The Prophecy And in time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as : THE SON OF THE SUN. And he shall bring Balance to the Force. "Journal of the Whills, 3:12"
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:: An ongoing episodic story of fan-fic set after Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and inspired by George Lucas' historical draft concepts :: FAQs
August 2024
A second series of 'THE ACOLYTE' apparently cancelled ? 31st August 2024
A few weeks after the live-action TV show 'THE ACOLYTE' came to an end fan site SWNN reported on a rumour that a possible second series had been cancelled ! Citing low viewer numbers and the (possibly engineered) negativity as the episodes rolled out, one must remember that, for Disney, the franchise is first and foremost a business investment. Sadly, gone are the days, it appears, when a new project is allowed to breathe and grow over time.
This would be a shame, as the show had so much potential, especially seen not as a singular stand-alone story, but rather as part of a longer, say three-part, story arc. Granted, there did appear to be some laziness or confusion in the writing and direction, certain scenes seemed less well constructed than others, but overall this was a new world in a new timeframe linking with existing lore and with potential leading to a greater narrative.
Currently, neither LFL nor Disney have formally announced its cancellation, and I'm hopeful that, even if the show as we know it is cancelled, then elements of the revealed story - such as Darth Plagueis, and even the Acolyte(s)' further adventures - can be explored further ; ideally in a visual format (TV or movie), rather than a publishing format, like comics or novels, as, for me, Star Wars is primarily a visual medium.
On August the 10th, the teaser trailer for the December show Skeleton Crew was released. This has been described as a cross-over of The Goonies and Star Wars, very much a "kids adventure" ; it stars british actor Jude Law as a Froce user who helps out four lost children, and is set within the Mandalorian timeframe of post-ROTJ.
As I did with the progression of the Virtual Edition Episode X, I will post below sections of the prose for Episode XI as I draft it....
In the mid levels of the Coruscant under-city life did not sleep. Too much was going on for any sane person to miss. Sincere entertainment ranging from music to holo-theatre, spurious activity covering gambling to criminality and everything in between, begging and scavenging. High speed racing was just one of many distractions that played out through the omni-nocturnal day and night that permeated the mid and lower levels of the ecumenopolis.
The three human children, wearing loose tan-coloured tunics and clutching their snacks, made their way down a set of stairs to the floor of the hangar bay. Ahead of them sat an array of individualistic racer craft, a variety of sleek lines and bright colours, large thrust engines and small open and closed cockpits.
There were familiar faces, from pilots to crew, to adoring fans. The Solo children had often sneaked out to this sub-racer circuit station and were on first name terms with many who frequented here.
“I see Jonzi’s racer, but I don’t see her,” muttered Corsa, straining to see further ahead past two other pod fuselages.
“Be patient, Corsy !” grinned her brother. “She’ll be there, prepping her ride like she always does.”
Benji Skywalker tagged along behind, wide-eyed.
They ducked under a pair of ventral stabilising fins jutting out from one large pod, and stepped up to the racer in question.
The ship was long and sleek, with red and green stripes, flanked by two tall but flattened jet engines that met at two-thirds for the enclosed cockpit, which in turn flared out with six short stabilising fins. The name Slipniir was painted in orange and yellow along one of the green stripes. Three tall four-armed spindly Xexto mechanics dressed in dull yellow overalls bustled around the craft. Gana hailed them and asked where Jonzi was.
The lead Xexto chittered back an answer, and threw a thumb in the direction of the rest rooms.
“Thanks, Delgardo !” the boy replied cheerfully. “Come on !” he urged the other two, flicking his head in the direction of a doorway set in the far wall of the hangar bay.
The three children moved across the floor, and disappeared through the door. They found themselves in the dimly lit rest rooms, a set of rooms providing changing lockers, toilets, resting bunks, and eatery vending machines. The main room appeared empty.
The children naturally stretched out with the Force, and sensed the presence of another lying on a bunk in one of the back rooms. They made their through, and found Jonzi lying on a bunk, clutching her abdomen, grimacing in pain, and sweat beading down her face. She was Ardennian, squat in stature with six limbs, two of which served as bipedal legs ; she sported a thick lilac mane that framed big black eyes and a short muzzle.
The children gasped, and Corsa ran to the bunk.
“Jonzi ! What’s happened ?!”
Gana came up beside his sister, concerned for the health of their favourite racer. Benji, wise beyond his years, hung back, and glanced around the room, instinctively stretching out with the Force to search for any immediate danger.
The racing pilot turned to the newcomers, squinting in pain.
“I... I don’t know...” she squeaked, “Got... cramps... burning...”
At that she rolled on to her side, and vomited on to the floor. The Solo children nimbly jumped back, and then re-positioned themselves again around Jonzi. Gana gestured with his hand, and an invisible mop swept the mess up and levitated it to a nearby bin, its lid opening and closing in obeyance.
Jonzi sighed and grimaced and rolled back on to the bunk. The back of one paw wiped her mouth, and then laid wide upon her forehead.
“Argh... I’ll... I’ll be okay in a moment...”
“No you won’t be !” remonstrated Corsa.
“Gotta... fly.. today...”
“Not if you’re like this you won’t be !” Gana pointed out.
Jonzi shook her head slightly, and then shut her eyes in pain.
“Got to... New guy here... Come up... from... the southern district... League... leader...”
“So what ?” asked Benji from behind.
Gana looked over his shoulder at his younger cousin.
“Honour and pride, bro. You don’t want to back down in front of a visitor, and especially not one who’s a district leader from outside.”
“A racer would at least start the course, and then they can blame their carriage if they had to back out,” added Corsa.
Jonzi tried to nod, but grimaced, and slumped back against the bunk, all four paws clutching her tummy once more.
Gana and Corsa both turned their heads slowly to face each other, each with the same near-telepathic thought.
“So long as they start the race...” they both muttered, their black eyes widening with excitement.
Gana flicked his eyes towards Jonzi and raised his eyebrows quizzically.
Corsa nodded and lifted her right hand and closed her eyes.
“Her digestion seems to be settling a bit now.”
She opened her eyes. “We should get you checked over, though.”
“The.. . race... it’s about... to start...”
“Jonzi,” Gana began, “what if my sister and I flew your wagon ?”
As Jonzi tried to protest, Corsa continued, “Yes ! So long as she’s in the air they’ll think it’s you, and then you’ll save face !”
“But you can’t... fly a racer...”
Gana grinned and cocked his head to one side. “Leave that to us !”
“And... how can... two... human kids... get out to... Slipniir... without being seen ?!”
Corsa grinned. “Leave that to us !”
Jonzi shook her head, and slumped back down.
Gana turned back to Benji with an earnest look.
“Can you stay here with Jonzi ? We’ll get the station med-droid over to look at her.”
“Sure, but are you two going to be okay out there ??” asked Benji with concern.
Gana shrugged off his cousin’s worry.
“Yeah, no sweat, it’ll be fine !”
Corsa laid her hand on Jonzi’s shoulder.
“Benji here will keep an eye on you. We’ll call the droid in too.”
Jonzi gave a half-nod, and mumbled her thanks.
The Solo Twins stood and stepped back to allow Benji to move forward and sit on the edge of the bunk. The young boy took one of the Ardennian’s paws in his hand and held it gently.
Gana and Corsa left the rest room, and returned to the hangar. In the bustling pre-launch activity they spied the boxy bipedal med-droid re-charging against the wall. They hurried over to it, and flicked it on. The droid hummed into life, its one blue and two green lights blinking into action. An hydraulic combi-cable on a spindly arm auto-detached from the charger and slid back into its metal body.
“Locate and identify the patient,” it growled in a low business-like voice, presenting unflappable calm.
“Re-locating to investigate now,” it replied, and with a pneumatic hiss, its short stubby legs extended a little and it waddled towards the doorway leading to Jonzi.
The Twins glanced around. All the attention was on the racers in their final prep.
Gana nodded across to the Slipniir.
“There she is,” he whispered to his sister. “You ready ?”
Corsa nodded, and they both crouched into a running pose.
There was a momentary blur and then they were gone, and the cockpit canopy of the Slipniir was closing.
Delgardo, the Xexto mechanic, glanced up at the now-shut cockpit and waved his hand, still clutching a hydro-wrench. He chittered a farewell and good fortune to his pilot, and then called to his other support crew to step back, the three of them retiring to the far wall.
Inside the cockpit, sharing the one pilot’s bench-seat, Gana and Corsa quickly glanced around the controls, eyes wide with excitement and nervous energy.
The aeronautical controls were wrapped 270 degrees around the interior save for the canopy for view and egress.
The Twins glanced at each other in realisation and both muttered Ardennian in unison.
“It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine !” encouraged Gana.
“Yeah, it’s no different from a human’s layout, right ?” agreed his sister.
The Twins, encouraged by their parents, had been operating land and sky speeders since they could reach the controls.
Gana reached out and flicked a number of switches to power up the actuators ; Corsa stretched above and pulled two levers that initiated the magnetic levitators, and then she gestured to a set of controls at her feet that sparked the jet engines.
“This is why we have the Force !!” laughed Gana.
“Ohh, Garny, be serious !” But Corsa giggled as well.
They glanced out of the canopy and saw the red launch light above the open hangar doors be joined by a second orange light. When the green light appeared, they’d go !