#(i need an official bail and breha tag.....not this day.)

[ofalderaan]

As he came into sight of Padmé's apartment block, he commed Breha. "Leave a light burning in the window this evening, my dove. Your shamefully neglectful husband is making a lightning visit home."   Her soft, sultry laughter lit a fire in his blood. "I'll do that. How long exactly will the lightning last?"   "Not long enough," he said, regretful. "As long as I can manage."   "Ah," she said, "So -- not a pleasure trip, then?"   He grinned. "I'm pretty sure I can squeeze in a little pleasure here and there. But no. It's business."   "I see." The two small words told him she understood perfectly. She knew him so well; could read every nuance of tone in his voice. "I'll be waiting."

The Clone Wars: Gambit Stealth Karen Miller

[ashlynncoy-blog]

Misfire: Critical Condition Part VIII

Here is Part VIII.

I have madness this week, so I don’t know when I will get time to post again, but I have through part thirteen drafted and the next several bits are very concretely in my head. It’s just getting a minute to be in front of the computer that’s the stumbling block.

Remember that the #Misfire Verse tag will get you all previous installments. Here, have what I call PEAK angst:

Leia had suspected her decision to break things off with Isolder might not go over well with her superiors in government. She had not, however, been at all prepared for the fill weight of the New Republic’s disapproval.

She’d barely been spoken to since her return to Coruscant. Her position on the New Republic Provisional Council had been dissolved along with the others upon the founding of the permanent government. She’d been granted indefinite leave from her duties in the Ministry of State in order to make the trip to the Hapes Consortium with Isolder, and closing in on three months after her return, she’d yet to be re-called to service.

She’d kept as busy as she could. She’d made appearances on behalf of her mother and of Alderaan, and had done her best as a sounding board for her father, who had recently been seated as Chancellor. But things were beginning to get awkward. Chancellor Bail Organa and Chief of State Mon Mothma worked closely together. They were also old friends and trusted colleagues. They’d both shard work space and associated socially since the days before the Empire. There was only so much time that could pass before it became painfully aware to Leia that her father’s friend, her former boss, was avoiding her.

Luke was away most of the time. As much as she supported his quest to understand, and to possibly rebuild, the Jedi Order, Leia missed having her brother around. Winter was away, too—under such deep cover that the two women couldn’t even send messages through a handler. With Han still in a coma (and hating her) and most of her other friends still in the military and off on campaign, the loneliness and boredom had begun to get to her.

She spent what time she could working on the Force meditations and other exercises she’d been taught—keeping a promise she’d made to Luke years before to turn her attentions to the practice as soon as she could find the time. But ever since that day in the hospital with Han, she’d been afraid to fully reach out with her feelings for fear of encountering something so unsettling again. Her mastery of The Force wasn’t improving much.

She was having a hard time figuring out what to do with herself on Coruscant in the absence of any official duties, so when her father had mentioned his plan to spend the Senate’s impending two weeks recess on Alderaan, and asked if she would be interested in joining him, Leia had practically jumped at the suggestion.

Running home to her mother wasn’t entirely in character for Leia, but the idea of being someplace she felt welcome was enough to make the trip more than appealing. Since her return from Hapes, her mother had been gently pressuring her to begin taking on more of the kinds of responsibilities she’d be faced with someday as Queen, and Leia didn’t mind at all if that meant spending some time on Alderaan—and some on-the-job-training with her mother.

She’d packed her bags with an abundance of haste. Anything she forgot, she would surely be able to replace when she got where she was going. That was the advantage of traveling home over any of her other ventures over the years. She’d had her things sent ahead to the spaceport hours ahead of her father’s scheduled arrival at the embassy to retrieve her, and she was sitting on go when Bail finally arrived.

As she rode beside her father in the speeder, Leia couldn’t help but notice they didn’t seem to be heading for their usual port of embarkation.

“Where is the ship?” she asked as Bail piloted their ample two-seater through a particularly bad snarl of traffic.

“It’s right where it usually is,” he answered. “I have a stop to make first.”

Maybe it was The Force or maybe it was the tone in her father’s voice, but Leia knew precisely where they were headed. She’d thought she recognized this part of town, but so much of Coruscant resembled so much of the rest of it that she’d talked herself into thinking it was her own preoccupations making this neighborhood seem familiar. But no—she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head as her father brought the speeder around the final corner to allow Army Hospital to come into view in the distance.

“Dad,” she said. “no.”

“I have to, Leia.”

“You have to?” she quizzed.

“We’re still listed as General Solo’s next of kin.”

“Oh.” Leia clapped her hand over her mouth. She’d forgotten that. The Alliance was still on Yavin 4 when Bail and Breha Organa had insisted on being listed as both Luke’s and Han’s family on official documents—that way they would be notified in the event of any emergency. Leia hadn’t thought about that in years. She certainly hadn’t considered what that might mean in terms of Han’s current condition.

“I need to sign some forms,” Bail said. He pulled the speeder into the lane that would take him to the hospital’s public landing bay.

“What kind of forms?” Leia asked. She knew Han didn’t want her around, but that didn’t make her any less curious. If she could get updates on his condition from her father, then she was damned sure going to.

“They want to put him back in the bacta tank,” Bail answered.

“That’s good,” Leia said, remembering what Wedge had told her about how they’d wanted to wait on bacta until Han was more stable.

“I’m afraid it’s not,” her father countered.

“What?”

“It’s quite the opposite,” he told her. “He’s just not healing. There’s nothing more they can do.”

“But Wedge said they can’t resuscitate him,” Leia argued. Surely Bail had heard this. If he’d signed forms for Han’s care before now, he must have been told about that.

“I know,” Bail replied somberly. “But what good is it if they keep resuscitating him only to have him get sicker and sicker? Eventually they won’t be able to get him back at all. It’s reached a point where it’s too risky to keep him out of bacta. Maybe,” he said, “if we’re lucky, the bacta will do enough. Because that’s the only chance he has left right now.”

Leia could feel her lower lip beginning to tremble as she fisted her hands in her skirt.

Bail pulled the speeder onto the hospital platform and lowered its parking struts.

“You can wait here if you need to,” Bail said as he opened his door. “I understand this is hard for you.”

Leia sniffled as she considered his offer.

“No,” she said. She reached over and opened her own door, careful not to let her knees buckle from the fear she felt as she stepped out onto the tarmac. “I’ll wait in the hall.”

Leia walked beside her father across the landing platform and to the lift that would take them to the right floor. She couldn’t help but notice the confidence with which her father made the trip, but she dared not ask how many times he’d come to visit. It was clear that he’d been here plenty; as they traversed the labyrinthine corridors between the lift and the Critical Care wing, he didn’t have to look at a single sign.

Leia could tell something was horribly wrong as soon as they set foot onto the familiar hallway. There was a klaxon sounding. Beings and droids were scurrying into and out of the open door to one of the treatment suites. When she realized what was going on and whose room they were concerned with, Leia broke into a flat run toward it.

She was reaching out with her feelings. She needed to get some hold of Han, some grip on whatever part of him was still around. It was a risk, she knew. She was driven by fear and terror and Luke would probably say she was falling to the Dark Side, but that was a matter she’d deal with another day. Right now there was only one thing she gave a damn about.

She rounded the corner into Han’s room at full speed. There were doctors, nurses, droids, and machines on all sides of the bed. Leia could barely get a glimpse of Han where he lay. But she knew he was there. She knew it in The Force and she knew it by the readouts on the screens all over the room. He was crashing, but he wasn’t down yet.

“We’re losing him!” one of the doctors shouted, reaching for some implement being held at stand-by by a droid just behind her.

“Come to, General!” Leia yelled, “You are not dismissed!”.

Her voice was strident and Forceful, the same as if she was giving him an order to evacuate a failing ship—only this order was precisely the opposite. She could feel him then—something—some part of him responding to her call. There was only one thing she could think to say. “Yeah,” she said, “it’s me. I’m back.” She wiped her moist eyes with her sleeve and continued. “You want me to go?” she asked, “well then wake the hell up and throw me out!”

The medical team continued their work. Leia watched as numbers and lines danced and variated on screens all around as stimulators and medications were administered left and right.

She took a step closer.

“Otherwise,” she said, with a little more control of herself than before, “I get the satisfaction of knowing the last thing you knew on this mortal plane was the sound of my voice!”

“I have a pulse,” a nurse called out then.

“Heart rate is normalizing,” the emdee droid announced. “Spontaneous respirations.”

The team at Han’s bedside seemed to let out a collective sigh.

Leia was gasping. She could feel something—some tension, some spark of Han struggling to come to the surface. Maybe he was trying to wake up and throw her out. She didn’t know. All she did know was that he was alive, and that had to be enough for today.

She clapped both hands over her mouth to stifle the sobs as she backed out of the room.

Just on the other side of the door, Bail Organa caught his daughter by the shoulders and spun her around, wrapping his arms around her as she wept.

“Shhhh, Leilila,” he whispered, his own tears escaping as he spoke. He rocked her gently in his embrace, patting her hair the way he always had when she’d needed soothing as a little child.

“I know I’ve already lost him,” she said, trying her best to get just a little hold of herself, “but I just can’t lose him again, dad. I can’t.”

“I know, baby girl,” he replied. “And we’re doing everything we can.”

[shadowsong26fic]

Coming Attractions!

At this point, I might just say “first Monday of the month” instead of “first of the month,” ‘cause that’s when I seem to have posted the last few, IIRC...

Fanfic:

Precipice:

Wellll....my update day seems to have moved to Fridays, lol. Uh, that wasn’t planned, exactly...

I’m probably going to be in Commander for another month or so--I have to get Obi-Wan away from Thrawn, of course, and wrap up Anakin’s plotline, and I need to check in with our Coruscant folks probably at least once more. Then again, the next arc, which is untitled, is going to take place probably a year or two after Commander, and will focus more heavily on them (also Leia, and Winter will probably actually show up on-page for more than two lines of dialogue while Bail and Breha are talking...Basically, it’s gonna be mostly about the tiny ones.)

But first all of the aforementioned things also Anakin’s gonna do something Really Really Stupid.

Let’s see, what else...I’ve been thinking about posting Specter’s bio, now that That One Spoiler has been revealed on-page. Would people be interested in that?

Also, while Part 5 doesn’t have a subtitle yet, I will officially announce here that Part 6 is called Reunion, and will take place about ten years after RotS.

Distaff:

The Opera House still needs stabbed in the face. But I’ve mostly worked it out. Next chapter will be out this month I swear.

....::crosses fingers and prays::

Masks:

...sigh. No update. Friggin...ugh. I’ll make it work after I get past the friggin Opera House in Distaff. I will make it work. If for no other reason than once I do I can get to Machinations, which is the story I really want to write.

And then Martyrs, which will link up with the sequel trilogy.

Auxiliaries:

A biiiiit late. But I’ll post the opening bit this week. Which is not the first bit chronologically; it’s when Obi-Wan meets Anakin.

Crack AU Outline Summary:

I did a Distaff spinoff this month! Next month, I’m tentatively planning a time-travelling Luke one. He will be tiny and precious and Ventress will be involved maybe.

May change my mind, though. We shall see! Also, if anyone has a request, feel free to mention it. Either a spinoff of one of my existing things, or something from my List, or whatever you think I’d make a good writeup out of! I will at least consider it, and write it up if I can make it work!

Also, there’s a tag for these now.

Original Fic:

I got a lot a lot done this month! Summer usually works well for me, there’s a lot of short-range challenges on RF, so I get a lot of short bits out. Even if I don’t do a lot of serious work on long-range projects.

Did not get anything done on publishable things, unfortunately. But I had some RL/work stuff crop up and eat up a lot of time last week/the week before.

So, hopefully this month! Also, there’ll be more challenges and such.

And I’ll do a crossover of some kind with one of my original worlds. Still not 100% sure what I’ll cross with, other than a Phoenix!Verse sequel, but I think I wanna do something else, too. We shall see.

Phoenix!Verse:

Got a teeny bit more done on The Caladrius. Not as much as I’d hoped, but a bit. It should be done by the end of the summer!

Monthly Goals:

June Recap:

1. Keep up with Precipice updates--did so! If I allow myself to push my deadline to Fridays, I was only late once this month, which is my Rule.

2. At least two (preferably three) Distaff updates--goddamn friggin Opera House i hate it.

3. Get Auxiliaries started--a little behind, but it’ll be up this week.

4. At least one Masks update--eheh. eheh. ...sigh.

5. Do another crack outline and/or add more to one of the three existing ones. (Bail Unfucks the Timeline, Temple-Raised Palpatine, Heralds of Valdemar Fusion)--I did! Distaff variant 1a!

6. Work on Phoenix!verse--a little bit!

7. At least two posts to RF--and more!

8. Work on at least one publishable project.--...not so much.

9. Update Lux and Feredar archives.--.....oops.

10. At least 10k total on any/all projects--::checks running total post:: 13986! \o/

July Goals:

1. Keep up with Precipice updates.

2. Get the friggin Opera House done and posted already.

3. Debut Auxliiaries.

4. At least write some Masks. In order. Bits from Machinations or the timeskip between them don’t count. Even if it’s not a full postable chapter.

5. Do another crack outline :D

6. At least 1k on Phoenix!verse.

7. Work on another origfic crossover.

9. Seriously, Shadowsong. The archives.

10. At least 10k on any/all projects.