Beyond - Legends For a While (AU NJO Vignette--could be K/J, J/J, J/Z . . . whoever you want, really)

I would love to put up the info for the new story index, but this story has been written such that . . . well, it's kind of impossible. I mean, it doesn't have any mentioned characters, it's really hard to summarize, and it doesn't really have any keywords, since it's written without any real frame of reference . . . but I'll try.

Timeframe: Late NJO AU
Characters:
Genre: AU
Keywords: vignette
Summary: How about a quote?
"So you'd rather die."
"Why shouldn't I? There's nothing worth living for."
Notes:

Anyway, on with the fic!

---

[b]FOR A WHILE[/b]

She stood on edge of the roof, looking down. It was a beautiful world--fertile and verdant, practically glowing with life. The Force flowered in this place, running through all the little rodents eating their fill of berries, the green ferns coating the forest floor, the herbivores grazing in the field, the purple flowers waving slightly in the breeze, even the deadly predators that stalked their prey. It was beautiful. It was life.

Soon, it would be taken over by the Vong. Soon, all this lush life would be extinguished, replaced with animals and plants that changed the planet, altering it. Corrupting it. Destroying the beauty that once was to replace it with an alien beauty, one that human minds could not comprehend.

Life. Life was running out. Life had run out. The survivors simply ran from planet to planet, fleeing, ever fleeing, but slowly dwindling in number. Soon, there would be none left.

The golden sunk sank towards the distant horizon. The sky burned red.

She shifted on her feet, balanced there on the edge. One step forward and she would fall. But she remained there, staring at the ground far below, standing strong.

A strong wind rose from behind her and caught at her loose cloak, pulling at her. She undid the clasp of the cloak and released it. It billowed slowly to the ground and remained there, a brown stain on the green grasses.

Her hand moved towards her belt and settled on the cool metal cylinder there--her lightsaber. She unclipped it and held it out. It was a comforting weight in her hands. A comforting weapon. Whenever she needed to fight, it was there.

She contemplated it, feeling the worn ridges, the smooth hilt. It was cool in her hand, like the descending dusk. Cool and deadly.

She tossed it off the roof, and it followed the path of her cloak, landing at last on the ground with a soft thud.

Then she simply stood there, watching.

After a while, a man came out, and picked up the cloak and lightsaber. A minute later, the door to the roof opened and closed, and he was standing behind her.

"I don't want them back," she said softly.

He stepped up beside her and pressed the cold hilt of her lightsaber into her hand. "You need this to fight."

She shook her head and passed it back to him. "No, I don't."

"Why not?"

She looked down, at the dizzying drop to the ground. She was only centimeters away. "I'm tired of fighting."

"We have to fight. We're in a war."

She shook her head. "No, we're not. We're in a massacre, and we're the next victims."

"No, we aren't. We can escape. We can make it through. We always have before."

"Perhaps we'll win tomorrow, and run away again. But they'll come after us again, and again. Every victory we have is just another defeat. I'm tired of fighting for scraps of time that don't make any difference."

"So you'd rather die."

She shifted a little, bringing her toes even closer to the edge. "Why shouldn't I? There's nothing worth living for."

"We need you. Every day, you save lives. Isn't that worth it?"

"I'm not saving them. I'm delaying their deaths. I'm prolonging their agony."

"And their joy." He reached out and placed a hand on her arm. "Isn't that worth living for? Joy? Life?"

His hand on her arm was warm and comforting, but she sidestepped away from him and shook her head. "There is no joy. There is no life. It's all run out. We're alre

 

awesome job on that...those two characters could be anyone...

 

*stares* OMG . . . one minute after I post I get a reply? [face_shocked] [face_shocked]

Anyways, thank you, Lt_Jaina_Solo.

-duskwings

 

i check around the boards alot ...i didn't know how long ago you had posted, and i just saw that you had no replies...so i decided to be nice and post instead of lurking (which i might have if you had a bunch of posties) but you did a really good job on it...you portrayed the mood very well- i mean, who wants to fight when you feel that you're just prolonging the end? anyways...i just babbled alot didn't i?

 

It's OK . . . I don't mind. I'm in a sort of babbling mood tonight too . . . but thanks for checking out my fic. Glad you liked it.

*forces herself not to ramble*

-duskwings

 

don't worry about the rambling...alot of people here a just a weee bit crazy...no one will notice...

could you do me a favor and go check out some of my stuff? links are all in my profile...it's J/J...just so you know though...

 

Sure, I'll try. I usually don't read J/J fics, since I'm kind of a K/J shipper, and I don't have the time to read any long stories, but I'll read some viggies.

*wanders off to read*

-duskwings

 

Wow! Cool vig!

 

Lt_Jaina_Solo - Ack! Um, I read your viggies, but I had to take a shower, and now Dad is driving me off to bed, so I can't reply . . .

Jedi_Knight_Satine - Thanks!

-duskwings
*running off to bed before her father comes over and kicks her off . . .*

 

Very Nice Vignette.
Good Job

 

Thanks, tendra_217.

*sighs* Only three people replying to my fic . . . And none of the K/Jers I expected . . .

-duskwings

 

Changed the title, and now I'm upping in the hope of more readers . . .

 

hey i thought it was good . . i just dont have enough time to reply to every fic there is i like. I enjoyed it!!

~MJ

 

Well, Master_Jaina1011, thanks for replying to this one.

-duskwings

 

duskwings- thanks for reading my viggies..up so it can find more readers...

 

What's wrong with your repliers not being K/Jers? I like Kyp, but I just like him without Jaina. Hey, at least y'all K/Jers converted me from HATING Kyp to liking him a lot more!

Awesome little viggie!

 

Well . . . *shuffles around shyly* . . . I'm kind of a K/Jer. And this fic was written with K/J in mind. So I was hoping some of them would drop by . . . but whatever. I'll take whatever replies I can get , and since this fic can be anyone . . . ah, whatever.

Y'know, I keep on figuring this fic is dead . . . It sinks to page two or three, and since the traffic is slower I don't think anyone will dig to find it, so I give up on it. But then, voila, all of a sudden I see it on the front page. It's weird. My fic can levitate. Actually that's only happened twice, but whatever.

Anyways, thanks for replying, Saber-of-Light, and thanks for the earlier up, Lt_Jaina_Solo.

-duskwings
who has no idea what's up with her saying whatever so much . . .

 

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up!

 

oh, my gosh......Amazing, simply amazing. It tottaly sounded like K/J, even though you didn't say their names. Truely a unique approach, I really enjoyed it. No K/J's replying you say? How about me, I'm a K/J shipper, since I'm not particulary fond of ol'captian cardboard. At least not with Jaina.

 

wow! that was really good. i like the "anything fics"

-jj00

 

That was beautiful! I loved it! I mostly loved the way that it left it open for all audiences: J/K people, J/J people, J/Z people and just if you wanted it to be her brother. I was lovely and I will look for more of your writings.

 

Princess1 - *bounces* A K/Jer, a K/Jer! Yay! I'm glad you like it.

JainaJag00 - Thank you!

jedi_enigma - I was originally going to have them say names at the end, but for some reason, it just didn't fit. Glad you liked it!

-duskwings

 

I'm on a vignette binge this evening, so I've been dredging every vignette I could find from the depths of the boards. I'm really happy to have found this one. I loved it, and I mean that with no exaggeration. It wasn't really 'dark' or 'angsty' in the traditional way; I would say desolate is a better way to describe it.

The female character, who you gave such great depth for such a short piece, has completely given up. She's too tired even to end her own life; instead, she takes direction from her lover. But even their love is no longer a comfort to her.

"We have to fight. We're in a war."

She shook her head. "No, we're not. We're in a massacre, and we're the next victims."

Ooh, I loved that line. It gave me shivers.

The last line was also perfect.

"The live. Please. For me."

"I will. For a little while."

Fantastic. I love her utter indifference to everything. She's not a hero, nor does she have any desire to be. We usually don't get to see Jedi in that role, and it's great.

I love vignettes like this, that aren't tortured or full of angst, but just barren. All too grey and real. And I like that these characters don't have names.

Well, I think I've used the word 'love' enough, so I shall stop this embarrassingly fangirlish review. Nicely written, duskwings.

 

Hmmmm. I got drawn in here by the pied piper of whatchamacallit, and I must say that she did me a service. This is very well written. You do a really great job of showing just what happens to a person who spends too much time around death. She's just so beautifully empty. It's incredibly compelling. Excellent work.

 

Shut up, you know you like it.