This is my first attempt at a fanfic. In this AU, the Yuuzhan Vong are ten
years late. Ben Skywalker was also born earlier.
DISCLAIMERS: However much I might wish I did, I do not own Star Wars. Only two of the characters in this story are mine. The rest belong to LFL.
Return to Grace
He lay where he had fallen on his back, the pain more intense now that he had nothing else to distract him. He had escaped the warriors, but his ship was not waiting where it should have been, and he was badly wounded. He was bleeding from several small cuts, and a large gash in his side.
He saw ships flying over the cold, lifeless field, escaping the besieged planet before the Yuuzhan Vong completed their bloody conquest. He watched as ship after ship passed through his field of vision, hoping that one pilot, any pilot, would take pity on him and land. But they flew onwards and upwards. They had seen too much death and destruction already, and were in no hurry to rescue someone who was probably going to die anyway.
It was getting colder now. He tried to draw on the Force, to at least dull the pain, but he couldn't concentrate, his thoughts were too chaotic. He tried again to move. New pain lanced through his chest, forcing a cough. He tasted blood. Faintness rolled over him, and with it came the realization that he was dying. He no longer cared. He was too weary to care. He just wanted to sleep. He closed his eyes, darkness taking him, and saw her. He opened his eyes, but she was still in front of him. His wife, Tahiri. She was alive. But he knew she couldn't be. She had died years ago when an out- of-control transport had crashed into their home. He had watched, helpless, as the building collapsed around them, on top of them. His wife had been among the many casualties. His son was in a medical facility on Coruscant, in a coma. Tahiri's death had nearly driven him mad with grief.
Now he was seeing her as she might have been if not for the accident. She was happy. Tahiri waved to him, beckoning him. He heard her laughter. As he listened, he realized that he wanted to die. To become one with the Force. To just close his eyes, go to sleep and never wake up. To leave this damned war to someone else. He just wanted to be with his family. He tried to smile, but he was too weak. So he sighed, and closed his eyes again. He no longer felt cold. The vision of his wife grew brighter, more real. He embraced the end of his suffering, the end of his loneliness. He was going home.
"I've found him! Get me some bacta patches now! He's cut open all over!"
The voice boomed in his ears. Thunder rolled over his family, and they started dissolving.
"Hey, don't give up on me here. You're going to make it, just hang on."
He opened his eyes to see a young face above his. He tried to tell the medic to let him go, that he wanted to die, but weakness stole his voice.
"You're going to be fine. We'll have you good as new in no time."
He mustered all his remaining strength and managed a whisper.
"No... let me go... family... home... "
But the medic kept him alive. Kept him from his family. He closed his eyes and saw them one last time before they disappeared completely. Grief and despair washed over him, and if he could, he would have wept. Then the darkness pulled him under again.
DISCLAIMERS: However much I might wish I did, I do not own Star Wars. Only two of the characters in this story are mine. The rest belong to LFL.
Return to Grace
He lay where he had fallen on his back, the pain more intense now that he had nothing else to distract him. He had escaped the warriors, but his ship was not waiting where it should have been, and he was badly wounded. He was bleeding from several small cuts, and a large gash in his side.
He saw ships flying over the cold, lifeless field, escaping the besieged planet before the Yuuzhan Vong completed their bloody conquest. He watched as ship after ship passed through his field of vision, hoping that one pilot, any pilot, would take pity on him and land. But they flew onwards and upwards. They had seen too much death and destruction already, and were in no hurry to rescue someone who was probably going to die anyway.
It was getting colder now. He tried to draw on the Force, to at least dull the pain, but he couldn't concentrate, his thoughts were too chaotic. He tried again to move. New pain lanced through his chest, forcing a cough. He tasted blood. Faintness rolled over him, and with it came the realization that he was dying. He no longer cared. He was too weary to care. He just wanted to sleep. He closed his eyes, darkness taking him, and saw her. He opened his eyes, but she was still in front of him. His wife, Tahiri. She was alive. But he knew she couldn't be. She had died years ago when an out- of-control transport had crashed into their home. He had watched, helpless, as the building collapsed around them, on top of them. His wife had been among the many casualties. His son was in a medical facility on Coruscant, in a coma. Tahiri's death had nearly driven him mad with grief.
Now he was seeing her as she might have been if not for the accident. She was happy. Tahiri waved to him, beckoning him. He heard her laughter. As he listened, he realized that he wanted to die. To become one with the Force. To just close his eyes, go to sleep and never wake up. To leave this damned war to someone else. He just wanted to be with his family. He tried to smile, but he was too weak. So he sighed, and closed his eyes again. He no longer felt cold. The vision of his wife grew brighter, more real. He embraced the end of his suffering, the end of his loneliness. He was going home.
"I've found him! Get me some bacta patches now! He's cut open all over!"
The voice boomed in his ears. Thunder rolled over his family, and they started dissolving.
"Hey, don't give up on me here. You're going to make it, just hang on."
He opened his eyes to see a young face above his. He tried to tell the medic to let him go, that he wanted to die, but weakness stole his voice.
"You're going to be fine. We'll have you good as new in no time."
He mustered all his remaining strength and managed a whisper.
"No... let me go... family... home... "
But the medic kept him alive. Kept him from his family. He closed his eyes and saw them one last time before they disappeared completely. Grief and despair washed over him, and if he could, he would have wept. Then the darkness pulled him under again.