Star Crossed Fanfic
Moderator: LadyTevar
First...do'h!
"I want to mow down a bunch of motherfuckers with absurdly large weapons and relative impunity - preferably in and around a skyscraper. Then I want to fight a grim battle against the unlikely duo of the Terminator and Robocop. The last level should involve (but not be limited to) multiple robo-Hitlers and a gorillasaurus rex."--Uraniun235 on his ideal FPS game
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."--Darth Vader
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Crazedwraith
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 11924
- Joined: 2003-04-10 03:45pm
- Location: Cheshire, England
Why not both?Stravo wrote:Not at all. Its just that there is so much going on and frankly the game only becomes vitally important as we get to the end. I'm sure you guys would rather see Luke lay a smackdown in the next chapter than read two gods quipping at each other.Crazedwraith wrote:Agent Fisher wrote:Just read the first Chapter again. I had almost forgotten that this was part of a game of chess.funny you should say that i'm re-reading it again myself. What happened to the Chees game stravo? run out of Q/Mitchell dialogue?
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Anarchist Bunny
- Foul, Cruel, and Bad-Tempered Rodent
- Posts: 5458
- Joined: 2002-07-12 02:08am
- Contact:
Sorry about the delay folks, but this chapter seemed to be cursed. First I suffered minor writers block on it (Ironic since this starts a series of chapters I really was looking forward to writing, essentially Luke cutting loose, then the last 5 pages of this chapter were destroyed by a sudden crash of my computer and the auto restore didn't work (THANK YOU WORD 
) so I FINALLY have this written and hope you enjoy it. BTW Soundtrack suggestions Matrix Reloaded: the Chateau fight and Return of the Jedi from ROTJ soundtrack were the two I listened to most writing this.
Chapter 68: Reap the Whirlwind part 1
The ceiling rumbled and fell away in man sized chunks to shower onto the floor below. Many guards screamed, hands thrown up to their faces as they were struck by the massive pieces of falling masonry. Screams and the sound of shattering bones accompanied the deep booms of rock and stone striking the floor and any unfortunate that happened to be between them.
All except for the group of prisoners in the middle of the audience chamber. The rock and debris crashed around them in a perfect circle, none even coming perilously close to the stunned former captives.
Luke whipped his pain pike around in a dazzling display of movement as he swept through those in front of him, his pike sweeping the guards out of his path like a swinging scythe. He moved like a panther on the prowl, muscles taut and powerful rippling underneath the skin tight black fighting suit.
Mara did not hesitate and grabbed one of the fallen disruptor rifles and swung it over at Kirk.
“You’ve been a thorn in our side long enough, Kirk. This ends here and now.”
“What the—” Kirk couldn’t think to do anything else, caught completely flatfooted by Luke’s performance. His own plan of escape was unraveling when the young ex-Sith lord was now on a rampage.
Mara squeezed the trigger, or at least tried to. Her finger would not move. She grunted and suddenly felt the flow of the force around her hand and weapon. It was different because it did not feel like the Force as she was used to and trained to counter and detect. This felt different somehow, brighter, cleaner.
Her head whipped over to Luke.
“Lord Nemesis! What are you doing?”
Luke smiled sadly.
“Things have changed Mara. Now help them escape, Darkstar and I have some things to discuss.”
“I’m not about to leave without you!” Mara snapped.
Luke turned his attention for a moment on the guards gathering around Darkstar as the petty crime lord shouted orders, face blooming with fear and exertion.
“Did you think you could take me on boy?” Darkstar roared and the ceiling above Darkstar rumbled open. A large plasma cannon descended rapidly and snapped into position aiming at Luke and the others.
“That’s a big gun.” McCoy gasped, ignoring the pain of his ruined ear lobe for a moment as he watched the large cannon and the tubes that wrapped around its base and up into the ceiling mount begin to pulse with a cold blue aura.
“This is the part where our friend Threepio finally proves useful.” Kirk exclaimed suddenly realizing that elements of his escape plan would now prove absolutely vital to their survival. Kirk turned his attention to Threepio who was shouting excitedly and holding his hands up over his head.
“Threepio!” Kirk shouted as the cannon finished its power up sequence.
“Sir?” Threepio replied curiously head peering our from under the protection of his arms.
“Queen to Queen’s level three!”
“I’m not sure I----oh my---I feel strange.” Threepio replied. His eyes flashed brightly and an invisible wave of energy flashed from deep within the droid. The EMP pulse expanded outward in a globe of energy that burned out the delicate systems of the disruptors rifles carried by Darkstar’s guards nearest to Threepio and more importantly the plasma cannon above them slowly dropped down into a neutral position as the pulsing power cables dimmed.
“What?!” Darkstar roared. He turned on Threepio and shoved him off the dais. “Damned machine!”
Threepio landed awkwardly below. Artoo whistled angrily as he raced over to where Threepio had landed.
Luke walked quickly to Mara looking into her eyes the whole time.
“Mara, I need you to help these others escape.”
“Luke, with all due respect, we need that hypermatter technology he’s holding so we’re not going anywhere but deeper into that mess.” Kirk interjected hotly. Luke turned his head and looked into Kirk’s eyes for a moment.
“The last time I saw you, we were trying to kill each other.” Luke noted neutrally.
“That’s not quite true.” Kirk replied.
“Yes…yes you’re right. You were trying to wake me up to the truth.” Luke said as he examined Kirk for a moment. “Perhaps I’ll have the time to thank you but for now it seems we’re going to have to bring this place down around his ears. You get your hypermatter technology, I get Darkstar.”
“Sounds like a fair exchange, Luke.” Kirk watched Luke for a moment. It was as if he were speaking to a completely different person. There was strength in his eyes, a steel that reminded him of Nemesis but also serenity and confidence that was daunting. This was a man who owned himself.
Luke nodded to Kirk and turned his attention back to Mara as Darkstar shouted for more guards. The ones closest to him were impotently trying to fire their weapons at the prisoners. As a squad raced in from the back of the audience chamber there was an awful roar and a great brown furred streak flashed over to them and gave them no time to even scream as Chewbacca barreled into them and cast them aside like rag dolls.
“Mara, things have changed.”
She looked into his eyes. The hot molten rage that had frothed so violently behind those blue eyes was gone. The dark circles under the eyes, the nearly perpetual sneer. She searched his face for any sign of the man she had fallen in love with.
“You’re gone, not a sign that Darth Nemesis was ever here.” she breathed.
Luke smiled softly and brushed his fingers against her full lips.
“No, he died on Scythia Mara but it wasn’t Darth Nemesis who loved you that night in the cave and touched your heart. It was me.”
He bent down and kissed her passionately. Mara did nothing at first but she felt the passion and love in his lips and she vividly remembered his touch and her body responded and she kissed him back her body leaning into his.
Kirk paused for a moment and stared.
“Sir, the enemy is getting away and if Darkstar makes it to the storage areas below the palace…” Spock noted with concern as he picked up a discarded rifle and tried to ignore the broken body of the weapon’s previous owner crushed beneath a chunk of the ceiling..
“Good point Spock.” Kirk snapped out of his confusion and scooped up his own rifle. He looked over his shoulder. “Chewie!” Chewbacca was lifting a guard over his head with both hands as a crowd of them circled him warily. He looked back at Kirk.
“Are you going to be alright?”
Chewbacca roared enthusiastically as he flung the guard into the crowd bowling many of them over.
Kirk laughed.
“I don’t need a universal translator for that!”
“I’ll help the big lug out sir, you go on ahead.” Uhura assured him as she also chose a hand weapons and rushed over to join Chewbacca on his rampage through Darkstar’s befuddled guards who had not learned the bitter lesson many in Chewbacca’s galaxy had learned. When dealing with a Wookie, it’s best to let them win.
“Bones?” Kirk crouched by McCoy.
“I’ll be alright Jim. Let’s get this over with.” McCoy assured him as he expertly placed pressure on the ruined ear lobe and stood up.
“Lord Darkstar.” Harry Mudd urged. “I think now would be a good time to retreat while they are regrouping.”
“I am the lord here. How dare they –” a disruptor bolt snapped by his head. “Quickly we must retreat and find out what is happening to my clones.” He continued without hesitation.
“And her, my lord?” Dee asked snidely as he shoved Anastasia in front of Darkstar.
Darkstar glared at her.
“I should kill you where you stand my treacherous little whore.”
“I’m no longer afraid of you!” She spat defiantly but her voice cracked slightly and it was obvious from looking at her neck that her heart was beating furiously in her breast. Darkstar’s left hand suddenly whipped up and he held a disruptor to her face. Her eyes widened.
“No my dear. I think you are very much afraid. But in the end rage must give way to reason.” He eyed something over her shoulder. “And I do believe that despite the young Sith lord’s obvious attentions to miss Jade he still has feelings for you and that will prove useful when the time comes.” He nodded to one of his guards and they quickly and roughly grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her along.
Darkstar dropped his hand down and eyed Dee and Dum.
“Now is the time to prove to me and yourselves that the young man never needed that collar for you to deal with him.” Darkstar stated darkly. Dee and Dum smiled and bowed their heads.
“We’ll bring him back to you, guvner.”
Darkstar began to speak but Dum interrupted.
“His head on a pike for you.”
“I would prefer his heart on a plate.” Darkstar interjected acidly.
“Your will be done.” Dee added without hesitation and the twin goons turned on their heels and strode off the dais, pulling their pikes out of their respective holsters. Darkstar took one last look at the assembled mess in his audience chamber. He glanced up and saw the massive chunks of masonry torn away from his beautiful marble palace.
He frowned angrily and watched as Luke finally parted from his mystery woman.
He knew it. This whole time, he knew it. His acquiring Lord Nemesis would be the defining moment of his life. He was precisely as he expected - a force of nature. But he never expected that power and rage to be directed at him.
He did not try to think that his only real hope of survival lay in the possible success of twin insane cybernetic killers.
Luke and Mara’s lips parted. He looked into her eyes.
“I missed you.”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you missed me, say you loved me as I have you my dark lady.” he replied without hesitation.
Mara looked up at him, tears brimmed her eyes for a moment as alien emotions surged through her. She looked down at the floor, a deep primal part of her offended and ashamed she felt this way about this man.
“I…don’t know…what to say.” She whispered.
Luke looked down at her for a moment, pain etched in his eyes.
“SKYWALKER!”
He paused and his face suddenly slid into a mask of quiet determination.
“I never stopped loving you from that day you stepped into the Emperor’s audience chamber.” He told her quietly before turning sharply to face Dee and Dum.
The twins were standing casually several meters away from him. They were smiling coldly as they watched him with a predator’s gaze. The battle raging around them nothing more than annoying background noise.
“You owe us something Skywalker.” Dee sneered and his pain pike snapped into full extension.
Dum moved in perfect synch with his brother.
“You owe us a reckoning and we’re here to collect bitch.” Dum added and his own pike snapped into full extension.
Luke stood still for a moment, his eyes switching between Dee and Dum as they slowly slid in closer to Luke, each one moving in perfect tune with the other. As Anastasia pointed out their brains were amplified by a battle computer that brought their reflexes up to near inhuman levels and allowed them to synchronize their movements.
“Dee and Dum, I was wondering when you were going to show up.” Luke glanced at Dee. “Anastasia tells me that you’re entire anatomy has been modified, enhanced if you will, kriegwire tendons,” he glanced over at Dum. “duranium plated bones, positronic network wetware allowing you to enhance reflexes and metabolism.” Back to Dee. “Yoyodine muscle sheaf and neuralgelpack neural enhancers.”
“Yeah, we know our own specs, Skywalker.” Dee snapped.
“Is there a point to this, other then knowing why you’re out classed?” Dum added.
Luke smiled softly and tapped the blunt end of his pike against the marble floor in a patient rhythm.
“I just wanted to let you know that I was aware that there’s not a natural bone in your bodies, that you have been modified to such a degree that you’re more machines than men and you have been engineered to be perfect killing machines.”
“He talks too much.” Dee sneered.
“I think he’s scared.” Dum added as they closed in on him, pikes at the ready.
Luke nodded to himself.
“But in the end none of that matters, despite all your so called enhancements and abilities I’m not afraid.” Dee and Dum inched in closer. “As an ancient and far better Jedi than I once said, the Force is my ally,” Luke snapped his pike up and slapped Dee across the knees in a flurry of movement sending the cybernetic thug sprawling down to the ground faster than any human or cybernetically enhanced eye could follow. Luke twirled the pike in an intricate dance before him as he advanced on Dum.
“And a powerful ally it is.” He finished and delivered a straight on strike to Dum’s chest, missing his throat by a mere inch.
Dum sputtered and slapped Luke’s pike away from him, knowing instantly that if Luke had chosen to use the bladed end of the pike he would most likely be dead.
Dee kipped up, landing slightly off balance, the blow to his knees not able to damage his reinforced joint but the surrounding tissue was bruising and swelling.
“You bastard, there’s no pathetic all powerful energy field controlling me or Dum’s destiny. You’re dead.”
Luke pirouetted gracefully his body flowing like water and ducked under and then over Dee and Dum’s attacks.
“You still don’t get it do you?” Luke asked sharply as he deflected a bladed pike end to his face and countered with his own bladed end and sliced through Dum’s shoulder. “You two sealed your fates when you crossed me.”
The battle was joined as the two cybernetic thugs danced in and out of Luke’s reach driving him back past the dais deeper into the palace.
“Come again?” Leia asked loudly into the small communicator hidden in one of her bikini cups. The sound of alarms was nearly deafening and the veritable forest of cloning vats was going through a very loud and complicated birthing cycle. Hatches and tubes were opening or blasting off the sides of the vats in sequence.
Tom Paris’ voice was nearly drowned out by the sounds of the premature awakening clones.
“Princess! Kirk and company seem to be causing a ruckus in the audience chamber. I think I’ve got a good enough sensor look to beam you over to their coordinates.”
“I’m not thrilled about this Tom. You THINK you have good coordinates? That thing could beam me into a wall or worse.” Leia protested bitterly as she saw some shadowy figures lurking through the mists of the venting coolant systems.
“By the readings I’m getting in here it doesn’t look like you have much of a choice. I’m picking up massive life forms reading down there. Jem Hadar if I’m not mistaken.”
Leia frowned as the first of the cloned Jem Hadar strode through the mists closest to her. It saw her and a cold smile crossed its face.
“Uh…Tom I think you might be right.” Leia snapped as she fired a bolt into the Jem Hadar clone. It had barely begun slumping down to the floor when ten others came roaring through the mists for her. Leia fired two more shots, blasting one Jem Hadar clone’s shoulder off and taking another right in the face. One of the clones batted her hold out blaster from her hand and savagely reached for her throat. Its skin had not yet finished growing and its musculature was clearly visible.
Leia cross blocked hard, hearing the splintering of the Jem Hadar’s arm as she stepped into it drove her left foot into its ankle and threw it over her shoulder. Without hesitation she continued turning and drove her right foot into a Jem Hadar’s solar plexus.
“Tom! Energize!” She shouted and grunted as a Jem Hadar hand cracked across her face in an open palm. She tried to pull it away but another clubbed her in the back of her head driving her to her knees. Another kneed her right in the face, blood spurting from her nose.
A Jem Hadar strode over to her as the rest held her down. She looked up at him through pain clouded eyes. He raised a metal pipe over his head like a club.
“This is disastrous.” Darkstar snarled as he stalked through the long corridor that led to the lower levels of his palace. “My own personal transporter knocked out by that damned droid’s EMP unit, Nemesis wreaking havoc in my palace and my clones are all waking up far ahead of schedule with no way to control them.”
“Sounds rather ominous if I may say so myself my lord.” Harry stated and cringed as a disruptor bolt exploded over head.
“Don’t be obvious you fat fool. This is serious. We are facing grim problems here and we can all thank my pathetic mewling concubine here.” Darkstar jerked a thumb back at Anastasia who was being dragged bodily by two guards. “She couldn’t keep her feelings separate from her job. All I asked of you was to be your usual charming self with the young man but noooo, you had to get delusions that you were better than what you are.” He sneered.
“No matter what happens-“she gasped as she was dragged along. “I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you were afraid and ran.”
Darkstar shook his head and turned suddenly. He slapped her across the face. The suddenness of the action made Harry jump. His eyes drifted down instantly to the lightsaber hilt on Darkstar’s utility belt.
Darkstar turned his head and pinned Harry with a steely gaze.
“And what are you looking at Mudd?” Darkstar hissed.
Harry’s eyes widened as he glanced over Darkstar’s shoulder.
“Kirk!”
“What?” Darkstar turned and saw Kirk leading his crew through the guards and gaining on them. “I want every man that can carry a rifle between him and me. The rest of you follow me. I know what he wants and I mean to give it to him in spades.” Darkstar roared and stalked away towards the exits at the far end of the suddenly very long corridor that was branching out into a garden area.
“What are you talking about Darkstar? What are you going to do?” Anastasia asked spitting blood from between her lips.
“My sweet dear, you can do calculations in your head, imagine what one of these hypermatter reactors could do if we allowed it to explode within an atmosphere?”
Anastasia shook her head.
“Not even you would do something like that.” Anastasia gasped. Darkstar turned his head and regarded her with a hooded expression.
“I guess we’re all going to find out won’t we my love?” He replied icily.
“Good shooting Mr. Sulu.” Kirk said as Sulu crouched down and blasted upwards taking two guards off the catwalks above as they entered the large spacious gardens following their quarry. Slightly behind them were the loud clashes of metal pikes on metal pikes as Luke, Dee and Dum dueled.
“I’ve sent the signal sir. Darkstar’s fleet should be getting a rude surprise any minute now.” Sulu replied as he took aim and blasted another guard trying to take cover behind a rock
“Excellent. Now all we have to do is catch up with Darkstar.” Kirk replied and fired blasting a part of the walkway overhead cutting off the movement of the guards overhead.
“And Mudd and I need to have a little chat.” McCoy grumbled holding one hand to his ruined ear and another holding a tricorder.
Spock fired a quick snap volley from a discarded plasma rifle.
“According to my readings of the palace he is heading for a shaft that leads directly to the sub level. The hypermatter signatures I picked up earlier were located in that sublevel.”
“Along with a bunch of Jem’Hadar clones.” McCoy added morosely.
“Do you people always talk this much?” Mara snapped as she let loose a devastating volley from her blaster, tearing through a thick tree trunk and showering the gathering guards with red hot splinters. Many screamed and fell back firing as she regarded her handiwork for a moment with a satisfied smile. It hid the raging confusion that grew within her.
Why couldn’t she tell him?
A pillar of light materialized to their left and Leia appeared on her knees swaying slowly from side to side.
“Leia!” Kirk shouted and charged towards her. Disruptor fire kicked up around, ripping fist sized smoking chunks into the marble floor. Sulu nodded to Spock and both began laying down suppressing fire against the guards overhead.
“This is getting ridiculous! We’re way out in the open out here and someone’s going to tag us.” McCoy complained.
“Then Doctor I would suggest we hasten our pace and close with Darkstar.” Spock suggested.
“You’ll get no complaint from me.”
A roar of pleasure broke the moment of levity and Worf appeared through a thick copse of trees in a corner of the garden swinging a pike in quick precise strokes striking guards at joints and heads.
“Glad to see one of us is enjoying being outgunned and outnumbered.” McCoy grumbled.
“Leia, are you alright?” Kirk asked as he cradled her to him for a moment and peered up at the guards trying to get a bead on them from above.
“Tom did it.” She muttered. “Jem’Hadar, they almost got me.”
“Well, glad to see that wasn’t the case, but right now we need to get a move on.”
Leia nodded and groggily got to her feet with Kirk’s help, he paused for a moment and aimed his phaser pistol up and blasted a guard right over the railing of the catwalk.
“Have you seen Luke?” She asked.
Kirk grinned.
“Seen him? Take a look.” He inclined his head to the right and Leia followed him. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the young man in a black fighting suit dueling simultaneously with Dee and Dum. At the moment he blocked one pike blow while simultaneously jumping over a low blow directed at his knees. He landed and extended a free hand towards a set of double doors that were rumbling open ready to admit fresh reinforcements. The heavy metal doors suddenly screeched and stopped suddenly, the metal bending inwards as if a giant fist had crashed against the doors.
The doors were only open enough to let one man squeeze through at a time.
“Is he?”
“Let’s just say he doesn’t answer to the name Nemesis anymore.” Kirk grunted as he helped her walk quickly to the group.
Leia smiled and beamed at the young warrior and Luke actually paused in his battle and looked over at her direction. He smiled warmly at her and winked. Leia laughed. This was better than she had ever hoped or dreamed.
“Captain, this is glorious! How could I have ever doubted you?” Worf exclaimed, the sheer joy on his face making his eyes shine. Blood caked the bladed end of his pike and an ugly bruise was swelling under one eye.
“What are you talking about?” McCoy complained.
“A small band of honorable warriors looking to liberate one of their own and stop the spread of an evil empire outnumbered and outgunned, little hope of victory and instead of withdrawing we are pushing deeper into the very heart of our foe’s stronghold! This is worthy of a saga Doctor. Can you not feel the joy in your heart, the surge of your blood in your veins?”
“All I know is, Chancellor Worf, that when this glorious battle does start going badly for us I will be dealing with pumping blood and failing hearts and a lot worse than that to patch you honorable warriors together.”
Worf clapped McCoy on the shoulder.
“That’s the spirit Doctor! There is a place in the great song for healers as well as warriors.”
McCoy rolled his eyes.
“Mr. Worf, we need to push on, try to get to Darkstar before he gets to the turbolift.” Kirk urged.
“And we shall do so!” Worf growled and immediately broke ahead, firing a disruptor pistol with one hand and swinging his pike in broad strokes with the other.
“I never thought I would ever find use for Klingons, I like being proven wrong.” Kirk noted.
“Captain, might I suggest that standing here is not the prudent course of action when Darkstar is drawing dangerously close to his turbolift.” Spock suggested.
“Quiet right, Mr. Spo---” Kirk was cut off by an explosion behind them that emanated from the audience chamber.
“Good God, Uhura and Chewbacca.” Kirk fumbled for his communicator. It beeped of its own accord and he activated it.
“Kirk here.”
“Uhura here sir, don’t worry about us. Chewbacca and I set off some overloaded rifles against the main doors to seal them shut. We’ve secured our rear and are coming to join you.”
“I copy Uhura, good work. Watch your back as you approach, there are snipers all over the second tier.”
“Copy that sir, Uhura out.”
“Let’s move out.” Kirk urged and they quickly surged forward through the burning garden.
Artoo rolled quickly over to Threepio and regarded his friend sprawled out at the base of the dais in a very unnatural looking position, his photoreceptors were dark. Artoo beeped inquisitively.
“Artoo?” Threepio thrashed about.
Artoo whistled happily.
“It is you Artoo! Oh my, this is a horrible situation I can’t see. Help me.” Threepio lamented.
Artoo whistled sadly his small optical unit rotated down to regard the harsh metal bars wrapped around his body that prevented any of his compartments from opening.
“Artoo, this is not what I expected at all. What is happening out there?”
Artoo let out a series of whistles and beeps as Threepio struggled to sit up. “Master Luke?! Where is he?”
Luke laughed softly as he ducked under Dee’s pike strike to his face and simultaneously brought his pike up behind him and blocked Dum’s attack. He sidestepped the follow up thrust and brought his elbow into Dum’s cheek.
They quickly recovered and circled him.
Luke spun his pike around and watched them intently. Dee and Dum nodded to each other and suddenly their battle computers linked their reflexes and bodies finely attuned to one another. They moved as one.
Luke felt the sudden change in his opponents and he let his own mind go as well save that unlike slaving his to a computer he gave himself to the Force. He was no longer making conscious decisions, he transformed into an extension of the Force itself.
Dee and Dum moved as one and attacked, lighting like strikes with their pikes. Luke blocked Dum’s bladed strike to his throat and whipped the other end of his pike down and blocked Dee’s strike to his knees, locking his pike to Dee’s. He savagely pulled the pike out of Dee’s grasp and flung it over his shoulder as he finished bringing his pike up and around. Dee’s pike clattered loudly behind him on the marble floor. Dee did not hesitate and kicked out to strike Luke’s midsection.
Luke was already in motion, pike shot out in a quick thrust and took out Dee’s supporting leg out from under him. Dee crashed to the floor. Luke turned his head at the last moment to avoid Dum’s bladed end of his pike. He brought his pike out in a broad sweep, Dum avoided the blow and ran right into Luke’s backhanded blow across the bridge of his nose.
Dum lashed out with his pike in a slash to Luke’s throat. Luke vaulted in a tight ball past Dum, pike out towards Dum’s midsection. Dum wheeled his pike along with a snap of his wrists and blocked Luke’s blow. Dum pivoted hard on his left leg and brought his pike around calculated precisely by his battle computer to strike Luke as he landed.
Luke slowed his descent just enough tucking his legs into his midsection and then extended them and landed right on the edge of Dum’s pike. Dum froze for a moment completely surprised by Luke’s unexpected maneuver but his battle computer instantly seized control and reacted automatically, bringing the pike up quickly to shake Luke loose.
Luke took off from the pike and as he fell backwards he lashed out with a sharp kick and connected with Dum’s throat. Dum sputtered as he stumbled backwards. The twins’ anatomy had been reinforced and altered in any way possible to limit or eliminate the vulnerability of certain areas such as joints and nerve clusters but the throat had been left very much alone.
Luke landed gracefully and spun his pike in a tight fast circle with one hand, with the other he made a welcoming gesture.
“You little snot!” Dee snarled.
“You think you can win?” Dum hissed hoarsely, his throat raw from the impact.
“Do you think you really stand a chance?” Luke replied and smiled sardonically. “Do you really think you can beat someone that can see what you’re going to do before you even think it? Do you really think you can beat someone who has already seen your deaths?”
Dee leapt in and drove his pike down hard at Luke’s chest. Luke pivoted and snapped the blunt end of his pike and connected solidly with his chin. There was an audible click as Dee’s jaw was snapped shut. Luke sidestepped Dee’s landing and with a lightning stroke delivered the blunt end of his pike into the small of Dee’s back.
Dum surged forward pike bladed end of his pike flashing in a series of strikes that were blurs to the outside observer. To Luke, each blow moved in a leisurely pace. He deflected each blow and as he did so he drove Dum backwards.
“And while I know this is a hopeless battle for you.” Luke suddenly took to the air, leaping straight up as Dum lunged forward with another edged strike. Luke landed on Dum’s head and back flipped off of it, landing behind them in a semi crouch, pike in his right hand held away from his body, the length of it resting on his hip. His left hand rested on the ground, fingers splayed open. He smiled at the wounded twins.
“I do appreciate your efforts.” He finished.
“Look out!” Kirk warned. Disruptor bolts fell all around them exploding and tearing apart the trees and stones around them, geysers of smoking earth and burning tinder took to the air. He crawled in behind the smoking remains of an ivy covered column. Mara slid in beside him and peered past the column.
Spock was nestled in between two ruined tree trunks and began laying down fire on the throng of guards that were gathering. Kirk noted how open his position was.
“Spock, get out of there!”
He heard a moan of pain and saw Scotty clutching his left leg.
“Bones!”
“I’m on it.” McCoy replied without hesitation and scrambled towards Scotty. Worf roared loudly and drove the bladed end of his pike into a guard and pinned him to the tree he was standing behind. More disruptor fire came in, the explosions forcing them to take cover.
“This is absurd!” Mara snapped. She pulled a comlink off her belt and activated a beacon.
“What are you doing?” Kirk snapped.
“I’m doing what any other operative would do when outgunned and out numbered. I’m calling in for reinforcements.” As if to punctuate her point another volley of disruptor fire fell on them like rain.
Kirk’s eyes widened and his hand closed around Mara’s hand holding the comlink.
“Imperial Reinforcements?!” He exclaimed.
Mara’s free hand suddenly sprouted a small vibroblade and it was at Kirk’s throbbing coradic artery.
Leia’s eyes widened and she drew her blaster on Mara.
“You let him go now.” She snapped.
Mara ignored Leia. Her eyes bore into Kirk’s like knives.
“Don’t think that because Nemesis wants us to work together means you can touch me. Don’t forget who I am, I’m Mara Jade, the dark lady of the Imperium and if you touch me again I will hew the offending appendage off. Are we clear?” She hissed.
“Crystal.” Kirk replied and slowly released his grip on her hand. She slowly withdrew her blade from his throat.
“You realize of course that the moment your friends show up me and my crew are as good as dead.” Kirk said darkly.
Mara smiled coldly.
“That’s not really my problem is it? And it looks like our own position is about to become a bit more untenable.” She added. Kirk glanced past the column and he saw several guards carrying a large gun and a tripod up to the point where the rest of the guards had gathered. Undoubtedly it was antipersonnel cannon. Darkstar was approaching the turbolift. His men were pinned down. Things were getting bad.
He looked back at Mara.
“You need to ask yourself this question Mara, what will Luke think when your friends arrive, unless you haven’t noticed he hasn’t exactly been answering to the name Nemesis anymore and more importantly, what will your friends think of him?” Kirk asked sharply.
Mara said nothing but looked back over at Luke as he battled his way towards them. She wondered what she may have set in motion and in the end, where her heart now stood. Did she love Lord Darth Nemesis in all his dark fury and majesty or Luke Skywalker? She did not know the answer and that frightened her more than anything this day.
) so I FINALLY have this written and hope you enjoy it. BTW Soundtrack suggestions Matrix Reloaded: the Chateau fight and Return of the Jedi from ROTJ soundtrack were the two I listened to most writing this.Chapter 68: Reap the Whirlwind part 1
The ceiling rumbled and fell away in man sized chunks to shower onto the floor below. Many guards screamed, hands thrown up to their faces as they were struck by the massive pieces of falling masonry. Screams and the sound of shattering bones accompanied the deep booms of rock and stone striking the floor and any unfortunate that happened to be between them.
All except for the group of prisoners in the middle of the audience chamber. The rock and debris crashed around them in a perfect circle, none even coming perilously close to the stunned former captives.
Luke whipped his pain pike around in a dazzling display of movement as he swept through those in front of him, his pike sweeping the guards out of his path like a swinging scythe. He moved like a panther on the prowl, muscles taut and powerful rippling underneath the skin tight black fighting suit.
Mara did not hesitate and grabbed one of the fallen disruptor rifles and swung it over at Kirk.
“You’ve been a thorn in our side long enough, Kirk. This ends here and now.”
“What the—” Kirk couldn’t think to do anything else, caught completely flatfooted by Luke’s performance. His own plan of escape was unraveling when the young ex-Sith lord was now on a rampage.
Mara squeezed the trigger, or at least tried to. Her finger would not move. She grunted and suddenly felt the flow of the force around her hand and weapon. It was different because it did not feel like the Force as she was used to and trained to counter and detect. This felt different somehow, brighter, cleaner.
Her head whipped over to Luke.
“Lord Nemesis! What are you doing?”
Luke smiled sadly.
“Things have changed Mara. Now help them escape, Darkstar and I have some things to discuss.”
“I’m not about to leave without you!” Mara snapped.
Luke turned his attention for a moment on the guards gathering around Darkstar as the petty crime lord shouted orders, face blooming with fear and exertion.
“Did you think you could take me on boy?” Darkstar roared and the ceiling above Darkstar rumbled open. A large plasma cannon descended rapidly and snapped into position aiming at Luke and the others.
“That’s a big gun.” McCoy gasped, ignoring the pain of his ruined ear lobe for a moment as he watched the large cannon and the tubes that wrapped around its base and up into the ceiling mount begin to pulse with a cold blue aura.
“This is the part where our friend Threepio finally proves useful.” Kirk exclaimed suddenly realizing that elements of his escape plan would now prove absolutely vital to their survival. Kirk turned his attention to Threepio who was shouting excitedly and holding his hands up over his head.
“Threepio!” Kirk shouted as the cannon finished its power up sequence.
“Sir?” Threepio replied curiously head peering our from under the protection of his arms.
“Queen to Queen’s level three!”
“I’m not sure I----oh my---I feel strange.” Threepio replied. His eyes flashed brightly and an invisible wave of energy flashed from deep within the droid. The EMP pulse expanded outward in a globe of energy that burned out the delicate systems of the disruptors rifles carried by Darkstar’s guards nearest to Threepio and more importantly the plasma cannon above them slowly dropped down into a neutral position as the pulsing power cables dimmed.
“What?!” Darkstar roared. He turned on Threepio and shoved him off the dais. “Damned machine!”
Threepio landed awkwardly below. Artoo whistled angrily as he raced over to where Threepio had landed.
Luke walked quickly to Mara looking into her eyes the whole time.
“Mara, I need you to help these others escape.”
“Luke, with all due respect, we need that hypermatter technology he’s holding so we’re not going anywhere but deeper into that mess.” Kirk interjected hotly. Luke turned his head and looked into Kirk’s eyes for a moment.
“The last time I saw you, we were trying to kill each other.” Luke noted neutrally.
“That’s not quite true.” Kirk replied.
“Yes…yes you’re right. You were trying to wake me up to the truth.” Luke said as he examined Kirk for a moment. “Perhaps I’ll have the time to thank you but for now it seems we’re going to have to bring this place down around his ears. You get your hypermatter technology, I get Darkstar.”
“Sounds like a fair exchange, Luke.” Kirk watched Luke for a moment. It was as if he were speaking to a completely different person. There was strength in his eyes, a steel that reminded him of Nemesis but also serenity and confidence that was daunting. This was a man who owned himself.
Luke nodded to Kirk and turned his attention back to Mara as Darkstar shouted for more guards. The ones closest to him were impotently trying to fire their weapons at the prisoners. As a squad raced in from the back of the audience chamber there was an awful roar and a great brown furred streak flashed over to them and gave them no time to even scream as Chewbacca barreled into them and cast them aside like rag dolls.
“Mara, things have changed.”
She looked into his eyes. The hot molten rage that had frothed so violently behind those blue eyes was gone. The dark circles under the eyes, the nearly perpetual sneer. She searched his face for any sign of the man she had fallen in love with.
“You’re gone, not a sign that Darth Nemesis was ever here.” she breathed.
Luke smiled softly and brushed his fingers against her full lips.
“No, he died on Scythia Mara but it wasn’t Darth Nemesis who loved you that night in the cave and touched your heart. It was me.”
He bent down and kissed her passionately. Mara did nothing at first but she felt the passion and love in his lips and she vividly remembered his touch and her body responded and she kissed him back her body leaning into his.
Kirk paused for a moment and stared.
“Sir, the enemy is getting away and if Darkstar makes it to the storage areas below the palace…” Spock noted with concern as he picked up a discarded rifle and tried to ignore the broken body of the weapon’s previous owner crushed beneath a chunk of the ceiling..
“Good point Spock.” Kirk snapped out of his confusion and scooped up his own rifle. He looked over his shoulder. “Chewie!” Chewbacca was lifting a guard over his head with both hands as a crowd of them circled him warily. He looked back at Kirk.
“Are you going to be alright?”
Chewbacca roared enthusiastically as he flung the guard into the crowd bowling many of them over.
Kirk laughed.
“I don’t need a universal translator for that!”
“I’ll help the big lug out sir, you go on ahead.” Uhura assured him as she also chose a hand weapons and rushed over to join Chewbacca on his rampage through Darkstar’s befuddled guards who had not learned the bitter lesson many in Chewbacca’s galaxy had learned. When dealing with a Wookie, it’s best to let them win.
“Bones?” Kirk crouched by McCoy.
“I’ll be alright Jim. Let’s get this over with.” McCoy assured him as he expertly placed pressure on the ruined ear lobe and stood up.
“Lord Darkstar.” Harry Mudd urged. “I think now would be a good time to retreat while they are regrouping.”
“I am the lord here. How dare they –” a disruptor bolt snapped by his head. “Quickly we must retreat and find out what is happening to my clones.” He continued without hesitation.
“And her, my lord?” Dee asked snidely as he shoved Anastasia in front of Darkstar.
Darkstar glared at her.
“I should kill you where you stand my treacherous little whore.”
“I’m no longer afraid of you!” She spat defiantly but her voice cracked slightly and it was obvious from looking at her neck that her heart was beating furiously in her breast. Darkstar’s left hand suddenly whipped up and he held a disruptor to her face. Her eyes widened.
“No my dear. I think you are very much afraid. But in the end rage must give way to reason.” He eyed something over her shoulder. “And I do believe that despite the young Sith lord’s obvious attentions to miss Jade he still has feelings for you and that will prove useful when the time comes.” He nodded to one of his guards and they quickly and roughly grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her along.
Darkstar dropped his hand down and eyed Dee and Dum.
“Now is the time to prove to me and yourselves that the young man never needed that collar for you to deal with him.” Darkstar stated darkly. Dee and Dum smiled and bowed their heads.
“We’ll bring him back to you, guvner.”
Darkstar began to speak but Dum interrupted.
“His head on a pike for you.”
“I would prefer his heart on a plate.” Darkstar interjected acidly.
“Your will be done.” Dee added without hesitation and the twin goons turned on their heels and strode off the dais, pulling their pikes out of their respective holsters. Darkstar took one last look at the assembled mess in his audience chamber. He glanced up and saw the massive chunks of masonry torn away from his beautiful marble palace.
He frowned angrily and watched as Luke finally parted from his mystery woman.
He knew it. This whole time, he knew it. His acquiring Lord Nemesis would be the defining moment of his life. He was precisely as he expected - a force of nature. But he never expected that power and rage to be directed at him.
He did not try to think that his only real hope of survival lay in the possible success of twin insane cybernetic killers.
Luke and Mara’s lips parted. He looked into her eyes.
“I missed you.”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you missed me, say you loved me as I have you my dark lady.” he replied without hesitation.
Mara looked up at him, tears brimmed her eyes for a moment as alien emotions surged through her. She looked down at the floor, a deep primal part of her offended and ashamed she felt this way about this man.
“I…don’t know…what to say.” She whispered.
Luke looked down at her for a moment, pain etched in his eyes.
“SKYWALKER!”
He paused and his face suddenly slid into a mask of quiet determination.
“I never stopped loving you from that day you stepped into the Emperor’s audience chamber.” He told her quietly before turning sharply to face Dee and Dum.
The twins were standing casually several meters away from him. They were smiling coldly as they watched him with a predator’s gaze. The battle raging around them nothing more than annoying background noise.
“You owe us something Skywalker.” Dee sneered and his pain pike snapped into full extension.
Dum moved in perfect synch with his brother.
“You owe us a reckoning and we’re here to collect bitch.” Dum added and his own pike snapped into full extension.
Luke stood still for a moment, his eyes switching between Dee and Dum as they slowly slid in closer to Luke, each one moving in perfect tune with the other. As Anastasia pointed out their brains were amplified by a battle computer that brought their reflexes up to near inhuman levels and allowed them to synchronize their movements.
“Dee and Dum, I was wondering when you were going to show up.” Luke glanced at Dee. “Anastasia tells me that you’re entire anatomy has been modified, enhanced if you will, kriegwire tendons,” he glanced over at Dum. “duranium plated bones, positronic network wetware allowing you to enhance reflexes and metabolism.” Back to Dee. “Yoyodine muscle sheaf and neuralgelpack neural enhancers.”
“Yeah, we know our own specs, Skywalker.” Dee snapped.
“Is there a point to this, other then knowing why you’re out classed?” Dum added.
Luke smiled softly and tapped the blunt end of his pike against the marble floor in a patient rhythm.
“I just wanted to let you know that I was aware that there’s not a natural bone in your bodies, that you have been modified to such a degree that you’re more machines than men and you have been engineered to be perfect killing machines.”
“He talks too much.” Dee sneered.
“I think he’s scared.” Dum added as they closed in on him, pikes at the ready.
Luke nodded to himself.
“But in the end none of that matters, despite all your so called enhancements and abilities I’m not afraid.” Dee and Dum inched in closer. “As an ancient and far better Jedi than I once said, the Force is my ally,” Luke snapped his pike up and slapped Dee across the knees in a flurry of movement sending the cybernetic thug sprawling down to the ground faster than any human or cybernetically enhanced eye could follow. Luke twirled the pike in an intricate dance before him as he advanced on Dum.
“And a powerful ally it is.” He finished and delivered a straight on strike to Dum’s chest, missing his throat by a mere inch.
Dum sputtered and slapped Luke’s pike away from him, knowing instantly that if Luke had chosen to use the bladed end of the pike he would most likely be dead.
Dee kipped up, landing slightly off balance, the blow to his knees not able to damage his reinforced joint but the surrounding tissue was bruising and swelling.
“You bastard, there’s no pathetic all powerful energy field controlling me or Dum’s destiny. You’re dead.”
Luke pirouetted gracefully his body flowing like water and ducked under and then over Dee and Dum’s attacks.
“You still don’t get it do you?” Luke asked sharply as he deflected a bladed pike end to his face and countered with his own bladed end and sliced through Dum’s shoulder. “You two sealed your fates when you crossed me.”
The battle was joined as the two cybernetic thugs danced in and out of Luke’s reach driving him back past the dais deeper into the palace.
“Come again?” Leia asked loudly into the small communicator hidden in one of her bikini cups. The sound of alarms was nearly deafening and the veritable forest of cloning vats was going through a very loud and complicated birthing cycle. Hatches and tubes were opening or blasting off the sides of the vats in sequence.
Tom Paris’ voice was nearly drowned out by the sounds of the premature awakening clones.
“Princess! Kirk and company seem to be causing a ruckus in the audience chamber. I think I’ve got a good enough sensor look to beam you over to their coordinates.”
“I’m not thrilled about this Tom. You THINK you have good coordinates? That thing could beam me into a wall or worse.” Leia protested bitterly as she saw some shadowy figures lurking through the mists of the venting coolant systems.
“By the readings I’m getting in here it doesn’t look like you have much of a choice. I’m picking up massive life forms reading down there. Jem Hadar if I’m not mistaken.”
Leia frowned as the first of the cloned Jem Hadar strode through the mists closest to her. It saw her and a cold smile crossed its face.
“Uh…Tom I think you might be right.” Leia snapped as she fired a bolt into the Jem Hadar clone. It had barely begun slumping down to the floor when ten others came roaring through the mists for her. Leia fired two more shots, blasting one Jem Hadar clone’s shoulder off and taking another right in the face. One of the clones batted her hold out blaster from her hand and savagely reached for her throat. Its skin had not yet finished growing and its musculature was clearly visible.
Leia cross blocked hard, hearing the splintering of the Jem Hadar’s arm as she stepped into it drove her left foot into its ankle and threw it over her shoulder. Without hesitation she continued turning and drove her right foot into a Jem Hadar’s solar plexus.
“Tom! Energize!” She shouted and grunted as a Jem Hadar hand cracked across her face in an open palm. She tried to pull it away but another clubbed her in the back of her head driving her to her knees. Another kneed her right in the face, blood spurting from her nose.
A Jem Hadar strode over to her as the rest held her down. She looked up at him through pain clouded eyes. He raised a metal pipe over his head like a club.
“This is disastrous.” Darkstar snarled as he stalked through the long corridor that led to the lower levels of his palace. “My own personal transporter knocked out by that damned droid’s EMP unit, Nemesis wreaking havoc in my palace and my clones are all waking up far ahead of schedule with no way to control them.”
“Sounds rather ominous if I may say so myself my lord.” Harry stated and cringed as a disruptor bolt exploded over head.
“Don’t be obvious you fat fool. This is serious. We are facing grim problems here and we can all thank my pathetic mewling concubine here.” Darkstar jerked a thumb back at Anastasia who was being dragged bodily by two guards. “She couldn’t keep her feelings separate from her job. All I asked of you was to be your usual charming self with the young man but noooo, you had to get delusions that you were better than what you are.” He sneered.
“No matter what happens-“she gasped as she was dragged along. “I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you were afraid and ran.”
Darkstar shook his head and turned suddenly. He slapped her across the face. The suddenness of the action made Harry jump. His eyes drifted down instantly to the lightsaber hilt on Darkstar’s utility belt.
Darkstar turned his head and pinned Harry with a steely gaze.
“And what are you looking at Mudd?” Darkstar hissed.
Harry’s eyes widened as he glanced over Darkstar’s shoulder.
“Kirk!”
“What?” Darkstar turned and saw Kirk leading his crew through the guards and gaining on them. “I want every man that can carry a rifle between him and me. The rest of you follow me. I know what he wants and I mean to give it to him in spades.” Darkstar roared and stalked away towards the exits at the far end of the suddenly very long corridor that was branching out into a garden area.
“What are you talking about Darkstar? What are you going to do?” Anastasia asked spitting blood from between her lips.
“My sweet dear, you can do calculations in your head, imagine what one of these hypermatter reactors could do if we allowed it to explode within an atmosphere?”
Anastasia shook her head.
“Not even you would do something like that.” Anastasia gasped. Darkstar turned his head and regarded her with a hooded expression.
“I guess we’re all going to find out won’t we my love?” He replied icily.
“Good shooting Mr. Sulu.” Kirk said as Sulu crouched down and blasted upwards taking two guards off the catwalks above as they entered the large spacious gardens following their quarry. Slightly behind them were the loud clashes of metal pikes on metal pikes as Luke, Dee and Dum dueled.
“I’ve sent the signal sir. Darkstar’s fleet should be getting a rude surprise any minute now.” Sulu replied as he took aim and blasted another guard trying to take cover behind a rock
“Excellent. Now all we have to do is catch up with Darkstar.” Kirk replied and fired blasting a part of the walkway overhead cutting off the movement of the guards overhead.
“And Mudd and I need to have a little chat.” McCoy grumbled holding one hand to his ruined ear and another holding a tricorder.
Spock fired a quick snap volley from a discarded plasma rifle.
“According to my readings of the palace he is heading for a shaft that leads directly to the sub level. The hypermatter signatures I picked up earlier were located in that sublevel.”
“Along with a bunch of Jem’Hadar clones.” McCoy added morosely.
“Do you people always talk this much?” Mara snapped as she let loose a devastating volley from her blaster, tearing through a thick tree trunk and showering the gathering guards with red hot splinters. Many screamed and fell back firing as she regarded her handiwork for a moment with a satisfied smile. It hid the raging confusion that grew within her.
Why couldn’t she tell him?
A pillar of light materialized to their left and Leia appeared on her knees swaying slowly from side to side.
“Leia!” Kirk shouted and charged towards her. Disruptor fire kicked up around, ripping fist sized smoking chunks into the marble floor. Sulu nodded to Spock and both began laying down suppressing fire against the guards overhead.
“This is getting ridiculous! We’re way out in the open out here and someone’s going to tag us.” McCoy complained.
“Then Doctor I would suggest we hasten our pace and close with Darkstar.” Spock suggested.
“You’ll get no complaint from me.”
A roar of pleasure broke the moment of levity and Worf appeared through a thick copse of trees in a corner of the garden swinging a pike in quick precise strokes striking guards at joints and heads.
“Glad to see one of us is enjoying being outgunned and outnumbered.” McCoy grumbled.
“Leia, are you alright?” Kirk asked as he cradled her to him for a moment and peered up at the guards trying to get a bead on them from above.
“Tom did it.” She muttered. “Jem’Hadar, they almost got me.”
“Well, glad to see that wasn’t the case, but right now we need to get a move on.”
Leia nodded and groggily got to her feet with Kirk’s help, he paused for a moment and aimed his phaser pistol up and blasted a guard right over the railing of the catwalk.
“Have you seen Luke?” She asked.
Kirk grinned.
“Seen him? Take a look.” He inclined his head to the right and Leia followed him. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the young man in a black fighting suit dueling simultaneously with Dee and Dum. At the moment he blocked one pike blow while simultaneously jumping over a low blow directed at his knees. He landed and extended a free hand towards a set of double doors that were rumbling open ready to admit fresh reinforcements. The heavy metal doors suddenly screeched and stopped suddenly, the metal bending inwards as if a giant fist had crashed against the doors.
The doors were only open enough to let one man squeeze through at a time.
“Is he?”
“Let’s just say he doesn’t answer to the name Nemesis anymore.” Kirk grunted as he helped her walk quickly to the group.
Leia smiled and beamed at the young warrior and Luke actually paused in his battle and looked over at her direction. He smiled warmly at her and winked. Leia laughed. This was better than she had ever hoped or dreamed.
“Captain, this is glorious! How could I have ever doubted you?” Worf exclaimed, the sheer joy on his face making his eyes shine. Blood caked the bladed end of his pike and an ugly bruise was swelling under one eye.
“What are you talking about?” McCoy complained.
“A small band of honorable warriors looking to liberate one of their own and stop the spread of an evil empire outnumbered and outgunned, little hope of victory and instead of withdrawing we are pushing deeper into the very heart of our foe’s stronghold! This is worthy of a saga Doctor. Can you not feel the joy in your heart, the surge of your blood in your veins?”
“All I know is, Chancellor Worf, that when this glorious battle does start going badly for us I will be dealing with pumping blood and failing hearts and a lot worse than that to patch you honorable warriors together.”
Worf clapped McCoy on the shoulder.
“That’s the spirit Doctor! There is a place in the great song for healers as well as warriors.”
McCoy rolled his eyes.
“Mr. Worf, we need to push on, try to get to Darkstar before he gets to the turbolift.” Kirk urged.
“And we shall do so!” Worf growled and immediately broke ahead, firing a disruptor pistol with one hand and swinging his pike in broad strokes with the other.
“I never thought I would ever find use for Klingons, I like being proven wrong.” Kirk noted.
“Captain, might I suggest that standing here is not the prudent course of action when Darkstar is drawing dangerously close to his turbolift.” Spock suggested.
“Quiet right, Mr. Spo---” Kirk was cut off by an explosion behind them that emanated from the audience chamber.
“Good God, Uhura and Chewbacca.” Kirk fumbled for his communicator. It beeped of its own accord and he activated it.
“Kirk here.”
“Uhura here sir, don’t worry about us. Chewbacca and I set off some overloaded rifles against the main doors to seal them shut. We’ve secured our rear and are coming to join you.”
“I copy Uhura, good work. Watch your back as you approach, there are snipers all over the second tier.”
“Copy that sir, Uhura out.”
“Let’s move out.” Kirk urged and they quickly surged forward through the burning garden.
Artoo rolled quickly over to Threepio and regarded his friend sprawled out at the base of the dais in a very unnatural looking position, his photoreceptors were dark. Artoo beeped inquisitively.
“Artoo?” Threepio thrashed about.
Artoo whistled happily.
“It is you Artoo! Oh my, this is a horrible situation I can’t see. Help me.” Threepio lamented.
Artoo whistled sadly his small optical unit rotated down to regard the harsh metal bars wrapped around his body that prevented any of his compartments from opening.
“Artoo, this is not what I expected at all. What is happening out there?”
Artoo let out a series of whistles and beeps as Threepio struggled to sit up. “Master Luke?! Where is he?”
Luke laughed softly as he ducked under Dee’s pike strike to his face and simultaneously brought his pike up behind him and blocked Dum’s attack. He sidestepped the follow up thrust and brought his elbow into Dum’s cheek.
They quickly recovered and circled him.
Luke spun his pike around and watched them intently. Dee and Dum nodded to each other and suddenly their battle computers linked their reflexes and bodies finely attuned to one another. They moved as one.
Luke felt the sudden change in his opponents and he let his own mind go as well save that unlike slaving his to a computer he gave himself to the Force. He was no longer making conscious decisions, he transformed into an extension of the Force itself.
Dee and Dum moved as one and attacked, lighting like strikes with their pikes. Luke blocked Dum’s bladed strike to his throat and whipped the other end of his pike down and blocked Dee’s strike to his knees, locking his pike to Dee’s. He savagely pulled the pike out of Dee’s grasp and flung it over his shoulder as he finished bringing his pike up and around. Dee’s pike clattered loudly behind him on the marble floor. Dee did not hesitate and kicked out to strike Luke’s midsection.
Luke was already in motion, pike shot out in a quick thrust and took out Dee’s supporting leg out from under him. Dee crashed to the floor. Luke turned his head at the last moment to avoid Dum’s bladed end of his pike. He brought his pike out in a broad sweep, Dum avoided the blow and ran right into Luke’s backhanded blow across the bridge of his nose.
Dum lashed out with his pike in a slash to Luke’s throat. Luke vaulted in a tight ball past Dum, pike out towards Dum’s midsection. Dum wheeled his pike along with a snap of his wrists and blocked Luke’s blow. Dum pivoted hard on his left leg and brought his pike around calculated precisely by his battle computer to strike Luke as he landed.
Luke slowed his descent just enough tucking his legs into his midsection and then extended them and landed right on the edge of Dum’s pike. Dum froze for a moment completely surprised by Luke’s unexpected maneuver but his battle computer instantly seized control and reacted automatically, bringing the pike up quickly to shake Luke loose.
Luke took off from the pike and as he fell backwards he lashed out with a sharp kick and connected with Dum’s throat. Dum sputtered as he stumbled backwards. The twins’ anatomy had been reinforced and altered in any way possible to limit or eliminate the vulnerability of certain areas such as joints and nerve clusters but the throat had been left very much alone.
Luke landed gracefully and spun his pike in a tight fast circle with one hand, with the other he made a welcoming gesture.
“You little snot!” Dee snarled.
“You think you can win?” Dum hissed hoarsely, his throat raw from the impact.
“Do you think you really stand a chance?” Luke replied and smiled sardonically. “Do you really think you can beat someone that can see what you’re going to do before you even think it? Do you really think you can beat someone who has already seen your deaths?”
Dee leapt in and drove his pike down hard at Luke’s chest. Luke pivoted and snapped the blunt end of his pike and connected solidly with his chin. There was an audible click as Dee’s jaw was snapped shut. Luke sidestepped Dee’s landing and with a lightning stroke delivered the blunt end of his pike into the small of Dee’s back.
Dum surged forward pike bladed end of his pike flashing in a series of strikes that were blurs to the outside observer. To Luke, each blow moved in a leisurely pace. He deflected each blow and as he did so he drove Dum backwards.
“And while I know this is a hopeless battle for you.” Luke suddenly took to the air, leaping straight up as Dum lunged forward with another edged strike. Luke landed on Dum’s head and back flipped off of it, landing behind them in a semi crouch, pike in his right hand held away from his body, the length of it resting on his hip. His left hand rested on the ground, fingers splayed open. He smiled at the wounded twins.
“I do appreciate your efforts.” He finished.
“Look out!” Kirk warned. Disruptor bolts fell all around them exploding and tearing apart the trees and stones around them, geysers of smoking earth and burning tinder took to the air. He crawled in behind the smoking remains of an ivy covered column. Mara slid in beside him and peered past the column.
Spock was nestled in between two ruined tree trunks and began laying down fire on the throng of guards that were gathering. Kirk noted how open his position was.
“Spock, get out of there!”
He heard a moan of pain and saw Scotty clutching his left leg.
“Bones!”
“I’m on it.” McCoy replied without hesitation and scrambled towards Scotty. Worf roared loudly and drove the bladed end of his pike into a guard and pinned him to the tree he was standing behind. More disruptor fire came in, the explosions forcing them to take cover.
“This is absurd!” Mara snapped. She pulled a comlink off her belt and activated a beacon.
“What are you doing?” Kirk snapped.
“I’m doing what any other operative would do when outgunned and out numbered. I’m calling in for reinforcements.” As if to punctuate her point another volley of disruptor fire fell on them like rain.
Kirk’s eyes widened and his hand closed around Mara’s hand holding the comlink.
“Imperial Reinforcements?!” He exclaimed.
Mara’s free hand suddenly sprouted a small vibroblade and it was at Kirk’s throbbing coradic artery.
Leia’s eyes widened and she drew her blaster on Mara.
“You let him go now.” She snapped.
Mara ignored Leia. Her eyes bore into Kirk’s like knives.
“Don’t think that because Nemesis wants us to work together means you can touch me. Don’t forget who I am, I’m Mara Jade, the dark lady of the Imperium and if you touch me again I will hew the offending appendage off. Are we clear?” She hissed.
“Crystal.” Kirk replied and slowly released his grip on her hand. She slowly withdrew her blade from his throat.
“You realize of course that the moment your friends show up me and my crew are as good as dead.” Kirk said darkly.
Mara smiled coldly.
“That’s not really my problem is it? And it looks like our own position is about to become a bit more untenable.” She added. Kirk glanced past the column and he saw several guards carrying a large gun and a tripod up to the point where the rest of the guards had gathered. Undoubtedly it was antipersonnel cannon. Darkstar was approaching the turbolift. His men were pinned down. Things were getting bad.
He looked back at Mara.
“You need to ask yourself this question Mara, what will Luke think when your friends arrive, unless you haven’t noticed he hasn’t exactly been answering to the name Nemesis anymore and more importantly, what will your friends think of him?” Kirk asked sharply.
Mara said nothing but looked back over at Luke as he battled his way towards them. She wondered what she may have set in motion and in the end, where her heart now stood. Did she love Lord Darth Nemesis in all his dark fury and majesty or Luke Skywalker? She did not know the answer and that frightened her more than anything this day.
Last edited by Stravo on 2004-01-19 04:15am, edited 2 times in total.
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NecronLord
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A pair of slight errors.
I suspect that's meant to be Luke. I also suspect that Mara would hew limbs off, rather than hue them off.Dee and Dum moved as one and attacked, lighting like strikes with their pikes. Kirk blocked Dum’s bladed strike to his throat and whipped the other end of his pike down and blocked Dee’s strike to his knees, locking his pike to Dee’s. He savagely pulled the pike out of Dee’s grasp and flung it over his shoulder as he finished bringing his pike up and around. Dee’s pike clattered loudly behind him on the marble floor. Dee did not hesitate and kicked out to strike Luke’s midsection.
Last edited by NecronLord on 2004-01-19 04:17am, edited 1 time in total.
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Just a minor criticism Stravo, but IMO you don't use enough commas- at times, it can make the sentence feel rushed and disjointed.
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Errors noted and fixed. ThanksNecronLord wrote:A pair of slight errors.
I suspect that's meant to be Luke. I also suspect that Mara would hew limbs off, rather than hue them off.Dee and Dum moved as one and attacked, lighting like strikes with their pikes. Kirk blocked Dum’s bladed strike to his throat and whipped the other end of his pike down and blocked Dee’s strike to his knees, locking his pike to Dee’s. He savagely pulled the pike out of Dee’s grasp and flung it over his shoulder as he finished bringing his pike up and around. Dee’s pike clattered loudly behind him on the marble floor. Dee did not hesitate and kicked out to strike Luke’s midsection.
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Commas and me need each other but I never seem to place them where they are most needed. I think its because I write it out as if I'm listening to it in my head, thus no commas in speech. Its something I've tried to work on and am getting better at it. I used to be Mr. Runon sentence back in grammar school.Vympel wrote:Just a minor criticism Stravo, but IMO you don't use enough commas- at times, it can make the sentence feel rushed and disjointed.
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Ghost Rider
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Did anybody else clamour for a catfight between Mara and Leia?
Good job Stravo. If I may register a weird complaint, it seemed as though Darkstar was a fucking slow walker. It took him forever to get to that turbolift. And Luke seemed to toy with Dee and Dum - intentional, on your part? I kept screaming "Luke you twat! Just kill the fuckers and get the Dork! Get 'em! Get 'em! No, don't flip around all over the place! What are you doing, showoff?"
...
Leia's comlink is in her bra?
Funny the things we notice 
...
Hey it's good to know that McCoy's spirits aren't down, what with having his ear mutiliated and all. Harry Mudd, you're in serious shit now.
...
For some strange reason, Worf going on about Sagas doesn't sound in-character. It sounds like something Kor would say, but not really Worf. But it's good to see that psycho show them a pissed off Klingon.
...
I liked Leia's brief contact with the Jem'Hadar clones. Very uncompromising. I've noticed that about your work, and think it's great (McCoy getting that ear thing, Leia being beaten, Chekov dying etc).
This thing is wrapping up people. Soon, this story will be complete. No more Starcrossed.
...
But not today! (sorry - I couldn't help it)
Serious question: how long do you spend each day writing? And do you do it in a uniform fashion (3-4pm is "Writing Time" or something) or is it whenever you feel like it?
Good job Stravo. If I may register a weird complaint, it seemed as though Darkstar was a fucking slow walker. It took him forever to get to that turbolift. And Luke seemed to toy with Dee and Dum - intentional, on your part? I kept screaming "Luke you twat! Just kill the fuckers and get the Dork! Get 'em! Get 'em! No, don't flip around all over the place! What are you doing, showoff?"
...
Leia's comlink is in her bra?
Funny the things we notice ...
Hey it's good to know that McCoy's spirits aren't down, what with having his ear mutiliated and all. Harry Mudd, you're in serious shit now.
...
For some strange reason, Worf going on about Sagas doesn't sound in-character. It sounds like something Kor would say, but not really Worf. But it's good to see that psycho show them a pissed off Klingon.
...
I liked Leia's brief contact with the Jem'Hadar clones. Very uncompromising. I've noticed that about your work, and think it's great (McCoy getting that ear thing, Leia being beaten, Chekov dying etc).
This thing is wrapping up people. Soon, this story will be complete. No more Starcrossed.
...
But not today!
(sorry - I couldn't help it)Serious question: how long do you spend each day writing? And do you do it in a uniform fashion (3-4pm is "Writing Time" or something) or is it whenever you feel like it?
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Captain Cyran
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Great chapter Stravo, wondering how certain things will come to be within the next chapter...
Oh, and when is Luke gonna quit messing around and just use the force to toss Dee and Dum around like ragdolls?
Oh, and when is Luke gonna quit messing around and just use the force to toss Dee and Dum around like ragdolls?
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Luke is sort of playing with his food, not very Jedi like I know but remember that just because he has rejceted the path of teh dark side does not mean he's suddenly a Jedi. He's not a Jedi until he confronts Vader and takes down the Emperor, per Yoda in ROTJ. He's still trying to find his way and many have noticed hsi odd way of speaking, almost Vader like and laughing during combat. In the ROTJ novelization Luke luaghs during his fight on Jabba's barge, the exact line is he "laughs like a pirate king" we didn't see that in the movie but the line from the novelization really stuck with me.Captain_Cyran wrote:Great chapter Stravo, wondering how certain things will come to be within the next chapter...
Oh, and when is Luke gonna quit messing around and just use the force to toss Dee and Dum around like ragdolls?
Luke is trying to figure out what he's going to do. Is he going to be a Jedi in the traditional sense or will he make his own path? And he has not rejected Nemesis in the sense that Nemesis has disappeared, he has incorporated the better parts of Nemesis in himself, namely his strength of character and purpose.
The rest of Luke's arc deals with him trying to come to terms with himself and finding where he belongs. But for now, the guy just wants to womp on Dee and Dum. He knows he most likely could have slaughtered them in moments, but this feels so much better.
As to the slow walking Darkstar, yeah, a concession to drama and plot, but he is walking under fire and is too proud to run.
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Trytostaydead
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A Jedi can have some fun, can't he?Captain_Cyran wrote:Great chapter Stravo, wondering how certain things will come to be within the next chapter...
Oh, and when is Luke gonna quit messing around and just use the force to toss Dee and Dum around like ragdolls?
But yeah.. shouldn't he be hurrying up and finishing them off and going after Darkstar and engaging in a three way with Mara and Anastasia?
Excellent chapter, Stravo! Finally we see Luke kicking some ass and Darkstar's little empire falling apart around him. Can't wait for the next chapter. Will Harry Mudd swipe Luke's lightsaber from Darkstar to get him back in Kirk's good graces like he seems to be considering? Will the Imperium follow Luke as loyaly as they did Nemesis? Keep writting!
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Captain Cyran
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Oh, never said he shouldn't still play with them, but just another example of "Yes, this is how much better I am than you." by just picking them up and spinning them around a good 6 feet off the ground.Stravo wrote:Luke is sort of playing with his food, not very Jedi like I know but remember that just because he has rejceted the path of teh dark side does not mean he's suddenly a Jedi. He's not a Jedi until he confronts Vader and takes down the Emperor, per Yoda in ROTJ. He's still trying to find his way and many have noticed hsi odd way of speaking, almost Vader like and laughing during combat. In the ROTJ novelization Luke luaghs during his fight on Jabba's barge, the exact line is he "laughs like a pirate king" we didn't see that in the movie but the line from the novelization really stuck with me.Captain_Cyran wrote:Great chapter Stravo, wondering how certain things will come to be within the next chapter...
Oh, and when is Luke gonna quit messing around and just use the force to toss Dee and Dum around like ragdolls?
Luke is trying to figure out what he's going to do. Is he going to be a Jedi in the traditional sense or will he make his own path? And he has not rejected Nemesis in the sense that Nemesis has disappeared, he has incorporated the better parts of Nemesis in himself, namely his strength of character and purpose.
The rest of Luke's arc deals with him trying to come to terms with himself and finding where he belongs. But for now, the guy just wants to womp on Dee and Dum. He knows he most likely could have slaughtered them in moments, but this feels so much better.
As to the slow walking Darkstar, yeah, a concession to drama and plot, but he is walking under fire and is too proud to run.
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Darth Yoshi
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Sweet. New chapter, and we get to see Luke kick some ass!
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Omega-13
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Good chapter, I finally caught up!
Vader is really minding his time though, I hope there isn't too much thrawn masterbation and have him fool vader, I don't see that happening.
Also, for stravo,
I don't want you to answer ahead of the game here, but
Thrawn asked Vader if he could take care of the mines, and vader said "i can do whatever the boy can"
i sure hope he doesn't fail, or that luke some how 'blocks' him, that would kinda suck, up to this point he's like a kitten.
keep up the good work
Vader is really minding his time though, I hope there isn't too much thrawn masterbation and have him fool vader, I don't see that happening.
Also, for stravo,
I don't want you to answer ahead of the game here, but
Thrawn asked Vader if he could take care of the mines, and vader said "i can do whatever the boy can"
i sure hope he doesn't fail, or that luke some how 'blocks' him, that would kinda suck, up to this point he's like a kitten.
keep up the good work
derek_m_p@hotmail.com
I'm a useless pile of subhuman racist filth who attacked Darth Wong's heritage and accused him of abusing his wife and children!
http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic. ... 99#1688299
I'm a useless pile of subhuman racist filth who attacked Darth Wong's heritage and accused him of abusing his wife and children!
http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic. ... 99#1688299
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