Reegar

[Chapter Three]

Prisoners rushed from captivity, down the corridor, and threw themselves into battle. Leia supposed some would find palace personnel willing to release the det-shackles in exchange for their lives. The four rebels soon followed the trail of bodies and wreckage until they reached a circular grate in the floor. Chewie carried Han and Lando in either arm, while Leia led the way into waist-deep liquid that eventually rose above her chest. She felt nauseous the whole distance, and sympathized with the men's feeble complaints.

Sunlight blinded them. Leia stepped aside and Chewie kicked open the gate, which tumbled through air and crashed hundreds of meters below. 

"Where are those droids?" Leia leaned over the edge and looked around to see empty air and desert. She tried them over the comlink, but received silence. Minutes passed. 

"Anything might've happened to them. We have to move out."

They faced the cliff wall and walked sideways on an outcropping. She prayed to the Force that Chewie could manage his heavy load and cling safely to the jutting rocks. Leia was dizzy by the time they reached flat land. A hijacked skiff from Mos Espa awaited them nearby, but the deck was empty.

Han squinted up at the craft, frowning, apparently at a loss for quips. Lando had slumped over and gone silent a while ago, much to Leia's anxiety.

A shadow crossed over them. They looked up to see a figure silhouetted against the sun. It floated in place for a few moments, and then descended. Leia's already weakened stomach twisted in a knot. She recognized the armor well before he landed. 

"Those droids," Boba Fett said. "Are now property of Jabba."

The bounty hunter stood between them and their skiff, posture casual, hand on the holster of his blaster.

[Chapter Two]

Prisoners shouted curses at the intruder, and rattled their cages like trapped animals. The dungeons had gone from quiet to frantic at the pull of a trigger.

They starved him. Leia felt her heart sink. 

Han Solo seemed to have aged years in the space of weeks. He sported a beard, blood-shot eyes, and wrinkles.

"Who are you?" Han looked from his four stunned cellmates on the floor to the masked humanoid crouched in front of him.

She slid off the helmet and shook loose her hair. "Your favorite princess."

They kissed. Shackles weighed down his hands, but she pulled him close.

"How long have I been out of commission?"

"I'll explain everything when we're clear of this hell. Get up," She helped him to his feet.

"These things have detonators built in. We'll turn to splatter if I get too far from the palace."

"I know. We brought Artoo to disable the devices."

Blaster fire sounded in the distance, followed by an explosion that rattled the flagstones. Han lost his footing and fell onto Leia. She grunted as she pushed him upright.

"That's Lando and Chewie. They created a diversion on the upper floors, so I could slip down here."

On queue, both Lando and Chewie rounded a corner down the corridor. The wookiee supported the smuggler, who stooped forward, a stain on his front.

Leia squeezed the injured man's shoulder. "How bad is it?"

"Did what we could. Dozens headed down here."

"I think she meant the stab wound, pal," Han eyed his comrades despondently.

Leia, however, felt determined as ever. She had strategized for months, and given up vast resources to see this mission accomplished. 

"Chewie," She said. "Blast these cells open. Every prisoner is to go free."

She next spoke into her comlink before the others could object to the order. "Threepio. You and Artoo rendezvous with us outside the north-eastern tunnel exit."

Lando grunted. "North-eastern tunnel exit? That's a sewage ---"

"Quiet, Lando. Conserve your energy."

Leia took Han and Lando to a shadowed area, where she bandaged the latter enough to stop his bleeding. Chewie went to work.

Anchorhead said:

Maybe they aren't even live-action, or short stories, or any other type of fiction.  It's possible the shows could just be documentaries on the evolution of the character or the cultural impact. 

Didn't think of that. 

I'd be opposed to such a documentary, except we have a sequel trilogy on the horizon. Before the announcement last November, I would see this as revisionist propaganda to further the films being the Tragedy of Darth Vader.

I remember in an interview, James Earl Jones said his first response when he came to that pivotal line was "He's lying!"

The old lore from the late seventies, as you said elsewhere when we talked about "Splinter of the Mind's Eye", is lost these days. It's been reinterpreted as Obi-Wan being a poetic liar. I want to know what it'd be like to continue ESB (since it'd be a total shame to dismiss that masterpiece), painting Vader as the liar instead. We preserve the old lore, along with ESB, where the two have been at odds before.

Hey, by the way, I'll get to posting a few replies on the other thread. Your last two posts there mean I'm basically juggling three continuities in my head (yours, mine, and SOTME which I started this morning). Heh. 

You are correct on every count! 

I shall pay heed to this critique. Importance of clarity can't be overstated.

I want to see how a lumbering, cyborg Vader deals with wall-bouncing hyperactive Jedi. He's going to have to cheat.

^ That outline is more reigned-in and closer to the actual film than expected. I suddenly feel like a heretic with my personal take. 

Chapter One to "The Force Conquers All" is up, in the section suggested by NeverarGreat.

[Chapter One]

"Is Vader my father?"

"What does intuition reveal?"

"My mind's clouded. I feel it's true, but then I feel like he was lying."

"Vader's goal fulfilled. Distorted your bond with the Force, his lies have."

"What a relief."

"Relieved, are you? Your spiritual father, Vader may yet become. His consciousness is here, leeching from us."

~ ~ ~

Luke sat cross-legged in the cave, eyes closed and expression severe with focus. Crystals, mirrors, rods, and wires rotated in mid-air between his hands. The pieces searched for their assigned places, slow as evolution. 

"Anakin was too weak to defeat me."

Luckily, moss cushioned the mirrors. 

He stood and wiped sweat from his brow. The voice was becoming clearer by the hour. Less than one day remained for Luke to construct a lightsaber in the manner of Jedi tradition. He had to employ the Force to overcome and master the physical. Failure meant that Yoda would deny him the possibility of knighthood.

I was a fool to challenge Vader so early, Luke thought. Most apprentices would probably be done by now, but I have an extra obstacle. One I put in my own path.

He let his awareness reach across light-years to find Leia as she neared Tatooine. Could she survive the streets of Mos Espa? What was her plan once she crossed the cruel deserts and entered Jabba's palace? If only he could be there; but he was more dangerous than any mercenary.

[co-conceived by: ray_afraid]

This fan fiction acts as an "AU" (alternate universe) to ROTJ events. I've chosen what I believe to be the best ideas from various forum members, and carefully worked them into something coherent (I hope).

It's aimed at a niche of a niche in the Star Wars fanbase. Maybe you loved the Episode VI we have, and wouldn't change a thing: wonderful, but you'll find yourself out of place while reading. 

A new postcard-sized chapter comes every day or every other day, depending. If you ever find yourself bored, you'll have this to occupy a negligible chunk of your time. 

Two thumbs up to NeverarGreat and Tack.

Is there anyone who would have at least a slight interest in reading a short story that acts as an "alternate universe" to ROTJ? 

Some proposals in this thread can string together for quite an entertaining tale. My word count goal would be 10 - 20,000. Nothing major. Everybody can walk away saving a lot of time if the story turns out less than exceptional.

I'd prefer to know before I start writing that a couple of people besides myself will read it. And maybe those people, if they are feeling gracious and in the mood, will write reviews. 

Ah, yes. . . the pre-ESB universe that has been systematically scattered and buried over these long years. If I excavate and uncover these things, the subsequent storm of nostalgia might wipe the speck that is me off the map.

But it'd be worth the risk. I hear from reliable sources that version of Star Wars is far more beautiful than the one we have now.

All right, I'll stop waxing poetic. I'm playing naive here.

By the way: kudos to the radio drama. ANH was at least good, the other two I don't know.

The actress for Leia had the most ALLURING female voice ever in existence. Vader and Han's took getting used to. Their voices are so radically different from their film counterparts that they feel like reinterpretations of the characters themselves. Obi-Wan sounded precisely the way a Merlin-type needs to sound, incidentally.

We could then go on in great detail about how the drama expanded on everything in the film, sometimes to great effect, with a sprinkling of the arbitrary in places. Overall superb. 10/10.

NeverarGreat said:

 

As far as Luke and Leia being non-siblings, it's curious: What if someone wrote an "alternate" ROTJ fan script or even directed an animated film, and had Luke and Leia romantically paired together? Even if everything in the story was objectively excellent, I suspect the fact they're siblings is too ingrained in fans, and they'd never be able to accept romance between the two. 

 

Strangely, they may be more willing to go for a Jaime/Cersei type romance, if only because "Game of Thrones" is big right now. Check back in two years or so when it loses steam.

 

The book you're looking for is "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" The quasi-romance between them kind of works if you can remember that it was written before Jedi, but I couldn't keep from cringing.

Should I seek professional help if their dynamic ends up titillating me? You'll share at least some blame for the recommendation. 

I'll put it on my To Read list.

Tack said:

Yeah, I get that. I guess I'm just too opposed to Ewoks in general.

I level with you there.

It's a shame we can't go with your plans from the How would you have handled Episode VI (6)? thread: forget Ewoks; Stormtroopers versus uniformed Rebels; Leia saves the day.

aalenfae said:

I was actually just recently wishing that somebody would get a hold of some good Ewok costumes and edit in some more dark ewok battle scenes. 

The contents of my wallet are humble, as of late and into the foreseeable future. But I do have an "entertainment budget", you could call it.

I'd donate money to help your idea happen. The scene has to be of utmost quality to sync with the film, so this big goal will consume money, time, and energy in startling degrees. But if done right, it'll have been worth it.

Bingowings said:

Maybe this thread could be merged with this one?

Thanks for the link.

haraldo23: Han did act like a man who's settled down from his glory days. Some of his grouchiness and wit are retained, thankfully.

Humby: It's partly understandable that the first half hour is so disconnected, plot-wise. To have Han's rescue mission take place off screen or in the pages of an EU book would've been rather cheap.

Ryan McAvoy: Superman III. Do I win something?

Tack: Take the alien primitives out altogether? That would've made the story more "human" and straight-forward. Bah, I still would've had Wookiees. 

As far as Luke and Leia being non-siblings, it's curious: What if someone wrote an "alternate" ROTJ fan script or even directed an animated film, and had Luke and Leia romantically paired together? Even if everything in the story was objectively excellent, I suspect the fact they're siblings is too ingrained in fans, and they'd never be able to accept romance between the two. 

Strangely, they may be more willing to go for a Jaime/Cersei type romance, if only because "Game of Thrones" is big right now. Check back in two years or so when it loses steam.

DuracellEnergizer: Creepy androgyny for the Emperor? Could work, if done in moderation. 

There's a forum member whose signature has links to possible ROTJ alterations for (I think) adywan's upcoming cut. It set me thinking: the biggest hurdle in these edits seems to be grappling with what's possible, impractical, or out of the question, all closely linked to budget. Common sense would say it's very much like film-making. Many awesome suggestions can never see the light of day because of cold, hard reality.

If you had the budget, the team, and presumably the storytelling talent, how would you have handled Episode VI? For example: would you have went for Wookiees instead of Ewoks? Would you have presented the Emperor as we know him, or gone a different route? etc. 

The products of your wide-open imagination are probably doomed to remain hypothetical. But then again . . . maybe the imagination can be the greatest big screen of all.

Compliments to you, sir! =D

DuracellEnergizer said:

 

Reegar said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

 

Bester said:

Only if he has skills with the Force. Otherwise, it would be a pretty one-sided fight.

I'd very much like to see a non-Force using lightsaber weilder who can hold his own against a Jedi. It'd be a refreshing change of pace.

JEDIT: Just saw the image of this new character. It's just another stupid Maul knockoff. God damn this stagnant piece-of-shit franchise.

 

Good point about a non-Force sensitive fighting a Jedi. That's one of the appeals of Batman; he depends on gadgetry, wit, and training to take down super-powered beings.

Ironically enough (or maybe not), I'm kind of sick of Batman - well, the psycho-ninja, "I'm-so-perfect-I-can't-even-kill-someone-by-accident" Batman of the last decade or so. Give me the Bronze Age/early Modern Age/B:TAS Batman anyday.

The Inquisitor may take aesthetic influence from Maul (what's inherently wrong

The problem is that almost all Sith/Dark Jedi are being designed this way. Be it TV series, comics, video games, or whatever have you, the likelihood of coming across some darksider who doesn't like Gene Simmons or Marilyn Manson with a red lightsaber these days is next to impossible.

I want more Exar Kuns, King Ommins, and Lumiyas, less Space Goths.

 

I respect your point of view, sir/mam, and maybe the horror look in these characters has grown a tad stale. What if he had been an innocuous-looking Imperial officer?

Then again, I'm going to wait to gauge my final opinion. If his personality traits and fighting style are in check, we're good to go.

I hope you can still watch this new animated series, even though you've been met with some disappointment already. 

Whether or not Stormtroopers were intended to be clones is rather peripheral to an army of clones during the Clone Wars.

The developers of the next ME game feel that calling it "Mass Effect 4" would be a disservice. Though they refrained from explaining why.

Casey Hudson says that Shepard's story is over, and the next game will be completely detached from any "Shepard events".

Hm. How would they write a sequel to a trilogy with such diverse, all-encompassing endings? Did they canonize one ending over the others? That's going to piss off a lot of fans. BioWare already pissed off thousands of rabid fans, and I think they're going to be more careful about feelings this time. 

Maybe it's a prequel? Well, the problem is that every person and their dog made it abundantly clear on BioWare Social polls and threads that a prequel is a bland idea. 99.99% of people hate the idea of going back to play the First Contact War, the Rachni War, the Krogan Rebellions, for instance, because we supposedly already know how everything in the story turns out. 

This is looking more like a reboot as time goes on.

People in a GFFA sure know how to pack a lot into three years. Nine seasons across two series, plus events from the comics, novels, video games. Talk about time management.

The Falcon is almost as nostalgic to Leia as it is to Han by the end of ROTJ. She'd never demand or even suggest he sell it. 

They'd use that thing until some enemy blew it to millions of pieces.

Please take a deep breath and count backwards from ten before reading. . . (maybe do this a few times if you're quick to anger).

Would it be too morbid to wish for digitally-inserted dead Ewoks? Or, if the producer is even more ambitious: a new death scene for the primitives? We have the one in the hang-glider, yeah, but it'd make the battle more dire and dark with additional casualties.

I always felt the Battle of Endor lacked certain tension. I'm all for the good guys winning, but I want heavy prices for impossible odds. Think in ANH, where Luke does succeed in his mission, but some of his fellow pilots are lost.

Also. An image of the Ewok village burning, in vein of a ravaged Hogwarts in "Deathly Hallows: Part II".

Maybe it's out of line for a non-established member to suggest something like this, but I have given this thought after lurking on the forums for a while. The chance to register and join became irresistible, because I know this forum is a place to express productive, if not sometimes crazy and wild ideas. I have some crazy and wild ideas I had to get out there. 

DuracellEnergizer said:

 

Bester said:

Only if he has skills with the Force. Otherwise, it would be a pretty one-sided fight.

I'd very much like to see a non-Force using lightsaber weilder who can hold his own against a Jedi. It'd be a refreshing change of pace.

JEDIT: Just saw the image of this new character. It's just another stupid Maul knockoff. God damn this stagnant piece-of-shit franchise.

 

Good point about a non-Force sensitive fighting a Jedi. That's one of the appeals of Batman; he depends on gadgetry, wit, and training to take down super-powered beings.

The Inquisitor may take aesthetic influence from Maul (what's inherently wrong?). . . but I'll be cautiously optimistic until I see him in action. I welcome you to the same.