Beyond - Legends Dark Paths (Jacen, Tahiri, Anakin, Jaina, Jag - 5 years after "The Unifying Force"!)

YK: what page was it on?

Does it really matter?

*waits impatiently for finished posts*

What, the cover isn't good enough for you?

Snob!

Feel free to offer sarcastic thoughts...

- The Imperial Ewok

 

GAH!!! I missed that too! Did you make it? It looks really good (My favorite part is the pic of natalie as Jaina of course )

And whose name is it if it isn't yours?

 

GAH!!! I missed that too! Did you make it? It looks really good

Still think it needs some work, myself...

(My favorite part is the pic of natalie as Jaina of course )

I'd never have guessed...

And whose name is it if it isn't yours?

It's a combination of in-jokes?

[More generally - in the PDF, the 'fic will be followed by a short Q&A in the style of the 'official' LFL/DelRey e-books, part of an attempt to justify it as a "critical and artistic response" as the disclaimer says... so anyone with any questions, feel free to ask them in the thread, or post them to me by PM! ]

- THe Imperial Ewok

 

Thrawn:

Isn't it you who lets it get into that state in the first place, though?

*Sticks tongue out at Thrawn* You?re not supposed to point that out, y?know ? it?s the sole property of moms everywhere!

You liked?

[hopeful expression]

I liked!

No?

What?s that supposed to mean? There were no smilies attached!

I'm going for the latter option. At least for that sentence there.

Whatever I say is only going to reinforce my image. *grin*

That doesn't mean he knows where Tern is, though...

So Anakin knows that Ben is on Tern, but doesn?t know the location of Tern?

I have some ideas coallescing for the plot of a sequel... trying not to think about them too much...

Better not, seeing as I?m not quite sure you know where this thing is going?

What's an 'ending'?

Um? you want the dictionary ending, or the full treatise on it?s many meanings?

True. Then again, the area around Anchorhead and Tosche ain't Mos Eisley... what I was trying to say, I think, was that in that situation, Luke already had an idea of what the Jedi were, even though Owen Lars didn't hold with their ideals and the Empire had been presumably blackening their name for twenty-five years.

I guess what I meant was that through Luke, we see the classic image of what honest, hard-working folks in the Mid-West think Jedi are like... not saying that's what they are like, just that that's what people think they're like, regardless of the truth...

A lightsaber commanded a lot of respect in the cantina, but it was a very different sort of respect...

It?s been a while since I?ve seen the original trilogy, but the how the Jedi were viewed seemed to depend on their political allegiance ? Empire thought of them as a corrupt scourge that was wiped away by their ?beloved? Emperor, the Rebel thought of them as the most visible sign of the good ole? days. You know, peace, truth, justice? All of those are not necessarily true views that have been warped by ideological concerns. The smugglers/fringe (and I don?t mean the kind of Han Solo/Mirax Terrik/Lando Calrission fringe), the real fringe had a fairly apathetic view of them: the older ones were cynical, ?cause they?d actually seen the Old Republic and the Jedi in action, and the younger ones have heard enough stories to know that though the Jedi weren?t some Masonic organization bent on conquest of the world, they didn?t have everyone?s best interest at heart. Owen Lars, honest and hard-working, had a distrust of the Jedi because of knowing Anakin Skywalker. The honest hardworking person (my mother, for example) would think suspiciously of anyone trying to stick his nose into her business ? which is what the Jedi did for a living. Truthfully, I wouldn?t like some strange man sticking his holier-than-thou nose in my planet?s civil war either.

They weren't forgotten, I think. But there's a whole litany of depressing real-world events I can bring up here... the Reformation, the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, Ataturk's Turkey, the Cultural Revolution in China... I suspect that things may have been simplified considerably by the fact that the Jedi were so few in numbers and so inward-looking in most of what they did... knowledge of them was spread by state media and word of mouth. Palpatine controlled the one before he turned against the Jedi, and could just let the stories rumble on, gradually being twisted by the new mindset that came with his new regime...

But who?s to say that it was really a new mindset? Maybe it was just an old one with a new lease on life when Palpatine gave the go-ahead. You can bet that on planets where the Jedi screwed up on their peacekeeping missions, they weren?t very well liked?

It was also probably made easier by the fact that the Empire wasn't pushing the truth too hard - in the Clone Wars, the Jedi had probably been held up to scrutiny, and found wanting. Analogies with the Russian Revolution may be particularly appropriate...

P

 

Elena: *Sticks tongue out at Thrawn* You?re not supposed to point that out, y?know ? it?s the sole property of moms everywhere!

I'll bear that in mind! You know I was saying it in a more sympathetic tone of voice that a mom trying to dragoon you into tidying, though?

I liked!

You did?!

What?s that supposed to mean? There were no smilies attached!

I suspect that it was mild sarcasm, but I don't know what page we're on any more!

Whatever I say is only going to reinforce my image. *grin*

That dentist's-daughter grin again...

So Anakin knows that Ben is on Tern, but doesn?t know the location of Tern?

Basically, yep...

Better not, seeing as I?m not quite sure you know where this thing is going?

Huh!

Well, okay, a possible major alteration just occurred to me today...

Um? you want the dictionary ending, or the full treatise on it?s many meanings?

Simply an acknowledgement, however implicit, that an 'ending' needn't be any more than a matter of POV?

It?s been a while since I?ve seen the original trilogy, but the how the Jedi were viewed seemed to depend on their political allegiance ? Empire thought of them as a corrupt scourge that was wiped away by their ?beloved? Emperor, the Rebel thought of them as the most visible sign of the good ole? days. You know, peace, truth, justice? All of those are not necessarily true views that have been warped by ideological concerns. The smugglers/fringe (and I don?t mean the kind of Han Solo/Mirax Terrik/Lando Calrission fringe), the real fringe had a fairly apathetic view of them: the older ones were cynical, ?cause they?d actually seen the Old Republic and the Jedi in action, and the younger ones have heard enough stories to know that though the Jedi weren?t some Masonic organization bent on conquest of the world, they didn?t have everyone?s best interest at heart. Owen Lars, honest and hard-working, had a distrust of the Jedi because of knowing Anakin Skywalker. The honest hardworking person (my mother, for example) would think suspiciously of anyone trying to stick his nose into her business ? which is what the Jedi did for a living. Truthfully, I wouldn?t like some strange man sticking his holier-than-thou nose in my planet?s civil war either.

So what you're saying is that there are two partisan factions duking it out on a galactic scale, and most people, honest and dishonest alike, just want to get on with their lives?

And the Jedi... are irrelevant?

But who?s to say that it was really a new mindset? Maybe it was just an old one with a new lease on life when Palpatine gave the go-ahead. You can bet that on planets where the Jedi screwed up on their peacekeeping missions, they weren?t very well liked?

Yep - very true, though all that discontent is now legitimized and given voice by official policy... when before, they represented the Republic and its failings...

Probably ? although what I don?t get is this: Why are clones so reviled if they were working for the Jedi against enemies of the Republic?

They all went mad? Propaganda? Remember, the Army of the Republic was supposedly created by the Jedi...

Yep. What kind of parent lets their child leave with strange people for a life destined to be lived in the service of the Republic. Some of those people might not have supported the Republic ? having their children grow up to be the enforcers wouldn?t have been too palatable. And of course, most people wouldn?t have wanted to give up their kids anyway.

Agreed. Hmm. Interesting thoughts... Did you see the amusing cause celebre in the HNN section of the official site in the run-up to the release of AotC, a story about parents trying to get their baby back...

I suspect most people inside the Republic would have been culturally conditioned to regard it as an honour...

It probably wouldn?t have been very hard to keep key elements of the population suppressed ? Senators and the like. Of course

 

I was only 2 mintues away from posting in the "official Dark Paths discussion" thread in the lit forum before it got locked the other day

 

*presents T McE with scotch and Asprin*

Dang, I really need to catch up on this 'fic... I mean, you've got a cover, an official webpage, a fake pen-name and everything...

*cough*HostileForcesrockskeepwritingittoo*cough*

 

Thrawn: Not that there

Do you mean 'Not that they're there'?

But yeah. I recognised them in the film, not on the cover.

[The explanations]

[voice=cap'n_jack_sparrow] That's th' one! [/voice]

And... Cavegirl? I've watched that a couple of times, unfortunately. Ugh. Terrible pregram. But aye...

You do realise it's not my real name, right?

Which one? The cover or the other one?

It's a combination of in-jokes?

Meh.

Elena: What?s that supposed to mean? There were no smilies attached!

!

So Anakin knows that Ben is on Tern, but doesn?t know the location of Tern?

Hmmm... so...

*Has a bizarre vision of a group of armoured Knights of the Sword riding in on... swoops... lances at full tilt, and saving the day*

We still don't know how well Aector will stand up to a saber-blade, do we?

I mean, if Leia's Force-pike can do it in CotJ, then why not that?

And, actually, do we have any record yet of what happened between the Knights meeting and Tahiri ariving on Denon?

Probably ? although what I don?t get is this: Why are clones so reviled if they were working for the Jedi against enemies of the Republic?

Who were they working for? Not the people of the Republic... the Jedi... the Jedi who we have already noted aren't the most liked of people... the Jedi who piss everyone off with their holier than thou attitudes, their arrogance, and their impunity from justice...

And the fact that lots of people probably agree with the Seperatists to a degree... or at least aren't entirely sure that they want a war just yet... (see Iraq and Afghanistan)... and the Jedi have grudges...

Yep. What kind of parent lets their child leave with strange people for a life destined to be lived in the service of the Republic. Some of those people might not have supported the Republic ? having their children grow up to be the enforcers wouldn?t have been too palatable. And of course, most people wouldn?t have wanted to give up their kids anyway.

Aye... that was one of the thoughts that struck me when watching TPM... I mean, think of the courtcases... we already have NJO Jedi stealing artefacts (and then being forgotten )... can you imagine the headlines? JEDI WITCHES STOLE MY BABY!

It probably wouldn?t have been very hard to keep key elements of the population suppressed ? Senators and the like. Of course, some species are resistant to all the mind-tricks ? Bothans, for example. And every so often there comes an extremely strong-willed individual?

Bothans? Don't you mean Hutts?

And what you're proposing would have made Palpy's little trick with the LAdy Luce look like childs play...

I have a re-occurring problem with run-on sentences.

Just use elipsi...

Or even elipses...

Of course, that begs the question of the nature of the Force. A simple tool? Or a force that has an order and balance to it, with the Jedi charged with keeping the balance?

*Looks at the Torah* Well. That sounds an awful lot like what God had charged the Jewish people with. The idea of the Force seems a great deal like a state-sponsored religion. Any idea where the Jedi Academy is getting their money?

Aye... from wealthy sponsors, I assume, just like in the OR...

Hmmm...

No, I?m really curious. How is it they?ve got pretty nice ships but have a medieval society?

Oh, all too easily... let's look at...say Afghanistan, for example. They don't exactly seem to have an up to date society (except fpor whjere America is dragging it, kicking and screaming, into the century of the Fruitbat- I mean, the twenty-first century ) but boy do they like those AK-47s...

It?d make for an interesting relationship, that?s for sure?

Kinnik VoShay and that dead Jedi woman?

*Ahem* I read the New Republic online, sometimes. I rather like it.

New Republic? Que?

 

Page 20.

Wonderful evocation of the household of the old Vong. I loved the mysterious way the house seemed to act on Anakin.

a loosely belted black tunic and a matching kilt, made from what seemed to be fine linen or raw silk. They fitted him well, and he'd already stopped worrying about how different wearing a sarong felt compared to the boots and trousers he was used to. Smiling graciously, he sat down opposite Bro Lah, unselfconsciously cross-legged, and studied him across the docile back of the flat-turtle that served as a dining table.
Yummy! I especially liked the kilt. MacIntosh? MacEwen?

Enjoyed Anakin's thought processes, the way the vision of Dark Tahiri - so desirable and dangerous - haunts him and tantalises him, entices him. [sighs]

Ho ho! Guess who killed Luke, Mara.

I loved that little touch of the picture Ben had drawn tacked to his door.

All in all - very satisfying to read.

Scoundrel Forget the clairol - go for henna. And don't worry - my daughter is just about to make me a grandma!!!!

Elena LOL I loved your comment about the "kiss tahiri for me" line being guilty for a number of icky T/J fics. [cringes in turn and rushes off to clean the room in ritual purging fashion]

Page 21:
Oh wow! That was fantastic. The recollections of Dantooine, Anakin's progressive memories cutting into the scene with the Vong girl, his empathy and, at the same time, his yearning for Tahiri. Just wonderful, but heart-rending.

I'm loving the way you get into Anakin's psyche.
Really enjoyed that post. But there again, I've enjoyed all of them.

 

this is in desperate need of an update

 

Did you forget about this fic, Thrawn?

 

Mirax Terrik Horn leaned back into the familiar contours of her seat, and closed her eyes. For a moment, an after-image lingered, but even when it faded, she knew exactly where she was.

The Pulsar Skate had been her father's ship even before she was born, and the pilot's seat, up forward on the flight deck, had been hers for more than twenty years. The whispers of the computers and power-systems were as natural to her as the sound of her own breath, and as she reached out and took the controls - eyes still closed - the feedback from the rudders and spaceframe felt as familiar and intimate as waking up in her own body.

After a few moments, she opened her eyes again, and looked out at the stars.

It was an unremarkable Mid-Rim starfield, neither oppresively crowded nor desolately sparse; not so intimately familiar as the night skies of Corellia, and not as unsettlingly alien as the nebula-lit heavens of Hapes.

Everything seemed normal, except for the magnified image of the planet that lay ahead of them - a nuanced pearl of shadows and darkness, framed in a pane projected across the clearsteel viewport. As she allowed her eyes to settle on the distant world, she saw the subtle contrasts of tone and texture in the image. Even at this distance, she could see the paradox that defined this planet, the ungovernable patterns of unfettered nature interwoven with the iron-edged geometries of the planet-girding cityscape.

Denon.

Mirax looked at the city-covered continents and the oceans, alternatively grey and glittering, and at the darkening vortices of the storms brewing out over the oceans, three typhoons coiling into a single monster - spiral arms, two black eyes, and a maw like a yammosk. It was unsettling to think that this was still the political capital of the Alliance, and a major industrial centre.

She pursed her lips.

That was probably the way Jacen Solo wanted it.

Ten of the twenty-eight ocean-spanning flyway bridges looked to still be carrying traffic, the rest evenly split between 'abandonned' and 'under repair'. Most of the offshore reactor plants and power rigs had been shut down, but the sensors still showed activity at the spaceport complexes, but she remembered her last visit to Barrier Port, and she found she wasn't surprised. Denon's largest surface gateway was a brutally functional iron-and-duracrete archipellago of landing pads and launch spits. built around the peaks of an underwater mountain-range, with the repair bays and support facilities buried deep beneath the surface. Even then, the military had been taking control, replacing civilian docking platforms with shield generators and turbolaser batteries.

Out on the high seas, a few functioning 'ships still plied passages through the swell-born flotsam of foundered wrecks - and among the fast stormdodgers and cargo submarines, the Skate had counted almost fifty factory cruisers, massive repulsor rafts built by the Alliance since they had unleashed the planet's ecosystem. They were the size of Star Destroyers, designed to ride out the storms as they followed the slow currents around the globe, harvesting vast shoals of fish and of kelp for processing to produce food for the city-world's tens of billions of citizens.

For a moment, her eyes lowered to the central flatscreen on the console in front of her, and the enhanced view of Skywalker City, the vast government citadel which they had named after Luke. She smiled. Her husband had his own monuments - streets and skyscrapers on Corellia and several other worlds, a statue in the atrium of the Camaasi Remnant Council Chamber on Susevfi, and even an Ithorian herdship.

Then she glanced at the man in the co-pilot's chair, Corran's chair, wearing his cape and surcoat over his armoured flightsuit, his sword propped uneasily over the armrest on its slings. He had something of the same physical bulk, she reflected but he was taller than Corran, and his robes were grey rather than her husband's favoured Corellian green.

Somehow, though, he didn't look out of place.

 

Elena coughs discreetly, and looks at black-highlited posts on both pages 25 and 26.

In a shocking turnaround, she grins wildly, and performs a time-honored duty.

*FLUTTERS EYELASHES*

"Try to finish the other posts up, m'dear. You don't want to overeach yourself, y'know."

Elena

 

Uppers! How ya doin' Thrawn.

 

about time! (the post on page 25 was updated in case others missed it) Man, I can't wait for the Tahiri/Jacen showdown *waits for posts to be finished*

 

Upping it, just 'cause I can.

Off to watch Stargate: Atlantis.

*drools in anticipation*

Elena

Oh, and nice post.

 

Ooooh... Mesa likes... Incredible description inb the newly unveiled stuff. Incredible. And Jacen's arrogance... *thwacks*

 

I'm starting to get impatient

 

I think Ewoks semi-hibernate for the summer in nests made of rl stuff...

 

Ah well, at least I'm not the only one who's been lazy and not updating

 

I think Ewoks semi-hibernate for the summer in nests made of rl stuff...

 

So, is this fic, like, dead? No updates, no one posts anymore... ?

Magnus

 

I hope it's not dead... just on hiatus... I'm pretty sure His Ewokness has about a gazillion words needed in real life in for... um, tomorrow, or something, IIRC. (Unless I've jumped months, which is entirely possible.)

But no, I doubt it's dead. We may, however, have to ready the defibrilators just in case...