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crack_van2005-05-31 03:26 pm
malabud.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2005-05-31 03:26 pm
Entry tags:
The Penitent by BelleBayard, FernWithy, and Jedi Skysong (PG)
Fandom: STAR WARS
Pairing: Gen, with a little Anakin/Amidala
Length: 380,000 words
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fernwithy, darth_stitch (Jedi Skysong)
Author Website: Vader's Mask, Fern's Humongous Bighead Site
Why this must be read:
For my final story of the month, I am recommending "The Penitent." It is the ultimate Anakin redemption story. And it is long, very long. I suggest putting aside an entire weekend or more to read this one. The basic plot is quite intriguing: About a year after Return of the Jedi Luke discovers an adolescent clone body of his father. It is unanimated, an empty vessel, waiting to be used. With a little convincing, ghost Anakin "jumps" into the clone body. Suddenly, he is a forty-seven year-old man in the body of a thirteen-year old. Also, Amidala is found alive, having spent the entirety of the Imperial years in a prison in what once was Otoh Gunga at the bottom on the ocean on Naboo. (Vader was told by the Emperor that she was dead.) She is re-elected as queen of Naboo. Leia is running the New Republic, and Lando gets elected Prince of Theed. All the Skywalkers are re-united, and on the surface it looks like everything will work out.
But, there are problems.
Leia isn't talking to her father. Luke is too forgiving (even Anakin says so), and Amidala is stuck in the middle. Her husband is a little boy, even if he is inhabiting a clone on rapid growth.
And then the real problems start. To save an imperial officer from being convicted for a crime he did not commit, Anakin goes before the Naboo court, declares who really is, and that the officer is innocent. Chaos naturally erupts all over the galaxy: Darth Vader is alive!
Per New Republican law, Leia, as head of state, must preside at the trial of her own father. And if she finds him guilty, she must sentence him appropriately. More than anything, this story is a father-daughter story. Leia is much more like her father than Luke ever was. She may have her mother's diplomatic skills, but she has his temper, his iron-clad personal principles, his righteous zeal, his supreme self-confidence, and his penchant for holding grudges. She is so much like him personality-wise that it is very difficult for her to forgive him. Their reconciliation is a highlight of the story. That she must sit in judgment on him afterward makes it that much more difficult.
Even though this story was written between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, the writers got most everything right from the latter movie, especially Anakin Skywalker's core personality and motivations. Even in light of Revenge of the Sith, his characterization rings very true. The only niggling detail that they really got wrong was that Anakin calls his wife "Amidala" and not "Padmé" in the story. Other than that, this AU stays remarkably true to canon. You can readily imagine the characters talking and acting this way, especially Anakin and Leia. Highly Recommended. Go. Read. Now.
(This story is another sequel to Father's Heart, which was recommended by a previous SW crack van driver here. It is also a sequel to The Only Question, which I recommended earlier in the month here.)
* * *
It is a time of healing.
In the wake of the vast Civil War, the New Republic has taken the first steps in clearing the wreckage of the Empire, and re-building the trust and security of the galaxy.
The ruined world of Naboo has been re-seeded and revived, and Queen Amidala, long a prisoner at its core, reigns again in a resurrected Theed. Her daughter, Princess Leia Organa-Solo is rebuilding the Senate and trying to create a stable government. Thanks to mysteriously obtained Imperial codes, her son, the Jedi knight Luke Skywalker, continues to find hidden Imperial fortresses, prisons, and laboratories.
Acting on a suspicious pattern of these outposts, Wedge Antilles and the Rogue Squadron have made a disturbing discovery in the remote Runa system: a cloning lab, containing an experiment that even Luke had never suspected -- an experiment that could change his life forever, and at last bring peace and closure to his family....
* * *
The clone rested on the table in the laboratory, its eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling and its chest rising and falling in a slow, even rhythm. Anakin hovered at the end of the table, concentrating his mind and his energy in this time and place. It was taxing -- he longed to spread himself out into the living Force, to touch the far corners of life, to feel the very heartbeat of the galaxy; staying in one place made him feel quite alone -- but he found it easier to focus his mind this way. The white noise of the universe that frequently comforted him and blunted his memories was gone; the thoughts of Obi-Wan and Yoda were outside of himself. Qui-Gon, perhaps, was with him, but the old Master was always quiet, and did not interfere in Anakin's decisions. Much to everyone's detriment, Anakin thought, then whispered an apology into the fog. He had vowed never to blame anyone but himself again for any of his poor decisions.
On the table, the clone's breathing continued on. Color was starting to come into his cheeks, and the gel he had been floating in had evaporated entirely. Palpatine's last temptation for him... and Luke's wish for him. A living human body, blood coursing through its veins and real, sensitive nerves in the fingertips. Anakin couldn't really remember what it felt like to run the tip of his finger across something. He wanted to remember.
He wondered what Amidala would make of it, and thought briefly about speaking to her on Naboo, but decided against it. He couldn't start depending on her for his own moral decisions, any more than he could depend on Luke or Qui-Gon. He thought she might smile wryly, though -- the clone wasn't even approaching a respectable age yet.
He thought he knew how to take it; it wouldn't even be that hard, just a matter of concentrating, as he was now, and then... jumping, he thought was the word for it. A little jump, and then a whole life ahead of him. The clone was twelve or thirteen. Its growth was only slightly exaggerated from normal human growth, maybe twice as fast as a normal childhood would have been; it would be more stable than a garden variety clone. Palpatine had begun him when he'd learned about Luke, using a DNA pattern that had been left in the computer of Amidala's transport. The rationale was obvious -- he wanted one more card up his sleeve, because somewhere in the back of his miserable mind, even he had suspected that Anakin was no longer entirely under his control.
"Palpatine is dead, Father," Luke said from the door. "His reasons and his schemes died with him. But the opportunity is still here."
"I'm dead, Luke." Anakin gave his son a weary smile (or at least hoped he did; he was never quite sure what his image was doing). "It doesn't seem to have that big an impact on which Jedi I can influence."
Luke nodded, taking it a bit more seriously than Anakin had intended him to. "Is he... there with you?"
Anakin had considered this question many times. He had not felt Palpatine's presence at all, and that made him suspicious. There should have been something, he thought. But then again, why would the living Force accept Palpatine at all?
And why would it accept me?
"No," he said.
"Take the clone, Father." Luke came into the room. Anakin felt the stir in the Force that always accompanied him, which was welcome, and the piercing sensation of an attempt to use a mind trick, which was not.
"Whether or not I take the clone will be a question of my will, Luke, not yours."
To his credit, Luke didn't deny the attempt. "Father, I need your help. Or at least I want your help. And Leia doesn't know you, at least not as yourself."
"Leia knows me quite well. She knew me long before you did."
"But not -- "
"Luke, you're drawing a distinction that isn't there. Vader was a combination of all my bad choices, but he was me and I am him." He did not add, And if I take that clone, and cut myself off from the cool calmness of the living Force, you may get more of both of us than you're bargaining for.
Luke heard his thought anyway. "I know you're afraid, Father," he said. "And that's why you have to do this. I do need your help, finding people and training them. But it's you that you should do this for. You need to remember who you are. You need to find some way to fix what you broke."
Anakin focused on the clone again, on the blank blue eyes, the fine translucent skin at the wrists. To have a heart beating inside him again, ready to race out of control. To have blood ready to boil. A mind ready to fall into the fire. Luke was right. He was terrified of it. "There are many people who deserve a second chance more than I do..."
"But I can't think of anyone who needs one more."
Luke looked at Anakin, then looked down at the clone. His eyes rose again in an unspoken question, then he left Anakin alone with himself.
Anakin let himself drift back into the Force, feeling for advice. He sensed Obi-Wan's presence, but ignored it, not from animosity but from experience -- Kenobi did not understand him and never had; the strong eddy of energy that was Yoda offered him no guidance. He sought for Qui-Gon, a gentle current that ran quietly among the stars. He didn't try to find out what Qui-Gon thought, for he knew it before framing the question in his mind, though the coda, as always, was The choice is yours, Ani.
Will you be with me?
If you need me.
Anakin refocused and found himself back in the laboratory, the clone waiting with its infinite patience. He concentrated more deeply, found his way into the energy the clone wove into the Force around it.
Then he jumped.
The Penitent
Pairing: Gen, with a little Anakin/Amidala
Length: 380,000 words
Author on LJ:
fernwithy, darth_stitch (Jedi Skysong)Author Website: Vader's Mask, Fern's Humongous Bighead Site
Why this must be read:
For my final story of the month, I am recommending "The Penitent." It is the ultimate Anakin redemption story. And it is long, very long. I suggest putting aside an entire weekend or more to read this one. The basic plot is quite intriguing: About a year after Return of the Jedi Luke discovers an adolescent clone body of his father. It is unanimated, an empty vessel, waiting to be used. With a little convincing, ghost Anakin "jumps" into the clone body. Suddenly, he is a forty-seven year-old man in the body of a thirteen-year old. Also, Amidala is found alive, having spent the entirety of the Imperial years in a prison in what once was Otoh Gunga at the bottom on the ocean on Naboo. (Vader was told by the Emperor that she was dead.) She is re-elected as queen of Naboo. Leia is running the New Republic, and Lando gets elected Prince of Theed. All the Skywalkers are re-united, and on the surface it looks like everything will work out.
But, there are problems.
Leia isn't talking to her father. Luke is too forgiving (even Anakin says so), and Amidala is stuck in the middle. Her husband is a little boy, even if he is inhabiting a clone on rapid growth.
And then the real problems start. To save an imperial officer from being convicted for a crime he did not commit, Anakin goes before the Naboo court, declares who really is, and that the officer is innocent. Chaos naturally erupts all over the galaxy: Darth Vader is alive!
Per New Republican law, Leia, as head of state, must preside at the trial of her own father. And if she finds him guilty, she must sentence him appropriately. More than anything, this story is a father-daughter story. Leia is much more like her father than Luke ever was. She may have her mother's diplomatic skills, but she has his temper, his iron-clad personal principles, his righteous zeal, his supreme self-confidence, and his penchant for holding grudges. She is so much like him personality-wise that it is very difficult for her to forgive him. Their reconciliation is a highlight of the story. That she must sit in judgment on him afterward makes it that much more difficult.
Even though this story was written between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, the writers got most everything right from the latter movie, especially Anakin Skywalker's core personality and motivations. Even in light of Revenge of the Sith, his characterization rings very true. The only niggling detail that they really got wrong was that Anakin calls his wife "Amidala" and not "Padmé" in the story. Other than that, this AU stays remarkably true to canon. You can readily imagine the characters talking and acting this way, especially Anakin and Leia. Highly Recommended. Go. Read. Now.
(This story is another sequel to Father's Heart, which was recommended by a previous SW crack van driver here. It is also a sequel to The Only Question, which I recommended earlier in the month here.)
* * *
It is a time of healing.
In the wake of the vast Civil War, the New Republic has taken the first steps in clearing the wreckage of the Empire, and re-building the trust and security of the galaxy.
The ruined world of Naboo has been re-seeded and revived, and Queen Amidala, long a prisoner at its core, reigns again in a resurrected Theed. Her daughter, Princess Leia Organa-Solo is rebuilding the Senate and trying to create a stable government. Thanks to mysteriously obtained Imperial codes, her son, the Jedi knight Luke Skywalker, continues to find hidden Imperial fortresses, prisons, and laboratories.
Acting on a suspicious pattern of these outposts, Wedge Antilles and the Rogue Squadron have made a disturbing discovery in the remote Runa system: a cloning lab, containing an experiment that even Luke had never suspected -- an experiment that could change his life forever, and at last bring peace and closure to his family....
* * *
The clone rested on the table in the laboratory, its eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling and its chest rising and falling in a slow, even rhythm. Anakin hovered at the end of the table, concentrating his mind and his energy in this time and place. It was taxing -- he longed to spread himself out into the living Force, to touch the far corners of life, to feel the very heartbeat of the galaxy; staying in one place made him feel quite alone -- but he found it easier to focus his mind this way. The white noise of the universe that frequently comforted him and blunted his memories was gone; the thoughts of Obi-Wan and Yoda were outside of himself. Qui-Gon, perhaps, was with him, but the old Master was always quiet, and did not interfere in Anakin's decisions. Much to everyone's detriment, Anakin thought, then whispered an apology into the fog. He had vowed never to blame anyone but himself again for any of his poor decisions.
On the table, the clone's breathing continued on. Color was starting to come into his cheeks, and the gel he had been floating in had evaporated entirely. Palpatine's last temptation for him... and Luke's wish for him. A living human body, blood coursing through its veins and real, sensitive nerves in the fingertips. Anakin couldn't really remember what it felt like to run the tip of his finger across something. He wanted to remember.
He wondered what Amidala would make of it, and thought briefly about speaking to her on Naboo, but decided against it. He couldn't start depending on her for his own moral decisions, any more than he could depend on Luke or Qui-Gon. He thought she might smile wryly, though -- the clone wasn't even approaching a respectable age yet.
He thought he knew how to take it; it wouldn't even be that hard, just a matter of concentrating, as he was now, and then... jumping, he thought was the word for it. A little jump, and then a whole life ahead of him. The clone was twelve or thirteen. Its growth was only slightly exaggerated from normal human growth, maybe twice as fast as a normal childhood would have been; it would be more stable than a garden variety clone. Palpatine had begun him when he'd learned about Luke, using a DNA pattern that had been left in the computer of Amidala's transport. The rationale was obvious -- he wanted one more card up his sleeve, because somewhere in the back of his miserable mind, even he had suspected that Anakin was no longer entirely under his control.
"Palpatine is dead, Father," Luke said from the door. "His reasons and his schemes died with him. But the opportunity is still here."
"I'm dead, Luke." Anakin gave his son a weary smile (or at least hoped he did; he was never quite sure what his image was doing). "It doesn't seem to have that big an impact on which Jedi I can influence."
Luke nodded, taking it a bit more seriously than Anakin had intended him to. "Is he... there with you?"
Anakin had considered this question many times. He had not felt Palpatine's presence at all, and that made him suspicious. There should have been something, he thought. But then again, why would the living Force accept Palpatine at all?
And why would it accept me?
"No," he said.
"Take the clone, Father." Luke came into the room. Anakin felt the stir in the Force that always accompanied him, which was welcome, and the piercing sensation of an attempt to use a mind trick, which was not.
"Whether or not I take the clone will be a question of my will, Luke, not yours."
To his credit, Luke didn't deny the attempt. "Father, I need your help. Or at least I want your help. And Leia doesn't know you, at least not as yourself."
"Leia knows me quite well. She knew me long before you did."
"But not -- "
"Luke, you're drawing a distinction that isn't there. Vader was a combination of all my bad choices, but he was me and I am him." He did not add, And if I take that clone, and cut myself off from the cool calmness of the living Force, you may get more of both of us than you're bargaining for.
Luke heard his thought anyway. "I know you're afraid, Father," he said. "And that's why you have to do this. I do need your help, finding people and training them. But it's you that you should do this for. You need to remember who you are. You need to find some way to fix what you broke."
Anakin focused on the clone again, on the blank blue eyes, the fine translucent skin at the wrists. To have a heart beating inside him again, ready to race out of control. To have blood ready to boil. A mind ready to fall into the fire. Luke was right. He was terrified of it. "There are many people who deserve a second chance more than I do..."
"But I can't think of anyone who needs one more."
Luke looked at Anakin, then looked down at the clone. His eyes rose again in an unspoken question, then he left Anakin alone with himself.
Anakin let himself drift back into the Force, feeling for advice. He sensed Obi-Wan's presence, but ignored it, not from animosity but from experience -- Kenobi did not understand him and never had; the strong eddy of energy that was Yoda offered him no guidance. He sought for Qui-Gon, a gentle current that ran quietly among the stars. He didn't try to find out what Qui-Gon thought, for he knew it before framing the question in his mind, though the coda, as always, was The choice is yours, Ani.
Will you be with me?
If you need me.
Anakin refocused and found himself back in the laboratory, the clone waiting with its infinite patience. He concentrated more deeply, found his way into the energy the clone wove into the Force around it.
Then he jumped.
The Penitent