DISCLAIMER: I am aware that most of this goes against the canon Disney has been establishing through books and videogames in the era in between Episodes 6 and 7, but it makes sense with the movies. This idea had been forming in my head since even before The Force Awakens came out. This is the story I wanted to tell, and the EU may tell a different story, but enjoy this for what it is. This is fan-FICTION. None of this is canon. I highly recommend you post your reviews and constructive criticism in the comments below, but please do NOT hate on me for "Ruining the characters established in some random comic"

I will follow anyone who leaves a review. It really helps me out and tells me if you like what I'm writing.

EPISODE VI I/II

SHROUD OF DARKNESS

The galaxy is in a state of celebration. It has been a year since the rebel alliance has destroyed the Empire's planet-destroying superweapon, the DEATH STAR, but the Empire is not defeated yet. They have reformed, in hopes of finding and killing the last Jedi, LUKE SKYWALKER

GENERAL LEIA ORGANA has discovered EMPIRE's base, on the planet JAKKU, and has sent the rebellion to destroy it. They will do whatever it takes to stop the Empire if the galaxy wishes to survive...

1

"All wings report in."

"Red Leader standing by."

"Green Leader standing by."

"Blue Leader standing by."

"Blade Leader standing by."

"Gold Leader standing by."

"Corona Leader standing by."

"Lock S-Foils into attack positions. Prepare to make the jump to lightspeed in 3..2..1" Admiral Gial Ackbar commanded from aboard the rebellion's Star Cruiser, the Home One, Commander Kyrsta Agate at his side.

The X-Wing squadrons accelerated to the speed of light, the Millennium Falcon, the Starhawk space cruiser Unity, and the Home One trailing behind them. The stars flew by in streaks, creating a tunnel of light.

The ships returned from the lightspeed tunnel to see two Star Destroyers, the Inflictor, and the Interrogator, positioned around a gigantic Super Star Destroyer, the Ravager.

"May the force be with us"

"TIE Fighters coming up ahead" Han Solo, the captain of the Millennium Falcon said through the intercom. Han Solo was a smuggler turned military general for the rebel alliance. His co-pilot, Chewbacca, was a Wookiee creature from the planet Kashyyyk. They flew the Millennium Falcon, the ship famous for making the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. He had won it from a fellow smuggler and friend, Lando Calrissian, over the card game Sabacc. The Falcon was a fabulous ship, equipped with many smugger necessities that had saved Han and Chewbacca's lives more times than they could count.

"Han, veer right!"

Han abruptly jerked the Falcon right to avoid the fire of a TIE Fighter.

Han's wife Leia sat in the gunner's chair. She was pregnant with a baby boy and very close to delivery, but that did not stop her from aiding the rebellion. She was also a General of the rebellion, and she was shouting out commands to the fleet over the intercom.

"Blast him!" Han shouted.

Leia shot a laser at the TIE fighter, resulting in an explosion of debris and machinery. Two more TIE Fighters came rushing into the Falcon, Leia shot one, the force of the blow crashing into the other one, as they fell towards the surface of Jakku.

"Got em"

"Han and Leia, start your attack run on the Inflictor with the Blade Squadron," Kyrsta commanded. "Once its engines are weakened, it will be easier to capture, and it can get us an early lead, as well as a powerful vessel."

Han nodded. "Copy that, Commander." The Millennium Falcon happened to be carrying a few extra passengers: two strike teams assigned with the mission of capturing the Inflictor, being the weakest of the ships the Empire had over Jakku.

Han led the X-Wings in the Blade Squadron over the Inflictor, each of them firing lasers at different spots along the top, creating small explosions.

"The engines are weakened." Admiral Ackbar said. "Dek, go into the Inflictor and use your thermal detonators as a distraction so the strike forces can get in."

"Copy that, Admiral", Dek Bolava, captain of the Unity said. The Unity had a cloaking device, which was crucial to get into the Inflictor undetected.

He flew the Unity into the front hangar of the Inflictor.

...

"General Hux, the TIE fighter fleet isn't holding the rebels off."

General Brendol Hux stood at the bridge of the Ravager. "Everyone to battle stations!" He shouted after the report from Lieutenant Hadrassian. "Lieutenant, send word to the ground to deploy the AT-AT's and sandspeedors in the base. The rebels are clearly here to destroy the base."

"Yes sir"

A laser hit the side of the Super Star Destroyer, shaking the ship and causing an explosion, sending debris floating off to space.

There was a brief pause among the Imperials. "Well don't just sit and stare, go onto your battle stations!" Hux commanded. The crew of the Ravager rushed to their stations immediately, obediently, and without question

...

"General, the ship was found with no passengers and there were no traces of it on our sensors."

"Conduct a search, Admiral." General Erlem said.

"Yes, sir"

Admiral Novan walked up to the outside of the Unity.

"In the name of the Empire, open the ramp so we can conduct a search."

Dek leaned up against the ramp of the Unity, thermal detonator in hand.

"In the name of the Empire-"

Admiral Novan was cut short when Dek lowered the ramp and threw the thermal detonator into the hangar. The stormtroopers in the hangar tried to duck and avoid the blast, but they were caught in the explosion and soon fell into a heap on the floor.

Stormtroopers immediately started running into the hangar to see what had happened.

An alarm rang over the Star Destroyer. Dek rushed to the cockpit and initiated the launch sequence, and the Unity rose, just as the TIE fighter pilot arrived and chased after him. The Falcon sped out of the Star Destroyer out of the Star Destroyer hangar and into the battlefield, the TIE fighters in pursuit of them.

The TIE fighters continued to pursue the Unity. Dek piloted the ship upward, turned in a massive loop, and sent it swooping down to the TIE fighters. He shot a laser at the TIE fighter in the middle of the formation, causing it to explode and for debris to fly into the rest of the squadron, wreckage shooting off into space.

"You're all clear, Han and Leia," Dek said over the intercom, fighting off the squadrons of TIE fighters. "I can't hold them off. Go while the crew is distracted. Do it while you can-"

A laser hit the Unity, and it exploded.

The inside of the Falcon remained silent after Dek's death. Han flew it up to the back of the Star Destroyer to the rear waste disposal door. He shot a laser through it, opening a hole in it big enough for the Falcon to fit through. The forcefield around the inside of the Star Destroyer created an artificial atmosphere, so the hole had no effect. The Falcon went through the forcefield, and billows of blue energy shot out of the Falcon with an electronic screech. The waste disposal was mostly empty after the crew had been alerted to the explosion in the front hangar, with enough room for the Falcon to land. Han pressed the button to lower the ramp, and he pushed the first strike team out.

"MOVE! MOVE! LET'S GO!"

He stopped Kes Dameron and Thane Kyrell, both pathfinders and the leaders of the second strike team.

"You know what you're doing?"

Both Kes and Thane nodded.

"Good. Get to the main bridge and shut down life support systems."

"Good luck," Leia said. "And may the force be with you."

Han and Leia returned to their positions and flew the Falcon out into the atmosphere.

"All Squadrons, defensive formation," Leia said. "Prepare to engage into atmosphere."

...

Kes and Thane led his strike team down the long, winding hallways of the Inflictor. Being an Imperial defect, Kes knew the hallways of a standard Star Destroyer perfectly. They ducked behind a corner as two stormtroopers marched down the hall, patrolling. Kes pushed the others back to avoid being seen. He clutched his blaster in his pocket. The stormtroopers turned the corner. "Now!"

The team fired their blasters, hitting the stormtroopers and killing them instantly. The team of rebels rose from being thrown back onto the floor and turned the corner. They had reached the ladder to the bridge.

Kes pulled Thane back into the wall. "Thane, if I don't get out of here alive, I just want to let you know that you were a great friend, but now stopping the Empire is more important than ever. The outcome of this battle may determine the outcome of the war. If the Empire wins, then we don't stand a chance. We have nothing." Thane started to tear up. He put his hand on Kes's shoulder. "We have hope. Hope for a better future. A future where the Empire's reign is stopped and the galaxy is restored to the peaceful state it once was. Don't give up hope now." Ronna Lee appeared between the two of them. "Let's stop yammering and shut down the life support!"

The team climbed the ladder and opened the hatch to find several stormtroopers waiting in the bridge. The team fired, and in an explosion of light and blaster bolts, after the smoke settled, every stormtrooper was dead.

Kes went up to the main computer terminal. "Looks like the first team's gotten to Engineering," Thane said. "The self-destruct is off." Kes entered the access code to turn off life support that only those who were in the Empire knew. "And so is life support." The screen showed a diagram of the Inflictor, red starting at the tip and gradually engulfing it. "We have to move quickly before we lose life support."

The strike team turned to exit the bridge until a tall, stern looking man in a black uniform and a woman in a Captain's uniform climbed out of the hatch, several stormtroopers behind them.

"They don't look too friendly," Thane whispered.

"That's Gallius Rax," Kes said to the others, referring to the man. "He's the Counselor to the Emperor. After Vader and the Emperor died, he became the leader of the Empire."

Gallius turned in their direction. "Ah, if it isn't a band of rebel scum. I knew it was you all along who shut down the self-destruct and life support systems. Captain Ree's the captain of this vessel, and she knew where the main computer terminal was and assumed it came from here. Well, since the life support is deteriorating, they'res only one thing left to do." He took a communication device off of his belt and spoke into it. "Scuttle the ship, Groff," he said to Vince Groff, the pilot of the Inflictor. "I'll deal with the rebel scum," he said. From the cockpit, a look of horror appeared on Groff's face. He swallowed, knowing what he had to do, that she had to obey the Empire's every command, even if it meant suicide. "Yes, sir" he said, nervously. He reluctantly flew the ship downward towards Jakku.

Back in the main bridge, the lurch was felt immensely, the floor tilting forward, almost causing those in the room to lose their balance. Gallius turned to the stormtroopers and Captain Ree.

"Open fire."

They raised their blasters. Kes pushed Thane away from the line of blaster fire as the rest of the strike team was obliterated.

Thane shot the wall and it blasted apart into rubble and chunks of metal tumbling down on Gallius, Captain Ree and the stormtroopers, knocking them unconscious. The blast shook the entire structure of the Star Destroyer.

Thane grabbed Captain Ree. "We need to get to the escape pods before this ship hits Jakku!"

Dragging Captain Ree down the ladder and through the hallways, Thane and Kes rushed to the escape pods along with the rest of the stormtroopers and crew who life support had not reached yet to take away their oxygen.

...

Jakku was a desolate and uninhabited planet on the Outer Rim, the perfect place to put a military base. The base was mostly hidden by sand dunes, and there was a single entrance door, guarded by several AT-ATs and sandspeedors, coming from two storage hangars.

The X-wings instantly went to work as the Falcon landed near the base. The sky exploded in a flurry of light. The rebels were clearly outnumbered, and it showed by the status of the battle. The dunes around the base were filled with fallen X-wings, digging into the ground, damaged and broken like wounded birds.

L'ulo L'ampar, a Duros the leader of the Green squadron, led his X-wings swooping and swerving under the Inflictor, careful to avoid the fire of the turrets mounted on the side of the Star Destroyer. L'ulo had blue skin, red eyes, a lipless mouth, no nose, and a taste for adventure.

"Evasive maneuvers!" He commanded. The X-wings flew closer into each other as they approached the bridge.

"This is Green leader. We need to take out those turrets. Start your attack runs." "Copy that, Green leader." Green Two, Shara Bey, who was also Kes's wife, said.

Shara followed L'ulo, diving, ducking, and spinning to avoid fire from the turrets. Shara hit a turret following her and L'ulo. "I got one!" She shouted, excitedly. "Don't get cocky, Shara." L'ulo quipped.

They flew across the top of the Inflictor, firing the row of cannons, taking each out with a glorious explosion, each glorious explosion leading the rebels closer to their seemingly impossible victory.

Shara sighed. The rebels were getting closer to winning, but her mind could not get off Kes, on a dangerous mission, for the fate of the rebellion. She just hoped to the gods he was all right.

...

The Inflictor dipped with an even steeper lurch.

"Thane, get us an escape pod!" Kes yelled to Thane.

When Thane arrived at the escape pods, all of them had been ejected except for one. There was another problem: the escape pod could only hold two people. Thane looked at Captain Ree and looked at Kes in horror as he caught up.

"Take Captain Ree," Kes said. "She's unconscious. We can use her for information." "But what about you?" Thane asked. "I can't lose you."

"I'll sacrifice myself for the rebellion." There was boldness and fear in his voice. "Capturing Admiral Ree could change the course of the war."

"No! I'll sacrifice myself, you go with Captain Ree." Thane cried desperately.

"I can't lose you, Thane. Just leave!" Kes shouted, breaking into tears. "For the rebellion!"

The Inflictor was dangerously close to the ground.

"Go while you can!"

Thane hesitated and then got into the escape pod with Captain Ree.

His face was red and teary, shocked at what was happening. He locked himself and Captain Ree into position and flicked a switch above him, initiating the launch sequence. The engine of the escape pod hummed to life, preparing to take off.

He stared into Kes's eyes, knowing this would be the last time.

"For the rebellion."

The escape pod launched out into space. Thane watched as the Inflictor exploded behind him, nose-diving towards Jakku. He watched as the man who had taught him so much, the man who had been with him nearly his whole life, go up in flames. Thane's heart throbbed, his brows were sweating, and his knees were shaking. He had just lost his best friend, and now he was plummeting to the battlefield below. The escape pod accelerated, then slammed into the ground, and the world went black.