A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Star Wars

A GALAXY BREACHED

It is a calm time for the Republic. Disputes are settled by the

Jedi Knights, led by Master Luke Skywalker, who

has formed a new Jedi Council based on the capital

world of Coruscant.

The cunning Darth Bogan now

lies in hiding, waiting to exploit the

divisions in the Jedi order and the Republic.

Unknown to even him, a vast

force of invaders has found

an entrance into the galaxy.

Unsuspecting of the coming

conflict, the young Vice

Admiral David Prus returns

from a long campaign. As the

fleet regroups at the galactic

capital, the galaxy lies

vulnerable to the

machinations of both the Sith

and the mysterious aliens...

The small ship flew calmly above the vast city world below. Coruscant was home to none of the people aboard the ship, but they felt safe. Their commander was on the planet, preparing to be sent wherever the galactic government needed him. From here, they would go their next assignment. The captain of the ship, a tall, bulky, fish-fished Ishi Tib, waited patiently on the bridge.

Dwarfed by the larger ships that orbited the planet, the Y-head corvette cruised on. The Eye of the Storm was not a new ship, nor a large one, but the admiral, the rather decisive Vice Admiral Prus, loved it. He knew its crew. He knew its design. The captain of the Storm knew him. They knew what they were fighting for. A medium size fleet under his command, the small ship flew as his command ship, into the less habitable zones of the galaxy, patrolling the borders of the Republic. Its million star systems had stood the test of time, emerged from an evil Empire, had defeated countless threats, and at last knew peace.

"Captain, we have a transmission from the Divine Wind," the young human aide told her commander. The Ishi Tib turned and nodded.

"Good, put it on," the shrill voiced captain said, turning from the bridge to the holo communications room.

He stood at attention as the form of another of his species, though better dressed, appeared from the transmission receiver. His own superior and co-worker for the past six years.

"Captain Gal-cura, is the fleet prepared?" the higher-ranked Ishi Tib asked, his voice more basso than the other's.

"Yes, Commodore, the entire fleet is gathering. We have a handful of ships still arriving. The Attacker's Shield is behind schedule, probably due to engine trouble. It should be here promptly," the captain said briefly.

"Excuse me," he said as his aide bumped him. "Sir, we have another transmission coming in from the surface, it's the Admiral."

"Yes, of course," the Commodore nodded, and faded away.

"Yes Admiral?" the captain said as his leader popped into sight.

"Captain, are the all ships prepared? We don't want to disrupt the peace," the young human asked. He was shorter and much younger than the commodore, but wore the robes of a Jedi knight.

Though only sixteen years old, the boy had indeed grown since given his promotion two years earlier. He was now the height of his older brother, and his youthful exuberance had been tempered by a new sense of maturity and restraint. "Yes, Admiral, all ships are on their way. We will soon be ready to go. Let us know where the Republic wants us," he answered.

"Good. Is everyone here?" he asked again. The Vice Admiral turned away for a second, scanning the offscreen tactical display in the Starfleet HQ.

"No. The Attacker's Shield and the Pulsar's Head are both delayed. Captain O'Connell's squadron is also late," the captain answered.

"Very well. If she's as good as my brother says, O'Connell should be here any moment," the young admiral said confidently.

Then his image faded away, and the captain went back to the bridge.

The squadron of twelve starfighters emerged from hyperspace like a flight of insects, throwing the pilots back in their seats. Having come out so rapidly, the pilots attempted to recover. The large brown world loomed in their cockpit bubbles past the ships' flat nose.

Cat O'Connell examined her controls. It took a moment for the change to register. They had been on their way to the Coruscant from their mission in the Outer Rim, returning to Vice Admiral Prus's fleet when suddenly they'd been pulled from hyperspace. Very large objects could do that. The Empire had even invented ships that could do that. But the scopes were blank. She pounded her controls with her small tan hand. It didn't make sense.

"Alright guys, we seem to have gotten a little side tracked," she began, speaking over her open mike. "Let's find out what happened and get going."

"Cat, something's wrong," Miko Reglia interrupted, his sharp eyes looking at the stars beyond him.

"Miko, are you sure?" Cat asked, not sure whether to ignore the advice of a Jedi.

"Yes, I can feel it," he responded. Cat nodded. She knew better than to ignore him. The man had been good, one of the Dozen and Two, Jedi Master Kyp Durron's squadron, until Skywalker had recalled them to Coruscant. His skills as a pilot were excellent. She did not doubt his Force-heightened senses that went beyond the senses of humans.

"Master Durron taught me this trick," he assured her. "I can sense any-" he began. "Cat, scramble!" he exclaimed, his eyes opening wide he felt the attackers-

Cat barely enough time to turn her ship before the laser blasts started hitting her ship. Her small head hit the roof of her cockpit. She turned again as the blasts kept coming. Her small A-wing was quite well-equipped for such turns, despite being an older ship.

She glanced at the scopes. There were hundreds of them! Red dots filled her screen. Orange blasts filled her sides. She spun the small fighter to escape. Her yellow engines flared as she spun, weaving her way in and out of the crowd.

"Cat, watch out," Miko shouted. She watched his small fighter turn in front of her as he outran the enemy fighters. She caught her first glance of the ships. They were small metallic things, with many sharp edges and guns pointed at her. They sped past her, bright green engines speeding them away. She didn't recognize the design…

"Miko, watch it!" she shouted, as the enemy fighters neared his curved wings, the very hull of the plate-like ship. He was good, out maneuvering every fighter he got, even firing a shot or two with his two orange laser cannons.

"They got my left cannon!" he shouted as his left gun exploded.

"I got you Red Four," she said, determined to stop the attack on her wingmate. Ignoring her other wingmates, she concentrated her attention on the ships ahead of her. She cheered as three enemy fighters exploded through her efforts, her own guns thundering into space.

Three fighters she could handle. Any of her pilots could. But the dozens that came after her were too much. Even as he dove to avoid them, she knew it was too late. Even Miko seemed to know that, as his speaker was silent, and his lifereadings calm. A Jedi knew no fear…

His small starfighter exploded from the onslaught. "Miko!" she shouted, sobbing. He had been trained. He was a better pilot than she could ever hope to be. What kind of an enemy were they of they could defeat a Jedi? They were pitiful, she noticed as she shot three more.

At last recovered, Cat looked at her scopes. Green dots were disappearing. Red dots filled the screen. Somehow these starfighters had… She held back. She had to escape.

She counted the ships she had lost. Her mentor, and her rookie both lost. The rest of the squadron, had also disappeared. Her wingmates. All eleven were gone, her entire squadron. It had lasted a few brief seconds. She was alone, and feeling very vulnerable, too.

She spun around. Then she saw the fleet. It was enormous, ships of every size, of a shape she didn't recognize. DESCRIPTIONOFALIENCAPITALSHIPS. The starfighter blared out in font, their guns blazing at her. She noticed that the majority of the fleet, those that were moving, were in fact not the large capital ships, but smaller, unarmed transports. They weren't just attacking her. They were invading the planet.

Some alien force was invading the planet. She nodded. This was grave threat to the Republic. There were dozens of alien fleets out there, most of them content with invading the systems closest to them. They were too scared, since the Republic had defeated their kind many times before. Though she was on the Outer Rim, deep in space uncharted by the Republic, it was on a route to the Core Worlds. Other systems of importance to the Republic lay along well-charted paths from here, making a prime choice for her route back to the center of the Republic. Apparently this alien fleet did so too. But surely they knew the New Republic's history in dealing with interference in the past few years. What made this fleet different?

An alien tongue chattered through her speakers. It was a loud chattering sound, sharp sounding, with an avian characteristic in it. She didn't recognize it. Taking the recording, she nodded. She had to take it back to Coruscant. If she ever got back.

The sound of the alien guns hitting her awakened her from her musings. She had to make sure she did live to report to Coruscant. Her small starfighter was fast, and so far she had survived, but that was no promise she would. As the rest of the enemy fleet continued on its way past the site of the battle, she prepared to jump.

A light flared on her control panel. Her shields were fading. Her left engine was bad. Her right wing was on fire. Still they kept coming. Her soft brown curly hair was scarred by the smoke that had started with the loss of her left stabilizer. She sighed. To escape she would have to go through the alien fleet… The starfighters had not yet given up on her.

The ships screamed in protest as her computer prepared to jump. She would make it to Coruscant. Just barely. The enemy turned around, and fired. She gunned the engine. Her ship sped forward, outracing the starfighters.

The small ship zoomed away from the enemy. She did not dare look out the window. Her bubble cockpit offered a view of the enemy fleet as it landed on the planet, the rest of the fleet under her, as she sped over it. She did not have time to study them. Leave them to the politicians. At the last possible moment, she stopped, the throttle in her hand. She was clear of the ships. Now to escape. The enemy neared her ship. And sped away as her ship jumped to hyperspace, entering the realm between the stars.