Star Crossed Fanfic

[Ender]

Impressive. Andorians going to pop thier sun eh? Combined with Kirk's ploy of trapping the fleet in the system, he could have possibly won the war... Too bad Jellico doesn't have all the information at hand, he could pull off that manuver with far fewer qualms then Kirk would have had.

Thrawn will stop it easily.

You presume too much. It's entirly possible Kahn's interference will result in the anhilation of the Imperial fleet and the final showdown will be the Imperium and remnant vs the Death Star with Luke facing this new black clad (presumably) darksider.

[lukexcom]

I have such high hopes that Stravo won't follow the official books and kill Thrawn. I mean, can't we have one professional-novel-quality fanfic (starcrossed/twilight war combo) where Thrawn survives?

[Stofsk]

OH NO!! Save us from Stravo and his piss poor paintjob skillz.

It's Leia in a few chapters.

Why does Leia look like the She-Hulk? Too much Gamma Radiation?

I wanted to say, Stravo, that your writing skills are impressive. I once spent an entire night reading through Starcrossed - my eyes were bleeding by the end of it, but it was worth it.

Although I haven't read through all of the Twilight War, I am markedly impressed by that too - more so, in fact.

If I can criticise you on Starcrossed, it would be putting in Darkstar references. Now, I know there's a history between this board and that little terror-tyrant, but in terms of the story it does detract from it. Particularly when he craps on about some technobabble to Luke - I feel it highlights what is bad about Star Trek, and the sort of fans who defend it against any and all criticism.

(I know it's a joke you're playing on the audience - Darkstar is destined to be eviscerated by Luke, or decked by Kirk, or something horrible WILL happen to him - however, in terms of storytelling, it doesn't really engender a sense of danger. This is always a danger of mixing in people we know from real life into our stories - they have a tendency to become allegorical.)

There are other things too, but nothing and no-one is perfect. All I can say is that I enjoy your writing and hope to read more. Have you written anything else beside SW/ST fanfic? Any original universes you have developed? Any experiences in writing you'd like to share? Are there things in the craft you've discovered that aid or hinder in the process?

Keep up the good work!

[Mutant Headcrab]

*snip*

Actually, as Stravo said, this is not the same Darkstar. The Darkstar we all know and hate bought the farm during the battle for Earth. You will recall the two trekkies who were squashed by the starbase?

[Darth Yoshi]

I feel sorry for Darkstar. Mara is going to kick some ass.

[JodoForce]

Hey what are you talking about? I love the Darkstar references!

[NecronLord]

*snip*

Actually, as Stravo said, this is not the same Darkstar. The Darkstar we all know and hate bought the farm during the battle for Earth. You will recall the two trekkies who were squashed by the starbase?

Well, if he read the Stickied version he would have missed that. That's only in the special edition, IE this thread.

[Crazedwraith]

*snip*

Actually, as Stravo said, this is not the same Darkstar. The Darkstar we all know and hate bought the farm during the battle for Earth. You will recall the two trekkies who were squashed by the starbase?

Well, if he read the Stickied version he would have missed that. That's only in the special edition, IE this thread.

Really? I'm pretty sure i read that in the sticky, did he remove it at some point?

[Stravo]

Actually, as Stravo said, this is not the same Darkstar. The Darkstar we all know and hate bought the farm during the battle for Earth. You will recall the two trekkies who were squashed by the starbase?

Well, if he read the Stickied version he would have missed that. That's only in the special edition, IE this thread.

Really? I'm pretty sure i read that in the sticky, did he remove it at some point?

No the Sticky does not have any announcemenst so only the "Special edition" thread has my commentary that goes with the story.

As to the Darkstar references:

Anton Hieronymous Darkstar is:

Rich
Poweful
Intelligent
Has Women
Has Sex

NONE of these attributes refer to Darkstar. The only similarity is:

They're both insane.

That's it. The guy's name was Darkstar since my early visions of this story and I certainly wasn't going to change to for that fucktard. Scooter died way back in Chapter 20 which coincided with the height of Darkstar's reign of terror here before his banning.t

Anyway I hope that clears up any questions.

[darthdavid]

20 more pages to go before this thread hits 100. Oh, and good job on the last few chapters.

[FaxModem1]

Beautiful. I want to see what the Federation base looks like, is anyone that good in Paint?

Now, Jelico is smart, so I hope your not going to kill him or anything(I really like that character)

I was really hoping for Luke to go JEDI on the goons, guess I have to wait, and last time I read a story like this subplot(big mistake), the prisoner got raped by the collector/stalker. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THAT!!!!

Are they using the Baku planet at all for medical purposes? Seems like they could get a lot more things done if they do.

Palpatine is killing deities? why?

And finally, where is Gary Mitchell?

Great chapter Stravo.

[Trytostaydead]

So does Kirk really have only those two options? Or do I suspect maybe both of those two options are going to come true? As in he's captured, tortured and then joins the Imperial fleet?

Though is it possible his role as a Captain is in the IMPERIUM fleet with the new and improved Luke Skywalker trying to fight off the Imperial fleet?

And we need more Mara taking off her clothes.. maybe a naked duel would be nice

Thrawn does seem to be riding a very thin line, playing a very dangerous game with very dangerous players. And it seems like if Darth Vader is to be redeemed at the end by Luke or something.. or the Federation somehow survives.. it means Thrawn has to lose. And this I do not like

[Stravo]

Chapter 64: Gilded Cage



“Are you bored?” Anastasia nearly purred. She moved slowly through the series of silk curtains surrounding Luke’s sleep area like layers of a cocoon. Luke sat cross legged on the edge of his very comfortable bed trying to focus. He had been in this position for a better part of two days now. No success whatsoever. His mind would refuse to focus long enough to manipulate the Force in anyway. He had never felt so frustrated in his life. He could feel the Force flowing around him, he could listen to its ebb and flow but he could do nothing else.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I would prefer to be alone.” Luke replied softly, not opening his eyes. He could feel her presence close to him, her life force pulsing and throbbing.

Anastasia smiled curiously and examined the young man with one finger hooked into the corner of her luscious mouth.

“You can be left alone here for weeks if you like, Luke or Nemesis or whatever your name is but you’ll never beat Darkstar’s little trick.”

“Oh?” He was instantly annoyed by the fact that he could not remain focused enough to ignore her. He also tried to fight the urge to give in to his annoyance. Any small straying from the precarious path he walked made him nervous. The dark path was always seductively close now that he had walked it for so long. But he was not afraid of it anymore. He simply had a healthy respect for its siren song.

“He’s been planning this for a long time you know. Ever since you appeared on the scene he has wanted you. Darkstar has a way of getting what he wants no matter what and unique people and items are precisely what he craves.”

“He’s clearly insane.” Luke replied trying to maintain his concentration but failing utterly. He sighed softly.

Anastasia smiled sardonically at him and leaned against one of the posts of his bed.

“You’re not afraid of him, even now are you?”

“No. Fear leads to the Dark side and quite frankly Anastasia, the things I’ve seen and done make sure that it will take much more than a fop like him to frighten me.”

She stared at him for a moment, as if judging the sincerity of his words.

“He’s much more than a fop, you know. He comes off that way because that’s what he wants you to think of him but I bet you didn’t know he was an eleventh level master of Gen-ko.”

“You’ll forgive me if I am not impressed, and I don’t just mean because I don’t know what Gen-ko is.” Luke replied with a smirk.

“You really are from another galaxy aren’t you?” She breathed as she stepped closer to watch him. “Some people have said that you just come from a distant part of the Gamma or Delta quadrants, others say that you’re from the future but you really are from another galaxy. There’s something about you.”

“I’m flattered but right now I need to concentrate.”

Anastasia smiled and stepped back, crossing her arms. “I guess that means you’re not interested in the present I bought you.”

“Not remotely.” Luke replied and closed his eyed again.

She smirked.

“Fine by me.” she replied and strolled out of his bed chamber area, the silken curtains slowly sliding over her body like a lover’s hands. She paused at the last veil and looked down at a squat shadow on the standing calmly outside the bedchamber.

“He doesn’t want to see you. I’m sorry I guess we’ll have to keep each other company.”

There was a series of desperate whistles and beeps.

Luke’s eyes snapped open.

“Artoo?”

The droid’s joyful beeps and whistles replied loudly. Luke was instantly out of his meditative pose and strode through the silken curtains to face his small droid companion.

“Artoo Deeto it IS you!” Luke exclaimed happily and crouched down to be as close to eye level as possible with the droid. He warmly patted the droid on its dome head. “It’s been too long.”

Artoo whistled hopefully.

“No.” Luke shook his head. “Nemesis is gone, Artoo. He died on Scythia.”

Artoo made a quizzical whistle.

“I still carry the best of him inside me Artoo. And yes, I am so glad to see you old friend.” Luke answered with a grin. He looked down and noted the black metallic bands wrapped tightly around the droid, in essence locking down all his tool compartments. “What have they done to you? Are you Okay?”

Artoo whistled enthusiastically.

Anastasia watched the exchange with a hooded expression.

“It’s amazing; you actually have feelings for this machine?” Anastasia

Artoo turned his domed head and spouted something distinctly unflattering. Luke smiled softly.

“Artoo is not juts a machine, Anastasia. He is my friend.”

Anastasia laughed coolly.

“Well friends you’ll find in short supply here in paradise.” She replied.

“You don’t seem happy here, Anastasia. You’ve never tried to leave?”

Anastasia shook her head and snorted softly. “You think people can just leave this palace, this world at their whim? Darkstar rules this world, this entire star system and I won’t go into the syndicates that bend knee to him from here to the Argolos cluster. Even if you did leave here, there are syndicates in the star systems you need to travel through that would gladly sell you out for a chance to cozy up to Darkstar.”

“Sounds like you have put some thought in it then.” Luke noted. Anastasia said nothing for a moment.

“Since we’ll be here for quite some time, maybe you’d like the guided tour? A way for you to get to know this wonderful little prison.”

“I don’t think I want to.”

“Suit yourself.” She replied tightly and turned on her heel to leave. Artoo’s dome turned from Luke to Anastasia.

Luke looked after her and shook his head.

“Look, you’re right. I really should get to know this place.” Anastasia paused.

“I don’t know if I want to show you now.” She replied petulantly.

Luke smirked and got off his feet in one graceful sweep of his legs. Despite his inability to channel the force, his intensive physical training had honed his body to near perfection and nothing was going to take that away from him.

“Now, now. There’s no reason to act like that.” He walked over to face her. “Why don’t you show me your world?” Luke asked.

She glared at him for a moment.

“You think just like the others, don’t you? You think I’m just some pretty woman with no brains, don’t you?”

“No I don’t.” he answered simply.

She gazed into his eyes.

“You’re telling the truth.” She whispered.

“You’re used to men lying to you, I understand that.” He nodded.

“Do you?” She snapped.

“I do.” He replied simply. “My father, my mentor, my teacher - They all lied to me.” He added darkly. “But in the end, I could not let that define who I was, believe me, that road is long dark and leads to ruin.”

Anastasia watched him as he spoke. She nodded slowly.

“There’s more to you than meets the eye isn’t there?”

Luke smiled and it was a boyish almost shy smile.

“You could say that. I’ve been asleep for a very long time. I’ve just woken up from a very bad dream only to step into this.”

“Then let me help you out of that sleep, Luke.” She replied and offered an arm. He slipped his into hers and turned to Artoo.

“Artoo, let’s take a walk.”





Their steps echoed on the meticulously carved green marble floor. The corridor led to a round walkway that encircled a beautiful pool of cool blue water. The pool itself was enormous and rippled softly as a small waterfall gurgled above them, running down one end of the circular enclosure into the water below.

“It’s beautiful.” Luke breathed.

“Darkstar had this created to mirror the Still Pool of Avanus.”

“What is that?”

“The Still pool was a monument created by the people of Avanus to remember one of their greatest philosophers. He urged them to give up their war like ways and embrace peace and reflection. He was so persuasive his people embraced this and disbanded their fleets and armies and became a world of artists and philosophers.”

“That’s beautiful.”

Anastasia nodded.

“They were assimilated by the Borg a decade later.” She added coolly.

Luke blinked.

“Life is funny that way, Luke.” She sighed and ran her hand along the marble railing.

“When you take selected portions of history you can certainly make it look that way.” Luke countered, following her along the railing.

“How so?”

“The Vulcans for instance, gave up a war like past and embraced logic and they have prospered.” Luke noted as he watched the play of water below.

“Under the protection of the Federation and their Starfleet. Peace for peace’s sake has always led down the path to –” she stopped herself short and watched him closely. “Forget it, let’s go on.” She waved him elegantly to follow.

Luke walked after her, Artoo trundling along obediently, whistling to himself contentedly now that he was reunited with his master. It did not matter to the droid that they were in the heart of an enemy fortress, all that mattered was that they were back together. Besides, Master Luke would find a way out of this prison. He always did.

Anastasia led him through endless chambers displaying artwork from hundreds of civilized worlds, many crafted by races long since dead or vanished. Luke absorbed the relics, knick knacks and antiques that were carefully arranged in massive gallery like displays in the great rotundas that made up the interior of the massive palace. It in of itself a relic as well, as Anastasia relayed its history as the palace of the first emperor to rule this planet long ago before Orion pirates landed and used it as a base of operations.

Luke walked through silent halls with portraits of leaders, religious holy men, madmen and aliens lining each wall. Some of the portraits watched him intently, some spoke to him others would vanish from sight as their photoreceptive paint required light to be seen and his shadow fell over them.

He had not seen such treasures collected in one place since his tours of Palpatine’s estates on Coruscant. He also saw these collections for what they truly where. A quadrant’s history and culture stolen by an insane crime lord for sheer pleasure. It made his stomach turn thinking of all that was lost hidden away in these beautiful halls, all of it at the mercy of a mad man.

She led him through an armory with weapons of all manner, shape and form behind force fields. He had a vague hope of seeing his lightsaber mounted here but Darkstar seemed to be true to his word. No sign of his blade anywhere, though he did see and Imperial stromtrooper’s blaster mounted in the newer wing of the armory, as well as a helmet.

Anastasia noted that Darkstar was in the market for a full set of armor.

As they entered yet another level of the estate she turned to look at Luke for a moment and smiled softly.

“I want to show you my favorite item in his collection.”

“What is it? A rare and unique cultural artifact that belongs back with its people?” Luke asked sardonically.

She frowned.

“You’ll see.” She promised and led him through a set of double doors and into a quiet dark room with only one object in it. At first Luke thought it was a tree from the shape and size in the shadows but as they drew closer he saw that it was actually a massive crystal formation growing right out of the marble floor and stretching up right towards the cavernous ceiling overhead.

“These crystals were brought back from the ice world of Mafice IV on the very rim of known space in the Alpha Quadrant. It took Darkstar’s expedition 2 years to and back at high warp to bring them here.” The crystals spiraled upwards like DNA strands, a rainbow of colors running through the faceted structure.

“I’ve seen crystals like this on Scythia.”

“Really?” she smirked and walked over to the base of the crystals and lightly tapped the base.

Luke’s eyes widened as he slowly looked up. Sound reverberated along the crystal, the resonance growing exponentially as it rose along the crystal. Anastasia’s light tap grew into a virtual symphony and deep within the crystals lights exploded in accompaniment to the sounds.

Luke watched the show in wonder and delight. Anastasia watched him quietly, as if measuring him up. His face, a mask of quiet strength slipped and she saw something else, something surprising. He was suddenly a young boy lost in amazement at a wonder of nature. The dangerous warrior’s stance he carried with him softened.

“It’s beautiful.” He breathed as the sound slowly died down after reaching the summit of the crystal spire.

“Of all his possessions, this one is my favorite.” She added.

“It’s a toy, a big overcomplicated toy.”

“Aye.”

Luke slowly turned his head to regard the twin bodyguards that were tasked with shadowing him. He sized them up quickly and noted with some chagrin that in his state and condition, they would most likely kill him. They moved like jungle cats, each one keeping the other in their peripheral vision as they approached.

Despite their casual saunter he could see from the supple motion of their taut muscles that they could strike instantly, switch to combat mode in mere moments. He also detected something else, something not right about these two. Something about them reminded him of his father of all things. He could not place his finger on it.

“Dee. Dum. Do you mind?” Anastasia sighed.

“You taken a fancy to this fancy pants Sith lord?” Dee asked snidely as he circled her like a wolf.

“Or are you just bored, mademoiselle? Perhaps I can offer you something to recreate with?” Dum added without missing a beat.

Luke noticed the way they moved, almost as if in tandem. They must have been training together for many years. But that wasn’t quite right was it? He shook his head. He could not maintain focused enough to carry his observations to their ultimate conclusions. This would be far more difficult than he thought.

“Maybe you’d like to leave the lady alone.” Luke said tightly.

Dee and Dum froze in mid-stride simultaneously. Perfectly simultaneously. Something about that was setting off warning bells in Luke’s head but nothing could stop his thoughts from melting into the shadowy recessed of his mind.

“Maybe we’d like to teach you a little lesson.” Dee snapped.

“A lesson about respect.” Dum finished.

Luke did not see the attack coming. He had been waiting for the warning twinge from the force and the slight tensing of their muscles. Instead he heard the sharp metallic clack of the pain pike as its metallic segments extended instantly and slammed into his chin catapulting him off his feet where he landed on his back with a thud.

Dum was by his side almost as he landed and placed the pain pike against his throat where the bladed end crackled with the harsh yellow energy of the pain delivery system. Luke caught his breath for a moment and tried to understand what had just happened.

“You may be some uber warrior without that collar, Sith lord.”

Dee was right beside Luke now, he had been standing several meters away between the blinks of Luke’s eyes. Dee placed his own pain pike against Luke’s throat from his side.

“But with that little trinket my sweet, you’re just another rube that needs to be taught respect.” Dee finished.

“Damnit, would you too just leave him alone!” Anastasia called out and rushed over to Luke. She knelt by him and glared at the twin killers. “You two just love showing off. Easy for you two to beat him up with this damned thing on.” She touched the collar. “But I didn’t see you too so eager to deal with him when he didn’t have it on.”

“And we’re dumb enough to fall for that one, luv?”

“Oui, we are not dumb, mademoiselle. That one is the oldest trick in the book.”

They retracted their pain pikes, the metal segments shooting back up into the control rod where both Dee and Dum twirled the rod and effortlessly slipped it on to their belts. Luke’s eyes narrowed on their hands.

They had snapped the pain pikes and holstered them in absolutely perfect precision.

“Now get out of here. Darkstar said that he was free to move through his palace.”

“That he is.”

“Until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Luke muttered.

“Yes, governor, tomorrow.”

“You think that Darkstar wanted you for your good looks? He saw your performance against those Klingons back in the early days of the war.”

“The Klingons?” Luke replied and slowly got up into a semi sitting position. Thoughts were too clouded now, too much information was passing him by that he knew he would have anticipated by now if not for this damned fog.

“Yes, he saw what you did to them.”

“And he wants you to entertain him.”

“No.” Anastasia snapped. “That can’t be right.”

Dee and Dum exchanged a chilling smile.

“Take a look at the arena, luv.”

“It is being prepped for a demonstration tomorrow.”

“He wants me to fight?” Luke asked in confusion. What was happening? He needed focus, time alone.

“He’s gettin’ it even with the collar.”

“He’s a smart lad.”

“I won’t fight for his pleasure.” Luke stated with grim resolve.

Dee and Dum shrugged simultaneously.

“Then you die.” They replied in unison and walked away from them.

Luke said nothing as he got up smoothly from the floor. Artoo whistled something to Luke.

“What was that? Cybernetics?”

“I thought you would have guessed that already but I forget about this thing.” Anastasia noted as she eyed the collar with distaste.

“I didn’t notice anything obvious.”

“They’re the best money can buy. After Darkstar was through with them there wasn’t a natural bone left in their bodies. Their tendons, cartilage, muscles, bones, everything about them is cybernetic implants, kriegswire tendons, laminate plated bones, even their damned brains have been linked with some sort of combat computer.”

“Making their moves smooth and in synch like a machine.” Luke said with a rueful shake of his head.

Anastasia didn’t say anything else for a long moment. She paced slowly back and forth.

“All my sins remembered.” Luke muttered.

“What?” She asked.

“Back when I was Darth Nemesis, I reveled in what I could do. I also knew that by spreading fear I could assure victory far quicker than by simple brute force. I slaughtered millions, billions even and I would proudly display what I did for all to see in the hope that the fear it would inspire would cripple this galaxy.” Luke explained. “My battle with the hundred greatest Klingon warriors in their empire was broadcast to the far reaches of your galaxy.”

“I remember watching it. Darkstar set it up so that everyone could see it, he considered it pure entertainment. He loved what you did to the Federation, Romulans and Klingons. He urged you on and had conquest festivals in the Great Gardens to celebrate the fall of the old order. But things changed when he watched you in action against those Klingons. Something in his eyes as he saw the reaction of the crowd to your fighting.”

“And in my pride, I started the path to my own downfall and imprisonment here.” Luke realized. The universe seemed to have a way of ensuring that all prices were exacted eventually for actions taken.

Anastasia stepped up to Luke and placed a silken hand on his cheek.

“He will make you fight, Luke. And I know what you’re going to say, you think because he values you that he won’t harm you but you don’t know him. The lengths to what he will go.”

“I can’t fight as someone’s slave, Anastasia. I won’t. I have a mission to complete.”

“What’s more important than your life?”

“Saving this galaxy. I have so much to atone for.” He answered his voice dropping slightly as he contemplated briefly the depths of his crimes.

Anastasia shook her head and turned away from him.

“Anastasia.”

“Just leave me alone.” She replied and started to walk away from him quickly, pushing open a set of double doors as she started to pick up her pace. Luke followed after her and Artoo whistled hesitantly before following.

“Anastasia, please. What is it?”

She turned suddenly on her heel and Luke had to stop short or he would have run right into her.

“I didn’t want to like you. I was just looking for some company. I’m very bored here with just Darkstar and his lackeys and I thought maybe you would make some interesting company.” She hissed angrily.

“I’m sorry.” Luke had no idea what else to say.

“You have no idea what its like being stuck here, year after year and watching things come and go with no relief in sight.”

“You sound like you’ve been here for decades or a lifetime, Anastasia. If there’s one thing I know for certain, collar or not, you are not an old woman.” He said softly and smiled at her.

“That’s just it Luke. I am.” She replied darkly.

Luke was confused.

“I don’t understand.”

Anastasia wordlessly took his hand and guided him through several more massive rooms and into a main hall where holoportraits floated serenely among meticulously kept gardens and soft running streams. She led him to several portraits in particular and pointed to one of an older man with thinning red hair and a royal cloak of purple over a rich and elegant white tunic.

Luke’s eyes narrowed on the man’s face.

“He must be Darkstar’s father. The resemblance is uncanny.”

She waited for his eyes to naturally follow to the next portrait and there was an older stately woman wrapped in a beautiful dress of flowing blue. She was looking out from the portrait with an intensity that drew you to her eyes.

“By the Force.” Luke breathed and his head whipped around to look at Anastasia then back at the portrait. “Tell me that’s your mother.”

She shook her head slowly and sighed.

“No. And that is not Darkstar’s father.”

“But how…”

“Darkstar recently came upon another discovery, a man not so unique and not so entertaining but he had in his possession a drug we dubbed the Methuselah Draught. Darkstar went from being an ailing man in his late 60’s to a young man in his late 20’s. He keeps the man here now, under lock and key to make sure he always has the Draught ready for him.”

“This is amazing.” Luke breathed still looking between the portrait and Anastasia.

“Not so for me.” Anastasia replied and her shoulders sagged. Luke stepped over to her and placed hands on her shoulders.

“What is it?” He asked looking into her eyes.

“Don’t you see what this means, Luke?” she asked in despair. “As I grew older I had hope Luke, hope that I would one day die and be free of this place. Now with this Draught I shall be his prisoner for all eternity.” She said softly eyes brimming with tears.

Luke looked back at the portrait of the old man and could see the insanity clearly evident in his younger self’s eyes hidden behind a wrinkled and tired face. He looked at Anastasia’s portrait, intense gaze an expression of defiance and grace all at the same time.

He steeled himself and looked back into Anastasia’s eyes.

“You listen to me, Anastasia. I am going to get us out of here. No matter what the cost.” He tightened his grip on her shoulders and she looked into his eyes. “We will be free.”


She fell into his arms and sobbed into his chest and Luke held her there for a long time in the cold hall surrounded by the artificial gardens of a madman.

The image was captured by one of the myriad hidden cameras in the palace and a figure watched the exchange for a long moment, fingers drumming incessantly on one command keyboard.

“Good.” He murmured. “Good.”




“I have no idea HOW you talked me into this.” Leia spat angrily as she regarded herself in the mirror in sickbay.

“I have to admit green is flattering.” Kirk replied.

Wedge tried his best not to stare too obviously.

“This is some of my best work if I may say so.” McCoy added with a proud smile. The EMH did a double take. “With some fine assistance of course.” McCoy added with a playful wink.

The EMH grumbled something unintelligible.

“Is this really necessary?” Leia asked as she turned to examine her back. Her flesh was an emerald shade of green. She wore a simple gown but her outfit was waiting for her on a hangar beside her. It was less than flattering, garish actually and most importantly embarrassing.

“Unfortunately Princess the Orions are a strictly male dominated organization. The syndicates would look very unfavorably to Captain Kirk’s attempt to infiltrate them with a human female at his side.” Spock explained.

“The Orions however have used the Animal women of their home world as a badge of status, the more beautiful and feral the greater his standing among other Orions is.” Entebbe continued.

“With the abolition of slavery in the surrounding systems and the Federation’s dim view of this sort of thing only the most powerful and daring syndicate lords still maintain a harem of slave girls.” Sulu added.

“But must I dress like this? This is bordering on the obscene.” Leia protested as she touched the metallic bikini that she was to wear.

“One Orion woman’s obscenity is another man’s delight.” Kirk added with a playful wink.

Leia shot him a withering gaze.

“Don’t get any ideas flyboy and I’ll be drawn and quartered before I call you master in front of anyone.” She replied hotly.

“No need for that, most Orion women use their bodies to speak.” Entebbe noted and hid his grin by placing a hand over his chin.

“And now for my piece de resistance.” McCoy announced and lightly dabbed something behind Leia’s neck.

“He did not even try to emulate a French accent.” The EMH grumbled.

“And?” Wedge replied, not able to keep his eyes off Leia.

“Well if you’re going to use a French phrase at least try to emulate the accent. It’s common linguistic courtesy.” The EMH replied sardonically. He noticed Wedge was no longer paying attention and rolled his eyes.

“My god, she’s gorgeous.” Wedge exclaimed.

Leia’s eyes widened and she turned around suddenly to face him.

“Wedge Antilles you mind your---” she stopped short as she suddenly noticed Captain Entebbe and Kirk leering at her.

“What the hell is going on here?” She demanded and defensively placed an arm across her chest. Only Spock seemed unmoved. McCoy nodded to the female nurses that were suddenly flanking each man and they injected a hypo into each one’s bicep. As suddenly as the change came over them they blinked for a moment in disorientation and returned to normal. All save Wedge who was as red as an apple and quickly excused himself.

“My deepest apologies, princess. I would never have reacted in that manner, I just have no idea what came over me.”

“This came over you, Wedge.” McCoy held up the small vial of pinkish liquid that he had dabbed behind Leia’s neck.

“Orion animal women make use of a very powerful aphrodisiac pheromone that makes them renown across the galaxy for their sexual aggression and skill.” Spock noted as he eyed the vial with interest. “Males, particularly human males have very strong reactions to the pheromones, oddly enough, Orion males have developed an immunity to this pheromone in their evolution.” Spock contemplated this for a moment. “This development would be worthy of a paper on the subject.”

McCoy chuckled softly and shook his head.

“Spock, you always live up to my expectations of you.”

“Oh?”

“You can suck the joy out of even the most erotic topic my green blooded friend.” McCoy noted with an arched eyebrow.

“And how do we intend to carry out this mission without this bunch drooling all over me?” Leia asked with a smirk.

“Easy. I have distilled a counter agent to the pheromones, essentially deadening the sensory nerve endings that detect the pheromone. It’s effective for six hours.” McCoy handed each of the men a hypo. “I would make sure you inject yourself well before it wears off, in a confined space with the princess you may be overwhelmed.”

“And then I would have to overwhelm you the hard way.” Leia added dangerously.

“Wedge, are we all set?” Kirk asked.

“Yes sir. My squadron will hyper out to the rendezvous point where we will wait for your signal. Then we’ll come in and eliminate any orbital defenses and ships.”

“We have to do this fast. If Darkstar gets wind of what we’re going to do he could blow the hypermatter tech and kill Luke in a matter of minutes. Chancellor Worf?”

“Captain?”

“Are you with me on this?”

Worf nodded.

“I did not fight hard to lose this technology to a band of pirates without honor. Wedge’s squadron will be joined by my fastest Birds of Prey. I will accompany you personally to the palace as your ally.”

“Can you act like a Klingon that has abandoned his empire for pay?” Kirk asked seriously.

“This will not be the first time I have had to act like something I am most certainly not.”

“Excellent. The rest of you know the plan. Now let’s meet down at the hangar deck and we’ll insert in three hours. Alright people, let’s move like we have a purpose.” Kirk ordered and the assembled crew quickly dispersed.

McCoy handed Leia the vial.

“Princess you need to apply this every 10 hours of the effects wear off and even though Orion males are immune they still smell it as a sweet perfume on the animal women. If you don’t smell like one there will be some tough questions for Jim and you to answer.”

“Understood doctor.” She replied and examined the vial closely.

“For maximum and optimal effect I would apply a single dab to key points on your body.”

“Key points?”

McCoy looked around for a moment and leaned in closely and whispered something into Leia’s ear. Her eyes grew wider and wider as he spoke. He finally stepped back.

“And how am I supposed to reach the last spot?” she asked darkly. McCoy shrugged.

“Perhaps Captain Kirk could be of assistance. He seems most taken with you pheromones or not.” The EMH offered helpfully.

Leia shook her head and stalked into the changing area with her ‘uniform.’ As she slammed the privacy screen down she exclaimed. “How did he talk me into this?”

“Perhaps he’s taken with him as well?” The EMH noted to McCoy.

“A word of advice my luminous friend. If you want to avoid deletion I would keep those observations to myself.” McCoy said with an ominous laugh.

The EMH looked confused.

“Deletion?” he squeaked.

[Ghost Rider]

Huzzah...Orion Slave Leia!

(and if you're wondering I read this in the cleaned version before this one came up...so no, no 2 sec reading skills here)

Well the whole Darkstar/Luke bit is okay, just a bit of setting more or less, still nice chapter nothing grand as the past couple, but it's paced well and I can see this as a part of the set up for the finale. A nice calm before the storm if you will

[Stravo]

The thing I hate about chapters like this is that there is so much exposition I have to get out of the way before I get into the meat of the story. So this chapter is a neccessary evil so evreyone gets maximum enjoyment later on in the coming chapters.

[El Moose Monstero]

Good chapter for what it is, though, as you said, not much in the way of meaty stuff, but important build up, nonetheless.

[Darth Fanboy]

meh, I dont think I care for the Luke/Darkstar plotline, not that it isn't well written but I can't mentally get into this part of the story.

[Comosicus]

“You’ll forgive me if I am not impressed, and I don’t just mean because I don’t know what Gen-ko is.” Luke replied with a smirk.

I'm from this galaxy, but I know as little as Luke about Gen-ko...

Can anyone enlighten me?


Good thing I switched from the cleaned section ... or I would have missed this chapter ....

[Ghost Rider]

“You’ll forgive me if I am not impressed, and I don’t just mean because I don’t know what Gen-ko is.” Luke replied with a smirk.

I'm from this galaxy, but I know as little as Luke about Gen-ko...

Can anyone enlighten me?


Good thing I switched from the cleaned section ... or I would have missed this chapter ....

Mosat likely a martial art from Trek that Stravo heard in an episode or made up.

Also this chapter was in the cleaned section before this one.

[Comosicus]

I wonder what would happen when Leia meets Mara Jade ...

[HRogge]

Wait a moment, they have given Luke access to an R2 unit ? Let's hope ( for Darkstar ) they "disarmed" it... if not it would become an interesting time.

Luke: "Artoo, get out the bolt cutter..."

[Comosicus]

He looked down and noted the black metallic bands wrapped tightly around the droid, in essence locking down all his tool compartments. “What have they done to you? Are you Okay?”

He should first deactivate the traps on r2 and release his tools ... if he can focus enough

[HRogge]

He should first deactivate the traps on r2 and release his tools ... if he can focus enough

How long do you think would these "bands" hold when Artoo decides to burn/saw a new hole for a tool from the inside ? *G*

[Comosicus]

I don't remeber exactly from the movies how were those little hatches of R2 opening ... maybe they can't open because of the bands ...

However, I don't think this will be like in ROTJ ... this time R2 has no lightsaber concealed inside him... or does he?

I still think it will be something about all the people coming for Luke .... Kirk, Leia, Mara .... things WILL get messy in my opinion

[Captain Cyran]

“You can suck the joy out of even the most erotic topic my green blooded friend.” McCoy noted with an arched eyebrow.

Hehehe, great line.

Good chapter, not an action one but it's a good filler. I can't wait to see Luke kick some tweedle dee and tweedle dum ass.