War Journals

[TheDutchman]

Thanks, guys!  I think that there were two real points I wanted to make with this one.

First, the difference between Dark Jedi in battle and Jedi in battle.  Nadia and Anton found herself in a position almost identical to Heditt's in the first installment, but rather than dwelling on the horrors and casualties around her, she barely even noticed, instead worrying only about her goal of revenge.

The second, however, is that Nadia isn't entirely consumed by darkness, but she IS selfish.  She felt remorse for what she did, torturing the despicable Hutt, but as far as she's concerned, Anton murdering a slave girl, Mandalorians executing prisoners and the Raiders assaulting bystanders is all on their respective heads, not hers.


We'all probably get one more installment here before the next chapter of Brothers.  My  intention is to post here whenever I want to write something quick and dirty, and take my time on Brothers, making sure that the content over there is as high quality as possible.

TDC, I'd say that your writing here is of "high quality" 

[TheDrunkenConsular]

RAKHAM CRESCENTFALL

3 BBY

     I hate working alone.  I've always hated working alone.  That's just too bad though, because Tasrii is wounded, Dala is taking care of her, and Berra's on a mission with the twins.  That leaves me.
     I also hate Tattooine.  I've always hated Tattoine.  That's also just too bad, because if the man I'm meeting here is in possession of what he says he is, the Templars need it.  Ten holocrons, supposedly all saved from the Jedi Archives.  I was skeptical at best.

     The instructions were clear.  I was supposed to come into this cantina, ask to rent a specific room that doesn't really exist, go the room the proprietor tells me to and wait there.  I'd been there for two hours, and my skepticism was turning to suspicion.  After pacing back and forth for another two hours, attempting twice to order room service, I decided to take a shower and try to get some rest.  Leaving my clothes and lightsaber on the bed, I wished again that Dala, Tas or Nadia was here, just to keep me company if nothing else. 

     As always, the hot water helped me feel better, and get some of the damn sand out of my beard.  I stood under the water for half an hour, my mind racing.  It was dark outside by the time I finally got out and toweled off.  With a sigh, I slid the manual bathroom door open, and recoiled in horror as a black armored Death Trooper leveled a heavy blaster at me.  I blasted him backwards with a Force push, and slammed the door shut as his blaster bolts missed my head by centimeters.  There was a small window in the upper corner of the room, and by some miracle I managed to squeeze through it, naked as the day I was born and unarmed.  At the same time my feet hit the ground and I started running down the alley,  the Death Troopers broke down the door and began firing out of the window.

     I was long gone by the time they made it outside.  I spent the next few hours trying to find something to cover myself with unsuccessfully, and resigned myself to a freezing midnight walk across the desert.

...

     My feet had never hurt the way they did as I approached the desert house in my entire life.  The lights in the house were all off, and it was still before sunrise, so I didn't feel like taking the risk of waking up the occupant.  I sat down beside the door, planning to wait until he woke up.

...

    The sun was blazing as a rich, hearty laugh woke me,  I squinted up at the old man. 
    "How you doing, Obi-wan?"  I croaked, my throat dry.
    "Much better now that an old friend is visiting, but I must admit, I'm wondering why he's sleeping naked on my doorstep."
    "Imps caught me with my pants down, you could say.  Didn't know where else to go, since they're probably scouring Mos Eisley for a giant naked human.  I don't suppose you'd loan me a cloak?"

...

     Obi-wan tried to talk me out of going back to Mos Eisley after helping me recover my decency, but I wasn't planning on leaving my lightsaber and pendant in an Imperial lockup.  So, I made my way back, and hunted quietly around the city until I found a scrapyard.  I hid out there until the sun went down, and I went to work.  When you have access to a few starship engines, it isn't that hard to build a Khyber crystal furnace.  That was the first step, and it took me all night.  The next night I started forming the crystal.  It didn't need to be fancy; the crystal came out rough and a deep, blood red.  I could have constructed a higher quality green crystal, but it would have taken me three days instead of fourteen hours.  The next night, I scavenged parts to build a hilt.  I had to 'borrow' a few tools from the owners of the scrapyard, but I was sure to put them back.  It was ugly; the pommel was formed by a gear I'd dug out of a control column, and the switch was awkwardly placed on the bottom of it.  The crystal housing and handle were made from a section of hand rail off of some industrial machine, and the focusing chamber and emitter were made from the exhaust of a small speeder.  The power pack and wiring were salvaged from an old R2 unit.

    It may not have been attractive, but it worked, and that was what mattered to me.  At a press of the switch, a short, wide, unstable blade roared to life.  With this finished, I spent the next day buying some clothes that fit better than the ones Obi-wan had given me, and planning my attack.  The Imperial Lockup was relatively small, and I was pretty sure I could sneak in and out without too much trouble.  I watched it all day, marking down the guard rotations and positioning.  They weren't as well trained as the Death Troopers, who were most likely at the barracks or patrolling. 

     As night fell, I waited for the guard rotation and made my move.  I crept around the back of the building, and forced the door open with the Force.  As soon as I did, an alarm blared.
     "Well, I tried."  I said to myself, and activated my lightsaber.  I was in a small barracks, and there were two sleeping Stormtroopers who snapped awake at the sound of the alarm.  Before they could stand, I used the Force to slam them back down into their beds, and put a finger to my lips, shushing them.
     "I don't want to kill you, but I will if you don't walk out that door."

     They both believed me, and I continued out into the hallway, where two more troopers were waiting.  I deflected their bolts back at them, wounding one and killing the other.  The first room was an armory, that I searched through for my lightsaber, but didn't find it.  I needed to find the evidence locker.  The next room was a small cell block.  There was only one more room in the hall before the end, and I was starting to worry as the door slid open.
    Shelves and shelves packed with boxes filled the room.  Jackpot. I started digging through boxes, and my spirits fell; there were at least a hundred boxes, and I had no idea which was mine.  I started tearing them off the shelves and dropping them on the floor, searching madly.  Two more troopers reached the room, and I slammed the door shut with the Force, jamming it in place.  I had dumped a dozen boxes in the floor before I finally found a lightsaber... and it wasn't mine.  I stuck it on my belt anyway and kept digging.  As I got to the end of the third row, sparks began to fly from the door as the Imperials cut through it. 
     With a foul curse, I activated both of the lightsabers and plunged them into the exterior wall, cutting a hole in the steel.  I beat the Imperials by a long shot, as they hadn't even halfway cut through the door as I was carefully stepping through the ring of molten metal.

     At least it's green. I thought as I clipped the hilt I'd found onto my belt and Force-jumped to the top of the building next to the Imperial Lockup.  The streets below were filling with Stormtroopers arriving from the barracks.

Next stop, the Mos Eisley spaceport.  I'm getting the hell off of this planet.

 

[TheDutchman]

Always a pleasure to see our gentleman scoundrel back in action 

Tatooine is a fantastic setting and Obi-Wan is a personal favorite so you can't go wrong there 

I like the tone of this installment, reminiscent of Rakham himself.  I especially like the impromptu saber construction (and the red blade/crystal is a nice nod to your sig 

I'm really liking these War Journal entries TDC!

[TheDrunkenConsular]

Always a pleasure to see our gentleman scoundrel back in action 

Tatooine is a fantastic setting and Obi-Wan is a personal favorite so you can't go wrong there 

I like the tone of this installment, reminiscent of Rakham himself.  I especially like the impromptu saber construction (and the red blade/crystal is a nice nod to your sig 

I'm really liking these War Journal entries TDC!

Believe it or not, this is the story that started it all.  You may remember, I started a thread in the custom sabers section and included a strongly condensed version of this.  People there, yourself included if I recall, encouraged me to check out this section, and the rest is history!

I never got around to writing this in the main thread, so I figured it might make a decent installment here.

[Karmack]

LOL   I do remember!  I was wondering when we'd run into the scene.  Now we have and it was worth the wait!

Love the red saber construction.  I do have a question: I'm not familiar with any of the kyber furnace lore.  I know that Luke is supposed to have made his green crystal in just such a furnace on Tatooine.  :-)  Makes me wonder where this green saber might have come from...  Wait, 3 BBY.  Nope...

Anyway...  the question: did you invent the time differential (14 hours for the crude red crystal vs longer for the higher quality green one) or is that just something you invented? 

[TheDrunkenConsular]

LOL   I do remember!  I was wondering when we'd run into the scene.  Now we have and it was worth the wait!

Love the red saber construction.  I do have a question: I'm not familiar with any of the kyber furnace lore.  I know that Luke is supposed to have made his green crystal in just such a furnace on Tatooine.  :-)  Makes me wonder where this green saber might have come from...  Wait, 3 BBY.  Nope...

Anyway...  the question: did you invent the time differential (14 hours for the crude red crystal vs longer for the higher quality green one) or is that just something you invented? 

I half invented it.  I read on Wookiepedia that a high quality synth crystal can take days to construct, so I imagined that that a really cruddy would could be made in much les time.

[Karmack]

I half invented it.  I read on Wookiepedia that a high quality synth crystal can take days to construct, so I imagined that that a really cruddy would could be made in much les time.

LOL   Makes sense.  :-)

One of my early versions of Karmack had him creating his crystal in a furnace.  But leave it to Rakham to use a half-baked one...  ;-)

[Illyiss]

And now we have the rest of this story!  Does this mean you are still working on that project?

[TheDrunkenConsular]

And now we have the rest of this story!  Does this mean you are still working on that project?

I constructed the body using MHS parts, and i'm about to put it in the mail to Drahcir for finishing.  It's not necessarily MY project anymore, but you guys will definitely be getting a visual reference, and the saber will likely show up again.

[Karmack]

I may have to revive it.  :-)  That was a while ago, though...  But I might be able to use parts of it.  LOL

Check my older posts on this forum (fan fiction) and you may find it, its an old story...

[TheDrunkenConsular]

TASRII KEPRESSA
6 BBY

     "And the winner is, THE RED QUEEN!"  The announcer's voice boomed over the loudspeakers.  I spat blood out of my mouth.  I was pretty sure it belonged to the dead Togruta in front of me.  Pretty sure.  The cheers were deafening, and infuriating, and the weight of the sword in my hand felt as though it was pulling on my soul rather than my arm.  I dropped it to the sandy floor of the Pit, and stared up into the blinding spotlights.  Soon, they would come and drag me back to my cage, but for this moment, I was as close to free as I ever was.  There was no locked door or desperate opponent before me, and that was all I could ask for anymore.  It didn't last for very long.
     "Get on your kriffing knees, slave!"  The gruff voice came from behind me.  Having learned what a stun bolt felt like a long time ago, and not particularly wanting to experience it again, I complied.  The gangster twisted my arms behind my back and locked my wrists into restraining cuffs, the metal cutting deeply into my wrists.  They marched me out of the pit unceremoniously, dragging me through the halls and back to my cell.  They undid my cuffs and tossed me roughly through the door, but I managed to catch my balance.  As the door behind me shut with a clang, I looked around the room with a sigh, rubbing my wrists softly.  Four barren walls, a rickety cot and a small wooden table.  On the table, there was a plate of food and a bottle of Corellian whiskey with a note stuck to it.  I absentmindedly picked at the cold food and read the note, even though I already knew what it would say.

     Good fight tonight.  Keep it up.  -Q

     Using my teeth, I pulled the cork out of the bottle and took a swig of the cheap liquor, sitting down gently on the cot.  I'd probably earned the huttslime ten thousand credits that night, and a fifteen credit bottle was my reward.  As I let the fog of drunkenness wash over my mind, I fantasized about the myriad ways I'd kill that kriffing Mandalorian if I ever got the opportunity, and eventually drifted off to sleep.

...

     "It's an easy one tonight, slave."  The surly gangster grunted over the intercom.  "Some little houseslave who got caught trying to escape.  Don't finish her off too quickly, the crowd won't like it."

     I paid little attention as I wrapped strips of cloth around my hands and gripped my sword.  My equipment was always placed in the airlock between the Pit and the exterior.  They never let us have any armor, and kept the the weapons dull.  It was supposed to make for a better show.
     The door to the Pit opened, and I stepped out into the fifty foot circle of sand.  On the other side, a terribly young human girl was warily stepping out into the ring, dragging a vibroblade that her slender arms could barely lift.  Her face was strikingly beautiful, and I couldn't stop my gaze from lingering there as a sick feeling developed in my stomach.  I immediately understood what 'houseslave' meant in this context. 

     I considered letting her kill me, but it would have done no good.  Whoever she had to fight the next night would have done the job I was meant to do, and likely been far less kind.  I steeled myself.  I would make it quick.  Painless.

     I strode across the sand purposefully, and she tried to run, but the door had closed behind her.  She pounded on it, but realizing that it would do her no good, turned and lifted her vibroblade, the blade shaking like a leaf in the wind.  I swung my great two handed blade and sent it flying through the air, and dropped my sword as she sobbed, but kept advancing.  Tears were running down my face, tears of fury and hatred and desperation.  I grabbed her shoulders, spun her around, and whispered as I placed one hand on her chin and the other on her neck.

     "I'm so sorry."

     Crack.

     The crowd booed as I gently laid her down in the sand, and fury washed over me. I grabbed my fallen blade and flung it towards them as hard as I could.  It bounced harmlessly off of the metal cage over the Pit, and I marched back to my door and pounded on it.
     "Let me the hell out!"

     There was no food that night, and certainly no whiskey.  I laid on the cot and cried myself to sleep.  I dreamt about the girl I killed.

...

     "You shoulda known better than that stunt last night, slave.  It's been nice knowin' y-"  I slammed the pommel of my sword into the intercom, destroying it, and prepared myself.  I could hear the announcer through the door.

     "Ladies and gentlemen, thieves and crooks, this is the fight you've been waiting for!  The Red Queen versus the Wookiee!"
      The Wookiee.  They only brought the Wookiee out when a fighter who'd gotten out of hand needed to be put down.  He was the most dangerous warrior the pit had ever held.  Or, at least, he had been.  I had no intention of giving them the satisfaction of watching me die in the Pit tonight.

     The doors slid open with a hiss, and I stepped out confidently, trying to clear my head.  Sometimes, it seemed like I knew what an opponent would do even before they themselves did, and I was going to need those instincts to survive this.  The Wookiee stood across from me, holding a massive spear.  He roared savagely as the doors closed, and in response I charged, hoping to take him by surprise.  I leapt into the air, bringing the sword down with all my might as the crowd gasped and cheered.  His spear caught it as I landed gracefully and immediately swung again, this time aiming for his knees.  Again he parried, and swung a massive hand at my head.

     The game was on.

     I rolled backwards, away from his swipe, and he thrust his spear towards me.  I dropped my sword, took hold of the spear just below it's point and launched my whole body into a two-footed kick that caught him square in the face.  He dropped the spear and reeled back as the crowd went wild.  I recovered my sword, and charged again as he fell to a seat.  I instantly realized my mistake and closed my eyes as a handful of sand hit me in the face and a kick to the chest sent me flying backwards.  The crowd's excitement reached a crescendo as we both got to our feet and recovered our weapons.  We circled one another like wolves, each waiting for the other to strike.

     I took initiative.  I charged at him as though launching a frontal attack, and at the last moment sidestepped around him, driving the quillion of my sword into his side as hard as I could.  He roared in pain, and I was already making my next move, swinging the dull sword in a three hundred and sixty degree arc that found his lower back.  The blade sank two inches into his spine, and he fell to his knees.  The crowd was going insane.  I ripped my sword loose, and the crowd began a chant.

     "Finish him!  Finish him!  Finish him!"

     Just this once, I had no problem obliging. I circled him once.  He was already dead from the first wound, but his brain didn't know it yet.  He swayed back and forth gently.  I stopped behind him, and drove the blade through his back, all the way to the hilt.

...

  That night, there was another bottle of whiskey with the same old note and cold plate of food.

[Karmack]

Wow.   The Pit is brutal...  And so was Tasrii.  Interestingly, we met another character that fought in the pit in Jarys.  Tasrii seems to have retained more of her personal sense of right and wrong, though.  No easy feat in these kinds of conditions.

Nice look into her background.  The Red Queen indeed!

[TheDrunkenConsular]

Wow.   The Pit is brutal...  And so was Tasrii.  Interestingly, we met another character that fought in the pit in Jarys.  Tasrii seems to have retained more of her personal sense of right and wrong, though.  No easy feat in these kinds of conditions.

Nice look into her background.  The Red Queen indeed!

With one exception, my goal with these is always to show something about each character's personality that I haven't been able to work organically into the story yet.  Anton's psychotic violence, Heditt's cold determination and bloodlust, Nadia's inner struggle with dark and light and, now, Tasrii's trauma, and perhaps more importantly, her conviction in the face of it.  I don't know if I've done an excellent job conveying those points, but I've enjoyed it nonetheless.

[Karmack]

These are great.  This peak into Tasrii makes the snippit of her conversation from Anton's wake more poignant.  Without it we wouldn't understand so well.

[TheDutchman]

TDC, your intention is precisely what each "War Journal" (STILL an awesome title!!" entry evokes!  These are truly wonderful interludes!

And Tasrii is a personal favorite of mine so...yeah, any backstory, details, or lime-lighting is guaranteed to get my attention 

Again, Karm hit the proverbial nail on the head: "The Red Queen" is just (Awesomeness)²