Beyond - Legends Love Thy Enemy--A ROTJ AU---Thank you to all my readers

Shameless up.

 

Loved the cover art. It's haunting, but beautiful.

Kristeh

 

It's very interesting the cover

 

Cool cover

 

Excellent story and great cover art. Can't wait for more.

 

I know this isn't exactly protocol here, but there's a small rash of artwork that goes along with this story. Here are a pair of images that are also as old as the cover art; neither is scene-specific, and the first one isn't accurate in context--they serve more as just mood pieces.

[image=http://www.timbolton.freeserve.co.uk/moriah_images/Csw3.jpg]

[image=http://www.timbolton.freeserve.co.uk/moriah_images/Csw4.jpg]


I also persuaded (well, more like arm-twisted ) a friend of mine, Holly, to draw the key moments from my two posts so far while we had some idle time. She's a great artist, as you can see, and I was curious what she'd come with on this project, so here are her efforts:

[image=http://www.angelfire.com/clone/aphroditeix/lte.jpg]

[image=http://www.angelfire.com/clone/aphroditeix/lukelte.jpg]

 

wonderful addition and beautiful artwork.

 

Up.

 

Love the artwork, but i already talked at length about that before!

 

I know, thanks Ish. Uppers.

 

Sorry I haven't replied before now, Par. This is so beautiful so far! I absolutely loved the last scene! I'd post my favorite parts, but I don't think you'd like it if I recopied the whole scene. Eagerly awaiting more!

 

They were not out of peril yet. Even as the two men hastened to the cockpit they could hear the resounding crashes of heavy debris raining down upon the ship's hull. Luke winced with each strike--a single breach would effectively steal their last chance at escape.

Just ahead of him Anakin abruptly swayed in midstep and went down hard on one knee, flailing to get a purchase on something to keep from hitting the wall. He snarled as his attempts to rise proved useless. Startled, Luke began slipping his arms beneath his shoulders to help him up, but Anakin waved him off.

?A malfunction...leave me be and get to the cockpit. Now!? he barked when Luke did not immediately comply. With a frustrated hiss Luke released him and gathered the strength to sprint the rest of the way. Breathless, he threw himself into the pilot?s chair and sped through the shuttle?s activation sequence in a flash that must have surpassed all Imperial flight records. The engines were still running cold by the time the ungainly craft was aloft on repulsors and halfway through its insufferably slow turn towards the bay?s opening.

And then he saw it. Out of the corner of his eye, through the far edge of the viewscreen, Luke caught the first glimpse of a titanic explosion. Even in the confines of the cockpit he could feel its thunder. A massive billow of fire growing exponentially in size and rushing at him with merciless speed, speed that Luke knew could not be outrun. For a split second he was utterly paralyzed with a fear of futility, then primal instincts kicked in and brought his hand slamming down on the drive activation. It couldn?t end this way, not now...

?FATHER--HANG ON!!!? he screamed down the open hatchway. The faltering acceleration compensator was unable to match the power he was pulling out of the belligerent ship?s engines, and he found himself crushed back into the chair. The breath fled from his compressed lungs, and there was one heartstopping moment when he saw the flames completely engulf the shuttle before darkness filled his sight. As he lost consciousness his last coherent thought was only one of gratefulness that he would not have to feel that final instant of scorching agony that would come with the detonation of their vessel.
******************************************************

Sensation returned slowly to Luke, as if his own body had taken pity on his sorry state and decided to ease him back into the misery of reality. Above all there was pain, not quite as agonizing as it had first been but no less daunting as it seeped into every last crevice of his form. Then a roiling nausea in the pit of his stomach, not helped in the least by all the potent smells assaulting his nose. The air was rank with the acrid stink of burned plastic and components, and the essence of ozone still clung strongly to his own clothes. But there was a third stench that violated his olfactory nerves like nothing else in the room, something sharp and sour, almost acidic...

It took him only a moment more to realize he had thrown up.

All of this he took in without opening his eyes. He was afraid to, if his sense of inner vertigo was anything to go by. From the pattern of pressure beneath him he ascertained he was lying curled up on his right side. Moaning, he attempted to shift and quickly felt a strangely awkward touch on his shoulder.

?Don?t move,? came the familiar bass rumble. Once again its modulation sounded unexpectedly feeble. ?You struck your head.?

Another small moan issued from Luke?s burning throat. No wonder his skull ached even more than the rest of him. ?We...we made it...? he croaked, incredulous. ?How...??

?You propelled us...with enough speed to ride the shockwave. The ship was badly buffeted...you were not restrained...?

Luke squeezed his eyes shut tighter. He?d been thrown from his seat and likely dashed his head on the console. But that imagination of violence was just as soon replaced by such a profound feeling of relief that it bordered on yet another convulsion of pai

 

What can I say? I just love this story more and more. Great job on all the technical details, too.

Looking forward to more.

Kristeh

 

Lovely, dearest! I love seeing Luke so capable...in so many fics he's portrayed as little more than a hindrance during a scrape. This reminds me of that scene in HttE, when Luke rewires the circuits in the door lock on Myrkyr. Very well done! I can't wait for more!

Oh, and lovely drawings!

 

That's exactly where I got this scheme from, Emmi. And how could our Luke never be capable?

 

OMG ... this story get's better and better. The amount of details and your knowledge is astounding, Moriah. I feel real humbled to read this. It's amazing, I absolutely loved the bit about how Luke fixes Vader's suit. I need to brush up on my electrical engineering, your knowledge on that is making me feel stupid and so putting me to shame.

Great stuff as always, waiting with breath held for the next installment.

 

Correction--Myrkr. Ack. What was I thinking?

And I figured.

*scurries off to do some writing*

 

Upsy daisies.

 

Nice art and great chapter!!! Can't wait for more.

 

All right! You go Luke! Great post!

Loved the illustrations

 

another addition already. Of course Luke can fix it, he can fix anything I'm really enjoying this story.

 

Lol. Myrkr was the first thing i thought of when I read that. Great post. That was so touching to see him risk his life once again to save Anakin.

 

Thank you, thank you, and thank you! A warm and gooey feeling is exactly what I'm going for...

Kinda like the soft nougat inside the dark chocolate...

 

Uppers.

 

Hmm, all the great adjectives have already been used...so, I'll just say...this story is mah-velous!

I really can't wait for more of this. I absolutely love all the intricate details you put in there. Stunning! I swear, I wish Lucas would find pro authors who can combine the technical with the emotional as well as you have!

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Please don't keep us waiting too long for the next part!

Edit: Ooh, kinda went overboard on the exclamation points, didn't I? Well, every one of them was deserved.