Beyond - Legends Lest Ye Be Judged--Vader war crimes trial--Voted Best All-Around, thanks!

I admire your writing skills very much, your story is emotional and heartrending. I loved the conversation between Padme and Anakin and Anakins speech to the court. Your portraits of the characters are so welldone, a convincing description of their feelings and behavior.
It was a very harsh sentence, Anakin doesn't deserve death. He has been cooperative and repent of his sins, unlike WW2 war criminals, Saddam Hussein e.g. and that should be rewarded. I understand your point of view about death penalty in many countries here on earth, but the international wars crimes tribunals only have life imprisonment, which should take for a model.
Anyway, your story isn't finished yet and there has been many turns till now. You keep your reader on the rack.

 

WOW!!!! This is a FANTASTIC story , I love your style of writing.
This scene was so Anakin doesn't desevre death!
If you have a PM list, add me to it


-JediNat-

 

One more week?!?!

I love you.
I don't blame you.
I don't deserve you.
I don't want to leave things this way.
Thank you.
Forgive me.
Whatever the outcome, he was resolved to say them in the near future as it was. Perhaps then, even if she refused the favor he was asking of her, he would be able to give her peace of a kind.
Wow.

 

palpyisgod2--*puts in earplugs and hands over tissues.* Thanks for editing.

Fortherea--Aww, thanks?

ShrunkenJedi--I hope so. Yeah, this entire story reminds me of To Cast Away Stones, where you know certain things in the plot are bound to happen, but it's the anticipation and then the actual occurrence that are sometimes the hardest. I'm glad you find the way I write Anakin to be beautiful. Thanks. The entire Anakin/Padme dejarik scene was inspired by the Thomas Crown Affair, which has a beautifully sensual scene played over chess. This wasn't quite sensual, but emotionally intense in the same way. Still, piecing that together from all of the double entendres, the things that they could not say to each other, etc. were very difficult to write, so I appreciate your enjoying them. And yes, you'll see how she takes it.

merijune--Thanks! I'm glad I still impress. You'll see what the court order entails, I promise.

RebelMom--Indeed, she did. I'm glad he got his one year as well. There's a lot of give and take in what he's experienced in that time. It's very hard for the family to go through and I don't think it'll get much easier.

RK_Striker_JK_5--Sounds so climactic. I'm glad you loved those convos. The scoundrel/princess scene was inspired by artwork by Leela_starsky. And Katey agrees that it's sick. You should have a support group. You're not dense, just stubborn. Thanks!

tamiki--Thank you for your kindness. The story is very emotional for me as a writer and I hope that comes through well in the characters. I'm glad you loved the speech to the court and his conversation with Padme. And thanks for the words on the character portraits. I'm glad it convinces. It was a very harsh sentence. The way I explained it to one reader is that yes, the way things work here works for a country or continent, but these are crimes on a galactic scale that must be punished accordingly. LOL, I'm sorry for keeping people on the rack.

JediNat--Aww, thank you! I'm very happy you like it this much. It's very sad and I agree with you, but the justice as I have decided it should work doesn't. I'll PM you.

Blue_Milkshake--Yes, one more week. Thanks.
*****
[image=http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i226/kateydidnt/350.jpg]
*****
Hello, dear readers. As of the last word of this post, this has reached 350,000 words. I am astonished that you people are still with me and I am sad to have to do this, but I made an agreement with that weird roommate of mine named Kateydidnt. If I reached 350,000 words, I would stop at that word and not post anything more until she posted on her story, "Quest for Balance: The Handmaiden's Quest." She SWEARS that she will update soon. Feel free to attack her with requests to put you out of your misery and I will update as soon as I can.

P.S. This scene also explains the fantastic art by SilSolo here
*****
The guards had first suggested that Leia use one of the private exits from the courtroom, but she had insisted that she be given the chance to answer questions in the wake of the ruling. It would save the holoshills time inventing her reaction or speculating on why the New Republic's Chief of State was hiding from her failure. At any rate, she had insisted on running the gauntlet on the way out of the Hall of Justice.

She had anticipated questions, but she had not anticipated that Aikia had chosen to make a brief statement and had already gone home to his wife by the time she made it out of the chamber. Chearmi immediately gripped her elbow as if to remind her that he was still there.

The press of noise had been bad enough inside the courtroom,but the assault on her senses was almost torrential out here. If nothing else, she was overwhelmed by the hundreds of holocams glaring in her eyes and she wondered immediately how much she resembled a womprat in front of a speeder's headlights.

?Milady,? someone to her left bellowed in

 

I can't imagine making such a decision, but I'm not Leia. At least the family had one last night together.

Palpyisgod2: Ooops, sorry about the misgendering. I can't always tell with the handles around here. Thanks for the fix.

 

So the will of the Force told Leia she should do this? Interesting, very interesting. And I loved the letter-- just the right mix of practicality and sentimentality, I think. Great chapter

 

*sobs*

 

Leia... NO! Don't give in, here! It's wrong to have you be the one! *Hits Anakin-hard* How DARE you do that to your daughter!

Anyway...

Very awesome, very tense post. *Goes to bug Katey*

 

I agree, Bad Anakin thanks for the PM

-JediNat-

 

Anakin's conversation with his mother was so powerful.

?I've missed you, Mom,? he said in a broken voice by way of greeting.
?I know,? she replied, running one small hand along his spine. ?To be fair, you didn't let me come to you.?
?I...? He pulled back, frowning. ?I had a choice??
?Of course,? Mom said. ?You refused what I would have brought to you as easily as you blocked out Qui-Gon Jinn.?
?Which was what?? he asked.
?I would have reminded you of the man that you denied in order to swear loyalty to Palpatine,? she expained. ?You had brushes with that kind of influence many times, but after a time, it was more difficult to reach you.?
?So you stopped trying,? he guessed, not sure whether to feel guilty or abandoned.
She pulled back to regard him with the same kind of indescribably weary look that she had worn when he left her as a nine-year-old. ?I never stopped trying,? she stated. ?You simply stopped listening.?

and

She smiled faintly. ?That's one way of thinking of it,? she agreed, ?but more than anything, I missed you. I don't think I ever stopped missing you.?
The tears came then and he tightened his grip on her hand. ?I think we're even,? he replied.
She finally looked back to him and her hand moved to his cheek. ?I never stopped believing that you would return,? she whispered. ?Thank you for justifying my faith.?

Wow!

 

You're almost there, Ish! I see I've quite a few updates to catch up with here!

I loved Han's view of his in-laws:

As a rule, Han wasn't crazy about mingling with the Skywalkers. It wasn't that he held anything against them?Darth Dad being the exception for obvious reasons?but they had some annoying quirks. Luke liked to meddle in stuff that wasn't his business, Padme tended to be too observant for him and he couldn't get past the idea that Leia's Dad still wanted to freeze him in carbonite, Light Side or no, for corrupting his daughter.

Regarding Vader, he has no moral leg to stand on regarding Han's behaviour towards Leia!

A nice passage about him, Leia and Kaiya.

Within a few moments, she[Kaiya] was back to her usual amiable self and Leia was looking as if the ability to take care of one thing had saved her life.

Nice! I hope her parents tell her about this when she gets older.

Good old Han, finding somewhere private for them to talk:

There were not many places to hide out on a skyhook, but he had taken a wrong turn on the way to the 'fresher earlier and found a place that was supposed to be closed off to the public. Insulted by the idea, he had hotwired the door and found a private balcony.

Leia's smile became less strained as he repeated the process and he knew that she was either marveling that he still had the nerve to do such things or wondering how much trouble the Chief of State could get in for breaking and entering at her Jedi Knight brother's wedding reception. Either way, she seemed to be calmed down a bit by the distance from the party.

He gets the news:

?Something to do with the trial?? he asked.

?He wants to refuse the appeal.?

She was keeping her voice under control, so the statement came out more conversational than matter-of-fact, but it explained a lot about why she had looked so shell-shocked. His hand slid down the curve of her back and rested on her left hip, acting more as an anchor than anything.

?Can he??

?No,? she said flatly, shifting Kaiya to a more comfortable position. ?Legally they will go ahead with it whether he wants it or not. He can cooperate or not, but it's procedural and we're carrying over as a matter of precedent.?

?But he wants it,? he responded, ?and that's the point.?

?It undermines everything that I have worked to accomplish,? Leia replied in a biting tone. ?That is the least of what makes me...?

That was not a surprise to me, Ish; but this certainly was:

She trailed off and he saw her jaw tighten again. This time, she settled on a scowl. A moment later, though, it melted into a miserable expression.

?He wants me to do it.?

For a long moment, he held his breath, trying to figure out what it she meant. Finally, it clicked and he breathed out hard.

?That crazy rule of the Naboo where he can choose who he wants to kill him??

?Yes.?

?Another dumb question,? Han replied. ?Can he??

?It would do wonders for my political future,? Leia snapped. ?I'm the Chief of State who was crazy enough to defend him, but came to my senses and got rid of him when I got the chance.?

?But that's not what you care about.?

?Of course I care about that on a level,? she retorted. ?I want to have the constituents believe that I am capable of sound judgment. But sound judgment doesn't mean that I should be bloodthirsty.?

Anakin certainly wants to make sure that his daughter's reputation as Chief of State stays undamaged! Does this rule mean that the person selected has to kill him, or can the person refuse? It might be better if Anakin choses himself as the person who kills him, then commits suicide. Perhaps something a little like Socrates drinking hemlock?

I liked this bit about whether Luke knew about all this:

She stood, but he grabbed her a

 

I loved Anakins dream about his mom, so beautifully written, as well as Anakins letter to Leia. He pleads rather convincing concerning his odd wish. But it IS bizarre if they only reconcile through some kind of "euthanasia". It's a hard thing for Leia to do, but she must also face the consequenses, as she apparently supports the verdict, at least opposite the press. And why is Anakin kept in that awful prison, it's needless and cruel. Does the tribunal still mistrust him that much, in spite of his wish to sacrifice himself for the greater good, almost like Christ?
Is Padme allowed a last visit? I really missed a farewell scene. It's so sad that Padme tries to be brave and hide her true feelings.

 

RebelMom--I can't either and I'm definitely not Leia. They'll have a few more nights, but more piecemeal. As for the 'misgendering,' at least you're not like one reader of mine. Back in 2001, at my very first awards, I won an award and he mistook me for a man in the thread. He'd been reading my stuff for 8 months and had never realized I was a girl.

ShrunkenJedi--Yes, very interesting. You have to wonder what its intentions are. I'm glad you loved the letter. It took a lot of revisions. Thank you!

palpyisgod2--*hands over tissue* Well, at least you're not beating me anymore.

RK_Striker_JK_5--*sigh* Stop whining. It may be wrong, but in the end, it's her choice and she's doing it for her reasons. Thanks. Go bug her more!

JediNat--LOL, sure, pick on Anakin. YW.

Blue_Milkshake--I'm glad that was powerful. I've never written Shmi before in my life. Thanks!

Kevin_Solo--Why, hello there! Just a few updates, but you're here near the end. That still counts. I had fun with that view of his in-laws. Vader really has no moral leg to stand on, I agree. Poor guy. Glad you liked that part with him, Leia and Kaya. Undoubtedly, they'll tell her about that, if nothing else because it'll help her understand why the entire family's so messed up. Han is more likely to find a place to do something else if it's going to be private. Yes, he wants to do damage control, which is highly ironic given what he's asking her to do. No, the person has the right to refuse. I had not thought of him taking the Socrates way out. Interesting. I think the issue with that would be that they don't want him going into a hibernation trance where he would have the chance to play dead and then bring himself out of it. Glad you liked that bit about Luke. And the reference to ANH. I'm happy that you liked that description. It's really sad the way the dynamic has changed, but there really were catalysts. Very nasty stuff there. I agree that it was a fundamentally stupid thing of her to do. But then again, this story was inspired by how much I disagreed with a similar fic in which Leia is the only judge in his trial and therefore has complete control over his fate. That's way too dynastic for reality. Yes, good emoticons for that. Interesting idea that it was premeditated. No, it was not. You have pointed out well the reasons for thinking that. Yeah, she really does go pretty much all out there. What she did later is what I told you was a result of your tendency to find the ramifications of everything. Poor Padme indeed. Yes, she and Luke will definitely be the most affected by this. I don't think this was a political maneuver. He is very unstable at that point in terms of his emotional decisions and having it be a ploy is, in terms of this characterization, somewhat beyond him for now. Yes, that was a good plan, albeit foiled. They had more of a honeymoon than Leia did. LOL, I'm getting a lot of sympathy towards characters. Hooray! Glad you liked that description. It was one of the more fundamentally visual things I've written in this piece. Good point about Han not trying to kill Anakin. No, not surprising at all. That is exactly what's going to be the consequence of this. Leia definitely can't argue with that, as she says later in the story. I'm very glad the apology was a 'couldn't have done better' rather than a "oh, come on..." Ouf? Very emotional. LOL, why do you like the descriptions of her hair? I just don't usually hear that. I think only Vogue, People Magazine and InStyle will be concentrating on the new hairstyle. The closed hearing was more of a security measure than anything else. Glad the flashback turned out to be nice. The Padme/Breha understanding thing is something that I enjoyed. Well, not enjoyed, but I appreciate the difficulty of it. Yes, especially on that count. I think you meant Padme there, not Leia. Yes, she had bonded too much. *sigh* Recurring nasty. Yes, probably why they get on so well. Glad you liked Ha

 

Ish, thanks for taking the time to respond to my extensive comments on your last updates!

In answering my speculation about whether Anakin could have asked to kill himself, you said:

I had not thought of him taking the Socrates way out. Interesting. I think the issue with that would be that they don't want him going into a hibernation trance where he would have the chance to play dead and then bring himself out of it.

There are a couple of easy solutions to that difficulty: cremation; or chop the body up. The Evil Overlord List deals with this:

13. All slain enemies will be cremated, or at least have several rounds of ammunition emptied into them, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.

 

Of course. I really should have consulted the Evil Overlord list.

The response to your comments was 1579 words. The latest post on Wife of Deceit was 1329. Either I need to be less verbose or I need to write longer posts on WoD.

 

I've just finished re-reading and catching up since the last time I was on this story. And I have to say that it has been one incredible, heart-wrenching journey.

I personally could not have been strong enough to do what Leia's done and doing for her father. She has a courageous heart, and a sense of duty and love that does not allow her to be anything less than the person she is and thinks she could be.

Anakin's path here from the Dark to Light has been so muddied, and yet so clear. He truly regrets, but has known for some time now that justice has been done and his last year of life well spent. He could not ask for anything more - his family loves him. All that remains for him now is the execution and the judgement of the Force. And I think he'll face those with the same dignity that he has faced practically everything else in the last months of his life.

You've done a spectacular job with this story, and I'm looking forward to reading through to the end, no matter how difficult and heartbreaking it will be.

 

LOL, sure, pick on Anakin. I don't ALWAYS pick on Anakin, I can be good


-JediNat-

 

Note: While this is not yet going to be updated--Kateydidnt swears she'll be done by the 25th, don't forget that the trivia contest is still ongoing. We only have one entry and several of the questions were answered incorrectly. Enter now and thanks for your patience!

 

This story is NO LONGER held hostage!

Any further delays are the sole fault of the author.

 

Yay!!!

-JediNat-

 

Yes, and the author slogged through three pages of angst last night and is now to the more epiphany-centric stuff.

 

That's good to hear!

 

Anakin was no longer a physically expressive person. Twenty-four years behind a mask and a year under arrest had virtually eliminated his tendency to reach out with anything but the Force.

Today, however, his hands flexed against the bonds that shackled him the floor. His muscles ached with the same frenzied need to make a connection that he had often felt after Padme had sat in session at the court. It was a feeling that drove him to within a heartbeat of releasing himself in order to simply hold the daughter that he had never been able to adequately comfort.

The durasteel cuffs chafed at his wrists as he straightened his back, forcing himself to look at her. It was probably an unconscious choice that she had knelt in the Jedi meditation stance. That immediately quelled his instinct to question what she had felt in the Force.

?Have you told your husband??

She shook her head, her eyes clear and alert as if she had enjoyed the first good night's sleep in a year. ?I wanted you to be the first to know,? she explained. ?Luke and the others will be next.?

It went without saying that her mother fell into the category of ?the others? and that she had hesitated to mention the task of explaining this to Padme.

?What convinced you??

He could see a slight smile on Leia's face, the one that she wore when she recognized a thing's bittersweet flavor. ?I cannot pin the blame on any one thing,? she admitted, ?but I think that I finally agree with your idea of how I can free you.?

He had suspected that it would come to that, since nothing else in the letter would have resonated quite as deeply with her.

?Thank you,? he said quietly.

Leia nodded, but did not respond verbally. Instead, she let her fingertips brush his for just a moment, the closest that she could come to squeezing his hand. He extended his fingers to brush her palm. After a long moment, she simply smiled and withdrew her hand. The guard who had been set in place to prevent such a thing apparently recognized that there was nothing dangerous in that simple exchange of empathy and remained motionless.

?Will you tell your daughter??

She blinked in something like surprise?he suspected that she had not expected him to ask such a question, though she had probably considered it many times.

?Someday,? Leia murmured after a long moment of silence. ?I hope that she will never have to act against a man that she has loved and hated in equal parts, but I think that she will understand some of that suffering someday. If she ever doubts that I understand the need for unconventional courage, I will make sure that she knows what we asked of each other in this last year.?

He leaned forward, easing the pressure on his arms as well as drawing his gaze away from her face. Instead, he clasped his hands in either a pleading or prayerful posture.

?I can't remember you demanding something of me,? he countered.

?Not demanding, no,? Leia agreed, ?but I asked you do one important thing at the beginning.?

He recalled perfectly that thing, but it was more important to let her learn this story by heart now. ?What was that?? he asked.

?To trust me,? she remembered.

?And I have,? he informed her. ?I have not always kept my promise to do so, but I will for the remainder of my life.?

Finally, her smile reached her eyes. ?I will be telling the Tribunal at 1600,? she informed him. ?They will announce that the court has appointed an official, but they are not obligated at this time to release the name. Officially, that is for security purposes so that there will be no retaliation against that person.?

Even after a year, he still recognized that it was one of Leia's habits to become bureaucratic and no-nonsense when adequate words failed to express an emotion. He had last seen it on the night that he had struck her, but it most reminded him of the first night that she had come to explain the procedure of the trial to him.

?Do you??

?What??

?Curse me for being her.?

?No.?

?Do you think that you will ever m

 

First post, will be back.

Finished... *Exhales breath*

WOW. That was... I was legit tearing up a bit. So, she forgave him. So, it has ended...

*Applauds in RL* Ish, that was... so many good moments. Anakin... rest in peace.

 

very moving. nice ending. I guess Ani had to die.