Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to George Lucas, not me. I do not own any rights or names such as Kashyyk, Darth Vader or Coreilla etc.

Star Wars: The Hunt

Chapter I

The Hunt Begins

It had been forty-eight hours since Darth Sidious's and Darth Vader's reign over the Galactic Empire had begun. Forty-Eight of the darkest hours this galaxy had ever seen. Several planets were not safe to be on with all of the excitement. Especially Coruscant, everybody knew it the city wouldn't be safe for hours, the hard part was escaping it. No one was allowed to leave Coruscant, and only certain people with correct identification could land there. Mysteries and questions were appearing in the Galaxy faster then ever. The Jedi were a clear target, but who else would Sidious and Vader destroy to have complete control over the Empire? The fact that Sidious and Palpatine were one was becoming more obvious to the people of the Empire with every second's passing, but who was Vader? Where had he come from? Few knew, and the Empire intended to keep it that way.

The Mos Eisley Cantina was almost empty. It had usually been a hangout for anybody on Tatooine, but not today, only three people existed in this entertainment bar at the moment. One was Kouio, a said to be paranoid Ithorian from Coreilla. He always had the night shift and was always there, but by day he vanished. The children in the town made up stories about his origins, and even the adults gossiped about the barkeep. Nobody disliked him or loved him, he just seemed to suspicious to trust. He didn't talk much, and you'd have to say something first, but once you got him started he'd tell you stories about anything. Sometimes the drunks would just listen to them for fun, sometimes kids would sneak out of their houses and come to the Cantina to listen, some even wrote them down to pass on. Nobody believed the stories, but they were extremely entertaining and you wouldn't be caught dead being five feet away from him when he was rambling and not listening. There Kouio stood, behind the counter washing dishes. In the corner of the Mos Eisley Cantina were two customers, both in cloaks of jet black. They whispered carefully so nobody could hear, but the only one that could have was Kouio, and if he had heard of the incredible things they spoke of, nobody would think twice that he was telling the truth the next busy night. One of the two, Yusakk, a human, gained information easily. He wandered around the Universe just looking for it, and although he was too a suspicious character people believed him. Whenever he sold his information, months later the customer would see he was right. This was his occupation, selling information. The other across from him, was another human named Helon Rentza, and was a lawyer on Coreilla who had taken a short break form work because of current events.

"So, let me get this straight. Anakin Skywalker the 'Chosen One' has betrayed us due to Palpatine's or Sidious's, if you rather, grasp on him, and has become this evil lord Vader. So Palpatine with Anakin by his side has overthrown the Repulic and made it into an Empire, and he has also demanded that they set Order 66 into action which programs the Clone Troopers to turn against the Jedi?" he whispered in one breathe. Short after finishing his question he leaned in towards Yusakk waiting for an answer.
"That is correct. And there is much more to come too…" an evil smirk spread across Yusakk's face. "I believe you owe me something…" he hissed. Helon nodded and slapped the price down on the table and exited the booth. He bowed and strolled over to the door. The lawyer's last sight in the Cantina was Yusakk sitting in the booth alone with a indigo light shining down on his black cloak, then he was outside. There was Republic Carrier and in front of that waiting was his assistant, Rena, a twenty one year old woman Zabrak. She had no last name, because she couldn't remember it. She woke up one day on top of a building in Coruscant knowing basic knowledge and her name, her personal life had been erased from her brain. She searched for her past only finding shut doors and signs of absent welcome ness from the people she met. Until one day she met a man, Helon, on Endor who offered her a job and promised higher then minimum wage. She was very grateful for this, and loved him like a father. As she stood beside him in front of their ship she felt uncomfortable noticing the stress in his face.

"Is everything alright?" she asked with concern. He had always stood by her side so she had planned to always do the same for him. But this malaise seemed more extreme then ones before, he didn't show it, but she could tell. Rena's boss dragged his head up from it's slouch and nodded with a trying smile.

"Everything's fine, now we must go." A ramp came down from the ship and Helon boarded. The Zabrak had not departed the Tatooine soil yet, she was still buried in her thoughts. She knew something was wrong, and she had a feeling it would hurt her as well as her boss. "Are you coming?" yelled Helon's voice from the ship, and Rena smiled and nodded. When they took off from Tatooine it was still barely night, dawn was coming and the two were drowsy. Soon enough Rena fell asleep, but Helon fought it, now knowing what he knew he may not be able to doze for days.

Hours later Rena awoke a crash. The ship was under assault. The Zabrak assistant had been thrown across the carrier and was now wide awake, yet everything was a blur. Helon was yelling at the pilot, while she was trying to deal with the turbulence. She crawled on the quaking to the window. Her hand reached on to the glass she pulled her head up to peek through. There were four TIE-Fighters chasing them. Had this been what was worrying Helon? Was he the one they were after? The question floated in her mind, but she dare did not ask it. Helon's exclamation of "Oh, your awake" was followed by Rena questioning where they were. "Just over Kashyyk, we'll be fine." She was a bit comforted when he assured her, but doubt still lingered in the back of her mind.

"Were going to have to land!" Helon argued with the pilot who refused to listen to a man who to him was as useless as luggage.

"If we land, then they'll land! They'll capture us in seconds! We can't risk that with the Imperials! Why are we being followed by the Imperials anyway? What did you do on Tatooine?" Rena's eyes widened as she heard this. How could she have been so stupid!
"That's what you were worried about! You knew this was going to happen and you didn't tell us!" Rena yelled at Helon as she shoved between the two. She grabbed Helon's collar. "If you wanted to be killed by the Imperials and knew you would be, why couldn't you have left me and him on Tatooine and told us!" The Coreillan Lawyer was being shaked by his assistant and he wasn't sure how to react. He had suspected with the information he received hardship would come along with it. Anger filled the ship as the trio hollered at each other. It was only too soon that the engine was hit and the ship was pulled into Kashyyk's orbit. The ship soared downwards through Kashyyk's atmosphere appalled at their future. Rena realized that her end was near, but fate had other plans for her. Seconds before the ship had it's impact on one of Kashyyk's harsh lagoons, Helon lept towards Rena and pushed her from the ship's emergency door. She fell through the air and then plunged into the thick, black, and cold waters of the Wookie Planet. She heard an explosion muffled by liquid she was in. It was minutes before she came out of shock. Her head was above the lagoon in a very misty area. All she could see were tree that towered above her. Beside her the metal emergency door floated to the surface. She climbed on top of it, careful to keep it from capsizing. The water's current pushed her at a slow rate, but not far away she could see a branch sticking out of the water. Once in reach she grabbed it and snapped it from whatever wood had been attached with the branch before. For now, it would fare as an ore.

After an hour of paddling Rena reached land. By then, the air was not misty anymore, yet the trees shrouded much of her vision. She dropped the ore and enjoyed the smell of soil, but it was no time for celebrations. AT-AS Walkers were knocking and firing down trees to find her. How did they know she was alive. Had they seen her? Had they scouted the impact area and found no carcass that belonged to her? She had no time to ponder these questions, she had to escape. Without thinking she began to dash off through the jungles of Kashyyk. After running for several minutes Rena stopped and took a deep breathe.

"Put your hands up! By the order of the Emperor himself you are under arrest!" Clone-Troopers came out from behind the bushes surrounding the teenage Zabrak. Their blasters were aimed at her head. "Wait, I want to kill this one" chuckled one of the troopers. The leader turned his head and looked at him. "The orders were to bring her back, dead or alive." The first trooper laughed again "And I want her dead." The leader went over to the rebel one and grabbed his helmet. "We'll let the General do what he wants with her." The rebel Clone-Trooper turned his gun back towards the girl and pulled the trigger. The leader immediately fired at the rebel. The rebel plunged to the ground and his blaster shot up into the air. The soldiers began to argue as Rena began to escape. She crept through the bushes and then began to sprint away from them. Orders could be heard from their direction, she could not stay in clear sight. She dove into a ditch behind a stone, if she was lucky, they'd pass right by her. As they passed by her they went at a fast rate, they wouldn't stop to look behind them. She swiftly grabbed the last one's leg, he tripped, and she dragged him into the ditch. Before he could shriek, shout or yell Rena took a swing at his head knocking his helmet in an awkward place. He couldn't move his head from the sideways position it was stuck in. As a result he could speak. She took his carbine blaster and placed his mines in her pocket. Her nice clothes were now dirty rags, but she only noticed for a second. She climbed up out of the ditch and watched as the last of the clone-troopers disappeared into the trees. She aimed her blaster up into the sky and started to shoot. In the distance she heard them yell "Scout-89 Found something!" and they came scurrying back. She panted softly behind a bush as they arrived and began to examine the clone-trooper in the ditch. They picked him up and began to carry him back their way just as Rena jumped from the bushes and fired at them. None of them had time to react, and in seconds ten troopers were on the ground. She continued her dash through the jungles of Kashyyk. She was pondering too many questions, she could not concentrate. Every now and then she would look from side to side, just to make sure she had seen the last of the men. After hours of hiding the Zabrak decided to rest, she found another ditch and crept into it. She carefully placed her mines down and set her blaster by their side. And in minutes she dozed off.

When Rena came to, her deepest desire was that she had never fallen asleep. She was strapped to the ground with a bomb on her chest and Imperials surrounding her. She scanned the area and shivered. There was a figure there she wished she would never come face to face with. "Tarkin…" she whispered under her breathe. Grand Moff Tarkin was Vader's new General, he had just been chosen for the job recently, but the word spread fast. The towering figure paced around, finally she cried out "Why are you doing this!" Tarkin didn't smile he simply nodded his head.

"You posses information that we can't let you know…" His eyes seemed to pierce through her own making her head hurt.

"No I don't. It was just Helon, he would not tell me what he learned, although I was curious." The Imperials listened, they just didn't seem to care. Tarkin nodded to a Clone-Trooper.

"Set the mine" the Clone-Trooper bent down and set the bomb, he stood up and motioned everybody else away from her. "In a few minutes, nobody will know the truth." Rena began to shout angrily at the Imperials but it wouldn't do anything. It seemed as if, all hope had been lost, but it hadn't. Once the Imperials had left, she was alone and would be blown up in minutes. Something sounded in the trees. The Zabrak spotted a furry beast watching in the green. She yelled at him trying to gain his attention. The Wookie leaped from his domain. She feared it was the end for him too, surely nobody could survive that fall, but surprisingly enough the beast was ok. The Wookie went over to her and clutched the mine. He lifted and threw it yards away, then he began untie the rope that bind her to the ground. Once free she stood and brushed the dirt off of her.

"Where'd you come from?" The question seemed like a stupid. She knew well where he had come from, this was Kashyyk the planet of the Wookies.

"ARGHUUNHHHH!" the Wookie shouted.

Rena frowned, she didn't understand. "I'm sorry, I only speak Basic, not Shyriiwook" she knew of the Wookies, and knew of their language, but not much more. He moaned again and picked her up and dragged her along the ground. "Hey put me down!" she yelled, immediately the Wookie cupped her mouth with his hand and shook his head. Rena nodded to him and he let go of his grasp. After looking both ways the Wookie gestured to her and began to advance North. Rena followed confused. Where was he leading her? Perhaps to more Wookies. He led her to his village. There stood extremely tall trees with wooden hutts and bridges, a town in the air. The trees here were the highest on the whole planet. Rena was slightly nervous about climbing the ladder but then her Wookie companion pushed her.
"Easy there!" she snapped at him. Then she began to climb, and every step of the way she had to remind herself not to look down. Once she made it to the village in the trees she wish she hadn't. The Zabrak woman felt very uncomfortable in an all Wookie society where everybody stared. What looked to be the head of the village approached with a smaller, more human figure in a cloak. It was a brown cloak, and by Rena's standards it looked expensive.

The two bowed and the Wookie Head spoke "Arungghhhh. Takkuuuuhhhh nugh foru" then he gestured with his head to the cloaked figure.

To Rena's surprise he spoke basic, "He says he wants you to follow him."

Before the Wookie Head or the cloaked figure could do anything Rena interrupted them. "Look, I don't know who you are, but you have to help me. I have been following a Wookie I cannot communicate with, for hours. The Imperials are after me because a friend had information that was illegal. He's dead, but now they think I know what he knew. I must escape from them. I --" the cloaked figure hushed her.

"Shhhhhh, follow me," and the two proceeded. Rena doubtfully followed the strangers. Hers widened as she saw a tree that could fit a star destroyed and maybe have more room to spare. It was hollow, the inside was a dining hall. They came to a halt in front of the door and the figure whispered "Don't be afraid."

"I'm not" she quickly added. He walked in through a curtained entrance, and the Wookie repeated his action. Rena took a deep breathe and strolled through. The second she opened her eyes and entered the room a red blade of intense light flashed before her. Her eyes glanced to her side, only to find an angry Darth Vader. The rage inside of her began to pile up. She closed her eyes and inhaled trying to concentrate. She had been set up. By the Wookie, by the cloaked man, by everybody, the thought of betrayal clouded her mind.

"Now comes your end…" the voice that came from the black suited sith seemed t echo throughout the large chamber. His deep mechanic voice sent chills up her spine. The tone, the timing, the accent on the word 'end', it all made her shiver. His lightsaber strayed away from her neck. The room was silent, the only sound was Vader's breathing. The Head Wookie and the cloaked figure were on her left, and Vader on her right, she was surrounded by enemies. Wookie Soldiers and Clone Troopers stood not ten feet away from her, with their blasters pointed at her. Then Vader's breathing stopped and his red bladed lightsaber soared through the air towards Rena. Immediately the cloaked figure grabbed a metal handle from his waist and flicked a switch. A blue blade light emerged from it and clashed with the red one. Rena lost her balance and fell to the floor. The cloaked figure's hood had slipprf off. It was a human man, not much older then Rena. The Zabrak felt safer knowing someone was on her side, but still was not empathetic enough to have forgiven him in her mind. From the looks of it, he was a Jedi Knight. The Wookie soldiers' guns were firing at the Clone Troopers, and vice versa. In the center of the chamber, Vader and the Jedi dueled, Rena watched in astonishment, admiring the skill of the Jedi and the Sith.

"Go!" just as the Jedi's voice reached her ears she was out of the door. Three bridges were her escape routes from the hut's platform, yet the Sith Lord had cut them making them unable for transportation. Rena found herself trapped. Imperial Speeder bikes were racing towards the village from all over Kashyyk. It seemed as if she was doing the right thing by causing trouble for the Imperials, but this only put her in more danger. Three speeder bikes were parked next to a vacant tree. It's top was a bit higher then the platform she stood on. Pulling her carbine out she shot at the center speeder bike's gas tank, the first three shots made marks in the tree, but the fourth punctured the tank. It went up in flames and shot at the others speeder bikes. The chain of explosions weakened the tree. The tree fell and slammed against the wooden platform supporting the hut. The top had landed on the platform and was tilted at an angle. Rena had constructed a man made ramp. She sat on the tree and slid to the ground.

On the ground an intense battle was engaging between the Wookies and the Clone Troopers. The troopers were shooting down the furry beasts in seconds, and the Wookies were tearing the limbs off of the Imperials. Hundreds of speeder bikes were chasing through the jungles of Kashyyk. The Zabrak ducked down and watched as the village was destroyed.

"She's over here!" Two speed bikes broke through the bushes and zoomed straight towards Rena. Without any thought she began rapid fire with her carbine in their direction. Both clones slid off their vehicles which went past Rena and towards three AT-AS Walkers. One swerved off to the right and the second collided with an AT-AS walker leg. The Walker lost it's balance and plunged into the ground, knocking one of the other two down with it. The final Walker paused for a moment examining the wreckage next to it and then turned back to where Rena was and targeted her. She dove behind a stone as the AT-AS began to fire. The blasts didn't penetrate the boulder, but she knew she could not hide forever. The Wookies began scream war cries and horns blew from all across Kashyyk.

Herds came from every direction and surrounded AT-AS Walker. The machine did not move, and minutes later the cap opened and the pilot exited his vehicle. He was gunned down in seconds. Rena appeared from behind her rock and approached the Walker.

"Jedi, why is this girl important to you?" Vader continued to slash at his opponent. The Jedi Knight had held off so far, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could duel with the Sith Lord. The Jedi collapsed. The Sith Lord was pleased to see the Jedi Knight fall so quickly as his hands. He held his arm out and began to channel force power through his it. The Jedi clutched his throat in an attempt to break free of Vader's choke. Suddenly the dining hall was hit by a missile from outside. The room and combusted and a wave of concussion destroyed nearly half of it. Vader was squirming on the burning floor, injured horribly by the explosion.
"Your not as tough as you were made up to be" the Jedi smirked as his blue bladed lightsaber turned off.

"You're a very foolish Jedi, turning off your lightsaber and leaving your guard down. You and I both know I could kill you right now." Vader hissed.

"Just as I kill you too, and I will." The Jedi Knight slammed his foot against the board Vader lay on and cracked. Vader free fell to the ground. As Vader slammed into the dirt, his mechanical legs shattered and his arms disassembled. His opponent stood hundreds of feet up looking down on the pitiful sight with triumph.

Wookies and Imperial Troopers continued to wage war. There were more bodies on the ground then one could count. Rena piloted an AT-AS Walker, but even a deadly giant like that would not last forever. The Zabrak woman found herself commanding Wookies and leading the battle.

Three TIE-Fighters flew along the surface of the planet. They could not be seen on any scanners due to their cloaking devices, and to the naked eye they were invisible. "TIE-Fighter one to TIE Fighter two, do you posses the G-Bomb" asked the pilot of the first TIE-Fighter. The second pilot responded immediately "Affirmative. Will launch G-Bomb at -2345v5675 distance of target." The pilot in the third TIE Fighter nodded "All systems here clear. Target-A has come into vision, I repeat Target-A has come into vision." The TIE-Fighters were soaring towards the AT-AS cloaked. TIE Fighter one and three branched off to the sides and began to fire at Rena. TIE Fighter two shot out a metal orb that latched on to the AT-AS Walker. The G-Bomb first electrocuted paralyzing it.

Rena pressed as hard as she could on the pedal but the Walker wouldn't go forward. Then she heard a faint countdown "Five, four, three, two, one." The Walker went up in flames and was utterly destroyed. But under the smoking debris Rena was alive, comatose, but alive.

The Jedi Knight overlooked the scene with disgust. A paradise had been destroyed. He turned to the Head Wookie and nodded. The two rushed to the Kashyyk Docking Bay. There the Jedi turned to the Wookie. "I'll be back, at noon tomorrow. Darth Vader will leave, the Imperials will follow. He thinks the Zarbak girl is dead, there is nothing more for him here, I will distract him while you clean up. You wait till the Imperials are gone and when they are, take the girl from the debris and heal her." He gave a salute and then jumped into a Jedi Starfighter and took off into the sky.

Rena found herself on a soft bed in a room full of strange artifacts when she awakened. She barely remembered anything, but piece by piece her memory came back.

"Where am I?" she asked under her breathe.

"In safe hands" the voice startled her and she jumped. Her eyes spotted the familiar figure, it was the Jedi knight. "I am sorry for what happened to you, but I promise your fine. I am afraid I had no time to introduce myself. I am Vance Starcuff, a Jedi Knight." Rena nodded.

"I figured that much" she whispered in a shy tone. "Look, I would like to thank you and the Wookies for your help but I must go-" Vance interrupted her.

"No, you must stay here. Vader thinks your dead, that means the Emperor and the Imperials think your dead. If you leave they will learn you are alive and hunt you down. For now stay here." He sighed. He stared at the ceiling, trying to avoid eye contact with her.

"I cant stay here forever, and I wont stay here forever. You will let me leave." she demanded. Vance closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "I am no Jedi! I thought Vader and Sidious only wanted Jedi!"

"No, I wish that were true. They want so much more. They want to hunt down everybody who stands in their way of their Galactic Republic. That includes Jedi, and anybody else who corrupts their government. You stand in their way, you're a Rebel now, there's no going back. Look, you will be able to leave. I will come back for you, I promise." Rena was about to protest but decided to let it go. "I promise, I'll be back soon…" he whispered. The Jedi bowed and then exited the room. His words echoed in her mind 'You stand in their way, you're a Rebel now, there's no going back'.