Saga To Every Thing There is a Season |the Kessel Run Challenge, Winter 2022

Mystery from the Past​

“So, you know what I’m thinkin’ at this point? All things considered, this was an interesting way to wind up in prison. I mean, how many people get arrested for washing the wrong set of windows?” The Chadra-Fan spread her hands dramatically. “It took four days for a lawyer to get me sprung, but I did meet my future husband there, so I can’t complain.”

Jastol Bedower nodded. “It certainly sounds advantageous,” he remarked in a neutral tone.

“So, whadda ya think? Could I sell a story like that?”

“Probably. You could market it as either a true crime short, or add some details and bill it as ‘based on a true story,’ depending on your audience. I think you might want to get a literary agent,” Bedower replied. “I could recommend a couple of people. I’m not really a professional singer, I’m just a shipping clerk – I only sing on my days off and occasional weekends.” He had acquired a second career as a singer after performing an old Weequay ballad at Dex’s Diner one afternoon, where he, two of his children, and the Chadra-Fan were currently sitting.

Dex was wiping the lunch counter down after the early-afternoon rush had ended. He, the Bedowers, and the Chadra-Fan glanced up as five beings entered the diner: a Human, two Togrutas, an Ithorian, and a Twi-lek. The Human waved and they all headed into the side room. Dex stopped cleaning and called, “FLO! Our usual guests at table 8.”

Bedower rose. “There they are. Primux wanted to show everyone her costume. Please excuse us.” The three Weequay followed the party into the side room to find Vestri Dain, Aonda Sirabi, Daggeri Hekoth, Neshu Larkyl, and Querth Enon settling themselves at a table.

“I love your outfit!” Aonda Sirabi said to Bedower’s older daughter Primux. The Weequay girl twirled to show the Twi’lek her long vest, leather pants, boots and plumed hat.

“I’m Captain Quigg, the Pirate Queen!” Primux declared.

“So, is this costume for a school play?” Vestri asked Bedower.

“No. Career Day.”

“Oh? Oh, dear….”

“I hoped coming to Coruscant would give my children opportunities for better lives. But Primux talks constantly about piracy.”

“She is, what, eight years old?” Querth asked. “She has plenty of time to grow out of it. I had a tsumis-cousin who wanted to be a pirate. He grew up to become an investment banker. Although some people claim the occupations are related….”

“Ithorians can’t be pirates!” Primux exclaimed. “I have a school teacher who’s Ithorian. They’re all about following rules and not fighting and being nice to everyone!”

“Every species that can choose between right and wrong can have all kinds of members, including pirates. Have you never heard of Bluebrow?”

Primux shook her head. “An Ithorian pirate? For real?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” replied Neshu, historian and the male of the Togruta pair. “He was apparently a real person, although almost all we have of him now are stories.”

“Oh, do tell,” Vestri drawled.

Neshu smiled. “There are tales of him boarding ships and stealing treasure, hiding it in a secret vault on an unnamed world. We also have stories of his battles with local law enforcement, the Jedi, and even the Sith. Across all those stories, however, it is said that Bluebrow had one great love in his life, for someone or something named Druzzell. We are not certain whether Druzzell was a living being, a unique artifact, or a weapon, as no record of Bluebrow ever tells. However, Druzzell is sometimes referred to as ‘she,’ so the consensus is that she is a being of some sort.

“One tale tells of Bluebrow infiltrating a Hutt stronghold to rescue Druzzell, fighting his way out with blaster and energy sword against dozens of hired mercenaries. Another story claims that Bluebrow passed his flagship off as a luxury liner, tricking a planetary governor into coming aboard and then negotiating the governor’s ransom with Druzzell while the rest of his crew broke into the governor’s mansion and took the finest of his treasures. And a third story says that the first time Bluebrow saw a holo of Druzzell, it was love at first viewing, even though he’d never seen her in person or knew anything about her, and that at every port he visited he would offer to spare the population from plunder if they could tell him where to find Druzzell.”

“Did he keep his word?” asked Aonda.

“That the stories don’t tell, I’m afraid.”

“But we don’t have the holo he saw, or any kind of description of Druzzell. So it’s possible that ‘she’ is actually a kind of weapon,” Daggeri said. “It would still make sense – using a weapon to negotiate a ransom, or fight your way through mercenaries. The descriptions are really vague.”

“It is and they are. But unless more information surfaces, we have no way of knowing. However, speaking of weapons,” Neshu proclaimed solemnly, “I have for you a genuine Mandalorian dagger. Which I can’t show you in here, because I don’t think Dexter Jettster would appreciate my bringing it into his diner. So we’ll have to step outside.”

Daggeri’s face lit up. “I love a man who brings me weapons!” She immediately snatched up her carrying bag. “See you guys in class tomorrow!” She scurried out the door, Neshu following more sedately in her wake.

“Do you think she’s more interested in the dagger than in Neshu?” Aonda asked.

Vestri shrugged. “Only time will tell. Kind of like Bluebrow and Druzzell, I’d say.”

Spoiler: Author’s Note:

I guess this entry will work. I don’t really have any OTPs, and I find romance rather baffling, so this is probably not my best effort. I’ll leave it to the reader to decide where the pairing actually is, whether it’s Daggeri and Neshu, or Bluebrow and Drizzell, or Daggeri and her weapons. (Or Vestri and her stories, since she kind of gets a trio of them here.)

Bluebrow the Ithorian pirate is mentioned in Claudia Gray’s High Republic novel Out of the Dark, where we’re told his species, occupation, and that he’s based on an actual person but is more of a fairy tale character in the present day. That’s it. That’s all we get. We don’t even get a gender, so I’ve made him male for story-telling purposes. This would all work if he were a she, as well, I suppose.

 

Vestri is meeting interesting persons

 

School seems to be a good meeting place for romantic conquests, it seems.

 

Yes she is. I love how we can meet literally anyone at Dex's Diner.

Indeed it is. I think bookstores are, too. (But I'm biased... )

 

Great job! Regarding your author's note,

Spoiler

I'm here to tell you, on Valentine's Day, that I know exactly what you mean. Romance baffles me too. I tried writing a story once about a character having a puppy-love crush on someone, and... let's just say it didn't work, and it won't see the light of day.

I enjoyed seeing the different types of pairings shown here, from the devotion of Bluebrow, to the developing relationship of Daggeri, and even Primux's childlike wonder and infatuation with the idea of being a pirate. You did an excellent job with something not really in your usual wheelhouse. I'd even say you went above and beyond by showcasing the different types of pairings.

The Bluebrow legends were quite fun. I've binge-watched a few too many episodes of Expedition Unknown, and I could totally see those Bluebrow stories fitting into IU real-life myths and legends based on truth that's gotten lost and distorted over time.

I also liked seeing a Weequay who's a singer, even if it's a part-time gig.

Great work!

 

Spoiler

I wonder if Valentine's Day was the "inspiration" for this prompt. I tend to refer to it as "Half Price Chocolate Day Eve" and by the next day, I don't care what shape the box is -- it's going to get recycled anyway. Or I'll paint it black and use it as a Halloween decoration in some form.

Thank you. I seriously considered just not doing one for this prompt -- not taking a bye week or using the "get out of jail free" prompt, just not posting anything. But I guess it worked out all right. Overall, the reaction has been positive.

I'm not familiar with Expedition Unknown. I'll have to look into that.

Sometimes it's fun to turn stereotypes on their ears. In some ways, I consider it a civic duty.

Thank you for commenting!

Well, fictional pirates are cool. (Because we've romanticized the heck out of them, of course. Real life ones, on the other hand . . . not so much. )

Thank you! (And now I'm blushing!)

Go big or go home, right? Thank you for your kind comments!

 

Unreliable Allies
Write an AU story of at least 500 words where the moral alignment of one of your characters is the opposite of (or drastically different from) what it is in canon and/or Legends. ​

When the last of the droid soldiers froze and fell, when the last battle tank sank silently to the ground, Roos Tarpals, Captain of the Gungan Grand Army, rejoiced with the rest of his soldiers. But they had little time for celebration – there was more work to be done.

He raised his voice to be heard over the cheering. “Send the signal-horn messages to cavalry units One and Two. They should be in position and know their orders.” The trumpeter nodded and brought the horn to his lips. Tarpals mounted his own kaadu and wheeled to face the distant city of Theed. “Troops, assemble. Infantry members will return to the Sacred Place to assist our people. Cavalry units Three and Four, we ride to Theed to reinforce our forward units in place! Onward!”

~*~*~*~​

“Now, Viceroy, we will discuss a new treaty,” Padmé Amidala, once again in control of Theed Palace’s throne room.

“Yes, dey will,” rumbled a new voice. “But not with yousa.” Rugor Nass, leader of the Gungans, stood framed in the doorway, half a dozen Gungans behind him. “Tekk them all out.” The Gungan soldiers stepped around him; each carried a pair of “boomers,” the energy balls that had proven effective against the Neimoidian droids.

They also proved effective against the Human nervous system. A few moments later, only the Queen and the Neimoidians were still standing; the rest of the Humans lay unconscious on the floor.

“What are you – ” Padmé began.

“Taking back our planet,” Nass replied. “Thank you for revealing yourself, Your Highness. It made this all much easier.”

She blinked. “Wait. You can speak regular Basic?”

“Of course. You don’t think we’ve paid attention to the way you Naboo talk to each other, all these years?” Nass’s voice took on a mocking tone. “Talkin’ like dissent med ussan all sound like foolss. Wesa all so stupit. Med yousan all feel suuuperior.” He grinned. “It also made it easier to get you to reveal your secret entrance to the palace, and your plans to repel the droid army. Thank you for that, by the way.”

He jerked his head, and one of the soldiers stunned Padmé with an electropole charge.

“Governor Nass,” came Tarpals’ voice from the doorway. “We have a few holdouts in one of the starship bays. They refuse to surrender. They want to know what’s going on, and to talk to the Queen.”

Without turning, his eyes still on the surviving Neimoidians, Nass ordered, “The Queen is … indisposed. Send in Binks.”

Half an hour later, Nass and the Neimoidians stood in the middle of the trashed fighter bay. Droids, cargo containers, and tools lay scattered everywhere. The Human pilots lay on the floor, out of commission, but at least a few of the ships still seemed serviceable. Jar Jar Binks might have been the clumsiest Gungan ever, but sometimes that trait could be quite useful. He’d certainly done well enough on the battlefield earlier.

“We have a deal for you,” Nass said to the Neimoidians. “Bring your transport ships here. Load up all the Naboo and remove them from our planet. It shouldn’t be too difficult – you already have them imprisoned in camps. In return, we will allow you to leave unharmed and alive. Take whatever of your technology you can salvage, and go.”

“What about the Naboo’s technology?”

“You don’t touch any of that. We will teach ourselves to use it, or incorporate it into our own. We may someday need to defend our planets from invaders again. And we might want to have access to space travel for other reasons.”

“But – but where will we take the Naboo?”

“We don’t care. Far enough away that none will ever return. Drop them off on an uninhabited planet. Sell them into slavery, if you can get away with it. This world was ours before their ancestors came – it is now ours again.”

“And the Jedi?”

Nass tilted his head in a Gungan version of a shrug. “We have no quarrel with them. They did help defeat your armies, and we don’t want their people to feel they need to take revenge on us. Take them back to whatever planet they live on and drop them off.” Over the Neimoidians’ shoulders, Nass could see Jar Jar’s look of relief, whether because he actually liked the Jedi or because he wanted to avoid angering them, Nass couldn’t tell.

“You realize the new Chancellor was originally a Naboo. Don’t you think he might object to having his people, ah, forcibly removed?”

“When’s the last time he was here? He’s spent most of his time off-world. Now he’s got the whole galaxy to live in. But you raise a good point – he’s got a new job. Our planet will need a representative to replace him.” Nass frowned in thought. “You will take Jar Jar Binks and a small group of our people back to Coruscant and tell them that he will be our planet’s new senator. He’s been to Coruscant already. And he did an excellent job of gaining everyone’s trust on the trip there and back.” Nass suddenly bared his teeth in an almost predatory grin. “Who knows? In a few years, we might be positioned to take over the Republic, just like we did Naboo.”

~End~​

Author’s Note:
An interesting prompt! I never before realized just how much of a missed opportunity TPM really was….

 

Ooooh! Did not see that coming, and considering how much of a fight Tarpals put up against Greivous, yikes!

 

Lovin' these alien stories! I love how you even included a Tem Eliss cameo

The AU was most amusing with Gungans suddenly speaking perfect basic this whole time.

 

Love how you write this AU gungans with the perfect basic and with Jar Jar going to be the senator

 

I would watch this PT.
(Well, I watch the original one too, but you know what I mean. )

This was a very engaging story! Partway through I was already trying to figure out what this development would mean for the rest of the PT and the galaxy at large, and I'd just started wondering if Jar Jar wouldn't be able to vote for Palpatine's emergency powers when I read the part where Nass assigned him to Coruscant to be a senator, LOL. So much for dodging that particular bullet.

Nass is a cunning leader and jumped on an opportunity when it presented itself.

I love the sense of Nass unleashing Jar Jar's clumsiness where it's so destructive that it trashes an entire hangar. It's like Jar Jar being directed by Michael Bay.

Great job, and great application of an AU!

 

Yeah, this one's gonna hurt... What was the line? "Ouch time."

Thank you. One of my favorite authors is Tony Hillerman, who wrote mysteries set on the DIneh (Navajo) reservation in the American Southwest. In one story, he mentions a group of Native people watching an old Western movie at a drive-in and laughing hysterically. The actors had been speaking their own language in the movie, and apparently the English subtitles did not even remotely resemble what was actually being said, much of which was ribald and rather insulting to the white characters in the film....

I like to feature familiar faces every so often. And of course Tem Eliss would attend a poetry recitation. Art reflects a society's interests and values.

Thank you. Note that making Jar Jar a senator also gets him out from under everyone else's feet....

Thank you. "Jar Jar being directed by Michael Bay." I'll have to remember that one!

By the time Palpatine gets his emergency powers, the Gungans might be in a position to cut him a deal, too.

 

The Final Walk of the Pilgrim’s Way
Prompt: Write a story between 100 and 1,000 words that is entirely introspection. No spoken dialogue, no action.​

If you come to the Holy City and ask to walk The Pilgrim’s Way, you will have any of five or six routes presented to you. As a long- (so very long) time resident of Jedha, I can tell you that any way you wish to walk through the city will qualify as The Pilgrim’s Way. A pilgrimage is a journey, not a destination.

Yes, I am a long-time resident of Jedha, although not a permanent one. Walk with me, if you like, and I will tell you about this place. You have just left the spaceport hostel in The New City, which is over 5,000 Galactic Standard years old. Not so new, especially to those with short lifespans.

Let us pass into the Old City, now. Most have forgotten the age of this place – it has passed beyond any written history; it goes back to the time when only the Duros (which of course is not their true name, only the one by which others know them) and a handful of other intelligences traveled the stars.

There came a time, in Jedha’s ancient history, when the Force-adepts, the mystics, the seekers of this world, decided that their searching for the Force would be easier if they withdrew from society. And so they did – to wilderness areas, to islands far from shore, to mountaintops and mesas, like the one beneath the Holy City. In these places, they could not hear the minds and voices of others, and could meditate in peace.

They would not recognize this place today. Today we walk through narrow, crowded streets, full of shopkeepers and food vendors, the pilgrims and the homeless, in a riotous crowd of colors and movements. Because of course, when the Force-adepts and mystics and seekers withdrew from society, it did not take long before society followed them. What are they doing? people would ask themselves. Where have they gone?

Some who followed were themselves seekers. But others were merely curious, and some thought to provide services to the Force-hermits, or to ask favors of them. A few at a time, people went out into the wilderness, sailed to the islands, climbed this mesa, and began to build encampments, then small villages, then towns and cities. I can see the areas, here, like this arch with its crumbling walls and faded paint, its surrounding streets walked to dusty trails, trod by untold millions over the years.

Some of the arch symbols have meaning – that one signifies an area claimed by the Disciples of the Whills; this one was the family crest of prominent merchants; if you look two streets down this way, you will see symbols warding off the Sith.

Yes, a handful of them also came to Jedha, but only a few, and the people refused to follow them. A group called the Shamans of the Whills rose to challenge them, and the Sith… disappeared. History does not tell of their ultimate end, only that they vanished from Jedha and returned not. There are stories, of course. Many hold a kernel of the truth.

Let us take this stairway to the top – this will provide the best view of the Holy City. The building with the distinctive dome? It currently houses an orphanage. The small temple with many columns? A meditation sanctuary for travelers.

And of course, the most prominent landmark – The Temple of the Khyber. Built over centuries to house many of the famous crystals, as well as records of their history, artwork concerning or including them, a place to marvel or meditate, or both. It is all closed now, of course – like the rest of the Holy City, it lies literally and figuratively under the shadow the Empire, much of its treasure looted, in common with many other planets.

Still, if you wish, you may walk its perimeter, imagine the former splendor of its interior. Some of its Guardians still linger in its faded shadow. They may tell you stories of the treasures – both physical and metaphysical. They have little else to do now, but as a pilgrim of the Force, you may find such stories meaningful.

Here I will leave you. My work is not yet done, and I have delayed it long enough, for the pleasure of walking through this city one last time.

Who am I? It depends on who you ask. Each person sees me as something different – to that one I am a Disciple of the Whills, to this one I am a pilgrim, to another I am a merchant passing through. None can see what I truly am. Life and death have become interchangeable for me. I remember the ancient days. I remember the migrations. I remember the coming and removal of the Sith. I remember the song and voices of the khyber crystals that were once part of this place. I have seen and recorded them all, as is my work for as long as time exists.

I thank you for walking with me, and wish you a successful pilgrimage, wherever you travel. May the Force go with you.

Spoiler: Author’s Note:

Much of the “information” provided by the speaker is either speculation or completely made up. The section concerning the withdrawal from society is actually modeled after a similar trend in Irish history – somewhere during the 4th Century or so, a number of monks and other spiritual seekers went out into the wilderness searching for a deeper (or at least different) understanding of God. And of course, humans being the curious folks they are, people followed them and eventually set up towns and villages in those wilderness areas. We have seen one of them in the ST – Luke Skywalker’s Ach-To dwellings were filmed on Skellig Michael, one of the islands off the coast of Ireland, which still hosts the stairways and dwellings of the monks who lived there. The area is now a World Heritage Site and a wildlife sanctuary.

Most of the rest of this piece is speculation based on what little information we have on Jedha City, along with observations of pictures from the film. And our friendly native (or not) tour guide may well be one of the Shamans of the Whills (one of whom supposedly taught Qui-Gon Jinn how to retain his consciousness after death, according to the “Voices,” “Destiny,” and “Sacrifice” episodes of The Clone Wars series). Or perhaps our guide is one of the Whills themselves. I’ll let you decide….

Shaman of the Whills
Whills
Jedha
Jedha City (or The Holy City)

 

A beautiful description to give insight in Jedha

 

Great work! I loved the sense of history and how the past is still intertwined with the present and slowly built the character of the place through the years. It's also a very spiritual piece, both in the historic sense of Jedha's origins and in the nature of the narrator, and even those two aspects seem to be intertwined as well. I liked how the narrator is welcoming and wishing to share a bit of their story before moving on, and I'm curious where they're moving on to and why they're leaving the city after all this time, though I have a guess or two. The narrator relating the story to the person they're addressing helps intertwine that person into the connected history of Jedha and carries it into the future. And now that I've used the word "intertwine" three times in one review, I feel like I'm getting redundant so I'd better wrap this up. Great job!

 

Thank you. Much of it was made up, but I think it sounded plausible, given what little we actually learn about Jedha in Rogue One.

Thank you. I seem to be writing a lot of "spiritual pieces" lately. Maybe because we're coming up on Lent?

The narrator is meant to sound like a very ancient being who is quite familiar with the city's history -- perhaps a Shaman of the Whills, or even one of the Whills themselves. As the entirety of the Star Wars saga was originally supposed to have been written by the Whills, presumably the narrator is moving on to whatever events will need to be recorded next, although right now I have no idea what that could be....

 

Aaand now I'm blushing....

What a great idea. Someone should break the fourth wall and write that story.

Thank you for reading and commenting!

 

Finding Direction
Prompt: Write a story of at least 400 words from the POV of a character you hate/dislike and make them sympathetic.​

The red and black Zabrak male sat staring around at the office walls. Holographic pictures of the ocean, flowers, and – was that a kitten? – lined the walls. The sounds of ocean waves and sea birds played softly in the background. The entire room (painted a light blue) was apparently meant to inspire relaxation. It mostly worked, too, although the Zabrak’s eyes kept turning toward the kitten. Something about the fluffy little carnivore….

A human male in a tunic and trousers entered the office and smiled. “Good afternoon. I’m Doctor Hastan. What brings you to my office today, Mr. . . .”

“Maul.”

“Is that ‘Mall’ in in the enclosed shopping center?”

“No, it’s ‘Maul’ as in inflicting grievous bodily damage.”

“Noted. So, what would you like to talk about this afternoon?”

Maul frowned in concentration. “I have this … hole in my memory, and it’s starting to drive me crazy. I remember being on Naboo, and having a fight with these two Jedi, and I killed one of them and fought the other alone. But he – I think he killed me. And then I suddenly wasn‘t dead anymore.”

Hastan looked up from the notes he was taking. “So, how exactly did you survive?”

“Uh… well, honestly, I don’t know. One minute I’m falling to my doom down a shaft, and the next I’m… not. I mean, at one point I vaguely remember being in a room with a bunch of people sitting at a table off to one side, and someone saying that ‘It was a mistake to kill him off in the first movie, we could do a lot more with him,’ and the next minute I’m somewhere else, and I’ve got the prosthetic legs.” The Zabrak stood and pulled up the hem of his robe. The legs matched his skin tone and markings perfectly.

Dr. Hastan nodded. “Who gave you the prosthetics?”

“See, that’s the thing – I don’t know,” Maul replied. “No one’s ever tried to take credit for it. I’ve certainly never been billed for the work. I mean, they did a great job and the legs are of excellent quality, but the responsible party didn’t stick around to introduce themselves or explain why they did it, or anything.”

“And these people you heard talking between the time you remember falling and when you realized you were ‘somewhere else’? Do you know who they were? Did you recognize them at all?”

Maul shook his head. “No. The voices were unfamiliar and I don’t even understand what they were talking about. Why am I not dead? Shouldn’t I be dead? I was cut in half, for the love of space!”

“Perhaps you were merely traumatized, and your mind thought you were more badly injured than you actually were?”

“I. . . don’t know. I suppose that could be possible. Anyway, since I found myself in the state of not-dead, I’ve been just going from one thing to the next: trying to reclaim my Sith apprenticeship, then building a criminal organization, then striking out on my own in search of Sith artifacts. It’s like I’ve lost all sense of direction, and I’m just going wherever the current takes me.”

“Do you have anything you specifically want to do, or something you’ve always wanted to try?”

“The Jedi who survived on Naboo. I want to track him down and kill him. I think.” Maul paused, confused. “Or, I don’t know, bring him a fruit basket? Maybe?”

“Perhaps he could help with your memory loss?”

Maul considered, nodding thoughtfully. “That’s possible, I suppose. Although I’d have to find him, first. He seems to have completely disappeared.”

“I’m sure my office assistant could find investigators to help you with that.”

Maul rose; suddenly, he had a purpose again, long-term as it might be. “Thank you, Doctor. You’ve been a big help.”

“That’s why we’re here. Best of luck to you. Please refrain from killing anyone on the way out….”

Spoiler: Author’s Note:

This was quite a challenge. I really had to think to find characters I actually hate or dislike.

I get that a lot of people think Darth Maul is cool and looks awesome, etc. (and I agree, mostly), but my biggest issue is that he was effectively killed in TPM, and the next thing we know he’s not only back from the dead, but he’s showing up everywhere. I mean, c’mon. Boba Fett at least got a (semi-) plausible explanation of how he escaped the sarlacc, but Maul just comes back to life with no real explanation. Even his Wookieepedia article warns that there is conflicting information on him.

Which I figured had to be just as confusing for him as for the rest of us. So that’s where I focused the story.

 

Maul is a complicated character, and you don't have to like him, as you said in the challenge thread. I like how you have him seeing a shrink for his trauma- let's face it, his whole life was nothing but trauma. It's hard to write about a character you dislike, but you did an excellent job.

 

A great way to give insight in Maul. He survived Naboo but how?

 

LOL, I love how the doctor just accepts that explanation and moves on. Doesn't even blink.

I also loved how Maul kept being drawn to the picture of the kitten.

If Maul tracks down Obi-Wan, I'm curious about whether he'll try to kill him or give him the fruit basket. Or maybe both. For his sake I'm glad he found a purpose again that might help him through the odd confusion about why he's not dead and where his new legs came from. Dealing with questions like that probably isn't something that most beings in the GFFA have to figure out, and that can be a lonely situation.

Very enjoyable story! Great work!