Saga Note 5/30--The Ties That Bind--OT AU-Padme joins Vader, mayhem does ensue

Hi, all, if anyone recognizes this title in connection with me, yes, this has been used before. In fact, I got 185 pages into the story, then realized that I just couldn't make it work anymore because some of the writing just went horribly wrong. So, instead, I decided that as soon as I finished "Message to My Daughter", I would begin rewriting the whole thing, including some plot points.

And for anyone who notices that sort of thing, this will sound like By the Grace of Lady Vader, but I started writing this before I even heard of that. It's my unfortunate lot to always come up with the same ideas as another Bostonian library worker on these boards (ex-mod JediGaladriel). And she always does it better, but I like to do my version anyway.

TITLE: The Ties That Bind
Author: DarthIshtar
Timeframe: ANH-ROTJ (except the prologue)
Characters: Mostly A/A, H/L, L/L, lots of OCs.
Summary: What would have happened if Padme joined forces with Lord Vader to bring their children home.

 

I like the idea, and I can't wait to see how you write it!

JS

 

well, so far the prologue is 6 pages long.

 

PROLOGUE

In the dark madness of Ziost VII, the prisoners would say anything to escape the prison of their minds. The place never slept because someone was always awake, tormented by what came when sleep fell upon them. The place was never silent because the desperation was contagious and one howl of anguish fed off another's delirious ranting.

They said that all prisoners who came here were guaranteed two things: a life sentence and a swift descent into madness.

Prisoner 112938 was deprived of both.

No one could quite pinpoint the date when she had been brought here and it was often joked that she was no prisoner. Perhaps she was a figment of their imaginations, drawn from the shadows of the camp by delirium and too many days without sunlight.

For all she spoke, she might have been a ghost. Hers was the only cell that remained silent for most of her stay. Perhaps she had gone mad and simply sat in catatonic silence while the rest of her compatriots cried out for vengeance.

Or perhaps she was the only one, guards included, who had somehow kept her head. Perhaps it was because she'd seen more madness than this before coming to Ziost.

Whatever the case may have been, she was rarely seen and even more rarely remembered.

Every inmate was an enemy to the Empire in some way, a threat to the stability of the New Order because of their ideas or their insurrectionist tendencies.

The place where they kept 112938 was reserved for those who were more personal enemies of the Emperor. They were too dangerous to live, but they were too valuable to his more sinister purposes to perish.

Instead, they lingered somewhere between life and death, unsure of which they preferred.

There were few clues as to who she was, since the file was classified and no one dared to ask many questions. She kept silent most of the time and their life-sign monitors showed that she rarely slept.

When she did sleep, half the compound was aware because of the wracking sobs that seemed impossibly strong for a woman so small, but the force of her grief was much stronger.

There were names, half-garbled by the tears, and indistinct phrases that could have been phrases in another language or simply nonsense. The most common ones were ?Luke,? ?Ani,? and ?tsika ma.?

Nonsense syllables, but most of what was spoken by the night terrors was just that.

Most of the prisoners could only mark the passage of time by the frequency of their neighbors? nightmares, but there was one thing that remained constant enough for them to gauge their sentence.

Once a year, inspections took place, a cruel mimicry of interest in their welfare that was usually carried out by some disgraced officer who was dispensable enough to risk contacting the madmen of the Empire.

They usually waltzed through, ordering deaths for those who were too feeble to survive until the next inspection so they would not waste any more of the Empire's valuable resources. Each of those who were still sane enough to realize what was going on secretly hoped that they would be among the condemned. The inspection would take a matter of hours, only enough time to see each of the twenty-four hundred prisoners in a passing glance and restrict the budget again.

This year, however, General Panaka stopped midway through the inspection, staring blankly at the face of 112938, looking as though he'd seen a ghost.

And then he struck out.

His fist aimed directly for her nose, but her skeletal right arm came up with surprising speed as she knocked it off course, then hooked her elbow over the wrist joint and bent him towards the ground, his arm pinned at an unnatural angle.

One of the guards fired impulsively, and she managed to shy away enough that it only pierced the skin just below her right collarbone, but it let her drop the General.

"Stop!" he barked. "It was a test, nothing more."

She stood, implacable as ever, her eyes dead and uncaring. She might have not moved at all, but the fact remained that for five seconds, the General had finally gotten

 

I'm so glad this is being continued... er, redone. I was enjoying this one the first time, so I'll be looking forward to more.

 

Well, this one is going to be very, very different in several ways. You'll see what I mean after the first couple of posts.

 

This has the potential to be quite interesting. I'll just sit back and wait for more. Keep it up.

 

Thanks, Jedi_BMK. I hope to update this tonight, since the prologue was just part of what I have drafted.

 

Dude, can we say Jerry Springer??

 

Great prologue, DarthIshtar! More, please!

 

oh wow!this is looking to be really good!
can't wait for your next update!!

 

ThePariah--Dude, can we say Jerry Springer??

Next on Jerry clan Springerakh, "My mommy lets my daddy blow up my planet! Celebrity kids tell it all."

And to reply, YOU HAVE NO FRIKKING IDEA.


Geith_Jiseo--Great prologue, DarthIshtar! More, please!

Thanks. I had an unexpected excursion, so I'm just sitting down to write tonight and this is second on my list. Will do it, though.

searth_99--oh wow!this is looking to be really good!
can't wait for your next update!!

Yay, I love getting enthusiastic readers. I really appreciate you checking this out.

 

Amazing start! I will be hanging on until the next post!

 

Thanks for thinking it amazing.

 

I'm a big proponent of telling stories that have been told before because they haven't been told by you, and the teller always makes the difference. In other words, just because JG has done something similar is no reason for you not to write this story. In fact, I think you'll have several angry people if you decide to let that stop you.

I agree with the others that this is an interesting/intriguing first post. And I personally can't wait to see what happens next. My only request is that you don't italicize the prologue. I mean, it's six pages! and it gets hard on the eyes after awhile. Just something to consider...

 

TrinityDay--I'm a big proponent of telling stories that have been told before because they haven't been told by you, and the teller always makes the difference. In other words, just because JG has done something similar is no reason for you not to write this story. In fact, I think you'll have several angry people if you decide to let that stop you.

I haven't let it stop me for 650 pages (400 of one, 250 of another) or more, so I think I'll keep going. I just got some flak last time for being a perpetual copycat, they called it, so wanted to give that disclaimer before it could happen again.

I agree with the others that this is an interesting/intriguing first post. And I personally can't wait to see what happens next. My only request is that you don't italicize the prologue. I mean, it's six pages! and it gets hard on the eyes after awhile. Just something to consider...

Sorry. This story is going to take place in a couple of different time frames, requiring dream sequences, flashbacks, and visions, so because the prologue is the flashback of the current time of the story, I put it in the format that I'd be using for the aforementioned categories--italicized. I'll try to keep them broken up with some non-italics stuff to not give everyone a headache. Thanks for bringing that to my attention and I'm glad you agree with the general consensus of liking this story.

 

so it's leia that survived. . . or so Padme wants us to think at this point. . . or maybe she doesn't know. . .

 

Very interesting prologue. I like the fact that you didn't have Padme and Vader flying back into each other's arms immediately. Will be nice to see how you develop their new relationship and how they will or won't work out their previous differences in their search for Leia. You've definitely caught my attention and I anxiously await more .

 

maramijade--so it's leia that survived. . . or so Padme wants us to think at this point. . . or maybe she doesn't know. . .

You've guessed all the possibilities, all right. Be assured that Leia is not an only child. When Vader finds this out, however, is something to be seen by you guys.

JediMasterRev--Very interesting prologue. I like the fact that you didn't have Padme and Vader flying back into each other's arms immediately. Will be nice to see how you develop their new relationship and how they will or won't work out their previous differences in their search for Leia. You've definitely caught my attention and I anxiously await more .

I started writing this fairly soon after I had written a story called All the Wrong Places. In that, I had Anakin beat and rape his wife when he suspects that she's being unfaithful to him with Obi-Wan, then when he comes back as Vader and she's pregnant, he nearly kills her both by beating and then by setting the Palace on fire. In the end, he hunts her down and she takes up Anakin's lightsaber and duels him and ends up half-decapitated as she dies in his arms.

So, when I started writing this...I didn't think there would be much of a happy-go-lucky relationship between them if my twisted imagination served me right. As it is, I figured that there were very good reasons that Padme hid herself from Vader and those would stand in the way of her trusting him initially. She would accept the rescue out of desperation, but it would be a very conditional coexistence. You'll see what I mean.

Anyway, enough rambling. I'm glad you liked.

 

Loved it! Not liked.
It's good to see this baby again.. Both it and By the Grace of Lady Vader are longtime faves of mine. Impatiently waiting for more!!!

 

I'm pretty sure I was reading the first one. My memory lately has took a vacation. That and I have read so many different stories here and in other fandom's I keep forgetting stories I've read. Some times I find stories and think it's the first time I've read them to find I have left feedback from them lol.

This is to a great start and I can't wait for more. I will try to leave feedback often.

 

Ana_Labris--Loved it! Not liked.

Well, that's flattering. Thanks.

It's good to see this baby again.. Both it and By the Grace of Lady Vader are longtime faves of mine. Impatiently waiting for more!!!

After I got 50 pages of this written, I read By the Grace of Lady Vader and was so depressed at how good it was that I nearly stopped writing it because I didn't want to compete. But it lives again.

Jeditheskyisblue--I'm pretty sure I was reading the first one. My memory lately has took a vacation. That and I have read so many different stories here and in other fandom's I keep forgetting stories I've read. Some times I find stories and think it's the first time I've read them to find I have left feedback from them lol.

I seem to remember you from the original. I know what you mean about mind-vacations due to overload.

This is to a great start and I can't wait for more. I will try to leave feedback often.

To the both of you, since you're old readers: there will be a very crucial plot difference that you'll see starting with the next post.

 

I can say that is good news, DarthIshtar. And even if it is flattering it's not flattery.

 

LOL.

 

Okay, I'm working on a post, but it might not be up until later tonight because I've got choir rehearsal from 8 to goshknowswhen.