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

Beyond - Legends The End of All Light (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Updated 11/29/14!

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by YodaKenobi, Apr 16, 2010.

  1. YodaKenobi

    YodaKenobi Former TFN Books Staff star 6 VIP

    Registered:
    May 27, 2003
    Master_Jaina1011: First off...
    YAY!!! Its up!!!


    I appreciate the enthusiasm :D

    Secondly,
    Interesting. Somehow I'm surprised but not shocked at Zonoma Sekot being attacked or so we think. Well the Vong are and Sekot isn't stopping it.


    You think something else is going on? [face_thinking]

    As for Malig...man I wanna know who he is.

    Well, we sort of learned that in the prologue, though that probably wasn't the answer you were looking for :p

    So excited to see where this goes...as usual it will be heart breaking, surprising, plot twisted and such coming from you.

    Aw, thanks [face_blush] I hope it lives up to your expectations [face_peace]

    Keep it coming please!!!

    Will do :) Thanks so much for reading and replying :D






    Onderon: You do mean metaphorically, right ... ?

    Nah, I was just kidding :p I wouldn't tell you if something was going to happen to Ben.

    Powerful stuff with Sekot and Danni, YodaKenobi. A strong opening.

    Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked it :D And thanks for reading and replying!






    Magnuskn: And the Alliance had a comprehensive inventory of their resources, right?

    True, though it might be a bit more difficult to grow a ship unnoticed. There were mentions of rogue bands of Yuuzhan Vong who never surrendered in Empire of the Hand though, so you might be on to something.

    They do in the latest two issues. A bit, but it makes her more multidimensional.

    I need to get off my ass and catch up.

    Oh, I think Jans art is fantastic. I've always preferred the realistic style to some of the overblown stuff one can get from, say, Joe Madureira. Jan gets the expressions of the characters just right and her sense of proportion is very good. And she is very detailed in her backgrounds and so on. Trust me, she is very good. She is not too flashy, she delivers a constant solid performance.
    I suspect you don't read many other comics, so my guess is you are missing a frame of reference, but Jan defined the characters very well.


    That's probably true. I read comics for a short time when I was a kid (about a year and a half) but I really enjoyed them. I've read some of the "classics" as an adult like Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, some of the Sandman stuff, but that's about it.

    I do like that it's more realistic than Madureira style stuff. That would look completely ridiculous in SW, IMO.

    As for Cade, well, he's not designed to be "cute" or "beautiful", that's sure. As for his facial expression, constantly sneering will do that to ya.

    It just looks silly to me :p

    Although he had his nice moments, mostly with Deliah or at Bantha's.

    Deliah used to be my favorite character in the series but she doesn't seem to be going anywhere (at least where I stalled).

    Hm, I think I really need you to write a Legacy fic, since it seems it helped you with liking Jag to write him.

    [face_laugh] That's probably true, it forces me to try and understand them :p

    Seriously though, I'll try and read some more Legacy. I've got all the issues, just been busy with book reading.





    L0B0: Oh noes!!!
    I can almost hear the deep breath before the storm being collectively drawn in by the entire galaxy. Whatever light there is left will surely be eclipsed and corrupted by the scale of this conflict as it escalates. If this trend continues unabated, more and more star systems shall be drawn into the abyss.


    I think that's the general plan for Malig?to create a dark side nexus so powerful that it spreads across the galaxy :( Not sure why he wants to do that though...

    Each and every being with the ability to alter the course of Destiny had better take a crucial look into the proverbial mirror and decide once and for all what path they will choose when Fate comes calling. My guess is that the roles they each have to play and the choices they will make are not going to be what we might be expecting at all. So the questi
     
  2. Darth Dreadwar

    Darth Dreadwar Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 26, 2010
    No, it doesn't. :p Nah, just kidding. Eagerly awaiting the next chapter... [face_dancing]
     
  3. Onderon1

    Onderon1 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2008
    (nods) It's clear that he's one of the central components of Malig's plan, to be sure - Luke's vision during Lands of the Dead (IIRC) with that procession of black-robed figures, and Ben among them; Ben's battle meditation; the trailer for End of All Light, with Ben, Jacen, and Malig aboard the Reckoner; and your mention earlier about "Ben wants to push the button" ...

    I'm assuming Ben's considered vital to activating the Reckoner. The side-effects of that are what worry me. [face_thinking] Or, maybe the Skycrawler will turn the tables somehow. :p

    Thanks for posting. :D You've got a vast, intriguing AU here, and it's great reading. :)

    - [face_peace].
    Onderon1
     
  4. Magnuskn

    Magnuskn Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 14, 2002
    Just saying that some guys on Zonama Sekot probably have friends on the rogue ships. And probably own a villip or two.

    If you ever want to try them again, try Ultimate Spiderman. A truly great comic. Although you'd need to begin at issue one, and we are about 140 issues past that. ^^ Ignore the rest of the Ultimate line, though. For some reason ( the writer, Brian Bendis, most likely ), Ultimate Spiderman stands head and shoulders above the rest of the line.

    There's been movement in her development, too. Although, for some reason, Ganner Krieg and Shado Vao are really my favourite characters. Oh, and Jariah rocks, too. :p

    <begins to cheerlead for a YK Legacy fic> Well, as it is ending and we don't know what will come next, maybe you are our only hope, YK-Wan Kenobi. :p

    Totally understandable if the novels are good, but OTOH, reading comics goes much faster than reading a novel. When you finish the next book, take one evening for the comics. :)
     
  5. Darth Dreadwar

    Darth Dreadwar Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 26, 2010
    Yobi, am I on the PM list for this fic?

    If not, do add me. :p
     
  6. Clone_Cmdr_Wedge

    Clone_Cmdr_Wedge Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2006
    *Slowly catching up on everything*

    Small carry over from the LotD thread first though. :p

    YK:No, when I said KotoR2 was influential, I meant I plan on ending this story in a completely unsatisfying way and leaving almost every plot thread dangling.

    Vader: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!


    Okay, just kidding Yes, actually, there will be some stuff from KotoR2 addressed

    Lol, I figured as much. Nice to hear that some of KotOR 2 will be addressed. :D


    I look forward to the Resident Evilified version of the cover

    I'm getting there, I'm getting there. :p


    Who is the girl in the white dress? She belongs in a Bond movie

    Excella Gionne. She has the hots for Wesker. And yes, she totally belongs in a Bond movie with an outfit like that. 8-}


    Also, girl at the end?Jill?

    Well, since you asked... yes. [face_mischief]

    That is so pefect

    Just continues to prove that Malig is Wesker. :cool:


    I love the characters you've assigned to everyone. Perfect casting

    [face_laugh]
    Now if only Callista would end up the same way that Excella did... [face_skull]


    Like a leviathan?

    Maybe. [face_mischief]


    We're going to have to discuss some of this stuff when the fic is over. Seriously.

    [face_laugh] That should be interesting.


    I wish the picture showed. I have a feeling anything called "snake dance" is something I would enjoy seeing

    Yeah, photobucket is being a pain in the butt right now. [face_frustrated]


    Well, I hope everyone still takes a gander at it. It's the best one

    Thanks. :D
    Could repost it here, or if there's enough of a request, do a special Mass Effect 2 version of LotD. 8-}


    Yes, I know exactly what you mean. That's what I love about this reveal At least 75% of the wild guesses are still possible if you think about it.

    Yeah, I have a theory, but it depends heavily on who Malig's opposite is. [face_thinking]


    You will get your wish. I promise.

    Palpatine: Gooooooooood. [face_devil]


    Almost all of them were Bothans.

    Let's see... a race of people, presumably backed by at least two Sith Lords, who want to genocide another species has just found out where said species is hiding and landed there....

    Nope, I don't foresee any issues arrising out of this. :)


    "They're going to kill you," Danni implored, trying to grab the Vong leader?s attention. "They're going to kill you all."

    Really now, I think she's just over-reacting. I'm sure the Bothans just want to sit down and have a nice cup of tea with the Vong. [face_coffee]


    "I don't understand," Uhla said, a quiver of fear in her voice. "Why isn't Sekot stopping them? Why is it letting this happen? Why isn't it fighting back?"

    At a guess... Jacen. Like I always say, when in doubt, blame it on Jacen. 8-}


    The structure at the beginning of this story is going to be a little different than the previous ones. The next two chapters will focus on the Sekot stuff because these events take place about a month after "The Lands of the Dead"? the rest of the story, with the exception of the Malig flashbacks, takes place 3 months after that. The reason for the time jump will become clear later. So after chapter 3, we'll begin jumping around the galaxy to see other characters like the rest of my stories.

    So... depending on your point of view, we've got a really long Prologue that's broken up into 4 parts, right? :p

    At any rate... *buckles up* Let's get this party started. :cool:
     
  7. YodaKenobi

    YodaKenobi Former TFN Books Staff star 6 VIP

    Registered:
    May 27, 2003
    Dreadwar: No, it doesn't.

    Damn :p

    Nah, just kidding. Eagerly awaiting the next chapter...

    Glad to hear it. It will be up tomorrow :)






    Onderon: (nods) It's clear that he's one of the central components of Malig's plan, to be sure - Luke's vision during Lands of the Dead (IIRC) with that procession of black-robed figures,

    Great memory! :D Luke's dream/vision on Apollyon is easy to forget but I think there will be something of a payoff in the end if you remember the details.

    and Ben among them; Ben's battle meditation; the trailer for End of All Light, with Ben, Jacen, and Malig aboard the Reckoner; and your mention earlier about "Ben wants to push the button" ...

    Yep, I'd have to agree that Ben will be very important to the story. We see him in chapter 6 for the first time in this story, so a little bit of a wait.

    I'm assuming Ben's considered vital to activating the Reckoner.

    Seems like a sound guess, especially with that button pushing business...

    The side-effects of that are what worry me. Or, maybe the Skycrawler will turn the tables somehow.

    Have to wait and see. Probably until the end of the story.

    Thanks for posting. You've got a vast, intriguing AU here, and it's great reading.

    Thanks [face_blush] I'm glad you're enjoying the story :)






    Magnuskn: Just saying that some guys on Zonama Sekot probably have friends on the rogue ships. And probably own a villip or two.

    I like this idea [face_mischief]

    If you ever want to try them again, try Ultimate Spiderman. A truly great comic. Although you'd need to begin at issue one, and we are about 140 issues past that. ^^ Ignore the rest of the Ultimate line, though. For some reason ( the writer, Brian Bendis, most likely ), Ultimate Spiderman stands head and shoulders above the rest of the line.

    I heard that the main Spiderman comic (or comics) had some massive retcon that destroyed 20 years of continuity regarding Peter and Mary Jane or something :p I'll keep the suggestion in mind. I've never been a huge Spiderman fan, though I did have a few of those comics. I remember the "Maximum Carnage" series :p

    There's been movement in her development, too. Although, for some reason, Ganner Krieg and Shado Vao are really my favourite characters. Oh, and Jariah rocks, too.

    I Shado, but Ganner has been fairly unimportant at the point I'm at, and I've never cared for Jariah.

    <begins to cheerlead for a YK Legacy fic> Well, as it is ending and we don't know what will come next, maybe you are our only hope, YK-Wan Kenobi.

    lol. I still doubt it. I thought Legacy was selling well? I don't get pulling the plug on it unless they have something else planned.

    Totally understandable if the novels are good, but OTOH, reading comics goes much faster than reading a novel. When you finish the next book, take one evening for the comics.

    That's a good idea. I think I'll do that. I've got a bunch of the KotoR comics as well though I've never read them [face_blush]




    Dreadwar: Yobi, am I on the PM list for this fic?
    If not, do add me.


    Consider it done :D Thanks for the interest :)





    Wedge: *Slowly catching up on everything*

    No rush [face_peace]

    Lol, I figured as much. Nice to hear that some of KotOR 2 will be addressed.

    A lot of it will be more implied than anything, since I can't really have a character from that era explain what happened.

    I'm getting there, I'm getting there.

    D

    Excella Gionne. She has the hots for Wesker.

    So she's into really weird **** :p Got it.

    And yes, she totally belongs in a Bond movie with an outfit like that.

    The accent helps too.

    Well, since you asked... yes.

    Awesome.

    Now if only Callista would end up the same way that Excella did...

    Something tells me I'd be sad if she died. I like evil women :(

    That should be interesting.

    [face
     
  8. Magnuskn

    Magnuskn Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 14, 2002
    I'll see soon enough if my guess is right. :p

    The Ultimate comics are a completely separate line from the main comics, with their own world and continuity. In the Ultimate Spiderman comics, Peter is still in high-school after 140+ issues. And the series is much the better for it.

    Well, you must be about in the middle then. Character development happened for everyone after that. :)

    Yeah, the whole cancellation makes no sense at all, unless for a relaunch. It doesn't help that the creators are playing coy with any new information, though.
     
  9. Diamond_Revelation

    Diamond_Revelation Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2003
    Great first two posts Yoda - Looks like I might finally get to see what part the Vong will play in all of this!

    Looking forward to the next chapter!!
     
  10. PirateofRohan

    PirateofRohan Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 11, 2009
    If you can't tell that Anakin Skywalker (as a Force Ghost) is on the cover, consider yourself blind.:_| :p Nothing is impossible!!! Or is it?

    Edit: Legacy was cancelled? Darn!
     
  11. Magnuskn

    Magnuskn Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 14, 2002
    Yeah, although the creators are making enough statements along the lines of "trust us" that it seems pretty clear that it'll be re-launched. Still, they could have handled that PR much better than they did.
     
  12. YodaKenobi

    YodaKenobi Former TFN Books Staff star 6 VIP

    Registered:
    May 27, 2003
    Magnuskn: I'll see soon enough if my guess is right.

    Yes, you should know in the next couple posts.

    The Ultimate comics are a completely separate line from the main comics, with their own world and continuity. In the Ultimate Spiderman comics, Peter is still in high-school after 140+ issues. And the series is much the better for it.

    I heard that's what they're going to do when they reboot the Spiderman movies. I wonder if they're going to use the Ultimate storyline.

    Well, you must be about in the middle then. Character development happened for everyone after that.

    Yeah, I think I'm at the end of Vector. Issue 33 or something.

    Yeah, the whole cancellation makes no sense at all, unless for a relaunch. It doesn't help that the creators are playing coy with any new information, though.

    John and Jan sounded pretty sad about it, but Randy was kind of sending mixed signals as far as I can tell. I really don't know what to make of any of this. Maybe they'll relaunch with another creative team? I don't know.






    Diamond: Great first two posts Yoda -

    Thanks! It's great to have you along again :D

    Looks like I might finally get to see what part the Vong will play in all of this!

    Yep, you've been predicting this for like 4 years now. Finally getting to see how they fit into the big picture :)

    Looking forward to the next chapter!!

    Thank you and thanks for reading and replying :D






    PirateofRohan: If you can't tell that Anakin Skywalker (as a Force Ghost) is on the cover, consider yourself blind.

    Well, I don't know that I'd say that :p but he is there.

    Nothing is impossible!!! Or is it?

    You know, that actually gets addressed in the story as well, in a sense.

    Edit: Legacy was cancelled? Darn!

    It appears that way. Issue 50 is supposed to be the last one.






    Magnuskn: Yeah, although the creators are making enough statements along the lines of "trust us" that it seems pretty clear that it'll be re-launched. Still, they could have handled that PR much better than they did.

    Which makes me wonder if the cancelation is more about creating a stir of interest for the "last" issues. I could be wrong though.







    New post in a few minutes. A lot of it is backstory, so it might not be the most exciting chapter ever if you've been following the series since the beginning, but I promise next Friday's post will make up for it [face_peace]
     
  13. YodaKenobi

    YodaKenobi Former TFN Books Staff star 6 VIP

    Registered:
    May 27, 2003
    Chapter 2: The View From the Darkness

    Why?

    The question wasn't spoken or audible for anyone else to perceive. It came instead through the Force, a voice heavy with hurt and deep sorrow. It radiated feelings of confusion and pain and betrayal. Jacen Solo's mouth formed a grim line as he peered through the wedge-shaped transparisteel viewport on the Exodus's command deck at the green planet glowing in the vacuum below. Its touch was still familiar to him even after nearly a year away from the world, but he was surprised by how little he felt for Zonama Sekot and how unaffected he was by its suffering.

    The place inside him that had once been a fathomless well of empathy was gone. It had died on Centerpoint or on the stone floor of Darth Malig's library a month earlier when he'd failed to kill his Sith Master. Somewhere there, or in the time between, he had become someone else.

    He felt nothing.

    And that made him sad.

    Between Zonama Sekot and Jacen's Raithian flagship, Exodus, lay a swarm of vessels that made up a large portion of Traest Kre'fey's Fifth Fleet, spreading out over the world in a classic "planetary bombardment" pattern like the fingers of a grasping hand. They meant to do Sekot harm and the planet knew it. The living world was capable of battling the fleet with its seemingly endless reserves of Force energy, perhaps even destroying them all, but still it did not strike.

    Because Jacen was telling it not to.

    In preparation for the attack, Admiral Kre'fey had replaced many of his fleet's personnel and most of its infantry with Bothan assassins from a variety of clans on Bothawui. For him and his people, this was a day long in coming—the day when the Bothans fulfilled their declaration of "ar'krai" against the Yuuzhan Vong.

    Ar'krai was an ancient state of genocidal war invoked by the Bothans when their existence was threatened, as it, and the existence of every other species had been during the Yuuzhan Vong War. When declared, all Bothans were to dedicate themselves to the complete annihilation of those who had jeopardized their own survival. They were to be erased from history and their homeworld destroyed.

    There was no end to it—not until the last of their enemies was dead.

    Though the war between the Galactic Alliance and the Yuuzhan Vong had ended as peaceably as one could have hoped, with the remains of the invaders being given sanctuary on Zonama Sekot, the Bothans’ ar'krai, obviously, had not.

    Why? Zonama Sekot implored again. Why have you brought them here?

    Frowning, Jacen reached out into the Force and found the familiar threads undulating between him and the sentient world. During the three years he'd spent secluded in meditation on Zonama Sekot after the Yuuzhan Vong War, a bond had formed between the two so strong that at times Jacen found it difficult to determine where Sekot stopped and he began. It was strange how quickly that link was reestablished after a year away, and Jacen was again beset by a blurring of definition.

    It's okay, he soothed. This needs to happen.

    The wound torn in Sekot seemed to rip further at his attempt to mollify the planet's fears, but it did not recoil or shrink from his touch. Instead, Jacen felt something break within it.

    I don't understand.

    Zonama Sekot was the most powerful entity in the galaxy, and suddenly, it almost sounded... helpless.

    I know, I know you don't, Jacen placated. But you have to trust me.

    In response, Sekot seemed to reach out to him fully, encircling his being with its great, energy-rich aura and scrutinizing him to find the truth behind his mental projections. The probing tendrils didn't recoil the way Tenel Ka had on Centerpoint when she'd seen the darkness within him, but they did seem to find something unusual that they studied with great curiosity before swirling gently away like wisps of smoke.

    Sekot was another sacrifice.

    It seemed to him that all he'd done since kneeling before Malig and taking the name of "Darth Havok" was sacrifice things he had once loved. It was, he knew, the cost of his destiny.

    When the tendrils were gone, Jacen found himself staring into the ghost of his own reflection on the transparisteel viewport. He was startled to find a face he scarcely recognized floating there.

    The eyes of the phantom appeared darker somehow, as hard and unfeeling as two obsidian stones peering out of raw, red-rimmed lids. His brown hair was slightly longer than he remembered, beginning to curl at the ends and falling past his eyes in front and past the collar of his black uniform in back. It stood in stark contrast to his pale skin and increasingly gaunt features to which shadows seemed to cling with unnatural ease.

    On his right cheek was a small bundle of white burn scars braided with still-healing pink lesions, the marks left when Anakin had scorched his face with a jet of scalding steam from a severed hose in Centerpoint Station's control room.

    Years earlier, when Jacen had been only sixteen and the Yuuzhan Vong War had just erupted, he'd watched in horror as the late Ganner Rhysode had used a field cauterizer to close a wound that split his face from eyebrow to jaw line after a failed mission on Garqi. Jacen hadn't understood why, had even tried to stop him, explaining that when they returned Ganner could use bacta to heal the wound, but if he insisted on using the cauterizer, he would be left with a very long, very ugly scar.

    "So I'll have a scar and it will be good," Ganner had explained. "The old Ganner, he had a perfect face over a perfectly arrogant attitude. Not so anymore. Every time I look in a mirror I'll be reminded that he died on Garqi, and I'm here in his place."

    And that was why Jacen had left the burn scars on his own face—because he wanted to remember. He wanted to remember the taste of his brother's betrayal when he'd lured him into the trap at Centerpoint, and how he'd turned Jacen's own wife against him, wanted to forever recall the pain of Tenel Ka's dagger sinking into his shoulder when she struggled to get away from him, believing him to be some sort of monster. He never wanted it to deaden with time, the way memories and feelings so often did.

    He never wanted to forget.

    And he wanted to remember, like Ganner, that the old Jacen had died there on Centerpoint, and been replaced by something stronger.

    The former Jedi peered through his reflection at the glowing green sphere beneath. Eleven months ago, it had all started on Zonama Sekot for him. It seemed fitting that it would end there as well.

    Eleven months earlier, Jacen had been lost in communion with Zonama Sekot, living in the world's rich tampasi and learning things about the Force he couldn't really even comprehend. Through their bond, Jacen would occasionally glimpse the universe as Sekot saw it, how different time and space seemed to an entity that was millions of years old and had traveled from a different galaxy to arrive there. It was too much for a human brain to truly grasp, but he always felt as though he was just on the cusp of understanding the true nature of the Force.

    Looking back on his life there, he knew he wasn't "happy" precisely—but there was a sort of peace he'd derived from being a part of the living world, of surviving in its verdant jungles, that he had never known before or since.

    But then Jaina had arrived with her news. His twin sister had come to him and explained that the galaxy was again under threat. The Vagaari, an empire of slavers and pirates in the Unknown Regions, had begun launching attacks on the Chiss, and would soon unleash an assault on the Galactic Alliance. But the Vagaari, she had explained, were not the real threat.

    According to Jaina, somewhere along the way, the Vagaari had become slaves themselves to a larger, darker force that Palpatine had been searching for, and that he had sent Grand Admiral Thrawn into the Unknown Regions to find. Thrawn hadn't found it, but what he did find had alarmed him enough to establish the Empire of the Hand in order to protect the galaxy.

    His sister had surprised him further when, instead of asking for his help in combating the threat, she told him that the Hapans had made an unusual offer to join the Alliance fully and lend their substantial navy to the GA in order to fend off those who sought to harm them all...

    Jacen turned his thoughts back to Sekot and projected his thoughts to the living planet in the Force. I'm coming down to talk.

    There was no response.

    The young Sith's eyes lingered for only another moment before turning from the convex wall of transparisteel wedges arranged like the teeth of some massive beast's closed jaws toward the rest of the chamber. The Exodus's bridge was eerily silent, its lights kept unusually low. Gouged into the center of the dark, resicrete deck were four trenches separated by a thick crosswalk. Each of the equipment-packed crewpits were crammed with officers in black uniforms, quietly tending to the displays and sensor boards that lined the walls above, their status lights winking around them like stars. More officers oversaw stations on the main deck, where they sat surrounded by rings of control consoles, their pale, concentrated faces stained by the glow of each shimmering display.

    They were the people his twin sister had come to warn him about, the hidden force from the Unknown Regions that had frightened both Sidious and Thrawn.

    They called themselves the Raithians.

    But as Jacen had learned, that wasn't really who they were.

    They were the Sith.

    Or rather, the Raithians were what the Sith had become. Five thousand years earlier, the original Sith Empire had fled into the Unknown Regions following the Great Hyperspace War, and were pursued and joined by the remnants of the Sith forces Darth Revan and Malak had amassed a thousand years after that. Whatever happened to them in the millennia since, Jacen wasn't sure, but he got the sense they had conquered many planets and acquired much from the cultures they consumed, becoming something else, their histories tangling with others over generations, time and interbreeding changing them until there were few who even knew of their true origins. When they returned a year ago, they called themselves the Raithians.

    They were a severe and humorless people, molded by harsh worlds and the cruelties of endless warfare. Most of them were humans, but the empire encompassed many races, some of which were known to the Alliance and others that were completely foreign to them.

    Somehow, Jacen had not only become one of them—he'd become their leader. He was the Supreme Commander of the Raithian Armies, and the Lord of War— One of Nine Lords who sat on a Council he'd never met, on a world he'd never seen.

    "Your orders, General?"

    The Sith's gaze tilted towards the voice. Captain Sayge stood at the lip of the first crew pit, looming over those who toiled below, his arms folded behind the back of his crisp black uniform with a blood-red insignia on its breast and left shoulder. He was a pale man, with short black hair tucked under his cap, gaunt features, and a cruel slash of a mouth. Rutted around a glassy, cybernetic eye replacement that glinted like mercury were the grooves of old, pitted-scars the Exodus's captain had suffered long before Jacen had met him.

    While the man ran Jacen's flagship, their relationship was far from a warm one. The former Jedi was certain that Sayge actually hated him and found Jacen inferior in almost every way to the man he'd replaced—General Rénin.

    "Hold your position for now," Jacen said. "Do not engage—not yet."

    "As you wish," the austere man allowed with a slight nod. By the time he lifted his gaze, Jacen was already striding off of the command deck. He stalked down the observation walk above the pits to the massive, reinforced durasteel doors at the chamber's rear, which parted almost soundlessly, save for the soft thrum of the hatchway's internal motor and whoosh of displaced atmosphere.

    The corridor outside was dim and cold—colder even than most space-faring vessels—and was illuminated only by a few white glowpanels built into the dark supports of the passage's angled bulkheads. Jacen passed a pair of guards in silver plasmasteel armor and made his way through the wide tunnel, his sleeveless black cloak sweeping behind his boot heels as they clapped quietly against the deck plates. It was a short journey, as the General's quarters were only a few meters from the bridge at the top of the Exodus's command spire, and he slipped through a second pair of double doors that hissed open when he approached.

    There was no art in the grim chamber beyond, only warmthless alloy polished to gleam in the starlight of the observation gallery that the entrance faced. A short, rounded flight of stairs at its entrance had been painted the same indigo that wrapped around the floor of the main section where a large holotransceiver had been built into stylish deck plating. The chamber seemed designed to be cloaked in darkness, with only the dim white glowpanels inside the small crescent-shaped pool to the right and the starlight glittering through the curved wall of transparisteel that made up the room's starboard bulkhead to light the way.

    It was austere and unfeeling, devoid of any real beauty, much like the man who had possessed it before Jacen.

    The man he had killed.

    To the left stood a black command throne with a high back and myriad of controls built into its padded armrests. Seated upon it, was the being Jacen now called Master. He was shrouded in a dark cloak and turned away from the entrance, so that all Jacen could see was the glint of starlight off of his black and blood-red mask as he watched the Galactic Alliance's Fifth Fleet move on Zonama Sekot. Jacen could just make out the curves and gray armor of the Bothan Assault Cruiser that was Admiral Kre'fey's flagship, Ralroost.

    "You have succeeded in tempering Sekot's wrath," Darth Malig said as Jacen descended the short flight of stairs and the doors swept shut soundlessly behind him. There was a dual quality to the Sith's voice, eerily clear and yet a low rasp, all warped by a lingering metallic reverb.

    "For now," Jacen admitted. "But I'm going to have to go down there for this to work."

    "We already knew that."

    "Of course," Jacen replied with more bitterness in his voice than would have been possible a year ago. "You know everything."

    "Not everything, no," the Dark Lord objected. "But surely you can sense the immensity of this moment? This is our destiny, Lord Havok."

    Though there was still a part of Jacen that was deathly frightened to admit it, he could feel it, electricity in the air that told him he was on the verge of finding what he had sought since he was old enough to realize it was even missing.

    "This is where it ends," Malig added.

    Since meeting him more than nine months earlier, the Dark Lord had insisted that their destinies were intertwined—or rather, that his destiny was tied to one called "Solo," and that together they would "free the Force."

    Darth Malig was given to many detailed visions of the future, both his own and that of the galaxy. He had used this gift of clairvoyance to locate the Raithians where they'd hidden themselves deep in the Unknown Regions and had taken control of their empire—not as a king or diplomat, for Malig seemed to have no interest in wealth or prestige or any power besides that which the Force provided, but as an engineer, whose unseen and labyrinthine machinations steered the Raithians toward prosperity, and led them back to the Alliance for the war he'd waited a lifetime to wage.

    Few knew he existed. Fewer still had seen the face he kept hidden behind Revan's mask.

    Jacen could still remember what he'd felt when Malig had pulled the metal veil away and revealed himself to him. It was an epiphany. Everything that had so troubled him finally made sense, and he knew without question that Malig was capable of everything he claimed.

    Jacen had almost laughed.

    Most of the Raithians, even within the military, had neither seen nor heard of Darth Malig. He was allocated certain resources by those on the Council of Lords who served him, and given his own legion of personal Raithian soldiers, distinguishable by their silver armor.

    It was Malig's manipulations that made this all possible.

    Though he claimed it was the work of his former apprentice, Rénin, Jacen knew that Malig had sent the Vagaari to attack the Alliance, and used Callista Ming, one of his acolytes, to frighten the galaxy into believing the slavers were only an advance force for a much larger enemy lurking in the Unknown Regions. Still scarred by the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the Alliance had scrambled in panic at the thought of another onslaught, and when the Raithians did arrive in Alliance space, they destroyed their Vagaari slaves and were able to convince the GA they had come to save them.

    The Alliance welcomed the Raithians into the government with open arms, hailing them as heroes, while the Chiss and the Jedi were blamed for the Vagaari invasion and a plot to overthrow the GA.

    Jacen knew this had been Malig's plot, because he had seen the Dark Lord work a similar manipulation upon him. Shortly after the Jedi went into exile, Jacen had been captured by General Rénin and Malig's Hand "Faybol." When Jacen awoke after being knocked unconscious, he found Rénin locked in a violent duel with Callista, whom he believed at the time to be an ally of the Jedi. Jacen had killed Rénin with dark side powers to save Callista's life, though both he and Callista had been badly wounded. Perhaps, they would have even died.

    But Malig had saved them.

    It was the greatest irony of all—Darth Malig, the Dark Lord of the Sith, a sect Jacen had been raised to believe was evil incarnate, was a healer. And his healing powers went beyond that of anything Jacen had ever witnessed be done with the Force.

    It wasn't until later when Jacen learned that Callista was Malig's servant that he began to realize that the duel had been a performance, and that Malig had brought him there to kill Rénin. Rénin had been Malig's Sith Apprentice, the Raithian Lord of War, and Supreme Commander. With his death, Jacen began to assume all three roles.

    Like the Raithians for the Alliance, Malig had created a threat in order to be there as savior when help was needed and win Jacen's trust in order to manipulate him.

    And the manipulations did not stop there.

    Malig had engineered a fight between Jacen and his uncle, convinced him to betray his entire family and the Jedi in the interest of "protecting them," sent him to try and capture his own twin sister, fooled his brother Anakin into thinking Tahiri Veila had died so that he would take revenge against him, and driven Jacen's pregnant wife to turn on him.

    He had lost everything.

    Jacen could see these manipulations so clearly now, had been betrayed and lied to again and again, and yet he remained Malig's servant.

    Because it was what had to happen.

    He hadn't realized it until he'd failed in his attempt to kill Malig in the Sith's clandestine library after his whole life had been shattered at Centerpoint Station. Jacen was broken. He had to be broken. Losing everything had made him free to do anything. And that was what was required if he and Malig were going to restore the Force to its true nature.

    To Malig, the Force was an animal and the Jedi's attempts to keep it "in balance" a cage. The dark side of the Force, he insisted, was actually the Force in its natural state, and to deny it as the Jedi did was unnatural.

    "The harmony the Jedi are working to keep is unnatural," Malig had once explained. "Like the members of the Order itself, the Jedi seek to temper the Force from its full state, to keep it in a limited spectrum. To enslave it. It is this balance that is the cause of the unending cycle of war and destruction throughout the galaxy, a never-ending struggle between Light and Dark.

    "Have you never wondered why the Jedi always fail to stamp out the Sith, Jacen? It is because the Force is larger than the Jedi want to accept. The colors which they wish to shield civilization from are as natural as anything, ingrained in every particle that makes up this galaxy. It is something they can never erase. They can only keep it in their balance, a heightened state of chaos. But it is nature, and it always seeps through."


    Emotion, Malig said, was what made sentient life unique. To deny it in order to transcend the frailties of life was to disregard the essence of being. The Jedi were no different than droids in this way, self-aware but emotionless.

    That was not the way they were meant to exist. That was not the way the Force was meant to be.

    The only way to change this, to set the Force free from the turmoil created by this conflict, was to destroy the balance and let the Force return to its true nature. And to do that, Malig needed Jacen. He had seen it in the Force, and Jacen too had glimpsed something very similar in a dream. He'd not believed he was the key Malig sought, however, until the Dark Lord finally revealed to him how he planned to accomplish changing the Force, and Jacen realized that his bond with Sekot would be essential in executing it.

    If Malig was to be believed, their lives were entangled on a much deeper level. Jacen's Sith Master claimed to have once been the secret apprentice of a Dark Lord called "Plagueis" who had also trained the Emperor. Plagueis, Malig said, was a wise and powerful Sith who had discovered the secret to saving people from death. He also possessed the ability to use the midi-chlorians to create life.

    Most startling of all the things Malig had told Jacen, was that Plagueis had used this power to create Jacen's grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. He might have disregarded it as another of Malig's lies if he wasn't familiar enough with Old Republic lore to have come across mentions of Anakin Skywalker in regards to an ancient Jedi prophecy and a belief among some Jedi of the time that Anakin had not had a father, and had instead been conceived by the Force. To Jacen, it seemed just as likely, if not more, that the man who became Darth Vader had actually been the creation of another Sith.

    Of course, Jacen had also been convinced by two other things: seeing the face behind Malig's mask, and watching in shock as Malig killed a spider and then resurrected the tiny creature with the touch of a finger. It was a much smaller scale than the power which Malig claimed Plagueis possessed, but Jacen had watched in horror as the spider's body ruptured beneath his master's power—it had died. And then Malig brought it back to life.

    His Uncle Luke had emphasized the teachings of Yoda, that the size of a feat mattered not and was different only in the mind of one attempting it. If Malig could bring a dead insect back from the dead, he could do the same for a person, and that seemed to confirm everything the Dark Lord had told him and made him believe what they were destined to do was in fact possible.

    There was no doubt that Malig was evil—but he was also right. His view of the Force was everything Jacen had felt since before he was a teenager, and he knew in his heart that it was true. The Dark Lord's lies, cruelty, and manipulations had destroyed Jacen Solo, but he had risen stronger, as Darth Havok, and Havok was what was needed.

    He hated Malig, and when it was all over, he would kill him.

    But for now, as Malig had said, they needed each other. And the fate of the Force would depend on that.

    This is our destiny, Malig had said.

    "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think that was true," Jacen said finally. His dark eyes caught sight of an old book lying in Malig's lap. Its black leather cover was shot with veins and webs of old creases spidered out along the binding like the crooked branches of an evil tree. "What's that?"

    "Just something I picked up recently," his master replied cryptically.

    "You're keeping secrets from me."

    "Always."

    Darth Havok scowled at the cloaked figure in his throne, feeling the sting of his master's betrayal and hating how much he had become Malig's slave. He turned his gaze instead towards the large transparisteel viewport and the Bothan fleet encircling Zonama Sekot's glowing form outside.

    "How many of them do you think will die?"

    Malig's index finger brushed the chin of his mask as he considered the question for only a moment.

    "I suppose that depends entirely on you, Lord Havok."
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2019
  14. voxynking

    voxynking Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 12, 2005
    first.

    I loved how you ended it. It was very dark. I love how Jacen still seems to think he's doing all this to "save" lives. What a great way to start this story. Can't wait to see some of the characters from the DP. Way to go!! =D=
     
  15. CelseteAntola

    CelseteAntola TF.N Books Staff star 3 VIP

    Registered:
    May 18, 2002
    Second!

    *replies go here*

    ~Celeste
     
  16. Darth Dreadwar

    Darth Dreadwar Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 26, 2010
    Third!

    Great chapter. I love where Jacen is at now... he's not the broken man we saw last in The Lands of the Dead, nor the naive, manipulated 'good Sith' before that, but something... cold. Still believing himself to have noble intentions, but cold, and I'm glad he's recognized Malig for what he is, but is serving the Dark Lord anyway, because he thinks it is something that needs to be done. Of course, if Jacen actually sees Apollyon and Raithian space for what it is - the madness of dark side energy bringing only death and destruction - then he might change his mind.

    Malig continues to be awesome as always. He's still giving off ancient Sith sorcerer vibes, and continues to be my favorite Sith Lord in all of Star Wars, fanfiction or canon. :D
     
  17. GrandMasterKatarn

    GrandMasterKatarn Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 8, 2008
    FOURTH!

    Wow... :eek: The fate of the Yuuzhan Vong and Zonama Sekot rests in the hands of Jacen--er, Darth Havok. That's cold. And wrong. So very, very wrong and cold. He even knows he's being manipulated, yet still strives to believe he's going this for the better. Oh, poor Jacen. Always being manipulated, even in fanfic :p

    Great post, can't wait for more.
     
  18. Magnuskn

    Magnuskn Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 14, 2002
    Hmmmm. Why do I think that even with the possible extermination of the Yuuzhan Vong, that Bothan fleet won't make it back home?

    Great insight into why Jacen is now how he is. Good work. :)

    Looking forward to it. :)

    The producers have been in talks with Brian Bendis, so I'd give it a good chance that this is what is going to happen.

    Ah, okay. Well, be prepared for Cade getting incredibly annoying. But the rest of the characters do good stuff for the most part.

    It's mostly Jan who seemed sad, John was giving out "Trust us" quotes, too. So I don't know, maybe it'll be a transfer to novels format?
     
  19. shahid_chestro

    shahid_chestro Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jun 28, 2005
    wow wes... great chapter this last one... sorry for the late reply but RL has benn keeping me very busy
    just love that jacen is convincing sekot to not fight. the chapter with malig and sidious was also good.
    will give detailed review next time.

    gotta run (got 2 exams tomorrow)

    Update soon.
     
  20. FORCEBlLADE

    FORCEBlLADE Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2003
    You're giving m new ways to loath and despise Jacen. If that's you're goal, then job well done. I hope he gets his by the end of this fic.
     
  21. corran2

    corran2 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 16, 2006
    Great characterization of Jacen. I disagree with you about this chapter being weaker then the previous, this was a fantastic look into Jacen's psychology. I love how Malig is more upfront with Jacen here, he knows that Jacen will follow him wherever because it is his "destiny". Malig has completely manipulated Jacen, so brillantly too. A great chapter for sure.
     
  22. Darth_Kiryan

    Darth_Kiryan Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 13, 2009
    OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    It?s ALIVE!!!!!

    Way to begin the story. With a birth and a death all in one chapter.

    The more I read, the more I am ready to despise Jacen even more than I already do. Interesting to see that they needed Zenoma Sekot for something. Cannot wait for the next installment.

    Also. Can I go on your PM list??? This is story that I do not want to let go.
     
  23. PirateofRohan

    PirateofRohan Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 11, 2009
    TENTH!!![face_dancing]
    Loved the chapter. Now I somewhat understand why Jacen did what he did. It actually scares me more. Jacen's mind is just twisted right now. He is broken. But can he be put back together? Will he be the destroyer or the savior? Or are both roles one and the same? These are all good questions. WHAT ARE THE ANSWERS!?!:_|
     
  24. YodaKenobi

    YodaKenobi Former TFN Books Staff star 6 VIP

    Registered:
    May 27, 2003
    voxynking: first.

    Nicely done =D=

    I loved how you ended it. It was very dark.

    Thanks :) The next chapter is even darker :p But things will get fun after that.

    I love how Jacen still seems to think he's doing all this to "save" lives.

    It's what's best for the Force [face_mischief]

    What a great way to start this story.

    Thanks so much [face_blush]

    Can't wait to see some of the characters from the DP. Way to go!!

    Yeah, once we get to chapter 4 we'll start bouncing around the galaxy again and seeing everyone else.

    Thanks so much for reading and replying :D





    Celsete: Second!

    Way to go =D=

    *replies go here*

    Looking forward to it. Thanks for reading and replying :D





    Dreadwar: Third!

    *Awards you the bronze*

    Great chapter.

    Thanks!

    I love where Jacen is at now... he's not the broken man we saw last in The Lands of the Dead, nor the naive, manipulated 'good Sith' before that, but something... cold. Still believing himself to have noble intentions, but cold, and I'm glad he's recognized Malig for what he is, but is serving the Dark Lord anyway, because he thinks it is something that needs to be done.

    Yeah, at the end of LotD, Malig completely broke him. He's taken everything away from Jacen over the course of the last two stories, taken the pieces and rebuilt Jacen into this. Now we're seeing the result.

    Of course, if Jacen actually sees Apollyon and Raithian space for what it is - the madness of dark side energy bringing only death and destruction - then he might change his mind.

    This is true. Something tells me Malig is never going to let Jacen see Apollyon.

    Malig continues to be awesome as always. He's still giving off ancient Sith sorcerer vibes, and continues to be my favorite Sith Lord in all of Star Wars, fanfiction or canon.

    Wow, thanks. That means a lot :D He's my favorite OC by far and I'm glad you've found him to be a credible villain. A lot of this one is going to focus on him.

    Thanks again for reading and replying :)




    GMK: FOURTH!

    Good job =D=

    Wow... The fate of the Yuuzhan Vong and Zonama Sekot rests in the hands of Jacen--er, Darth Havok. That's cold. And wrong. So very, very wrong and cold.

    Yeah. He's fallen a long way since AoH :( In TLF he helped save the Vong...

    He even knows he's being manipulated, yet still strives to believe he's going this for the better. Oh, poor Jacen. Always being manipulated, even in fanfic

    lol. He can't win :p Jacen has always believed Luke and the Jedi's view of the Force was flawed and has longed to embrace something else. He wants to believe that the Force is much larger than the Jedi. Vergere and Malig have given him that.

    Great post, can't wait for more.

    Thanks and thanks for reading and replying :D






    Magnuskn: Hmmmm. Why do I think that even with the possible extermination of the Yuuzhan Vong, that Bothan fleet won't make it back home?

    That's an interesting idea. You think Jacen will use the Bothan's to get rid of the Vong and then use his own fleet to get rid of the Bothans? [face_thinking]

    Great insight into why Jacen is now how he is. Good work.

    Thanks, I'm glad you liked it :)

    The producers have been in talks with Brian Bendis, so I'd give it a good chance that this is what is going to happen.

    I've heard of that dude :p

    Ah, okay. Well, be prepared for Cade getting incredibly annoying. But the rest of the characters do good stuff for the most part.

    I've pretty much accepted that I'm never going to love Cade :p Good to hear about the others.

    It's mostly Jan who seemed sad, John was giving out "Trust us" quotes, too. So I don't know, maybe it'll be a transfer to novels format?

    That would be interesting, though I fear the current novels would be written as mere stepping stones for Legacy ev
     
  25. Magnuskn

    Magnuskn Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 14, 2002
    He's a Sith now. It's what they do. As soon as the Bothans are free of their Ar'krai oath, they might backstab him. And they are Bothans.

    I don't know, I really liked Cades independent streak for a lot of time, but in the issues you are getting into he really gets quite nasty. Eh, as I said, the rest of the characters more than make it up.

    That's happening anyway, since Del Rey got an easy way out now on how to continue the story. Personally, I've given up on the period, since they managed to kriff up about everything with their long time-jumps and by killing off everybody from the younger generation but Jaina and Ben. Legacy is the future ( literally and figuratively ) for me and that is why I am quite anxious to know what will happen now with it.