Beyond - Legends ~ The reason I didn't update...~ finished on ff.n, part II started

I know what you mean. I only get on here to read this story anymore and I post my stories I write somewhere else these days. It is nice getting good reviews though, even if I am mostly writing for my own benefit-it keeps me sane or as close to as I can ever be.

Great update, as always. Poor Lanna. Boy do I know how it feels to think you found a place to fit in and it all falls apart. But she'll find her place somewhere eventually! *optimism*

 

Why not, Azure? They all fill in different functions. Arn is the babysitter and Zeth woudl be girl for everything. Works for me.

If you're at ff.n you can also read it there, Amanda.
And if the comments her stop I'd just migrate completely and wouldn't think it a bad thing.

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[u]One-Hundred and Seventy One[/u]

Zeth was completely unsurprised and unfazed when we picked him up. "I was told it might come to this the moment I left the [i]Chimaera [/i]so I'd be closer to Kyp," he said. "Took you longer than I expected, though."

i didn't comment on that. Wasn't it enough that his Admiralship had very high expectations (not to mention me)? Was everybody going to chime in? I spent a lot of the journey chatting with Zeth, not only about proper procedure and how top treat him, but also getting updated on Kyp.

"I keep feeling as if I'm intruding," I shrugged. "And since I'm not going to be around long anyway -" I let that taper off.

"The less he's attached, huh?"

"The less anybody is attached," I replied. "Only I am not very good at this. I like being attached - selectively."

"And your selection is not making much sense."

I grinned. "Works for me."

Jaing had not gotten back to me, so I assumed that full dress would be acceptable. Not that I looked as dashing as I felt, but I could ignore that. Shysa sure looked all kinds of dashing, his armour buffed up in the ragged way that spoke of unnumbered battles. We chose a more neutral way of shaking hands than I was prone to do with Mandos. But I was representing, so I would behave - if I remembered.

I introduced Zeth and Rukh and in return Shysa introduced his two companions, Zorana Skaith and Sleven Ordo. Polite greetings were exchanged and I think Seros would have flinched only a little. But this was not the Core and I had more leeway. The routine was pretty much what Krennel had put up, though. Only less time to relax.

And the room. Gods, what to say about this room, that tiny box of panelled wood, smelling of ages and forests dried in the fires of civilisation, but never quite losing its feral treeness. The wood was dark, the lines almost invisible and the lamps threw heavy shadows on the walls. The closet was tiny, just enough to put all my stuff into which was minimal.

Everything spoke of travel, of never staying long enough to accumulate clutter, and the thick carpet promised respite for the length of the stay at least. heaters, pronounced and big enough to warm towels, naw, your blanket on them for use and a small kettle with cups and a choice of tea. I felt at home immediately, and had I had the time, would have slunk down before the desk, just to fell the carpet with a cup of tea.

But no. Shysa meant business, so business it would be. Listening to Rukh's advice I reduced full dress to representing-but-not-being-posh uniform. Zeth sat on my right with a pad, keeper of records and protocol in one. Rukh stood unobtrusively against the wall behind me. Nobody overlooked him here, though. I smiled, there was a cup of tea in front of me before the initial pleasantries were done.

"You realise that we are already working together with the Republic," Shysa said.

"Erm, no." Now that was as good a start as I could have imagined. "I have no clue. Fill me in."

He gave me a disbelieving look, but did as I had asked. that took some time. My tea was empty before he was even half done. The alliance seemed to be not all official, but working.

"Oh, okay," I finally said. "I never bothered to look into how things developed after Mindor. Seems I should have." I flashed him an almost contrite smile. "So this is a rather delicate situation now, right? You actually working with the Republic and suddenly the Empire, too." I had no idea how to resolve this. It probably showed.

"We have quite a tradition fighting the Empire, by now," Shysa agreed. "And we will not betray those who fought with us."

I looked into my empty cup, then let it go with a sigh. "I understand, and I approve of your stance, really. The easiest way would be at least c

 

Stay away from politics, hon! It is evil!



Anyway: "I keep feeling as if I'm intruding," I shrugged. "And since I'm not going to be around long anyway -" I let that taper off.

"The less he's attached, huh?"

"The less anybody is attached," I replied. "Only I am not very good at this. I like being attached - selectively."

"And your selection is not making much sense."

I grinned. "Works for me."

You are brilliant. No matter in which country and time zone you are, dearest. Laughed my head off various times during this update! You cheered me up when the news said its Gauck for president. Thank you, even though you did not mean to make a political statement with this update!

 

After reading the last hundred-plus chapters, I've finally caught up to the last posting. Woe is me, there's no more to read! I'm impressed by the depth that so many of the characters (canon and otherwise) show. Mellanna's thoughts are entertaining and often hilarious. Her adaptation to the Star Wars universe is fascinating, since she seems to take to some things like a duck to water and others more like a disgruntled cat to water. Thrawn seems pretty credible as well, neither lacking his more intimidating personality traits nor completely emotionless. You've kept me guessing as to his true motivations and it will be interesting to see how things turn out.

 

hat it is, Azure. I am not sure if Mellanna will manage to stay away, though. After all she wants the Byss Operation. Thrawn will make her work for it.

Welcome to the show, Kahara.
Thank you. I tend to love all my characters and treat them well. (Including killing them well. ) Writing Thrawn is a pain in the rear, that b-word. The moment he stops being scary, I am doing my job wrong.
I think we all would adapt easy to some things and not so well to others, depending on what we like/accept and how we tick.
Things will turn out - ventually. I hope to get there one day. x_X

---

[u]One-Hundred and Seventy Two
[/u]
As expected things did not get better. At least I had Shysa convinced that the Empire did not demand he sever ties to the Republic at all. That was a step in the right direction. Now all we had to do was build an acceptable system of allegiances. Because he could hardy help the Republic against us, or the Empire against the Republic if he was in negotiations with both.

"You could hire out to both sides, that should work."

"And double the income?"

"As well as the causalities, I guess." I sighed. "So no. But the idea is sound. Things go both ways."

"And a little more in the direction of the Republic."

"We'll have to live with that. As long as you'll be neutral mostly. I am sure we can compensate." I couldn't help grinning. Thrawn could probably compensate for most things that were not everybody ganging up on him and a killer bodyguard.

"So much confidence," Shysa sounded amused.

But that was okay. I didn't have to get all the details. I had Zeth. And whatever training he had gotten since we dropped him off, it was sure not standard military stuff. He was a genius at picking up details. I would have blamed latent Force powers, not enough to make him a Jedi, but too much to make him normal. Oh yes, the Grand Admiral was a sneaky bastard.

But, as usual, he had it right. And with the plans and ideas Zeth had put together, things were going nicely. Unfortunately, a lot of it depended on my as liaison, but that couldn't be helped right now. They'd find somebody else when I was gone.

"I think we can just leave it at this," I said at the end of the third day. My head had stopped spinning and actually doing politics. Contracts had been worded and conditions lined up. All that was needed now was his Admiralship's approval. And of course the Republic not freaking out. It had been a bit of a pain to word things in a way that sounded harmless.

And before I knew, I was off again, without seeing any of my fave Mandos at all. It was rather disappointing. Only that I had no reason to be disappointed because hammering out some kind of deal with the Mandalorians had been paramount and achieved.

"It's okay I still don't like it, right?" We had been poring over the paragraphs for a while.

"Of course," Zeth replied. "And I think we will be returning soon for amends. I already marked the passages Thrawn will want to change."

I managed not to stare. Mostly because something pulled us from hyperspace prematurely. That Zeth didn't rush to the cockpit in a panic should have given me clues, but since I was off already, I considered I might just as well continue. At least comms would be easier from there. If that would be necessary. A Star Destroyer hung in space before us, and though our sublight engines were dutifully off-line we moved towards at a neat vector.

"If I guessed that we were not really back on course to the Chimaera," I asked Zeth as he slipped into the co-pilot's chair, "how correct would I be?"

"On a scale of one to ten?" He reached out to override my controls. "You really don't wanna know."

"And here I was thinking that I was supposed to be the deviant one." I leant back and tried to order my thoughts and get my spiel for Terrik together.

"You were very busy negotiating the **** out of Shysa," he grinned not apologetically at all. "And whyever you chose your friends the way you do, you sure pick those that c

 

"Oh, you better believe that I can call on somebody no matter where I am." I smiled broadly. "I would not feel safe otherwise."

"You would not be safe, otherwise."

"No, I would not," I admitted.

"I might like you, Ms. Morrison."

You keep us interested and worrying for your lovable character.

 

The way it should be, Azure.

---

[u]One-Hundred and Seventy Three[/u]

The tour took ages. Star Destroyers are huge anyway, but we were looking at everything that didn't work. And that took time because of explanations.

"So what you are saying that only ten of about fifty turbolaser towers are working."

"We have ten showing up as active for incoming," Booster explained. "Just looks better."

I nodded. That was the legally allowed number, alright. " Think we will need a more accurate number for the refitting," I said slowly.

"Oh, it will be ten, don't worry." Terrik grinned and led on. He was probably going to stash everything not quite legal away when, and if, we took temporary command of his ship. I didn't blame him.

At least comms was working, rackety and shaky especially in the further expanses of the unused kind, but it worked out. If you used a handheld. I made dutiful notes. I made a lot of them. From a military point of view, this ship was a wreck. Apart from a few indispensable systems everything was patched up in a rough-and-ready way. Things worked, but you better had duct tape ready, and McGiver.

Not to mention there was half a bazaar built into most of the functioning parts of the [i]Errant Venture[/i]. I got the feeling that I had not thought this through. Terrik agreed with me which didn't help much.

"That's how she looks right now," he told me not quite able to hide his pride, or just not willing to.

"I will pass it on to the Grand Admiral," I replied with a smile. "I'm sure he'll find a sensible solution for this mess."

"Mess?"

"Indeed. I don't think he wants to leave you with a fully functional Star Destroyer. I also think you could not keep it that way."

"I think, I like the direction you are thinking in, Ms. Morrison."

"Good. Because I was thinking that I really hope you want to show me a fully functional canteen at the end of the tour now."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I like food?"

He looked read to facepalm but didn't. "I had thought you would want to be on your way again as soon as possible."

"I have always time for something to eat and a nice cuppa," I objected. "And I get to eat out so rarely. I mean, the Empire is still very human centric. How am I ever to find out about alien cuisine?"

"You don't want to," Terrik said gravely. "Trust me."

"Okay, for now," I sighed. "But I can't believe it's all bad."

"Not all, but you won't have the time to find out which is which. Because I am not going to tell you." He smirked happily.

I glanced at Zeth, but he shook his head. So no break for foreign food. This was not the holiday I had booked. "I thank you for your time, then," I said.

"And I hope to hear from you." The smile seemed genuine enough. But why shouldn't it, when a full overhaul of his ship might be in it for him.

"I am sure you'll be in contact." The wording of that didn't escape him. Not that it mattered.

The list of repairs was long. I had already marked minor things that were cosmetic rather than important. I got the feeling they were there pretty much as bargaining chips. For a moment I wondered how everybody would react, if I agreed to all of those and instead didn't have the air exhaust lines repaired.

We'd go boom, but pretty. I let Zeth take helm and went to look for Rukh instead. The Noghri was sitting in the galley. Not being an exert on reading his expressions I wavered between sad and thoughtful. Or it might have been the Noghri poker-face, provided they even needed one.

"So," I sat down at the small table. "Who has been visiting you?"

"A representative of my people," Rukh growled.

"But, but that is good, isn't it?" I asked.

"My name is not a dishonour to my people," he replied gravelly.

"Well, it better not," I agreed. "Or I'd have to pay them a visit and give them a piece of my mind."

"What for?"

"You're a hero," I explained. "You would have done in the Grand Admiral if it had not been for me and my stupid knowing-the-future mojo."

"But now I have failed."

"But it wasn't your fault," I insisted.

"How can it be not my fault, when it

 

The tour took ages. Star Destroyers are huge anyway, but we were looking at everything that didn't work. And that took time because of explanations.

"So what you are saying that only ten of about fifty turbolaser towers are working."

"We have ten showing up as active for incoming," Booster explained. "Just looks better."

I nodded. That was the legally allowed number, alright. "Think we will need a more accurate number for the refitting," I said slowly.

This remembers me of the time the DDR broke down and we went over the frontier to check the East out. Nothing there seemed to work...

 

And now it does, Azure.
Maybe that is foreshadowing the course of the story....

---

[u]One-Hundred and Seventy Four[/u]

If the amount of work that had to be done on the Errant Venture had caused any kind of reaction in Thrawn, he never let it on. It wasn't mentioned in the debriefing, and it was not mentioned at dinner. Or after. Actually, a lot of talk was about Gargon. Unfortunately that hadn't featured much in any newsfeed. I was rather disappointed with the holonet.

All in all the men in my life were too busy chivvying me through all kinds of procedure and protocol. Seros stuffing my head with polite conversation, correct gestures and polite amends for social gaffes while Dave made sure I would not ruin the whole Byss operation by forgetting and mixing up orders, not to mention being precise in times of crisis. I still preferred to panic, after all it was a crisis. And then there was Arn, getting me in touch with the workings of battle communications and coordination on a Star Destroyer. All those departments had to work as a unit after all.

Thrawn was dividing his time between teaching me Chiss language, Chiss culture and Gasha. None of which went too well. Language best of all, because I liked languages, even if they were a pain in the ass like Cheunh, but also because all conversation was in Cheunh. I was getting especially good a cursing. I had a lot of reason to. This was often the fault of Gasha. That stupid game. We were still using only five layers, Thrawn had stooped to giving me pawns I could recognise from the side and I was still losing. In a few moves, should he feel so inclined. In half an hour if he was in a lecturing mood. I was not sure which was more annoying.

I managed to align three teal pawns only to have Thrawn incapacitate the topmost by sandwiching it between two burgundy pieces. This meant I could not, as planned, remove the yellow pawn from the board that kept messing with my green pieces.

"You need a more comprehensive approach," Thrawn said, plucking my last bronze pawn off the board. "You have to keep the connections between the colours in mind. Without the Csapla pieces, the Sabosen lose their power over Nuruodo."

I felt the urgent need to set fire to a few Ruling Houses. "But Tiar still can combine with Inrokini," I replied. "And then -"

"I will have taken down Sabosen pieces before you have aligned them halfway into a strategy that could endanger even one of my burgundy pawn."

I put my chin in my hand and sighed, looking over the game. Of course I had so lot again already, but I would be damned, if I ever gave up. It was the one thing I could do. I ran a hand over my eye and reached out to pick up an ultramarine coloured Inrokini pawn. It would take two moves to put it into place and by then, Thrawn would have taken another of my burgundy pawns, leaving me with three.

"You should make the pawns out of chocolate," I suggested, placing the one I held on the board. And I can eat them, if I can capture them. Now that would be motivation."

"Thinking with your stomach will not help you with Gasha, Mellanna." Thrawn didn't even need to use a chiding tone, he just removed another of my pawns. Within a handful of moves it was all over.

"Have you decided on your art, already?" he asked as I sorted the pieces for a new game.

"Art?" I looked at him. "Like one of the twelve arts, art?" It was much easier to look at the coloured chips in my hands. And biting my lip. Things were always better when biting my lip. Kept me from blabbering. "Is it really necessary? I am just a foreigner." That had been the wrong thing to say of course. I knew it as soon as it was out of my mouth. "Sorry."

An immaculate brow rose.

Oh bother. "[i]Here'atae'irig'or'katey'eonof'foronekinatan[/i]." That should be doing the trick. Not that I had any house colour you could actually break and thus shame.

Thrawn nodded. "So?"

"Well," I hedged, playing with my pawns. "I can't act and I can't sing, not to mention dance. And I have no idea at all how to compose." I chewed on my lip. There wer

 

May I get tipsy now? Or will there be more updates after the move?

Und sei doch mal bitte wieder auf facebook! Mein skype ist Mist!

 

Oh look. All my posts are cut somewhere in the middle. Oh yay.
I wonder how long it will take to fix.
I wonder if I'll bother with updates ehre then.

You can always find the story as far as it is on ff.n under this username and this title.

It is kinda on hiatus at chapter 180 currently, though.

 

ok i will switch to watching it on FF.n until the boards get fixed just wondering why this brilliant fic on hiatus?

 

Phew, eingeholt! Bei 6!

I am glad that you considered to be arround once more, hon. Must try to reach you on skype this week! Such fun!

About the invasion of Bielefeld, please spare the castle or better to say what is left of that castle!

 

Okay, so the fanfic boards are not going to be sorted by era again?
I mean, yes I can sort them by clicking on the coloured button but it's not the same.

Anyway, TRIDU is my NaNo project and I will be updating on ff.n
The move ot AO3 is going slow because of editing.
Anway, I am not sure I'll come back to post here. Though Disney bought SW so there is hope.

 

*makes Jedi gesture*

You will come back here and entertain us!

*nods grimly*

Besides, I have your mobile phone number, hon...

*has by the way time to work on your old art request from next weekend on*