Beyond - Legends ~Beyond the Rim~ A/T SbS AU Completed 8/09!!!!

I just caught up with this one, good job so far.

Poor Valin is right, I always did like that kid, I'm glad he's in this fic.

 

Jade-Walker: If I'm not mistaken, this is Valin's first mission, not including Yavin 4. A bad introduction to the world of Anakin Solo.

I've got a few more twists for the team before they get back home. You'll see the first of them in this post.

jainafel: Thanks. Valin's pretty resilient, I think he'll be okay after he gets back to his family.

Hey there, Jedi_Sari! I haven't seen you in a long time! It's great to know you're still around here. Welcome to the fic!

H2O:

Anakin sat in the pilot's seat of the Firelight, his ice blue gaze locked on the horizon. Slowly the Naraoxian sun was beginning to rise. The harsh red light cascaded across the planet, making it glow in the distance. He flinched as the scorched land near the caves was revealed in a dazzling shower of sun rays. The area was larger than he had expected. It stretched well past the clearing they had landed on and continued to burn miles of forest. All of this because of one explosion.

"You should be asleep," Tahiri said as she stepped into the cockpit.

"I could say the same thing about you," he replied, looking over at her. Judging by the way she sighed, he guessed she knew what he was thinking about.

"You didn't have a choice," she said softly. Walking over to him, she sat down in his lap as he wrapped his arms around her. She leaned her head back against his shoulder. She reached up, gently running a hand across his cheek.

"I haven't had choices about a lot of things in my life," Anakin replied. His tone was more bitter than he had wanted it to be. He closed his eyes and flinched as images of Chewbacca, Daeshara'cor, and Centerpoint Station whirled through his head.

Tahiri pressed herself closer to him, curling her legs up under herself. Sitting there with him was a nice change from the fighting they had endured down on the planet. Their lives hadn't slowed down since they left Yavin and she still found it difficult to imagine that things would ever return to normal. But for the moment, being close to Anakin was all that she needed.

"You take so much of this in and just let it well up inside of you. It hurts you too much. I know you don't like to hear people tell you this, but you can't save everyone all the time. Occasionally you have to be like us lowly mortals and realize you've just got to do the best you can and be satisfied."

Anakin shook his head. "That's the problem, Tahiri. I can't be satisfied with this. There has to have been something I could have done, some move I could have made. If only I could find out what that was maybe I could let some of the things in my head go."

"Solve the riddle in your mind even if you can't solve it in reality?" Tahiri sighed. "Sorry, it doesn't work that way, Hero Boy. I hate to admit it, Anakin, but you'll always having something you're beating yourself up about. No matter how quickly you react or think you'll always expect yourself to be quicker or smarter. You won't ever be able to let go of anything until you've done everything perfectly. Or at least, perfect by your standards."

"So, you're saying I'll always feel this way?" he asked, his gaze out the window again. His expression was pained and depressed.

"Maybe so," she replied, forcing him to look at her. "But if you didn't, you wouldn't be my Anakin."

He propped himself further back in his chair and smiled at her weakly. "At least most of us survived this time."

"This time," Tahiri repeated softly after a short pause. One thing she had learned was that good luck rarely repeated itself. The next mission they might not be so fortunate.

Dropping into silence, they sat there together and watched the last rays of sun across the planet. It was stunning. Tahiri had never seen a sunrise from space before. Despite the many adventures Anakin had dragged her along on, she had never had the opportunity to watch anything this beautiful. The red ball of light came around Naraox ever so slowly.

She wondered what it would have looked like from the surface. The only view she had go

 

Oh kriff.

This is definitely not good.

 

I can't just let them get off easy, Star-Lead.

 

oooh scary! this cannot be good. they never catch a break, do they?

~*Ambyr-Rose*~

 

Of course they don't...that wouldn't be any fun now would it?

Thanks for the welcome back Lonewolf, its cool to know I'm remembered

 

Ambyr-Rose: Nope.

Sari: Exactly. When Anakin's in the mission it's always harder than it seems.

I definitely remember you! It's great to have you back too.

 

Hmmm..the corny line DUN DUN DUNNNNN comes to mind.

I would say that their pretty much screwed but the A/T moment was sooooo kawaii

nina

 

jainafel: I couldn't help but add a little A/T mush to that post. I thought you'd like it.

 

You're right, Lonewolf. This is Valin's first mission. But any mission with Anakin involved is bound to get complicated.

But for the moment, being close to Anakin was all that she needed.
*sigh* Yeah. Nice mush. I like mush.
I liked how they got to sit, catch their breath for a moment and watch the sunset.

Occasionally you have to be like us lowly mortals and realize you've just got to do the best you can and be satisfied.
I like that. Others have told Anakin similar things (Mara, Corran) but maybe it'll eventually sink in from Tahiri.

Uh oh. Leaking Oxygen. Not good.
Hopefully the Vong don't pick up the distress signal!

Great way to slow things down for a moment, then to propel us into the next emergency, Lonewolf.

 

Ooops! Double post. Sorry.

 

Jade-Walker: Thank you! After everything they've been through the past week I figured they earned a little down time. But not too much.

 

Love the suspense. Wonderfully done, Lonewolf89

 

Never rains but it pours.
Anakin must have a dark cloud over his head.

Good post. I like your knack for descriptive writing. It's something I hope to do better in the future.

 

Thanks, Obi-Solo!

Moff: Thank you. You're not that bad at descriptions either. It took me a while to get to where I could sit down and write the that part of the fic. Now, I think I've become a little too descriptive. Sometimes I have to remind myself there's some dialogue to go in there too.

 

Lovely post - great balance between action and softer moments, and a bit of Tahiri philosophy thrown in. She sure knows her Anakin. The sunrise scene was beautiful.

Good old Danato being the carer. Golly gosh - these guys never get a break do they. I can't wait to see how they get out of this one. Great suspense.

 

Tahi: Thank you! Tahiri does have a pretty interesting outlook on life. So often it's over shadowed by Anakin's though.

Here's the next post.

By Your Side:

Arles awoke slowly as her senses began to adjust to her surroundings. She opened her eyes carefully. She winced as harsh white light assaulted them. After a moment she was able to focus. Gazing around her, she realized she was in her bunk onboard the Firelight. She didn't remember much of how she had gotten there. The last thing she recalled was someone carrying her into the ship.

Sighing, Rhyll looked down. She was surprised to find Danato's hand grasping hers. He was sitting in a chair moved up beside her bed. He had fallen asleep, his head propped at an awkward angle against the wall. His blond hair was a mess of tangles that fell across his forehead. At the moment he appeared almost angelic. A change from his usual image. His warm hand felt good against her skin. It blocked out the bitter cold that seemed to attack the rest of her body. Shivering, she pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders.

She tried not to wake him but it was too late. Rhyll watched as Danato's violet eyes sprang open, searching the room in wild panic. She had seen that reaction before in may of her officers. Sleep had been her enemy most of her life. Her nights were plagued with frightening memories she was forced to relive over and over again. A price of war she supposed.

Danato didn't relax until he spotted her. His face softened, and his eyes quickly regained their mischievous glint. "You're up," he stated, a smile spreading across his face.

Arles nodded. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"Only a few hours. That other Solo kid, Jacen?, did a pretty good job of patching you up."

"Better than you?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at his sudden modesty.

Danato smirked. "Not hardly. He can do okay with a ship full of medical supplies, but he's no field doctor."

She nodded again as they dropped into an uncomfortable silence. Finally Rhyll spoke, asking the first thing that came to mind. "So, what are you doing here?"

Danato immediately dropped her hand from his grasp and shifted in his chair. "Well, uh, the others left for a meeting or something. I figured someone should stick around here in case you woke up. And it turns out you did!"

Arles didn't completely believe his explanation, but she let the subject drop. "Is something wrong with the ship?"

Again he hesitated. "Apparently we're running out of oxygen. It seems one of the air tanks on blew. Anakin and Jaina just got us through the gravitational wells, but the hyperdrive was damaged; so we're stuck here. They've sent out a distress call though. Maybe someone will pick it up."

"Out this far in neutral space? I doubt it. Even your people don't travel here," Rhyll replied. Although her expression remained impassive, she couldn't shake the sense of anxiety that crept over her.

"You cold?" Danato questioned, noticing her tremors. She nodded slightly. He quickly grabbed a blanket off the opposite bed and pulled it across her snugly.

She wasn't used to this kind of care. When an officer was injured the most you could expect was three meals a day and a doctor visit. Having someone wait at your bedside was unheard of.

"Do all of your people get such good attention?" she asked suddenly, slightly amused.

"Well, we pirates are a close knit bunch," Danato replied, grinning devilishly. "We pay special attention to our crew members."

Arles cocked her head. Had he just called her a member of his crew?

"I don't suppose you could get me something to drink then?" she asked, hiding her smirk.

"One glass of water coming up," he replied, bounding out of his chair.

She caught his arm before he turned to leave. Shaking her head, she added, "You wouldn't happen to have something a little stronger?"

Danato grinned again. "A bottle of my personal reserve it is."

~~~~~~~~

Jacen wonder how his brother could navigate the maze of boxes a

 

"Didn't have to," Anakin stated, smirking, "Not with the way you stomp around."


However, he also knew having other people's lives depending on your decision was one of the hardest things to cope with. You were left to constantly second guessing your decisions. It was a hard place to be.
Yeah? Well how would Jacen know?

"Thanks, Jace. I might take you up on that when we get out of this mess."
I think Jacen ought to watch out. It may not be as easy to beat Anakin now as when Jacen was 16 and Anakin 14!

Well done, Lonewolf. And Arles and Donato seem to be building a little more rapport, although the old hesitancy is still there to break down.

 

Jacen shook his head, "No proverbs or maxims. I just wanted to let you know... I'm here for you if you need to talk, vent, or maybe just slash at someone with a lightsaber."

This just made my day.

Very funny indeed.

 

Sorry I haven't replied in so long, been real busy.


About the last two posts, I liked you showing that Tahiri and Anakin have each others back no matter what. Also, how you never seem to give the heroes any rest until the end. In the latest you stuck to one of the things you've doing this whole story, breaking down the bitterness between Anakin and Jacen and making them act more like brothers.



POST MORE AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE

 

Just found this on the first page and was so interested I read the whole thing in record time! Great fic! Post more soon!

 

Awww, good ol Jacen and Anakin bonding time

 

Good post all around Lonewolf. Nice scene between Anakin and Jacen. SBS could have used a bit like that.
The Danato-Arles stuff was nice too. Overall a light, cute post in between the imminent danger.

 

I like that Jacen and Anakin are getting along, that well.Its such a nice NICE change from the books *rolls eyes*, definatly much better.

*Grins* Anakin's going to be in trouble with Tahiri *shouts in a sing-song voice*

nina

 

Wow, some wonderful feedback everyone! Thank you!

Jade-Walker: Yeah, if Jacen did try to take a swing at Anakin I think he'd be surprised. The odds are more in favor of his brother now.

One thing I've found hard is keeping the tension between Danato and Rhyll. I want them to like each other, but not too quickly. I'm happy it's worked out in this post.

Star-Lead: I'm glad you liked it! That's one of my favorite lines. I thought about it earlier and just had to find a way to fit it into the fic.

Jek: Thank you, very much! It seems like every time I sit down to write a post I can't get away from some problematic plot bunny. It's great to see how Anakin would respond to the different threats. Especially now that he doesn't have a solid enemy to fight.

The scenes between Jacen and Anakin have become some of my favorites to write. I just think of all the things I would have liked to see the NJO authors do. It's a lot of fun to write some closure between those two.

Hey there, JediMasterChie! Thanks for dropping in! It's always good to get new readers! I hope to see you around some more. By the way, Welcome to the boards.

Sari:

Moff_D: Thanks! I figured it was about time to give a little reprieve for my readers and characters.

jainafel: Thank you! Jacen and Anakin are a lot of fun to write together. And Anakin always seems to get himself in some kind of trouble with Tahiri, doesn't he?