Beyond - Legends Children of the Red Sun--Final Four Chapters Posted. Complete 10/3/2009!!!!

VaderLVR64?Thank you. Always nice to kill proto-Siths.

Jedi-2B?You?ll see. (You probably first, of course). Thanks for all the great work Beta reading!

JediXManSerenaKenobi?Thank you, I?m glad you?re enjoying it.

Golden_Jedi?Thanks, here you go.

Now to hosuekeeping stuff. With the recent change to the boards, Lazy?s PM machine doesn?t work and I haven?t been able to make Kidan?s application work for me, so PMs are done manually. I know I had a long off period with this story, so it?s completely understandable if some people have lost interest in it. But it?s a lot of work to send out PMs and only have four or five people acknowledge the post. It takes the better part of an hour to post a chapter and send PMs, and that?s precious time for a working father of two young kids. So, if you would like to stay on the PM list, please let me know. If I don?t hear from you by my next post, I?ll assume that you wish to be removed. Those of you who reviewed are, of course, exempt!

Of course, that doesn?t mean you can?t get on. Just let me know.

Here is the list.

cggunnersmate
Fanficfan
Golden_Jedi
Jedi_Aurelan_Carter
JediXManSerenaKenobi
Kevin_Solo
L0B0(multiple rejections)
Raptor517
Talon_Kenobi
TigerofRobare(multiple rejections)
Ultima_1
VaderLVR64


Thank you all for reading.

 

Chapter Sixteen: The Battle of Dantooine

Danni Quee?s sensor log beeped. She turned and saw that one of the main observation droids liberally sprinkled among the hyperspace lanes recorded an explosion. She pulled up the imaging and saw a distant ringed shockwave rolling violently through space.

A second explosion rippled through space a few thousand kilometers further along, followed by a third and fourth. Suddenly the space was filled with hundreds of coral-like ships ranging in length from individual fighters to behemoths over twelve hundred meters.

She waited for someone to notify General Solo, and then remembered something. The Arkanian, Shasgo, said she was the only analyst.

?General Solo,? she said lightly.

He didn?t hear. She could see he was immersed in discussion with General Antilles and a holographic representation of the Bothan, Admiral Kre?fey.

She cleared her throat. ?General Solo,? she said.

When he looked up, she could see the glint of irritation in his eyes. ?What??

?The Vong fleet just reverted from hyperspace in the middle of your mine field.?

?How do you know?? Han asked, gaping.

?Lieutenant Shasgo tells me I?m your only intelligence analyst.?

?She?s right,? Wedge said with a chuckle. ?Our five analysts were lost at Helska and frankly we just never got around to replacing them.?

?Oh,? Han said. Then he grinned. ?Least we know the mines are working. That should buy us time. How many??

Danni glanced at her readout. ?So far we?ve spotted one hundred twenty capital ships.?

?That?s all?? Han asked.

?They?ve got Dubrillion,? Wedge noted. ?They need to secure a foothold. The ships coming at us are to ensure we don?t hit them first. They?re learning. Danni, can you bring up the tactical view on our holotable??

Danni looked over the unfamiliar controls until she found what she was looking for. A minute later, an image of local space appeared in the large under-lit table between the leadership.

?We have a hundred thirty ships under flag right now,? Kre?fey said over the holonet.

?I thought we were at one-fifty,? Han said.

?We were,? Kre?fey said darkly.

Han nodded. ?Understood, Admiral. We?re almost certain to see ground combat,? Han said. ?Wedge, get your fighters up and your ground-pounders ready. Admiral Kre?fey, the fleet is yours. Use whatever assets and strategies you see fit. We don?t have the ships to evacuate all these people and fight a battle, so our lives are literally in your hands.?

The hologram of Kre?fey nodded. ?Understood, General. May the Force be with us all.?

Danni turned her attention back to her intelligence displays. The Vong used their fighters to clear a path for their capital ships, but only after losing at least three smaller capital ships.

On a separate monitor, she watched with interest how the New Republic fleet organized itself. With no way to truly prevent the Vong from landing, Kre?fey dispensed with a protective formation and instead organized his fleet in an inverted hemisphere, like a bowl.

She immediately saw the benefit of this as the first Vong ships flashed into the space around the planet. The parabolic shape of the formation allowed all New Republic fire to concentrate with great effect on a relatively small area. When the first enemy capital ship appeared, it was struck by the simultaneous turbolaser fire of over a hundred ships. It cracked like an egg and exploded even as additional enemy ships appeared.

The opening salvo definitely went toward the New Republic as additional Vong ships appeared and then died. Then the larger enemy ships appeared. They managed to absorb an astounding amount of firepower before succumbing, and dished out as much damage as they took. The first New Republic vessel, a frigate, exploded.

The rest of the enemy fleet arrived, and it ceased to be a shooting rink and instead turned into a full-fledged, raging battle.

?Ships are approaching the planet,? Danni announced. ?Incoming.?

Just minutes after

 

That was quiet the talk they had wasn't it. I hope Jor learns something.

And keep me on the PM

 

130 New Republic capital ships - Several billion credits
120 Yuuzan Vong capital ships - No appropriate value
1000's of Yuuzan Vong warriors - years of training and experience
Jor Naberrie weilding a Yuuzan Vong Angry-staff - Priceless

Yeah it was evil, sure it was sith-like. But it was an absolutely hilarious mental image especially:

Loving this Darth, please keep me on the PM list.
Fanficfan

 

Yeah, Jor using the Vong as a club was great.

Please keep me on your PM list. I have the same problem with Kidan's tool. I pretty much write the PM on notepad, then paste it into each instance of the PM page for the people I send to. Takes some time, but not as bad as it could be.

 

Jor has trouble keeping his clothes on, doesn't he? And he's having trouble sticking to Jedi principles.

(got the next section, and will start on it asap )

 

Wow. Did Jor just touch the dark side or something?

Raptor517

 

Wow - that was a tense chapter! Hope Jor smartens up and listens to his dad.

But you did manage to sneak some lovely humor in here:

?Stop showing off, Jacen,? Mara said as she shot a reptilian in the face as it tried to breach the wall. Like Kyle Katarn, Mara was one of the few Jedi comfortable with both blasters and lightsabers.

?I don?t think Danni?s watching,? Leia added.


LOVED that!!!

- Serena

 

Of course you should keep me on the PM list! I love your stories!

Just the idea of a Dark!Jor gives me the chills...

 

Those were some intense battle sequences for sure. The most interesting thing though is Jor's behavior - that, and whoever or whatever it was that killed Vegere.

 

Talon Kenobi?We can all hope. I?ll be glad to keep you on the list.

Fanficfan?Sometimes there is humor even in the most difficult of times. And it was a funny image.

Ultima_1?I?ve adopted a hybrid approach similar to yours. I?ll be glad to keep you one.

Jedi-2B?As always (again) thanks for beta reading for me. As for Jor and clothes?Kale had the same problem early on.

Raptor517?He came awfully close.

JediXManSerenaKenobi?I like my Leia in this. Frankly, I think she?s a better mom in mine.

Golden_Jedi?Of course I should keep you on the list. How could I think not too.

L0B0?Yeah, fun times are ahead, aren?t they?


Okay, here is the new revised PM list. As I?ve said before, if your name fell off just let me know and I?ll be glad to add it back on. If you?re on it and you would rather not me, please just shoot me a PM. L0B0?you fell off only because I can?t seem to make the PMs go through.

Thank you all for reading.

Fanficfan
Golden_Jedi
Jedi_Aurelan_Carter
JediXManSerenaKenobi
Raptor517
Talon_Kenobi
Ultima_1
VaderLVR64

 

Chapter Seventeen: Setting the Stage


Jor walked through the now open gates of the fortifications to roaring applause. He stopped, stunned, as civilians and soldiers alike applauded his efforts. He tried to be gracious, and for a few seconds was able to forget his father?s words.

Then he saw his father, in the distance, carrying his mother in his arms. A second later, he felt a hand on his arm and looked down to see Master Solo. Over the roar of the applause, Leia explained, ?She exhausted herself fighting.?

Eventually they all made their way back to the command center. The mood was equally jubilant inside as they celebrated not just the victory on the ground, but also the victory in space.

General Solo walked up to Jor to shake his hand. ?You and Kale accounted for more than sixty percent of enemy casualties on the ground,? he said. ?We owe you a great deal.?

?Thank you, General.?

He turned and saw Jacen there. The young Jedi was coated in blood, with a haunted look in his eyes. ?I saw what you were doing out there,? Jacen said. ?Thank you.?

Jor took the offered hand. It was wet. He looked down and saw green-tinted blood on it. He looked up, angry at his ?cousin? smearing his hand with blood, but Jacen was already gone. Without anywhere else to go, he wandered off to one side while the officers discussed their next move.

He felt the blood on his hand and wiped it with disgust on the pants of his uniform. He wasn?t sure what type of stunt Jacen was trying to pull, but he didn?t appreciate it. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around.

All hint of anger fled his face. ?Danni,? he managed to choke out.

?I watched the whole battle,? she said. She had a string of hair in her fingers, twisting it. ?It was amazing, Jor. Everything you can do. I know it must have been hard for you to kill all those creatures, but you saved so many lives. Thank you.? She leaned over and pulled up on the tips of her toes to give him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

The kiss was interrupted by a loud voice. ?Everybody shut up now!? Solo screamed.

The whole room fell deathly silent as the general listened to something on a private headset. ?Say again, Command,? Solo called into his headset. Whatever it was so deeply bothered the general that Leia stepped to his side and put a hand on his back.

Finally, Han ripped the headset off and looked up. His face burned with open rage as he stared down his command staff. ?We?ve just received an emergency holonet transmission from Coruscant. Vong infiltrators have assassinated the Chief of State and his entire cabinet. Minister Carlist Rieekan is among the dead.?

Jor stood frozen in place like the rest. The general did not give them long to ponder what it meant, however. ?Admiral Kre?fey,? he said to the holoimage of the Bothan, ?I?m placing you in overall command of the fleet. Coordinate with Admiral Jid?dya to ensure the front is maintained. I?m returning to Coruscant immediately.? He looked around the room until his eyes fell on Danni. ?Danni, download all of the tactical recordings and get ready to come with me.? He looked around the room again. ?People, I don?t need to tell you what is at stake. We won the day because they only threw a third of what they had at us in Republic space. If even that much. Stay on your toes, and do not think for an instant that we are safe. I?ll be back.?

With that, the Supreme Commander strode out of the room with his wife and son on his heels. Jor looked over at the station where Danni was quickly loading all the recordings into a holo pad. The pad must have filled, because she grabbed a second from a nearby shelf. In the end she filled seven holopads with raw data.

?I?ll help you,? Jor offered. He took four of them and the two hurried out of the command station. Outside, news was spreading among the refugees about what happened. Jor heard cries of anger and despair amidst the crowd. Danni herself looked stunned.

He wanted to comfort her, but

 

It's it wrong that I suddenly have this image of the Solos, Naberries, Jedi and about two-thirds of the New Republic military defecting the Empire?

 

Fascinating. That one post basically covered as much political/strategic ground as roughly half of the NJO books. Well done.

 

Of the entire NJO series, I hated Fey'la the most. Nom Anor came next. Good post.

Raptor517

 

Wow. I just finished both this and your Legacy of the Red Sun story. I must they are AMAZING! When I first started Legacy, I was kind of iffy on the whole concept of Luke dying when he's four and having Superman take his place. On top of that, I'm not really fond of AU's to begin with. But I must say, these two stories are just sooooo well written I could hardly stop until I was finished. And now that you have introduced Jor and Karia, it just keeps getting better and better.
If you could add me to the PM list as well, that would be great. I wasn't going to ask because I thought that you were posting this story and The Boy who Fell at the same time, but then I looked back and saw that was not the case. So I guess I am going to need a PM if at all possible in order to keep track of this story!

Thank you so much!

 

Wow, that was brilliant. I really really love Leia and Han in this. They kick serious butt. And I have to add as well that you've managed to write in political intrigue without making it BOOKS long and really dull - I really enjoy reading it the way you have. Great, great job. If only the Profic authors could shorten their boring novels and make them more enjoyable like yours.

And this new Kryptonian has me bouncing in my seat!! Please update soon!

- Serena

 

Fanficfan?It?s not wrong, but it won?t actually happen. The thought occurred to me, but it would just go against the grain of too many of the protagonists characters. Of course, this makes the future civil war in cannon very iffy.

L0B0?You know, that?s exactly what I was aiming for. I despised all of the unnecessary political brouhaha in the books, but even I realized there had to be some mechanism to get Han out of the way. This was it.

Raptor517?He was indeed a despicable character.

Jedimasterjsa?I?m glad you enjoyed the first trilogy. I?m rather fond of it myself. And I?m glad to add you to the PM list.

JediXManSerenaKenobi?I?m glad you enjoyed the chapter. There?s more to come!

 

Chapter Eighteen: Consequence



In orbit over Dantooine, Wedge?s much-deserved sleep was cut cruelly short. ?General Antilles??

Wedge sat up from his bed and groaned. ?What is it this time??

?Sir, we have an alert from a perimeter droid. Incoming ships.?

?Which vector??

?They?re coming from Dubrillion, sir.?

Wedge jumped out of bed. ?Set high alert throughout the fleet,? he said. ?Advise Command we have incoming hostiles. Do we have a count?? He was dressed and out of his command cabin as the lieutenant bringing him the message followed.

?Not yet, sir, but telemetry should be in soon.?

Wedge burst onto a busy bridge. Captain Haltoon snapped to attention. ?General, we?ve confirmed the Yuuzhan Vong are moving. We?re received preliminary reports that both Telos and Bimmiel have fallen.?

?Already? How many are coming at us??

?We estimate eighty destroyer and heavy cruiser analogues, sir.?

Wedge sighed. Since Niuk Niuv recalled Admiral Kre?frey and most of the fleet, Wedge had a marginal picket force of ten star destroyers, five heavy cruisers and a handful of support ships. ?How soon will they be here??

Captain Haltoon?s shoulders slumped. ?In minutes, General.?

?Order an evacuation of the refugees,? Wedge said. ?Let?s get as many away as we can. We?ll hold them off as long as we can, and then fall back to Adumar.?

?We won?t be able to get many away,? Haltoon said. ?There are almost a quarter of a million people down there, and only a few surface transports.?

Wedge felt the pit of his stomach drop. ?We save as many as we can,? he said. ?But we don?t have the resources for a prolonged fight. It wouldn?t do those people down there any good if we die with them. The Minister of Defense has decided not to defend these worlds, and in doing so he?s allowed the Vong an open door into the galaxy. I?m not going to let his order kill us all.?


* * *


Mara fought to keep her eyes open. ?We should have asked for a pilot to come with us,? she whispered.

Kale feigned a scowl. ?I haven?t scratched the ship yet,? he said.

Their communications board started beeping, and a mechanical voice emerged. ?This is a General Alert to all ships in this sector. Yuuzhan Vong vessels have assaulted Bimmiel, Telos and Dantooine. All ships are urged to navigate around this region of space.?

?Right where Han said they would come,? Kale said with a shake of his head. ?How did Borsk Fey?lya ever get elected to Chief of State??

?Politics has always been one of your weak areas,? Mara said, not without fondness. ?For you, it?s about right or wrong, good beings or bad. So where does Fey?lya, who at heart is a bad being serving the good side, fall? Why do all the senators, some of whom are good, vote this bad creature into power? It?s the nature of sentient beings to make mistakes, Kale. Even you.?

Kale looked at her. ?I married you, so I couldn?t have messed up that badly.?

?I?m talking about Jor. And Karia.? She struggled to sit upright. ?We should have sent them to the Jedi years ago, Kale.?

?Why do you say that??

?You worried about him on Dubrillion.?

Kale said nothing as he stared out into the blue swirl of hyperspace. ?He felt nothing about killing those creatures,? Kale finally admitted. ?He was using one as a club. It was so callous.?

?They don?t show in the Force,? Mara said. ?To him it may have been like playing with a toy.?

?Enemy or not, they were still living, breathing creatures,? Kale said. ?I kill when I must to save the innocent. But never so callously.?

?And that?s my point, Kale,? Mara said. ?I love you more than you will ever know. But there are parts of you that are blind. You get an idea in your head and you block everything else out. You had it in your mind that only you could teach Jor-El, never realizing that without different voices he would never learn what you needed to teach. You do what you think is right, even if it ends up hurting everyone you love.?

Kale turned and star

 

Another masterfully written chapter DM, still loving this story.
Especially loved that bit between Karia and Jor, although "Seismic Slap" sounds more like something from Pokemon than Star Wars or Superman lol
The first section with Kale and Mara was great too, a good heart to heart with making Mara seem like too much of a softy.
Great Stuff, can't wait for more

 

I'm glad to see Karia smack some sense - literally - into Jor.


Interesting that Vader left that message for Kale. Fel should know better than to taunt him though.

 

It would have been funnier if the windows had shattered....but it was still good.

Raptor517

 

That was good of Karia to confront Jor like that. Although, she could probably have been a little more discreet with her slap.
I hope Kale and Mara will be able to track down Fel and find those crystals! Now not just for Mara's sake, but to figure out why Vader and Fel were so sure he would come looking for them. What is on those crystals?

 

So now Kale and Mara have to go on a wild nerf chase to track down those crystals. It's funny how Kale is a poor pilot!

Karia had indeed better keep an eye on Jor. Everyone had better.

Both the last two chapters were great.

 

WOW, that chapter was absolutely fantastic. The conversation between Karia and Jor was just perfect. I love the way she stood up to him about his emotions. Great, great job. And the ending - wow!!! Please update soon!

- Serena