Author's note: When I read A Tale of Two Cities, I brainstormed and realized that many aspects of Star Wars were similar to those of the novel, and this story was born. However, this story has only a few characters already considered canon by Star Wars, and mostly tells the tale of characters based upon the ones from the novel. If you didn't enjoy the original novel, you might enjoy it set in a galaxy far, far away and written in 21st century English. If feedback is positive, I will continue to post segments of the story. Please review!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material with origins in A Tale of Two Cities and Star Wars.
1
It was a 1300 hours standard galactic time, during which a small transport freighter, carrying certain goods and transmissions, was en route to the capital of the galaxy, Coruscant, from the sovereign military base of Anaxes. The freighter slightly resembled a Nubian yacht, though it was obviously heavily modified for deep space travel. It was made for one purpose and one purpose only: transfer of goods and services between the two planets afore mentioned. This trip, however, the going was harsher. Even in hyperspace, the ships lights were dim, resulting from a freak solar wind storm occurring parsecs away. The engines would stall, but, not anywhere near shutting down completely, would push through the electrical currents caressing the ships exterior. The captain, a Corellian, wiped sweat from his forehead as he shouted to his second-in-command to divert more power to the forward thrusters. The stars shifted in hyperspace, calling to the crewman as they pushed the engines, struggling to keep them online. Through gunning controls and instilled will and reason, the craft pushed on toward its destination.
Three men (or women, it was impossible to tell because of the layers of clothing) were seated in the cargo hold, leaning against boxes of foodstuffs. Every time the ship would lurch, each would wince, wondering with worried minds whether the old crate would hold together. Each distrusted the other, sneaking furtive glances from beneath bundled cloaks of suspicion, for this was a dangerous part of the Perlemian Trade Route, with many pirates and spice runners eager for valuable tokens of wealth from two of the Empire's strongest holdings. It was a challenge to police, and an even larger challenge to navigate. This was precisely the reason that the freighter, at the time named the Core Runner, was using this particular route.
The Corellian captain swore. "Jaerl, how are we doing on time?"
The second checked the chronometer. "Looks like 1302, sir."
The Corellian swore again. "We aren't even close to the Draggon Nebula!"
He beat a fist against a bulkhead. The engines gave a groan and sped up again. It was at that moment that the Core Runner was violently jerked out of hyperspace. The blue starlines rapidly shifted to single stars, and there was not an object to mark their position save a single Lambda-class shuttle, barely 300 meters away from the stalled freighter. Instantly, the captain was up on his feet, barking orders to his crew to open all batteries and prepare to fire. The freighter, despite its shaky condition, was very well armed, and could match a craft twice its size. The Corellian paused and stared out the window at the shuttle. He wondered exactly how something so small could produce a gravity well large enough to pull the significantly larger freighter out of hyperspace. He hailed the shuttle on an open frequency.
"Unidentified shuttle, this is Core Runner. You are interfering with our transport mission. If your craft continues to stall our transport, we will be forced to open fire. What is the nature of your intrusion?"
There was no response for a matter of minutes, then, a voice came over the comm.
"Core Runner, I don't wish to stall your transport any longer than necessary, but I'm looking for a passenger of this ship."
"Who is this passenger?"
"A man by the name of Javric Liessan."
A crewman escorted the three passengers to the command space. They were still heavily shadowed. The captain turned around in his chair to face them. He looked each one over, and said with conviction, "Which one of you is Javric Liessan?"
The slightly shorter passenger stepped forward. He spoke into the comm. "Juos? Is that you?"
The voice from the shuttle spoke again. "Yes, it is me."
Javric removed much of the cloth from his face, revealing himself to be an older man. "Tell your gunners to stand down, Captain. I know this messenger."
The captain signaled to the second, still watching Javric warily.
Juos spoke yet again. "I have a message from the IBC on Anaxes."
Suddenly, a few short words appeared on a computer console. The communications officer and Javric stared at it. Javric proceeded to read the message aloud.
" 'Wait at the Hotel Royale on Coruscant.' Juos, my answer is 'resurrected'."
"I'm a bit confused, but will return that message. Best be to you, Javric."
The shuttle turned around rapidly, and blasted its way into hyperspace.
The Corellian sat and stared at the empty space for a few seconds, until finally giving the order to proceed, giving the bulkhead another good whack.
Javric disappeared below deck once again.
The second walked up silently behind the Corellian. "Sir?"
The Corellian turned his head slightly. "Yes?"
"What in blazes do you think that was about?"
The Corellian stared at starlines. "I don't know."