Saga Into the Storm (Action/Drama, L/M, H/L, Vader, Palpatine) COMPLETE

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[CENTER][SIZE=6][FONT=georgia][B][COLOR=firebrick][U]Into the Storm[/U] [/COLOR] [/B][/FONT][/SIZE][/CENTER]


[B]Author:...........[/B]blank101
[B]Status:...........[/B][B]COMPLETE[/B]
[B]Timeframe:.....[/B] post-TESB
[B]Characters:.....[/B]L/M, H/L, Darth Vader, Palpatine
[B]Genre:............[/B]Action, Drama, AU, Romance
[B]Keywords:......[/B]AU, L/M, H/L, Vader, Palpatine




[B]Summary:[/B] Part I An AU/Dark Luke story. Darth Vader captures the passengers of the [I]Millennium Falcon[/I] after their attempted escape over Bespin, sure that Luke will convert to his father's cause and aid him in overthrowing the Emperor. When his plan is rebuffed, Vader is forced to fall back on more desperate measures, with devastating consequences for himself, his son, the Empire and the Alliance, as events cascade beyond anyone's control.



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[CENTER][U][B]PLEASE NOTE:[/B][/U][/CENTER]
[CENTER]Like a lot of older stories, [U]this story was unintentionally truncated[/U] when FF.N moved server, and is incomplete and with broken fonts on this site. If you'd like to read it, you can ONLY do so in full HERE:[/CENTER]
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[CENTER][URL='https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4302076/1/Into-the-Storm'][COLOR=#ff6600][U][B]https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4302076/1/Into-the-Storm[/B][/U][/COLOR][/URL][/CENTER]
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[CENTER]This re-direct has been posted at the request of and with the knowledge of FF.N, and the version you will read still complies with FF.N ToS rules.[/CENTER]



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[CENTER][B]T[/B][B]his is the first part of a trilogy[/B]. Parts two and three are complete and posted.[/CENTER]
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[CENTER][B]Disclaimer:[/B] As per usual, I should point out that I own no part of Star Wars. It's all owned and run by George--in fact, he's a bit like the Emperor, but in a plaid shirt...[/CENTER]


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[blockquote]
[CENTER][blockquote][COLOR=firebrick][B]There's also an image to go with this story. If you'd like to see it before you start, click [/B] [link=[url]http://s589.photobucket.com/albums/ss332/blank-101/?action=view&current=bitmaplarge.jpg][/url][B]HERE![/B][/COLOR] [/link] [/blockquote][/blockquote][/CENTER]




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I?d like to take this opportunity to thank [B]Jedi-2B[/B] for beta-ing my considerably less than perfect grammar and grasp of American English. She?s written endless great stuff herself and has encouraged me no end to get my ass in gear and post here! My gratitude.







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[blockquote][blockquote][blockquote][face_peace] I'd like to say a huge great big [COLOR=darkblue]thank you[/COLOR] to everyone who voted for Into the Storm in 2009 the Fanfic Awards [face_peace]
Thanks to you, it picked up- [/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]
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[blockquote][blockquote][blockquote]
[COLOR=darkred]Best Epic [/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Best Drama (tied) [/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Best Canon Male [/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Best Canon Female [/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Best Villian [/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred]Best New Author[/COLOR] [/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

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[blockquote][:D] [face_peace]:) Again, many, many thanks :) [face_peace] [:D] [/blockquote]


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[blockquote]
[blockquote][u][b]Into the Storm[/b][/u]


















[b]?New beginnings are bought at the cost of an end?[/b]
Fragment from the Son of Suns Prophesy, (Jedi Master Egorin Dovas translation; 3/14,159 -minus.)
Engraved into the Sunburst Throne (The Seat of Prophesy) circa 23,711 -minus.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

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[u][b]CHAPTER ONE[/b][/u]





[i]Futures.
Fates.
Choices made. Paths taken.
Is the future an immutable event, preordained and inevitable?
Or can it be changed by a single act, the split of an instant fracturing all that comes after,
shattered like glass against stone.
Can destiny be changed?[/i]






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The wind whipped at him, buffeting his body as he tried to turn, howling like a banshee as he edged backwards over the precipice on the narrowest of beams, struggling for handholds against the smooth plassteel outcrop which counterbalanced precariously over an endless drop.

He was tired and battered and bruised and he hurt like hell.

And he had no idea where he was going to go next... because there was simply no-where else to go.


"Luke - you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training... with our combined strength we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."

Battered and bruised ? but not beaten. ?I?ll [i]never [/i] join you!?

He twisted about, straining to reach the supporting pipes, his tattered arm clutched to him, the pain making his breath come short and fast.

?If you only knew the power of the Dark Side??

Luke didn?t look, didn?t listen ? what could Darth Vader possibly have to say that he wanted to hear?

?Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father??

That brought his head up, knowing resentment in his eyes. ?He told me enough.?

Grabbing the pipe, he swung himself onto the slim instrument vane which hung over nothing, pausing, heart in his throat as the fine plassteel veins rocked precariously, adjusting to a weight they were never meant to take. And still the winds howled, calling him on. Lifting his head, Luke threw the accusation at Vader, every fiber of his being hating him in that moment. ?He told me you killed him!?

This was his truth, his mantra. This knowledge gave him the strength to fight, the spirit to resist, it was the very [i]essence [/i] of his cause, the single most significant happening in his life. The frame around which all other beliefs were built. He was alone in this galaxy and he had been alone his whole life. Because of this? man. Could he even be called that? He was everything that Luke hated ? everything he fought against. He was darkness and death personified.

All that Luke believed was distilled down to this moment, to these two combatants; he would [i]never [/i] give in ? not to this?

?No?[i]I[/i] am your father!?



The words were an emotional body-blow with the power to knock the air from his lungs, so great was his shock in that moment.

Everything else ? [i]everything [/i] ? simply fell away? Every strength, every conviction? every lie.

Already he was shaking his head, denying it even as he knew it was true ? he knew. But still the words fell from his lips, desperate and breathless??No? that?s not true. That?s [i]impossible[/i].?

?Search your feelings, you [i]know [/i] it to be true!?

Everything? everything was lost to him, the weight pressing in against his ribs so great he could scarcely breathe, his legs buckling as he leaned against the vein. If it were not there he would have fallen, would have simply collapsed, so great was the anguish.

The grief fell from him in a cry, unstoppable, uncontainable. ?No-o?No!?

He had lost his father. Lost him all over again in the cruelest way possible. The man he had worshipped ripped to shreds? by the man he really was.

What was left? What was left of his beliefs? What was left of him?

?Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He h

 

This is great. I have wondered what it would be like if the Falcon got caught in the tractor beam trying to get away from Bespin. This is a great start and I can't wait to read more. If you have a PM list I would like to be on it.

 

You know, rereading this as I was betaing just reminded me all over again why I love this story so much. And knowing now what is going to happen later, I delight in being able to now pick out all the little foreshadowing clues that you have thrown in.

He was dimly aware somewhere in the back of his mind that this would not be over for a long time?

I think this pretty much sums up the whole trilogy!

Movement caught his eye, pulling him back into the moment, a stray thought occurring. ?Chewie ? deactivate the droids. They?ll leave them in the ship.?

Luke's orders regarding the droids can be taken two ways -- his proclivity to protect everyone around him, including Artoo & 3PO, and his foresight that the droids would contain secret Rebel Alliance data.

As if all this was a momentary complication ? as if they?d be back in an hour or so, when they?d dealt with it. As if.

Just one of dozens of examples I could quote of your unique writing style that I admire so much.

You do a fantastic job in showing the different characters' thoughts (better than the official novelizations!). For example, how Vader sends in the troopers to test Luke's fortitude while injured, and to stoke his anger. How Luke keeps wondering where Han is, and who is this dark stranger that has appeared. How Leia can't comprehend why Luke stops firing when Vader gets closer, and why Vader stops hitting Luke, and then shows tenderness when he falls.

I'll be PM-ing you with a couple edits that still need to be made.

Now I'd better get going on the next chapter, huh?

 

Hey JediMike.

Glad you're enjoying it.
yeah, it's always been a pet line of thought for me too, so I thought I should do something about it. It's such a great jumping-off point.

"If you have a PM list I would like to be on it."
Sure, consider yourself PM'd! This is a completed story, so it shouldn't take too long to get up onto the boards. the sequel is complete too.

Hope you enjoy it.

 

I recall reading this epic story elsewhere, but I'm looking forward to rereading it here, too! Great start!

 

This is an amazing start!! I must admit, I'm not a fan of Dark!Luke, but this is so well-written I've just got to read more! Please add me to your pm list? Hope to read more soon!!

 

Stunning brilliance!!!!! Could I be on a PM list???

Huggles!!!! for starting a trilogy--I adore those!!!!



And with 2B being the beta,

 

ah so this great fic coming here eh i read it on fanfiction.net and its follow up this fic defenitly deserves to be more well knowen keep it up

 

Wow! This story really interesting! Please PM me.

 

Oh my gosh, this is a fantastic start. Very well written. I'd love to be on the PM list if you're doing one!!!

 

Oh. Wow. This is just....
....
....
....yanno?

Please PM me.

 

Dancing Star
Hey, thanks so much. Not a Dark Luke fan?! But Dark Luke's the best kind!
Consider yourself on the PM list, and I hope to convert you
More this weekend.


PonyTricks:
Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. Yeah, this is the second outing, but this time it has Jedi2-B's eagle grammar eye on it, and it may well end up with a few changes on the way - I'm the eternal tinkerer!


Hey Jade eyes.
Glad you liked. Yep, big, big trilogy. In fact, even I feel sorry for J-2B
I'll PM you at the weekend.


Imperial Warlord
Yep, time to get it all ship-shape with J-2B's help. As I said, I may well find it difficult not to tinker as well... in fact I already am!


Teethlee
Consider yourself PM'd More this weekend.


Lasos
Thanks so much; glad you liked it. You're copied onto the list


Kithura Vess
Thanks... I think
You're on the list - more coming up.

 

Add me to this list please! I'm intruiged

 

pm list please


snow

 

It was a compliment, I was just speechless.

 

Aahh. I tried not to read this here too. I failed.
I still love it - and Jedi-2B beta-brush certainly doesn't make it worse.

 

Darth Drachonus:
You're on the list; intrigued is a good place to start


Timerift22
Added - more this weekend.


Kithure Vess
Heh,heh; I knew that... I think...


Kataja
Hey,hey; Welcome!

 

Wow, I'm speechless too right now. I simply love, love this. Every character is perfect and it's really like reading along as the film goes in a different direction. Can I please be added to your PM list as well? I don't want to miss anything on this one.

 

Oh, shiny. You're posting this here. Wicked cool. To those who haven't already read it, trust me: you're in for a helluva ride. Hands down, blank does the best Palpatine I've ever seen in fanfiction. Hands down.

 

Sara Kenobi
Hey, glad you're enjoying it - and you're in the list.
More this weekend.


Rigil Kent
Wow, thanks. That means a lot coming from a writer such as yourself (though now I feel I've got a lot to live up to!).
For anyone who isn't reading Tyranny Reborn, get over there and check it out!

 

CHAPTER TWO


The prisoner lay very still on the medi-bay scanner, his breathing slow and shallow, his face covered in innumerable grazes and fine cuts, others slicing deeper into the fabric of his ragged jacket and the flesh of his shoulder and arm. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly open, jaw relaxed in unconsciousness.

?Well?? Vader prompted curtly.

The medic, Hallin, glanced up at Lord Vader nervously, unsure of why the unconscious man was here anyway, and not in the limited medi-bay in the detention level, where all the others had been taken. He?d been summoned with a small trauma team to the docking bay as a dilapidated freighter had been taken aboard and forcibly grounded, given no further explanation as a deafening firefight blazed about him then, after agonizing moments of absolute silence, called into the ship to treat what was clearly a Rebel, judging from his uniform.

Hallin had been on Vader?s personal staff for less than a season, chosen by Vader to replace an existing member whose skills he exceeded, and wasn't yet well-versed with the finer points of his promotion. But he was a fast learner.

?Aside from? the obvious-? Hallin hesitated, then said it anyway, ?the loss of his hand - he has contusions, several deeper lacerations and concussion. More seriously, some acute nerve damage to his upper spine; compression and displacement of discs and vertebrae consistent with an impact or a fall. Nothing irreparable if it?s treated immediately.?

?He collapsed because of?? Vader prompted curtly.

?The nerve damage. It?s significant enough to bring anyone down. I understand he?d just received several? severe blows to the head, which probably aggravated the upper spinal injury - his system probably just couldn?t process any more damage and simply shut down.? Intensely aware of the brooding silence from the huge figure to his side, the slim, slight medic began to back-pedal. ?To be honest, I?m surprised he was standing anyway, considering the damage. Plus, he is concussed. Taking into account all of his? injuries??

Hallin trailed off, aware that he was simply digging a deeper and deeper hole.

Finally, unable to stand the silence any longer, he added, ?We should? begin treatment to relieve pressure on the nerves along T-four to T-eight on his spine. That's a time-critical injury, my Lord. The hand, less so - though the sooner we wet-wire AR nerves into biological ones the easier it is to integrate them, and for the patient to adapt.?

It occurred belatedly to Hallin that neither of these procedures may be an option since the patient was clearly a prisoner, judging from the amount of troopers staged in and about his medi-bay. It would be far more in keeping with Hallin?s still-limited experience with Lord Vader for him to simply wish to know what was wrong, rather than what could be done to repair it. If the young man was a Rebel as Hallin guessed, then he was facing the death penalty anyway, which made it rather a waste of everyone?s time and of Hallin?s considerable ability?

?Treat him,? Vader said, bringing Hallin?s head round in surprise. ?Whatever is necessary.?

?Yes, my Lord,? Hallin acknowledged, trying to hide his shock.

Vader almost made to leave before a further thought occurred. ?Are any complications possible??

?Complications?? Hallin hesitated, unsure what Vader was getting at; it surely wasn?t concern. He turned back to the prisoner, considering. ?The neural procedures to the spine carry a risk in terms of possible secondary nerve damage and the length of time under anaesthetic, but the droids who perform the procedure are very competent. The limb replacement is only a local anaesthetic and so carries no risks, though it?s a long procedure. If we use a more basic replacement..."

?No. Use the best available. Do you have everything necessary here??

A thought occurred to Hallin now - a reason for the man?s being here rather than in the Detention Level, and for Lord Vader?s apparent concern - perhaps this was an Imperial spy? A trooper from th

 

That was AMAZING!!

?He?s gone below prescribed levels?? Hallin said flatly, his own heart beating fast in his chest. It was against everything he had been taught, everything he had ever believed, to stand by and simply watch when he could so easily prevent this.
I really love this character you've created, Hallin. He's very real, and a very good medic who truly cares about his patients and profession.

?No, I?m judging you on the facts,? Luke bit out. ?I?m in a detention cell being taken against my will to Imperial Center. The person who put me here has injured my friends for no other reason than to get my attention, and is now intending to deliver me and them to a man who will surely kill us all when I won?t do as he asks. The person who put me here knows this as well as I do, and yet still that door remains locked. That is the man I?m judging.?
That's very true. Come on, Luke! Don't give in! Be strong! (I still don't want to see him go dark. ) What he needs is a rescue by his friends, a dip in the bacta tank, and a great big hug! Poor thing!
Wonderful job!! I'm really looking forward to more!

 

?You want me to listen - I?m listening.?

?You are not listening,? Vader said, shaking his head slightly. ?You do not intend to listen to anything I say.?

?Have you finished??

Kids. Whadda you gonna do with 'em?


Hallin had already become a favorite of mine by this chapter, and he continues to be! The way you describes Luke's willful pushing of himself is just incredible.

And I see you've cut off the chapter at a different point. Good choice.

 

Poor Lukie! - But you have to give him credit for standing up to Vader, and challenging the Sith's beliefs, even if it's not getting through.

(PS. You should put up an 'updated on..." date in your subject line!)