Fic: Veil of Shadows, 5/13, PG-13
Title: Veil of Shadows
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Category: AU, angst, romance
Timeframe: OT; around time of ANH
Summary: A strange tale where the good guys are bad, the Empire has won, and a Sith adept pursues the girl of his nightmares.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
~~
5. Monsters
Luke stared down at the inscription outside of the tomb. It was written in an older form of Basic, but after the first few words he realized it was a passage he’d been drilled on many times over the years.
Peace is a lie. There is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
He wondered if the ancient Sith Lords had considered love to be a form of passion. He had never been taught to use romantic passion in his training. When he returned to Imperial Center, could he just claim that since he was pursuing his object of his desires, he was only adding to his strength?
Luke shook his head. Something didn’t sound right about that, but he wasn’t sure what. Maybe it was the fact that he was still disobeying by leaving the capital. Maybe it was because he had never once seen the Emperor or Darth Vader display any emotion that could be described as love. Interest and respect, yes. Admiration, maybe. But never love.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Luke frowned as the inscription ended. He studied the tablet for a moment, kneeling in the dirt. After a few more seconds of scrutiny, he wiped away a thick layer of dust, revealing the last two lines.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Those last words had always struck him as strange. It seemed to imply that all but the Sith Master were in bondage. On some level, he supposed it was true, but there was a part of him that rebelled at the idea. Maybe it was that part of him that had caused him to come here.
He examined the footprints in the dirt. Whoever had come through here recently had not stopped to look at any of the tombs. The tombs themselves were, for the most part, blocked off by debris. Many of the grand structures that lined the canyon walls were in ruin. No, the latest visitor to the Valley of the Dark Lords hadn’t stayed long.
Luke squinted at the tablet before looking up the horizon. The sun was gone from the sky, but some of its pale light remained, coloring the sky in shades of blue and lavender. Luke spared one last glance at the tomb and the tablet before continuing down the wide pathway between the monuments.
~~
Mara sat in the cave, examining the holoproj she’d been foolish enough to drop. Of the numerous items that had fallen from her rucksack the day before, this was the only one she had spared a second to recover. It had nearly cost her her life.
And the damn thing was broken.
The outside was only dented, but the inside was a mess. The circuit board had dislodged and completely shattered the focusing mirrors. After a few more minutes of tinkering, Mara threw the device over her shoulder in disgust.
A shriek echoed through the cave, and Mara jumped to her feet, blaster in hand. She turned in the direction of the sound and crept forward, keeping her weapon raised to her right shoulder. As she came to the mouth of the cave, she could see that it was nearly dark; the sun had already dipped below the horizon. She picked the smashed holoproj up off the ground and tucked it into her jacket pocket. Wouldn’t do to leave any clues for her pursuer.
Another shriek split the night, and Mara ducked instinctively as something large flew over her head. Mara rounded on the creature, aiming her blaster to take a shot.
It was some kind of bat-like creature with no visible eyes, long razor-like teeth, and the ugliest mug she’d ever seen on anything that flew. She fired off a shot as it swooped back over her. The laser didn’t slow it down much, and it turned to come after her again.
“Fine,” she muttered, drawing her lightsaber with her left hand. As the creature dove at her, she pivoted to the left and swept upward with her blade. The magenta beam passed neatly through the creature, cutting it into two pieces that thudded to the ground. Both pieces convulsed for a few seconds before going still.
Mara returned her blaster to its holster and shifted her saber to her right hand. The air around her suddenly seemed to crackle with a dark frenzy, and warning spikes shot up her spine. Though the sky was growing steadily darker, the ground where she stood seemed to be bathed in an even deeper shadow. Mara looked up and discovered the source of the shadow.
At least two dozen of those winged creatures were circling overhead. Mara held her lightsaber up like a shield, and every single one of the creatures plunged toward her.
~~
The hunter had returned to its tomb, waiting for dawn, waiting for the monsters to crawl back to their lairs. There was no reason to fight them off. If the hunter could not have the girl, those dark creatures could feed on her blood.
The hunter felt the surge in vicious, mindless joy that always came when the monsters attacked. It was the promise of food, the promise of blood. This time the blood was rich in the Force. The monsters would enjoy a special treat tonight, one they had probably not indulged in since the time of their ancestors. The hunter smiled at the thought of a tradition renewed.
Tomorrow the hunter would leave the cave and make sure the girl was dead. If she was not, then the hunter would continue its pursuit. One way or another, the hunter would win.
~~
The disturbance was sudden and overwhelming, striking Luke as he plodded through the immense valley. Where before there had been a not-quite-peaceful silence in the Force, there was now a loud, unrelenting delirium. Spurred on by the agitation in the air, Luke began to run down the wide path, his focus on the little trail that led out of the canyon toward what looked like a series of caves. He reached out mentally, trying to gain a clearer picture of what was pouring this chaos into the Force. He saw a flash of leathery brown skin, a piercing magenta light, and green eyes.
Luke growled wordlessly and demanded more power from his legs, sprinting toward the caves and praying it was not too late.
~~
He entered the caves with his eyes closed, trusting the Force to guide him through the darkness. It was hard - he had always had trouble letting go of his other senses. But he felt the Force more clearly here, and he obeyed its whispers. He plowed through the caves without incident, without hesitation, only to realize there was more than one set of caves.
Luke opened his eyes and found himself standing on the edge of a precipice. To his right was a natural bridge that connected this ledge to the next series of caves. On the other side was a flock of hideous winged creatures circling around one figure.
The Emperor’s Hand.
Luke ran across the narrow bridge, igniting his lightsaber in the process. With a war cry that might have disturbed even Leia, he plunged into the middle of the fray, his crimson blade skewering and slicing through the monsters. He caught a glimpse of magenta before it was swallowed up by the creatures’ brown wings. Luke hacked the heads off of two of them as they passed on either side of him.
The rest of the monsters broke off their attack and descended on their fallen companions. Luke took a step back and watched as the remaining eight creatures fed on their dead. His face twisted in a grimace as the stench met his nostrils. He looked up to see the Emperor’s Hand staring back at him, her green eyes livid. Without a word she turned and fled into the cave. Luke skirted the feeding animals and chased after her into the darkness.
~~
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Category: AU, angst, romance
Timeframe: OT; around time of ANH
Summary: A strange tale where the good guys are bad, the Empire has won, and a Sith adept pursues the girl of his nightmares.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
~~
5. Monsters
Luke stared down at the inscription outside of the tomb. It was written in an older form of Basic, but after the first few words he realized it was a passage he’d been drilled on many times over the years.
Peace is a lie. There is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
He wondered if the ancient Sith Lords had considered love to be a form of passion. He had never been taught to use romantic passion in his training. When he returned to Imperial Center, could he just claim that since he was pursuing his object of his desires, he was only adding to his strength?
Luke shook his head. Something didn’t sound right about that, but he wasn’t sure what. Maybe it was the fact that he was still disobeying by leaving the capital. Maybe it was because he had never once seen the Emperor or Darth Vader display any emotion that could be described as love. Interest and respect, yes. Admiration, maybe. But never love.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Luke frowned as the inscription ended. He studied the tablet for a moment, kneeling in the dirt. After a few more seconds of scrutiny, he wiped away a thick layer of dust, revealing the last two lines.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Those last words had always struck him as strange. It seemed to imply that all but the Sith Master were in bondage. On some level, he supposed it was true, but there was a part of him that rebelled at the idea. Maybe it was that part of him that had caused him to come here.
He examined the footprints in the dirt. Whoever had come through here recently had not stopped to look at any of the tombs. The tombs themselves were, for the most part, blocked off by debris. Many of the grand structures that lined the canyon walls were in ruin. No, the latest visitor to the Valley of the Dark Lords hadn’t stayed long.
Luke squinted at the tablet before looking up the horizon. The sun was gone from the sky, but some of its pale light remained, coloring the sky in shades of blue and lavender. Luke spared one last glance at the tomb and the tablet before continuing down the wide pathway between the monuments.
~~
Mara sat in the cave, examining the holoproj she’d been foolish enough to drop. Of the numerous items that had fallen from her rucksack the day before, this was the only one she had spared a second to recover. It had nearly cost her her life.
And the damn thing was broken.
The outside was only dented, but the inside was a mess. The circuit board had dislodged and completely shattered the focusing mirrors. After a few more minutes of tinkering, Mara threw the device over her shoulder in disgust.
A shriek echoed through the cave, and Mara jumped to her feet, blaster in hand. She turned in the direction of the sound and crept forward, keeping her weapon raised to her right shoulder. As she came to the mouth of the cave, she could see that it was nearly dark; the sun had already dipped below the horizon. She picked the smashed holoproj up off the ground and tucked it into her jacket pocket. Wouldn’t do to leave any clues for her pursuer.
Another shriek split the night, and Mara ducked instinctively as something large flew over her head. Mara rounded on the creature, aiming her blaster to take a shot.
It was some kind of bat-like creature with no visible eyes, long razor-like teeth, and the ugliest mug she’d ever seen on anything that flew. She fired off a shot as it swooped back over her. The laser didn’t slow it down much, and it turned to come after her again.
“Fine,” she muttered, drawing her lightsaber with her left hand. As the creature dove at her, she pivoted to the left and swept upward with her blade. The magenta beam passed neatly through the creature, cutting it into two pieces that thudded to the ground. Both pieces convulsed for a few seconds before going still.
Mara returned her blaster to its holster and shifted her saber to her right hand. The air around her suddenly seemed to crackle with a dark frenzy, and warning spikes shot up her spine. Though the sky was growing steadily darker, the ground where she stood seemed to be bathed in an even deeper shadow. Mara looked up and discovered the source of the shadow.
At least two dozen of those winged creatures were circling overhead. Mara held her lightsaber up like a shield, and every single one of the creatures plunged toward her.
~~
The hunter had returned to its tomb, waiting for dawn, waiting for the monsters to crawl back to their lairs. There was no reason to fight them off. If the hunter could not have the girl, those dark creatures could feed on her blood.
The hunter felt the surge in vicious, mindless joy that always came when the monsters attacked. It was the promise of food, the promise of blood. This time the blood was rich in the Force. The monsters would enjoy a special treat tonight, one they had probably not indulged in since the time of their ancestors. The hunter smiled at the thought of a tradition renewed.
Tomorrow the hunter would leave the cave and make sure the girl was dead. If she was not, then the hunter would continue its pursuit. One way or another, the hunter would win.
~~
The disturbance was sudden and overwhelming, striking Luke as he plodded through the immense valley. Where before there had been a not-quite-peaceful silence in the Force, there was now a loud, unrelenting delirium. Spurred on by the agitation in the air, Luke began to run down the wide path, his focus on the little trail that led out of the canyon toward what looked like a series of caves. He reached out mentally, trying to gain a clearer picture of what was pouring this chaos into the Force. He saw a flash of leathery brown skin, a piercing magenta light, and green eyes.
Luke growled wordlessly and demanded more power from his legs, sprinting toward the caves and praying it was not too late.
~~
He entered the caves with his eyes closed, trusting the Force to guide him through the darkness. It was hard - he had always had trouble letting go of his other senses. But he felt the Force more clearly here, and he obeyed its whispers. He plowed through the caves without incident, without hesitation, only to realize there was more than one set of caves.
Luke opened his eyes and found himself standing on the edge of a precipice. To his right was a natural bridge that connected this ledge to the next series of caves. On the other side was a flock of hideous winged creatures circling around one figure.
The Emperor’s Hand.
Luke ran across the narrow bridge, igniting his lightsaber in the process. With a war cry that might have disturbed even Leia, he plunged into the middle of the fray, his crimson blade skewering and slicing through the monsters. He caught a glimpse of magenta before it was swallowed up by the creatures’ brown wings. Luke hacked the heads off of two of them as they passed on either side of him.
The rest of the monsters broke off their attack and descended on their fallen companions. Luke took a step back and watched as the remaining eight creatures fed on their dead. His face twisted in a grimace as the stench met his nostrils. He looked up to see the Emperor’s Hand staring back at him, her green eyes livid. Without a word she turned and fled into the cave. Luke skirted the feeding animals and chased after her into the darkness.
~~