Agent R wrote:Of course it would be the "Enterprise."
Terraine was right, though. News would get out about the hostage-taking if they were allowed to go free and Sebastian would have been in a worse position than when he'd started, with his image and credibility shot and no Eclipse to show for it. And poor Ben . . . such a tragic person . . . but now he's got to pay the piper.
The next chapter looks like its going to be a lot of fun.
Thanks, I'm hoping it will be.
I'm glad to see Terraine's part was taken positively. I was afraid there'd be some backlash that it was out of character for him to order someone to kill an innocent, which was why a significant portion of the last chapter was spent showing how he'd come to reach that point. But like you said, Sebastian's refusal to go through with it was worse than even trying, and Terraine could look at the larger stakes and see that.
Star Empire wrote:I loved this chapter, especially naming the ship Enterprise. I'm glad Sebestan turned out not to be willing to go through with it (although he sure came close).
Thanks. Hopefully this has shown why time was taken to develop the Unimatrix Zero plot with Morgan; it's a contrast between Sebastian and Luke. After his failure, we see that Luke is now pushed by a part of himself to reclaim the dark side. With Sebastian, we have a part of him that works to keep him in check when he skirts the edge.
With the discussion around the Oracle, I thought now might be a good time to share this picture EvilKneebler made of "psychobitch," based on the scene in Part XIX.
Ph34r teh eyebrow!!11!Writers GuildSluggitePawn of ChaosWYGIWYGAINGW so now i have to put ACPATHNTDWATGODW in my sigEBC-Honorary Geordie Hammerman! Hammer!
Hmm, an alright Piccie but the sword's smaller than I thought. It's katana-ish where I though you described it as a more western claymore-ish type weapon...
Mother the car is here
Somebody leave the light on
Blood chariot for the redhead dancing, dancing girl
He's gonna change my name
Maybe you'll leave the light on
Just in, just in case I like the dancing
I can remember where I come... from....
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Decades ago, on the last Death Star ever created by the Empire, alarms sounded. The reactor was building up power for self-destruction, and there was no way to stop it. Troopers and officers and other Imperial personnel run through the battlestation looking for a shuttle or escape pod to escape fiery oblivion. The sound of footsteps, however, had long since died away here, where a body lay sprawled on the floor after being run through with a lightsaber.
There was a hum, and a crackle of energy, and a brief flash of light. Darth Whind's eyes snapped open, and her body pulled itself awkwardly to her feet. Her eyes closed briefly as her head was shaken, as if to remove the cobwebs, and then lurched forward down the corridor. "Do not resist, my young apprentice," came from her mouth. "I am merely borrowing your body for the moment... you may have whatever's left back when I'm finished."
Darth Whind's steps were awkward as her body turned the corner. "Do not struggle, girl," her lips said reproachfully. "This is your fault, you know." The body fumbled with the fingers trying to enter the access code. "So, since you are responsible, it's only fitting that you fix this mess." The doors opened and her body again lurched its way along to the prototype transporter. Verbal codes were given out as she stumbled up onto a raised black platform topped with a tall, sinister looking pod. Darth Whind's body stepped inside and the pod sealed. "Stop struggling!" her mouth said sharply.
But Darth Whind was Sith, and Sith didn't tolerate intrusion lightly. She fought frantically to seize control of her body back. She was desperate and frightened and angry, and she needed a way out of this.
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Another time, another place, another reality. Mara Jade Skywalker laid down suppressing fire as she worked her way back into the compound where she'd left her six year-old son, Ben. It was just the two of them; the boy's father had been off fighting the wars constantly, leaving it up to Mara to raise and train the boy. And now, a group of mercenaries had found them. They weren't working for the Vong, had no love at all for them actually. But they loved money, and ransoming the family of one of the primary generals against the Vong would let them live out their days like kings.
Mara fell back, tossing the blaster rifle aside and pulling out her lightsaber. She had Jedi skills, but there were so many, and she had to protect her son as well. "What's happening?" he asked as she ran up and grabbed his arm, leading the way further into the shelter. Hide, that was their only option. She stuffed Ben into a corner, told him to stay there, and then stood between him and the door, lightsaber ready as her heart pounded. She was a Jedi, but then, they knew she was a Jedi; there was no way anyone skilled enough to slip past the defenses would be dumb enough not to know that. They'd have a plan, some way to get them both, and if that happened, there was no guarantee they wouldn't kill her little boy.
There was the sound of men out in the hallway beyond, and Mara lit the lightsaber. She fought to control her emotions, but it was hopeless. She was desperate and frightened and angry, and she needed a way out of this.
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Two minds, feeling the same, thinking the same, touched as the hyperspace transporter malfunctioned and passed the body out of reality. The energy of the connection caused a massive psychic burst that buried the Emperor's consciousness deep within Darth Whind's mind. On a psychic plane, the two women assessed one another. Darth Whind's mouth fell open at the shared thoughts... though Mara's husband was gone, the love the two shared was so strong. The wonderful things he said and did, the things they shared... however much she was Sith, she was envious of the feelings she found that she'd never experienced herself. Mara Jade was equally shocked; the power the Sith possessed was far, far greater than her Jedi training had allowed, more than enough to stop twice as many mercenaries.
Darth Whind took a deep breath. She needed to have this Luke Skywalker.
Mara Jade took a deep breath. She needed to have this power.
Words weren't necessary, but Darth Whind chose to use them. "If I give you what you want," she said slowly, "you won't be able to put it down again. The attraction of the Dark side is equaled only by its power."
"I don't care," Mara Jade said. "He's my son... I love him too much not to do everything possible."
"That may change," Darth Whind warned.
"It can't," Mara Jade said. "I'd die to spare him even a moment's pain."
Darth Whind nodded. "Then take what you need," she said, opening her mind up to Mara.
Mara Jade opened her eyes as the door to the room slid opened. She held out her hand as she walked towards it, and the room echoed with the man's throat crushing in her mental grip. She lit her saber as she walked through, tossing mercenaries aside like rag dolls with a gesture, then slicing them down. They'd brought all kinds of stun weapons and chemical agents, but she moved too quickly and resisted every one. She was swift and merciless, and when the mercenaries realized they'd gotten more than they bargained for, she gestured and sealed the doors to prevent them from retreating. They fought frantically, but her rage was unending. She sliced the arm of the last one off and left him huddled helpless in the corner, lightsaber pointed at his face with a smirk of satisfaction on her face.
"Mommy?" Ben asked. He was only a few meters away.
"I thought I told you to stay put!" she said sharply.
"I was scared," Ben said.
"Of the bad men?"
"Yeah."
Mara nodded a little. "Don't be," she said, turning the saber off. "Come here." Ben obeyed. "Take a look at them," she said, nodding towards the prone mercenary. "They're nothing." She put the saber in her son's hand; he'd used them before, but only on training. "Kill him... see how you have nothing to fear from their kind."
Ben looked hard at the shivering man. "He's afraid, mommy."
"He should be," Mara said harshly. "Kill him." Ben just stood there. "I told you to do something, now do it!" Tears were in Ben's eyes, and she rounded on him. "What's wrong with you?!" she demanded. "Do what your mother says!"
"I don't want to," Ben said. "I'm scared." The back of her right hand caught him on the side of the face, and he toppled over. He looked up at her, at those glowing green eyes and hair like fire around her head and the anger in her every feature, and Ben was too frightened to move or cry or speak.
"How can you be so weak?!!!" she demanded. "How do you expect to ever do anything in your life if you are such a coward?!!!" She yanked the lightsaber from his grip, scratching his hand so hard it drew blood. She sliced off the mercenaries other hand, and then she began cutting him to pieces while he was still alive. "You-" cut "-are-" cut "-a-" cut "-pathetic-" cut "-failure!" Mara stabbed the man through the face, and his cries finally ended. She turned back to Ben, saber still lit, and the child shrank back in fear. "How could you possibly be my flesh and blood?" she asked with disgust.
Ben Skywalker watched the boy cower before his mother, never taking his eyes off even as Benjamin Sisko walked up beside him. "What's the point of this?" Ben asked.
"This is where it all began, wasn't it," Sisko said. "It's where it usually begins... good intentions. If she'd only known what she'd wind up doing to you..."
Ben scoffed. "So, none of this is my fault? Is that what you're saying?"
Sisko grabbed his arm and yanked him around so that their faces were inches apart. "You are a monster," Sisko snarled. "And you are responsible for being one. This doesn't mitigate your actions, your choices."
"Then what's the point?" Ben demanded. "Why bring me here?"
"Do you hate her?"
"Of course!"
"Why?"
"You saw what she did!" Ben said. "What she was like every day after this!"
"She said she loved you."
"She lied!"
"Did she?"
"Yes!" Ben screamed. "Because there was never anything but anger and pain! Nothing else!"
"And that made it easy, didn't it?" Sisko asked. "When you faced that Vong later... it was so easy to remember what she'd said time after time about hate... to murder that Vong."
"The Vong took away my father," Ben said. "He wasn't there to protect me from her, and it was all their fault!"
"And so you killed that Vong... a helpless enemy."
"How could anyone not?" Ben demanded.
"Oh, of course," Sisko said. "It's not as if things weren't personal... it's not as if he hadn't destroyed your life... taken away the only things that mattered too you... left you with a broken body while taunting you that what little you may have left would be taken away..."
"Please," Ben said contemptuously. "You’re comparing this to Sebastian? He was weak, that's all."
"That's your mother talking."
"Shut up!"
"You've thought about dying, Ben," Sisko said. "You've thought of taking the easy way out, to escape from this situation the only way left. And the one you call weak gets up every day and fights an endless battle against the Vong, knowing that everything that matters has been stripped from him."
"So what?" Ben said contemptuously.
"You're the one who's weak, Ben," Sisko said. "You've known it for a while, but you won't admit it. You're second best, and among the Sith, the word for second best is 'slave.'" He held up a finger as Ben opened his mouth. "Deny all you want, boy, but I see everything."
Ben trembled in impotent rage. "What does it matter?" he said finally.
A new voice rose up. "You're starting to see that maybe the Dark side doesn't have the answers you seek."
Ben turned and looked at Luke. "And the Light side does?" he said with scorn.
"Look at what the darkness did to Mara," Luke said. "She changed didn't she?" Ben said nothing. "She never took the name, but Mara died in that room, and Darth Whind emerged. Everything you despise began with the Dark side."
"And now I control it," Ben said.
"You can tap into it," Luke said, "but you know you can't control it. Even the Oracle can't. And the worst part is, the Dark side has no loyalties. It will destroy you, Ben, and it doesn't even have to be for a reason."
"But with the power of the Sith, I will go down fighting!" Ben said.
"Enough," Sisko said, and he grabbed Ben's arm like he had the strength of ten Wookiees and pushed Ben down on his knees. "He's made his choices, and now he has to pay for them." He put a blaster to Ben's head. "And we might as well put him out of his misery."
Luke looked between Sisko and Ben. "Is that what you want?" Ben tried shaking himself free, but Sisko's grip was unyielding. "Is that what you want, Ben?"
"No!" Ben finally shouted. His voice became low and pathetic. "No..."
Luke got down on one knee before him. "Why not?"
Ben's lip trembled. "I'm afraid," he said finally.
Luke nodded slowly. "You've been to that place before..."
Ben swallowed. "The dark... the cold... the emptiness... everyone was there, but beyond my reach, like I was buried alive... I don't want to go back..."
"But living is just as bad," Luke said, not unkindly. "You have no purpose, no freedom, just orders from a person who holds you in contempt. The Dark side hasn't given you anything to help you endure this, has it?"
Ben looked down. "No," he admitted.
"You've realized this for a while," Luke said.
"Even if it's all true," Ben said, "even if I accepted what you said about the Dark side, it's too late for me. The things I've done... the atrocities... I killed a helpless pregnant woman, just to goad someone."
"You've done terrible things," Luke admitted. "But it's never too late to turn back and do the right thing. Even your grandfather knew that."
"That's not the same thing," Ben said. "I've- I can't go back."
The blaster was pulled away and the grip on his arm vanished. Instead, small, soft hands took him gently and pulled him back to his feet, turning him around slowly. He looked into her tear-filled green eyes. "I never wanted this to happen to you," Mara said softly. "I am so, so sorry for everything Ben. I never meant to hurt you..."
She was so much smaller than she was in Ben's memories, but then, he'd killed her years ago. She was the second, in fact, that he'd ever killed. "You always pushed me towards the Dark side," Ben said.
"I know," she said. "But when we faced off, when the moment came for me to deliver the death blow..."
"You hesitated," Ben said at the memory. It was weakness, and he'd exploited it, just like she'd taught him.
"Because, despite everything I said Ben, I did love that little boy." She pulled him close. "And I'm so sorry for everything I did to him." She wept loudly. "I destroyed the person I loved more than anything!" Ben stroked her back gently, kindly, as she cried. She pulled herself away eventually and looked into his eyes. "If I can realize the truth, Ben... if even I can turn back... so can you."
"And there's so much you can do, Ben," Luke said. "The Oracle couldn't foresee this, just like she couldn't on Wormhole Station. You can catch her off guard... you can end her evil right now, before she takes control of the Death Star and casts a shadow across the universe."
"I killed you," Ben said. "All of you. And now you think I can serve the Light?"
"We knew it would happen," Ben said. "I foretold it to Luke: 'When the time comes, when your son needs you, you'll be there to save him.'" Ben's eyes widened. "It was never about Sebastian... that prophecy was about you."
"You can do this, Ben," Luke said. "I know it."
Mara turned him back to face her. "You have my lightsaber," she said. "Use it, Ben. Tell me you'll put it to good use."
Ben looked at all of them. This was nonsense, and he knew it. But... but they were right about so much. Everything he thought he knew about the Dark side... everything about power... had failed him. It didn't have any answers for him, or hopes, or promises. And when he thought of his brush with death... even that wouldn't really be an escape. These people, whom he'd murdered, could still forgive him, could tell him that there was another path still open to him, no matter what he'd done. Maybe it was time... maybe it was time to stop being the Oracle's slave.
Lando looked over in surprise as the purple blade ignited, then reached for his blaster. It flew from his grip and into Ben's hand. He looked down at the controls... "How much time do you need?" Ben asked. "To destroy the Death Star?"
Lando's expression spoke volumes. "Two more minutes," he said. "I've been setting up a cascade power failure... it'll pass the critical point soon and be unstoppable."
Ben nodded. "I'll protect you." Lando stared, then decided that whatever ulterior motive Ben may have, as long as he could finish what he'd started, that would be good enough for him. "Molly," he said into the comm link, "come to the war room."
"Ben?"
"Quickly!" he said, and switched it off. "You still care for her, Calrissian?"
Lando glared sideways at Ben. "Yes," he admitted.
"Then maybe together we can save her," Ben said. "I just hope I haven't driven her too far away."
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The turbolift doors opened, and Sebastian limped onto the bridge. Admiral Cirule turned from the bridge officer to give his report and full attention to a man less than half his age. "Welcome aboard the Enterprise, prefect."
Sebastian nodded. "What's our status?"
"All systems are operational," Cirule said. "The fleet is prepped and ready. We are only waiting on your command."
Sebastian nodded again, but this time it was more for himself than anyone else. So, after a lifetime, this is when the war finally ends. The oppression of the Vong will be gone, and then... then...
Then the Alliance would begin pulling in a thousand different directions, just like it did before. The forces united by war will be divided in peace. And it was going to fall to him once again to try and hold on, to keep them united so that internal wars don't begin. To give up the relative simplicity of warfare for the arena of politics, for which he'd had no training. He'd had the right message for the war... but in the days that followed, it wouldn't be simple, it wouldn't be easy, and it definitely wouldn't end with the finality of the Vong...
"Alert all commands," Sebastian said. "Make the jump into hyperspace. Let's end this once and for all, admiral." Cirule nodded and walked away, so that no one saw Sebastian's downcast expression as he gripped his cane tightly with both hands.
aerius: I'll vote for you if you sleep with me. Lusankya: Deal!
Say, do you want it to be a threesome with your wife? Or a foursome with your wife and sister-in-law? I'm up for either.
Wow!! Ben turned, only you could write him so well into the Dark Side and then have him come back. I loved it. What I don't love is thinking there is only one chapter left in this story (plus the rest of the great WWE rewrite).
Thanks guys. This was another chapter where I was biting my nails (as you can see by the long delay between postings), worrying that the execution wasn't going to work. It sounds like it did, so I'm glad.
Jesus H Christ, I'm going to have to start wearing a crash helmet and padding when I read this story now. The twists and turns in the plot rate at over 5G's these days....
Dalton wrote:This is one of those stories that one must reread from the very beginning, just to catch every little nuance...
Just out of curiosity, where was that prophecy first stated? I see it in Act II of DoF, but was it mentioned earlier?
No, and that was a slip-up (hence why Seven had to reference it here). There were supposed to be two prophecies about Luke and Ben that looked like they were supposed to be about Luke and Sebastian, but I admit I screwed up and omitted one (this was early PL, when I was working crazy hours and spending like two months between chapters).
PL 16, however, did work out as far as setting up what I wanted. If you go back you'll see Bastian listing out his future: "Borg drone... Vong warrior... Jedi Knight... Alliance Prefect..." and then one last thing that he's being forced to say but really doesn't want to.
