Kyp Astar kept his head down in the streets of Coruscant, holding his datapad close. It was one thing to worry about the credits it took for his single mother to purchase the pad. The more pressing matter was if an Imperial found it and checked the contents of the research.
His interest in the Jedi as a boy was regarded with suspicion. He felt a strange affinity for the villains of the Empire. As he grew older, he learned to research it without being traced. He learned of the Hero with No Fear from the Clone Wars, the Jedi Master Kenobi, and even of the ancient Jedi Nomi Sunrider dating back a thousand generations. The more he learned of the Jedi and their code, the more he wanted to be one.
He unlocked the door to the apartment with his keycard, and stepped in. The holo was on, a sign that his mother was home. He sat down next to his mother, who was fast asleep on the slate-colored sofa with half the stuffing falling out of it. He was about to turn of the holo when the breaking news theme played.
"Destruction of the Imperial Station, led by terrorist Luke Skywalker," a blonde said with a gleam in her eye. "More at five."
Skywalker. Kyp knew it as the name of a famous Jedi. The Hero without Fear. This was it- this was the Jedi he'd been searching for his entire life! Maybe he could teach him! He had always been lucky. He was known for his crazy-fast reflexes. Maybe he had the Force. Only Skywalker could tell him.
He looked back to his mother, fast asleep. He couldn't do that to her. She was exhausted- as she was every single day. Life under the Empire was weary. She was working extra hours to help pay for Ben's admission into the Carida Academy. He couldn't leave her when he was making some measly but necessary credits at the history museum.
But if you learned to be a Jedi, you could fight against the Empire, he thought to himself. Why does Ben always get what he wants? Because he's eldest? When will I get my turn to decide?
Hope was a powerful thing. That's what he was always told. Hope could give him the power to leave, if he wanted. Kyp thought of his savings account. His mother requested he always put half of his salary there. Within a few months, he might have enough to buy his own ship, and leave for the Rebellion. He'd join someday.
Dorovio Bold could not believe her eyes. Alderaan had been destroyed. Her home was gone. It was gone. That's all she could think as she read the reports she'd stolen from her commanding officer's desk. It's gone it's gone it's gone.
She might not have lived there for years, but she knew if as a peaceful place. There weren't any weapons even on the planet. What threat did it pose to the Empire?
Dorovio got to her feet. She would not stand for this. She threw the reports into her standard-issue bag along with some clothes- the few civilian clothes she owned- and a standard-issue blaster hidden in her jacket. She would not stand for tyranny.
Her history meant too much to her. Dorovio remembered Alderaan, with its majestic forests and snow-coveted mountains. Art and diplomacy ruled that world. She would not take part in violence against pacifism.
Besides, according to those files, her princess had decided that the Empire was wrong- and she would follow her princess anywhere.
She knew which students to contact if she was having doubts. They'd get her out and to Yavin IV.
AN: This is the first part of four chapters that will explore these ideas behind background characters. Dorovio Bold is a pilot that was cut out ofmReturn ofnthe Jedi that was an Imperial Cadet that left after the destruction of Alderaan. Kyp Astar is a randomly-generated Battlefront name that always ends up in the Rebel Alliance on my console.