Tyranus

Just outside the entrance to the ice hangar, in the darkest, still hour of the pre-dawn, Luke Skywalker sat cross-legged on the deck of one of the snow-covered ice diggers. He was one of only a handful awake at this hour. Security guards monitored every entrance to the base and several mounted riders patrolled the perimeter. Despite the bite of the cold, beads of perspiration formed across his brow as he concentrated intensely with eyes closed, listening to the calm voice emanating from the small holocron in his lap, “Feel the shape, texture and energy of each object. Now feel the energy in every particle of the air and the ground, as well as that of your own body. Remember to breathe, young one.” The image of a young Obi-Wan flickered above the small cube. The boy took in a small breath, eyes clenched shut. The crisp morning air became unnaturally still as the flurry of falling and blowing snowflakes swirling around him halted suddenly in midair, hanging on all sides. They sparkled and glistened in the brilliant moonlight of the morning, hanging in the clear air as Luke opened his eyes slightly. He closed them again as he reached out with the Force, seeing each flake with his mind. A solid roof of snow was now collecting above him, as the still-falling snow began piling up on top of the small space he had rendered stationary. The weight of the collecting flakes began to increase. It pressed against his fledgling Force energy, increasing with intensity, like a weight testing the strength of a tiring muscle. He took another breath as the hovering flakes began to tremble in the air. Clenching his teeth, he pressed outward and upward with all of his Force energy. The Midichlorians in his veins burned as he reached out through them to feel and manipulate this tiny portion of the Force. It was at that moment that the Corellian stock light freighter appeared out of the darkness, passing by on its way to rendezvous with the other ships of the fleet. The suspended snowflakes and the collected layer of snow above suddenly came falling down over him as Luke lost concentration. He brushed the loose snow off his head and out from around his collar as his eyes followed the bluish white light of the engines on Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon. “That’s another one I owe you” he muttered. * * *

Thanks for downloading and reading 8290! The other chapters are coming. The editing takes a while to do, and my job is kicking my butt right now. We just moved our offices so I lost about a week's worth of time!

Thanks 1535! I'm glad you enjoyed it! The other 19 Chapters are being edited now and will be posted up soon ! They move us beyond the film and into the grey area between films. The original draft version can be read on these forums here: http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=2148

Thanks Mike. I'll get them to you.

I have been an approved and "DEPLOYED" member of the MEPD for several years now, and still have yet to see my pic up on the deployed page. I am Ward Jones - TD2187 I sent in pics to be used - not sure who might have them now. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks Ray! I hope you like the PDF's. Downloading them can definitely make it easier to read whenever you like. The edits are subtle. I'll be adding links from Part II as the chapters are edited and rendered as PDFs.

ALL PDF's of Chapters 1 - 10 have been re-edited for content, and to make it more reader-friendly and a bit more polished. The content of the Story threads on these boards has not yet been updated to reflect these new edits yet. I will try to do this as time permits Clickable PDF Download Links to new chapters will be added HERE as they are written. You can click the link to open the PDF in your browser window, or right-click and SAVE AS to your computer for reading later if you like. ENJOY! Part I Chapter 1 - Origins (A brief history to get us up to speed. The last portion of this chapter leads into our story.) Chapter 2 – Journey Toward Destiny Chapter 3 – Arrival Chapter 4 – Settling In Chapter 5 – Feeling Out Mos Eisley Chapter 6 – Needle In A Sand Dune Chapter 7 – Droid Hunt Chapter 8 – Interrogations Chapter 9 – The Lars Place Chapter 10 – A Wretched Hive Part II Not yet edited. Links will be added as edits occur.

That's AMAZING! Very Cool find, and pieces for your collection. I want to go!

Judging from the title, I'm sure I will.

It's blocked from here...I'll have to check it out from home.

ROTFLMAO :lol:

Yeah. I "LAKSH-MI" some Padma.

YUM.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Get 'Em Here Today ONLY!! http://www.woot.com/

Thank you very much. When I have a sign up for a hardcover version, you'll be first on the list!

I am SO STOKED!!! I just received my custom made Mag Well Cylinders from Russ Brown (also a droid maker), and wanted to show you what I'm going to be using to complete my Sterling conversion. Check 'em out:

Everyone in the room was silent for a moment as Holder stared off blankly into space. “Black Sun?” asked Topolev. Holder nodded slowly, still staring at the logo. “Yeah.” Topolev took the datacard from Holder’s hand, examining it as Etz and Danz moved closer to look also. “I’ve heard of them, but what’s the big deal if your squad had dealings with them? They’re into everything, legal and otherwise. Given the smugglers and spacers that hang around here, it’s not all that surprising they would be on Tatooine.” Holder was in a bit of a daze. Memories were flashing by so quickly he couldn’t seem to get them to gel into a cohesive thought. He closed his eyes. “Yeah, I know. But there’s more to it than just a deal, I just can’t put my finger on what it is yet. Were there any other cards in there marked Black Sun?” Topolev looked back into the container, reaching a hand down inside, sifting through the few cards at the bottom of the bin. “No. That looks like the only one.” “Let me see it again?” Holder asked. Topolev handed it over. He took the small card between his thumb and index finger and walked over to the holo card viewer were Felth had been sitting. He inserted it in the reader slot and waited for the automatic index scan to finish. A moment passed and the Black Sun logo finally flashed up on the small screen. As it faded away, the first page of what looked like a business invoice began to appear on the screen, and then froze, pixelating into cubes; the image jumping and stuttering. Topolev had dumped the last of the items in the container out on the shelf and picked through them, and was now glancing over to Holder. “Is there anything interesting on it? Anything that jogs your memory?” Holder grabbed the protruding edge of the card and wiggled it a bit in the slot to make sure it was properly seated, “Looks like it’s either corrupted or damaged. I can’t see much.” He stared at the flickering screen, trying to make out something, anything. He pulled the card out of the slot, rubbed the strip of metallic contacts, looked them over closely, and slid the card back into the reader. Blade and I walked over to stand beside him, watching the screen. The others in the room followed, hoping to perhaps be able to make out anything intelligible. The index scan ran a second time and the Black Sun logo appeared again. Once again, as the page appeared, it froze; pixelating into distorted cubes. Blade leaned forward, touching the lower portion of the screen with his gloved hand, “It looks like this part says something about a project bid of some kind.” The lift out in the hallway began its’ descent down to where we were as Etz noted, “This area at the top shows the recipients.” He leaned even closer. “That first name looks like Masall or Matall, but the rest of it is garbled.” “Matalla the Hutt.” said Holder, calmly and quite matter-of-factly. “Matalla the Hutt?” asked 1265. Holder nodded slowly. “Yup. I have no recollection of who that is yet, or why I remember it, but it’s significant. I can feel it.” The rest of us exchanged silent glances as Holder continued staring at the flickering name on the screen. Just then, Felth stepped through the door, “Hey. We’ve got to get moving. Rogue’s message said he needs us all out at Darklighter Water. There’s been an incident near one of their perimeter condensers; Tuskens most likely.” Etz rolled his eyes, “Why does he need all of us?” Ddraig appeared in the doorway and stepped up beside Felth, “There’s a body, and it’s not one of their workers.” I shot a glance to Topolev, who was already climbing down off the racks, “Can you get the transport fired up?” He nodded, “Already on my way.” Blade pushed past me heading for the lift, “OK, let’s get our gear. Topolev, we’ll meet you out back. Etz, comm over to 4120 and Falker at the Dowager Queen working that domestic call. Let them know where we're going” “I’m on it” replied Etz. Danz slapped a hand on Holder’s shoulder as the others filed out to the lift, “You coming?” Holder looked up at him, then away at the dingy stone wall. “Yeah. It’s been a while, but it’ll just take a second to gear up.” *

Both Yané and his first mate slept in the two crew bunks as Solo monitored their flight path from the relative comfort of the pilot’s seat. He adjusted the course heading slightly to avoid the wide band of dense asteroids ahead. The muffled roar of the ‘Falcon’s engines was usually a comforting sound for him, but did little to reassure him as they entered the Hoth system. He glanced to the side, out the cockpit window. There was now enough money now to pay off the Hutt, and he was anxious to do so. He knew Jabba. He wasn’t patient. There would be bounty hunters and lots of them, along with all manner of unpleasant things awaiting him if he didn’t make the payoff soon. His words to Luke echoed in his ears. “What good’s a reward if you ain’t around to use it?” The one thing that calmed him at all was the fact that he was headed for a rendezvous on a planet that was about as far away from hospitable as he could imagine. Bounty hunters would be looking for him in his familiar haunts along the established trade routes that stretched from one side of the galaxy to the other. Never in a million years would they even think to look on Hoth. After his involvement at Yavin, and whether or not he believed in their cause or was just intrigued by a beautiful Princess, he was now definitely on the Imperial radar, most likely with a death mark on both his and Chewbacca’s heads. For the moment, it seemed, Jabba was the least of his immediate worries. They would have to lay low for a while, help out if they could, and stay hidden among the rebels until he could figure out a way to get the money to Jabba without getting himself killed along the way. Maybe he’d be able to get some time with her worshipfulness. He wasn’t positive, but he felt deep down that although she wouldn’t admit it, she liked him, in a perverse, cat and mouse, moth to the flame kind of way. It was always something. An amber indicator on the panel winked, showing that they were in the upper fringes of the atmosphere on Hoth 6. He reached up to the overhead control panels and switched on the beacon responder, the repulsors and hull de-ionization as he took the forward and lateral controls in his hands, flying his custom ship down toward the darkened surface rendezvous coordinates. The Hoth star was on the far side of the planet; it was early morning on the ground as they raced through the rocking winds. The metal skin of the ship groaned as the extremely cold air clashed with the heat of their re-entry. Han leveled off just shy of the ground, skimming along the snowy, frozen landscape beneath. He flew by instruments now, as it was too hard, even with the forward floodlights on, to make out where the ground was. Just ahead on the port side, a small meteor with a crimson tail flashed by, slamming into the icy ground beneath. Chewbacca wandered into the cockpit with a small growl, settling sleepily in the co-pilot’s chair and pulling on his headset. He tried to raise the base communications officer as he stretched his arms out overhead. He grunted at Solo as the base acknowledged their approach. Yané walked in a moment later, quietly slipping into the seat behind Solo’s and pulling a wrap around her shoulders as she peered out into the darkness and the ice-covered ground below. From the ground, a rebel scout rider, out on his morning patrol, reined his Tauntaun mount to a stop as he monitored the base-to-ship communications and silently watched the warm glow of the Millennium Falcon’s engines slip slowly by in the darkness. * * *

Thanks very much. Old Palpy is an evil son of a gun. I just pictured all the bloodied, sliced, blasted bodies stored below the floor in a vacuum-fresh room to keep them from rotting, but I saw him loving it so much and getting such a twisted sicko thrill, like a serial killer keeping a trophy from his kills, giving him a rush and a dark side surge when he comes to meditate. More is coming. I just have to wade through mentally how I want and need it to progress to get us to all the cool stuff I have in store. Thanks for reading!

Buried deeply in the bowels of Imperial Center, Emperor Palpatine, his ravaged face obscured by the deep hood of his deathly black robes, slowly moved along a lengthy, secured corridor flanked by his two most trusted Imperial Guards. As he came to the locked blast door at the end, each of the crimson-armored and robed guards, as they had done many times before, stepped to the side and assumed sentry positions at either side, Force pikes shouldered. The warped and bent figure of the Emperor entered a private code and straightened up a bit as the heavy doors slid open. Musty air spilled from within as they did. He stepped through into the darkness beyond, leaving his guards behind as the doors slipped shut. Lights flickered on as he entered the large room; the air here was still, unmoving as the air of a tomb. There was absolute silence. He slowly made his way across the illuminated frosted-white floor, moving between the suspended Carbonite slabs that made up his garden. He moved silently past the many grotesque metallic faces, frozen in silent screams of anguish, pain, surprise and disbelief and made his way to his throne in the center of the room. It was here that he came to meditate, ruminate and peer into the future. He sat slowly into the low, swiveling chair and took in a breath, closing his eyes. Everything was proceeding as he had foreseen. Lord Vader had once been one of the most powerful Jedi that ever lived, but with his defeat on Mustafar, and subsequent surgeries to replace human limbs with cybernetic appendages, his grasp on the Force had been diminished. The short-lived time he spent in those first few hours as Lord Vader were the heady, power-filled moments that Palpatine had envisioned for his apprentice. He knew now that while Lord Vader was indeed still powerful, there was another that would eventually take his place. One whose existence he had already sensed in his apprentice. This would take careful manipulation, but if played properly, Lord Vader would believe he had concealed his feelings for his son, and eventually, young Luke would be the powerful apprentice Palpatine had hoped for in Vader. The Dark Lord must not yet be allowed to know that he was aware of Skywalker’s existence. That would come soon enough. For now, Vader must be the one to tirelessly search for his son, sending out probes and tearing the galaxy apart, all the while believing that one day, they might destroy his master and rule the galaxy together. As the twisted figure of the Emperor opened his eyes, he pressed a small switch in the armrest of his chair. The electric charge in the frost-white electrostatic floor suddenly fell away, and the thick transparisteel panels became clear. Palpatine stood, taking a few steps forward, peering down through to the uneven, rocky floor beneath. It was littered with hundreds and hundreds of Jedi corpses as far as the eye could see. Every Jedi that had been rounded up and executed by his men and bounty hunters through the years had been brought here. It was an amazing rush for him to peer down at them, literally lying vanquished beneath him. An evil smile crept into the corners of his mouth, exposing his rotting teeth, as he wandered this way and that, surveying the price they had paid for their lack of vision * * *

Welcome to the Sandbox!

Through thick fog that saturated the jungle-like vegetation around them as well as any exposed skin, Luke and Leia pushed onward through the darkness. As they passed through a dense twenty foot tall barrier of thick grasses, they found themselves stepping out onto gridded durasteel plates lining the main street of a small collection of buildings. Luke grabbed Leia around the waist, covered her mouth and shoved her back into the thick grass, a finger to his lips, motioning for her to be quiet. A second later, the dark form of a man wandered past them, staggering a bit. His boot landed unevenly on the edge of the durasteel plate, half on and half off, and he stumbled and fell into the thick mud of the street. The man, now laughing at himself for falling, wore a heavy jumpsuit. He picked himself up, wiping at the mud a bit before giving up and wandering off into the night. When he had been gone some time, Luke loosened his grip on the Princess and uncovered her mouth. “That was close.” She rubbed her mouth and adjusted her clothing. “That guy’s a miner of some sort. Did you see his jumpsuit? Standard issue mining gear.” Luke glanced over to her. “Spending a lot of time in the mines, Princess?” She threw a handful of the mud at him, which he managed to duck away from. “My father took me on trips when I was a little girl. He had business dealings with many mining colonies across the galaxy, and those are standard mining jumpsuits.” Luke looked down the deserted street as he rolled her comment over in his head. “I wonder what they’re mining here, on Mimban?” With a start, Luke awoke in the cockpit of his fighter. Through the canopy, he saw the swirling multi-colored vortex of hyperspace streak by. With R2 in control of the hyperspace jump, and the whistling whine of the engines he must have dropped off to sleep. His little astromech gave a whistle through the comm and sent a message to the screen on the panel before him. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the small display. On Course - Approaching the Hoth System The details of his dream were already slipping away, and he had to fight to recall even the smallest of things about it. “Mimban? Why would I dream about Mimban?” As he pondered the bizarre dream, R2 reverted to sub-light speed. As the ship slowed to normal space, Luke saw a band of asteroids orbiting ahead, with several planets beyond. R2 dispatched another message: Asteroid field course plotted. Scanning assigned frequencies for Echo Base signal A tone sounded in the cockpit and another panel winked on showing a course leading to the sixth planet in the system as well as a scrolling loop of the ground coordinates. Luke yawned. “R2, get us through the asteroids, and then I’ll take it back on manual for the approach.” The little ‘droid bleeped several times as the snub fighter raced into the asteroids. * * *

Exactly. It's all left up to us, the fans, or the writers of the EU. If you want to check out the "Sandtrooper's Story" mentioned previously in this thread: Go here for Part I: http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=2148 And Here for Part II: http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=2148 It's an original story being written by me about the Sandtroopers of Tatooine, and the Original Trilogy from their perspective, and the the perspective of other minor characters.

Thanks Ray!!