Ive been a fan for years. With the current state of Star Wars stories produced by Lucasfilm but lately I have been very disappointed with how Disney has been treating what was a once strong franchise. With the most recent tv show by Lucasfilm and the Sequel Trilogy being utterly atrocious I decided to write this in order to one up them and show how even a fan can do better with their terribly stripped down premise than their multi million dolor writers can.
I had some help with some buddies on discord. One who helped me break down the ideas and who wrote the first draft but got too busy to help write. And my buddy MrPyroCrab who i've been Co writing Star Wars: Ascendancy with. I'll work on this whenever I have time but with spring break over and heading back into the grind of college It might take a while for the next chapter.
I haven't watched Resistance other than the terrible trailer and bits and pieces from MrPyroCrab who is watching it to tell us in the Far Far Away discord just how bad it is. This story is going to be its own thing, using elements form both the EU and Disney NU, but will only reference the ST characters when necessary or relevant. Just like Ascendancy It will be written with the same love and care as if it were actually in the Disney canon as of when I started so if the lore changes and makes things irrelevant just consider this headcanon.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...
STAR WARS Resistance: Dying Light
It is a tense time for the New Republic. Bureaucracy reigns, miring the Senate in endless debate. Systems lack strong leadership as the Senate squabbles for political influence. The Outer Rim and the Galaxy at large stands defenseless after the military disarmament of the Galactic civil war.
The cries of the Outer rim and other undefended systems go unheard in the senate. As politicians negotiate routes and treaties, a new threat rises. From the Unknown Regions, the battered remnants of the Empire have coalesced into the First Order.
Leia Organa has left the senate after warning of evil lurking within the New Republic, creating dissonance among its people. Together with Admiral Ackbar, Leia has formed a paramilitary group known as "The Resistance", self funded with what little aid she has in an effort to determine the First Order's intentions before the darkness of war begins to spread again across the galaxy…
Just a few more keystrokes, and Akina Kracksn would be in the pipeline to be a fighter pilot. If the application passed through, and all went well, she'd be heading right to Gelstar, the most important security force in this tiny corner of the Outer Rim, founded by her father of all people...
Akina had dreamed of this day for years, growing up she'd known all the of vets, including a few of her dad's old friends, so it wasn't like she needed to worry about competition. She looked down at the small X-Wing model on her desk, and smiled. Her mother had pressured her to focus on her studies, believing without them Akina wouldn't get anywhere in the world. Sure, she was working at the spaceport now, but it was all going to pay off. Pretty soon, she'd be up in space flying with the rest of the Gelstar pilots. There was hardly enough commerce or hyperspace traffic passing through Gelda these days anyway, even with the harvest season in full swing.
"Akina!"
She jumped in her seat, tapping the keys on her workstation to swap to her spacedock log entries. Once she had the work she should have been doing in front of her, she turned toward the door.
Ailyn Kracksn was a proud woman. At least, she had been, and that's what the family on her side had always told her about her mother. Even her father had been sure to mention her self-assuredness when he wrote about home in his journal. Now she always looked tired, like she'd been worn thin every day. She still retained that sharp port master's gaze though, and it made Akina wither in her terminal chair.
"That better not have been what I think it was. I've told you that you'll find a better job if you keep looking!"
"I'm almost done with the log entries, mom." she said, turning back to the screen as she slouched. With a few keystrokes, she transferred her spaceport log reports to her datapad and grabbed it off her desk.
"You need take your job seriously. The last customs inspector went out of his way to let me know you weren't paying attention on duty." her mother said, crossing her arms and furrowing her brows.
"Yeah, I got it. I'm trying my best, Mom." she said. She snatched her bag up and slung it over her shoulder. "I'm gonna be late. I'll catch you at the Vet's Parade."
"We're going to talk about that application when you get back. Understand me?"
"Yeah, okay, Mom!" She nudged past her mother and headed for the front door, turning the handle. She called over her shoulder as she ran out into the street. "See you tonight!"
"That girl.." Ailyn sighed and looked down at the letter that had just come in the mail..
The city of Lar'anes was the busiest spaceport on Gelda. With the harvest year in full swing, countless tourists and traders had descended on the city, eager for the Sun Festival. The streets were already packed with vendors and shoppers as Akina shuffled her way through the hordes of people, navigating the crowds and headed for the spaceport. She and her mother were in charge of the passenger shuttles that traveled in from the Relgim Run hyperlane. Under normal circumstances, most ships passed Gelda by on the way to Ord Thoden, but the excitement of the Sun Festival, as well as the crisp tartness of Geldan Sun apples were enough to pull those tourists in.
This harvest would also have a new celebration, one that the planetary council had announced only last month: the Vets Final Flight celebration. Posters advertising it peppered the buildings along the street, eliciting a smile from her as she walked to work. That wasn't what had her excited, though. The real show-and what Akina looked forward to the most- was the Gelstar Airshow. Getting to see X-Wings and some old Headhunters flying in formation, wingtip-to-wingtip, before peeling off into barrel rolls and inverted twists was a prospect too good for the aspiring pilot to miss out on. They were billed as death-defying spectacles, aerial challenges that would test the aging T-65 and T-70 model X-Wings the security force tended to use, and while she knew the pilots flying weren't that reckless, she enjoyed it all the same.
She stopped at a door just inside the spaceport archway and punched in her code before entering the office. She clocked in after changing into her customs uniform, then went into her booth. Keying on on her terminal, she settled in to work.
This was hardly a dream job. As much as her mother liked to remind her that it was good, honest work and that it was the cornerstone for her future, it was drab, soulless. She did her job of course, she never was the kind to slack off just because she didn't like the work. If she had to do it, she'd do it right and on time. This wasn't stunt flying for the crowds, it didn't exactly require much in terms of concentration or effort, might as well do a good job. She did her duty for the two hours she was scheduled, logging in people coming and going, selling tickets, and handing out tourist information, but the air show-and her application-was what she was really thinking about.
"Thank you and enjoy your stay." She put on a smile to the last tourist in her line before turning to the other worker at the desk next to her. "Alright, that's my last one. I'm heading on break Arve."
The older man nodded then turned to her. "One more thing. I'll be heading out early today so you'll get the booth to yourself for the last hour."
Akina smiled as the door opened. "You heading out with your wife for the festival?"
"Yep. We'll be in the veterans march before the airshow. I'm being let out early. Back into my old Judicial uniform, down the street with the march, then off to the airshow. I'll see you later." He turned back to the booth window, diligently taking care of the next visitor in line.
"Later Arve!" She waved as the door closed. Arve had served in the Judicial Forces during the time of the Empire. While it saw less activity than the Imperial Navy, he still had an eventful career as a patrol ship captain, keeping the peace while the rest of the galaxy was changing around him. She took off her jacket before she snuck out to the spaceport roof gardens. Once she was settled, she pulled out her journal and wrote as the ships came in and lifted off from the landing pits. In the distance she saw a few of the Gelstar's vintage V-Wings coming down from orbit and fly over to their private landing field, just out of view behind the nearby buildings.
Ever since she found her father's war journal, Akina's eyes were constantly fixated on the stars. She leaned back and took a moment to reflect. Her mother was out of the house a lot as she was out working. At home with little to do and only a limited holonet service, she'd begun reading books. One time, as she was cleaning her mothers room, she'd found a box in the closet with her father's old war stuff. Along with his flight suit and some medals was his journal. He'd written it just after he joined the Rebel Alliance, after Endor, and up until the end of the war. Through her father's stories she glimpsed the struggles of the galaxy, read about worlds she'd never seen, and perhaps most importantly she got to know the hopes and dreams of the man she'd never get to meet.
His stories made her want to be a pilot. Her mother told her scant details when she asked, and she sometimes refused to speak about it at all.. The box eventually disappeared from the house, but Akina kept the journal. She looked down at it in her hands now, then placed it back in her pack as she started eating her lunch. With a huff, Akina went downstairs again to finish her shift.
Ailyn turned her head at the sound of the door opening. "Welcome home sweetie. How was work?" Akina walked in and dropped her pack at the side of her chair, before walking into the kitchen and spotting a batch of apple sticks on the table.
"Pretty busy. Lots of people asking about the festival and when everything was going to kick off. What are these for?"
"The food booth,remember? A few of my staff decided to bring over some samples that they'll be serving tonight. Go ahead and have some." Akina took one in her hand and started munching on it as she made her way towards her room upstairs.
"Now," Ailyn said as she turned in from the living room, leaning against the stairs, "Let's talk about that resume."
Akina bit her apple stick and followed her mother into the living room. She sat down on the old orange couch while Ailyn sat on the newer chair. "So, you want to join Gelstar to become a pilot? Whatever happened to you going to work on Mr. Rangies' freighter? You were really excited when he gave you the offer. It was good pay, runs from here to Biitu, and all you had to do was help with loading and unloading. You could have been on your first offworld trip and making much more money. Instead you've been completing your application to Gelstar."
"I don't want to be just a freighter hand mom!" replied Akina. "I want to do something more exciting! See more places and actually make a difference for people!"
"You could be doing that by joining up with one of the merchant fleets," Her mother retorted. "With the New Republic capital moved again it's created a lot more opportunity. You might even land a job in the Baobab merchant fleet if you put yourself to it."
"But I don't want to be a merchant! I want to be a pilot." Akina argued. "I know I could pilot a freighter but I don't want that! I want to fly something cool, not a cargo hauler! And I'll still make plenty of credits flying escort for these same convoys. Is this what you wanted to talk about?"
Ailyn sighed. "It was. Because I was hoping you had something else in mind other than Gelstar. You seem too adamant that this will work out."
"I've put so much effort in. It has to." Akina paused, then corrected herself with renewed resolve. "No it will work out. I know it. I'm going to get ready for the festival. Are the kimonos still in the same drawer?"
"Yes. I'll be wearing the midnight floral one," Ailyn replied "When will you be back tonight?"
Akina had already disappeared up the stairs. She had to get ready for the festival, and she was tired of arguing with her mother about it. She'd made up her mind. She was going to be a fighter pilot, even if she had to move the whole damn planet to make it happen.
I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Leave your feedback and share so I can know that people are interested in seeing this go further! Check out Ascendancy and show your support for that as well! Until next time may the force be with you!