Beyond - Legends NOTE FROM ISH 5/12--Lest Ye Be Judged--Vader War Crimes Trial

Oh, this is fascinating! Anakin or Vader? Which is he really? I can't wait to see this trial...it ought to be very interesting.

I love your characterizations of Luke and Leia so far...very well done, indeed.

Anxiously waiting for more of this!

 

Nice Anakin POV.

 

Good story Ishie...Anakin's POV is great, the trial should be interesting. (Judging by the title, I must wonder at the verdict )

 

The title refers both to the Republic as a whole, as well as the people I'm putting in charge of certain things. Especially the defense attorney. Will update this tonight, I hope!

 

I've been communing with the Force, Padawan."

"And what does the Force tell you, Master?"

"That you're hot-headed and I'm a glutton for punishment."

"But we already knew that."


LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I loved that line...


I also love Anakin's musings.... What I really want to know is Anakin's reaction to his daughter's suitor... hehehe


A. Windsor

 

It was taking everything he had just to reach for the light that the Force offered instead of the shadows he had basked in for over two decades.

I liked this line.


He was being a sentimental fool, returning to the heartsick Jedi Knight who had fallen in his own trap too many years ago, but it was the only remembrance of Anakin Skywalker that he clearly held in his heart.

*sniff* This is so sad.


"I didn't understand this until last night, when she decided to testify on your behalf..."

Did not expect that! I nearly fell out of my chair when I read this!


This was such a powerful post. You dealt so well with the many emotions they are struggling with at this point. Luke has forgiven his father but knows he may still have to pay for his crimes. Anakin wants to make amends but knows it will probably never be enough, and Leia, for lack of a better word, is hurting. Her feelings of betrayal seem to run deeper than Luke's. Yet, she still testified on his behalf. A tangled web indeed.

 

*paces back and forth, muttering*

Anakin, Anakin, Anakin... GO AWAY!!!

We likes Vader... We 'specially likes him when he kills Leia... But Leia is defending him... But... But...

*sigh*

You can't make me like her!!

Oh wait... Yes you can...

*groan* Mon, watch yourself... I just might... oh wait... you're already dead... doggon it....

 

Leia had left her cell defiant, the same obstinate princess who was the pride and distress of her father's life. Vader had made six of his 'courtesy visits' since her arrival, each one more aggressive.

But each one was more frustrated. She could sense it even without the powers that Vader abused to reach into her mind. She was winning each battle, even if it might cost her her mind.

Or her life.

It was becoming more difficult each time to recover from the sessions, even difficult to remain conscious. The repeated use of the mind-jagger left her weak and disoriented, too numb to feel the effects of the injuries he had inflicted. The greatest punishment had been a bewildering assault the third time he came, when she had clutched instinctively at a last vestige of protection--a simple necklace made of jappor that her father had given her just before leaving Alderaan.

When Vader had seen it, he'd flown into an uncontrolled rage, bellowing words she no longer remembered, attempting to beat the truth out of her, but she could not answer his questions to his satisfaction. She repeated the truth many times, but each repetition brought another blow until she spiraled into darkness.

When she awoke again, the necklace was gone. Perhaps he wanted to take even that protection. Perhaps he just wanted it destroyed.

It never occurred to her that he wanted it himself.

The sessions continued, only stopping when her mind, unable to handle more of the drugs, brought on a seizure. The medic thankfully summoned had conceded that if Vader persisted in his efforts another day, she would most likely die.

"No, Princess, you will not die. You will wish for death a thousand times over, but I will deprive you of that luxury until I have the truth."[/i]

So she was left alone for an undetermined amount of time. Healing was left to her body's natural efforts, since Vader wanted her alive, not comfortable, but she at least garnered strength. The broken bones had been set and mended, the swelling reduced. The only signs of what she had endured were her swollen extremities, the difficulty she had moving, the inability to concentrate her mind, the bruises, and the gash.

It was a fairly thin, deep laceration across her high right cheekbone that had been inflicted amid her shrieked insistences that her father had given her the necklace, nothing more. Bacta would have cured it in a thrice, but Vader insisted that she be afforded no such luxuries, so it was simply stitched together and left to itself. She would have a scar on her face as well as her soul for things she could not explain.

So, when Vader returned the seventh time, she was expecting more abuse. She had recovered some strength, but a part of her silently prayed to whatever powers were in her favor to let her die quickly.

But death did not appear to be in the cards that day. Instead, she was hauled to her feet and bound for the journey to an observation gallery.

She bore herself proudly as her father had taught her, but as her birthright had instilled as instinct. She was the daughter of noble heritage, one who would never surrender.

But the events that followed had nearly brought her to surrender. In the moments following the destruction of her family, her world, everything she had and was, she had flown into a rage, lunging madly for Tarkin's neck, hands clawed to rip the life from him.

But instead, Vader insulted her further, pinning her emphatically against himself as her arms strained uselessly and her legs kicked like a child deprived of every last comfort.

She did not speak, did not hurl epithets or grand declarations, did not even make a sound after the first few moments in which she screamed with every energy she had left.

Finally, Vader released her to fall to the floor, where she sobbing so hard that her entire form was jerking violently with the force of her grief.[/i]

"A Princess never allows the enemy to see that which lies beneath."

The High Princess of Alderaan died with her world. I mourn for ever

 

Updated. Hope you guys liked that, hope you like the surprise defense attorney. This is going to be a real mess of a story.

 

That's a surprising turn. Is Leia even qualified to be an attorney? this should be really interesting. Yeah, mess does come to mind.

 

*delurks*

Wow, this is some great stuff. Loved how that last update ended, love the allusions to Padme throughout. The necklace - the one he gave her way back when in Ep. 1? Nice.

Keep it up!

 

*grits teeth and strives to keep from ripping Leia's head off*

OOooooooooooo.... Thank you for that post. It has reaffirmed my hatedred for Leia and for Mon Mothma.

Poor Vader!!!

 

(Staring speechlessly with glazed eyeballs)

Oh my God...Darth Ish, you have SO whooped my @$$ on this subject. I think I'm going off to rip my story to shreds now...

Seriously, this is coming off to be one hell of a gem--stunning work. Keep the posts coming or I'll have to get after ya...

 

Pariah! Don't talk like that! ::goes to read whatever she supposedly whupped just to confirm her suspicions.::

 

Leia is the defense attorney?! Very interesting plot twist!!

I especially liked the interaction between Leia and Vader at the end of the post. Vader is haunted by the reminders of Padme he sees in Leia. Athough she probably wouldn't admit it, I think Leia has a need to hear more about her mother, even if Vader is the source.

 

Hi, DarthIshtar,

I just found this story, and it's stunning. I love AUs where Anakin survives, although it sounds like he's going to be in for a tough time.

There were some great, haunting moments between Anakin/Vader and his children. Leia being the defense attorney caught me by surprise totally. I'm very curious to see what happens next.

Kristeh

 

Yay! A new reader! Thanks for coming. I'm glad you're liking this, because I've wanted to write this for a long time, but never had the energy or enough ideas, but I feel like I've progressed enough to do it. Glad everyone's enjoying. I thought having Leia as defense would be bittersweet irony.

 

Thats great Ish.
And judging from the tittle, Ani will be bringing up things he knows about cetain rebels *cough*Fel'Ya*cough*


Feel free to PM me upon updates

 

Parts I liked:

Luke was instantly awake, senses not embracing him so much as hanging on for dear life.

"That you're hot-headed and I'm a glutton for punishment."

"But we already knew that."

He was being a sentimental fool, returning to the heartsick Jedi Knight who had fallen in his own trap too many years ago, but it was the only remembrance of Anakin Skywalker that he clearly held in his heart.

"We were wondering if you had simply died and we had been too busy to notice."

More surprising, though, was the second wave, when his thoughts turned not to past injuries, but the past of seeing Leia hurt too many times.

Perhaps those would be sufficient fuel for Anakin's nightmares in the days ahead.




She was winning each battle, even if it might cost her her mind. Or her life.

You will wish for death a thousand times over, but I will deprive you of that luxury until I have the truth?.(Interesting concept that death is an escape from troubles)

He did not speak, only watched her with a maddening intensity she swore she could sense behind the lifeless eyeshields. She could imagine his smirk, the gloating pride of seeing a prey broken and ready for the kill.

"It was not my doing that destroyed Alderaan," he said mildly. Maddeningly enough, there was no lie in the statement?.good point. Never thought about this before.

(Sometimes though I think about whether the events which took place in the Empire Age would have taken place if Anakin became Vader or not, and I concluded that Vader was just one of the many evils of the Empire, and Palpatine was the primary evil behind everything)

I liked that conversation between Vader and Leia. It had a nice mixture of elements and emotions. Sort of as if they were both holding ground against each other, but still felt that they had much in common, and there was serious things to discuss, as well as the overlying father/daughter theme.

He looked away once more to the viewport, finding, perhaps, solace in the constancy of the stars as she did?..nice.

 

thanks, KoS.

 

This is one of those- the-title-of-the-thread-caught-my-eye-and-now-I-HAVE-to-read-it-fics.

Will be back later after I catch up

 

First off- thank you for putting this in the Beyond the Saga forum. It seems like people like to just automatically stick all stories that take place directly after ROTJ in the saga boards. I think it's a great idea to have more variety over here

This is a fabulous piece so far. I love the intense levels of angst, anger, and sorrow that you've put upon Leia. Her bitterness, rage, and confusion are understandable and dead on.

Luke's acceptance is also perfect. Only he is compassionate enough to see past Anakin's awful past and blindly love him.

I just loved Ani's line: "By whom? I don't believe that those in insane asylums qualify for a court of law and an Imperial officer would not be trusted to..."

That sounds like something Anakin would say.

And the final scene of your last post reminds me of the balcony scene with the roles reversed.

I can't wait for more! Brilliant work Ishtar!

 

::Trying to remember if balcony scene refers to AOTC or Romeo and Juliet.:: Thanks, PLJ. I realized that no one would notice New Republic AU because everything seems to be one, so I'd put my subtitle up. I think Luke accepts because he finally sees that he had the same potential and nearly came to use it at one point and he knows who his father once was.

 

LOL- AOTC balcony scene- not Romeo and Juliet

Nobody's swooning here

 

Sorry, I just got out of my BritLit class and my Mythology teacher is using shakespeare left and right at the most random moments, so I think EVERYTHING relates to dead Englishmen!