Beyond - Legends Blackhole Rising (Post-NJO)

Title: Blackhole Rising
Author: ConcordDawn
Timeframe: Post-NJO (Haven't decided on exact year)
Characters: Blackhole, many OT characters
Summary: A once-mysterious villain's origins are revealed as he engages the Galactic Alliance in a war that threatens to rip the galaxy to pieces...

Introduction:

This is my first fanfic. Well, technically, it's not. I did do one, a long time ago on fanfiction.net, about Mace Windu... But that's not worth mentioning. Anyway, the prologue takes place during the Rebellion, but the main story will take place post-NJO, which is why I posted it here, so please don't get angry at me for posting this in the wrong forum. Thanks for reading!


Prologue, Part I of II


At the dusty durasteel counter in a run-down shop, the sleazy-looking attendant was slumped over in sleep, the deathstick in the corner of his mouth drooping down precariously. He was a human, with greasy black hair slicked back, and speckles of stubble coating his jaw. He snored loudly, the deathstick shuddering from the force of his breath as he exhaled.

Suddenly the tiny bell on the door rang, and the man woke with a start, the deathstick falling from his lips. In walked a tall male human, his skin tanned by the light of distant suns and his hands calloused from years of labor long ago. He was wearing only a simple brown syncloth shirt and canvas pants, but the outline of immense muscles could be seen underneath. However, Jabeth failed to notice all of this, seeing only one thing- a new customer. He also failed to notice something shiny hanging from the man?s belt.

Jabeth grinned, showcasing his teeth, long yellowed by weekend binge drinking. ?Welcome to the galaxy?s premier pre-emptive child modification service, Perfect Child Genetics and Cloning!? he crooned. Of course, this was nowhere near true. Perfect Child was stuck on lowly Bandit?s Row, as the locals called it, a twenty-mile street lined with grubby shops, right in the middle of the perpetual abyss of crime and contraband that was Lower Coruscant.

?Well,? the slick-haired Jabeth continued, ?what can I do for you today?? He finally sized the man up, noticing his enlarged biceps pulling at the thin material of his cheap shirt. This guy looked rough. Jabeth hoped he wouldn?t need to activate the security droid again. The last time that happened it took a week to clean the bloodstains out of the carpeting. He should have sprung for a plasteel floor in the first place.

Finally, the muscular newcomer spoke in a raspy, accented voice. ?I want to customize a child.?

If this guy hadn?t been a prospective source of creds, Jabeth would have snorted. Everyone that came there wanted either a kid or the cash register. And it was usually the latter. He kept his composure, however, because he had a feeling this fellow was loaded. It was the way he carried himself- with elegance, and a confidence rarely seen in the usual losers of these depths. Besides, if this guy turned hostile, he could be easily dealt with. ?Well,? he said, ?what features do you want in this? child??

Jabeth always played a game with himself- try to guess what the customer wanted. Most often, it was smarts- high IQ, faster brain activity, optimized reflexes, the works. But this guy was different. Jabeth eyed the man?s bulging muscles. This guy wanted a buff kid. Probably a boy, too. Jabeth had seen these types before- bodybuilders, pumping themselves with stimroids but still feeling inadequate; feeling like their little tyke has to be better. Funny to think a man like this, who was probably injecting a liter of dewback testosterone a day into his overinflated arms, could really care for something other than his immense limbs.

There was a pause. The large man sighed. ?Midichlorians.?

The man at the counter hung his jaw. He was stunned. Midichlorians? Nobody had ever asked for midichlorians before? nobody since the old days, anyway. How? how could this man know? It had to be a tr

 

Interesting. I like it. Great descriptions. Feels a little strange though. I dunno. Gives off a creepy vibe. Which is pretty good. MORE!

 

Ackyuna posted on 4/15/05 5:45pm

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Interesting. I like it. Great descriptions. Feels a little strange though. I dunno. Gives off a creepy vibe. Which is pretty good. MORE!
[hr][/blockquote]
Thanks! [face_happy] That creepy vibe is what I was going for- kind of a gritty, underworld feel.


[b]Prologue, Part II of II[/b]

The man flipped backwards and landed squarely with a thud, his hands reaching for a small cylindrical tube at his waist.

Jabeth?s eyes widened in fear. ?Oh, no? not a? sithspit!?

As he turned and clambered for the back door, a brown ball seemingly composed of scarred metal parts rolled out from behind the machine and unfolded in front of the man into what was unmistakably an old Trade Federation droideka. Jabeth had picked it up during the Clone Wars, after the Battle of Coruscant. It was just a twisted hunk of metal back then, but he had carefully reconstructed it using superior parts, making it a formidable enemy, especially in an enclosed space like a tiny corner store. The destroyer droid had taken down dozens of lowlifes in its day.

The huge man thumbed the metal tube, which had removed itself from his waist and flown into his hand, and with a snap a beam of white light sprang from the cylinder. As it hummed, it glowed a clear crimson red.

A translucent blue sphere flickered to life around the droideka as it activated the shield command, and it took a step forward, pouring blaster bolts through the shimmering orb protecting it, straight at the attacker.

He put up the saber, and in a series of quick parries, sent the bolts scattering to various parts of the room.

The droideka had never seen this phenomenon before. It paused for an instant to overwrite fire angle and tracking information in its droid brain. That was all the time the man needed. He raised his palm, and with only a thought, a massive pulse sent the droideka flying at the machine it had hidden behind. Though its shields were nearly perfect at deflecting light and energy, they were useless against cold, hard metal. With a thud, the droid smashed against the machine?s durasteel plating and fell to the floor, its shields flickering and going out. The man walked calmly towards the back of the shoddy store, giving the droid a stab on the way to make sure its circuits were fried.

He put his head out of the back door and saw Jabeth cowering by two beat-up waste incinerators in a dark alley behind the store, the only light pouring out from inside the shop and radiating from the pulsing red beam the man carried. Jabeth looked up at the imposing figure and the color drained from his face.

The man spoke. ?You will make me soldiers. Five hundred thousand of them. And every single one will be infused with more midichlorians than any Jedi of the Old Republic.? No Force persuasion was necessary here. Jabeth got the message.

His heart pounding as he crouched by the cans, Jabeth put up his hand to cover his face from the light.

?F- five [i]hundred THOUSAND[/i]?!? Jabeth gasped in disbelief. ?I don?t even have the proper resources to clone three kids at one ti-?

?Don?t worry,? The large man interrupted. Clearly, he was getting impatient. ?I have friends in high places. I can get you all the cloning vats you need.?

?But-? Jabeth stammered, ?You- you just don?t [i]get[/i] it, I- can?t just [i]make[/i] midichlorians? They can?t be synthesized, I would need a DNA sample from someone who already [i]had[/i]-?

In a split second the scarlet saber was hovering millimeters below Jabeth?s throat.

?Do you take me for a FOOL?? The stranger roared, his eyes ablaze with anger.

Jabeth could barely manage a whimper.

The huge man cleared his throat and slowly withdrew the blade. ?I?m not [i]stupid[/i], unlike you, you pitiful scum-dweller. I brought a DNA sample with me.?

He reached into a synthskin pouch at his waist and pulled out a small object, then tossed it onto the ground.

Jabeth noticed