Beyond - Legends The Lands of the Dead (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M,H/L,many more) New fic 4/16!

Title: Legacy of the Sith (Book 3): The Lands of the Dead
Author: YodaKenobi
Timeframe: Post-New Jedi Order, 32 ABY
Characters: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, Tahiri, H/L, L/M, Kyp, Jag,everyone else who's ever been seen, spoken, or mentioned in a SW story
Genre: Adventure, Mystery
Keywords: Spaceman Spiff
Summary: A mysterious empire controled by a Sith Lord from deep in the Unknown Regions has become a part of the Galactic Alliance and is determined to destroy the Jedi Order.
Notes:

This is the sequel to "The Age of Heroes" and "Exodus." Don't let the prologue fool you, Legacy of the Sith takes place 3 years after my New Jedi Order AU series ("Revolution," "The Eighth Cortex," and "The Living Force"— links in my profile) which replace "The Final Prophecy," and "The Unifying Force," an an alternate ending to the NJO.

For new readers unsure about jumping into something that's already covered a lot of ground— don't worry! Background information will be given as we go so it won't be difficult to follow.

This story takes place 6 months after the events of "Exodus," which puts us in late 32 ABY.during the "Raithian Wars"— a period long ignored.

Dramatis Personae

Aero Gin; bounty hunter (female, unknown species)
Alema Rar; Sith Acolyte (female Twi'lek)
Anakin Solo; Jedi Knight (male human)
Ayddar Nylykerka; Galactic Alliance intelligence director (male Tammarian)
Baliss Phlora; Jedi Apprentice (female human)
Ben Skywalker; Jedi Student (male human)
Boba Fett; bounty hunter (male human)
Booster Terrik; captain, Errant Venture (male human)
Brosh; commander of Thrawn's household phalanx (male Chiss)
C-3PO; protocol droid
Cakhmaim; Leia Solo's bodyguard (male Noghri)
Callista Ming; Sith Acolyte (female human)
Cilghal; Jedi Master, prisoner (female Mon Calamari)
Corssa; Imperial Commander (female Chiss)
Dorrin Kogg; senate speaker (male Sermarian)
Emala; war profiteer (female Squib)
Evlyn Tabory; agent of the Chief Syndic (female human)
Faybol; Darth Malig's Hand (male Kuhr)
Ferani; Tenel Ka's Chamberlain (female human)
Fyor Rodan; Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance (male human)
Garm Bel Iblis; general (male human)
Ghost; Imperial Stormtrooper (male human)
Gijjle Vo Mio; Lady of Treasure (female Twi'lek)
Grees; war profiteer (male Squib)
H'sishi; crewmember, Wild Karrde (female Togorian)
Han Solo; captain, Millennium Falcon (male human)
Harrow; Sith Alchemist (male Rezor)
Hunter; Imperial Stormtrooper (male human)
Jacen Solo/Darth Havok; Sith Apprentice, General of the Raithian Armies, and First King of the Hapes Consortium (male human)
Jagged Fel; CEDF Commander (male human)
Jaina Solo; Jedi Knight (female human)
Jer'um; Raithian Commander (male human)
Jorj Car'das; former smuggler (male human)
Jysella Horn; Sith Acolyte (female human)
Kenth Hamner; Jedi Master, prisoner (male human)
Kirana Ti; Jedi Master (female human)
Khrom; Lord of Law (male, unknown species)
Kurol; shared consciousness of Faybol's brood
Kyle Katarn; Jedi Master (male human)
Kyp Durron; Jedi Master (male human)
Kyrn; Colonel, Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet (female Chiss)
Lando Calrissian; entrepreneur (male human)
Leia Organa Solo; Jedi Knight (female human)
Lorra Klorne; Commander, Galactic Alliance Fourth Fleet (female human)
Lowbacca; Sith Acolyte (male Wookiee)
Luke Skywalker; Jedi Master, prisoner (male human)
Maichen; child (female human)
Malig; Dark Lord of the Sith (male, unknown species)
Mara Jade Skywalker; Jedi Master (female human)
Malachor; prisoner (male human)
Marekk; Lord of Lords (male human)
Meewalh; Leia's bodyguard (female Noghri)
Mirax Horn; art dealer (female human)
Nyll; Commander of Raithian Elite Commandos (male human)
Na'rul Thun; smuggler (male Gotal)
Oaxley; Lieutenant, Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet (male Chiss)
Octa Ramis; Jedi Master (female human)
Orad Guthree; farmer (male human)
Otakahn Rai; Lord of Magic (male humanoid)
Pyke; prisoner (male Zabrak)
R2-D2; astromech droid
Raynar Thul; Sith Acolyte (male human)
Reevor Dactoy; Lord of Machines (male Kel Dor)
Relequy A'Kla; senator (female Caamasi)
S1-D1; Tendrando Arm's decoy droid
S2-D4; Tendrando Arm's decoy droid
Saba Sebatyne; Jedi Master (female Barabel)
Salo; prisoner (male, unknown species)
Sayge; captain, the Exodus (male human)
Sha; Lady of Creed (female Spindo)
Shada D'ukal; Talon Karrde's business associate (female human)
Sligh; war profiteer (male Squib)
Soontir Fel; Chief Syndic, Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet (male human)
Strack; colonel, Raithian Army (male, species unknown)
Streen; Jedi Master (male human)
Strafe; Imperial Stormtrooper (male human)
Ta'a Chume; former Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium (female human)
Ta'laam Ranth; Minister of State (male Gotal)
Tahiri Veila; Jedi Knight, prisoner (female human)
Talon Karrde; independent information broker (male human)
Tekli; Jedi Knight (female Chadra-Fan)
Tenel Ka Djo; Jedi Knight and Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium (female human)
Tionne; Jedi Master (female human)
Tesar Sebatyne; Jedi Knight (male Barabel)
Than Ulgran; director, Galactic Alliance Security (male human)
Thrawn; former Imperial Grand Admiral (male Chiss)
Traest Kre'fey; Admiral, Galactic Alliance Fifth Fleet (male Bothan)
Tresina Lobi; Jedi Master, prisoner (female Chev)
Triebakk; senator (male Wookiee)
Trima-ogo Iamodi; Lord of Alchemy (male Glyphix)
Tweeter; Jaina's astromech droid
Valin Horn; Jedi Knight (male human)
Vergere; former Jedi Knight (female Fosh)*
Vigorn; Head of the Queen Mother's Royal Guard (male human)
Voss Parck; Admiral, Empire of the Hand (male human)
Vox; Raithian Admiral (male human)
Wampa; Imperial Stormtrooper (male human)
Wedge Antilles; retired general (male human)
Wrev Caster; Jedi Knight (male human)
Zekk; Sith Acolyte (male human)
Zil Bahete; Lady of Wisdom (female human)

*deceased​

"You are forever lost to the worlds you knew. Your friends mourn, your father rages, your mother weeps. Your life has been terminated; a line of division has been drawn between you and everything you have ever known. You have seen the terminator that sweeps across the face of a planet, the twilit divison between night and day? You have crossed that line, Jacen Solo. The bright fields of day are forever past.

"There are no Jedi here. I am your guide through the lands of the dead."— Vergere, Traitor.



Darkness wrapped around Anakin like a cloak and whispered to him like a mother. It promised him a face of durasteel and a heart of ferrocrete. It offered him supernovas of power and the unflinching will to use it.

He had been to this place before, often. It was his oldest dream, perhaps dreamed for the first time when the clone of the Emperor Palpatine touched him through his mother's womb. And when he learned about his namesake, his grandfather Vader, the dreams grew stronger, more detailed. He saw futures in which he was grown, his blue eyes gone as gray as hull plating. He saw himself in Darth Vader's mask, the Knight of Darkness reborn.— Anakin's dream, Edge of Victory: Conquest.



"Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying."

"He could actually save people from death?"

"The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities... Some considered to be unnatural."— Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker, Revenge of the Sith.





Special thanks to jagsredlady for her betawork, guidance, and all-around awesomeness.

 

Prologue: Guthree's Farm

There is a wound cut in space.

A jagged gash torn through the fibers of the galaxy that writhes and throbs and grows in swirls of gas particles and clusters of screaming white stars. The webbed cloud of emissions and plasma shimmers and churns in deep reds and violet, bleeding into the endless black far beyond the Outer Rim.

Against this wound, this nebula, a warship appears.

The Imperial Star Destroyer Admonitor slides through the star-flecked abyss, its hulking ion drives cooking a trail of blue efflux and banks listlessly away from the distant mass of weeping dispersal.

It is two years after a band of rebels destroyed the Empire's Death Star at Yavin— two years before the battle of Endor when the Emperor will die, seventeen years before peace between the Empire and these rebels will be official, twenty-three years before the Yuuzhan Vong will invade and tear the galaxy asunder, and thirty years before another empire that calls itself the Raithians will worm its way into the Galactic Alliance at the behest of a mysterious Sith Lord.

The arrowhead-shaped warship drifts forward and comes to rest above a moon, the planetoid's atmosphere gleaming with the ethereal brilliance of reflected sunlight from the system's primary. This is when the Admonitor's belly hangar opens and a white Lambda-class shuttle falls gently through the star destroyer's atmospheric containment field, its wings unfolding like a crane, and a vanguard of two TIE fighters dropping down beside it.

The shuttle pivots and its own drives flare in a blue band, shooting towards the moon below. It takes only minutes for the vessel and its guards to burn through the wisps of clouds and vapors of the moon's atmosphere and come to land in a clearing on its surface.

This is Caro 2.

The only habitable satellite of the six moons orbiting an otherwise useless gas giant of the same name. It was colonized more than a millennium ago by Republic settlers anxious to work what they believed was exceptionally fertile farmland. While much of the moon was still verdant and thriving, some regions have become barren and desolate, with ramshackle villages built around dustbowls that have become nearly deserted.

The shuttle's landing ramp lowers in jets of flushing exhaust and two figures emerge. One is an aging human with a hawkish nose and dark hair that is quickly transforming to silver. He is dressed in the gray khakis of an Imperial Captain.

His name is Parck.

The other is a tall being with blue skin and glowing eyes of scarlet.

His name is Thrawn.

A brilliant strategist and fleet commander, Thrawn was elevated to the rank of Grand Admiral despite the rampant xenophobia in the Empire.

The pair marches down the ramp and begin to make their way across the terrain in curtains of blowing dust and tangles of shriveled foliage and yellowed grass.

Ostensibly, they have been sent to map the Unknown Regions as punishment for their involvement in a cabal's attempt to take control of the Empire. In reality, the failed coup d'état was orchestrated by the Emperor himself, as a means to send Thrawn and Parck into the Unknown Regions for his own purposes.

"This is a complete waste of time," Parck grumbles, squinting to keep the gusts of dirt from his eyes. "We're chasing shadows."

"If there are shadows, Captain, then there is something casting them."

"Perhaps I'd have more faith in this little exploration if you would tell me everything the Emperor disclosed to you when he banished us out here."

Thrawn only smiles, the slightest hint of amusement tugging at his lips.

For months they have been searching the Unknown Regions, using the resources Emperor Palpatine has given them in secret, to locate a fleet and people the ruler has assured them is lurking outside the farthest edges of known space. They've heard horrific tales, pursued every rumor and clue, and have yet to find a solitary shred of physical evidence that such an empire exists.

They approach a cluster of modest dome-shaped huts nearly identical to several they can see in the distant murk of the late-afternoon horizon, carved of white stone and brushed with dirt. When the pair is only a dozen meters from the farm house, a man appears in the doorway, obviously alerted by the whine of the shuttle's repulsors and intent on investigating the trespass.

He is a grizzled old man with skin made leathery from a lifetime of the sun's abuse, a chin raked by white stubble, and a hand missing two fingers. It is the pale eyes of the human that Thrawn finds most intriguing, however, for when they set on his visitors they widen with cold fear. The old farmer is clearly terrified in that moment and Grand Admiral Thrawn imagines he has never seen a Chiss before.

"Greetings," Thrawn calls to the man as he and Parck close the distance.

"Hello," he replies in an accented drawl.

"My name is Thrawn and this is my associate Voss Parck."

"Guthree," the man nods. "Is there something I can help you with, friend?"

"Orad Guthree?" Parck questions.

The farmer hesitates. "Yes..."

"Well, Mr. Guthree," Thrawn smiles. "We've come to see you."

"I was afraid of that," he replies, before gesturing to the open door of his hut. "Come on in."

The Grand Admiral and Parck exchange a look of surprise before slowly following the strange man into his home. Most of the hut's interior is bare, with few decorations outside of a handful of holographs on the wall and furniture that appears as though the old man pulled it out of the rain two decades ago.

"I've never met anyone from the Empire before."

They follow Guthree beneath a low-arched doorway to his kitchen where a wobbly table is parked and ringed by three chairs. He gestures for them to take the two seats in front of them. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"No, thank y—"

"Stimcaf would be nice," Parck interrupts. He always complains about the taste of the caf from the Admonitor's processor nozzles.

Guthree nods and smiles before fishing out three mugs from his cupboard and filling them with the lukewarm liquid he has sealed in a canister on his counter as the Imperials take their seats. He returns to the table, the mugs rattling in his trembling hands as he passes them to his guests and retreats to the far side of the table.

"Now what is it you gentlemen wanted to see me about?" Guthree asks, punctuating his question by taking a long gulp of caf, as if he is trying to hide behind the mug.

"It's good," Parck lies after a sip of his own.

"We're on a very unusual mission, Mr. Guthree," Thrawn explains. "We're... looking for something. Something of great importance to the Empire."

"Oh, I doubt you'll find anything like that out here. Unless the Empire is after soil that won't grow nothing."

Thrawn offers a quick smile of amusement. "Have you ever heard the tales of a fleet deep in these regions of unparalleled power? Of an empire that could rival our own?"

"Oh, the Conquerors," Guthree nods.

They've heard of the Emperor's enemies referred to in a variety of tongues, from dozens of different alien races in their search of the Unknown Regions, and they are often referred to simply as The Conquerors, or something close in translation. The tales are horrific, describing a race and a fleet that dismantles their opponents upon invasion, enslaving their people and cannibalizing them into an ever-growing war machine.

As outlandish as the stories sound, the utter fear and conviction with which the tellers relay them and the fact that the Emperor is concerned enough about this threat to send Thrawn along with a significant portion of the fleet to discover it, frightens the Grand Admiral more than anything he will ever come across.

"We've been searching for some trace of them," Thrawn continues. "Or a way to locate the sectors they control."

"If they even exist," Parck adds with a derisive snort.

"Better if it's a myth, I think," Guthree responds. His hands are trembling again, violent enough that a plume of caf splashes over the lip of his mug onto the table. Somehow, he steadies himself.

"My cousin went searching for them many years ago," Guthree goes on. "I was just a boy then, didn't really understand what was happening. There was a team of them, explorers who wanted to see if the legends about the Conquerors were real... they never returned."

"Do you know where they went?" Parck asks.

"Nah. I saved the coordinates from my cousin's notes for where they planned to start in my journal there," the farmer says, gesturing to an old datapad on the counter. "But where they ended up... nobody knows."

Thrawn glances down at his caf, sees a few specks floating on the surface and permacretes his decision not to drink it. "That would be very helpful, thank you."

"You're not the first person to come here looking for those coordinates, you know?"

"That was the other thing we wanted to speak to you about, Mr. Guthree. We spoke to a Duro spacer on En'lest named Bargo who told us you'd had another visitor."

Orad Guthree chuckles for the first time and its clear he's missing teeth as well. "Old Bargo. I guess a story like that gets around, eh? What did he tell you exactly?"

"He told us to see you," Parck replies. "He said you'd tell it better."

"Ah."

"So who was this visitor?"

Guthree grows nervous again. "I don't want no trouble, friends..."

"You're not in any danger from us," Thrawn assures.

"It's not you I'm afraid of..."

"We won't tell anyone," Parck says with a grin, leaning forward. "I promise."

Guthree shakes his head. "He'll know..."

Thrawn and Parck exchange another look.

"Who?"

"I don't know what he was, but he came here about fifty years ago... looking for the coordinates like you fellas. I don't know how he found me, how he knew..."

"You didn't see him?" Thrawn asks.

"His face was... wrapped in rags," Guthree explains. "All I could see were his eyes and... they were horrible, friend. Yellow like some reptile, but wreathed with red..."

"Why do you think he hid his face?"

"I don't know really, so I wouldn't know who he was, I guess. But he was injured, real bad, I think. He was holding his side a lot and he seemed to be in pain. Maybe something had happened to his face and he didn't want people to see.

"His voice was... like nothing I've ever heard before. It was so clear, but garbled at the same time. It was warped. Like he had two voices..."

Parck raises a brow. "Did he have a name?"

"He said to call him 'Adas'... that seemed to amuse him."

"What about a ship?"

"Some Nubian model, I think. Real sleek for a guy wearing a cloak and rags. But that was the least peculiar thing about the fella', so I didn't say nothing."

"What did he say?"

"He said he needed my help— that I was supposed to help him. He claimed he had a vision, that he could see my future. Said he knew about my cousin and that he needed the coordinates.

"I thought he was mad. I was a much younger man back then, but I've never been so frightened."

"Did he threaten you?"

"No, no. He said he needed the coordinates and that I was supposed to help him. Then, he asked me what I wanted more than anything in the galaxy."

"What did you say?"

Guthree shrugs. "How do you answer a question like that? I just laughed and said I'd like a million credits. But he didn't like that much."

"He didn't?"

"No. He said it was a foolish thing to ask for when someone was offering you anything. 'What good is money?' he said. 'What would you use it for? What is it you really want more than anything? If no law of man or nature ruled you, what would you ask for? What if your imagination was the only limit, Mister Guthree?'"

"So what did you say this time?"

"My wife."

"What?"

"My wife Meryll. She'd died that winter. Wandered out into the hills one morning because she'd seen a whisperkit, but she must have gotten lost... She froze out there... So I told him, if I could have anything in the galaxy, I'd want Meryll back."

"Did he like that answer better?" Thrawn asks.

"Oh yeah," Guthree replies. His voice is now strung with bitterness. "He said he could do it, that he could bring my wife back."

"What did you do?"

"I asked him to leave. A man doesn't joke about that kind of thing! I wasn't scared of him after that, just angry... But he didn't leave..."

Voss Parck is leaning so far forward that his chest is nearly touching the table.

"What did he do?"

The old man makes a fluid-filled groan before downing the last of his caf.

"It's better if I just show you."

With that, the farmer rises from his chair and heads for the back door. Thrawn and Parck exchange a look of bewilderment and then follow after the man in a restrained scramble.

The back door slides open with a hiss and the drone of ailing motors to reveal a field of dried grass and soil that looks as though it's been ravaged, plowed into fruitlessness. A wooden fence borders the glades of drought separating Guthree's farm from the thickets and forest of crooked trees beyond and the snow-capped mountains on the horizon.

There were several breaks in the long fence, where entire beams are cast off their support and lying askew in the dirt. "I had a nerf," Guthree says, leading them towards one such break, stepping over the toppled lumber to make his way out into the forest. "A male. He got sick and I didn't realize how bad it was getting... He'd died the day before the stranger came here."

"I'm starting to see a common theme in all of your stories," Parck replies dryly, following the man into the woods.

The farmer seems oblivious to the captain's sarcasm. "The stranger wouldn't leave when I asked him to. Instead, he came out back here where the nerf was lying beneath the sun. There were flies gathering and the stink was horrible, but I hadn't gotten around to doing anything with it yet. Things just seemed so hard after losing Meryll, ya know?

"... Anyway, this fella walks right over to the nerf and looks at it for a minute before laying his hands on it." Guthree moves around a thick tree with massive gnarled roots and a pair of dark shapes become visible on the forest floor a dozen meters away.

The old farmer continues while Thrawn and Parck squint, trying to make out what lies ahead.

"He touched it?" Parck asks in disgust.

"I could see electricity dancing off his fingers, like he was pumping it into my livestock. After a few minutes, he broke contact and stepped away. Then, an instant later, it happened."

"What?"

Guthree stops and turns to look at his guests, his eyes distant and horror-filled as if he's reliving it all again.

"The damned nerf stood up. Flopped right over onto its legs. He snorted and chuffed and made all sort of angry noises. The look in his eyes was that of some feral beast.

"After a few minutes he charged through the fence and ran out here into the forest."

"And what did you do, Mr. Guthree," Thrawn asks, ducking a low branch.

"I ran. The other direction of course, but I wanted as far away from that... that thing that could wake the dead, as possible! Ahh, here we are."

The two shapes on the forest floor are a pair of animal carcasses— one a feline predator and the other a larger animal so rended that it is unrecognizable. Both are surrounded by stained crimson grass and have been gutted by sharp tusks or horns, their insides chewed by whatever had killed them.

"Don't tell me this is supposed to be your nerf," Thrawn says, gesturing towards the larger carcass.

"No, it's not him," Guthree replies. "This is what he did."

"What?"

"He lives out in the mountains but comes here every couple weeks and makes a kill."

Thrawn's glowing eyes narrow. "But nerfs are docile creatures— herbivores. No nerf could have done this."

Guthree snorts. "That's not even the real scary part, friend. Most nerfs, they only live ten, maybe fourteen years if you don't work them too hard. It was forty-nine years ago that this maniac showed up on my farm and did whatever it was he did...

"A few people have tried to kill it over the years, but I don't think it can be done. It's immortal."

Both Thrawn and Parck stare at the old man, wondering if his tale is possible in any way or if he's simply gone mad.

"Did you ever see him again?" Parck asks finally. "This Adas?"

Guthree shakes his head. "I returned to my farm the next day and he was gone. My datapad was moved out and on the table so I knew he'd taken the coordinates before leaving. I tried to forget all about it, but I couldn't. As I slept that night, all I could do was think about what had happened, to wonder if I had stayed, if he could have brought Meryll back too..." The old man’s eyes begin to fill with tears.

"But then, I started to wonder what that creature did here while I was gone... I couldn't shake this feeling... I went out to where I'd buried Meryll that winter, and I started to dig."

"No..." Parck says so softly that he does not realize he spoke.

"I dug that night until I found her coffin. But when I opened it... there was nothing inside."

A long silence follows, before Thrawn speaks. "That is quite a story."

"I wonder," Guthree sobs. "If she's out there somewhere. If he made her into a monster like that nerf... I..."

Again, the Imperials wait a moment while Guthree composes himself.

"Was there anything else?" Parck asks. "Anything about this visitor we need to know."

"Well, there was one thing." Reaching into his pocket, Guthree pulls out a piece of flimsiplast that looks as though it's been folded and unfolded a million times. "This was on the counter when I finally returned home."

Thrawn takes the flimsi from Guthree and unfolds it as Parck looks over his shoulder to read. On the sheet are a few handwritten lines in Aurebesh, the marks beautiful and elegant at times, but others are erratic and jagged.

This is what it says:

Mister Guthree,

Many years from now, two men will come to see you. One will be human and the other will have the eyes of evil. They will ask you for the coordinates.

Kill them both.​

Thrawn hears the rattle a moment before he lowers the flimsi and sees the muzzle of the blaster pistol shaking in Guthree's hand.

"I'm sorry..." he says. "But I'm scared he'll come back..."

The blaster sings out in a flash of blinding energy and Parck goes down, the bolt scorching through his shoulder. Thrawn dives to the ground, freeing his sidearm and aiming all in one smooth motion before the aging farmer can train his blaster on the Chiss.

Another burst of scarlet follows, leaving a smoking hole in Guthree's chest.

He falls to the ground, dead.

The thirteenth Imperial Grand Admiral pushes himself to his feet and stares down at the farmer's body, his great mind reeling.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Parck groans from behind. "I'm just great."

 

Final version coming next week

next week?!

looking forward to it

 

Nice start. Definitely not what I expected as the prologue.

I'm assuming that the Conquerors are the Raithans and that Adas is Malig.

 

Just now getting all the way through the immense body of work you've done, YodaKenobi, and I must tip my hat to you for writing some damned good Star Wars fics. If the EU went in this direction during the NJO, I might actually still be reading the profic instead of avoiding it like the plague. Kudos.

Eagerly looking forward to the next installment...

 

I love it. What a great way to start out a story. An immortal nerf. Reminds me of Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and Torchwood.

 

Awesomesause.

Good to see some action going on so early.

I'll continue to watch and wait.
PM me if at all possible.

 

*New Fic posted dance*

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YK:There is a wound cut in space.

A jagged gash torn through the fibers of the galaxy that writhes and throbs and grows in swirls of gas particles and clusters of screaming white stars. The webbed cloud of emissions and plasma shimmers and churns in deep reds and violet, bleeding into the endless black far beyond the Outer Rim.

Against this wound, this nebula, a warship appears.

The Imperial Star Destroyer Admonitor slides through the star-flecked abyss, its hulking ion drives cooking a trail of blue efflux and banks listlessly away from the distant mass of weeping dispersal.


Cool. Trying to go for an OT type opening with a Star Destroyer?

FYI, I had the opening to RotJ (When Vader arrives at DSII) going for most of this chapter. Felt kinda apropriate.


The shuttle's landing ramp lowers in jets of flushing exhaust and two figures emerge. One is an aging human with a hawkish nose and dark hair that is quickly transforming to silver. He is dressed in the gray khakis of an Imperial Captain.

His name is Parck.

The other is a tall being with blue skin and glowing eyes of scarlet.

His name is Thrawn.



Ladies and Gentlemen, the awesomness meter for the prologue has just burst.


Thrawn offers a quick smile of amusement. "Have you ever heard the tales of a fleet deep in these regions of unparalleled power? Of an empire that could rival our own?"

"Oh, the Conquerors," Guthree nodded.

Yep, he's heard of them.


They've heard of the Emperor's enemies referred to in a variety of tongues, from dozens of different alien races in their search of the Unknown Regions, and they are often referred to simply as The Conquerors, or something close in translation. The tales are horrific, describing a race and a fleet that dismantles their opponents upon invasion, enslaving their people and cannibalizing them into an ever-growing war machine.

Maybe I'm thinking of this too straightfowardly, but it would seem to me if some group like that was as big and powerful as they were said to be, they wouldn't be 'just rumors'. We're aren't exactly talking about 300 AD where there were it took weeks to get news from one place to another.

Besides, they didn't seem to be that advanced in AoH and Exodus.


"I don't know what he was, but he came here about fifty years ago... looking for the coordinates like you fellas. I don't know how he found me, how he knew..."

"You didn't see him?" Thrawn asks.

"His face was... wrapped in rags," Guthree explains. "All I could see were his eyes and... they were horrible, friend. Yellow like some reptile, but wreathed with red..."


Now that was either someone with some serious drug and sleep issues, or it was a Sith Lord. Then again maybe it was both... I'm betting that this 'stranger' was Malig.


"I don't know really, so I wouldn't know who he was, I guess. But he was injured, real bad, I think. He was holding his side a lot and he seemed to be in pain. Maybe something had happened to his face and he didn't want people to see.

"His voice was... like nothing I've ever heard before. It was so clear, but garbled at the same time. It was warped. Like he had two voices..."

Darth Nihilus + Frank = Darth Malig?


"No, no. He said he needed the coordinates and that I was supposed to help him. Then, he asked me what I wanted more than anything in the galaxy."

"What did you say?"

Guthree shrugs. "How do you answer a question like that? I just laughed and said I'd like a million credits. But he didn't like that much."

Darth Nihilus + Frank + Mr. Morden = Darth Malig (Babylon 5 reference FTW!)


There were several breaks in the long fence, where entire beams are cast off their

 

Wow! That was an amazong start, your best yet! Just so many shocks! I loved starting it out with Parck and Thrawn! I loved Parck from "Empire of the Hand", and Thrawn is always awesome. So Malig went to see this Farmer Guthree, and can possibly see the future. We'll the flashbacks be a regular thing for this story? All I know is its going to be one heck of a ride!

 

Wow! We're off to a great start. I'm loving the mystery of going "back in time" to Thrawn and Parck visiting the farmer with the "immortal nerf" ! The visitor had power greater than Palpatine I fear. Our heroes are in for a long painful battle.

We're those they were searching for the Vong?

The writing is incredible, your descriptions and characters are outstanding. It's always a pleasure to read your work.

 

Okay...I have a confession. I will not be able to participate in the Friday-First contest until the end of the summer. I'm coaching Darth Toddlers soccer team at the usual time that you post...

Unless, you'd like to change your posting time to suit me better?



Well, Wes, I must say...WOAH.

I'm slightly confused...but not really. I'll have to read it a time or two more to fully appreciate it, methinks.

But dude, Thrawn/Parck is teh coolness.

I might even go as far as to say "Thrawn/Parck '08" Cause voting for them makes your defeat democratic!



Great start, can't wait for more!

Cyn

 

Yay! We're off again.

I love the beginning - and even better the fact we've gone temporarily back in time to one of my favourite eras (before the Dark Times, before the NJO ). The mystery is very cool, and I'm sure it will deepen. I love mysteries even though I'm usually the last person to guess right. LOL

Great to see Parck and Thrawn again, too. Awesome beginning with the evocation of the time frame and the planet.

I won't make any conjectures at present, but there are lots of possibilities racing through my head. Great stuff.

 

I did not wxpect that sort of opening. Great way to start this fic and get us freaked out - at least getting me freaked out.

Can't wait for more.

 

*mind boggled by the hints and ideas running through the head*

Adas, huh? Interesting. 48 years prior to Battle of Yavin. Very interesting indeed.

Excellent start, my friend. Great way to get this party started!!

Voz

 

ooo its good to be starting on the next story! I wasn't expecting to go back in time though! Great opening Yoda. I look forward to seeing this story unfold and to having questions answered.

 

Maggy: next week?!

Too optomistic? I thought we were getting close to finished.

looking forward to it

Well, whenever it's done No rush.

Thanks for reading!





Ultima: Nice start. Definitely not what I expected as the prologue.

Glad I could surprise you. It seems out of left field but it's actually the natural place to pick up after the end of Exodus when Jacen learned Malig's identity.

I'm assuming that the Conquerors are the Raithans and that Adas is Malig.

Yep, exactly. We saw the Vagaari call the Raithians "The Conquerors" back in Empire of the Hand and the Age of Heroes. we can assume that this is the way most of the worlds outside of the empire know them.

And we know Malig has some sort of interest in King Adas. Back in chapter 16 of Exodus he gave Luke a book titled, "The Chronicals of Adas" and asked him to read it. We don't know what Malig's interest is or if there's a connection there, but there may be a clue in the fact that it seemed to amuse him to be called "Adas."

Thanks so much for reading and replying





Rigil_Kent: Just now getting all the way through the immense body of work you've done, YodaKenobi, and I must tip my hat to you for writing some damned good Star Wars fics. If the EU went in this direction during the NJO, I might actually still be reading the profic instead of avoiding it like the plague. Kudos.

Wow, thanks so much That's very kind of you to say. I'm glad you're enjoying the stories. I started them because I wished the NJO had went in a bit of a different direction myself

Eagerly looking forward to the next installment...

Thanks, I should have more on Friday. Thanks for reading and your reply






GrandMasterKatarn: I love it. What a great way to start out a story.

Thanks I'm glad you liked it.

An immortal nerf . Reminds me of Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and Torchwood.

I've never seen either

As for the nerf, we saw Malig do something like this with a spider in chapter 37 of Exodus. The question is, does he really have the power to bring things back to life like Darth Plagueis was alledged to have, or is this an older Sith trick...

Thanks for reading and replying!






zonzo: Awesomesause.



Thanks!

Good to see some action going on so early.

Next chapter is a massive amount of action topped with two layers of extra action.

I'll continue to watch and wait.

Thanks, I hope you enjoy it

PM me if at all possible.

Will do! Thanks for the interest.






PointGiven: uh-oh

Yeah, Alema, Zekk, Lowie, and Raynar have that same title..

I guess this is what you meant by the quote in your trailer
Luke: "what kind of name is Malachor?"
I was hoping it was the planet but you may get to that.

Maybe. There's a slim chance.

But yeah, that's where the reference in the trailer comes from. There's a character who at least claims his name is Malachor.

Great Prologue! I'm also suscribing to the idea that "Adas" is Malig.

The character in the prologue is definitely Malig, if that's what you mean. I wouldn't say that because he asked to be called "Adas" it means he's the long-dead King Adas of the Sith though.

Have you by any chance read The Monkey's Paw? It's a short story which involves three wishes. One wish is to bring someone back from the dead but it turns out to be like the nerf and the wife in your story. I was wondering if that influenced you.

No, I can't say that I have. I do remember the Simpsons parody of it in one of their Halloween episodes though Can't remember if anyone wished to bring someone back to life, I don't think so.

Thanks for reading and replying






Wedge:

 

An excellent start, YK. Especially the tales of, and the instructions left by, Malig.

And now I'm wondering just what became of 'Merryl"? I have a feeling we may have seen her before, already...

 

It has started! This is good news indeed!

I shall watch your progress with great interest.


P.S. Special thanks to jagsredlady for her betawork, guidance, and all-around awesomeness.
You're too sweet.

 

Just thought of something. Malig's visit to Guthree puts him in about the same shape a certain Lost character was in after time traveling. it leads further credence to my Malig=Ben theory.

 

Thanks for the PM!

Great start...very cool and creepy! I love the planning you & backstory you've put into this fic. I frequently feel as though I'm missing some inside clue, but that's good, because it's so much fun to discover what I was missing and have that "ah-ha!" moment.

Looking forward to more.

 

All of those little details aren't random, btw. The fact that Malig is injured, that he has a "Nubian" ship, the year, that he asked Guthree to call him "Adas"? they're all part of Malig's backstory that will be filled in later.

What the deuce?

So he's got a Nubian ship, it's five years before the birth of Anakin Skywalker but interestingly enough the year of Padme Naberries birth, and he's ?injured?.

Also exhibit's creepy T-virus Raise-The-Dead ability...

And Jacen recognizes him.

Malig is...I dunno. But I'm going to figure it out.

I swear.

Cyn

 

YK:With the exception of Revolution, I've always started every fic in this series in space like the films, but yeah, this is the first time I've gotten to us an Imperial SD for the full OT effect

Cool. Interesting how Zahn did something similar, opening his books with a Star Destroyer passing by. Haven't read Outbound Flight, so I don't know how that one opened up.


Not the most popular pairing in fanfic, but I'm glad you like it I was really excited about writing a scene of them from this time period. Thrawn's "mapping duty" is one of my favorite SW EU mysteries.

Yeah, the EU seems to go back and forth between 'was it the YV, or not?'. Although considering how much time has passed in universe, unless DR is going to suddenly pull something out of thin air (not entirely implausable) it might as well have been the YV.


Great question to be asking. Why is it only rumors? Well, to throw out one theory, Raithian space could be far, far from known space? like weeks or months in hyperspace to get there if you knew where you were going. There's another explanation too, but I have to save that one. I promise it will be explained though.

True, but some of the books and movies give the impression that it takes hours to get from one point to another (ex: Ep III, Palpy going from Coruscant to Mustafar to save Anakin Krispywalker). Then again, there have been games like Rebellion where it took months to go from one end of the galaxy to the other. Then again, you would have to know where you were going, otherwise you might fly into a star.


Way over my head

Well, here's my attempt at an explination. What do want?

Then again, upon further reflection, Kosh here might be more appropriate for Darth Malig...


That's so awesome!

I promise the 5th fic in this 4 fic series will be zombie-centric.

That I'd like to see.

I keep going back and forth on who to replace Jaina with. Most of the pics I can find of Claire are dated, Ada doesn't seem right, so I guess that leaves Jill there. also got another version where I switched Leon and Chris. Malig there was the easiest one for me. Wesker seemed to be the perfect one.


I know what happened to her, but I haven't decided if I'm ever going to tell you guys. Might be better to leave it a mystery... either way, if it doesn't come up in the next fic and you're still wondering about it, I'll tell you what happened to Meryll's body when the series is over.

Is this kinda like the Syfo-Dias(sp?) thing in Episode II? I seem to recall that never getting solved... Should be interesting, though...


The question is, did Malig give Guthree this note so the farmer would kill Thrawn and Parck, or did he give it to Guthree knowing full well that Guthree himself would be killed, thus, eliminating a trail to the Sith Lord?

I was wondering the same thing myself. Thing is, it almost looks like it doesn't matter. Guthree didn't know much of anything about Malig, except that he wanted those coordinates and has something like the T-Virus from RE on hand.

Speaking of which, if that chapter was any indication, it seems as if Malig is right, </Obi-wan> from a certain point of view </Obi-wan>. He can bring things back to life, but they're...changed, different.


That's still freakin' cool

Yes, Garrus is cool.

Maybe it's just me, but all the Turians (even the one on the Council that I nicknamed "Vrook" ) have sort of a badassness about them.


Damn, that would have been better! *Tempted to rewrite*

Yeah, that would've been cool. Come to think of it, was Rukh even with Thrawn at that time? Oh well, wouldn't be the first time cannon was re-written here.

 

great start man, keep me updated.

 

Real nice start YK.

Will we see more of this raising the Dead power?

PS: Who will we see in the next chapter?