Myddelion Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 (edited) Prepare yourselves for five layers of spoiler tags because this is set after the Umbara flashpoint. I mean, it's not like I mention names as such, but it's not hard to guess.Yeah, seriously, you don't want this spoiled.If you've clicked this far you either lack restraint, don't care about spoilers or have already played it.In which case, man that flashpoint was brutal, am I right?Metal creaked and groaned amidst the roaring flames as their white-hot tongues licked up into the air. Black as tar, the smoke and stars hung over everything, pressing down with otherworldly weight. Every bone in her body hurt, screaming out into a world that felt comprised of silence. Embers rained down from the sky. “Commander,” she heard. The words were muffled. She did her best not to listen to them — it didn’t take much effort. Her mind was a deadened husk, once filled but now carved and hollowed out. She lost herself in it, aware of the pain but numb to it, one word echoing in her mind. Why? “Commander.” A shape moved into view to her right and two glowing eyes pierced the darkness. “Commander,” a voice said, brusque but muted. “I’m sorry, but we have to move.” Lana reached down and grabbed her by the elbow, hauling her onto her feet. Her body screamed again in protest, but it was her heart that hurt the most. Another explosion rocked the piles of debris in the distance and over the ruined corpse of the train came swarming a horde of creatures and people, moving as insects toward a common foe. They clambered over carriages, through flames and under shadow. They came for them. All his doing. There came a sharp hiss of indrawn breath as Lana noticed the attackers. Her lightsabre blazed out of its hilt, its vibrant reds drowned out by the proximity of the inferno. She leapt forward into battle, cutting swathes into the oncoming ranks. The commander remained still, swaying only slightly, until a blaster bolt careened past her face. When she turned to fight, it wasn’t her in control. Instinct took over and she was an unthinking engine of destruction. But it came at a cost. Lacking the will to fight, her limbs moved with leaden slowness to their marks. Blasters found their target, knives found gaps in her armour. She fought, and as she fought, she bled. By the time the fight was over, a dozen wounds laced her skin. Lana jerked back in shock when she caught sight of them, but behind her came a fresh waves of fighters, all converging on the location of the crash. “Follow me. We’re getting you out of here, now.” Lana rushed to one side, gesturing for the commander to follow her while the way was clear of enemies. She got about twenty feet away before realising no one followed her. “Commander,” she said. The urgency of their situation showed plain across her face. “Commander, I can’t begin to imagine what you’re thinking, but you can’t let it…” The commander shook her head. She’d been betrayed before, but that was another time. This time had mattered, and the fresh memory of it stabbed into her. Among all the pain, her heart burned like a star and — as with all stars — it only had so much to burn. It was done, now. Spent. If only it had spent itself sooner. With an effort of will, the commander looked up and caught Lana’s gaze. “Go on without me.” Lana blinked. “What? No. No, I can’t let you do that. Commander…” She took a limping step toward Lana, one arm clutching her chest. “Go on without me, Lana.” “The Alliance needs you.” Taking a moment to think of everything she had set out to achieve, everything she had been forced to do, the commander sighed. The way had been so clear. She’d tried to take the right path. He’d had doubts, but he’d approved. And now this. She shook her head. She’d trusted him. She trusted his judgement. And he judged that there was no place for her in the galaxy. It was with nothing but confidence that she held Lana’s gaze and uttered the words, “The Alliance is dead.” Edited August 25, 2017 by Myddelion Fixed typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunafox Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 It was pretty awful...as awful as I thought it would be. You did a wonderful job capturing that sense of awfulness and utter hopelessness that came with that revelation. Well done, Myddelion, thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfficerDonNZ Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 I agree with Luna, that was really sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myddelion Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 Thank you both. I think I wrote this in about half an hour (?) while it was still fresh and just...yarrgh. I'd been half-expecting it but forgot about it going in and they've done such a good job with it that it hits you like a truck. My other half had to put up with me making many sad noises as I wondered aimlessly around the rest of the flashpoint, aggro-ing every mob in existence. But hope remains! I'm pretty damned sure that... ...the Order of Shady People must be the Order of Revan. In which case a) that's going to be super cool and b) there might be some hope for redemption/other motives. Someone give the writers cookies. Lots of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunafox Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Thank you both. I think I wrote this in about half an hour (?) while it was still fresh and just...yarrgh. I'd been half-expecting it but forgot about it going in and they've done such a good job with it that it hits you like a truck. My other half had to put up with me making many sad noises as I wondered aimlessly around the rest of the flashpoint, aggro-ing every mob in existence. But hope remains! I'm pretty damned sure that... ...the Order of Shady People must be the Order of Revan. In which case a) that's going to be super cool and b) there might be some hope for redemption/other motives. Someone give the writers cookies. Lots of them. Oh god help me, if it's the Revanites, I won't be responsible lol. I think it might be like others have said--the Scions or some douchy followers of Malgus (man I hope not he needs to stay dead) or Jadus (now he's cool). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myddelion Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 (edited) I think that... ....maybe if it's the Revanites and the 'healed' Revan coming back to fix the galaxy, it might bring things back full circle in a way. Not only that, but it would explain where Satele's disappeared to. If Revan's (or even just his followers if he's well and truly out of the story) gathering the family together we might be heading for some dynastic drama. In any case I do like the theory that either a) what he's doing really will end up being a good thing or b) he's acting a part to infiltrate the Order. There was one line in particular, but I can't remember which one, that had me going, 'No, that's not him.' Whatever it was that he said was basically an echo of Malcolm's bloodthirst/greater-good-ism, which is the last thing I'd expect Theron to embrace. I might be wrong, though. The many sad noises could have drowned him out Edit: And as yet I still haven't encountered Jadus. One day! Edited August 25, 2017 by Myddelion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MishaCantu Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Thanks for posting this with all the raw emotion. I haven't had my heart ripped out like that in a long, long time and you truly captured the feeling. We can only hope it was a terrible ploy to save what he holds dear or some sort of control he can't break free from. As for who the 'order' is, we haven't heard anything from the scions yet or the Heralds of Zildrog, so who knows. Not sure I want to walk the revanite brick road again and there is always Malgus (ugh) or Jadus. Guess time will tell. Right now, I'm just numb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myddelion Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 Thank you, Misha! I have to say, while I was pretty shocked and sad about it yesterday, I appreciated the story at the time and I'm really, really excited to see what happens next. I have a good feeling about the next part. Nothing to base it on, but I don't think it'll be anywhere near a disappointment. Not by a long shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lammia Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Ouchy, that's a painful conclusion at the end Not only the last words but also that there was no place for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myddelion Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 Ouchy, that's a painful conclusion at the end Not only the last words but also that there was no place for her. It's kind of a double impact, really, because she has doubts about her own place in the galaxy and the positions she's been put into. She enjoyed it at the beginning but kind of drifted away from it/disconnected after Iokath when everything started to derail. Having the doubts repeated by someone so close to her with no presented solution was the nail in the coffin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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