Clicking Luke?s lightsaber to his belt and resting both hands on the stick, Yoda said, ?Had enough, have you??

Luke said nothing. He looked away, unwilling to show his shame.

?Your crash, I felt through the Force. Safe, I knew you were. Intervene, I would not have, until attacked this creature, you did.?

?Attacked?? Luke said, taken aback, trying to mask the anger in his voice. ?Master Yoda, it was trying to destroy my ship!?

Yoda raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes at his apprentice. ?Talk to me that way you will NOT, until cleared your mind of anger, you have.? Luke felt smaller than his Master at that moment. Yoda?s words were full of an essence and power Luke had not yet felt.

The Jedi Master pointed at Luke?s ship. ?Material possessions, a Jedi needs not, to survive,? Yoda stated flatly, stamping his gimer stick on the ground.

?But, how am I supposed to leave now??

?On your mind, your friends are. Understand that, I do. Visions that you have, realized how powerful they are, I did not until after you left.?

Luke?s face suddenly turned a blotched red. Even in his state of worry and apprehension, Luke was still amazed at his Master?s abilities.

?See through you, I can.? Yoda said almost playfully, answering Luke?s thoughts.

?I?m sorry.? It was all Luke could say.

?And for well should you be. For my ally, the Force is. Keeps me in touch with all life on this planet, it has. Many creatures, close to them I have become. Especially this one,? Yoda said, pointing his stick at the quivering animal.

Yoda motioned in a direction Luke was avoiding looking. ?Come with me, Luke. See the folly of your ways, you will. A new lesson, you will now learn, then a choice you shall make. But first, end this poor creature?s suffering, we will.?

Approaching it, Yoda reached out to the creature with two small fingers, touching its side gently. He shut his eyes.

After a moment of silence, Yoda spoke.

?Hmm?die, she wishes to,? Yoda said. ?Mortally wounded, she is. Heal her that she may live, I cannot. Many weeks she may have left, but in agonizing pain.?

The Jedi Master turned to Luke. ?Stand aside, you must. Now.?

Luke walked over and stood by Artoo. He felt Yoda opening himself up further to the Force, calming the creature and easing its pain as much as he could. Through Yoda, the Force was like a wide open frequency to Luke. He could not only feel Yoda communicating with the creature, but Luke could also feel the creature thanking Yoda for his help.

What happened next was almost too fast for Luke to see, and even after it happened, it took Luke a moment to realize what he saw as real.

Yoda had jumped backward several meters, ignited Luke?s lightsaber, while maintaining his easing of the creature?s pain - and with one swift, merciful and precise throw of the lightsaber in a specific location, Yoda finished it. The creature?s life force faded, and was dead instantly.

Luke gasped as he realized the truth.

?Yes, young Skywalker. Arrived too late I did, to stop you from harming this creature. Unborn younglings, she has underwater. Crash landed near her eggs, you did. Merely defending her offspring, she was. Needlessly suffered at your reckless actions, she did. Used the Force to calm her from harming you any further when she came ashore, I did.?

?But Master, I didn?t know, I?I was just?I?? Luke?s words choked off.

?Tapped the Dark Side of the Force, you did!? Yoda exclaimed, unabashed. ?Embraced it foolishly, intolerably. Run away easily, you could have. Stayed and engaged a creature aggressively ? a creature that had done you no harm, you did. Knew better than you to simply escape from danger, even your own droid did.?

Luke?s sorrow overwhelmed him. He did not even try to hide the tears from his Master.

?Grief you feel, and deserve it you should. A game you think this is, Luke? The dark side did you use, just as Vader does. To Obi-Wan you di

 

You tell him, Yoda!

Intriguing...wonder where Luke's training will go next--and will he get out of this slimy mudhole??

 

I think Luke will think twice if he meets anymore creatures.

 

Author's note: That's all I have on this for a few days. I will be getting back to it after the weekend. Ciao!

-Ty

 

You have gained another fan, Tycalibur! So far it's awesome! I've gotta ask, though, the description of the Nebri sounds a lot like the boss monster on Dagobah in the ESB Super Nintendo game. Is that where you got it? Keep up the good work! "I'll be watching your career with great interest!"

 

LP: Glad you liked Yoda's fit. Just speaking within the context of the OT, I've always felt that Luke has been alone, or a 'loner', even though he does have friends that care for him. As Yoda said...he's going to have to find himself. I'm trying to decide where to go next one this one, but you can rest assured that Luke is going to be very on his own for awhile. Yoda took his lightsaber away for good reason.

RebelMom: Luke might think twice, but you never know. One of Luke's biggest problems at this point in the OT is his unpredictableness.

Eugene_Meltsner_AIO: Welcome! And thanks for the encouragement! To answer your question, I don't think the concept of the Nebri came from the SNES version of ESB, but it might have. Allow me to explain:

I played Super Star Wars (ANH) for the SNES and loved it, because it was such a breakthrough game. Then, ESB came out, naturally I thought it would be as good a sequel to its predecessor, but it stunk, it was so difficult! Especially fighting Vader, YEESH (can't tell you how many times I slammed down my controller hearing Vader say 'All too easy' when he handed my rear end back to me)!

No, my idea for the Nebri came out of an amalagamation of several monsters, one of them from LOTR: FOTR, another from the original monster that tried to eat poor Artoo in the movie ESB, and the giant sea turtle (hence the feet), the diamond tail from one of the greatest old-school ILM special effects movies of all time -- 'Dragonslayer', the rest was from my own mind. But, quite honestly, I could have subliminally conjured it up (especially the mouth part of it) from a subconscious memory of the VG version of ESB for the SNES -- but consciously, I don't remember the creature from the game.

To all interested in the story, I'll give you one small hint as to part of what is to come (since I wont be making an entry for a few days): don't forget, the Nebri had unborn children!

To all who have read and commented, thanks for your encouragement so far!

-Ty

P.S. I'll have a set schedule for entries soon. When I do, I'll update the thread to notify anyone interested in the story.

P.S.S. I updated Yoda's butt-chewing just a tad. It's in the paragraph where he tells Luke 'do or do not, there is no try'.

 

Yeah, that game was rediculously hard! I couldn't beat the Dagobah monster boss without using the detonator cheat code! As soon as read that description, I thought of the monster boss and LOTR.

 

Nice story! Like it so far... poor Luke

I've also played ESB on SNES, and I couldn't even make it off Hoth... hmm, I wasn't very good.

 

Great start to the story.

I guess Luke will think twice when he meets another creature.

I'm looking forward to the next post. Do events on Bespin coincide with ESB canon, or is that AU as well?

Perhaps Luke can show Yoda his maturity by watching over the creature's eggs after they've hatched.

 

Enji, and TorontoJediMaster.. welcome!, and thank you for reading so far.

Enji: Luke's been through a lot, but I'm not done with him yet. *evil grin*

TorontoJediMaster: You're close, but it's just part of the lesson Luke's going to likely have to learn.

More to come in a few days!

-Ty

 

I hope he'll be able to earn Yoda's respect.

 

Eugene_Meltsner_AIO: I just remembered one other source of inspiration for the description of the Nebri....geesh, I can't believe I forgot it. There are these plant-like creatures in the VG, 'Final Fantasy X' that you can fight against, they're about twice human size, with multiple long tentacles, and a central mouth. Only I wanted the Nebri to be more organic than plant-like.

Just wanted to note that...and have a good excuse for moving this thread up while I prepare the next phase of the story to be posted. LOL

-Ty

 

Moving it up.

 

Moving it up to notify everyone to stay with me just a bit longer....it took some thought, but the story is about to take a completely different turn....brace yourselves!

-Ty

 

Here we go...this post is very rough around the edges, but as always, will be smoothed out in the next 24 hours.

Hope you enjoy it.

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?Do you think that after what you did to Han that we?re going to trust you??

Those were the last words Lando Calrissian heard before he felt two large, hairy powerful hands on his neck, crushing his windpipe, as well as everything else in the vicinity of his neck.

Knowing Chewbacca very well, Lando should have remembered to make the Wookiee promise not to hurt him before he unlocked the binders.

Struggling to force any air from his lungs, Lando was at least able to wheeze out some words.

?I had no choice,? he said, pleading for his life. Despite his amazing success in life, he imagined someone from his sordid past to come back to kill him over something stupid like a gambling bet, but he never would have imagined it would be Chewbacca.

Chewbacca just growled incoherently, the Wookiee obviously intent on torturing Lando just a bit before breaking his neck.

?Oh, we understand, don?t we Chewie? You had no choice,? Princess Leia said, mocking his words.

No choice? I just saved your hides! And this is the thanks I get?I take back what I said about you being beautiful, ?Princess?. You?re nothing but an ungrateful-

Lando decided against name calling, that it would probably be better to gamble his life by being polite, even in a situation this ridiculous.

?Just trying to help,? he coughed out.

?We don?t want any of your help,? Leia snapped back.

What does it take to get through to these people? It's not like my life wasn't on the line, too! There?s no telling what Vader would have done to any of us!

?Ha-,? Lando started, dizzy and on the verge of losing consciousness. ?Ha-,? he tried again.

?What?? Leia asked, her hands on her hips.

Lando managed to force what was left in his lungs into the air and finally got the word out.

?Han.?

Leia still didn?t understand him. Lando didn?t know how, but he managed to get the word out again.

?Ha-?Han.?

The broken protocol droid strapped to his would-be killer?s back finally spoke up. ?It sounds like ?Han?.?

YES! That?s EXACTLY what I?m trying to say, you big, walking carpet!

Lando felt Chewie?s grip loosen, but only very slightly. Lando took the opportunity without hesitation to yank in some air. ?There?s still a chance to save Han. At the east?platform.?

?Chewie,? Leia said calmly, and the two of them ran off together. Lando suddenly felt the grip on his throat completely release, hurting almost as much as when it was first initiated.

Lando sucked in air, hearing the protocol droid?s words as Chewbacca and Leia raced away, rounding the corridor.

?I?m terribly sorry about all this. After all, he?s only a Wookiee,? the droid said.

Lando shook his head, feeling his windpipe slowly returning to its original shape, his ears ringing.

Geez, what a temper. Hanging around Han all these years must have really made him a grouch, Lando thought. Yes, that had to be the reason. It?s not my fault!

Even though Leia would probably think him a laserbrain, and Chewie might rip his arm out of his socket at their next encounter, Lando had decided to try and help them get out of here anyway. Lando got on his feet, still clutching his bruised neck, and started after them.

Besides, the Falcon is the best ship to get me out of here.

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Lord Vader sat in silent, angry meditation in the corridor of the carbon-freezing facility, trying to decide what to do next. His ruse had failed to deliver Skywalker into his hands.

This makes little sense, Vader thought to himself.

Vader had foreseen it when he cast himself into a vision of the future earlier that day. The path Skywalker would take would bring the boy straight to Vader, and Skywalker would try to take him down.