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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Saga - PT Don't Look Back - OC Pre RotS (DISNEY QUOTE CHALLENGE)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by Lady_Misty, Sep 7, 2017.

  1. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    Title: Don’t Look Back
    Era: Pre-RotS
    Genre: -
    World: Canonish
    Characters: OCs
    Synopsis: Nisha Vyom-Vokar prides herself for the ability to not allow the past to affect her day-to-day life. But sometimes the pain of the past catches up.
    Warnings: -
    Series: None
    A/N: - Disney Quote Challenge “I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now.” Edna Mode – The Incredibles

    Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    Nisha Vyom-Vokar stared out the window of her office with an impervious gaze. She was the owner of a multi-billion credit freight company and known as a tough but fair boss.

    She turned from the window and headed back to her desk.

    She dimly heard the interview playing on the holonet and felt like laughing. A week ago, she had been interviewed on the Yadara Modee Show as a guest; talking about her life and philosophy. “I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now.”

    If only that was true.

    Forty-eight years ago her husband, Javed, had taken her and their children on a tour of planets in the Outer Rim. It had been a wonderful trip with Lakshmi, Kalyan, Kamakshi and Singh when they were attacked by pirates.

    The pirates severely beat both Javed and her in front of the children before separating them.

    The beating had left permanent damage to her body; she lost the unborn child she suspected she was carrying and Javed had been left with severe nerve damage. Kalyan, Kamakshi and Singh were traumatized by their experiences and Lakshmi . . . Lakshmi had vanished into thin air.

    The pirates all gave different versions of what happened to Lakshmi. One claimed she were tired of hearing her cry so she beat her to death and tossed her lifeless body out an airlock. Three pirates claimed that during a spell of boredom they had slowly exposed her to the vacuum of space before blowing her body out into space. One pirate claimed that she and several others had seen a way to make some extra money so they decided to sell the children into slavery and Lakshmi was sold minutes after she was separated from her family but help arrived before they could sell Kalyan, Kamakshi and Singh. Yet another pirate claimed Lakshmi had accidentally gotten mixed up with a slave shipment at some port.

    It ate at her not knowing what happened to Lakshmi.

    Yes, she didn’t dwell on the Past because it detracted from the Now and the Future; not to mention leave you bitter. Yes, she had accepted that Javed would never walk again, that Kalyan, Kamakshi and Singh would have nightmares for the rest of their lives because of the experience but she couldn’t live without knowing what happened to Lakshmi.

    Not that you would ever know if you looked at her office or toured her estate but she kept a holo of Lakshmi by her bed and had a holo of her aged so she would know what her missing, presumed dead, daughter looked like as an adult.

    When the news hit and the search began all sorts of crazies and sickos had called or sent them messages, claiming that they had seen Lakshmi or could lead authorities to where Lakshmi was, but they were all scam artists and con beings, looking for ten minutes of fame. It galled her to even think about the level of depravity some beings would stoop to for money, fame or attention.

    Those that couldn’t lead them to where she was claimed all sorts of bizarre things like she was bought by a childless couple who were raising her as their own to the Jedi Order had rescued her and she was being trained as a Jedi.

    One by one they disappeared as other things happened and she and Javed showed no interest in hiring them to learn more.

    With the nut jobs mostly gone they tried to heal but it had been hard with Lakshmi’s chair empty and her exact fate left up in the air. Javed had had the hardest time and he spent a lot of his free time going over the reports and the sparse information authorities had.

    She on the other hand put on a brave face for her surviving children and did what she had always told her children: don’t look back. The ‘what ifs’ would drag her down if she dwelled on them.

    What if she and Javed had postponed the trip a few more days? What if they traveled to the Core instead? What if they hadn’t brought the children with them? What if-

    “Stop it!” she shouted; slamming her hand down on her desk. The rush of agony scattered her thoughts like frightened birds and she collapsed into her chair; weeping.

    Nisha wept until she felt drained.

    With a sigh she stared at her desk; her eyes falling on the stack of datacards waiting for her to look at.

    She picked up her datapad and selected the top most datacard and started reading the reports.

    The pile was about half way gone when she popped in a new datacard and started to read its contents.

    Dear Missus Vyom-Vokar,

    I know you have gotten many messages from people claiming to know where your daughter Lakshmi is and her fate and I debated long and hard with sending you this letter.

    Nisha paused as she struggled with the emotions coursing through her. She hoped that her days of having heartless scum writing letters like this were behind her.

    I know that for some time you haven’t allowed yourself to think too much about her and I understand why and don’t blame you. However, after I heard that you were going to be appearing on the Yadara Modee Show I knew I had to share with you the little I had seen a few years ago. She was sold into Slavery shortly after being separated from you, your husband and her sister and brothers.

    You couldn’t find her because she was given different names before they sold her. I am unsure what names they gave her but I have a feeling that she was given a diminutive of her first name, possibly a pet name. Something tells me that her last name while it was changed wasn’t changed by much.

    She had several different masters; one of them was a Hutt.

    I wish I could tell you that she was alive and happy but I can’t lie: your daughter is dead. She was beaten to death by primitives on the world she was living on. I wish that I could tell you it was quick but she lingered in this Realm for a month before she succumbed her injuries.

    She’s buried under the sand of a world with Twin Suns.

    I know that this information is the last thing you wanted to learn about Lakshmi but I want you to know she didn’t die as a slave, she was freed and found love. You even have a grandson. I don’t know his name but I know he is widely known throughout the galaxy.

    Nisha chucked the datapad across the room without finishing the letter.

    She was furious.

    She could take the thought that Lakshmi had been given different names; it had happened before in the history of Slavery. Either owners couldn’t be bothered to learn the names of their slaves or they wanted to erase their identities.

    It would have been easy to change the name of a five-year-old child and in slavery no one would have asked too many questions. She had even seen it in older people; threaten them with enough violence and they would give in because of fear.

    However, she didn’t, couldn’t, believe that Lakshmi had had a child. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe that Lakshmi wouldn’t be forced to allow herself to be used in that way if she was a slave. It was the fact that Lakshmi was incapable of having children.

    When they had done an analyst of Lakshmi’s DNA to do an accurate age progression image of her they had been informed that Lakshmi had been born without ovaries and a malformed uterus. She wouldn’t have been able to carry a child to term even if she had an IVF done; she would have miscarried.

    Lakshmi wouldn’t have known the joy of bearing children. Nisha had no doubt though that Lakshmi would have been a good aunt to her myriad of nieces and nephews and there was always adoption.

    Her sister Dipa had been unable to have children but she and her husband, Daniyel, had adopted or taken in almost an army of children. She loved her nieces and nephews even if she couldn’t keep track of their names and those needing a place to stay during trying times.

    The Holonet moved on and a report from the warfront came on. The Clone Wars was bad for business no matter how you sliced the meat pie.

    She stared at the display and frowned a bit at the image of Anakin Skywalker. Javed more than once said that he thought the Jedi Knight looked like a member of the family; except for his blue eyes. Daniyel had even pointed out that his last name was Basic for their last name: Vyom-Vokar, Sky-Walker.

    Nisha looked at him and admitted to herself that Anakin Skywalker did look like he could be a member of the Vyom-Vokar Clan but they had no proof that he was family and why would he be using the Basic version of their name?

    For a moment, her eyes drifted over to her discarded datapad.

    You couldn’t find her because she was given different names before they sold her. I am unsure what names they gave her but I have a feeling that she was given a diminutive of her first name, possibly a pet name. Something tells me that her last name while it was changed wasn’t changed by much.

    The words from the letter echoed in Nisha’s mind. Her lips parted and she whispered the pet name Lakshmi had had since she was a baby; “Shmi.”

    But, there hadn’t been a ‘Shmi’ in any of the slave auctions or any sales records in the month since the attack; she had seen the records with her own eyes.

    Of course, Lakshmi could have either been held for several months before she sold, when the search died down a bit or she was sold privately the first time or two.

    Nisha shook her head viscously.

    “Don’t look back,” she whispered as she sat down behind her desk. “Don’t look back,” she whispered again as she felt the tears begin to flow.


    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
     
  2. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Lady_Misty -- superb use of the quote & very poignant and compelling. =D= You have insightfully portrayed the stages of grieving and uncertainty of parents who have lost a child & are not certain of his/her fate. @};- The swings between fear, hope, missing, and moving on. [face_thinking] Intriguing and mysterious letter with a great deal of accurate facts, if Nisha only knew & yup, Anakin is definitely one of the family. ;)
     
  3. Mistress_Renata

    Mistress_Renata Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 9, 2000
    Oh, this is great! I wasn't picking up on it until well into it, at which point I had to go back and re-read. What a great postulation on the origins of Shmi! What heartbreak for her mother! There was a nobility to her in slavery that suggested she had some care in her upbringing. I wonder who wrote the letter to Nisha? It was a great use of the quote, and wonderful characterization! =D=
     
  4. RX_Sith

    RX_Sith Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Mar 13, 2006
    Excellent exposition that shows sadness and grief from loss and Nisha is a superb character.
     
    AzureAngel2 and Lady_Misty like this.
  5. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    Beautiful and heart breaking. @};-

    I love the picture you paint of Nisha, that the face she shows the universe and even her family is strong, but inside she still worries and wonders about her daughter. I feel like this is so realistic. I have no children so I have no experience with that feeling, but I've known people who have lost children and that is something I've seen in them. I can't imagine what that would feel like.

    You built into the idea that it was Shmi so beautifully. It was there the whole time, but it took a bit for us (or at least me) to come to that and it was such a heartbreaking discovery. The letter is so bittersweet because it's true, but I don't blame her for being sceptical.

    Your use of the quote was fantastic and it worked into the story so well.

    Lovely job!
     
  6. MartyAvidianus

    MartyAvidianus Jedi Padawan star 3

    Registered:
    May 14, 2017
    [:D]

    Thank you so much for this fanfic, Lady Misty.

    I really appreciate you using the name Nisha for your character.

    Now in my headcanon finally the last name "Windrider" is from Alderaan makes total sense now.

    It turns out Anakin Skywalker and Nash Windrider is distantly related!

    All thanks to you.

    [:D]
     
  7. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    This was breathtaking and heartbreakingly beautiful. @};-

    And you found such a deep back story for (Lak)shmi & Anakin, as her son.

    She stared at the display and frowned a bit at the image of Anakin Skywalker. Javed more than once said that he thought the Jedi Knight looked like a member of the family; except for his blue eyes. Daniyel had even pointed out that his last name was Basic for their last name: Vyom-Vokar, Sky-Walker.

    As for the blue eyes of Anakin and the person who wrote that letter, I suspect the old "Sheevster" behind it. But that is perhaps me & my complicated thinking, spiked with a lot of fantasy.
     
  8. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Ah ha! What an interesting twist this is on Shmi and Anakin's backstory! I should have guessed what was coming when I read the part about Lakshmi's renaming with a diminutive or pet name. In general, great job here with the tension between loss and not looking back; I cannot even imagine what it would be like to lose a child under those circumstances, to not know for years and years what happened to her, and then finally to find out what Nisha finds out... and maintaining the "don't look back" outlook is so difficult to do even under the best of conditions. (And I have to say, I too am curious about who wrote the letter!)
     
  9. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Wow, Misty. I'm floored. What a creative use of the quote and what an interesting background you made up for Shmi! This was so heartbreaking – the entire story of how Shmi was lost to her family, but also the fact that, when the truth comes, there's still in it something Nisha knows can't be true (under normal circumstances) and that will deprive her of the closure she so desperately needs.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go and huddle in a corner and cry.
     
  10. divapilot

    divapilot Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2005
    Beautiful, and such an interesting use of the quote! The idea of a child gone missing, never to return, is heartbreaking. I love how you have all the details there, and a very plausible explanation of what might have happened to Shmi. The idea that she could not physically have children is so ironic; since Nisha knows this, she inadvertantly throws away the most credible lead to her daughter that she ever got. But then again, as Shmi herself says, she doesn't know how she became pregnant. It was the will of the Force at work.

    Excellent response to the challenge!