Beyond - Legends Beyond the Wall (repost) Complete (author's thanks)

Title: Beyond the Wall
Author: Divapilot
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG for drug use
Timeframe: about 130 ABY (Legacy Era)

Summary: The crew of the Mynock are forced to improvise when Cade Skywalker unwittingly sabotages their plans in order to satisfy his own desires.

Characters are from the Star Wars: Legacy comics, written by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema. Cade Skywalker is the descendent of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker. Cade is a pirate, along with his friends Jariah Syn and Deliah Blue.

Author’s Note: This repost from 2008 was a request from a friend. It was written in response to a Beatles Songfic Challenge.





Part 1.


Deliah knew just by Syn’s stiff posture what she would find inside Cade’s cabin on the Mynock. Jariah shook his head in disgust, his dreadlocks swaying with the motion.

“Is the money gone, too?” she asked. “Did he at least get the software patch first?”

“Look for yourself,” he spat.

Deliah edged around Jariah’s muscled arm and leaned into Cade’s cabin. His bunk was torn apart; clothes hung from pipes and peeked out from beneath storage bins. She crinkled her nose at the room’s distinctive rank odor and sighed deeply. “How much of a head start do you think he has?” she asked, discouraged.

Jariah picked up the thin mattress from the floor and examined a rip in the material. “The shutta even went for the stash he hides from me,” he scowled. “And no sign of the software he was supposed to get. We should just leave him wherever he decided to collapse this time. Sleemo son of a--”

Deliah frowned and put her hands on her hips, resting her fingers on the waistband of her low-slung pants. “No need to use that language, Syn. We leave Cade alone for one day, and he takes all the money he’s got and disappears.” She flipped her blue hair behind her and cocked an eyebrow at Jariah. “So. Do you want alleys or bars?”

Jariah threw the mattress down angrily. “He knows we have to get back to Rav, and he pulls this. We don’t have time for this. We should just leave him here. Serves him right.”

She pursed her lips and looked up at Syn’s dark eyes. “No, you don’t wanna leave him. Look, he’s pulled your sorry hide out of too many scrapes for you to let him drown in his misery somewhere.” She surveyed the wreckage of Cade’s cabin one more time. “I’ll take alleys. You take bars. We’ll meet back here in three hours.”

Jariah snorted his assent, then left the room soundlessly. Deliah picked up a few articles of clothing in a half-hearted attempt to straighten the disaster, then rolled her eyes and put the shirts back on top of the storage bin.

“Oh, Cade,” she said softly. “What ghosts got to you now?”

***

Raider’s Corner was a rough, dirty, stinkhole of a neighborhood. Natural light seemed to avoid this sector; instead, the streets and alleys beneath the cloudy night skies were illuminated by garish advertisements. Gaudy signs beckoned travelers to unload their credits in exchange for all sorts of promised pleasures. This was not how Deliah had wanted to spend her last evening on this planet.

Usually she found Cade within the first hour; he was most likely to hit the nearest bar and wind up nearby. This time, he was nowhere to be seen. Her imagination began to create unsettling scenarios. What if he got into a drunken fight with someone? What if he was hurt somewhere? She forced down her worry and found it replaced by fear.

To top things off, her feet were beginning to ache. Her stylish boots were never meant for walking long distances. She looked down to discover that something greasy had stained the soft green suede.

Disgusted, she looked up and surveyed her surroundings. There was a building ahead that he might have gone to. It was worth a try. The bar’s bright orange lights proclaimed “Live Tchori Wrestling.” She paused and snorted. What was a Tchori, anyway? And wrestling dead ones didn’t seem sporting, so of course they would be live, right?

Her pause attracted a man from out of the shadowy doorway, eager to draw in a customer. “Whassa you like, fem?” the Devaronian chortled. “Come see? Pay and come see?”

“No, thanks,” Deliah said. “I’m looking for somebody.”

The Devaronian smiled, a leer that split his face to reveal his sharp yellow teeth. “Ah, you look for somebody, eh? I somebody. Mebbe you look for me, eh?” Quickly, he grabbed for Deliah’s arm.

“Look, lover boy. I ain’t interested in you, or your Tchori, or your dumpy bar. I want to know if you saw a friend of mine,” she said, trying to pull his hand from her wrist.

“Ah, you fighty. I like fighty fem,” the Devaronian growled. He yanked her closer, his eyes glowing and his tongue darting around the edge of his mouth.

Deliah’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, well, I ain’t your type.” The Devaronian suddenly felt a painful jab in his ribs. He looked down to see the barrel of Deliah’s modified blaster firmly pressed against him, then looked up at her with newfound respect in his eyes. He released her wrist and stepped backward.

“That’s better,” she said. All the while keeping her eyes and blaster on him, she reached into her jacket pocket and retrieved a flimsy. She snapped it open with one open hand. “Now. You seen him?” she asked.

The man scratched behind his horn. “Mebbe. What you want, you lose your man? He come here for our pretties and leave you home with his littles, huh?”

“Shut up. Answer the question.”

The Devaronian chortled. “Or what? You shoot me?”

Deliah scowled and shoved the flimsy back in her pocket. “Aw, forget it. You don’t know anything. You’re useless.”

The man frowned and drew back in indignation. “Useless? I know stuff. I know that man was here a few hours ago.”

“Yeah?” she shot back.

He grinned a leering grin again. “Took one of the girls upstairs, he did. Then she come back down because he got death sticks, and she no wanna do that.”

Deliah sighed. Yeah, that’s Cade, she thought wearily. “Where did he go?” she asked as she holstered her blaster.

The Devaronian shrugged. “I don’t know. Threw him out. He was drunk. He no spend no more money.”

“Thanks,” she said, turning to leave.

He nodded slightly, then moved away. “Hey, good luck you find him,” he called after her. Then he disappeared back into the shadowy doorway.

She had gotten half a block down the street when she felt a fat raindrop hit her. She glanced skyward, only to see the cloudy night begin to drop rain at an increasing pace. “Great,” she grumbled. “The only thing better than looking for Cade in the filthy back alleys in the dead of night is looking for Cade in the filthy back alleys in the dead of night in the rain.” Scowling, she pulled her hood up in a futile attempt to stay dry.

She was so distracted by the sudden storm that she almost missed the narrow passageway between buildings. She overshot it, then walked backwards to peer down its dark depths. A sudden lightning flash lit the narrow space to reveal a shape slumped against the garbage container.

Deliah’s heart stuttered. The shape wasn’t moving. Her throat went dry and she swallowed hard.

With determined steps, she folded her arms around herself and strode into the passageway. As she approached the garbage container, she could see two feet sticking out into the alley. She came closer and squatted down beside him. Gently, she picked some trash off his clothing. She shook her head forlornly and blinked back the tears that came unexpectedly to her eyes. When he took a ragged breath, she discovered that she had been holding her own breath, too.

Hesitantly, Deliah reached out a hand to the matted blond hair. He stirred slightly. Rain dripped from the ends of his hair and trailed down his face. His clothes were disheveled and soaking. He leaned his head back, his lips moving slowly as if talking to someone. Two empty death stick cylinders lay discarded beside him.

Deliah held his head with one hand and patted his scruffy face gently with the other. “Cade, baby. Wake up. We gotta go home.”

“Wait, Mara,” he muttered.

“No, Cade, it’s Deliah. Don’t confuse me with your date of the evening. Come on, big guy. Let’s go.” Her wet hair lay plastered against her skin, and her clothes were sticking to her body.

She started to dig out her commlink from her jacket pocket as Cade looked up at her. “Deliah?” he asked, uncomprehending. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and squinted.

“Yeah, it’s me, baby. Now be a good boy and get your cute butt up.” She stood up and tried to get her arm beneath his and pull him upright. Cade staggered up, grabbed the edge of the garbage container, and clumsily knocked the container over. Slimy trash spilled out, splattering over Deliah’s boots and pants.

She swore vehemently, then tried to shake the sludge off her boots. “Cade, you are more trouble than you are worth, you know that?” she said angrily. “Stand up. Let’s go.” She retrieved her commlink and switched it on. “Jariah? I got him. I’ll be back in about half an hour.”

“Good. Need help?” Jariah’s tinny voice answered her.

She paused. “I could use it. I’m in Raider’s Corner. Meet me by the Devaronian bar with the live Tchori wrestling.”

Jariah’s voice perked up. “They have Tchori wrestling?” he asked.

Deliah frowned in consternation. “What is Tchori wrestling anyway?” she retorted.

“Tell you when you’re older,” Jariah said. “Just get him up and moving and I’ll meet you there.”

Deliah clicked off the commlink and shoved it back in her pocket. She braced herself to support the weight of Cade’s body and began to move him forward. Cade swayed slightly, then threw his shoulders back. “Deliah, you should’ve left me alone,” he slurred.

She turned to look at him, her expression tight. “Yeah, Cade, I should have. But that’s what you wanted, right? Someone else to abandon you so you can have an excuse to slink that garbage into your veins one more time?”

They staggered out of the alleyway, narrowly missing a Bothan pedestrian who howled a string of obscenities at them in protest. Cade shuffled along the sidewalk, leaning on Deliah for support. He tilted his head up and let the rain wash down his face, then shook his head rapidly as if to clear his thoughts. “I wanna get back to the ship, Deliah,” he mumbled. “I don’t feel so good.”

She shifted her weight around to get a better position. Cade began to walk awkwardly on his own. “Not surprising,” she said, huffing with exertion. “You really did it this time.”

Cade steadied himself by moving his hand along the building’s wall. “Yeah, but you found me.” He smiled crookedly at her.

Deliah paused. He was charming, true, but she understood that charm was his way of deflecting reality. Her eyes grew sad, and her shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly. “I found you this time. Maybe next time I won’t find you quickly enough. Maybe next time I won’t be around to go looking.”


One day you'll look to see I've gone.
For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun.
Some day you'll know I was the one.
But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun.

 

A nice begining. I've never been a fan of legacy but you got the haracters quite well here.
Deliah is right its very much Cade's style. I wonder how often something like this did hapoen to them.
Also liked that little moment were Cade thinks Mara is talking to him.
Nice story

 

Hi Diva! I particularly liked the voices you created here; the Devaronian I could almost hear out loud. Excellent building in of descriptions to the action meant I could skip along at a good pace while getting a nice picture of the characters and setting too. I, too, am intrigued by Tchori wrestling haha.

I'm impressed.

K

 

Thank you! I did follow the Legacy comics for a while. They were pretty well done, especially when you think of the talent that produced them (Ostrander and Duuresma). Cade is definitely a troubled character. He denies his Jedi heritage and hides in his drug abuse knowing full well that he can Force heal himself whenever he needs to. As for Cade thinking Mara is talking to him, she probably was. She was known to come and visit her great-great-…-great grandson and try to smack some sense into the boy. Of course, he never listened.

Hi Kurisan! Thank you for reading and replying. I tried to give the story the same feel as the comics, so I’m glad you liked it. As for Tchori wrestling, I couldn’t tell you what it is, but it sounded good. Thank you for stopping in!




Part 2.

Cade staggered into the ship with Jariah supporting him, as Deliah followed close behind. As the trio boarded the Mynock, Jariah dumped Cade unceremoniously on the deck as Deliah closed the landing ramp.

Cade moaned softly and muttered something. Jariah drew a deep breath in an obvious attempt to control his temper. He began to search the near-unconscious man’s pockets.

Deliah knelt beside the blond man and pushed his messy hair off his forehead. “Cade? Wake up. Come on, baby. Where’s the software you were supposed to get?” she asked.

Jariah checked a final pocket, then stood up angrily. “He doesn’t have it. We have no way to restore our navcomputer without it, and he instead of getting the patch, he buys ale and death sticks.” He folded his arms in dejected resignation. “Now what?” he asked, turning to face Deliah. “You and I spent the last of our money on supplies. There isn’t any way to return those, and there’s no money left for the patch. And if we don’t get the navcomputer fixed, we won’t make it back to Rav and he’ll give the job to someone else.”

“I know, I know,” Deliah sighed. She sat back and stared at Cade. “He’s in no shape to answer anything now. Let’s just get out of these wet clothes, put him to bed, and try to figure out what we can do from here.”

Hours later, Cade rolled over heavily on his bunk, his arm dangling over the edge. He lifted his head slightly and gazed blearily around. Satisfied he recognized his surroundings, he closed his eyes again and let his head drop onto the bare mattress.

A few minutes later, he tried consciousness again. This time he was more successful. He rolled onto his side and steadied his nausea, then slowly rose to a seated position. Cade put his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands for a few minutes; then he placed his left hand on the bunk, raised his head, and wiped his scruffy face with his right hand. He stared at his cabin until the room stopped spinning.

With effort, he straightened up and lurched toward the hatch. Jariah’s and Deliah’s subdued voices came from the rear of the ship, where the maintenance panels were located. Cade scratched his chest and lumbered down the passageway.

Jariah was elbow-deep in wires and circuits, while Deliah was busy with a datapad. They both looked up as Cade entered the area.

“What are you up to?” Cade asked.

Jariah pulled his hands out of the panel and put them on his hips. “Fixing the navcomputer. Remember? The software needed to be updated? You were supposed to get the software patch?”

Cade glanced to the side. “Oh, yeah. That.”

“Yeah, that.” Jariah was more resigned than angry. “We didn’t have enough money to get the actual patch you were sent out to get. Instead, we had to settle for this partial one, and now Deliah and I have to reroute the systems to boost the power so that the navcomputer can compensate for the distance.”

Cade frowned and shook his head. “What time is it? Shouldn’t we be meeting Rav?”

“No kidding,” Deliah snapped. “But you messed that up good. It’s taken us four hours to get this far. Four hours that you’ve been busy sleeping off last night.”

“What do you want me to do?” Cade asked.

Deliah glared at him. Then, wordlessly, she shoved the datapad into his hand. She turned on her heels and stormed away toward the cockpit of the ship.

Cade raised his eyebrow, then turned to Jariah. “What’s her problem?” he asked.

Jariah opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it and closed his mouth into a thin line. He started to rewire the panel again.

Night had fallen again by the time Cade and Jariah finished their makeshift repairs. Jariah threw his tools into his case and left to go to sleep, and Cade made his way to the galley to grab a bite to eat. He took his steaming mug and his sandwich and went to the cockpit.

The small space was dim, lit only by the exterior lights and the constant glow from the control panel. Cade paused. He sensed Deliah sitting alone, and was concerned to feel her emotions so distraught.

“Hey, Deliah. What’s going on?” he asked as he sat in the co-pilot’s seat. He placed his mug on the counter and quickly finished his snack.

Deliah glanced at him from the corner of her eye, then turned away with a sigh. She wiped her eye quickly. Then she composed herself and turned to him and tried to muster a smile. “Hi, Cade. You feel better?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Cade watched her carefully. She was so hard to read sometimes. “How are you doing?” he asked in return.

She shrugged. “I’m all right.” She was quiet for some time. Cade was almost about to leave when she asked suddenly, “Did you get the navcomputer working?”

“Yeah. It’s up. Took some time, but we got it.”

“The software patch wasn’t what we should have had. This is going to make us late, you know.” Deliah’s voice had a tone of accusation to it.

“I’m sorry,” Cade said.

Deliah turned to him quicky. “Are you?” she asked sharply. “You always say you’re sorry. Then you go and do it again.”

Her sudden outburst took Cade by surprise. He spread his hands defensively. “Hey! Don’t get so upset! It always works out, doesn’t it?” he retorted.

“No, Cade. It always works out for you. You never think about what it costs us when you disappear like that.” Deliah gripped the armrests of the pilot’s chair. “You’re selfish, Cade. You never think of us.” She stared out the cockpit viewscreen at the night sky. “Just go away. I really don’t want to talk to you right now.”

Cade looked at her in disbelief. “I have enough problems without adding this,” he muttered. He stood up abruptly as Deliah turned her back to him. Cade sensed her melancholy as he left the cockpit.

His mind, still muddy from the previous night’s intoxication, tried to reason out what had upset her. He liked Deliah; she was a good pilot and a great mechanic, and she was admittedly easy on the eyes. Part of him felt guilty about her mood. Part of him just wanted her to be over it so that he could go on as normal. Cade was so lost in his thoughts that he nearly bumped into Jariah, who was making his way toward the galley.

“Thought you were headed to your cabin,” Cade said.

The tall bounty hunter shook his head. “Can’t sleep. I decided to get something to eat.”

Cade followed him into the galley and leaned back against the counter, watching Jariah pull together some simple ingredients. Jariah put the plate into the heater and, moments later, took out a warm meal. Cade eyed him warily, as he sensed disapproval from Jariah, although not to the extent of the anger he sensed from Deliah. “How’s that software patch doing?” Cade asked.

Jariah nodded, his mouth full. He swallowed. “Okay, I guess. As good as can be expected. The real patch –you know, the one you were supposed to buy? – that would have worked better.”

“How come you just didn’t get that one?” Cade asked. “Don’t we have some extra money in the supplies?”

“No.” Jariah put his plate down. “We spent that on the last stop, when we stocked up for the job Rav promised us. You know – the one that we’re probably gonna miss because we didn’t get that software patch?” He looked at the counter and toyed with the last of the food on his plate. “We didn’t have enough money. Deliah went out and did the best she could with the little we had left.”

Cade absorbed this information quietly. “No wonder Deliah’s so mad at me,” he said quietly. “I made so much more work for her.”

Jariah stared at him. “You really think that’s why she’s mad at you?” he asked incredulously.

“Well, yeah. I get it. I went out and now she had to spend the extra time and work to get the parts herself.”

Jariah put the scraps from his plate into the recycler, then placed the plate and utensils in the cleaner. “You’re something, you know that, Cade?” he said. “You really have no idea.”

Cade frowned and folded his arms as Jariah began to walk past him toward the hatch. “What? What happened?”

The darker man leaned in and pointed an accusing finger towards Cade. “Where do you think she got the money for the parts, stoopa?” When Cade didn’t answer, Jariah put his hand down and shook his head slowly. “You remember that necklace she wore? The one with the yellow stones from Zeltron?”

“Yeah?”

Jariah stopped by the hatch and turned to face Cade. “She doesn’t own it anymore.”


And now the time has come
And so my love I must go.
And though I lose a friend,
In the end you will know.

One day you'll find that I have gone.
For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun.

 

Part 3.

Deliah stared through the viewscreen at the clutter of ships docked at the spaceport. She slouched in the captain’s chair, her purple-clad legs crossed at the ankles and her velvety red boots propped on the console. Soft music filtered through the audiosystem.

She should have been staring at stars, she thought morosely. Instead, here was this sad collection of dreary freighters, older model star-racers whose glory days had clearly long passed, utilitarian cargo and passenger transports, and drab droid-barges. Everything was dirty. Everything was loud.

Truth be told, she hated ports like these.

Space travel made her happy. Every time Deliah felt the lurch as they slipped into hyperspace, every time she saw the kaleidoscope of stars stretch into that brilliant tunnel, it impressed her. They were truly flying then; not just through space and distance, but actually through time. A brilliant Zeltron scientist of generations past had theorized the relationship between energy and matter, creating her famous Theory of the Relativity of Space-Time, but it was just words and numbers until you actually experienced it.

And Deliah loved to experience it. The enormity of space was calming and serene. Here, Deliah felt that she belonged to the universe, and the universe belonged to her. There were no boundaries, no limits. The universe was just too big to mess with such minor details. She wished she could let herself get lost in that vastness, so far away from the mess of her day-to-day life.

Slow footsteps came closer to the pilot’s cockpit, but she didn’t bother to turn around. Instead, she turned her attention to a heated discussion between two humans outside the ship to the right of the Mynock. If she was lucky, the stoopa men would get into an actual fight and her gray morning would at least have some diversion.

Cade came into the cabin and sat down in the co-pilot’s seat. She didn’t acknowledge him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him copy her posture, with his feet up and his legs crossed. They sat together in silence for a few minutes, watching the humans outside begin to shove each other.

Finally, Deliah spoke. “Get your big Wookiee feet off my console,” she muttered.

“My ship,” Cade replied curtly. “I can put my big Wookiee feet wherever I want.”

“My console,” she countered. “I picked it out. I installed it. I modified it for my specs.”

Cade obliged, to her mild surprise. He turned the chair toward her and clasped his hands loosely in front of him. “Blue, we gotta talk,” he said quietly.

“No, I don’t gotta do anything. I don’t owe anyone anything,” Deliah said. Her voice had an edge to it that surprised her. Deliah gracefully took her feet down and tucked them beneath her chair.

Cade continued, despite her protest. “I messed up. I should have never taken the money and blown it like I did. I’m sorry that you had to sell your jewelry to get the software.” He tilted his head, his shaggy blond hair veiling his green eyes.

Deliah glanced at him, then pointedly turned away.

With a slight raise of his eyebrow, Cade resettled into his seat. “I’m not leaving until we talk this out,” he said quietly. “Look, I admit it. I screwed up. I made us lose our rendezvous, and it cost you your jewelry. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll buy you new jewelry.”

She turned around, her blue hair flipping over her shoulder and her expression incredulous. “You think this is about jewelry?” she snapped. “Are you serious? Do you even know me?”

Cade’s eyes widened in surprise. He held his hands out expressively. “Hey, Blue, I’m trying here. You gotta help me out.” He leaned in toward her. “I can get you another set. I know you wanted that necklace and stuff for a long time.”

“It’s just a bunch of rocks! I don’t care about it!” She caught her breath and forced herself to calm down. “I wanted it because it was pretty and I had never seen anything like it. So I hunted it. The thrill of coming closer to it made me feel good. The idea of negotiating for it, the glitter of it in my hands and around my neck made me feel good. The jewelry is just a bunch of rocks. It was how it made me feel that counted, not the kriffin’ rocks themselves!” She swore, then looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “There’s only one thing that you can do that will make me feel better.”

Cade stared at her, puzzlement on his face. “I’m trying’ Blue. Tell me what to do. Help me understand.”

Deliah put her elbows on the armrests and dug the heel of her hands into her eyes. Her blue hair fell in soft curls around her. Cade gently, hesitantly, put his fingertips to her bare arm. She shuddered slightly. “It’s not the jewelry. It’s not the money. It’s not the software you didn’t get. It’s not even the missed rendezvous.” She lifted her head slightly to meet his eyes. “It’s you, Cade.”

“Me?”

Her shoulders sank slightly as she sat back and crossed her arms. “I’m a Zeltron.”

Cade smirked. “Really? I hadn’t noticed. Wait ‘till I tell Syn.”

A small smile flickered across Deliah’s lips at Cade’s comment. “What I mean is, I have … needs. Needs that you humans don’t understand.”

She pulled her arms closer around herself. “You know how we get our bounties, and sometimes it’s messy?” Cade nodded. “I feel it,” she continued. “I mean, I physically feel it. I can feel their fear, their hate, their desperation. Sometimes if the bounty we’re after is a real sleemo, I can actually feel the cruelty. Their emotions go right into me. It’s like a kick in the gut.”

Deliah turned and looked at Cade intensely. “You know, Cade, you aren’t the only one who’s dragging around some hurt here. So I find ways to make that pain go away. I go shopping. I buy pretty things. I get facials and manicures and let someone pamper me for an hour or two. And with every little pleasure, the pain goes away.”

She took a deep breath. “Sometimes the pain hurts a lot. Sometimes I can’t stand it. It’s like my bones are on fire, or my head is burning up. I can’t hardly work. So I take a man into my bed. For a few hours, there’s nothing to feel but pure pleasure – pleasure that scrapes away the pain and burns the hurt off. Then, I feel new and clean again.” She shook her head. “You see? I know a thing or two about how to make the hurt go away, too.”

She reached out and wrapped her slim pink fingers around Cade’s rough hand. “But you, you take it to the extreme. Do you know what you do when you get those death sticks and abuse yourself like that? You build this wall between you and the rest of the universe. I can’t reach you. I can’t turn to you when I’m hurting, because there’s this karking wall in the way. You think it protects you, but it just makes a prison around you and no one can come in and rescue you.”

Cade stared at the floor. Deliah moved around so that she was facing him, then took his other hand in her left hand. She bent over to catch his eye again. “Stang it, Cade. This is where life is, beyond the wall. Not locked in your little drug-induced prison. You build this great big wall and I come to you, but you won’t let me in. And each time you go into these binges, your pain is like knives to me. You might as well cut my skin up with each trip you take.”

She stopped, caught her breath and blinked quickly. “Cade, you idiot,” she said quietly. “I’ve had lots of men in my bed. But you make the pain go away best, Cade. When you’re with me, I keep my eyes open. I want to see you, not just feel you. I see respect and caring when you’re with me.” She squeezed his hand. “But you make it so hard for me. You hurt me in ways you don’t even imagine.”

Deliah’s voice caught as she spoke. “I found you in the garbage, Cade. You broke my kriffing heart. You were in the garbage.” Cade’s hands clenched hers. She locked into his gaze, and her eyes were moist. “Is that what my favor means to you? Garbage? I let you into my bed, and in return you dump yourself in a filthy alley, you throw yourself away, like some broken, used-up, drugged-out trash? You need to have some respect for me, Cade. If someone else did that to you, I’d use his spleen for target practice. But you do it to yourself. You make my hurt a hundred times worse by hurting yourself.”

A tear slipped through, and Deliah quickly moved to wipe it away. But Cade was faster. He placed his hand on her cheek, wetting his fingertips with her tears. Cade pulled her closer, and Deliah moved over to his chair and sat on his lap, letting him hold her. Her head nestled on his shoulder, her forehead against his scruffy cheek.

“I’m sorry, Deliah,” he said quietly. He turned and kissed her forehead gently. He hugged her closer, comforting her with murmurs and gentle touches. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you,” he whispered. “I can’t promise anything. But I’ll try.”

Deliah exhaled slowly, letting the stress and sadness escape with her breath, and lay her head on his shoulder. Satisfied, she smiled gently and closed her eyes.

 

Okay. Stomp-stomp, the friend who requested the story to be reposted and fixed for truncation has arrived. Trying to comment for the third time, because this story inherited the curse from Last Time and I just can't leave a comment without some stupid issue ending up with its disappearance. If it fails again, this message board is no longer my pateesa.

EDIT: KRIFF THE KRIFFIN KRIFF, YOU POSTED THE LAST PART WHILE I WAS TYPING A REPLY TO PARTS 1 AND 2. THIS STORY HATES ME.

Part 1

First of all, I'm impressed with how you use the Legacy semi-Huttese lingo, like there is no tomorrow! You got every single character perfectly, on top of it. Jariah Syn is the one who doesn't want to bother with Cade, because he saved his life and Cade failed him so many times. Deliah Blue, despite being polyamorous, is primarily in love with Cade and she would do anything to save him from whatever demons are hunting him right now. I know that you have explored Zeltron empathy in your other words and I'm glad to see it here as well. And even at her worst, she just HAS to be sexy, which - in combo with her emotions - does not stop her from being badass as well. I love her, absolutely.

These two lines of dialogue show what these two are like, in a nutshell.

And of course, what was on that datacard and why did Cade run away with his entire secret stash that Jariah supposedly didn't know about (hmmm?) and all of the credits?

So, so, so Legacy-dystopia.

And of course, this is the Red Light District of Wherever, because Cade.

So me.

So Deliah! Bet she was annoyed more than she was about finding Cade!

Just kidding, I know that she loves him more than she would love any kind of boots - and that's a HUGE deal. I mean, boots and a Zeltron cheeka! IT'S A SYMBIOSIS AFTER ALL. A KRIFFIN' SYMBIOSIS.

So, dirty boots can get you to see something you normally wouldn't? Clever storytelling here.

And the Tchori joke is awesome...whatever those things or creatures might be. My guess is that it's something super-sleazy.

LOVE IT how Deliah handled the Devaronian creep. YOU GO, GIRL.

Because all women are moms? Hit him again for me, purr-lease, Deliah, cheeka!

And not only that she finds Cade, but he...thinks he's Luke? Or whatever it could be?

Did Luke snatch his body to teach him, since he's already taking so many deathsticks just to take Luke out of his mind? Hmmm.

And OF COURSE that Jariah knows what Tchori wrestling is. Not surprised.

What I did not expect was for Deliah to go all Jariah at the very end. But she HAD to have had a limit with Cade, because seriously.


Part 2

Loved the word "unceremoniously", despite my general dislike for adverbs. It's kinda awesome.

OMG. Deliah sold the necklace, so they could fix the navicomputer. Cade, do you understand how many times your friends sacrificed themselves and their belongings for you?

Part 3

Love it how Deliah compares (yet another) dirty place with space, with all of its serenity and calmness.

Also, this:

In my universe, this one's a Drall woman, but perhaps they worked together? As long as the Zeltron could have kept her hands off the Drall cheeka!

This was a great way to show Deliah scientific side, given that she's a mechanic who can fix anything and all. She's like a sentient astromech, yet she has a heart of gold, in a way.

You missed a "c" here, btw.

Do they smell that way, too? One just HAS to ask about it.

And this is where they switch roles. Cade usually thinks like Deliah does here and vice-versa. Bloody brilliant storytelling, once again.

LOVED this. The thrill of the hunt and all. That's how she found him as well, after all. But it looks like the necklace wasn't just an ordinary one...hmm. I bet the buyer was somebody important, perhaps even a member of One Sith! Fun to speculate.

...so, her relief are pretty things and some sex, which is nowhere near as damaging as Cade's way of - yes, like it says in the title, building himself a wall, an enclosure.

...aaaaand here it is - the leitmotif!

He is her drug, in a way. The only thing that makes the pain go away. And he too needs to replace drugs with the only drug that actually works - love and trust.

I enjoyed this, thanks for reposting it for me once again. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

A nice story.
I'm not to fond of the Legacy comics but I like your take on the characters. Its good to see Cade has friends around him, friends that try to help him, yet will berate him for his mistakes too.
I guess being part of the Dkywalker lineage isn't easy for him. Nice to see his friends help him with that.
I also liked the fact that at the end he appologizes to Deliah and promises her that he will try and be a better person. I guess he promised that before but maybe this time it genuine.
Its defenetly good to see he tries.

 

Sorry Doublepost

 

Thank you for commenting! I’m glad you liked this story enough for me to resurrect it.
Legacy is loaded with slang and I think that makes it stand out and feel more “real.” And thanks for the character compliment. Back in the day I was a big fan, and there was even a little group on the boards devoted to Legacy (and Cade’s ***-less chaps, in particular). The characters are so well drawn in John Ostrander’s works anyway that it’s easy to pull their individual identities here. Deliah is the glue that holds them together. Jariah respects her, she loves Cade, so Jariah always gives Cade one more chance. Cade has a good heart but his fear of the Force and what it could do to him pulls him into his darkness.
I love Deliah, and she has been the inspiration for other characters that I’ve written (as I’m sure you know). A lot of my fanon derives from her. She is polyamorous but that’s the norm for Zeltrons, so her devotion to Cade is unusual for her species. She willingly sleeps with anyone, but her heart belongs to Cade.

Cade went on a bender (again) as soon as he had money in his hands. He was supposed to buy a software patch but the money went to the bars instead. And of course it was a Red Light district because Cade.

Deliah puts on a good front but she worries about Cade. He isn’t well, he isn’t good for her, she knows it, but she can’t help it.
Deliah is a hot mama and she knows it. She wants to look gooooood. It kind of gets reflected in the last part where she talks about how shopping gives her that dopamine high that, as a Zeltron, she literally needs to relieve the pain of negative emotions. So don’t mess up those feel-good green suede boots.

I have no idea what Tchori are, but of course Jariah knows because Jariah. And don’t patronize Deliah – she’d just as soon shoot a hole in your gut. The bouncer’s respect for her grew astronomically when he felt her blaster against his ribs, and in fact he was actually kind of helpful to her by the end of their conversation.

Deliah may love him, but Cade can’t keep breaking her heart. He doesn’t understand how she needs his kindness. When he hurts himself he hurts her, and she won’t allow that kind of treatment. Yes, it’s a bit selfish on her part, but Deliah is the kind of person who has come too far and has too much respect for herself to allow others to hurt her. She does have a limit with Cade, and thankfully he gets it.
As for his comment about Mara, at one point Mara’s ghost spoke to him to tell him to shape up. In my idea, here she was ghost-talking to him again in the alley, telling him to get up off his sorry butt, and he confused Deliah with Mara’s ghost.

Cade accepts it as normal that he careens around the place, breaking things left and right, and somebody will come along and clean up after him. If he isn’t called on it, he will just continue merrily along on his self-destructive (and somewhat self-pitying) odyssey. Deliah is practical and she knows that the navicomputer has to be fixed, and since Cade dropped the ball then she has to step up. But she is getting sick of it.

I think Deliah finds serenity in space flight. It’s the habited places that are full of psychic negativity, anger, and evil, which causes her physical pain. Space is empty of any kind of negativity so she can find a physical and mental balance there. It’s clean. And of course it was a Zeltron who discovered that E=mc(2). I should think each planet developed their own scientific discoveries, and happily claimed their own scientist as the one who did it best. Deliah is very smart. Sexy, hot, and smart. She’s really like an engineer.

As a Zeltron, she feels emotions. Positive or exciting emotions make her feel physically good, so hunting down jewelry or buying pretty clothes or pampering herself (better keep her out of Space LUSH) bring on that dopamine high that she needs to physically sustain herself. But because she is in such a violent profession as a bounty hunter, because she comes in contact with sadistic, evil, cruel people, she feels their emotions like cuts on her skin. She has to find some way to alleviate that negative emotion, and she does it through “pretty things and some sex.” I really like Zeltrons and I think they are easy to dismiss as sleazy or superficial, but when you have a culture that normalizes polyamory and that treats sexuality as a necessary balm for the pain of daily life, you have a very interesting situation. It can easily become tragic as others exploit this physical need. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jabba had two slave girls – one a Twi’lek, the other a Zeltron.
And she is a good hunter. She followed Cade’s trail and found him, just like she hunted down the jewelry.

You’re right. She is dependent on him the way he is dependent on death sticks. Only she doesn’t have the ability to heal herself like he does when her “drug” backfires on her. Deliah would/can/probably did have sex with anyone but only Cade makes her feel safe and loved in return. He’s the only one she makes love to. She wants him to treat himself with the respect that she demands others give her.

You’re very welcome! Glad to know there are still a couple of us out there who remember the Legacy comics.

Thank you! Cade is a grown man and sometimes his irresponsible ways are too much for his friends to deal with. They love him but you can only push someone so far before they push back. He does “get it” at the end and he realizes that he went too far. Maybe he’ll improve, but he has to understand that he can’t have his friends and the drugs too. He has to decide which he loves more, and commit to his friends if that is his choice. This is kind of a wake-up call for him.