001: Who are you?

2008-03-12T16:10:36Z

This is a rather loaded question, isn't it? You think it's simple, give a name and move on, but ... that's wrong. A name isn't enough, because the truth of who we are is always so much more.

I used to be a man named Jacen Solo; most people still call me this. It frustrates me that I still have to answer to it. Colonel Jacen Solo or Chief of State Jacen Solo. Some people are even foolish enough to think I'm still Jedi Jacen Solo (but never Master, since the Jedi Council decided that Jacen wasn't worthy of the title).

But that's enough of that name. It exists, and it has its own past attached to it, but it's not who I am.

My name is Darth Caedus.

I don't have a mother or father anymore, I never had a younger brother ... and I don't have a twin. No sister to berate me, no Yuuzhan Vong goddess to slay me. Certainly, Jaina Solo exists, and I'm not foolish enough to dismiss her as no threat to me -- but she's Jacen's twin, and Jacen exists only as a name for a family that can't let go.

I don't make friends with animals, I don't tell stupid jokes, and I certainly don't get kidnapped by anyone looking to get revenge on my parents. I do my job as Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance -- the only legitimate government -- and I deal with serious threats quickly and efficiently, without whining about the right thing to do or the Dark Side of the Force. I'm a leader, respected by some and feared by more. I'm a student and teacher both, learning from the mistakes my apprentice makes.

I'm a Lord of the Sith. I'm Darth Caedus. What are you?

word count: 297

is it what the teacher teaches

001: Who are you?