Clone Wars Campaign Extra: "Homecoming"

This is a nice little short story, written by my wife, that picks up soon after the end of Stefan's Seven. It's told from the point of view of two characters: Sun Runner Rycard Ryjerd (a character with a doomed future, since he died in the final session of the campaign we played on Sunday) and Stefan Cassadine. It's more a character study than a plot-heavy story, and does a nice job of bridging the gap between Stefan's Seven and the beginning of the next session.
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Homecoming

The Ka’ja’les Dar dropped out of lightspeed and scant moments later began the procedure to dock with the Knife’s Edge. Once word came that the airlock was secure, Stefan Cassadine moved immediately to exit the cockpit and Rycard Ryjerd breathed a sigh of relief. The man had been like a stone wall every since they’d left Aargau behind and he was willing to bet that it had nothing to do with the botched heist, Kronos succumbing to his injuries, or even Stefan’s own brush with death.

When the ship had shuddered back into normal space, he’d glanced over at Stefan, impeccably dressed as always, to see what, if any reaction, the sight of his own ship might bring. He had ordered Rycard to push her hard, pouring every ounce of speed into the engines and they had roared towards the Knife’s Edge as though they had a whole fleet in pursuit behind them.

He’d cleared his throat. “There she is – right where you said she’d be.”

Stefan had nodded and said “Apparently so.” That hadn’t made much sense, but with a man like Cassadine, explanations weren’t likely to be forthcoming. Rycard had half expected him to pace down by the airlock until it was ready for him to pass through, but Stefan remained in his seat, staring out the window, face inscrutable.

Cassadine was almost unnaturally still. For Rycard, who seldom did anything quietly if he could help it (where was the fun in that?), the silence was unnerving. Finally, Stefan had risen to his feet, with the barest flicker of discomfort in his eyes. He’d glanced over at Rycard and stated simply “Tell Jocasta that delivery will be made on Etti IV.” Then he was out the door and gone.

A short time later, once Stefan had transferred over to the yacht, Rycard brought her back into lightspeed and set co-ordinates for Etti IV. With everything under control, he meandered back to the lounge, where the remaining Sun Runners, excluding Korg who remained in the cargo bay, were enjoying a few moments of respite. The mood was far from jocular – despite his odd ways, they’d all liked Kronos – and the attitude towards the room’s other occupant was on the chilly side.

Sunset Cassandra sat at a table and fiddled with a datapad that she’d snatched up the moment she’d come on board. She hadn’t strayed too far – which wasn’t surprising given Stefan’s rather strict orders. “Sit. Stay.”

Rycard felt a bit bad for her. She didn’t seem to be a bad kid, and he could see something of himself in her cocky attitude. He also wanted to erase the impression that she’d had of him back on Aargau. Sitting down at the table next to her, he offered a friendly smile. “You can relax, kid. Cassadine has gone home to his missus. Looks like he decided to let the Boss deal with you. That’s a good sign – the fact that he left you alive might carry some weight for her.”

Sunset Cassandra bristled. He wondered what had happened down there in the vaults. Greesh knew, but thus far, he wasn’t telling.

She looked up and he could see speculation behind her eyes. Seizing an opening, he began a yarn that he figured would help her relax and maybe, give him more insight into their newest crew member – assuming Jocasta didn’t just kill her on sight, of course. “Why don’t I tell you about the time that I tangled with a dark Jedi in a bar on Nar Shadda . . . a female dark Jedi and her gang of Duro pirates . . . .”

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All was peaceful and quiet as Stefan walked back onto the Knife’s Edge – the ship’s engines hummed quietly and the attractive, though frightfully expensive recessed corridor lights cast a soothing glow in the middle of the ship’s artificial night. All appeared well, and yet Stefan could not erase the tension that had gripped him since Kronos had spoken those damnable words.

The one you love – if she chooses, she will not choose you.
He had plans in mind to see that the final future the strange lumpy man had prophesied never came to pass, but all throughout the journey back to his family – his and no one else’s – a dull fear had gripped him, that it was already too late.

He had tossed the few personal items he had taken with him on the journey to the servant waiting at the airlock and strode off down the hall to the family quarters. He had intended to go directly to Arresta, but he hesitated, then moved one door further down, to the nursery he’d had installed for his daughter.

At last, some of the knots relaxed as he heard her soft breathing as he quietly entered the room. At his entrance, the glowing eyes of the Nanny lit up, but, recognizing him as a “friendly”, quietly powered back down. Lying on her stomach, Allegra was nestled in her crib, sleeping peacefully. He bent to pick her up, but the pain from his wounds surged and he settled for laying a gentle hand against her warm back. He stood there quietly for a few moments until he sensed a presence behind him in the open doorway. Xam.

Running a gentle finger against the baby’s cheek, he padded softly to the door and joined his aide in the corridor. Xam was smiling, but shuffled his feet back and forth slightly. He may as well have been screaming that something was afoot. As quickly as his muscles had relaxed, Stefan felt them tense again.

He turned his most piercing gaze on Xam, who instantly quailed. “Mr. C . . . uh . . . welcome back . . . I . . . how did it go?”

“What is happening here Xam?”

“Sorry Boss, but Mrs. C, she made me promise not to tell!”

“Whatever she may think, my wife has no secrets from me.”

Xam looked pained. “Mrs. C will get really mad at me!”

Stefan said nothing, merely let Xam follow his train of thought to its natural conclusion. Finally, reluctantly, the Aqualesh spoke.

“Mrs. C wanted you to know that she didn’t forget, so we went shopping and we talked to the cooks and she even had me help her make a card from the baby . . . that finger paint was a mess to clean up . . . but she wanted you to be surprised!”

Stefan, having years of experience dealing with Xam, allowed himself a moment to filter this information. When he did, a pleased expression appeared on his face. “Arresta has planned some kind of surprise celebration for me?”

Xam nodded, eagerly. “For your birthday!”

He went on, but Stefan was no longer listening. For a few seconds, he felt almost giddy with relief. He was still in time. He could still protect his family from those who would tear them apart.

Waving Xam away he made his way at last to the bedroom he shared with Arresta. Feeling inside his suit pocket, he retrieved the jewellery box he’d picked up on Aargau before the mission began. A quick glance at the blue and silver gems and he closed the box with satisfaction. He knew how much the gift would please her.

Very well. Tonight would be about family. Tonight and perhaps tomorrow, since she’d gone to so much trouble. Then, they would both have journeys to make and tasks to perform that would secure the future of the Cassadines. That future, which he had waited so long for and which had been thwarted so many times, was now within reach. And woe betide anyone who tried to stand in his way.

Smiling to himself and thinking eagerly of all he had to look forward to tonight, tomorrow, and in the long-awaited task that would follow after, Stefan Cassadine opened the door and went to reunite with his wife.

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The Anubis Murders (Planet Stories # 1)

First off, great cover art by Andrew Hou! It immediately gives the impression that, although the novel is written by D&D creator Gary Gygax, The Anubis Murders isn't set in the generic medieval Europe that is so common to fantasy novels.

Second, interesting protagonists. Magister Setne Inhetep, a worshipper of the Aegyptian god Thoth, specializes in solving mysteries and catching criminals. He's depicted very similar to Sherlock Holmes, actually, down to identifying people's occupations by merely glancing at their hands or disguising himself as street riff-raff to infiltrate nefarious organizations. He's aided in crime-solving by Rachelle, officially his slave, but actually his body-guard and adventuring companion.

Third, a good mystery. High-level leaders, kings, and sorcerors are threatened with death unless they turn over power to a mysterious Master of Jackals. When they refuse, they're soon found murdered in ways that are seemingly impossible. Who is the Master of Jackals and what ties all of the murders together?

Fourth, middling execution. Gygax is certainly competent as a fantasy writer, and sometimes very good--the opening chapter is quite atmospheric, for example. As a mystery writer, however, he's unfortunately below average. The Master of Jackals is revealed to be a character never before seen, and the way Inhetep solves the mystery doesn't seem particularly plausible to me. In other words, this is not the type of whodunnit that can be solved in advance by a careful reader, because the solution comes from way out of left field. A good introduction by Erik Mona speculates that perhaps Gygax thought that the mere mention of the villain's name (taken from real-world Finnish mythology) would be enough to make readers gasp with excitement. If so, he thought wrong.

Overall, not great but not terrible--and a good example that writing a solid mystery novel is harder than it appears.

The Life of Pope John Paul II [Comics]

Several years ago I came across Francis, Brother of the Universe, a Marvel one-shot chronicling the life of everyone's favorite saint whose name begins with the letter "F." I wrote up a quick review of the comic (reprinted here), and promptly received notice that Marvel later published a biography of Pope John Paul II. Ever since, I've kept my beady eyes open for it whilst scouring the bargain bins. And lo, as if God himself has intervened, a copy appeared . . .

The Life of Pope John Paul II, published in 1982, was a 64-page one-shot selling for a dollar-fifty. The framing sequence for the biography is the Pope's appearance at Yankee Stadium in 1979, as a reporter sits in the stands and tries to figure out what to write about the event ("Me? I'm a newspaper man--and The Pope is my beat!"). As a gang of "hoodlums" get ready to make fun of the Pope, the reporter flashes back on the religious leader's childhood in Poland, his narrow escapes from the Nazis, and his gradual ascent through the Catholic hierarchy. When the flashbacks are completed, the Pope appears at Yankee Stadium and the hoodlums are so astonished by his words that listen raptly through the entire event.

As much as I like to tease, it's a very well-researched and interesting story, and comics are a far more entertaining way to learn a little history than official church biographies or something like Wikipedia. This is, however, a fully-authorized biography written in close connection with the Catholic Church, so you won't see anything in the way of analysis or criticism about how Vatican policies operated under PJPII's reign. Still, as a very introductory biography, one could certainly do worse . . .

The Marvel No-Prize Book [Comics]

I'm pretty sure The Marvel No-Prize Book (1982) is unique in the history of comics: a one-shot devoted entirely to chronicling a company's mistakes over the years. With Stan Lee as narrator, the comic points out all sorts of goofs: characters given the wrong name (Spider-Man's secret identity is "Peter Palmer" in Amazing Spider-Man # 1), stories with poor continuity (Captain America's shield destroyed in one panel, and back on his arm the next), and art goofs (my two favorites being a one-eyed pirate looking through a periscope with an eye-patch, and Daredevil inexplicably depicted with a pistol and holster). The best one comes from Tales of Suspense # 92, as Captain America threatens an enemy:

"Okay, mister--I'm ready for you! So let's wrap it up! Only one of us is gonna walk out of here under his own steam--and it won't be me!"

The Buffy Comic Project: "White Christmas"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 4

(Volume 1) (Dark Horse, 1998-2003)

Creators: Andi Watson (writer), Hector Gomez (penciller), Sandu Florea (inker)

Setting: Season Two

T.V. Character Appearances: Buffy, Giles, Angel, Oz, Willow, Xander, Cordelia

Major Original Characters: Mr. Richter (employer)

Summary: Buffy loses her savings after wrecking a car during some midnight vampire slaying, but a school dance is coming up and she wants a new dress. Making the same mistake as teenagers everywhere, she decides to get a part-time job. Enter Sunnyvale Mall, home of the Popsicle Palace, where Buffy sells frozen treats to Christmas shoppers. Only her boss, Mr. Richter, keeps disappearing into the off-limits storage room. Unbeknownst to everyone, Richter has been practicing how to summon an ice demon. Success brings disaster, however, when the demon breaks free. Fortunately, Buffy is there and, after the mall suffers catastrophic damage, she manages to rip up the incantation book and put things back to normal. With her dress ruined for the dance, she and the Scoobies partake in a celebratory snowball fight.

Review: There's no death, drama, or angst here, but Watson serves up another more or less likable Buffy story. Demon summoning is very much overplayed in the Buffyverse; but I can't complain, as I had the summoning of an ice demon as the plot of my never-to-be-published Buffy novel titled Hell Frozen Over. Buffy's job at the Popsicle Parlor foreshadows her minimum wage job at the Doublemeat Palace in Season Six, and she has a conversation while ice skating with Angel about her poor career prospects that is very reminescent of the What's My Line two-parter in Season Two. The dialogue continues to be solid but unspectacular, with little of the laugh-out-loud humor that Whedon always brought to the show.

Notes

* An interesting response from editor Scott Allie to a letter about where the comics are set in the show's continuity. "Yep, all of the events you're reading about in the various Buffy comics take place during season two, before Angel lost his soul. . . . But if you try to think too hard about where exactly all this fits into the series, you're gonna hurt yourself." I guess I can buy Season Two, though Season Three also fits most of the stories, especially the Halloween story in Issue #2, which could only take place a full year after the Halloween episode of Season Two (unless residents of the Buffyverse celebrate two Halloweens per year . . .).

* A letter from a reader in Malaysia, a country which apparently banned Buffy from airing on t.v. The reader is quite confused about who the characters are in the comic and what the heck is going on, which is definitely understandable if you've never seen the show. I had never thought about people picking up the comic who weren't already fans of the show, but maybe once in a great while things move in the opposite direction . . .

* I would normally say "who the heck buys popsicles during Christmas!", but I guess this is California and all the shoppers are depicted in shorts and t-shirts . . .

* I liked the picture here, and could imagine stealing it for a Christmas card if the wife and I didn't already have a cat-in-funny-costume theme going. I perversely imagine that Buffy has focussed all of her payback for various catty comments over the years into one super-powered 130 m.p.h. iceball that breaks Cordelia's jaw, while Giles and Angel look on a laugh.

Next Issue

Torchwood Magazine # 21

Torchwood Thursday brings you the twenty-first issue of Torchwood Magazine. Here's what I noticed:

* The cover blurb, "Win 16 inches of Jack!" Woof! (UPDATE: Apparently this refers to some sort of doll. BOO!)

* An interview with Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto) about life after Torchwood. Reading between the lines, the sense I get is this: he's happy with the exposure and attention he got from the show, but he neither wants to or can make a living out of fan convention appearances. But despite having a new U.S. agent, he hasn't been able to land any substantive acting roles . . . I think this is the same thing Nicholas Brendon (Xander) faced after Buffy went off the air. Both played much-beloved characters, but outside of that fan community there's a lot of twenty-something actors out there vying for roles.

* "Postcards From the Rift", a short story by Guy Adams. This has to rank among my favorite Torchwood short stories yet. A teenage girl starts finding cryptic messages under a stone in her back yard, along with cash and instructions not to tell anyone. I won't give away any more of the plot here, but it's very well-written and has a great twist at the end.

* The first installment of "Shrouded", a comic strip written by Gareth David-Lloyd. No surprise, then, that Ianto is the main character, but it's honesty quite good. Set back when Ianto, Owen, and Tosh were still alive, the stories sees Ianto visited by Rhys--future Rhys! Future Rhys comes from a time period after Children of Earth and is very careful what he tells Ianto about what is going to happen, but he does tell him that there's a time-travelling assassin after him. And then we find out that Rhys is being helped by none other than Captain John, making his first appearance outside of the show. This strip is longer than most, but it deserves it, and is accompanied with (a rarity for the magazine) quite good artwork. I'm looking forward to the next part . . .

* "Reflections", a short story by Juliet McKenna. This one is Rhys-focussed, and I'm glad they're starting to feature some of the supporting characters from the show. There's an interesting adversary here, who has some sort of strange affiliation with mirrors, but otherwise the plot is pretty standard.

Diamondback's "Undercover" Costume [Comics]

I was a big fan of the character Diamondback during Mark Gruenwald's excellent run on Captain America in the late 80s/early 90s. A member of the Serpent Society, Diamondback was a super-villain who specialized in throwing trick diamonds (a goofy power, admittedly) before falling for Cappy's charms and becoming his part-time girlfriend/adventuring buddy. As I said, I loved Gruenwald's run (a subject for a lengthier post another time), but once in a while his ideas just didn't work out. For example, in Captain America # 374, Diamondback decides she needs a new costume for undercover work. "I had it made for when I don't want to be recognized as Diamondback," she explains.

Let's compare her normal costume (below) and her "undercover" costume (bottom), and see if the disguise works . . .

Okay, the one on the bottom is the "undercover" costume, complete with diamond-shaped torso pattern, diamonds around the neckline, and a freakin' diamond handing from the middle of her forehead.

Were this a role-playing game, I could only imagine she rolled a natural 1 on her disguise check . . .