Beyond - Legends For the Gods (Short Story, YV, During NJO)

Title: For the Gods
Author(s): Lord_Zeron
Timeframe: During the events of Force Heretic II & III
Characters: OCs, Nen Yim, Nom Anor, Kunra
Genre: Adventure
Keywords: Yuuzhan Vong, Shamed Ones, Gods
Summary: The story of a shaper heretic
Notes: This is a short story, but it'll probably take four or five posts. All replies are welcome and appriciated. There may be some spoilers from NJO books.

From the fifth known journal of K?raar Hool. Translated from Yuuzhan Vong to Standard Basic. All dates are in terms of days after the start of the journal, with the first entry being on Day 1. All times have been converted to standard hours, minutes, and seconds.

Entry 1
Day 1: 21:39:09

My name is K?raar of domain Hool. I am a Yuuzhan Vong, one of the chosen people of the gods. This isn?t the first journal I?ve ever started, but it?s the first that I would consider to be interesting, besides perhaps this one time when... well, that?s another tale. Back to the point, I am recording this in a special qahsa, one only accessible by me. If I do not access it in fifty years, it will open its secrets for all to know.

I might as well use the first entry to talk about myself, this is my story after all. Even though I am only a shaper adept, I have as much talent as most master shapers, but I learned long ago that the higher one?s rank in the Yuuzhan Vong hierarchy, the shorter their lifespan. And thus I have turned down numerous promotions, and take extra precaution to hide most of my talent.

But what talent I did demonstrate had apparently been enough for me to become a part of a special project, funded by Supreme Overlord Shimrra himself. This project is top secret, and the damutek in which we work is situated in the Supreme Overlord?s palace on Yuuzhan?tar, the world that the infidels previously refereed to as ?Coruscant.? We are guarded by a squad of warriors, day and night, to keep spies out, and us in. The project has one simple goal, although one that would no doubt get all of us killed if it was ever to be discovered.

You see, there are eight cortexes of shaper knowledge. As a shaper gains experience and rank, we are allowed access to more and more of these cortexes. However, as only a select few master shapers, and those of us working on the project, know, there is no eighth cortex. It is a fraud, something to give the public hope that there?s still a chance that we can win the war against the infidels. But the Supreme Overlord must?ve known all along that there was no eighth cortex, and thus it is my job, along with several other shapers, to create one.

Here in the damutek, most of our time is spent working on the projects assigned to us by the head of the damutek, master shaper Nen Yim. But I have no doubt that most of the shapers here are also working on their own projects in their free time, hoping that theirs will succeed, and bring them more glory than the rest of us.

I also have my own secret project, although my goals are much different than those of my colleagues. I know, as do most of us in the project, that after the eighth cortex is completed, we will all be killed. Shimrra will want to make sure that the public would never suspect that he, the chosen one of the gods, was actually encouraging heresy. All of the others, or so I suspect, do not fear death. They think that what they are doing is helping the Yuuzhan Vong people, and will give them honorable deaths in the eyes of the gods. But I don?t want to die, even if my death was considered to be ?honorable.?

I have had a long time to speculate on the Yuuzhan Vong religion, something that is automatically accepted by most of my species. I believe in the gods, perhaps more than many others. But I also know that no mortal, no matter how god-like they may be treated, is perfect, including the Supreme Overlord. I know that the gods are even now watching over us, and they must be troubled by what they see.

In my opinion, all Yuuzhan Vong start out equal in the eyes of the gods. We are judged by our actions,

 

Nice work! You've got the Yuuzhan Vong perspective down wonderfully, especially with this heretical heretic type one. Lookign forward to more!

 

K'raar Hool's proving himself interesting. It's extremely rare to see a shaper written so well.

 

Hey, another YV writer! Great! I like your viewpoint on another shaper's ideas as a member of the eight cortex project. It's also interesting that he holds Nom Anor as a hero . . .

Very good! I hope you visit Behind the Scars to join the rest of us YV guys (and girls!)

KT

 

NenYim: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Coming from a Yuuzhan Vong, that's a real compliment.

SilSolo: Thanks, I'm glad everyone thinks it's good. I hope you find the next chapters interesting as well.

Healer Leona: Yes, K'raar is rather unique for a Yuuzhan Vong. I hope my story will be a positive example of the EU.

Killik Twilight: I'm glad you like the idea, I think it's a good one. I'm not sure what "Behind the Scars" is, but it sounds interesting. Could you give me a link?

Thank you all for your replies and encouragment, and here's the next entry. Enjoy:

Entry 2
Day 2: 20:49:31

Today has been very interesting.

I woke up a half hour earlier than normal, to finish the final preparations for my plan. I walked out of my personal lab and into the central area of the damutek. There I found two Shamed Ones bringing in supplies, just as they were supposed to.

Upon sighting me, one of them, who I know to be named Raamr Iln, quickly bowed his head to the floor and cried, ?Oh great shaper, we did not know you were awake. Please excuse us for being in your presence.?

I pointed to Iln?s companion and said to her, ?I want you to continue about your chores. Iln will pay for both of your crimes.?

This brought a whimper from Iln, but I did not care. Although he did not know it, his suffering could serve to stop the suffering of the rest of his kind. I would not waste his sacrifice.

?Iln, follow me,? I commanded, and paced back towards my lab. The Shamed One followed me, close enough to hear my commands, although not close enough to be insulting.

When we were both in the lab, and the entrance closed behind us, I proceeded to my secret compartment and removed two items. The first was what appeared to be nothing more than an Ooglith Masquer, a common device among Yuuzhan Vong spies, which could cover one?s entire body and change their entire appearance, even making them look like an entirely different species. The second item was a sacworm, filled with Kyeeroks, small echinoderms that were comprised of mostly nervous tissue, which gave them a superior memory and sense of touch.

I coaxed open the mouth of the sacworm and removed the six Kyeeroks inside of it. I placed them on the counter of my lab, and gave them their instructions. The six creatures then crawled onto my arms, three on each, being careful to avoid the Tu?gaata spikes embedded onto the back of each of my forearms.

Iln was still standing in a corner of the small room watching the events with fear in his eyes. Although he had been a Shamed One since birth, he could still tell that he wasn?t going to like what was about to happen.

?Now, Iln, I want you to remain in that corner, as completely still as you can possibly manage, is that clear??

?Yes, oh great shaper,? the Shamed One replied. From the nervousness in his voice, and the shaking of his body, I knew that he wouldn?t be able to keep very still. But I was prepared for this, so I reached under the lab counter, and pulled out a Needle-Bug filled with a pink liquid.

?Now don?t flinch, Iln, this shouldn?t hurt too much.? This was a deliberate lie, of course, but it calmed down Iln just a little. I stuck the needle into his arm, and he barely managed to suppress a yelp. The paralyzant took immediate effect, and Iln was frozen in place, unable to move anything besides his eyes. His inner organs and systems remained untouched, so that he could still breath, even if only through his nostrils since his mouth remained sealed shut.

I then held out both of my arms so the very tips of my fingers were just barely touching the Shamed One?s arms. Although a lifetime of hating Shamed Ones told me that this was an insult to the gods, I didn?t flinch. The Kyeeroks crawled off of my arms and onto Iln?s and began their work. It would take a few hours, so I began working on my normal project, a modification of the blast bug that was supposed to explode with Blorash Jelly. Even though the project was weeks, if not months, from

 

Hey, good job! The way Kraar got out of the damutek is very good. I like how he took the Shamed One's visage, and then killed him, and used his position to escape.

As for Behind the Scars, you can find it here.

KT

 

Thanks, I'm having a good time writing this story too. Even I am sometimes surprised by K'raar's tricks, and I'm the one making them up!

I had a lot of fun writing this entry as well, so I hope every one has just as much fun reading it.

Entry 3
Day 4: 21:39:32

The last two days have been... intense.

I left off just after assuming the role of the Shamed One, Raamr Iln. I awoke the following day while the sky of Yuuzhan?tar was still dark. After a quick glance at the front of the damutek where I used to work, I retreated back into the alley and gently touched the side of my nose. The Ooglith Masquell easily detached itself from my skin, and fell into a lump on the ground. I picked up the lump and put it into one of the inner pockets of my robeskin, and pulled out yet another Ooglith Masquell.

This one however, was slightly different than the one that imitated Raamr Iln. Whereas the first Masquell had been shaped to look exactly like the Shamed One, the one I was now applying to my face had been made to look like a Yuuzhan Vong, although not any one individual.

I applied the creature to my face and felt it surround my body, slithering under the white fabric of my robeskin until every inch of my dark skin was covered. To the outside world I had not only changed castes, but also been promoted an entire rank. For as long as I needed, I was a Yuuzhan Vong Commander of the warrior caste.

I took another look towards the front of the damutek, being careful not to be seen. Although such an event was unlikely, it could throw a large dent, yet a salvable one, into my plans. Nonetheless, I would rather avoid any unnecessary risks.

Thankful for the fact that the darkness impaired the vision of the guards, I squinted and peered into the shadows outside of the damutek door.

I counted a total of nine warriors, although one of them might?ve been two guards close together. The closest of them, and the only one I could get a good view of, was Subaltern Aarrn Vorrik, the head of the group. A part of me was glad that he was one of them. I never had liked Aarrn much, and it was sort of ironic that he was going to help me escape from the palace, even if he didn?t yet know it.

I moved to the other side of the alley, and then walked out into the open, hoping that no one noticed. Not that it would matter anyway; now that I was a Commander, very few people would take the risk of questioning me.

I walked confidently up to the group of guards, and pointed at Aarrn. ?Subaltern!? I growled in the deepest, most warrior-like voice I could manage.

Subaltern Aarrn quickly folded his arms across his chest in salute, and nodded his head. ?Commander,? he acknowledged. Even though he didn?t know my name, he wouldn?t dare ask. If I wanted him to know my name, I would tell him. I was certainly starting to like being a Commander.

?Are you Subaltern Aarrn Vorrik??

?Yes, sir. I am.?

?Follow me,? I ordered, quickly spinning 180 degrees and starting towards the large mountain that was the inner section of Supreme Overlord Shimrra?s palace.

?But, sir, I am under strict orders not to move from my post,? Aarrn protested, risking much with those words.

?Whose orders, Subaltern??

?The Supreme Overlord?s, Commander.? I knew he added the last word just to make sure that he didn?t sound disobedient.

But I, of course, was prepared for his response, and had even hoped for it. Little did Aarrn know this, but I had spent many nights falling asleep as I imagined every possibility for every part of my plan, and what I could do about it. Raising the anger level in my voice just slightly, I replied, ?And who do you think sent me to summon you, Subaltern??

Aarrn gulped, easily giving away his nervousness. Definitely not proper for a warrior. I could almost see the wheels spinning in Aarrn?s head as he tried to calculate the best response. Finally reaching a decision, the warrior got down on one knee, bowed his head so that he was facing the ground in apology, and uttered, ?I apologize, Commander.

 

You've done a great job with using the Yuuzhan Vong creatures to help him on his way. Fascinating post!

 

Good job, Lord_Zeron! Keep postin'!

KT

 

NenYim: Thank you. As I always say, Shapers will be Shapers. Actually, that's the first time I've said it, but it fits.


Killik Twilight: Thanks, I will. There's probably going to be just one more post, either tommorow or the day after.


Entry 4
Day 7: 14:09:43

It has been a long and hard search, but definitely worth it.

I awoke from my slumber on the night I recorded my last entry, and heard footsteps coming down the hallway, faint but definitely there. I peered out of my vent, located near the ceiling of the corridor, and spotted a green alien walking in my direction. It was an infidel with large, black eyes and two antennas on top of his head, whose species I knew not.

My plaeryin bol was now more than three-fourths depleted after the attacks against Subaltern Aarrn and the priest, and no longer had enough poison in it to launch. It contained a gland that would slowly regenerate the poison, but that would take days, time which I didn?t have.

I would have to use the amphistaff. I had welded one before, so I knew a little of how to use it. I had become friends with the warrior who watched over me and my creche-mates when I was young, and he had taken some of his free time to teach me the basics. I had occasionally managed to find or steal amphistaffs on several occasions since then, so I wasn?t completely out of practice, although it did surprise me how natural it felt after all the years since my last died.

I opted to wait until the alien was past me until I jumped out, and by the time he heard me, my amphistaff was at his throat, the entire creature?s body gone rigid.

The alien spattered something in some language I could only assume was native to his tongue since, even though I wasn?t an expert on infidel languages, it didn?t sound like what they called Basic.

I debated what to do with him, although eliminate was foremost in my mind. What happened next, embarrasses me to no limit. I have to admit, I was debating with myself whether or not to record it in this qahsa. But I?ve been as honest as possible thus far, so I might as well continue the trend. And besides, this journal can only be accessed by me or, if the fifty-year protocol is activated, I?ll long be gone, and will have no reason to care.

As I considered my options, the alien?s eyes suddenly widened larger than normal, and he appeared to be looking at something behind me. He said something in his language, and I fell for it. I turned around reflexively to see what he was looking at, and in that second the infidel delivered a sharp punch to my abdomen.

Wishing I had opted to take Aarrn?s Vonduun Crab Armor, I commanded the amphistaff to go into whip-mode and grabbed the creature before he was even a meter down the hallway. With a flick of my right wrist, which was connected to the hand holding the amphistaff, I brought the alien back towards me, as I raised my left arm to slice him with my implanted Tu?gaata spikes. I was startled to find them gone, however, and replaced by a tattoo of holy writing.

As I jumped back to avoid the alien?s second punch, and the amphistaff released its grip, something clicked in my brain. I was still wearing the Ooglith Masquell of the commander! But I had no time to think now. I lashed out with the whip-like weapon in my hands, and a scar appeared over the creatures green shoulder and down his back, his dirty clothes ripping as if they were as thin as the wings of blaze bugs.

I commanded the amphistaff to stiffen and, as my enemy screamed in the pain of his wound, and I frowned at his clearly-displayed weakness, slashed his right arm cleanly off its shoulder. My second slash neatly cut off his head, which fell to the ground along with the rest of his body.

I allowed the amphistaff to soften again, and slither up my arm. With my left hand, I stroked the sensitive area on the side of my nose, and the commander-like Masquell instantly peeled away from my body. I tucked the creature back into my robes, and decided to take a quick inventory

 

Sorry this post took so long; Darth Real Life strikes again. I couldn't fit the rest of the story into a single post, so there's going to be at least one more entry after this one.


Entry 5
Day 11: 20:52:50

Needless to say I?m not dead, although I did come very close.

Before we left, Tlekel took the time to tell us all the story of a Shamed One named Vua Rapuung who fought alongside the jedi Anakin Solo. All of us listened with ears wide open, making sure to catch each of Tlekel?s soft words as he told the story, although I suspected the others had heard the story before. He concluded by telling us that this was only the version that he had heard, and that we would not know of the true version until the Prophet, Yu?shaa, told it to us at the preaching.

I was then led through a maze of passageways, stairs, and rooms as we proceeded to the hidden location of the Prophet?s audience chamber. By the time we finally reached the moss-covered doors that were the entrance to Yu?shaa?s compound, we had been walking for over an hour.

Two Shamed Ones stood tall and proud to the either side of the door. As we approached, one of them asked, ?Name??

?Tlekel Iln,? the old ex-shaper said.

The Shamed One gave a nod and opened the door next to him. The eight of us entered, and found ourselves in a large hall, that appeared to have once been the lobby of some sort of entertainment center, probably made for what the infidels called ?Holovids.?

Other Shamed Ones were already gathered as well, at least dozens of them. We moved into the room and stood next to the others, who were all chattering among themselves in excited voices. The others all quickly joined into the grand conversation, but I remained by myself, silently organizing my thoughts before the audience with the Prophet.

Over the next hour or two, more and more Shamed Ones continued to file into the hall. I had never seen this many Shamed Ones before, or perhaps I had and just hadn?t paid them any attention. Either way, I was dumfounded by the site of the Yuuzhan Vong in the room. These heretics were indeed a force to be reckoned with. What they may have lacked in quality, they had in quantity and somewhere, deep in side of me, a fear that the heretics would not be enough was extinguished.

Finally, after waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the double-doors at the other end of the lobby opened, and four figures emerged. I stood up on my toes to get a better view, but most of the others in the room were doing the same, cancelling out each other?s efforts.

From what I could glimpse however, two of the four were standing in the front. The one to the left was obviously an ex-warrior, and most likely only recently Shamed, judging by his militaristic posture. He was adorned in simple clothes instead of the typical armor of the warrior caste.

Next to him, to my right but his left, stood what looked like a priest. Although it was obvious from his appearance that he was shamed, he wore robes almost exactly like those of the priest case, except without the symbol of Yun-Yuuzhan on his chest. Behind them stood two more Shamed Ones, each wearing a green robe like the one standing next to the ex-warrior.

The ex-warrior raised a hand for quiet, although there was really no need. The room was as silent as death, everyone waiting for the warrior to speak.

?Attention, my brothers,? the warrior began in a loud, strong voice. ?Before you enter the great hall to meet with the Prophet, you must first be instructed in how to act during the audience.?

The warrior proceeded to tell us how to act, and how the meeting would start. After two successful practices, we were finally allowed to enter the hall of the Prophet.

As I walked through the large double-doors, I found myself in a room even larger than the last. The Shamed Ones quickly expanded to fill all of the reaches of the hall, from the throne-like chair in the front, to the doors in the back. The chair itself was covered with a variety of multi-colored mosses, giving it an a

 

Sweet story. I love the NJO novels and this relates to them very well. Awesome story!

 

Thanks, Darth Voltres.

I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. As always, all feedback is appriciated. Here's the last entry.

Entry 6
Day 18: 22:58:03

I?ll continue where I left off in my last entry, and proceed until I get to the point where I am now.

The ex-warrior led me back into the audience chamber, and the two Shamed guards immediately parted to let us through. I was then led to a door near the back of the room, which in turn led to what had once been an emergency evacuation route, during the time when the audience chamber had been a holovid theater.

Judging from what little I had learned of the layout of the Coruscant underlevels, every ?building? -which just meant a section of the un-divided labyrinth of durasteel- had at least one entrance to an evacuation hallway, which would travel along the back of the buildings. A network of such routes twisted their way through most of the underlevels, so that, during an emergency, public citizens could easily escape into a safer area.

Now, I was being led through just a single emergency hallway, which was cut off from the network by a cave-in at one end, and a dead end at the other. The ex-warrior walked up to one of the other doors leading into, or out of, the small corridor, and pushed it open.

We were now in what appeared to be a floor of a long-abandoned apartment building. The ex-warrior led me to one of the rooms, gave three knocks on its door, waited a moment, and then knocked again.

The door opened to reveal a room covered by various mosses and other plants native to Yuuzhan?tar, although I did not see anyone in the room.

As the ex-warrior and I walked into the room, the door closed behind me and I turned around to find myself fact to face with the Prophet.

?Yu?shaa!? I said in surprise, quickly raising my fists to my shoulders in salute. The Prophet walked over to a moss-covered chair, which wasn?t nearly as colorful as the one in the audience chamber, and sat down.

?What is your name?? Yu?shaa asked me.

?Raamr Iln,? I replied. It was then I noticed something about the Prophet?s left eye. When his right eye turned to look to the ex-warrior standing at the door, and then back at me, his other eye didn?t move with it. I took a closer look and quickly realized why; like me, the Prophet had a plaeryin bol implant.

?Very well, Raamr, how were you Shamed??

?I have been a Shamed One since birth,? I replied, hoping that I remembered the real Iln?s history properly.

Yu?shaa gave a nod, but I wasn?t sure that he believed me. ?Tell me, why do you wish to join the heretics??

?Because the Yuuzhan Vong, or the elites at any rate, have betrayed the gods. They ignore common sense, and only believe in the gods when it fits their own motives.?

?Explain.?

?They are using the gods, instead of obeying their will. For example, they say that the gods have Shamed us, because of our failed implants. Some of us do not even have failed implants, and are Shamed by birth. And how do we even know that the gods frown on those with failed implants? Because the Supreme Overlord say it?s so? And who says that he is right? The Supreme Overlord! He has total power, even that to defy the gods for personal gain. I will not stand for this, and I wish to do whatever I can to bring down the elites, and hopefully redeem the Yuuzhan Vong in the eyes of the gods.?

?One more question,? Yu?shaa said. ?Would you die for our cause??

?It depends,? I answered. When the Prophet didn?t say anything, I quickly added. ?I would die for the cause only if the same objective could not be accomplished in life. If there was any possible way to live and complete the objective, I would do so, and live to complete more goals later in life.?

?What if I was to ask you to Martyr yourself?? Yu?shaa asked. That was two more questions, when he had said one, but I didn?t object.

?I would probably see if it were possible to fake my own death,? I replied, hoping that I hadn?t just signed m

 

Did anyone like/dislike it? Any comment would be appriciated. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read it.

-Lord Zeron

 

Loved it! You did a very nice job of writing the Yuuzhan Vong creatures and people. And I think I recognized one of Yu'shaa's speeches from the books...

 

Thanks, NenYim. Yup, I had the audience from Force Heretic II opened when I wrote it, even though the one K'raar attended took place near the beginning of book three. I paraphrased it a little, since I figured Yu'shaa would change his speeches a little each time. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

-Lord Zeron

 

Happy Lurker Appriciation Week everyone. In honor of this, I've decided to write a message to the lurkers, which I'm posting at the bottom of my stories (as you can see).

First, I'd like to thank you all for taking the time to read, and I hope you enjoyed what I've written. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that something I wrote brighted up someone's day. Every time that I see that I have a reply, it brings joy to my heart. So that's why I wanted to tell any lurkers not to be afraid to reply. Even if it's just a "Good Job" or "I liked it" or a smiley face, it's much better than nothing. You don't have to write an essay as a reply, just something to let me know that you're reading.

Or, if you'd rather not post, you can always send me a PM. It would be much appriciated, whether it's just a single word or a long discussion. If you really don't like to reply or send PMs, or if you haven't joined the site, feel free to send me an e-mail at BrianNight3@hotmail.com Whatever way you choose to comment, it will make me extatic to know that people are actually reading what I wright. So don't be afraid, we're all friends here and we'd love to have you join in this wonderful community.

If you're not sure what to write, anything at all works. It's the thought that counts, not the length or way it's written. Any comment at all is greatly appriciated. If you'd like to ask a question about anything in the story, that would be great too, and I'll do the best I can to answer it. Whether it's something you didn't understand, or just something about the characters or events you'd like to know, I'd be more than happy to reply in any form you'd like (post, PM, e-mail). If you can't think of any comments or questions, you can always just tell me what you liked or disliked about the story. Maybe who your favorite character was, or what part you found interesting. Anything at all would be great. Even constructive critisism is welcome. After all, if I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I can't fix it.

So please don't hesitate to post, PM, or e-mail me a reply. Authors, myself included, truly appriciate your feedback. Without readers, a story would only be words on a piece of paper (or in this case webpage). So don't be afraid, and don't hesitate. In whatever way you like best, please send me a reply. I'd be extremely grateful, and would be incredibly happy to know that there are people who like what I wright. For fun, I'm putting a little picture at the bottom of this post, and I'll add one for each episode for the rest of the week. The near-quote is hard to read, so I'll post the caption below it as well. Once again, thank you all for reading, and good luck in the delurking process. And remember: the Force will be with you, Always.

Sincerely,
Lord Zeron



[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/BrianNight/Ep1.bmp]
Episode I (Monday): "At last we shall reveal ourselves to the Authors." -Darth Maul

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Episode II (Tuesday): "This lurking's over." -Mace Windu

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Episode III (Wednesday): "At an end, your lurking is." -Yoda

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/BrianNight/Ep4.bmp]
Episode IV (Thursday): "Use the Reply Button, Luke." -Obi-Wan Kenobi

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/BrianNight/Ep5.bmp]
Episode V (Friday): "There's a story that hit the ground near here; I want to check it out." -Luke Skywalker

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Episode VI (Saturday): "I am a poster, like my father before me." -Luke Skywalker

Edit: Sorry, the e-mail above was wrong. It's fixed now (BrianNight3@hotmail.com) so if anyone sent e-mails to the first address, I hope you won't mind re-sending it. My deepest apologies.

-Lord Zeron