Beyond - Legends Darth Bristle - Round Robin - From the CE Fan Fic Writers Gang - Update from blue_but_beautiful

Title: Darth Bristle
Alternate Title: Stubble Trouble
Alternate-Alternate Title: Ode to a bushy beard I found on my face...
Writers: RedGold, Jade_Lotus, Blue_but_beautiful, Spike2002, JediNemesis, Mousemoose and whoever else wants to join in.
Genre: Round Robin, Comedy, Drama, Insanity
Timeframe: Post-Sacrifce but Spoiler Free!
Characters: Jacen, Jacen's Beard, Skywalkers, Solos, Vong
Summary: Jacen considers his ascension to Darth-dom and the events that led up to that day and other forces at work.

Notes: This plot-bunny was created while standing in line to see Anthony Daniels at Celebration Europe. Several of us Fan-Fic writers discussed the fate of the NJO and suddenly we realized, where the heck did Jason's beard come from? He certainly didn't get it from the baby-faced Skywalker side of his family, and Han was never the beard type either. Are sinister forces at work behind Jacen's beard??? Perhaps Jacen is fullfilling someone else's Legacy instead of his own? We shall see....

2nd Note: While this round robin was created by the fan fic writers who met up at CE, we welcome anyone who wishes to post their thoughts on the matter. This story does not have to maintain any specific timeframe as it can flashback to possible explainations to why Jacen's beard exists, but you are welcome to continue/elaborate on a previous writers post (with proper notation of course).

3rd Note: We are in no way responsible for any mental breakdowns or brain freezes resulting in reading this fiction!!

4th Note: PLEASE KEEP THIS SPOILER FREE FOR THOSE STILL WAITING FOR SACRIFICE TO COME OUT IN PAPERBACK! (I'm so glad that whatshisname didn't actually hear me when I blurted out the ending at the opening ceremonies )



And now, to start us off....


Darth Bristle

They would hate him, even those who loved him, they would hate him the most. Eventually they would realize that it had to be done, that the Galaxy needed this, needed order and for a strong hand to banish chaos and enforce peace. One person?s life was worth it.

Jacen let his gaze move from the viewport that showed his future and he took in the busied crew, set to carry out his orders without a second thought. They were loyal, he made sure of that. The Dark Side was powerful enough to grant him this, and so much more.

His right hand drifted up to stroke his beard, his thoughts on the task ahead, the change that was to come.

Turning back to the viewport, he caught a glimpse of himself reflected in the transparisteel. Was this really Jacen Solo looking back at him? Gone was the baby-faced young man that was so much like his father, who, for all his rugged demeanour never looked this rough. Gone was the child who take in the sick, wounded, and homeless animals of Yavin.

He had seen this face before on another starring back at him, his father?s cousin, Sal-Solo. Now that man had been a piece of work, and it was a shame that he would bare such a striking resemblance to that mad-man and betrayer.

Shaking his head, he threw off his disgust, he was, after all, the new saviour of the Galaxy, he should start acting the part, even if he didn?t look it.

 

They would hate him, even those who loved him, they would hate him the most.

how true this is

Eventually they would realize that it had to be done, that the Galaxy needed this, needed order and for a strong hand to banish chaos and enforce peace. One person?s life was worth it.

somehow good to know that the Galaxy will survive his sillyness - even with the beard! or does this sith beard search a new owner

Gone was the child who take in the sick, wounded, and homeless animals of Yavin.

a wild animal can be homeless?

He had seen this face before on another starring back at him, his father?s cousin, Sal-Solo.

so Sal-Solo's beard found it's way to him?
maybe that's the reason why his face is starring back at him

Shaking his head, he threw off his disgust, he was, after all, the new saviour of the Galaxy, he should start acting the part, even if he didn?t look it.

oh - wow - I'm really impressed - the new saviour


great start

- Mags

 

I said it before, but i'll say it again, I like where you have started this and the analogies Jacen has made here. That beard is destined for greatness, I can already tell Great work!

 

Excellent

---

Yes. The new saviour.

He liked the taste of that phrase; liked the way it placed him as unique whilst acknowledging those who had gone before. The others had done their share, taught him all they knew, but - as was the way of the galaxy - had been superseded by the young and powerful.

Though not all that young. He was no longer a child, and he had the beard to prove it. It was only he who had accepted and flaunted the fact of his adulthood; Uncle Luke had remained ridiculously attached to his baby-faced younger self, and his father had clung to the increasingly forlorn hope that going clean-shaven might preserve his erstwhile youthful charms.

Overgrown children, both of them.

Jacen shook his head in private mirth, and contemplated again the task that lay ahead of him.

Jaina had snickered at him when they had reached adolescence and their father had inducted his elder son into the painful mysteries of shaving. Darth Bristle, she had called him. Now - what could his unstable twin be thinking? Would she think she'd suddenly gained prophetic powers?

Or that she had cursed him? Neither would be beyond her. She always had had an over-inflated sense of her own importance, failing to recognise that [i]he[/i] was the chosen one, [i]he[/i] was the saviour . . .

He would find her, he decided.

Find her, and make her rue the day she mocked his beard.

 

Jaina had snickered at him when they had reached adolescence and their father had inducted his elder son into the painful mysteries of shaving. Darth Bristle, she had called him. Now - what could his unstable twin be thinking? Would she think she'd suddenly gained prophetic powers?

Or that she had cursed him? Neither would be beyond her. She always had had an over-inflated sense of her own importance, failing to recognise that he was the chosen one, he was the saviour . . .

He would find her, he decided.

Find her, and make her rue the day she mocked his beard.

Loved it! I can't wait to see more!

 

He would find her, he decided.

Find her, and make her rue the day she mocked his beard.



Oh, this is going to be good. Darth Bristle!

 

Love it Jedi! Oh yes, Jaina would regret the day she ever teased her brother...

 

He would find her, he decided.
Find her, and make her rue the day she mocked his beard.

I'm loving this zany story.

It makes me think of that mustache episode of The Tick.

 

He would find her, he decided.

Find her, and make her rue the day she mocked his beard.




Too funny!

 

This story is a useful place to siphon off all the ideas that are unsafe to release elsewhere

Anyway, after this one, it must be someone else's turn. Maybe to provide a spot of information as to what on earth's going on in the wider galaxy whilst the Solo twins are plotting revenge on one another

We left Jacen planning a new galactic order. Meanwhile, somewhere a long way away . . .

---

Jaina woke from unpleasant but thankfully unmemorable dreams to find her chrono showing five minutes to four, and also to find a small, bluishly glowing spectre sitting halfway through her bedside table.

"[i]Who the hell are you?[/i]" Jaina spluttered. A second later, when she had managed to focus on the wavering figure and its ghostly sheen, she demanded "Are you a ghost?"

"No!" The spectre seemed to be practically in tears; it threw itself into Jaina's arms, and she felt a chill as it fell through her. Turning round, she saw it halfway through the floor, sobbing.

It seemed to be a girl, maybe no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, with long dark hair that cascaded down her back.

Jaina reached out towards her, decided against it, and said instead "You are a ghost."

"I'm not a ghost!" the ghost said between sobs. It sat up, only its body from the waist up visible. Jaina wondered for a mad moment if the person in the room below her were awake, and if they were, if they were seeing a pair of phantom legs hanging from the ceiling -

"I'm not a ghost." the ghost said again, and drifted erratically upward until she and Jaina were more or less eye to eye. "Don't you recognise me? I'm -"

Recognise? The hair - the wide dark eyes - had she seen a picture somewhere, in an old textbook or an ancient archive, something from way back before the Clone Wars -

Jaina narrowed her eyes, trying to superimpose her mother's features on the tearful ghost, and asked cautiously "Are you my grandmother?"

The phantom burst out in fresh tears, and wailed "I'm your [i]daughter[/i]!"

"I'm hallucinating." Jaina decided, and turned back towards the pillow.

There was another blast of winter as the ghost ran through her, and then she was looking down into wide, wet eyes. More cold went through her upper arms as the phantom tried to shake her; then the ghost gave up and started crying again instead.

"It's all wrong! Everything's all wrong! And it was all because of your brother! You've got to stop him -"

"Stop him doing what? He's already done far too much." Jaina said bitterly.

The ghost didn't appear to notice her comment, and carried on desperately "- everyone's dead, it's too late, we couldn't do anything else except send me back to try and tell you about him -"

"Send you -" Jaina stood up, thought better of it, sat down heavily on the bed, and shook her head. "I'm hallucinating. I'm hallucinating a ghost from the future." She put her head in her hands. "I've gone mad, haven't I?"

There was another blast of cold, and abruptly she was nose to nose with the ghost again. The phantom girl said urgently "I flow-walked here, I didn't even know if I'd be able to talk to you but I had to try -"

Jaina snarled and stood up, deliberately walking through the spectre again, and snapped "I've had it up to here with the cutesy ghost business. Stay still, or I'll -" she hesitated only fractionally "- I'll go and become a nun, and you'll never exist. Clear?"

"I wouldn't mind not existing." sniffled the ghost. She wiped her face absentmindedly with a handful of hair. "It's Father, he's beside himself . . . please . . . please help." She looked up at Jaina with wide, transparent eyes. "You're our only hope."

"What can I do?" Jaina demanded. "In case you haven't noticed, my younger brother's dead, my other brother's a Sith, my mother's on the brink of a nervous breakdown, my father's a borderline alcoholic, my uncle's at the end of his tether and my aunt -"

"It's the beard." whispered the ghost.

Jaina checked in mid-rant. "[i]What[/i]?"

"It's the beard! The beard! He hated it when

 

Now I really didn't see that one coming

"What can I do?" Jaina demanded. "In case you haven't noticed, my younger brother's dead, my other brother's a Sith, my mother's on the brink of a nervous breakdown, my father's a borderline alcoholic, my uncle's at the end of his tether and my aunt -"

"It's the beard." whispered the ghost.

Jaina checked in mid-rant. "What?"

The plot thickens!

It dawned on Jaina at this point that she had no idea, having completely failed to ask, who her ghost-daughter's father was.

Yikes, I was thinking that, it's the shock of learning about the reasons behind Jacen's sithlyness. Well she's only got one of many possibilities to choose from

A great post Nemesis ! Really deepened the plot with this little edition, so now someone knows the truth behind the not-rumour, hmm where will this lead I wonder?

 

The Origin of the Beard

---

*FLASHBACK*

[b][u]Yuuzhan Vong Seedship (24 ABY)[/u][/b]

[i]Pain.

Sweet, exquisite pain[/i].

Once again, Jacen Solo hangs in the white, thinking.

He does not know what he thinks of; the Yuuzhan Vong, and Vergere, have taught him that to truly embrace pain, one must always detach their thoughts from specific matters. All that matters is the pain.

And the white.

He does not know how long he has been held in captivity, he does not know where he was before he came to be here, and he will not know what is to come in the future.

Jacen Solo will no longer exist by this time next year. His Yuuzhan Vong masters have found him unworthy. Warmaster Tsavong Lah wants him sacrificed, as he does Jacen?s sister.

But one as limited as Tsavong Lah would not understand the glorious future that awaits what will replace Jacen Solo in the years to come.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Executor Nom Anor was uncomfortable around the creature known as Vergere. Had it not been for Warmaster Tsavong Lah?s insistence that the two of them work together, their very survival depending on their success, or lack of; Nom Anor would have tried to kill the infidel klekkets ago.

?He is not worthy,? Vergere was saying to the facsimile image of the Warmaster, projected over villip. ?He is too much of a pacifist; pathetic, in fact. He will never embrace the True Way as long as he holds to his Jedi ideals.?

The Warmaster, limited in ways both Nom Anor and Vergere were expert in, darkened his facial expression in impatience and anger.

?Unacceptable!? Tsavong Lah screamed in fury only a true believer could generate. ?The Gods demand that this [i]Jeedai[/i] filth embrace the True Way, so that he may lead his twin to the altar of sacrifice, so that they may go to the Gods with joy in their heart, full of gratitude for Their Third Gift.?

Nom Anor sighed. The Warmaster, like all religious zealots, was completely predictable. The Executor had told Vergere he would react in this exact fashion long before they had activated the villip to report on Jacen Solo?s progress.

?There [i]is[/i] a way to ensure Jacen Solo?s destiny, Warmaster,? Vergere volunteered softly, her hand reaching for a small Yuuzhan Vong biot that had been delivered to Nom Anor?s office by the shapers only hours earlier.

?And what is this way?? Lah demanded impatiently.

?This,? Vergere said, holding the biot up to make it transmittable over villip, ?is a creature only recently retrieved from the Eight Cortex by the Supreme Overlord?s personal shaper, Master Nen Yim. I assume you are familiar with her??

?I am familiar with her, yes,? Tsavong Lah?s tone softened momentarily, and then his face turned to stone once again. ?Continue.?

?The creature itself is not important, at least not in the long run,? Vergere did as the Warmaster had ordered. ?It projects a fluid, which is in fact also a living creature; that once attached to a host creature, will embed itself in said host?s nervous system. Slowly but surely, it will insidiously alter the host?s brain functions, not harmfully as would happen during a breaking by a yammosk, but in a way that the host will not even realise that his mind has been permanently altered, forever.?

?You are sure this cannot be detected??

?Positively certain, Warmaster,? Vergere assured him. ?The process will take many klekkets, perhaps even years, and if he ever encountered any of his former Jedi compatriots in the future, they would simply believe his personality had changed naturally, as one?s personality does as it matures. What will have really happened, though, will be that Jacen Solo?s personality will be permanently transformed, so that he may match [i]our[/i] purposes.?

?Excellent,? the Warmaster?s tone finally softening. ?This way he can lure [i]Jeedai[/i] into our trap and aid us in sacrificing them to the Gods.?

?Naturally Warmaster,? Vergere inclined her head softly in a bow of deference.

?Tell me how this fluid creature will be transmitted to Ja

 

JediNemesis - It's all Jaina's fault, I knew it!!! She is to blame for everything... and she doesn't deserve Jag either!!! oh wait, my bias'ness may be showing through now...

Spike - Truely evil that is... very sneaky of them Sith.

 

Kudos to both JediNemesis & Spike2002!


Very clever additions to this totally fun story.

 

Holy it makes sense!

 

I knew it! That is one devious plan Spike, and one very devious beard! Excelent stuff, good to see you writing again

 

Thanks Blue, and everyone else

Nice to be back on the writing game again

 

Loving it, Spike. An excellent bit of scene-setting and the catalyst for yet more madness from me

Not sure if this next bit strictly fits with canon, but hey. We're fanficcers. Make it fit.

You can't write a modern thriller without a deathly conspiracy by a religious group supposed to have long since died out - so, well, on we go . . .

---

And so had come about the Beard . . .

That conversation of so many years before seemed utterly real to the smallest of the three figures now sitting hunched around a feeble light very far away from the Cradle of the Gods. Never mind that he had not been there, never mind that none of them had been there; there were villips bred to remember as well as merely to see, and though the one from the worldship was almost senile now, its memory was perfect, a testament to its shapers' skill . . .

The shadows on the walls of the cave were jagged and asymmetric, thrown into bizarre and unsettling shapes by the flickering light. The frail glow was a sickly lymphatic yellow, and emanated from the soft pulsing belly of the beast lying on its back in the centre of the cave. It was a new life-form, this one, one that had been concocted by the shapers in the years since the Exile, and it kicked stubby legs feebly.

One of the figures reached out and fed the glowbeast a scrap, and a minute later the light brightened a fraction.

"He [i]is[/i] a god." said one of the three.

"He's scum." The second figure spat at the hapless glowbeast. "[i]Jeedai[/i] scum, no more."

"He is the avatar of Yun-Yammka." contradicted the first voice. "Who but a god could have escaped the sacrifice?"

The third voice was surer and deeper than its companions, and said with certainty "The hand of Yun-Harla was on him to deceive his captors, and that of Yun-Yammka to defeat them. He is not an avatar of one Twin or the other."

"What are you saying?" snarled the second voice.

The third replied quietly "He is the saviour we have waited for. Both in one, the Twins united."

"A human infidel the saviour?" The second figure was on its feet in seconds, one scaly hand fingering the hilt of the weapon belted at its side. "You come perilously close to heresy . . . my friend."

There was a long and uneasy pause, before the first, unsure, voice said cautiously "If he is . . . [i]if[/i] and only if . . . what then of his own twin?"

"The girl?" The third voice dismissed Jaina Solo as unimportant. "Her powers are minimal and she understands nothing of the True Way. She is . . . a nothing. A mere appendage to her brother's mind. She is," the third added contemptuously, "of no more significance than - than his [i]beard![/i] A decoration! She can be cut away at will."

"And she will be." said the second voice. It was not a question.

"She will be." the third voice confirmed.

They fell to discussion of how best to remove Jaina Solo. The owner of the first voice paid them no heed. He was miles away, years away, from their drab cave, reliving the old villip's testimony.

His beard . . . [i]she is of no more significance than his beard . . .[/i]

Only the gods, only Yun-Harla who delighted in deception, could have put such words into the mind of one who knew nothing of the real origin of Jacen Solo's beard. That it was not of his own creation but of theirs, that it was the real hold of the True Ones on his mind long after the slave seed had died and rotted away . . .

It was a sign, he was sure of it. A sign from the gods. A sign at long last, a reward for the years of secret, dogged worship since the True Ones had been banished beyond the edges of the galaxy and the jeedai and their friends had thought - and oh, how presumptuous a mistake it had been - that the True Gods' chosen people could be so easily cast aside . . .

It was a sign, and he would not ignore it.

[i]No more significance than his beard . . .[/i]

So Jaina Solo too, like the beard, was to be an instrument of the Gods, however unknowingly . . .

The smallest figure offered up a silent prayer, and promised the Twi

 

He certainly didn't get it from the baby-faced Skywalker side of his family, and Han was never the beard type either. Are sinister forces at work behind Jacen's beard??? Perhaps Jacen is fullfilling someone else's Legacy instead of his own? We shall see....

Like that Halloween episode of the Simpson's where Snake's hair is controlling Homer after he gets it as a wig, forcing him to avenge Snake's death?

He had seen this face before on another starring back at him, his father?s cousin, Sal-Solo. Now that man had been a piece of work, and it was a shame that he would bare such a striking resemblance to that mad-man and betrayer.

Going back to the Simpson's thing, the beard being Sal-Solo's would be hilarious And also explain why Jacen is trying to kill Han

Jaina snarled and stood up, deliberately walking through the spectre again, and snapped "I've had it up to here with the cutesy ghost business. Stay still, or I'll -" she hesitated only fractionally "- I'll go and become a nun, and you'll never exist. Clear?"



"It's the beard! The beard! He hated it when you used to tease him about his beard and now everyone's dead -"



?Tell me how this fluid creature will be transmitted to Jacen Solo.?
?It will be applied to his facial skin,? Vergere explained. ?When he is released from the Embrace of Pain, I will heal him with my tears, ostensibly so he may recover to receive his lessons in the True Way. What he will not know is that along with the tears, this fluid will implant itself on its skin and begin altering his brain waves.?
?How will we know if this creature has succeeded in its purpose??
?There will be a telltale visual sign, Warmaster,? Vergere replied. ?The creature, embedded in Jacen Solo?s facial skin pores, will present itself in the form of natural human facial hair.
?In other words, Warmaster, a beard.?



Awesome, Spike

I also really appreciate all the Yuuzhan Vong details in here

?You are sure that this?beard?creature, will alter Jacen Solo sufficiently enough for him to achieve his destiny??
?Executor,? Vergere smiled slyly up at him, remembering her conversations with the Sith Lady Lumiya during her brief exile away from the Yuuzhan Vong after the death of Eran. Oh, Jacen Solo would achieve his destiny, alright. ?When will you learn, that everything I tell you is the truth.?



Great job!

"The girl?" The third voice dismissed Jaina Solo as unimportant. "Her powers are minimal and she understands nothing of the True Way. She is . . . a nothing. A mere appendage to her brother's mind. She is," the third added contemptuously, "of no more significance than - than his beard! A decoration! She can be cut away at will."



The smallest figure offered up a silent prayer, and promised the Twins that when the Second War had been started and won, they would have a sacrifice of uncountable infidels in thanksgiving for this sign.

Final duel: Jaina vs. The Beard?

This is hilarious, you guys Great posts, RedGold, JediNemesis, and Spike Can't wait for more!

 

Thanks YK

 

*bump*

Will JadeLotus, Blue and moose be joining us in writing this one?

 

Very nice addition to the story Nemesis

The proverbial bantha poodoo has hit the fan this end of things but I do have plans on joining in writing this one! I just have to sort a few things out first In fact I scribbled down some ideas just yesterday, i'm just not sure where to go with them.

 

Jade_Lotus' lost her computer connection, she has to sneak on at work, so when she gets it back she should have something for us!

I need to write another update, but SWFF is taking up my time atm...



And w00t, so far wondeful posts you guys!!

I love it!!

 

Wonderful additions from everyone so far, but let's see how far we can take this, shall we?






?Sir,? an officer approached him, saluting crisply.

?Yes,? Jacen sighed, turning away from where he watched the fleet gather.

?There have been some supply issues, but all Commanders report that they will be able to ready by the deadline,? the curt man informed.

?Very well,? he waved him off, going back to his musing, his hand once again rubbing the short hairs of his beard.

He tried to remember when he first grew the beard, and his mind, normally perfectly sharp in such things, failed him at this. Surely it had been when he was Coruscant during his captivity, he remembered not having any time to be able to shave?

but then hadn?t part of his Embrace of the Pain been for the creature to pluck every hair from his body?

Yet he had a beard when he returned, didn?t he?

Perhaps it was later, once the war had ended and life had begun to calm down. Then again, why did he not shave it in that time, when he was not busy fulfilling his destiny? It would have taken little effort to shave it then.

He was to give a speech soon, one which would solidify his place as peacekeeper of this galaxy in turmoil. Of course it would be a day to be remembered, perhaps he should re-consider the beard, he wanted to look his best. While everyone would agree this was the right course of action for the galaxy, there was never underestimating charisma or lack-thereof in the face of the public.

Yes, a little trim, or should he go for the more youthful look and just shave it completely?

What harm could it do?

 

The GSPCBC (galactic society for the provention of cruelty to beard creatures.) might have something to say about that hasty shave, Jacen.

Great post Red he seems to be contemplating the beard a bit too much lately, this doesn't bode well for best laid plans!

I'm nearly done with my addition in rough by the way