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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Beyond - Legends Shaded Prism: Drabble Series (UDC 5)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by DaenaBenjen42, Jan 25, 2011.

  1. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    My first squee for the year comes now! SQUEEE! Her first name is gorgeous but the last names are rather a mouthful LOL Loved Irek's assurances.
     
  2. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Nyota's Heart: Her full name: Ptarmaia Arellia Jade Calrissian. (Mouthful? Totally.) Your first squee of the year? Thank you! **hugs**!!!

    Kahara: Thank you. :)



    Week Eight (July 5, 2010) - UDC 5


    36. Ducks


    She unwrapped the gift only to stare at the bag with the strange animal-like designs on it. turning it over in her hands and examining it, she wasn't sure what to make of it. "Um..."

    "It's a diaper bag, Mara."

    Mara glanced at Elsie with a frown. "Then what are the markings?"

    Elsie smiled and produced a holo for Mara to look at. "Ducks. An aquatic animal from home. I apologize for the confusion."

    Mara took the holo and studied the animal pictured there. After a minute or two, she smiled. "Oh! It's very..."

    "Cute?"

    "Yes."


    37. Money


    She found her son sitting in the living room on the floor, staring at a broken vase after hearing a crash. "Jacen?"

    "I'm sorry!" Jacen wailed and buried his face in his hands.

    She joined him on the floor and made him look at her. "Stop that. Did you mean to do it?"

    "No," he said immediately.

    "Good. Now help me clean it up."

    "Okay!"

    Leia turned to find Han watching them with a concerned smile, and she shrugged. Vases could be replaced, people could not, and that one shouldn't have been where children could topple it anyway.


    38. Uncle


    Han entered the living room to find his children and Ben playing with a girl he'd never seen before that reminded him of Mara, who was wearing a brown jump suit, and couldn't help but stare at her and how natural it seemed that she was there. Who...? "Um..."

    "Uncle Han!!!!" She yelled, and came over to hug his leg tightly.

    He stared down at her, speechless. Uncle?!? This was his niece? Since when? Riana wasn't this old and he'd never seen her wear brown!

    Luke's laughter behind him did nothing to explain the situation.


    39. Gizmo


    The yellow ball with multi-colored protrusions was another confusing thing that had to be set aside for an explanation, and now Mara was having to supress her laughter as she watched Ben crawl all over the room after it trying to catch it. He nearly did several times, only to lose his grip and have to chase after it again.

    Chris had called it a "Bumble Ball", explained how to turn it on and off, given her three sets of "batteries", winked, and told her to have fun. She still wasn't sure why exactly he'd also given her a "screw driver" when she already had a hydrospanner...


    40. Tales


    It was a story the children always liked, Luke reflected as he pulled it from the shelf and pondered what to read for bedtime stories that evening. Whatever the reason, they always liked the one about the girl who went through adversity to find her friend who had been kidnapped by a snow queen.

    Not all stories were about lost Bantha cubs, nor should they be...
     
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  3. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Loved the family moments. :) The everydayness of the diaper bag with ducks, the telling of tales, and the bumble ball, and even the breaking of vases. Leia's right. Vases can be replaced.
     
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  4. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Nyota's Heart: In regard to the Bumble Ball... my nephew loved that thing when he was little, and I could see Chris and Elsie being indulgent pseudo grandparents if they were going to be sticking around. Thank you! :)

    Kahara: Thank you! :)


    Week 8 (08.25.06) - UDC 1 - Ailee Hallan (...slightly AU for Ever and Always)


    36. broken


    Mara woke to the aroma of Caf and couldn't help but want some as she looked around her hospital room to find a very familiar medic reading a datapad next to her bed. She stared at the woman, wondering why she was there... "Ailee?"

    Ailee glanced at her, smiled, and took a sip of caf before setting down on the roll-away table next to her. "Hey there. Glad you're awake."

    "What are you...?"

    She held up the datapad. "Reviewing your chart. If I'd let our neuro-specialist interview you for psych, you'd likely end up injuring him. He can be... rude."


    37. fixed


    Mara continued to stare at her. "Interview me...?"

    Ailee nodded. "Evaluate you, actually."

    "Why?"

    Ailee paused and studied her for a long minute, then set the datapad down, plucked a pad of flimsy out of her pocket, and made several notations. "Right. The eval is for your mental health, whatever it happens to be right now. How do you feel?"

    Mara sat up and winced as she moved. "Sore. Do you really need to interview me?"

    "I really do. And given that I had to kick Skywalker out and make him go eat something, I'd say I can guess most of the answers on this survey."

    Mara blinked, and then laughed for the first time in days.


    38. light


    Mara eyed the cup of caf just of out reach on the roll-away table longingly and Ailee followed her gaze. "I can't give you that, you know. Much as I'd love to, you're still on a restricted diet."

    "Smells good. Better than the liquid stuff I've been getting."

    Ailee smiled genuinely. "I know, and I'm tempted to smuggle in restaurant food for you. Only... I'm not your doctor and the nurse assigned to you can be somewhat scary."

    "Only somewhat?"

    "All right... so she reminds me of my mother."


    39. dark


    When Ailee checked in on Mara again, she wasn't at all surprised to find him sleeping in the uncomfortable chair next to her bed while Mara watched him. "You'd almost think he didn't sleep in months."

    "I don't think he did," Mara replied softly. She looked at the medic questioningly. "Did you interview him, too?"

    Ailee shook her head. "No, but I'm starting to think I should." She cautiously reached over and shook him awake. "Come on. We need to talk, Skywalker."

    "Huh?" Luke asked sleepily. "What for?"


    40. shattered


    When Ailee returned alone to Mara's room, she wasn't smiling. Mara frowned. "That bad?"

    "Different degrees of bad, and I've seen worse," the medic answered truthfully. "Sent him home with his brother-in-law for some family time."

    Mara nodded. "Thank you."

    "Oh, and here." Ailee set the cup of caf on the roll-away table and positioned it in front on Mara. "Your doctor cleared this for you."

    "You're kidding."

    "Nope. Drink up."

    Mara did, and savored every last sip.
     
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  5. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    I enjoyed that-- how each scene flowed into the next so seamlessly. Ailee is really more of a good confidante and/or friend, than a scary (or pushy) professional. Very sympathetic and does what's best for the patient and their loved ones. :) (Luke and his vigils) [face_love]
     
  6. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Nyota's Heart: Ah, the healing power of a cup of coffee... Thank you. :) (And as for Luke being on vigils... it just seems so in character for him, you know?)


    Week 8 (11.12.07) - UDC 2 - Iriana Janson


    36. Sullustan


    She hated leftover night. Really and truly hated it, as dinner ended up being a mishmash of things in odd combinations that reminded her of a bad camping trip gone awry. Why her parents insisted on leftover Sullustan Mushrooms, that weren't exactly edible to begin with, she didn't know, but... no. She'd never make her kids have nights like this. Not ever.

    "Really, now... stop playing with your food, Iriana. It's even worse cold."

    "Food should just not be that shade of yellow," she muttered. "Why do you buy those things again?"

    Both parents chuckled, and her mother replied: "When you've been on military rations, everything is good."


    37. Bothan


    Roganda glanced down at her daughter as they sat through a boring but elegant ceremony for the installment of Borsk Fey'lya as Chief of State, noticing how withdrawn she seemed. It was odd... usually, she liked political functions like this where she got to wear dresses that she normally wouldn't get to wear. "Iri?"

    "Why is that guy going to be president?" Iriana asked her quietly. "He's mean!"

    She had to resist the sudden urge to outright laugh at that accurate assessment. "He probably won't be that bad..."


    38. Human


    "So how did you and Dad meet?"

    Roganda frowned as she set the knife down on the cutting board and looked at her daughter. "Why do you ask?"

    Iriana shrugged. "I'm curious. Is there a better reason?"

    Roganda smiled and resumed her chopping of a vegetable with the knife. "Technically, your Uncle Han introduced us, and then your father tackled me as I was punching a wall."

    "Huh?"

    "It's complicated."

    "What does punching a wall have to do with anything?"

    "Rather a lot, really. It was a very icy wall on Hoth, and for reasons I'm not going to explain right now, I was very upset." She set the knife down and scooped the vegetable pieces into a bowl, then stared at it. "We had our first real talk while my hands were in a bacta bath. Never punch an icy wall, Iri. It hurts."


    39. Mon Calamari


    They were supposed to be on their way to a conference on Mon Calimari, but her mother had insisted they stop on this particular planet and go sight-seeing. Standing across the street from a local medical clinic, Iriana frowned. "Why this place?"

    "You wanted to know about your father an I," her mother answered, nodding to the building. "The path that led to our getting together started right there."

    "Huh?"

    Roganda stared for a long, long minute at the building before looking at her. "There are moments in your life that change you, that set the course for who you become. That day was mine. There was an earthquake, and... a death."

    "A death?"

    As they walked away from the building and down the street, Roganda nodded. "It was hard."

    "Is that why you were punching an icy wall and Dad had to tackle you?"

    "Yes."


    40. Wookiee


    Han found Iriana and Chewie studying a holo being projected from the surface of the game table and couldn't help but stare and wonder when during the several days of that particular trip that the Wookiee had had a holocamera. The holo was of Roganda sitting with Irek, playing a word vocabulary game. Maybe it didn't matter how the recording happened, just that it did. "Oh."

    At the sound of his voice, Iriana turned and looked at him. "I asked Chewie about my mother, he showed me this. Did I... have a brother?"

    Han took a deep breath and nodded slowly. Talking about it was hard, even for him, and he hadn't known Irek that well to start with. "Older half brother, actually. It's..."

    "One of those hard things?"

    "Yes."

    Iriana looked again at the holo of her mother and the little boy. "Some of the details of how she met Dad make sense now. I think, anyway."

    Despite himself, Han chuckled as he shared a knowing glance with his copilot.
     
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  7. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Excellent drabbles, showing a child's natural curiosity & Roganda's frank but careful explanations. Liked as well Han's gentle revelation and that he misses Irek, though he didn't know him that well/long. @};- Iriana shows a quick and compassionate insightfulness. She is not pushy with her wanting to know, either. :)

    ~!

    Got tickled by the universal exchange about the color of vegetables, etc. And had a good :D at the commentary on Fey'lya. :p
     
  8. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Nyota's Heart: I was trying for a teenager who knows there is more going on than what everybody is willing to tell her. Glad that came across. :) Thank you!


    A/N: It's totally time for a Pet Set...


    Week 8 - 10/19/08 - prompts provided by KELIA - UDC 3 - AT-AV


    36. Chancellor


    It was early morning on Hoth when Leia answered a summons at her door to find Mon Mothma standing there with a very familiar Pitten in her arms. Blinking in surprise, Leia took her. "I didn't even realize she'd gotten out!"

    Mon Mothma smiled. "She was keeping the techs company." She turned to go, looked at Leia again. "You do realize I have to deny any knowledge of the incident in the duty logs now, yes?"

    Leia nodded slowly. "We could just make her an honorary tech."

    That day's log included: "Commander AT-AV served overnight duty-shift."


    37. Queen


    Luke woke to find AT-AV sleeping on his chest while Leia sat next to his bed reading a datapad, and couldn't help but stare at the Pitten. Of all the... "Leia?"

    "You were having nightmares," Leia told him with frank sincerity as she put the datapad in her pocket. "AT-AV's purring was what calmed you down. Good..." Here she glanced at her wrist chrono. "Actually, it's afternoon. You slept through breakfast and lunch."

    "Will she let me move?"

    Leia's lips quirked. "Probably. Why? Going somewhere before the medical droid releases you?"


    38. Senator


    In going over logs left behind when the Rebels had to flee Hoth, techs found repeated mentions of a "Commander AT-AV" and were left to wonder what or who would call themselves an All Terrain Attack Vehicle. It wasn't until they got to the medical logs where there again was a mention of this mystery person calming a Rebel's nightmares by purring that it made any sense at all... not a person, but rather Princess Senator Organa's cat and, apparently, Echo Base's Mascot. The other entries still made no sense, as how could a cat serve a tech's duty shift?


    39. Aide


    It is years since helping catalog and log everything from the evacuated former Rebel Base that he meets her, and the former tech, now a Senatorial Aide can't help but look at this woman and wonder about her taste in naming pets.

    Finally, she looks at him, questions in her eyes. "What?"

    "Did AT-AV make it off of Hoth?"

    She stares at him for a moment before smiling. "Yes. How do you know about AT-AV?"

    The story he tells her leads to sharing between two people who had been on different sides.


    40. Guard


    He's still recovering from being blind when something hops up onto his lap, startling him, and Han opens his eyes to find AT-AV making herself at home in his lap. He chuckles, scratches behind an ear. "Hello to you too."

    "I missed you more than she did," Leia told him as she sat down next to him, smiling.

    "If you're here, then who is piloting?"

    "Lando, under Chewie's supervision."

    "Ah."

    They sat there for a while, letting AT-AV's purring lull them into relaxing after all they'd been through.
     
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  9. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    Really enjoying these drabbles. :D I'm only passingly familiar with the variety of AU's that you have set up, but many of the ideas are enchanting -- Leia having a cat, Roganda Ismaren with a new start in life, Irek growing up in a better place, Ptarmaia. They're inventive and the characterization is interesting.
     
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  10. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    =D= Enjoyed Queen and Guard most. The relaxing effects and the relief surrounding recovering Luke and Han.
     
  11. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Kahara: Thank you. :)

    Nyota's Heart: Um-hmm... if anyone needed a cat on his chest right then, it was Luke. Thank you! :)



    Week 8 - 5/25/09 - UDC 4 - Mara and Lando...


    36. A Little Bit of This


    He was teaching her to waltz in their living room, forcing her to trust him as they slowly spun and twirled and sashayed around the room that had been cleared of furniture. The rule was that she couldn't watch his feet and couldn't step on his toes, the rest was about learning each other without words involved, only music and movement.

    Grinning, she took the lead effortlessly and showed him some moves of her own, and he countered. She did it again and he countered again, and then led once more.

    They danced like that for hours.


    37. Anything But That


    "What about this?" he asked, holding up a silver jumpsuit. "I've never seen you in it."

    She stared at the garment, at once taken aback. "You never will, at this rate."

    "Why not?"

    The smile she furnished on him was mysterious. "That was for an... assignment."

    "Oh?"

    "Yes."

    "What kind?"

    "Does it matter?" His silence was answer enough and she sighed. "Some things are best left forgotten. You know this. Now put it back where you found it."

    "Not until you explain what it is that has you speaking in riddles."

    She was silent again as she crossed the room to join him, taking it out of his hands. "Had you been a different sort of man, you'd know the answer already." And then she kissed him.


    38. Not For Nothing


    Across the cleared landing area at the base of the Great Temple, she watched him as he said goodbye to their daughter before boarding his ship without even a glance in her direction. There were times when she wished she could go back to what they'd had, to dancing in the living room on Bespin... and then there were days like today when she was glad to see him leave. Glad he would and could entrust their daughter to her care for training as a Jedi.

    Taking a deep breath, Mara walked to her and took her hand. "Come on."


    39. Everything Else


    At the touch of her birthmother's hand, Ptarmaia startled. "What?"

    "It's nearly time for lunch," the woman told her gently. "And Luke will be wanting to see you. He hasn't seen you in ages."

    Ptarmaia sighed. It was true, partly, she reflected as she followed her birthmother into the Temple through the hangar bay. Her break between training semesters had been months instead of weeks due to a crisis that had erupted. She did wonder, of course, why the man hadn't joined her mother to greet her.


    40. What Matters Most


    He could see it in her posture, the tenseness that signaled she had something to tell him and he wasn't going to like it. The only question was... what? And why had she come in person, all the way from Yavin? "Just tell me, would you?"

    Mara sighed. "You're not going to like it."

    "Now you're just making me nervous, Mara."

    "Your little girl and Han and Leia's adopted son have fallen in love."

    Of all the things... "What? You came all the way here to tell me that?!?"

    "She kissed him first," Mara told him indulgently. "Takes after you. And no, I didn't come all the way here just to tell you that. I was in the area."
     
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  12. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Got this thread on 'watch' now that it's being updated regularly. :)

    The first two made me squee! The next one - wow, something seems to be ending. :( The next two -- the two of them are figuring out how to connect again... especially in the final one. Sounds like Mara is looking for a reason to see him again. [face_thinking] Oh, what an AU fraught with meanings and unspoken things. [face_batting]
     
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  13. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Nyota's Heart: I think there's a sort of friendship going on there between them, and Lando won her heart only to lose her somehow, because she ended up with Luke. (Same AU as Week Two, UDC 4, different POV.) And... yeah. Lots and lots going on there. Thank you. :)

    And... *glances down at bottom of posts...* Oh! Thank you, Kahara!


    Week Nine (July 12, 2010) - UDC 5 - Death Comes to YavinIV (AU: Wanting To Know)


    41. Murder


    Like was simple for the animals of the Great Temple on YavinIV. They hunted, fed, preyed, lived in hallways and corridors and rooms. And then one day, the Black Hunter arrived, and one by one, their number dwindled. The Black Hunter was ever vigilant, always on the lookout for one of them to scurry by, to pounce on them unsuspecting, claws and teeth ever at the ready.

    Life was no longer simple. They had become the prey rather than the hunters. The Black Hunter now ruled the Great Temple.


    42. Mystery


    Her first morning on YavinIV started with a dead lizard outside her door and her companion staring up at her before walking away, tail waving jauntily in the air. Mara stared at the lizard for a full minute before sighing and going to get a trash bag to clean up the remains.

    Task done, she went in search of the Spukamas, only to realize that Dark Star had been busy. There were lizards at nearly every door she passed.

    When Luke caught up to her, she was busy cleaning up one too many of the things and wondering at the odd behavior.


    43. Writer


    Studying was boring, Ailee reflected as she set down the datapad and stood up to stretch. Boring, but interesting. Slowly making her way down the stairs of the raised stage, she paused at the sight of the dead lizard laying at the bottom. Slowly, she turned to see where Dark Star was, and found her chasing something off in the corner. "I wonder if Mara knows what the meaning of her leaving gifts like that is..."

    Ailee shrugged, stepped over the lizard, and proceeded to run around the room to get the tension out of her stiff muscles. Eventually, she returned to her seat next to the comatose Jedi on the stage. She wasn't surprised to find another lizard laying next to him.


    44. Retired


    At the sight of the lizard, Mara chuckled and pulled out a trash bag from her pocket. "Figures."

    Ailee blinked. "You... keep a trashbag in your pocket?"

    "She keeps leaving presents."

    "Oh." Ailee watched as Mara deftly picked up the so-called presents with now-practiced unease. "Has she ever done it before?"

    "Not since I've had her. We're usually on my ship, or the Wild Karrde."

    Ailee laughed and reached over to pet Dark Star on the head. "That explains it, then."

    "It does?"

    "Yep! She has the freedom to hunt that she didn't have before and wants attention!"

    Mara turned to stare at Dark Star, who had curled up on the beir at Luke's side.


    45. Teacher


    With Ailee gone to check on everybody else and do medic things, Mara sat down and pulled Dark Star into her lap. Somehow, it made total sense that the cat would go all demonstrative with hunting skills at the first available opportunity, and it was funny, in a way. Not that she wanted to keep cleaning up lizard carcasses, but it was funny that the only person acting normal in the entire temple besides the odd medic they'd ended up with was a cat from Corellia.

    Mara smiled down at her and scratched Dark Star behind her ears.

    ~*~*~*~

    A/N: No actual lizards were harmed in the writing of this drabble set.
     
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  14. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    A lizard, as in gecko? [face_laugh] [face_mischief] Better than a rodent I suppose. :eek:
     
  15. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Nyota's Heart: If the gecko was small, brown, and has a tendency to lose it's tail as a defense mechanism, sure. :) Thank you.



    Week 9 (09.01.06) (UDC 1) - Qwi Xux AU


    41. rebirth


    The realization came to her in a flash as she sat in her lab studying the foreseeable aspects of the ship she'd been developing. Knowing what she did about her employers and their methods, and wincing as she remembered her training and cities on her homeworld being destroyed... Qwi realized that this thing was not a mining instrument like they'd told her it was. What miner needed to make stars go nova in order to do their job?

    She sat back for a moment and looked out the window of her lab at the maelstrom of the Maw in contemplation.


    42. scars


    Alone in her lab, it was easy to change the results and mar the fact. Easy to dismantle everything she'd done for fifteen years. Would anyone be able to reconstruct any of it when she was done? Not even with a fleet of super-computers and a team of experts fluent in data reconstruction.

    It needed to be destroyed, all of it. The Sun Crusher would never harm anyone or anything... people who had scarred her mind by pushing her to her limits and beyond would never have a weapon like this.


    43. disease


    She'd had visits from the Admiral many times over the years, and most, if not all, had been pleasant. Today was not one of those, she noticed as the Admiral entered the lab with a surly expression on her face. "Good day, Admiral. Something I can do for you?"

    The woman stalked toward her with wild eyes. "Is it ready?"

    Two could play at that game. "Is what ready?"

    Daala glared at her. "The Sun Crusher."

    Qwi sorely wanted to smile, but didn't. No need to set her off today. "No."


    44. agony


    "It's not?"

    "No. Why?"

    Daala continued to glare at her. "Because we can't wait here any longer. I want every advantage."

    Now Doctor Qwi Xux allowed herself to smile... oh the irony. "For mining dead solar systems?"

    "Yes. For that."

    "Ah. It won't be ready in time, Admiral." Unsaid as the Admiral marched out the door after glaring at her again was the unsaid... "And it never will be. Not ever."


    45. healing


    Her final act of sabotage was to destroy the lab and everything in it with the self destruct mechanism of the Sun Crusher itself. It would never fall into the wrong hands... and those wrong hands were definitely Admiral Daala's, the Imperial Navy, and anyone else in or outside the Maw Cluster.

    From the bridge of the Star Destroyer Gorgon, Admiral Natasi Daala watched in dumbfounded shock and silence as the Maw Installation blew up from the inside.
     
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  16. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    Week Nine (July 12, 2010) - UDC 5 - Death Comes to YavinIV (AU: Wanting To Know)

    Nice use of the ominous beginning with some strange beast prowling the jungles of Yavin IV... and leaving little "gifts" of lizards. :p Poor things.


    Week 9 (09.01.06) (UDC 1) - Qwi Xux AU

    Whoa, that was something. =D=

    Very evocative of the sense of claustrophobia and kind-of-dissociated existence that Qwi must have lived at the time in canon. I especially liked Qwi's scenes with Daala, with the strange power dynamic of Imperial warlord and not-so-unknowing enslaved scientist that seems to lurk around the edges. Qwi has more influence at her disposal than it looks on the surface, and it's left ambiguous how much Daala knows about this. Daala's genuine shock at seeing it all go up in flames... of course she thought she had it all under control.

    The ending is a bittersweet one. There's the triumph of Qwi assuming final control over her life's work and making sure no further catastrophes are made with it. No Carida in this AU, and I wonder if that would change things in all kinds of expanding ripple effect ways. And yet, at least one life is lost. There's something in that -- the cruelty of not just Daala but the whole devastating technological ability of the GFFA, that brings things down to choices of saving one (or many more, as in the case of destroying the Death Stars and their crews) versus billions. And it will happen again, the next time someone with more ambition than scruples decides that they need a weapon to strike terror into their enemies. Pretty chilling and not a comfortable thought.
     
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  17. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Brilliant AU twist there, with Qwi Xux making sure the Sun Crusher doesn't fall into "unscruptulous, power-driven hands." Carida does not happen thankfully. @};- Daala always struck me as someone with too much ambition but flawed contingency plans. :p
     
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  18. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Kahara: Daala went bananas and stir-crazy and Qwi Xux didn't have a Han Solo pointing the way to actual reality... and this was a "what if they'd been in there for twenty or thirty years instead of ten or eleven" AU that I didn't get to fully show in-story. (What didn't Qwi destroy here? The DS prototype.) If she'd had longer to think about it, would Qwi have gotten to the point of realization by herself? I'd like to think so. As for the ripples... oh yes. More than one. Thank you, Kahara. :)

    Nyota's Heart: Carida... you two had me wondering what you meant by that, until I realized the meaning. Nope, it doesn't... but not solely because the Sun Crusher was destroyed. Thank you. :)
     
  19. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    A/N: Neesta's meditation accident solution... because, while I can't seem to make any headway on the story itself, I do have an idea about this which does not involve waiting weeks for Elsie.


    Week 9 (11.19.07) (UDC 2) – Meditation Accident - Need For Contact


    41. Family


    It had bothered Jaina for a while as she watched her now-translucent cousin speak and interact as if she wasn't, in fact translucent. What did having to wait until Mara's friend got back have to do with this problem? "It doesn't make any sense, you know."

    Everybody turned and looked at her, and Mara frowned. "What doesn't?"

    "When Jacen and I switched bodies, it was us that solved it, not your friend."

    Neesta chuckled. "This is a little more complicated than that, Jaina."

    "Oh really?"

    "Yes."

    "Why?"

    At that, Neesta simply stared at her, unsure of what to say.


    42. Travel


    Jaina sighed and looked at Mara, who was frowning in thought. "Where is she?"

    "You mean her, herself?"

    "Yes."

    "Home."

    Gingerly, Jaina stood and put her hands on her hips, a look of determination on her face. "Then let's go. We're not going to solve anything just sitting here."

    "What if I don't want to solve this yet?" Neesta called after her. Jaina turned back and glared at her, and she winced. "Okay. Now is good."

    "Glad you agree. Lead the way, Aunt Mara."

    Ben, Riana, and Talina stayed behind just long enough to share a collective laugh after looking at each other in amusement.


    43. Food


    Jaina studied the figure laying on the bed while trying to ignore the smells of cooking food wafting in from the other rooms in the apartment that were unsettling to her stomach. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought her cousin was simply deeply asleep. "So..."

    "I don't know," Neesta told her from the other side of the bed. "One minute I was deep in the Force, willing myself to find information, the next... poof. And I still want to wait for Elsie."

    Jaina shook her head as she sat down on the edge of the bed and thought about the problem. It felt oddly familiar, somehow.


    44. Blessings


    Mara, meanwhile, was thinking about the other time this sort of thing had happened to a family member. To her husband, in fact, not a year after going to Byss and joining Darkness only to return not quite the same. He'd been very proud... "Pride."

    Jaina blinked and looked at her. "What?"

    "Pride," Mara repeated as she held Neesta's gaze. "You don't want to fix this on your own, but you're the only one who can. That's fear and pride, Neesta."

    "I don't see how knowing that helps me," Neesta muttered, spectral arms folded across her chest in defiance.


    45. Thanks

    Startled, Jaina stood up, at once understanding what her aunt meant. "Oh." Her cousin had always been a show-off, especially before the accident that had made her solid. Of course she didn't want to figure this out for herself the hard and easy way... "Oh. Come on, Aunt Mara."

    "Where?"

    "Dinner." She glared hard at her younger cousin. "I expect you to join us... solid."

    And Neesta was left alone with herself. Eventually, she allowed herself to figure it out.

    Jaina's smile when she joined them half-way through the meal was worth it.
     
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  20. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Excellent realization and Neesta learned a valuable lesson. [face_thinking] I don't think she'll fall prey to that again. :p Better to be solid [face_rofl]
     
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  21. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Nyota's Heart: Nope...at least, not that way. Thank you. :)


    A/N: Lyrics prompts are from the song Trip The Light, which I first heard while watching "Where the heck is Matt? 2012"... bonus set.


    Week 9 - Bonus - Trip The Light 1


    We Hold The Burning Rhythm in Our Hearts


    Hours after being freed from her chains by Artoo, the rescue that had nearly gone awry but didn't, and nearly losing Lando to the Pit of Sarkoon... Leia didn't want to stop looking at him. Didn't want to even move from his embrace for fear he would disappear again.

    Han had had to blink in surprise when they'd finally gotten to the Falcon and he'd actually seen what she'd been wearing. He'd almost asked her not to change clothes. "We are going to have to move eventually."

    "Shh," she admonished him quietly.


    We'll See With New Eyes


    Staring out of the cockpit window, Lando nearly didn't believe that there was a battered-looking man hanging one-handed from the bottom of his now-captured city. How had she known? It didn't make any sense for her to know and demand they risk their lives by turning around! And yet, as she told him to go open the top hatch, he found himself obeying post-haste.

    He'd arrived on top of the ship just in time to rescue a half-conscious young man who was incongruously missing a hand from being thrown over-board.


    Break the Night


    It was in the dark of night on a city in the clouds that she found herself shivering and staring out of a window. It wasn't something monumental, this realization that had woken her from a sound sleep, and yet... it was the only thing that mattered. She'd been here, living with a man she was meant to kill, for weeks after not doing exactly that. Love had not been instantaneous, but a gradual build from a spark between them... and as she rested a reverent hand on her still-flat abdomen, she smiled. For something so small to mean so much...

    This life within her would not be born to darkness.


    Travel Far From What I Know


    In the midst of her migraine, Roganda can only listen as the protocol droid argues with the astromech. Something about the hyperdrive motivator? That didn't make any sense. Not at all. Why would it be deactivated on purpose by the people that fixed it?

    The questions didn't matter because an instant later there was a high-pitched squeal as the inertial dampeners failed to compensate for sudden speed, followed by a clang, and a worsening of her migraine from the noise.


    I'll Find My Way Home


    He found her massaging her temples in the mess hall and wondered how someone could look so worn out when it was breakfast time. "Roganda?"

    "Not so loud," she mumbled. "Headache."

    "Oh?"

    "Since Bespin," she gritted out as Wes took her hands in his and forced her to stare at him. "What?"

    Wes tried to smile, but failed when he saw the pain she was in. "Oh. Come on."

    "Where to?"

    "Medical."

    "But I don't want..."

    "No arguing."

    She allowed him to lead her there.
     
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  22. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Wonderful use of such gorgeous lyric prompts.
     
  23. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Nyota's Heart : Thank you. :)


    Week 9 - 10/27/08 - UDC 3 - Wes, Roganda (...and Stringy)


    41. Purple


    It wasn't traditional by any means, this dress she'd found for the ceremony. It was purple, simple... and it didn't matter. The color of the dress didn't matter. No, the ceremony did, and she couldn't help but be drawn into his eyes has he spoke his vows, and then she spoke hers.

    It wasn't traditional, any of it, as side from the words spoken and love shared. As she looked into his eyes and smiled, and they shared their first kiss as man and wife, Roganda decided that maybe tradition didn't matter.


    42. Orange


    He'd just climbed down the ladder from his X-Wing when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Turning, Wes frowned. His wife was standing there... holding a black kitten with an orange collar. "Um..."

    Roganda smiled and handed him the kitten, who stared up at him and meowed. "This is Stringy."

    "Why are you handing me a kitten?" He scratched the animal behind it's ears.

    "Think of it as a minor first step to thinking about other things."

    Wes paused, taking in the fact that she'd been the one to broach the subject. "Really?"

    "Really. Also, we have a kitten now."


    43. Green


    The first night back from the mission to Byss was spent watching her husband play with their kitten on the carpeted floor of their shared quarters. She'd meant it, about this being a first step to thinking about other things... and he knew what she meant, too. Not that she wasn't opposed to ever discussing having children again, just... a lot of healing and reflection had been done in the years since her life had been turned upside down and inside out.

    Watching Wes tease the kitten with a green string, she could easily imagine him being a father.


    44. Silver


    "You've been staring at that spoon for ten minutes."

    Blinking, she glanced at him. "What?"

    Wes scooted his chair closer and took the spoon carefully out of her hand. "Exactly what I said. Want to talk about it?"

    "Not important."

    "Oh?"

    She sighed. "I was reminded of something shiny on a bad day, all right?"

    "How bad?"

    "Wes..."

    "What?" At his expression, she sighed again. "It was a flashback. If flashbacks made sense..."

    "Ah."

    "...and you still want to talk about it."

    He motioned to their cat, watching them from the doorway with golden eyes. "Somehow, I think we both want you to talk about it."


    45. Copper


    Looking down at what she'd prepared for lunch without really thinking about it, Roganda frowned. These were all things she didn't like normally, but now... no, now, she was craving them. "Odd."

    Later that day, and the next day after that, it happened again. And then again. On the sixth day of seemingly-random food choices, she began to suspect something was off about the situation.

    On the tenth day, Wes arrived home to be kiss-attacked at the front door. It was hours before he found out why.
     
  24. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    LOL and SQUEE! Wonderful uses for the color-prompts.
     
  25. DaenaBenjen42

    DaenaBenjen42 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    May 15, 2005
    Nyota's Heart: Thank you. :)



    A/N: Something I finally had to try, even if it went nowhere... (ie: I followed the plot bunny, ended up in a place with dangly ear rings I saw worn on that Stacy London makeover show...)


    Week 9 - 6/1/09 - prompts provided by BigFatty (UDC 4)


    41. Necklace


    The first thing he noticed about the woman was her jewelry. Or, rather... her necklace. It was so odd for anyone, save Leia, to wear any jewelry on the base, that to see someone wearing a necklace was just odd.

    She sighed, put her fork down, and stared pointedly at him. "You've been staring at my chest for five minutes, Skywalker."

    He blinked and averted his eyes, blushing that she'd caught him. "Sorry."

    Roganda laughed and reached over to pat his hand. "Don't be. Means you're a man."

    "Uh..."

    "Just be more subtle about it, or I might start to get ideas."


    42. Earrings


    It was starting to bug him, this thing with her wearing jewelry on different days. Today it was very dangly and showy ear rings and an ornate dress... a very ornate dress. "Did I miss a memo on our dress code?"

    She frowned at him. "What?" Then she looked down at herself. "Oh. Right... no. No, I just felt like being formal. And this was the warmest thing I could find."

    "And the ear rings?"

    She smiled. "What? You don't like?"

    "They're very... loud."

    "You've never had to be a distraction in the middle of a party held in the Imperial Palace. Loud is good."


    43. Watch


    It was very quiet as they waited in medical for him to wake up after having been pulled from the Bacta tank, and Leia couldn't help but notice the nervousness of the other woman. She kept checking her chrono every so often, pacing... "He's fine, you know."

    "I hate waiting," she hissed and resumed pacing. "And I had to put up with a member of his squadron trying to chat me up with he was missing yesterday."

    Leia wasn't sure what to make of that response, and decided to say nothing.


    44. Belt


    Safely aboard Home One after everything, Roganda couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him... aside from the missing hand, that is. He'd been silent the whole way from Bespin, and now she was holding the belt that the medics had relieved him of. She knew he'd nearly gotten himself killed by confronting the Dark Lord, that something had happened between them... and that his lightsaber was missing along with the hand. That was about all she knew for the moment.


    45. Ring

    Luke paused at her description of parties held in the Imperial Palace. "Seriously?"

    "I had a whole different life before I got mixed up with you people," she told him earnestly. "And... I'd really rather not talk about it, so I'll go change."

    Luke stared after her for a long minute before realizing that it wasn't just the ear rings and the ornate dress... she'd been wearing rings, too. "How did she save all of that?"

    A hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to jump a little, and Han chuckled. "That's what she had in the only bag she carried when I ran into her. Something, huh Kid?"