Saga Working In Darkness - Chapter 14 - Diplomatic Interruptions

Working in Darkness ? PG-13
By MJSullivan

Cover Art

[image=http://img117.echo.cx/img117/4388/wedgeclub7bh.jpg]

Title: Legitimate Business ? Working in Darkness
Author: Mjsullivan
Timeframe: The Aftermath of ANH (OT)
Characters: OC, Wedge Antilles, Darth Vader, Talon Karrde, Luke Skywalker, Admiral Ackbar
Genre: Adventure/Action/Drama
Keywords: Smuggler, Wedge, Vader
Summary: How far will a young smuggler go to rescue an old friend from the clutches of Darth Vader?

Critical Feedback is welcomed for this story and may be posted as a reply to the topic

Disclaimer: The italicised sections of this chapter are excerpts from Brendon Wahlberg?s (excellent) work Dark Emperor (Part Two- A New Enemy). Although I have embellished in a few places to indicate a perspective switch from the Emperor to Vader, full writing credit goes to Mr Wahlberg.

The usual stuff: I have not and will not profit financially from this story. I do not own any of the characters created by George Lucas during the course of the Star Wars films, or any of the characters created by the various EU authors in their works. All original characters, however, are totally my own.


Note to New Readers - Due to the massive size of this story, it's always available as a single up-to-date Word file on request - it may save catchup difficulties! Just as long as you promise to come back here and comment on it


Chapter Listing

Prologue: A Reflection on Failure
Chapter One: More Dangerous to be Us
Chapter Two: The Inaugural Flight of Rogue Squadron
Chapter Three: The Heist (Parts 1&2)
Chapter Three: The Heist (Part 3)
Chapter Four: A Trandoshan Named Kasserheul
Chapter Five: Thank the Force for Old Friends and New Acquaintances (Part 1)
Chapter Five: Thank the Force for Old Friends and New Acquaintances (Parts 2&3)
Chapter Six: What in the Name of the Empire?
Chapter Seven: Better Judgement
Chapter Eight: Valis Lorn
Chapter Nine: Craft
Chapter Ten: Awry
Chapter Eleven: Badly Awry
Chapter Twelve: P.O.W
Chapter Thirteen: Stranded
Chapter Fourteen: Diplomatic Interruptions


Prologue: A Reflection on Failure


"Rise, Lord Vader." The voice of the Emperor resonated in the chamber.

Vader rose to regard his Master with bowed head. Emperor Palpatine was clad in a severe black uniform with the Imperial symbol at his breast, and over that, a flowing cape with a high flaring collar. Vader towered over his Master, as if to give lie to their relative authorities. The Emperor's face was unlined and full of regal assurance. Vader's face was forever hidden behind a grotesque black mask, designed to inspire fear in all those who looked on it.

But it was he who felt the fear as he awaited judgement.

 

WOW! Amazing story, so well written. I cannot wait to see more of this story. Very well done!

 

My gosh, you responded so quick you scared me, VaderLVR64! Thankyou very very much for the comments (tell your friends, eh )

Chapter One will be up in around two weeks time, as it needs to be written and beta-read before it 'goes live'.

Again, thankyou!

 

Follows is my token Upping for this chapter:

UP.

That is all.

Thankyou

 

Very enjoyable.

Good descriptions of Piett and Ozzel. Actually pleased that Ozzel got choked as I think he deserved a chance before that final choking.

I like Vader realising that until Luke is slain there will be an anchor for Kenobi.

 

Thanks very much, JM. I'm really glad that you enjoyed this prologue, and that it's not too dull for what it is (Which is essentially lead-up exposition).

And yeah, the dynamic between Ozzel and Vader has just always seemed very strained to me, even though we only see him for a few scenes in ESB. It made a bit of sense for Vader to hate Ozzel before he just summarily choked him in orbit around Hoth - "you have failed me for the last time" makes more sense that way.

But i'm afraid that i can't claim to have come up with the idea of Skywalker being Obi-Wan's anchor. That was all Brendon Wahlberg's stuff, i just adapted it to fit the context of this story.

Again, thanks very much JM

 

So it begins. It fits well that the epilogue of FF and the prologue of this story both had Vader and ol' Palpy. I also liked that Ozzel had some mess-ups prior to his execution.

Good start, mjs. This should be another good one.

 

Nice image of how Vader tells Palpatine about how the Death Star blew. Did the old timer nearly blow a fuse? Hehehehehehe! Can't wait to read more.

 

Thanks very much, Face(Very good to have you on board) and newest readerLukeAnaSkywalker! I'm very glad you liked the prologue. (I hope i can make it an even better one, face )

Glad to report chapter One is well under way, and should be at the Beta readers by next week. Thanks again for reading guys!

 

***Cover Art Temporarily Removed****

 

Nice cover art, poor bloke in shuttle with a squint on his tail and an Immobiliser Interdictor stopping his escape. Could be worse, could be a Dominator Interdictor which (from the size of the gravity well domes) would be affecting a wider area and letting the TIE pilot have more target practice

 

haha, thanks JM The story will reveal (much later) who is piloting the Lambda shuttle. I'd hate to be in his position - i had enough trouble shaking off a squint in my X-wing when i was playing X-wing alliance!

 

Nobody else wants to read, eh?
Well, just in case, i'm upping. People will never find it on page six.

 

Hey, I'll up this for you. But you have to post an update as a reward : ) Yeah, I'm into that whole reward system.

 

Extremely good intro!!! I look forward to reading more!

Keep it UP!!!

 

Thankyou very much, both of you! VaderLVR64 for upping and Jedi_Trevor_GulDan for being a brand new reader!

I'll do my best to keep it up around here, Jedi_Trevor

As for an update, VaderLVR64...well, i can do you an excerpt from the next chapter if you like. It's just i've been tinkering with an interesting way of introducing the main character and his predicament. Just two nights ago i decided on the main ideas, so it's really just a jumble of words at the moment

anyways, here's an excerpt so you'll have an idea of what to expect:



Clip Argentsson woke as suddenly and as completely as if someone had yelled in his ear. His heart began pounding, adrenaline coursing through his veins. An inexplicable wave of panic hit him as he sat bolt upright on the cushioned bench. His breath came in short ragged breaths, almost choked off by his cold, tight throat. Reflexively, his hand snatched for a blaster that was not there. Thrown by this anomaly, he leapt off the cushioned bench, and onto legs that did not want to support his weight. He crumpled to the floor, and lay there panting, somehow exhausted.

What in the name of the Sith is going on?

Several things hit him all at once.

There was a throbbing ache in his left arm, and a surprisingly sharp pain in that shoulder. There was an intense coldness that seemed to penetrate his skin and sink into his bones, and his entire body was weak, as though he was only using his muscles for the first time. But most prominently, he realised that he was most definitely not in the cockpit of the Raging Cusper any more.

Where was his blaster? Where was Noosa, his R2 unit? Where was his ship? Shouldn?t he be on a job right now?

The questions swarmed in Clip?s brain, overwhelming him. He clenched his teeth against the steady pang of a headache, and forced himself to sit up. He was still panting, as though the air he was breathing had no effect on his body. Each individual inhalation was accompanied by a harsh rasping sound ? probably thanks to the cold more than anything else. Very steadily, wary of the pain it was causing, he drove breaths deeper into his lungs, forcing them to accept oxygen.

It seemed to work. After several of such deep breaths, his need for air became less noticeable. The panting had ceased. Vapour billowed from his mouth as he exhaled deeply a final time, and he watched it dissipate quickly. His mind was quieting. It had sorted its priorities. Now, it only posed one question at a time, and was content to let his senses time to provide an answer.

Alright?Where in the galaxy am I?

For the first time, he let his eyes scan his environment. What he saw did not please him.

He was sitting in what appeared to be a small, dank prison cell. It was about five metres by five, but the mirror on the wall to his left made it seem a lot bigger. To his left was the cushioned bench that he had woken on, with a small electronic sensor next to it ? presumably to control the position of the bench. The ceiling hung low overhead, and in the centre of it hung a single, crude lamp ? the only source of light. The floor was solid metal, freezing cold, and sloped downward into the centre of the room, where a minuscule grate lead to a narrow drain. What the drain was for, he couldn?t guess.

The only thing in the room that really interested him was directly opposite him ? the door. It ran from the floor to the ceiling, and was made from a different kind of material to the other walls ? a darker colour, and more dense-looking. Beside it was a single button that glowed bright yellow. Clip?s eyes set upon the button, and he stared at it. There was an inexplicable sense of promise about it?vibrantly glowing yellow in an otherwise dim room. This button, he knew, was his only way out of here.


Please keep in mind that this is not a beta-read draft, and it's still only very much an early draft! Wording problems and things like that will all be sorted out when i've got a good chunk of time

 

Very intriguing, sounds like Clip is in rather a lot of trouble. I just hope for his sake that the drain isn?t for what I think it might be.

I also hope that the cell designers weren?t suffering from a strange sense of humour, give the prisoner a big yellow button to push and have that trigger something nasty.

 

Poor old Clip is in bad shape at the moment. But i suppose waking up in a strange place with aches all over and no escape would put the creeps right up anyone.

The good news is that the chapter is halfway done. The bad news is that I have university work that isn't done at all, which must take precedent

By the end of next week, the chapter will be finished and at the beta readers at least. Until then, Clip will just have to hang around, waiting to find out what happens to him. Poor bloke.

 

I will glady accept that excerpt as a reward (say that five times fast). Great job.

 

Thankyou, VaderLVR64 It's only a very short reward, i know - that particular section of writing has now been extended to be two pages long. At this stage, it looks as though the next post will be longer than the prologue.

But, i think it's normal for chapters to be longer than the prologue in any case

 

Cool start, and it seems that Clip is in serious trouble indeed. Perhaps someone who shouldn't have got word of his involvement in the Conquistador Incident?

 

I am intrigued.. I liek your Vader charcterisation, he's pleasantly chilling and Dark. Also enjoyed reading his thoughts about Piett. And if the new posts going to be longer than the prologue - I'll be a very happy reader

 

ahh excellent, more readers! Welcome aboard for the sequel, Forcefire. I wont say anything about Clip's imprisonment at the moment, but i'm almost 100% sure that most of you will get it before the chapter goes up

And welome too to Ana_Labris It's so excellent to have all of you new readers here! And i'm very glad that you prefer the longer posts - because thats all it will be from here on in Thanks for posting!

 

Up you go!

 

cheers, Vader

Update on chapter one:


Status: In progress, 60-70% complete.
Current word count: 4,500.

getting there