Beyond - Legends Hand of the Empress {Your Father's Fate/The True Nature of the Force} Completed 8/31

Very nice posts. So Isaard going after pestage and Mara is gonna "train" Luke

 

Isard had never been one to back away from a challenge. - I really hope so, too!
I think Isard is a really interesting character.

And nice Luke/Mara post!

 

kayladie97: Hey, the important thing is that you're here. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic so far. Isard is loyal to Palpatine, but she's not beyond kicking others out of the way to grab more power for herself. As for Luke and Mara, there's certainly more to come.

yodaminch: Yup, Isard is going after Pestage. (Which she did in the profic universe as well.) And Mara will be training Luke, though he'll likely be training her as well, before all is said and done.

The_Good_Twin: Glad you liked the L/M post. You can expect a confrontation between Isard and Luke at some point, the question is simply when it will happen.



And here's the next post.



?Getting into Coruscant shouldn?t be too hard,? Lando said. ?It?s the walking around on world that I?d be worried about. The more people that see you, the greater the risk that somebody will eventually recognize you. And once that happens, you can kiss the mission goodbye.?

?What about security?? Leia asked. She was worried that she might lose Han somewhere along the line. ?Surely they?re capable of seeing through disguises.?

?Depends,? Han said. ?Coruscant is just like any other world in the Empire. Give somebody the right reasons, and they?ll let you through.?

?You?re talking about bribery,? Leia said, her voice clearly stating that she didn?t like the idea one iota.

?I?m talking about doing what it takes to pull Luke out of whatever pit he?s gotten himself into. Jedi or not, it?s only a matter of time before the Imps break him.?

?Excuse me, Commander, but I was unaware that you had a meeting scheduled,? the group heard Threepio say in the outer room. Han poked his head out.

?It?s all right, Threepio. We knew he was coming.?

?General Solo, I wonder how you expect me to perform my functions if you constantly keep vital information from me. Sometimes I just don?t understand human behavior,? the golden protocol droid complained as Wedge Antilles made his way into the room.

?Sorry I?m late. Some kind of old message ship just showed up. Nearly blew itself to pieces from what I understand. What did I miss??

?Han was just explaining the wonders of bribery,? Leia said. ?He thinks it?s one of the better ways of getting onto Coruscant.?

?He might be right. My guess is that the populace is in an uproar, and the spaceport controls are going to be a little less rigid than they might normally be. If I was going to try and insert on Coruscant, I?d do it now, before the Empire gets things running smoothly again.?

Indeed, reports had already surfaced of rebellions on the capital world, though many were brutally crushed by stormtroopers before they had a chance to get going. Just the fact that such celebrations were able to get started spoke about how lax Imperial security had become. To be able to take advantage of that would require immediate action, though.

?Sounds like we need to get moving then,? Lando said. ?How long until Chewie can prep the ship??

?Not for a while if you plan on taking the Falcon.?

?I might be able to help you there. Though you?d have to make the last part of the trip as ?cargo.?? Wedge offered.

++++++++++++


That's all for now. Another L/M post is in the works, but it probably won't be up until tomorrow evening.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Up! Up Up UP!

 

Okay, here's the L/M post I mentioned.


?Too easy,? Mara said, her foot coming out of the darkness to catch Luke?s own, dumping him to the ground. ?You?re still shining like a beacon.?

?Look, it?s not like it?s something that I?ve experienced before,? Luke said. ?I?m trying. Excuse me if I don?t get it right the first time.?

?You?d better learn quickly, then,? Mara shot back as she slipped away into the darkness again. ?Because when the Emperor sends you out, you?d better be ready not to fail him.?

She had taken Luke from his cell (or quarters, he wasn?t sure which) to a large open room, with only a few minor obstacles. She?d then killed the lights, and told him to try and avoid her. She, on the other hand, was using only the Force to track him. Luke was growing tired of being rebuked by the Emperor?s Hand.

?How do I know you?re not keeping tabs on me by some other means??

?You don?t, Skywalker. But then, you?ll never know every advantage the Rebellion has at their disposal. It?s always best to prepare for the worst. Now, let?s see if you can get it right this time.?

Luke focused inward, trying to feel the Force within him, and then try and cover it. He then began to move through the gloom. Try as he might though, he apparently wasn?t able to cover the light within, as Mara?s hand came out of nowhere to slap him across the face. Luke?s head turned slightly, and when he turned to look towards her, there was definite anger.
?I can?t be expected to be as good as you are,? he said to the darkness, hoping she?d hear him. ?You?ve had years of training at this sort of thing.?

?It?s easier than that, Skywalker,? Mara?s seemingly disembodied voice said. Then, through the Force, he sensed a slight flicker of warning before the lights snapped on. Mara stood right in front of him. ?Your problem is that you?ve grown too dependent on the Force. You?re afraid to rely on yourself.?

?I can?t unlearn everything in a few hours,? Luke argued.

?I know that, Skywalker.? For a moment, her features softened. Then, as if a mask had slipped over them, the hardness returned. ?I think you?ve had enough for one day. I?d suggest you contemplate your failure, and figure out how to fix it.? She then led him back to the room, locking him in.

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That's it for now. I'm trying to catch up on some handwritten posts, so I may hold off on the next post until I can get those typed up. I'd expect something on Sunday.


Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

very nice posts. I like luke's reference to yoda's quote about "you must unlearn what you have learned" I'll bet luke will be sick of doing that.

 

You make a nice point, yoda. Luke will surely grow tired of that refrain, seeing as heard plenty of it from Yoda. And the fact that it's most likely coming with a tone of condescention from Mara can't help either.

And now, off in a different direction...


"We're receiving a communication from Imperial Center," a lieutenant said, approaching Captain Gilad Pellaeon on the bridge of the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimeara. Pellaeon was still trying to get used to the command decisions he was expected to make; the captain had died during the battle around Endor, and Pellaeon had assumed command.

"Pipe it into the briefing room. I'll take it there." With that, Pellaeon strode from the bridge. The retreat from Endor had been chaotic, with more than a couple officers asserting that the Emperor could not have survived the blast. Pellaeon had decided that he would wait for official confirmation of the Emperor's status before preparing any plans.

Pellaeon entered the briefing room to find that one of the holo-plates was already lit, awaiting a signal. Once the bridge relayed the message, Pellaeon dropped to one knee. The age ravaged face of the Emperor stared down at him. "Captain Pellaeon. You have shown that you are still loyal to my New Order. Your orders are to take the Chimeara to Yaga Minor. You will rendezvous there with two other ships. The commander of the task force will give you further instructions."

"As you command, my Emperor. May I ask the nature of the assignment."

"You are to deal with an alien threat to an Imperial world. Do not fail me, Captain Pellaeon." And with that, the image of the Emperor vanished. Pellaeon exited the room, returning to the bridge.

"Set course for Yaga Minor, best possible speed."

++++++++++++




That's it for now. I won't tell you who's involved in this mission. At least, not yet.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Interesting story...

 

Who Hoo my favorite imp is in this. Would the species be a certain blue skinned, black haired, red eyed species?

 

Welcome, LaYa_. Hope you'll continue to find this interesting.

So Pellaeon's your favorite Imp, huh, yoda? Guess I'll have to feature him a bit more. As for the aliens species, it isn't the Chiss. Think saurian.



Leia watched as the ship carrying Lando and Chewie took off from the forest moon of Endor. The ship, captained by an old friend of Wedge's, would take the two to Mrisst, where they would then stow themselves among the cargo, and hopefully slip into the capital. Once there, they would assess the situation, and contact Han and Leia.

"You don't want to wait," Han said, coming up behind Leia and letting his hand fall to her shoulder.

"I just worry about Luke," Leia replied. "He's stuck there, Han. Who knows what Palpatine will twist him into. My biggest fear is that we won't be able to save him."

"Luke's tougher than I think we give him credit for. He'd have to be to have gone up against Vader and walk away from it."

"There's more to this than you know, Han," Leia said. Even after telling Han about her connection with Luke, she'd kept the other part of Luke's revelation secret. "I think the Emperor wants to turn him, to use him like he did Vader."

"Look, sweetheart, I know I've never seemed to place much trust in the Force. But if Luke thought that he couldn't handle it, he wouldn't have gone off in the first place."

"Luke was hoping that he could turn Vader," Leia said. "But what if he failed? Or what if Vader had somehow kept Luke from facing the full power of the Dark Side?"

"What are you trying to tell me? That you might have to kill Luke?"

If I don't come back, you're the only hope for the Alliance, Luke had said to her before leaving the Rebel troops on Endor and surrendering himself to Vader. Now she recalled those words, and the earnest look on her brother's face as he'd spoken them. "I may have to. If his father couldn't protect him, then there may be little hope for him left."

"You want to run through that again?" Han asked. "Because it sounds like you just equated Vader with Luke's father."

"They're one and the same, Han. Which makes me Vader's daughter."

"You're telling me that you could have been a Jedi?"

"Luke told me about it on Endor, just before he left. He said that the Force was strong in his family. Vader had it. He has it, and he told me that I have it as well."

Han stood there, speechless. "Talk about dropping the heavy end of the hammer on a guy," he finally said.

++++++++++++


That's it for now. More L/M to come, though I may have to take a day off tomorrow. I need to finish grading the research papers that were turned in last week.


Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Amazing post


I really liked it very much ..

MTBWY

 

Poor Han the only non force sensitive.

 

Thanks, LaYa_. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

Yup, poor Han. It seems like he's always the last to find out, doesn't it?


No postie today, but I hope to have something up tomorrow, unles DWB sneaks up on me.


Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Okay, I promised more L/M. And here it comes.


Mara returned the next day to find Luke seated on the edge of the bad, as though he?d been waiting for her. ?Get up,? she ordered.

?And if I choose not to?? Luke asked. ?I don?t think you?d really go and tell the Emperor. After all, he?d likely consider it to be a failure on your part.?

?If you don?t cooperate, I do have another option,? Mara said, as a blaster seemed to suddenly appear in her hand. It was small, but Luke didn?t doubt the deadly nature of the weapon. ?I could simply kill you.?

?That wouldn?t make the Emperor very happy, now would it??

?Don?t think for a moment that you?re invulnerable, Skywalker,? Mara shot back. ?The Emperor may be willing to toy with the idea for a while, but if you don?t serve him, you?ll simply be a liability. And I am very good at eliminating liabilities. Now get up.?

Luke rose, and Mara gestured with the blaster. He preceded her from the room, and when she emerged, the blaster had once again vanished. ?Same thing as yesterday?? Luke asked.

?No,? Mara replied, leading him down a different corridor. She gestured for him to precede her and Luke found himself in a room filled with obstacles. The door slid shut behind him, and he found himself alone. Mara?s voice sounded from the comm. ?You?ll need to make your way to the exit, Skywalker,? she said, then the lights again went out.

Darkness wouldn?t prove a problem for a Jedi, Luke thought, and opened himself to the Force. The Force was as strong here as anywhere else. Luke could sense the obstacles, and started making his way through the room. He didn?t think this that difficult a test until one of the obstacles struck him from behind. With all his attention focused forward, he hadn?t even sensed it coming.

?Foolish thinking, Skywalker,? Mara?s voice chided. ?You didn?t think it would be that easy, did you??

Not for a moment, Luke thought. His progress slowed as he shifted his focus, dividing it between the space in front and behind him. He sensed the next projectile, and deflected it. ?Try that on for size,? Luke muttered, continuing forward. Eventually, Luke made his way to the other side of the room. ?Happy?? he asked, as the door slid open to reveal Mara standing here.

?Decent work, Skywalker. At least you aren?t completely useless.?

?You have to let go of your anger,? Luke told her as she led the way back towards what Luke had begun to think of as a cell. ?It?s creating a blanket that stunts your growth in the Force.?

?I have what I need, Skywalker. Don?t think otherwise.? She then closed the door, returning to her own room. She wouldn?t break in front of Skywalker, she promised herself. Not ever.

++++++++++++



That's all for now. The focus will shift back to Pellaeon for tomorrow's post.

Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Good post

there is just a problem.. I want more

 

Hmm one wonders if Luke is ever gonna break.

 

LaYa_: More is coming, don't you worry.

yoda: You wonder about Luke breaking? Trust me, before the fic is over, Luke will break.


And let's take another look at Pellaeon.


The Chimeara dropped out of hyperspace to find two additional Star Destroyers waiting for it. The older of the two was the Victory-class destroyer Tyrannus, accompanied by the Imperial-class destroyer Vengeance.

?Captain?? the comm officer called, gesturing in Pellaeon?s direction. ?We?re receiving orders from the Vengeance. Her commander requests the presence of you and your two most senior officers immediately.?

Requests? An odd way to frame an order, Pellaeon thought. It almost made it sound optional. He then recalled the Emperor?s words. He would not fail. Pellaeon summoned both his ground commander, General Folgot, and his TIE commander, Colonel Asaj Nenxt. Folgot was a pompus windbag in Pellaeon?s personal opinion, but he did as well as any of the other Army commanders Pellaeon had offered the job to. Nenxt had actually served for a brief time with the 181st, until he had been promoted and given command of the Chimeara?s starfighter squadrons.

The shuttle flight was uneventful, but Pellaeon had expected nothing less. Few worlds this far from Coruscant were as secure as Yaga Minor. And with three Star Destroyers in orbit, and attack by the Rebels would have been suicidal.

A hard-faced lieutenant stood in the landing bay as the shuttle landed, her ramp lowering. Pellaeon strode out, followed by the other two officers. ?Welcome aboard the Vengeance. The Admiral will see you in his ready room.? Surprisingly, they were not led in the direction of the bridge, but towards the secondary command center. The antechamber was gloomy, and Pellaeon, upon entering, felt as though he were being watched. He stepped into the next room to find that the officers from the Tyrannnus were already present.

?Do you know what this is about, Captain?? the other ship?s commander asked.

?Only that we were to be briefed upon our arrival by the task force commander.?

?And so you shall be,? a voice said from the chair behind the double display ring, which was currently facing away from them. It turned, and Pellaeon was more than a little surprised to see that the occupant was not human. He had pale blue skin, blue-black hair, and glowing red eyes that seemed to bore right through Pellaeon. Which was saying something, given Pellaeon?s more than forty years of service in the Fleet. Moreover, the man wore the uniform of a Grand Admiral. ?Allow me to introduce myself. I am Grand Admiral Thrawn.?

++++++++++++



That's it for now. More will probably be coming Sunday, as I'll be quite busy tomorrow.


Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

...before the fic is over, Luke will break-

...eh, I mean: Poor Luke!

 

So it was a certain chiss. Excellent.

 

?Allow me to introduce myself. I am Grand Admiral Thrawn.? - It gets better and better!

 

<---- I changed my icon in honour of this fic!!

 

The_Good_Twin: Things really don't look good for Luke, do they? And unfortunately, it isn't likely to get better soon. As for Thrawn, I'd been thinking about a story involving him for a while. This one gave me the opportunity. Nice icon, by the way.

yodaminch: You were indeed right to suspect an appearance by Thrawn. I think it'll be interesting to see just where he takes this story.



And now, let's jump back to Luke, Palpy and co.


Luke sat in his room, his shoulders hunched, dark circles around his eyes. The days of ?training? at Mara Jade?s hand had begun to wear on him. Even his dreams had started to be disturbed. He had begun to have visions in which he was charged with pronouncing the sentence on highly placed officers within the Alliance. Each night it was a different face, but the expression was always the same. Each person, be it Lando, Wedge, or others he had brought into Rogue Squadron, had the same look of hope at the beginning of the dream. But by the end, the look had changed to one of betrayal as Luke heard himself sentence them to death.

Above, the Emperor smiled with glee. Things were moving along faster than he might have anticipated. Skywalker?s will was wavering, and Palpatine knew that it was only a matter of time until the young would-be Jedi broke. Jade?s skills were improving as a result of having to devise more difficult tasks for Skywalker. It would only be a matter of time until the young Jedi became just another tool in the Emperor?s arsenal.

?He?s not ready,? Isard said, approaching from behind the Emperor. ?You know the file on Skywalker as well as I do. There is no way he could possibly be ready to serve you after so short a time.?

?I did not think he would be,? Palpatine replied, more than a little annoyed that Isard would even consider the possibility that she understood what he was trying to do here. ?But certain steps must be taken. I must know whether he is capable of acting against those he considered friends.?

?You believe there to be some here on Imperial Center, don?t you??

?If they are not here already, they will come,? Palpatine said. ?Rest assured of that. And when they do, I want them rounded up and brought here. Skywalker will serve me, or he will die.?

++++++++++++


That's all for now. I'll try and get something up tomorrow, but the next post's been giving me a bit of trouble, so it might need to wait until Tuesday.


Force be with you,

Tych_sel

 

Okay, the problem's worked itself out, so here's the next postie!


The Pulsar Skate dropped out of hyperspace in one of the approved approach lanes for Coruscant. Mirax Terrik took her attention from the controls for just a moment to glance over her shoulders at the passengers aboard the smooth-lined transport. ?I think it?s time for the two of you to head back,? she said, referring to the Skate?s smuggling compartments.

?Wouldn?t be a good idea to get caught before we get to ground,? Lando Calrissian answered. Chewbacca agreed with a low woof of what Mirax guessed was probably amusement. The two retreated from the cockpit just as the first query came through from Imperial Center's ground control. Mirax responded with a set of codes passed to her by Leia Organa.

"Those codes are incorrect, freighter. You are ordered to heave to and prepare to be escorted down to the surface. Consider yourself under arrest."

"Hutt slime!" Mirax cursed, sending the Skate into a twist that probably would have even knocked the Wookiee off his feat. She hit the switch to the intercom. "Change of plans, guys. I'm going to make for Invisec. Maybe we can lose ourselves in the crowd."

A pair of TIEs, modified to enhance their already considerable maneuverability within an atmosphere, moved in to attempt to cut off the Skate's escape vector. "Freighter, you cannot escape. Alter course to the following coordinates or we will open fire," a hard voice said.

Open fire all you like, Mirax thought. But you won't be hitting this ship. She swung the Skate onto one side, then flipped the ship around, temporarily losing the fighters. She made straight for the towers of the capital sector, hoping that she could lose the fighters for good there. Weaving between the massive towers, she suddenly dove for ground level, heading for what was known among the populace as Invisec.

The TIEs refused to be shaken, however. Slowly, deliberately, they were forcing her down. And given the pattern, she guessed that there would be more than a few Imps waiting when the ship did finally touch down. "Calrissian," she called, "You'd better be prepared to make a run for it. Looks like the Imps were ready for us."

"I take it that means the landing isn't going to be as smooth as we'd hoped," Calrissian called from the back. "How many troopers can we expect?"

"Unknown," Mirax called back. "Just be ready to run. You've got to get word back that security's tighter than we thought." She then cut in the repulsors, realizing that any more maneuvering and she could damage the Skate beyond repair. Before the ships settled to the ground, she hit the controls for the ramp. She felt a slight jolt as the ship settled down, and could hear the sound of blasters being discharged. Four troopers made their way into the cockpit. "You are under arrest," the commander said, then hit Mirax over the head with the butt of his rifle.

++++++++++++

 

Great posts

 

Poor mirax.