Pas de Deux (Star Wars story)

Fanfiction
Title:	Pas de Deux
Author(s):	Carol Hines-Stroede
Date(s):	1983
Length:
Genre(s):	gen
Fandom(s):	Star Wars
Relationship(s):
External Links:
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Pas de Deux is a Star Wars story by Carol Hines-Stroede.

It was printed in Skywalker #6.

Summary

"A Jedi's child is no accident. When Luke delves into his past in the databanks on Lorra, he discovers that only the force can win his freedom. But can he avoid using the Dark Side?"

Fan Comments

While many stories keep Luke in limbo over the questions of TESB, others find him taking positive action. In "Pas de Deux" by Carol Hines-Stroede (Skywalker 6) Luke sets out to find the truth of Vader's claims, but he only learns that Vader was in the right place at the right time. Captive of a rival Dark Lord, Luke uses the relationship to escape, but concludes that who he is is the important thing, not who his father was.

Another story commended for technical execution is "Pas de Deux" by Carol Hines-Stroede, in which Luke attempts to obtain the truth of his parentage with surprising results.

Lastly in SKY 6, there is "Pas de Deux" by Carol Hines-Stroede. This is a passable piece. It is a short story, dealing with Luke and his very intelligent approach to the question of his parentage. Luke is not wringing his hands here: he's actually taking action in trying to find out whether or not Vader is lying. Further, the action is logical. The fact that it leads him into trouble merely thickens the plot. Carol gets brownie points for having established an unstable situation within a story and then working it out to a realistic point. She's done some homework and uses nothing that one could not get from either the movies or novelizations of them. Here again, however, although I liked what Carol portrayed in her version of Luke, I still don't know what the story had to give me as a reader. It was pleasant but no more.

I have yet to read "Pas de Deux" because of the piece between Leia and Luke at the beginning. I cannot buy either of them acting that way. It will more than likely go into the group of stories I never get around to fully reading. I put "Foreshadows" into that same category. Personal taste, completely.

When I took the zine out of the envelope, I knew that it was very well done layout wise. A quick flip through proved I was smart to invest in this one.

My favorite story was "Pas de Deux." I think I liked it because we get to see Luke go off and do something completely on his own. He makes his own mistakes and yet he manages to make his own escape too. And in so doing, he is finally using some of that information Ben and Yoda have been giving to him for three years (or the time standard that galaxy uses). The story still leaves open the question of Luke's true paternity, yet shows he has grown in the Force, regardless of who his father may be.

She did a good job with Luke's characterization; his thought patterns, idiosyncrasies of speech, and resourcefulness seemed just right for him. The new Sith lord was interesting too. And I enjoyed Carol's ideas on the possible nature of power plays, rivalries, and politics in the Empire. I hope to see more from Carol, developing these and other of her ideas about the SW universe.

One thing, though. Since I'm a librarian myself, I wish the librarian in "Pas de Deux" had been nicer. Librarians are some of the nicest, most helpful people in the galaxy! (This is a purely personal reaction, you understand.) Well, I suppose that passive aggression is pandemic; it even affects the noble profession of librarianship. ((I should point out here that Carol H-S is herself a librarian and claims to have modeled the character in her story on a co-worker. BCD))

The other story I'll comment on individually is the final one, "Pas de Deux." First my quibble: considering that Vader is already searching out Luke, I would expect that every computer reference to Skywalker, parents or child, is either going to be completely off limits and probably equipped with some sort of alarm notifying officials that an off-limits file is being requested, or at the least equipped with the alarm. Further, I would expect both Luke and certainly Leia to be aware of this, which would make Luke's expedition foolish in the extreme, even though it's necessary to what follows. Now given that disclaimer, I liked what follows, particularly Luke's use of the Force to distinguish truth from falsehood; that talent is shown in TESB and almost no one has picked up on it. His handling of the "lordling" (wonderfully scornful diminutive!), at first impulsive and then more rational when he discovers that his impulse works, is nicely in character for Luke. I particularly like the ending of the story; here is Luke coming to terms, somewhat, with his parentage, but not in the usual way of deciding that Vader is his father, figuring that it reflects somehow on him, and learning to deal with it, but by deciding that at the moment it doesn't really matter; what's important is what he is.

I'm not sure what I think of Carol Hines-Stroede's "Pas de Deux." The idea of Luke's prosthetic hand causing problems is something new, and has all kinds of possibilities. And I like her showing Luke learning a real lesson about using the Force and about himself. But her portrayal of Leia (and the relationship between Luke and Leia) doesn't sound right. Leia's dialog doesn't fit the princess of the films. As for Rownin, he may be an accomplished liar, but he seems too petty and child ish for his position. Or is that part of the reason for his "demotion"?

"Pas de Deux" was interesting. The idea that Luke might go after records to disprove or prove Vader's claim is a logical one, and so is the idea that there are less-trained Sith Lords about that Luke could make mincemeat out of. The mental solution Luke settles on at the end doesn't ring true, however, since his little expedition seemed to raise more questions that it answered. He should have been even more confused, even more upset. If Carol meant for it to seem as if Luke had decided to take the best traits of both his possible fathers, I missed getting it too clearly, especially when the "deep, soft" chuckle he hears behind him on reaching this decision might just as easily be Vader as Obi-wan.

"Pas de Deux" was a nice story. Absolutely loved Luke's cussing at the forcefield at the end. A lovely touch of irreverence regarding his ta lents, which are too often mystified. I question whether it was wise to go to any computer center for info on such touchy subjects as old Jedi, ex-Jedi, dead Jedi, and I rather think that such centers do have plugs accessible to Imperial plug pullers, but the rogue Dark Lord is an interesting concept, and it was so nice to find someone who can imagine Luke with whiskers.

"Pas de Deux": I haven't read anything by Carol Hines-Stroede before but I bet I look for her work in the future. I totally enjoyed the story from her development of Luke and Leia to her Dark Lord Rownin. I believed it all and loved the new character. We don't have enough villains in the SW universe, not real ones at any rate.