Beyond - Legends At the Brink of the Dawn and the Darkness (Act/Dr/Rom AU, L/M, H/L) Updated 12.10.10 COMPLETE!

great story

 

Just one word: Bravo as the audience rises to their feet at the conclusion of one of the best stories ever presented. Bravo, Bravo, Bravo...

 

Well done! You have taken this situation and run with it, made it totally believable. Your descriptions were so good, I could see things as you described them.

I am sorry to see this trilogy end, but it was a phenomenal ride! I look forward to your other stories.

 

it was her brother who took her attention. Some deep change came over him, his gaze, his whole body and awareness following the path of the ashes as they dispersed, the wind whipping them instantly away though he remained attentive, staring in silence as if he could still see them as they scattered. For a long time he was still, eyes on the distant skyline as the wind whipped at his hair, that shadow coming over his face again, a melancholy quietness taking him?

Then he turned sharply, and Leia felt the box in her hand fragment and disintegrate as the wood collapsed into itself as if under massive pressure, reduced to dust and splinters in a single second though not one even scratched her skin, the power and energy of the act leaving them warm in her palm. Startled, she opened her hand?and the wind took the fragments, whipping them away, the pieces too fine to follow and gone in a blink of the eye.

She stared at Luke, sure now that something of great consequence had just happened but unable to fathom what. But he smiled, and it warmed his face and his sense?she felt it quite distinctly.

?It?s nothing,? he reassured again. ?Nothing important. Not anymore.?
You have many understatements in this story ? but this is surely the biggest. But revenge doessn?t bring Luke joy ? only peace - and that's the biggest of Palpatine?s failures.


Maybe he was right and he would never again be the man he?d been when Leia had lost him, but she knew absolutely that he would never be the man that Palpatine had sought so hard to create. And that too, right now, was enough.
Awww!!!

It was an open secret, of course, though most seemed to think that the child was Nathan Hallin?s. In fact, Leia was pretty sure that the only people who knew the truth were the people in this room.
Sorry ? but I don?t buy that! Unless, of course, Luke has managed to spread some brainwashing Force disease throughout the Palace, sperading it to Coruscant.

Han had now managed to go a whole forty minutes without making typically indiscreet mention of the fact. Leia was proud of him.
He he ? I?m sure she is.

he?d ordered the two halves of the stone circle which had always rested beneath Palpatine?s Sunburst Throne to be taken up and stored for transportation to the new Senate which would be built in their place, in preparation to be laid in the center of the main Senate chamber, recombined into the single complete circle that Luke had briefly seen, in that vision long ago in his Master?s Throne Room.

It gave him immense pleasure to know that it would remain forever at the very center of the Senate that Palpatine had devoted so much of his existence towards dismantling. Somehow, like the dark, rust red disk set within a pale cream ring, the act felt like the last circle combined and completed; the last of the prophesy fulfilled. He would, he knew, smile every time he saw it, knowing from where it had been removed. And he intended to see it a lot in the upcoming years, as the fledgling Senate formed?and for Leia to do the same.
You, know, I really think I spor a budding healing process here?

He needed someone to counter his own abilities, and it couldn?t and shouldn?t be Mara; he didn?t want to be placed in contention against her even once. As Nathan had so diplomatically pointed out, despite their combined efforts, they were explosive enough without any extra incentives.
Wice man, him Nathan.

She raised her eyebrows as her head tilted in laconic question, but he only smiled slightly, admiring her, unabashed. Mara, whom he thought he could never trust again?and who, as it turned out, he?d trusted most of all. Mara, who?d been his strength even when he didn?t realize it. He glanced down once to her stomach, and she ran her hand lightly across it, an unspoken language for a private passion. Where they went from here he didn?t know?but he knew they?d travel together. They always ha

 

Thanks for PM'ing me with your updates, I don't know what I'm going to do now that the story is over! I'm more of a lurker as I usually don't comment until a story is over, just want to say that I really enjoyed reading all three stories and will no doubt re-read them over and over again in case I missed anything.

 

Wow.


I finished reading. I sighed. I smiled.

This is the kind of story you never forget. This is the kind of fic that changes your whole perception of the GFFA, of the characters you've grown up loving.

Words don't suffice. This was an incredible journey.




P.S. I'm trying not go crazy with anticipation for Empire's Son, although, hey wait, TOO LATE. Mmf. Your fics are this close to being more addicting than chocolate. This close.

 

Bravo, bravo. Standing ovation given.

Luke has reached the pinnacle of power and authority. He has something else ... a clear picture of who he is and how far he has come. He also has an understanding of what it took to get there.

I enjoyed the whole chapter. What particularly captivated me was the Madine/Luke scene. Sheath the claws and let Luke work. Luke enjoyed this type of combat. He gave back to Madine all of the pain and anguish Madine caused him. Luke's method inflicted pain without causing outward scarring.

Luke shook his head disparagingly, his roguish smile carefully calculated, manipulating the truth just enough to feed all of Madine?s fears and paranoia. And even now, even when Luke had admitted to him that he?d twist the truth to his own ends, Madine still gulped down every word, because it fed those expectations. And Luke kept on feeding them, because it still wasn?t enough?not yet.

I really loved the cat and mouse game with Madine. It was akin to the Chinese style of execution of Death by a Thousand Cuts. He toyed with Madine, letting Madine think he had covered all his bases, that in spite of being captured, his plans were still operationally viable. Then slowly, patiently Luke shattered Madine's world with truths and half-truths.

Luke let Madine know that his objectives were based on false precepts. He smeared Madine's face with his failure.

?An attack on the Imperial Sovereign? No one would tolerate that, Madine. You made an attack on everything they knew?and you triggered the inevitable knee-jerk reaction. The inhabitants of a thousand planets saw their Emperor bleed. They watched him take the moral high ground in the face of outrageous provocation. Before, I was their Emperor?now I?m their leader. They?d follow me anywhere, thanks to you.

?You should be grateful, Madine; if I?d wanted to, I could have used it to obliterate the Rebellion entirely. They would have had no place to run, no place to hide. But I needed them?some of them. I just needed them under control. I needed them, if not loyal then at least amenable, contrite?humiliated. And everything that you did took me closer to that.?

Luke paused, allowing Madine the time to absorb this, and himself a moment of surprise at his own calculating rearrangement of fact and insinuation. How much was true and how much distorted or withheld just to see his enemy squirm? How much himself and how much Palpatine?s wolf?

To make matters worse for Madine, Luke tells him that the Empress is wholly expendable. Oh how cold can you portray yourself to your enemy when you tell him your spouse's life is worth a nice state funeral.

Then Luke lowered the boom.

You made it personal?and I can?t let that pass. As I said, we have so much in common. Except one thing, of course?I?ve won. You?ve lost?in every possible way, you?ve lost? You lost your way, you lost your status, you lost your reputation, you lost the game, you lost your war. So you tell me,? those piercing, pitiless eyes sparked with barbed amusement, ?doesn?t that just break you up inside, Madine?and not a stick or stone in sight.?

He pressed a small, etched silver comm on the low table beside him, and the far doors opened immediately for Palace Guards to march purposely forward, as Madine stared ahead without seeing. He was barely aware of being hauled upright as Skywalker rose to leave, dismissive now, smoothing the line of his impeccably fitted, high-collared jacket.

?You?ll excuse me, but I have an Empire to command and a Rebellion to dismantle. And your misguided, tattered little band of anarchists won?t simply run themselves into oblivion. You?re small fry, Madine?that?s all you ever were; unfinished business which dovetailed neatly into the larger picture. A minor amusement. I won?t be there for your execution when they think they?ve dragged all the useful information they can from you, I?m afraid?I have more important things to do. But you can go to your death knowing that you entertained an Emperor for a full?? he glanced

 

He?d noticed that her clothing had changed again in the last few weeks, looser, less form-fitting pieces the order of the day?though he was pretty damn sure that she had at the very least one blaster concealed in their folds somewhere, and her lightsaber of course; strictly for sentimental value, she claimed.

Yep, that's Mara. Always armed and ready.


The Emperor shook his head, turning again to the endless city about them. ?Business as usual.?

?I don?t think it?s ever that, with you.?

Skywalker half-turned, voicing mock offense. ?What?I have a plan.?

?Hardly the one everyone thought though, was it??

The shade of a smile traced his lips. ?Still isn?t, just between you and me.?

Do you have some last surprise up your sleeve?


?Ghent, my slicer, he follows swoop racing. Not the government-approved, squeaky-clean version?no offense,? Karrde added, knowing the Emperor would take none, particularly in view of what he was looking at right now. ?He prefers the real thing. Thrown together death-traps on out-of-the-way Rim planets where they can pretty much get away with anything, as long as they can clean the stains up afterwards.?

Karrde gestured with his head, keeping his voice cool and casual. ?He collects the vintage flimsiplast racing sheets too?the itinerary one-siders they used to post up on the day.?

The Emperor glanced up at him and Karrde shook his head, rolling his eyes. ?I have no idea why?don?t ask me. I think he said he likes the old graphics. He has them on the walls of his quarters onboard the Wild Karrde. This one?s almost ten years old, from some Rim planet called Tatooine. He picks them up on the HoloNet?all those restrictions lifting.? Karrde leaned over slightly as he gestured with a finger. ?It caught my eye right?there. The list of swoop racers for the second session identifies a swoop owned by a mechanic named Laze ?Fixer? Loneozner?the pilot is listed as Luke Skywalker, from Anchorhead on Tatooine. Local boy, presumably.?

Not the pilot I was expecting when pod racing came up, but nicely done nonetheless. Like father, like son I suppose.


?An attack on the Imperial Sovereign? No one would tolerate that, Madine. You made an attack on everything they knew?and you triggered the inevitable knee-jerk reaction. The inhabitants of a thousand planets saw their Emperor bleed. They watched him take the moral high ground in the face of outrageous provocation. Before, I was their Emperor?now I?m their leader. They?d follow me anywhere, thanks to you.

?You should be grateful, Madine; if I?d wanted to, I could have used it to obliterate the Rebellion entirely. They would have had no place to run, no place to hide. But I needed them?some of them. I just needed them under control. I needed them, if not loyal then at least amenable, contrite?humiliated. And everything that you did took me closer to that.?

Luke paused, allowing Madine the time to absorb this, and himself a moment of surprise at his own calculating rearrangement of fact and insinuation. How much was true and how much distorted or withheld just to see his enemy squirm? How much himself and how much Palpatine?s wolf?

Even now, the Luke of this story is quite intimidating. It really is an interesting look at him. It's like he exists somewhere between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. How far he's off to either side does vary a bit, but that's natural. No one acts exactly the same at all times and with all people. It's amazing what you've done to bring him to this point and yet he's still a sympathetic character.


?You could have killed Jade?and so my son?right then?and you and I both know damn well that if you had, it would have stopped me dead. You were so close, Madine?even if everything else had?ve fallen apart, you were still so close. She was right there. All you had to do was get past your own narrow preconceptions of who you wanted me to be. Who you needed me to be, to validate your own actions. All you had to do was be able to turn that gun away from me?but you couldn?t do that,

 

Bizarre as it sounds, he was making some parts for a probe that went up last year. Why he couldn?t do this at his University, I?m not entirely sure. Though having heard about their facilities, maybe I am. Remind me to tell you the story about the targeting lasers one day?

Oh, I will indeed. That's a story I want to hear.

LOL! Aw, I don?t need beehives, Gabri ? I have you

...

I believe I've sabotaged myself here

I haven?t done the last dare yet!

Oh, no, no, we called that last one off because neither of us would ever accomplish it anyway. You'd actually do this one; I have a much better shot at seeing results.

Hee! Well spotted! The holder of this weeks three gold stars!

*bows*

Bizarrely, it was from when I was walking down a long, straight road near my house a few years back, and they?d just resurfaced it, and the tarmac was so black! Naturally, your mind starts to wander?

Only a writer's mind wanders in this particular direction with so generic a prompt. More evidence that you need to be published.

Wow, you have an uncanny memory!

Pfft. Tell me I have an uncanny memory when I manage to properly remember more than a dozen words in Gaeilge. Although as one site informs me, is fearr Gaeilge bhriste, ná Béarla cliste.

I wanted to pass on the fact that she?d always be the perfect Empress, impeccably turned out to the smallest detail, even here.

It sounds like an exhausting life, doesn't it? Who'd want to be perpetually onstage to such an extent? Of course, the difference between her outlook on this and Luke's may obliquely encapsulate their fundamental incompatibility.

I have no idea what you could possibly mean?

*flings chocolate chips*

But you definitely know the basics



LOL! They haven?t gotten Anakin yet and already you?re planning another!

Yeah, but I'd like to see Luke and Mara with a daughter, and it's not a particularly common scenario. It's even more rare to see it done really well. You would write it well. *wistful*

And you'd have plenty of material from which to draw episodes of sibling conflict between this hypothetical daughter and Anakin.

Yeah, I did try to pull Padmé in a little bit. I always figured that Luke would think of the mother he never knew now and again, and wonder.

Heaven knows he did little enough of that in the EU. *scowls in EU's general direction*

a strong autumn breeze flicking stray strands of hair loose from the plaited and coiled formal style she wore, tiny seed-pearl pins holding it in place.

My tangential and irreverent thought upon reading this: It would take an awful lot of tiny hairpins to hold Leia's massive quantity of hair in place.

Every now and then in brief, self-conscious bursts, he tried so hard to be what he once was.

That's a little bit sad, really.

It was an open secret, of course, though most seemed to think that the child was Nathan Hallin?s.

Do Mara and Nathan know this? I would be interested in their reactions to that rumor.

Leia shrugged, leaning into him. ?Oh, it?s fine?I don?t intend staying on Coruscant that long.?

?No,? Luke said ruefully. ?Neither did I.?

I love that exchange.

But to complete the prophesy, Luke needed to activate that potential?needed to give Leia the same power as himself. So he would train her, as Yoda trained him; as a Jedi. He could remember Master Yoda?s lessons, could place himself back in that mindset, albeit temporarily. Give her the power to stand against him, personally and politically, to balance him.

That's a whole other trilogy right there, methinks.

She raised her eyebrows as her head tilted in laconic question, but he only smiled slightly, admiring her, unabashed. Mara, whom he thought he could never trust again?and who, as it turned out, he?d trusted most of all. Mara, who?d been his strength even when he didn?t realize it. He glanced down once to her stomach, and she ran her hand lightly across

 

Madine dies pretty much the way he lived then. He isn't even worth the personal attention, though I'm sure the Imperial interrogators and Guard will beat a lot out of him ... if he's lucky, which he won't be.

This saga was awesome. I am so glad you are seeking to archive it because it totally deserves that.

Also, I really like the excerpts to your other stories. Thank you, blank101. This was all made of awesome.

 

Amazing conclusion to an amazing story by an amazing author. Bravo! What a Sorry for the delayed reply (lots of school work), but now I'm done for the semester. Eagerly awaiting your future work!!

 

I think I am suffering from a quite severe case of BlankVerse withdrawal, for it is friday and, alas!, there are no author replies, twice alas!, there is no new chapter to peruse, and, thrice alas!, there is no hope of having one anytime soon.

I know full well I must needs cultivate the virtue of patience, but, by the Force!, 'tis at times so very mightily hard to achieve...

Cheers,

Lauré

 

Hey blank!

Congratulations on wrapping up your epic drama!

I wrote so many times about how good your writing is, I don't want to repeat myself...you don't get to read well-written FF that often and your story is not only well-written, it's really out-of-this-world...

Huge thank you for posting on a regular basis...for all the great stories we could "immerge into" on a Friday evening!

I am looking forward to reading your "lighter tone" new story...please PM me when you are starting with it!

 

Great story, sad to see it finished, been reading it but not commenting on it since the start, i would say it's well within the top 3 off any story i've ever read on here, look forward to seeing anything else you write.

good job

 

Jade eyes

A great finish and I'm very pleased the trilogy's to be archived

Hey Jade eyes

Many thanks, I?m glad you enjoyed it And thanks for sticking around and commenting from the very first post of the very first story! I can?t believe it?s been so long It?s fantastic to have people who were some of the first to post on the first story, be among the first to post on the close of the last

So for you too






JediMara77

--This is it folks?the final chapter!--

Noooooo!!!!! That's not true! That's impossible!

Heh,heh ?Search your feelings; you know it to be true?? *heavy breathing*



-----Feeling slightly guilty at disturbing his privacy?he seemed, not surprisingly given his life, to have developed over the years the unique ability to emit an invisible ?leave me alone? signal?Leia nonetheless set forward to?to her brother.-----

I'm wibbly already and the damn chapter just started.

LOL!


-----Maybe he was right and he would never again be the man he?d been when Leia had lost him, but she knew absolutely that he would never again be the man that Palpatine had sought so hard to create. And that too, right now, was enough.-----

I'm at work now. I cannot cry. But oh I want to so badly.
I really cannot explain how much my heart has broken for Luke in this fic. And yet he still comes out strong - a lot darker, but he still has that goodness inside of him, that even Palpatine in all his torture couldn't drive away. I love him so much.

Aw. It?s great that he?s remained a sympathetic character I like my heroes very flawed; it makes them interesting?makes them human, when you know they can and do fail sometimes. For me a hero is the one who gets knocked down and manages to stand up again, despite everything. And I don?t think you can get much more flawed than this particular Luke?but he?s still hanging in there and holding on to some part of his former self, even if he does occasionally slip.


-----Dust in the wind. He should have felt something more perhaps, at this final achievement of all that he?d pushed toward for so long, the oath he?d made to Palpatine with every fiber of his being in retribution for his father?s death. He wanted to feel more, some sense of completion, of finality, of triumph?but his thoughts were already elsewhere?on the future and where he and Leia could take this fresh new hope, rather than the hollow fulfillment of that bitter oath. So in the end, the vow which had shaped and driven him for so long amounted to nothing more substantial than dust in the wind, scattered and diffuse and instantly gone.-----

My comments for this chapter are not very profound, I realize this. But man this was powerful.

Thank you, great to know it worked. I figured Luke deserved some kind of closure with Palpatine, after all he?d been through.


-----She raised her eyebrows as her head tilted in laconic question, but he only smiled slightly, admiring her, unabashed. Mara, whom he thought he could never trust again?and who, as it turned out, he?d trusted most of all. Mara, who?d been his strength even when he didn?t realize it. He glanced down once to her stomach, and she ran her hand lightly across it, an unspoken language for a private passion. Where they went from here he didn?t know?but he knew they?d travel together. They always had.-----

Oh yes, they are my favorite ship, and I will go down with it. You write them so very well. Thank you.
Heh, glad you liked. They are, I admit, fun to write. I?ll be going back to them, without a doubt. I?m already scribbling a few outlines down?


-----Karrde leaned over slightly as he gestured with a finger. ?It caught my eye right?there. The list of swoop racers for the second session identifies a swoop owned by a mechanic named Laze ?Fixer? Loneozner?the pilot is listed as Luke Skywalker, from Anchorhead on Tatooi

 

Darth Malevolent

Bravo, bravo. Standing ovation given.

Aw


Luke has reached the pinnacle of power and authority. He has something else ... a clear picture of who he is and how far he has come. He also has an understanding of what it took to get there.
I enjoyed the whole chapter. What particularly captivated me was the Madine/Luke scene. Sheath the claws and let Luke work. Luke enjoyed this type of combat. He gave back to Madine all of the pain and anguish Madine caused him. Luke's method inflicted pain without causing outward scarring.

He has indeed reached the pinnacle of his power, and effectively pulled the teeth from almost all opposition in the process.


-----Luke shook his head disparagingly, his roguish smile carefully calculated, manipulating the truth just enough to feed all of Madine?s fears and paranoia. And even now, even when Luke had admitted to him that he?d twist the truth to his own ends, Madine still gulped down every word, because it fed those expectations. And Luke kept on feeding them, because it still wasn?t enough?not yet.-----

I really loved the cat and mouse game with Madine. It was akin to the Chinese style of execution of Death by a Thousand Cuts. He toyed with Madine, letting Madine think he had covered all his bases, that in spite of being captured, his plans were still operationally viable. Then slowly, patiently Luke shattered Madine's world with truths and half-truths.
Luke let Madine know that his objectives were based on false precepts. He smeared Madine's face with his failure.

You make it sound so base?


-----?An attack on the Imperial Sovereign? No one would tolerate that, Madine. You made an attack on everything they knew?and you triggered the inevitable knee-jerk reaction. The inhabitants of a thousand planets saw their Emperor bleed. They watched him take the moral high ground in the face of outrageous provocation. Before, I was their Emperor?now I?m their leader. They?d follow me anywhere, thanks to you.
-----?You should be grateful, Madine; if I?d wanted to, I could have used it to obliterate the Rebellion entirely. They would have had no place to run, no place to hide. But I needed them?some of them. I just needed them under control. I needed them, if not loyal then at least amenable, contrite?humiliated. And everything that you did took me closer to that.?
-----Luke paused, allowing Madine the time to absorb this, and himself a moment of surprise at his own calculating rearrangement of fact and insinuation. How much was true and how much distorted or withheld just to see his enemy squirm? How much himself and how much Palpatine?s wolf?

To make matters worse for Madine, Luke tells him that the Empress is wholly expendable. Oh how cold can you portray yourself to your enemy when you tell him your spouse's life is worth a nice state funeral.

-----?You?ll excuse me, but I have an Empire to command and a Rebellion to dismantle. And your misguided, tattered little band of anarchists won?t simply run themselves into oblivion. You?re small fry, Madine?that?s all you ever were; unfinished business which dovetailed neatly into the larger picture. A minor amusement. I won?t be there for your execution when they think they?ve dragged all the useful information they can from you, I?m afraid?I have more important things to do. But you can go to your death knowing that you entertained an Emperor for a full?? he glanced momentarily to the huge faceted chrono high on the wall, ?what?ten minutes? So your life hasn?t been a complete waste.?
Skywalker passed him...and Madine launched forward with a wild yell, bound arms outstretched, fingers tensed to claws?
-----Palpatine?s Wolf didn?t shy back, didn?t even flinch as the guards grabbed at Madine, grappling him to the ground so that his last view of his enemy was with the world on its side as he was held down, the Emperor not even bothering to glance back as he walked away.

Tell the enemy what their objective

 

Any PMs you hurl my way are welcome!

Years indeed! I don't regret one minute!!!

 

I never got a chance to say this (since I stopped reading this here, and instead read ahead on the version posted on FF.N) but this story was AMAZING! Seriously, this should be published as an over-write (or maybe, Re-boot, seeing as how everything gets rebooted in 3ish years now anyways) of the current EU.

Everything in this story--from Luke's capture, to his period in captivity (your portrayal of Madine gave me sooooo many ideas for my own fic), to Mara's having to step up and team with Kiria to Wez Reece's final fall...Oh, it was all so good.

 

I just spent the past three days reading the entire trilogy, and I wanted to thank you for posting such a wonderful story. Fabulous!

You're characterization was flawless, and your Dark Luke was simply breath taking. My heart ached for him, you drew me right in!

It was a heartbreaking story but I thought the ending was perfect, though I am a staunch L/M fan, so I could be biased but the relationship was so real and didn't move too fast or too slow, everything seemed to fall into place perfectly.

Your style of writing is fantastic, very detailed but not so overly detailed that you lose sense of the plot, completely balanced.

Well done for completeing a very thrilling trilogy, and once again, thank you for sharing!