INTRODUCTION
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9:00 AM
Day 9; 2nd Standard Galactic Month of the Year 22 BBY
Command Bridge; Battleship Endeavor
Space of the planet Ansion; Mid Rim
Everybody was moving around in anticipation.
Staff aides walked around the bridge, heading as quickly as possible to wherever they needed to be.
Lieutenants were looking over their data pads, reading over their orders for the tenth or so time.
Sergeants were ensuring that everything on the ship was in perfect condition.
Engineers were triple checking the engine and all the other ship systems.
The volunteer infantry battalion on the ship was settling into their new quarters.
The naval petty and warrant officer were all at their system stations, their hands drenched in the sweat of stress.
In the middle of the bridge stood one man. He was frozen still. Not in fear, but in total and complete concentration. As people bustled around him and spoke to each other in fast pastes, they all acknowledged his presence, but non dared to interrupt him.
He wore the standard uniform for a naval commander. He had dark blue pants and suit vest. His upper left breast area should have been covered with a dozen or so medals and awards, but the Commander l had never felt particularly inclined towards them. His officer hat was in the captain's cabin, another intricacy he preferred to do without.
As of his doctor's appointment less than a week and half ago, he measured six feet and three inches, an around average height for Ansion males. He had white skin and blue eyes. His hair was short and black, parted towards the left from the right of his head.
His hands were clasped together behind his back, and his posture straight and tall.
He was Commander Alastair Hughes of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Hughes' face betrayed no sense of emotion as he stared straight into the dark expanse of space in the distance. His blue eyes didn't blink and his fingers didn't twitch. Pitch black and all consuming, space was the frontier that would forever hold his fascination. The magnificence of its greatness, its secrets, and its power never failed to grasp his attention.
Beneath him lay his homework of Ansion, a beautiful planet with green land masses and blue waters. The planet was located in the outer rim near the end of the Dorinian trade route that ran from Coruscant itself out to Namadi.
Excluding the powerful individual core worlds, Ansion was one of the most important systems in the galaxy. It had a wealthy and diverse economy. It lay at a critical juncture of trade routes and activity in the north west of the Galaxy. It had a large population and a growing economy.
Comparatively to other planets in the area, Ansion by far had the best Defense Force, and its military academies could match those on Carida, the very center of military education in the galaxy. The center of its influence, however, was its well organized government bureaucracy and massive surveillance apparatus that had been built up over the past century in response to multiple insurgencies.
Hughes was an Ansion native of 36 years old. His father had been killed in a pirate raid when he had been all but eight years old back in 50 BBY. His mother had died in his teenage years, at age 16, in 42 BBY. She had been the victim of a terminal disease released by the biological attack of an insurgent militia. She had died in his arms at the hospital as he begged her to stay with him.
Two weeks after her death, Hughes had shot his first gun. Living year round in his high school's dorm room had given birth to his militaristic views and philosophy. When he was 17, he joined a local militia group and began his informal military training while still in school. At 19, during the high water mark of the insurgency by the Ansion Liberation Front, Hughes had joined the fight first hand.
While the Ansion government was powerful and its security forces well-armed and organized, it was not easy to fight against a terrorist group. Nativist sentiment had been entrenched in regions of Ansion for centuries, and it was always the same issues that brought them into rebellion. Over taxation, government bureaucracy, "illegal" government surveillance" . . .
The local military had had a difficult time fighting against a well armed and extremely motivated resistance force that blended into the population. The militia Hughes had joined, the Ansion Nationalist Force, worked alongside government security forces the clear out the terrorists from the region one distrcit at a time.
On the 4th day of the 7th Standard Galactic Month of the year 39 BBY, he had killed his first human. It would not be his last.
Through the mass surveillance campaign of the government intelligence services and the methodical elimination of the terrorist cells, the Ansion Liberation Front was wiped off the face of the planet by 38 BBY. During that time, Hughes had personally killed 16 people. He would never regret it.
Hughes had graduated the Vorlus Military Academy at 25 and had enlisted in the Ansion Defense Forces the day after. He was immediately assigned to the naval corps. The Pirate War had begun.
Since 34 BBY, pirate and space raiding activity had seen a surge around Ansion space. Merchant ships were burned, supplies looted, passengers kidnapped. Being the only capable military force in the surrounding space region, Ansion had had to take up the brunt of the fight. In 33 BBY, a cabal of rapid pirate leaders had gotten unusually confident. They had united to wage an all out war against Ansion. The reasons were never discoverd. The fighting gave him plenty of experience in space combat. It also provided for rapid promotions.
Ansion, finally acknowledging the very real threats of the pirates, set about upgrading and reorganizing their entire Defense Force in 29 BBY. Through pure luck alone, Hughes had been tapped to be a member of the Committee to Restructure and Reform the Navy. Through Hughes' brilliant analysis of the failures of the naval forces and his recommendations on how the Defense Force could effectively win the pirating war, he had gained national attention.
On the 9th month of 30 BBY, the combined pirate fleet lay siege to Ansion, a terrible event known forever in the planet's history as the "Siege of Terror". Cut off from any foreign supplies for half a year, millions died of starvation and medical diseases. In order to maintain order, the military had taken over total control of the planet and all its resources.
Seeking to restore some moral to the fledging naval force, the entire naval force was reorganized. Hughes was made a captain of his own ship.
For the next year, the naval fleet fought tooth and nail against the pirate menace. From the bridge of the Destroyer Dauntless, Hughes had waged a total war against the pirate menace. With the use of ambush surprise attacks involving land based ant-ship canons, the torture and advanced interrogation of many captives, and new innovative ship combat maneuvers, the pirate forces were decimated and finally expulsed from the Ansion system in early 28 BBY.
By that time, Hughes had gained a massive popularity throughout the planet. He was seen as the rising new star of the Ansion navy. Already an adept politically minded person, Hughes succeeding in replacing much of the Military High Command with his personal allies and overhauling the entirety of the Defense Force. All the while, he promised Ansion that they would never been as vulnerable and weak as they had been during the "Siege of Terror". At the back of his mind, he would never forget that the Galactic Republic had refused Ansion's desperate pleas for help and assistance.
In the aftermath of the Pirate War of 33 BBY, his allies on the High Command made him Full General of the Ansion Defense Forces. He was practically the supreme commander of the military, as small as it was.
At that point, though, galactic affairs caught up to Ansion and with it Hughes.
With more and more planets succeeding from the Galactic Republic and violence growing without stop in all regions of the Galaxy, war seemed imminent. Attempting to stay ahead of military armament from nearly every planet, Ansion continued its programs to upgrade and enlarge its Defense Forces. Hughes had been on his feet and working up to his head for the last year trying to make sure that Ansion would be able to survive if war did indeed break out.
Six days ago, the Galactic Separatist War, as termed by historians, had begun with the grand battle of Geonosis. The Emergency Powers Act had given the Supreme Chancellor, Sheev Palpatine, the power to create a Republic Army and gave him supreme commander status over it. To the deep consternation of Hughes and many others, the Republic had deployed a 250,000-man clone army on Geonosis from nowhere. Neither Hughes nor anybody else had any idea of where the army had come from nor what exactly it was.
In addition, the Senate had passed another Constitutional Amendment allowing them to attach Planetary System Defense Forces to the Grand Army of the Republic, as it was called. The Ansion Defense Force had been one of the first to be called into service. While Hughes was all in favor of centralizing the war effort, he was still troubled and suspicious of the nature of the Republic's clone army.
As the Ansion Fleet was incorporated into the greater structure of the Grand Army of the Republic, he had received his commission as Commander.
No matter, he had received his official orders yesterday from Republic Military High Command on Coruscant.
"Travel to Dorin to combine forces with the Republic Task Force "Golden Storm" under Jedi General Coleman Trebor. Proceed under his command to the system of Vicondor to engage Separatist forces in the region."
The Jedi. Hughes was very concerned about their involvement in the war. He didn't like it. Not one bit. Even worse, his force was going to be under the command of one. He hated it! Ansion's strong and shining light was going to be put under the command of one of those . . . Arhgggg! He just hated it!
There was nothing he could do though.
He would fulfill his duties as a military officer and commander of the Ansion Defense Force no matter his personal views.
Soon, he would be leaving Ansion. Not for the first time for sure, he had traveled across the galaxy during his short life. It was the first time, however, that he would be leaving it at the head of his home world's military forces. He too, like most of the officers on the bridge, was fighting his own civil war of suspicion, concern, and uncertainty.
He would be leaving behind his wife Evangeline, a government prosecutor who worked in the Justice Department. Before he had joined up with the fleet, she had told him to not have any regrets and to head forwards with standing strong with a high head. He would no, doubt, but that didn't make him any more sure about the whole affair.
"Lieutenant Kensworth," he spoke out to no one in particular. His voice was steady and firm, carrying all around the large bridge even as others were all talking and whispering to each other.
Immediately, a man with a square face and tamed but curly red hair walked up to the commodore and stood firmly besides him, waiting for further directions.
"Yes sir," he asked. Unlike Hughes, one could not help but notice the slightest of hitches in the question, the rush of adventure and uncertainty leaking through.
"Is the Ansion Expedition Fleet ready to depart?"
Kensworth risked a look over his shoulder. He was met with the stare of every single staff and officer on the bridge. Their looks conveyed their deep suspense and expectancy. Some of them wore big confident smiles, others looked less than certain of their mission.
Putting all of that behind him, Kensworth turned to address his commanding officer, who was still staring deep into space.
"Sir . . . The AEF is all set and combat ready."
For the first time in a while, Kensworth thought he saw a spark of something in Hughes mesmerizing blue eyes. He didn't know what it was, but it was something. And he would give anything to find out what it was at a moment like this.
"Then by all means lieutenant, let us proceed to Dorin."
A smile lit itself up on Kensworth's face. Just to add a bit to the drama for the sake of all the cautious petty officers staring on from their stations, he confirmed their orders.
"Sir?"
Hughes turned directly towards to face him, just the smallest inkling of an amused smile creeping its way onto his face. Then with a broad motion, his eyes circled the bridge methodically. He met the eye of every single officer without blinking once, coming back to focus solely on Kensworth.
"Activate the hyperdrive lieutenant. Let's make Ansion proud."
It was all that was needed. At once, the dozens of officers jumped back into motion, pushing the buttons on their screens and preparing to leave the system.
Hughes, meanwhile, had returned to the object of his everlasting fascination. With a reflective glow on his face, the view from the bridge was covered by the radiant bright blue light of energy. The next moment, the Endeavor was speeding through the black expanse of space towards the battlefield.
The Galactic Separatist War had begun in earnest, and Alastair Hughes would not rest until he saw it through.
For Ansion.
Author's Note:
Hello all!
Welcome to my first Star Wars story, Shifting Fates! This first part of it is titled "The General".
This story is centered around the oc character introduced above named Alastair Hughes. He is a character completely of my own creation, and is not based off of any other fanfiction oc character.
It begins with the opening of the Clone Wars, and will progress through the Star Wars extended universe past the destruction of the 2nd Death Star.
I try to revise my chapters as well as I can but my grammar sense is not always spot on. If you see any mistakes, please just let me know and I'll correct it.
This introduction, like all of my story introductions, is short and is only meant to tease the readers while giving a small view into the story at large. Later chapters will be much longer.
Also, as with my other stories, the narrative will be combined with experts of various news articles and historical books. I feel like this adds some diversity to the writing and makes it more interesting.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Thank you for favorites, follows, reviews, and just reading the story. It encourages me to write more and faster.
See you next time,
Greysider