Beyond - Legends The Missing Chapters of Legacy of the Force: Invincible; Updated! Chapter 10.5 is up! 30/11/10

Ultima_1: This has been half the build-up of the Missing Chapters.

GrandMasterKatarn: Maybe I'll call the next chapter that!

AdmiralNick22: I love old Ark, and he should certainly be resurrected, no doubt. Miss the guy. The Imperial military is so light on characters. Glad you're still enjoying it!

JediLuminaraUnduli: I do feel sorry for Winter. Tycho was just trying to do his best - and so was everyone else, really. I imagine Gavin did as well. And we'll have to see as to Cheriss...

And added to the PM list!

tjace: PM list! And glad I referenced something that you had to look up! Can be hard nowadays.

Wedge_Antilles_Cmdr PM List! Glad you're enjoying it.

canadianjedimama: Yup! Ready for this? And very pleased you're enjoying the detail.

 

kikichan: Glad you're enjoying everyting, kikichan. I wanted to make Darth Caedus more villainous than ever, even if he can only be in one place at a time! Corran, Luke and Wedge needed a lot more love than they received. There will be more Luke and Ben later on, but the focus will be on those characters who were dropped in the finale.

And take your time! I'm a slow writer.

Robimus: I always thought Sutt was too smart to die at Muunilinst. I've been carefully setting up the arrival of Tarfang into the story, I must say.

I'm about 1/4 through the next update, been tweaking Chapter 20.5 to better reflect the realities that Abyss has given us, information wise.

 

And just because I'm exceptionally close to finishing Chapter 9.5 and just stumbling over the last Valin element (darn writers block), here's a little bit of a teaser

?Well this brings back memories, doesn?t it?? Leia said, gritting her teeth in concentration.

?You said it, Princess.? Han ducked down, placing his blaster against her hip and squeezing off a shot. ?Next time the Empire conquers the galaxy, remember to take the Jedi training more seriously, okay??

?Are you trying to flatter me, Captain Solo??

?I?m just saying that this would have made my life a lot easier. Remember Endor? I had to talk down an AT-ST just because someone got shot.?

Leia laughed despite herself. ?That was thirty seven years ago, sweetheart. Can?t you get some more references??

?I could, but the Tall One and Grim One are making their way over to Jaina, and this trip down memory hyperlane can wait until we get to Hologram Fun World again.? Leia nodded, seeing in her peripheral vision the same thing Han had.

Jag had made his way over to Jaina, the Verpine who was carrying her struggling against her weight, as her head lolled to one side, and Zekk was over there a moment later. Leia stepped between the two of them, deflecting bolts even as Han did the same, without a word. Leia stepped back, forced back by the torrent, and began to overhear the soothing words Zekk and Jag made to Jaina as she babbled, tears and blood streaming down her face. A warm emotion filled the Force, and even Han?s cheeks reddened a little, Leia?s surprise at the words tumbling from Jaina?s mouth mirroring his.

Leia should have been worried about the state of her daughter, but Luke was walking into the fray. Her eyes widened as he strode, slowly, into the firefight, letting bolts cut holes into his robes, while those that would harm him bent away as if they?d hit a shield. His eyes were blank, and he was clearly elsewhere.

Because Luke could feel Jacen.

 

Chapter 9.5

Valin Horn cut through the GAG soldier and spun away even as another Stormtrooper fired. The shot missed, and Lando fired a return bolt which blew out the Imperial?s throat. Wedge ducked down beneath the growing moat of Stormtroopers, gesturing with two fingers at Hobbie and Pash, who were similarly positioned, and then one, and then he balled his feet. The three then propped themselves up, firing shots that quickly overwhelmed soldiers who had just about managed to pin Winter down, who had given up on navigating the outposts on her datapad and had just starting shooting.

With the last of them down, now they could fire at the main throng of troopers and Guards, firing around Wes and Tarfang, the Ewok having landed on the pilots throat and was currently thrashing around. As Valin watched, Wes tucked his feet under his body and launch up, landing a punch that sent Tarfang flying. ?Down!? snapped Lando, again, and Valin flattened his hand, pushing Janson to the ground as the soldiers drew a bead on him, the bolts instead narrowly missing Hobbie, who nearly collapsed into hysterical giggles at his luck.

Valin didn?t pay attention, for he was focused on running his blade through the remote which one of the soldiers had been wielding; the controller for the Scarabs. The few remaining insectoid droids died, and the Jedi would have released a breath, if he hadn?t been thinking about Seha. His apprentice, pending confirmation with the Council, or his choice to take her on? she hadn?t been told, yet, that he was even a candidate to take her.

Valin, intellectually, knew that he could take her on. There was no doubt of that. Emotionally, he knew he had the sense of responsibility necessary to take on her? Valin?s mind nibbled on the last surviving doubts within him, doubts, he hoped, simply attached to his failures against Caedus ? much like this entire mission was Wedge?s way to deal with his own moment with the Sith. The Jedi turned, slightly, looking at the old man, wondering if he was as ready as Wedge had been, far younger than he.

Valin?s blade cut through the blaster of a Stormtrooper, and he gestured the soldier into his GAG counterpart. Valin nodded, yanking the discarded weapon of the latter with the Force into the path of a bolt which would have taken down Lando. The gambler grinned in response, and then shot out a Scarab droid that was poised to pump poison into Hobbie. ?This brings back memories, doesn?t it??

?Sorry, I missed that one, Lando.?

?You young?uns and your Yuuzhan Vong,? continued, even as a blaster bolt burned through his cape. ?Back in my day -? Lando paused, blinking. ?Wedge, when did I become old??

Wedge grinned sourly. ?Kids. They do that to you.?

?Mine hasn?t even been born yet!?

Pash, picking himself up off the floor, pointed. ?Ugh, guys, not one to ruin the golden oldies discussion, but Cheriss is down, and Janson?? They all looked through the thinning screen of Stormtroopers between them and Wes, just as they saw a ball of fur in blue slam into the pilot at face height, bowling him over.

?Four,? said Wedge, neutrally. ?I don?t supposed those replacement parts of yours have the ability to record??

Hobbie grinned. ?Nope, Lead, I?m afraid they don?t.?

?I won?t be forgetting this, don?t worry,? said Winter. The Ewok and the pilot were brawling, with Wes trying to hit the Ewok with the butt of his blaster even as Tarfang was clearly trying to vise it from his hands, biting down hard on Wes?s shoulder. Cheriss was out cold, and Valin felt a pang from Wedge ? he?d had children long before he?d been with Iella, and they were his responsibilities ? his pilots. Valin, despite his bemusement, began to feel that nibbling doubt resolving itself; he wasn?t ready to take Seha as his apprentice. She needed someone more like his father, and no amount of pride was going to help either of them if he took on Seha to deal with his own issues.

As Valin watched Wes raise his legs enough to kick off Tarfang, and as the sandwiched line of troopers faded away to free up firing lanes for the th

 

Bad highlighting.

But yes, I might. Been plodding along with the next update, the RPF/FF compo and the opening of the ToR Forum having been a real busy one. Oh, and exams!

 

Some ferocious writers block has derailed me a spell, but I suspect I will have something up this weekend. This is my number one priority, now, having reread Invincible lately. So stay posted!

 

Apologies for the delay in getting this up, guys, I have taken a real beating from DRL. Thankfully I have reduced my hours in the new year so everything should balance out and I'll be able to catch up sooner rather than later. I have also mislaid my beta reader, so this may not be quite as polished as my previous entries. Let's see!

Chapter 10.5

Han was beyond words now, though.

He may very well have convinced Luke to pull out, but that had made very little difference in the grand scheme of things.

The battle was beginning to reach its confusion point, with Jaina being extracted by the Coalition blastboats, and Wedge?s team by the Millennium Falcon. Han had moved over to the guns while Leia attended to their daughter, Luke taking over the flying for a moment. He silently seethed, converting his worry into anger and cracking open a missile boat with a sly shot through the drive nacelle as it tangled with a squadron of StealthXs, exposed by the chaff that the Alliance had scattered across the surface of Nickle One to discover them. Caught in a cloud of the adhesive material, a third of the Jedi Wings surviving StealthX?s had been exposed, and an Galactic Alliance MC90 cruiser was on its way from the Fourth Fleet to finish off the forces, caught in the midst of recovery.

Nothing the Venture or the entire Smuggler?s Fleet had in their inventory could dissuade a vessel of that size, especially not with a screen of Ranger-class gunships and ten squadrons of X-wings and E-wings to act as support. The lead elements of A-wings had broken up much of the Coalition formation, still tied down in battles with Remnant Starhunters and TIE Defenders. With the Fourth rushing to defend the Remnant flotilla and Daala and Niathal badly out of position unless the Hapans stayed committed, the withdrawal was being dragged out and the equality of strength and numbers was turning what was supposed to be a simple hit and run into a meatgrinder, thanks to Daala and Niathals timely intervention.

Opening the internal comm, Han ground out a request between clenched teeth. ?Threepio, patch me through to Niathal.?

?Han, what are you doing?? Leia?s voice came across the channel.

The Corellian grimaced. There was very little chance of him getting past Leia, and he had been absently hoping she wasn?t listening in. Of course, those omnipotent Jedi senses kicked in. Han shrugged, and just did what he always did when caught in the act by his wife. ?I?m going to shout at her for screwing up our plan.?

?Thiz one doez not think that iz a good idea, Han,? came Saba, joining in the conversation, and the erupting into hissing in a moment. Han glanced at the display; she?d just clipped a E-wing at maximum range and it had scattered an entire squadron as they tried to avoid it; no casualties among the Alliance squadron, but plenty of distractions.

?I agree with this, Captain Solo. Shouting at Admiral Niathal is unlikely to convince her to remain on our side -?

?I know, I know,? said Han, irritably taking out a Starhunter that was trying to sneak up on the StealthXs. ?I?m just getting fed up of everyone playing each other. First Luke plays Fett, and now we are getting played by Daala and Niathal, and I have no doubt that Phennir is playing all of us into getting killed, and of course that means that Bwua?tu is playing him and Caedus is just sitting back and letting everyone do their work for him.?

Silence echoed across the comm channels. ?We can?t bring the Confederation and Alliance back together until Caedus is dead, Han,? Luke finally said. ?You know this.?

Han shook his head. ?Doesn?t mean I?m not right.?

?No, it doesn?t, but unless you happen to come up with a reasoned answer to the entire war right here, right now, that somehow involves Corellia accepting its place within the Alliance and the Alliance accepting Corellia requires some special treatment, we?re really not going to get any further with this.?

?And, I know, as well as you, Han, that you?re just annoyed with Lando.?

Han smiled at his best friend, despite hi