How Zahn Could Fix This Mess (Vs. 2)
MaraJade01
a different scenario than the "dream" explanation previously posted by
Sean Fallesen. My idea is not an original one. Far from it, in fact.
This
has been used in many sci-fi stories and TV shows. It is the "alternate
universe" explanation. (Think of it as Star Wars meets Sliders.) Those
of
you who are familiar with this plot device know the premise: that there
are
an infinite number of alternate realities in our universe. How can Mr.
Zahn
use this to "fix" the attrocities created by the other Star Wars authors?
Simple: the SW timeline AFTER the Zahn trilogy is in an alternate reality.
If this is the case, then Mr. Zahn could pick up where he left off
effectively
erasing all the other crap the other authors have written. As Sean stated
in
the original post, Mr. Zahn would introduce this plot device in chapter 2.
(The first chapter is reserved for the Empire!)
(This is still a rough version of the story. I basically wrote it
off the
top of my head, so it still needs a lot of work. It's pretty long, too.
Sorry
about that.)
WARNING: If you actually like those other Star Wars books, then
THIS POST IS NOT FOR YOU! Only those who feel the Zahn trilogy is
worthy of the Star Wars name should read this. With that said, on with
the
story...
CHAPTER TWO
The stars looked beautiful to Luke. They really looked no
different
than they did when he left Coruscant two months ago, but now that he was
returning, they seemed brighter somehow. Perhaps it was just his feelings
of happiness reflected in the stars.
"Artoo, what's our estimated time to Coruscant?" Luke asked.
R2-D2 beeped faintly from his position in the X-Wing, as the
figures began to appear on Luke's screen. The little droid said it would
be
another 20 minutes.
"That's 20 minutes too long," Luke mumbled. Artoo beeped
questioningly. "No, that's alright. I don't want to strain the engines.
I guess
I'm just anxious to get home," Luke answered.
Artoo twittered in agreement. Luke laughed. "I thought you
missed Threepio. I'm sure he
misses you as well. It'll only be a few minutes until..." Luke broke off
as
Artoo began beeping excitedly.
A bright light filled the cockpit, as an unusual phenomena
appeared in front of the X-Wing.
Luke's instruments began to fail, as they were somehow pulled toward the
anomaly.
"Artoo, full reverse!" Luke yelled.
It was no use. The ship continued to move into the phenomena.
The X-Wing shuttered
violently against the strain of the opposing forces. Luke was afraid it
would
break apart under the stress.
Luke screamed over the noise, "Artoo, shut down the engines.
The strain is too much for..."
Luke's body was thrown like a rag doll in his seat. The reaction
of
the sudden loss of engine power threw Luke forward. His head hit the
instrument panel. Then everything went black.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Luke, can you hear me? Please wake up."
Leia. That was Leia's voice.
Luke struggled to pull himself from unconsciousness.
"Leia," he whispered.
"I'm right here, Luke," Leia replied, relief in her voice.
Luke slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus. He could barely
make out Leia's face through the blur. "Where am I?" he asked.
"You're in the medical center on Coruscant," Leia answered.
"Your ship was found floating in space just out of orbit. You were
unconscious when they found you. Can you tell me what happened?"
"I'm not sure," Luke said as he tried to sit up. "One minute I
was
talking to Artoo, the next, I
don't know. Some kind of anomaly appeared in front of us and started to
drag the ship toward it. When I tried to reverse the ship, it began to
vibrate
from the strain. I must have hit my head and blacked out."
Luke looked around the room. It looked different than he
remembered. Well, he hadn't spent much time in the med center lately.
Perhaps they'd made changes recently.
"Where's Mara?" he asked.
Leia looked shocked. "Mara?" she asked. "I think she's in her
room." She paused, baffled. "Do you want to see her?"
"Of course," Luke replied. Leia's surprise worried Luke. He
hoped nothing had happened while he was gone.
Leia called Mara on the comm. She arrived a few minutes later.
She seemed different to Luke. He couldn't quite put his finger on the
difference, but it was there.
"Hello, Luke," Mara said. "You wanted to see me?"
Luke tried to get up from the bed. As he did, the dizziness began
to overtake him. Leia and Mara caught him on either side before he fell.
"Perhaps you should lie down, Luke," Mara said.
"No, I just want to go to my room. I think I may need your help,
though," Luke said as he stood supported by the two women.
Leia and Mara helped Luke upstairs to a room in the palace. As
Luke entered the room, he looked around. Something was definitely
wrong. Everything had changed. It looked...It looked sparse. As though
he hadn't lived there in a long time.
"What's going on? Where is everything? Mara, what's happened
to the room?" Luke asked. "You didn't move us without telling me, did
you?"
Mara and Leia looked at each other, confused. "How hard did he
hit his head?" Mara asked Leia.
Leia just shrugged. "Maybe we should take you back to the
medical center. They can run some tests, and I'm sure you'll feel much
better..."
"I don't need to go back to the med center. I just want someone
to explain what's happened here," Luke said as he sat on the sofa.
As Leia began to reply, her comm beeped. "Yes, what is it?" she
asked.
"Madame Organa-Solo, we've found something we think you
should see," the voice said.
"I'll be right there." Leia glanced at Luke, then Mara.
"I'll stay with him," Mara said.
Leia hesitated, then turned and left the room.
"Well, are you going to explain this to me, or do I have to
persuade you?" Luke asked teasingly.
Mara was really confused now. "What has gotten into you?" Mara
asked him as she sat on the couch a good arms length away from him.
She didn't know what was going on, but she thought it best to keep her
distance. "Why don't you tell me why you left Yavin IV."
Luke looked at her sharply. "Yavin IV?! Why in the galaxy would
I
go to Yavin IV? I haven't been there since the Death Star was destroyed."
"That blow to the head must have scrambled your senses worse
than I thought," Mara commented. "Leia was right. You should go back
and have the doctors take another look at you."
Luke closed his eyes and calmed himself through the force.
Concentrating, he could feel the difference in this place, the place he
thought he knew so well. His home. But was it? It felt wrong somehow.
Terribly wrong.
He opened his eyes and looked at Mara. She looked back
concerned, but distant. That was wrong, too. "Mara, something is wrong,
but I don't believe it's me. Or maybe it is. I don't know. Perhaps my
memory was affected in the...whatever it was. Can you just tell me what's
going on? Why did you think I was on Yavin IV?"
Now Mara was worried. She decided that she'd better go along
with him, at least until Leia came back. Maybe Leia could talk some sense
into him.
"Alright," Mara began. "After the Emperor was resurrected..."
Luke reached over and grabbed her arm. "The Emperor?! When
did that happen? Did he come after you? Are you ok?" Luke blurted out
in alarm.
"Ow. Luke, let go of my arm." Mara twisted out of his grip. "You
don't remember the Emperor cloning himself and turning you to the dark
side?" she asked, alarmed.
Luke took a deep breath. "When did that happen?"
"About a year after Thrawn and C'Baoth were defeated."
"At least that I remember," Luke mumbled. "Why don't you start at
the beginning. How did the Emperor turn me to the dark side? Did he use
you as bait somehow?" Luke asked.
"No," Mara said. "I wasn't involved in that. I was still with the
Smugglers' Alliance."
Luke looked at her, surprised. "You didn't feel him when he was
resurrected? He didn't call to you, The Emperor's Hand?"
Mara thought for a moment. "That is odd, isn't it," she replied.
"You'd think I'd be the first to know." Now Mara was confused. She'd
never thought about that before. Funny, it had never come up in a
conversation, either.
Luke shook his head. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he said
under his breath. He had to find out what was going on. "Let's move on.
What happened after that?"
"Well, about a year after you and Leia defeated the Emperor, you
formed a Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. You started with nearly ten students,
I think," Mara said.
"Ten students at one time? How in the world could anyone teach
so many students at once and give them the attention they needed to
become a Jedi? Not to mention the potential dangers to the students
should a dark Jedi surface." Luke was baffled by his supposed actions.
"Were you there? Is that where I taught you to become a Jedi?" he asked.
"I started the training, but I left before it was complete," she
said.
"Why would you leave? I gave you my old lightsaber and told you
that you were on your way to becoming a Jedi Knight. You do remember
that, don't you?" He asked her.
"Of course, but things were different after that. You had other
students, and I wasn't interested," Mara replied.
"Not interested?" Luke asked. "What could have been more
important than becoming a Jedi? You had, have, such potential. I can't
believe you would throw that away?"
"Now, wait a minute," Mara responded. "You weren't all that
interested back then. You seemed more concerned about that kid that
Han found on Kessel, Kyp. You said he was the most powerful potential
Jedi you'd ever met. Then that 4,000 year old Sith lord tried to possess
your students and tried to kill you..."
"Please tell me that's when I left Yavin," Luke pleaded.
"No. You stayed. In fact, you still have the academy there and
that's where you live with Callista."
Luke looked up sharply. This was getting worse by the minute.
"Who is Callista?"
Mara stared at him. "You don't remember your wife?"
"My wife?! But you're..." Luke broke off. This was more than
just
his memory. He knew who his wife was, and she wasn't named Callista.
He definitely didn't belong here. Luke rose and looked out the window.
Even Coruscant itself seemed changed. It looked as if it had been through
some kind of war. But that wasn't possible. This was the most heavily
guarded planet in the universe.
Mara got up and followed him to the window. She could tell
something was somehow off about Luke. He was a Jedi Master. There
was no way he could just forget such events completely.
Luke turned to face Mara. He looked in her eyes and saw a
glimmer of the woman he knew, but just a glimmer. She looked the same
on the outside, but the inside...he could sense she wasn't the Mara he
knew.
Mara could feel his eyes peering into her soul. It made her feel
uncomfortable. "Luke," Mara began.
Luke leaned towards her and cut the words off with a kiss. He
had to know for sure. Her lips felt the same, but, again, different. If
this
were his Mara, she would at least return the gesture with more feeling,
more passion.
Mara pulled away. She stared at him in astonishment. "Luke,
what was that all about?" she asked breathlessly.
"Mara, I don't belong here," he replied. He paused, considering
his options. There wasn't much he could do at the moment. He wasn't
even sure how he got here. He may as well learn all he could about this
place, just in case these events threatened to occur back home. "Why
don't you tell me more about this Callista. Who is she? How did I meet
her?" he asked.
Mara looked puzzled, but decided to humor him. "You met her on
a ship that was taking aliens and turning them into Stormtroopers. She
was a dead Jedi whose spirit became trapped when she tried to stop the
ship. She came back to life when she transferred her spirit into a
student
who was with you at the time."
"What?! There is no way that could happen. A Jedi can't just
transfer his spirit into another person's body. Besides that, a Jedi's
spirit
has to have another Jedi to anchor itself to in order to remain on this
plane
of existence. Don't you think Ben or Yoda would have come back in
another person's body if they could. We certainly could have used them to
help defeat the Empire. Not only that, but ALL the Jedi, light and dark,
would have come back before! They would never have died if they didn't
have to. There was still work to be done." Luke was clearly becoming
agitated. He couldn't believe this ridiculous scenario. And how could he
fall in love with a DEAD woman?! None of this made any sense. Perhaps
the force worked differently in this universe. "At least she's a Jedi,"
he
said.
"But she lost her powers when she transferred her spirit," Mara
said.
"Then how could she ever protect herself, or our children? Do we
have any children?" Luke asked. He hoped not. After all the precautions
he'd made to protect his family; the Jedi training, the Nogrhi body
guards.
He could never live with himself if he knew he'd put them in danger out of
ignorance. Especially after discovering what happened to Mara and her
family when she was a child. "Please tell me we don't have children," he
pleaded.
"No. Not yet," she replied. "You weren't concerned about that
before."
"Let's change the subject. That one's too wierd and disturbing
for
me to think about," Luke paused. "What about you? What have you been
doing all this time if you haven't become a Jedi?" he asked.
"Well, Lando and I are still together..." Mara started.
"Lando?! You're with Lando?" This was really wierd. "How did
that happen?"
Mara shrugged. "He was very persistent. After all, he bet Han
for
the Falcon and won, then he gave it back. I thought that was very
generous of him."
Luke laughed. This was getting ridiculous. "Why would Han bet
the Falcon? He loves that ship more than anything. And Lando would
never give up anything he won unless there was something in it for him."
Luke thought for a moment. Then it occured to him. "You weren't
impressed by that, were you? He must have done that to get on your
good side. I can't believe you would fall for it. With your Jedi senses,
although undeveloped, you should have been able to see right through
him. And Lando. He never trusted you before. Remember he was the
one who first recognized you from Jabba's Palace. He wouldn't even
believe me when I tried to tell him you were on our side. Even Han wanted
to leave you on the ship back on Wayland. You'd think Han would have
talked Lando out of it at least." Luke continued to laugh.
"I don't think it's that funny," Mara replied. "At least someone
found me attractive. You certainly never gave me a second thought. In
fact, you've practically ignored me since we defeated C'Baoth and your
clone."
Luke stopped laughing. "I didn't mean you aren't attractive. I
happen to think you're extremely beautiful. I always have. It's just
that
nothing here makes sense."
"So what do you think is going on?" she asked.
"I think that anomaly I ran into was some kind of rip in space, a
portal to an alternate reality," he hesitated. "Either that, or I'm
losing my
mind."
Mara smiled. "I doubt that. You're not acting crazy, like
C'Baoth,"
she said. "If your other theory is true, how are you going to get back?"
As Luke started to answer, Leia burst into the room followed be a
man in a general's uniform.
"Luke," Leia began, "When I spoke to Callista on Yavin, she said
you were still there. 'You' had never left. I spoke to the real Luke and
you're not him! Who are you and what is going on here."
Luke and Mara looked at each other. Luke said, "I don't believe
I'm the Luke you know. I think that anomaly I flew threw brought me to
your universe, taking me out of mine. If I'm right, I should leave before
the
anomaly disappears."
The general spoke up, "The anomaly is still there, but it is
beginning to close." he turned to Leia. "How do we know he's telling the
truth?"
"He has no reason to lie. Besides, I can feel he's telling the
truth."
She looked at Luke. "I'll make sure your ship is ready.
Mara said, "I'll take him to his ship."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Mara stood beside Luke as he checked on Artoo. The little droid
appeared to be unharmed. He had stayed with the ship when Luke was
brought to the medical center and had seemed quite relieved to see Luke
in one piece.
Mara turned to Luke. "The Mara you know, is she very different
from me?"
Luke turned to the woman he knew, yet was unfamiliar to him.
"She's beautiful, intelligent, stubborn, independent, forthright," he
paused
and smiled, "she's the most wonderful woman I've ever known."
Luke looked at Mara. He thought he felt a sadness deep inside
her. This Mara hadn't yet overcome the obstacles his had. The obstacles
that had helped her become one of the strongest Jedi he's known.
Mara said, "Perhaps there's still hope for me, then." She leaned
forward and kissed him farewell. "I don't suppose you'd consider staying
here, would you?" she asked.
Luke smiled. "I can't. I still have work to do in my universe,
and a
family to see."
Luke climbed into the cockpit of his X-Wing and started the
preflight sequence.
"Let's get out of here, Artoo."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The flight through the anomaly went off without a hitch.
Especially
since he had the sense not to fight the forces pulling him in. It made
for a
much smoother ride. When he was through, he contacted Coruscant's
Defense Control to arrange destruction of the anomaly. He certainly
didn't
want to go back to that universe again!
He landed the X-Wing and climbed out of the ship. There were
two people waiting for him when he arrived.
"Daddy!" a little blonde boy, about four years old, yelled as he
flew into Luke's arms. Luke swung the child up into his arms.
'What happened to you? I could feel you come closer to the
planet, but then you disappeared. I was worried. And you know what I'm
like when I'm worried,' his wife spoke in his mind.
'I'll explain everything later,' Luke replied. He put his son
down,
pulled Mara to him and kissed her. Yes, this was most definitely his
wife,
the woman he loved.
"It's sure is good to be home," he said.
THE END
MaraJ...@aol.com
Michelle Lunsford
solution. I espeically enjoyed the way Mara was slightly hesitant for
Luke to leave at the end. (As if you didn't know *I* would especially
like that part!) Some very good ideas here. Now all we have to do is
wait a couple years and see what Zahn really has to say about this mess.
Thank you kindly,
Michelle
* Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.
Mulder: łIąd like to have it [river] dragged as soon as possible.˛
Sheriff: łWhy would you want to do that?˛
Mulder: łTo see whatąs in there.˛
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łStare the guy down until he realizes heąs a woman,
go home, work out, come back that night,
and *burn the place down*!˛
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