#Erwin Rhovan

[treenahasthaal]

Dark Times: The Story So Far

Dark Times

A Summary

Before I post any new content, I thought a brief summary may be called for.

Chapter 1: NetworkTwo years after the battle of Yavin, Luke is part of an X-Wing squad on a mission to destroy an Imperial Munitions factory on the planet Escaal. He is shot down, hides his lightsaber, and is rescued by the local resistance lead by a man named Dade, who Luke does not meet (or so it seems). Luke is hidden in safe house and his injuries treated. Unfortunately, his hiding place is discovered and after a chase he his shot, injured and captured and brought to the local Imperial prison where Interrogation Specialist Erwin Rhovan questions him using enhanced interrogation techniques and torture.

Rhovan finds Luke’s lightsaber at his crash site.

Vader finds out that Luke is captured and heads to Escaal to claim his son. However, just as he arrives and when Luke is near breaking point Rhovan reveals himself to be the leader of the resistance, Dade. Vader only has a few moments with Luke as during the transfer between the detention centre, Artoo causes the turbolifts to malfunction and Rhovan takes the opportunity to rescue Luke.

Chapter Two: Pale ShelterRhovan takes Luke to the Rebel base on Ra’imar where he is reunited with Wedge Antilles and the rest of Rogue Squadron. He is severely injured (do I sense a theme?) and receives treatment. We find out that Han Solo had tried to get to Escaal, but with the planet on lockdown (we know how that feels) it had been impossible. He and Leia board the Falcon to go to Ra’imar.

It turns out that General Rieekan knows Rhovan and that it seems that they had been friends. Luke and Rhovan are debriefed on the events on Escaal and it starts to become obvious that Luke is struggling with PTSD.

Luke senses that Vader and the Empire are on their way and tries to warn High Command. He lies and says that he broke during Interrogation and told Vader of the base hoping to give the Alliance time to evacuate, but it’s too late. The Empire arrives and lands forces with Vader leading.

Luke is placed in the custody of two rebel troopers, Haslam and Thecla. Before they can get to the evacuation ship it leaves without them. Against orders Luke persuades the soldiers to get to the hangers and an x-wing. However, by the time they get there it is ablaze from an Imperial bombing run.

Han and Leia arrive and join the battle, shooting down TIE Bombers and Fighters. Rhovan is evacuated.

Luke and the two soldiers are trapped on the planet with no way off. Luke realises that it is he who Vader wants and prepares to give himself up. Just before Vader takes him, however Artoo (Yay again!) lands in between father and son and with Thecla and Haslam’s help Luke gets into the fighter. Han brings the Falcon down and Thecla, injured by a flying lightsaber, is taken onboard with Haslam.

Again, Vader is left empty handed.

Chapter Three: RhovanThe surviving Alliance Forces head to Ardalii VI, a new base set up on the side of a volcano. On the landing pad Rhovan, now intrigued by Luke, watches as he lands and is arrested for disobeying orders; much to Han and Leia’s, and Rogue Squadron’s anger.

Rhovan is introduced to Mon Mothma. It’s revealed that Rhovan is from Chandrila. During their meeting she seems interested on what may have passed between Luke and Vader on Escaal and she explains to him that after Bail Organa died, Artoo Detoo came to her with a holographic message from the late Viceroy. Bail told her about Anakin Skywalker and Senator Amidala’s relationship and the birth of their children. She explains that Luke and Leia do not know of their relationship and no knowledge of the truth of their parentage. She is fearful that should Luke discover his true identity that he will join his father against them. She tasks him with watching them both, but particularly Luke, and if it looks like Luke may betray them, Rhovan is to kill Luke.

Luke is fully debriefed by a panel led by Major Ehlen Anders, on Escaal and the events on Ra’mar. It is decided that instead of a full court martial, Luke would be reprimanded for disobeying orders. During a brief, tense meeting, Rhovan returns Luke’s lightsaber to him.

Chapter Four: ConflictThe Empire is clearing up on Ra’imar and Vader ruminates on his past and on his illusive son. Palpatine makes contact and is unhappy, but gives Vader the task of moving refugees from the planet Cusrean to an old orbiting research facility. Vader is perplexed by the order, but it turns out that it is a trap for the Alliance. Fake intelligence will be passed to the Alliance that the facility is researching weaponizing a deadly disease. This will allow him to root out spies within the Empire, and set up the Alliance who will destroy the station and kill refugees, thus the Rebellion will lose support.

It ends with Palpatine savouring the conflict in the galaxy, and the potential conflict between Vader and Luke. It is revealed that Palpatine has a spy in the Rebel ranks who Palpatine tasks with reporting on Luke.

Chapter Five: A Legitimate Target Luke is not yet passed for active flight duty and is still grounded. Han does try to lift his spirits and suggests joining him on supply runs, but Luke declines. Instead he decides to train himself and finds a natural hollow (an old lava flow) surrounded by forest in which to practise with his lightsaber. He is watched.

The Alliance find out about the orbiting research station and the disease the Empire is “planning,” on releasing. They plan to attack, however they are short on pilots and Leia suggests allowing Luke back in the air despite concerns for his mental health. Rhovan backs her up and Luke is welcomed back to the squad.

The Alliance attack the space station, Vader’s forces defend it with the Darth Lord himself in the battle. The fighting is furious. Luke is given the task (the order) of firing the shot that will take out the space station; but all he feels in the Force is innocence. He hesitates, initially disobeying, but his squad are dying around him. He takes the shot and the research facility is destroyed.

The Alliance fighters turn tail and bug out, but Luke’s X-Wing is tagged and Vader tries to capture him, but Luke eludes him again and jumps out of the system. He returns to Adralii VI to find the place subdued and during a debrief of the mission he is told he killed over 20000 innocent civilians due to bad intel. Luke is devasted and is haunted because he enjoyed destroying the space station.

The volcano begins to spew ash and the base in locked down. Luke gets drunk with Han on the Falcon, but later he can’t sleep and leaves the ship. Thecla finds Luke wandering in the ash fall and takes him to the hanger and the rest of the squad. He dreams of watching bodies floating in space; one in particular upsets him. It’s a little girl tumbling in space.

Mothma and Rhovan discuss Luke and the possible danger he presents to the Alliance.

Vader senses Luke’s turmoil through the Force. He decides if he cannot get Luke through battle or capture then another path may be possible.

Palpatine converses with his spy.

Later Luke is helping with the ash clear up, when Han is given the task of taking Leia on a diplomatic mission to try and repair some of the damage done to the Alliance. Luke finds himself in the mess hall with the rest of the squad and the holonet is playing footage (from Vader’s ship) when the image of a dead little girl appears – the one from Luke’s dream. It is then that one of the squads mentions that the faulty intel came from Rhovan.

Luke, in a fugue like state, attacks Rhovan; drawing his saber on him before Wedge tackles him to the ground. Han helps remove Luke to the Falcon before returning to punch out Rhovan himself. Luke gets away from the rest of the squad and goes to his training places and loses himself in the Force as he trains. He has vision of a man standing by his grandmother’s grave

A search party is sent out to find him and secure him (and the squad for helping him get away). Thecla find him and they talk for a while before Luke agrees to go in with her. He finds Han, Wedge and the rest of the squad in lock up, too.

Rhovan meanwhile is perplexed as to where the Executor is going after Cusrean.

Chapter Six, Absolute: It turns out that Leia and Han’s proposed mission is to the planet Horaarn, who is one of the Alliances suppliers. They want to know what happened at Cusrean, and they want Luke to tell them. Luke agrees to go. However, on landing and after tense standoff Luke agrees to give himself into Horaarn custody.

Rhovan is sent by Mon Mothma to Horaarn. But is arrested. He is transferred to Vader’s ship.

Leia is given diplomatic rooms along with Threepio and Artoo. Han, Thecla and Haslam have to remain on the landing platform. However, they manage to get Thecla off the platform and into the city.

There is to be a public hearing at which Luke has to account for his actions. During this hearing Vader arrives and accuses Luke of murder and requests his extradition to Imperial custody.

Luke is taken back into custody (this time criminal proceedings), Leia loses diplomatic status and is return to the Falcon. On Horaarn it is guilty before proved innocent and Leia cannot find any Legal Representative who will take on Luke’s case. She has to do it herself, via hologram from the Falcon.

Luke has a “face to face,” with Vader where he confesses that he felt pleasure when he destroyed the space station. He tells Vader that he won’t win.

Meanwhile, the events on Horaarn are broadcast to the Galaxy on the holonet and the Alliance sends in the X-Wings to help rescue their people.

Stuck in the city, Thecla uses her comlink to contact her handler, revealing herself as Palpatine’s spy.

During a tense trial Luke loses and is given to Vader.

It is revealed that Rhovan has been reinstated into the Empire due his special status and codes. There is more to this man than meets the eye.

The Falcon and it’s occupants are ordered off planet and it’s a tense battle to get past the Imperial blockade, but Wedge et al, join the fray and the Falcon jumps to lightspeed.

Luke learns that his friends are safe and feels that he can face whatever Vader has in store for him as long as Han and Leia are safe. He is walked to Vader’s shuttle and as he steps on board he is faced with Thecla who is pointing a blaster at him. He tells her to “do it,” and Thecla shoots him in the chest.

Cradled in Vader’s arms and dying, Luke understands the visions he’s had, he hears Vader called him “my son,” and he dies after telling Vader, “I win, father.”

Dark Times: Interludes.A series of “quick” one-shots that takes us through the events of “Hoth,” during which Haslam dies and Rieekan is missing.

Leia grieves for Luke, has started a relationship with Han and in her dreams she hears a voice stating, “I am your master.”

Rhovan ponders is fate while thinking of Thecla now in his cells. Thecla, likewise, ruminates on events and on who she had really killed. Vader arrives and takes Thecla from her cell as the Emperor has a special task for her.

Leia remembers something that Threepio had translated from Artoo during her attempts to save Luke on Horaarn. While plugged into the Horaarn computer systems Artoo had been “forced,” to give information to a third party when a code from a previous owner was used. Leia askes the little droid about it, and after much protestations Artoo informs her that the code was Anakin Skywalker’s. He confirms that Anakin is alive and that it was he who used the code on Artoo. He confirms that Anakin was on Horaarn. Leia asks Artoo where Anakin was during Luke’s trial and is informed that he was in the court room with Luke and Leia realises that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader as one and the same person.

And that Luke is alive.

Luke is indeed “alive.” He suffered a catastrophic brain injury through lack of oxygen, but his body was saved. Through manipulation of the midiclorians Palpatine was able to regrow brain tissue. However, Luke is comatose and vulnerable to Palpatine’s machinations.

Chapter 7, For Darkness Restores: Please go back to the start of this chapter as I have reworked and edited much of it. Sadly my writing is not what it once was… ☹

ooOOoo

Did I miss anything?

[treenahasthaal]

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/2441962/59/Dark-Times

New content after the first scene.

[treenahasthaal]

Dark Times

As some of you are aware I have been struggling with writers block and my WiPs have really suffered for it. I have been very grateful those of you have been given me support and encouragement. 

I am very slowly working on Dark Times - my multi chapter never ending story. (Although I know how it ends and always have - it’s just the getting there has been a bit of an epic trip). 

I am a visual writer - when i write I don’t see in words, I see and think in pictures and that is why art is becoming more and more important to me and I have been blessed that there are so many outstanding artists gracing these pages. 

Today I want to give a shout out at @threadsketchier​ who drew this most awesome portrait of the Lord Commander Lord Ion Racas, Protector of his Excellency Emperor Palpatine. 

My scan does not do this piece of art the justice it deserves.

If anyone wants to read how Luke Skywalker went from pilot and space jockey to the Red Guards in the Imperial Palace, the story is here.... and yes it’s been written over several years (decades almost) and is still being written. (I’ve become a story writer) 

It is also on AO3 here 

Even if the story is not your “cup of tea,” then enjoy @threadsketchier​‘s amazing art! I can’t thank her enough!

[treenahasthaal]

director's cut - ⭐ for either any of your current WIPs or something you've written on tumblr in the last month.

Thank for the Ask!

Dark Times: 

- wasn’t supposed to be so long. It was supposed to 1 story, “Network.” I love WW2 stories and dramas and I wanted to explore Luke being shot down and helped by a resistance cell. However, in the planning stage I suddenly realised, with a sudden flash, that the resistance leader and the Imperial Interrogator were the same person. That’s when Major Erwin Rhovan was born. (See my “cover,” art by Craig Gilliland of Rhovan). 

Rhovan

- It was still supposed to be one story, but I saw toward the end of the story that I couldn’t end it there and I needed to know what happened next, and next and next... 

- I have a Dark Times playlist. Full mainly of angsty tunes and dark themes and music. I listen to Linkin Park, Metallica, Disturbed, Imagine Dragons, Muse, Depeche Mode, Bjork, Ultravox, Rammstein, among many many others - including some classical and some pop and movie sound tracks. 

- When writing the space battle in the Legitimate Target Chapter - the Alliance attack and Luke’s first time back in the cockpit after the events in Network, I listened to Muse’s “Uprising,” on repeat for days while I wrote and refined the scene. 

It’s still one of my favourite tunes to write to.

- The story has spanned over a decade of my life. (I’ve become a slow writer) During these years my husband suddenly passed away and Dark Times became much darker. I poured my grief into the  “Absolute” chapter. 

- I didn’t know Luke was going to be shot in Network. I was furiously typing away and suddenly cried out in surprise! “He’s going to get shot!” My husband, jumped in surprise, and couldn’t understand why I didn’t already know that as, after all, I was writing the darned thing.

- My best friend is in love with Rhovan, and although not published anywhere, she wrote a sex scene, which I followed up with another, of Rhovan with a character that she (my friend) created based on me.*blush* It was very vanilla, but Rhovan truly is a B*****d. 

-  I am absolutely going to finish it - or at least give it a good shot. I know how it ends. I know how to get there - unless my muse throws me off.

- I think the scene I’m most proud of is the “trial,” scene until the end of Absolute. But, yeah, a lot of grief in that. Also Leia’s first Interlude, was based on my grief.

- I’ve already posted @threadsketchier‘s awesome art of Lord Racas (Luke Skywalker) but I’m posting it again. 

-Also @sskywallker has created fabulous art recently too for Dark Times and she has also drawn Lord Racas using colours and art of @threadsketchier (Folks I love you!)

The Lord Commander Ion Racas, The Emperor’s Protector, by @threadsketchier

Lord Racas by @sskywallker I love his little scar on his face where Rhovan caught him with the swing of the datapad. 

Vader “fighting,” Racas by @sskywallker based on my short scene in response to an Ask. It’s here.

Racas fighting Vader. 

I have been very blessed with kind artists. And @sskywallker has done a LOT of art for the story. I especially adore her “wounded Luke," for the end of Absolute.

- The name Ion Racas came after a lot of different workings of names, including Scots Gaelic - which his name is, in a way.  Palpatine is playing with him with the name given to him.  I also wanted something that sounded a little like ruckus. 

- So I probably have lots more I could say, but now I want to write - but can’t as I have to get ready for work! :( 

Thanks again for the ask! Especially since I get to share other people’s amazing art work! 

[treenahasthaal]

For Dark Times: 2, 6, 11, 13, 15.

This is for a very old ask, that I’ve just come across. My apologies for not replying sooner. 

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?

I have never written for any other fandom other than Star Wars. I have never been inspired by another. I do enjoy other movies and books - but Star Wars is my one true love.

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

I don’t believe in deleting stories. I may be slightly embarrassed by some of my stories now - 30yrs after writing them - and not want to read them myself anymore but I art is art and it’s a journey we’re all on. Hopefully people can see how I have matured as a person and as a writer. I hope that doesn’t sound conceited. There are stories out there by others, that have been deleted and I mourn their loss. 

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

Only for spelling/typos and grammar. I tell the story that I see, sometimes I am unhappy at character choices but I go with what they do - I’ve had things happen that surprise me (particularly in Dark Times!) but I go with flow. If others like it than I’m thrilled and surprised. If people don’t like it then I’m okay with that, too - although it may sting a little. I wouldn’t change a story to suit a reader - I know that sounds big headed of me, but would Stephen King change a novel to please a reader? (I’m no Stephen King!) 

 13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why?

Oh, this is difficult to answer. I used to be terrified to write Vader when I was younger. 

However, if we are talking Dark Times - then I guess that would be Palpatine. I always feel slighting slimy and disgusting after writing him. Getting into his head, isn’t a pleasant feeling. 

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

Sometimes the name just pops into my head. They are just there. Other times I just play about with the alphabet until something looks good.

Other times my OCs are based off people I know. In Dark Times “Isla,” in Network, was based off a work colleague. 

Now Rhovan he’s easy. His full name is Erwin Rhovan and he is unashamedly based on Erwin Rommel. Yes, Rommel was a tank/military guy and not an interrogator, but he was a guy fighting for Germany who did not fully agree with Hitler’s agenda. I also love the sound of Rommel’s name. So, I played about with “R” and “o” until I found something I liked. 

I am astounded at how fully developed Rhovan has become and he constantly surprises me. He’s difficult to keep in check.

I hope this answers your questions. Thanks for asking! 

[treenahasthaal]

For the ask thing: 1, 9 and 26 for Consequences and 15 :)

Lets see what I can answer.

1. How old were you when you first started writing fanfiction?

I was 18. I had been writing short silly stories since I was a young child. I was also an avid reader. RotJ had been released in 1983 (when I was 17) and Star Wars started to dry up. The comics ran for a while longer but the stories towards end were pretty unsatisfying.

I was lying in bed one night and a scene popped into my head of Luke standing on a street corner watching the Millennium Falcon taking off. I couldn’t get it out of my mind, I sat up, grabbed my writing pad and a pencil and I wrote “Rendezvous with Starlight.” I cried as I wrote, as it was a sad story. A couple of years later I discovered Fanzines and was amazed that others wrote stories, too. I submitted it to one of the biggest fanzines on the go at the time: Far Realms, issue 9 and it was accepted.  https://fanlore.org/wiki/Far_Realms

Back then, Zine editors had high standards for fics and not everyone got their stories accepted. I was thrilled!

I was then hugely influenced by Jeanine Hennig’s Catalyst series. I craved her stories!

Anyway, Rendezvous with Starlight has never been posted online.

9. In your xxx fic what is your favourite scene that you wrote? 

Answered for Consequences. 

This was a tough one to answer.  I think it was Chapt 10. Where Fett drags Luke too Tatooine to “return him” to his master. It worked out quite well and I really enjoyed using the Huttese from Wookieepedia to make sentences up. 

26. What part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write. 

Again answered for Consequences. 

Boba Fett. I had never really written him before, except for a short scene in Penumbra. I wanted to make sure that I got him right. I think I did okay. 

15. If you write OCs, how do you decide on their names?

Good Question. I sometimes think of different spelling for a familiar name.  Or, living in Scotland we have some great place names, too. Or I base the name on an already known name. Erwin Rhovan’s name, from Dark Times, is based off Erwin Rommel, for example. Just the name, not the man or the personality.

Sometimes I just like the name; Ryder (technically not an OC, just a diferent name for Luke), Isla (from Dark Times was based on a real life Isla), Ayrn (from Arran), Jeft (jeff with a t instead of a second f). 

I hope that answers the questions! :)