STAR WARS
ALLIANCES OF DESTINY
Summary: Two years after the Battle of Jakku, the crew of the Ghost have a solid lead to the whereabouts of Ezra Bridger, a path that leads them into the Unknown Regions of the Galaxy.
Timeline: Alternate Canon post-Empire's End
CHAPTER ONE
TEN YEARS LATER
[Unknown Regions, 9ABY]
— Okay, this is the star system. — Hera Syndulla said, looking again at the navicomputer.
Sabine Wren and Zeb looked out the viewports at the emptiness of space with the distant binary stars and the debris of what had been at one time a planet or moon forming an asteroid belt around it.
— That's pretty. — Zeb said
— And deadly. — Alexandr Kallus said, looking at the sensor readings. — We should avoid getting too close to those asteroids. There is a lot of metallic debris flying wild around there.
— What about the planets? — Sabine asked.
Kallus touched the panel, trying to get some readings:
— Three planets, two of them without atmosphere. — He informed.
— And the third? — The Mandalorian asked
— Carbon Dioxide, mainly, very dense and hot. — the former spy informed — No human life can survive there.
Sabine lowered her head, not masking her disappointment, and turned with sadness to the viewport.
"Where are you, Ezra?", she thought.
— Do not despair, Sabine — Ahsoka Tano said, as she entered the bridge. — The Force has brought us this far. I can feel the clear path ahead.
From behind the Jedi, Jacen Syndulla ran, jumping into the co-pilot's seat. Hera looked at her son, and smiled:
— How was your lesson, sweetie? — the Twi'lek General asked.
— It was awesome! — Jacen said, enthusiastic — I got to reassemble and align the aeromagnifier with the Force! Master Tano said I'm a natural.
Hera leaned to kiss the top of the head of her son, and looked back at Ahsoka, who smiled at her.
When they embarked in this quest to find Ezra, their initial incursions pointed out to the Wild Space and possibly beyond. Sabine, together with Ahsoka, Zeb and Hera were able to procure a disabled Mandalorian Crusader-Class Corvette, and with the sponsorship of Mothma and Organa, they reconditioned the ship for what they knew would be a long journey, and minimum crew. They had named the ship Spectre.
They had been almost an year into Wild Space, navigating the difficult and narrow hyperspace lanes around the sector, collecting charts, following rumors and trying to find clues to Erza's location. They had been almost three months beyond the Hyperspace Barrier, investigating reports rumors of sightings and Imperial activity, when the Empire had fallen at Jakku two years before.
— Well, I guess we're off to the next system then. — Zeb said.
— I would say so. — Hera said — Let's finish the scans and depart.
Ahsoka felt a shiver through her spine, and said:
— Wait. — She spoke — There is something out there.
Kallus looked again at the sensor readings:
— I'm not detecting anything. — He said.
Jacen grabbed his mother's sleeve and tucked her:
— I can feel it too, mom! — He said, and with a scared expression, added — It's bad.
Both Ahsoka and Jacen pointed out the viewport and the Jedi said:
— There! — Tano pointed.
— I see it! — Kallus said, the blink on the sensor appearing from behind the second planet.
Sabine jumped on the tactical station, and said:
— Multiple bogeys, approaching fast. — The Mandalorian said.
— Are they Imperial? — Zeb asked.
— Negative. — Kallus replied — Unknown configuration.
— Do we engage? — Zeb asked.
Hera started to move the ship:
— Negative. — She said — That is not what we came here for. Chopper, get us back to the last jump point.
Chopper moved from where he was next to the navicomputer port, inputting the reverse coordinates. With a whistle he let the General know they were ready:
— Let's get out of here. — Hera said, activating the hyperdrive.
For a moment, they saw starlines, but then, almost at the same time, they reverted back to real space.
— What happened? — Sabine asked.
— I don't know. — Kallus said — Some sort of gravity well. Ships incoming!
Zeb jumped on the tactical console next to Kallus and said:
— I guess the option to get away is out now. — the Lasat warrior said.
— Raise shields , arm cannons, but don't shoot. — Hera said. — Perhaps, once they see our teeth, they might decide it is not wise to engage.
It was not a priority to the crew to recondition the laser cannons of the Spectre, but upon insistence from both Generals Dodonna and Draven, they delayed their departure by almost a month in order to fix and automate the cannons on the corvette, and right now, Hera was really glad they were so insistent.
— They are in weapons range. — Sabine said
— I guess our range is bigger than theirs. — Zeb said.
— Ships firing! — Kallus said
Sure enough, once the small fighters got into their firing range, they opened fire against the Spectre. Most of the shots stopped at the shields, but a few got through, stopping at the Doonium hull, and shaking the ship slightly.
— Shall we return fire? — Sabine asked.
— By all means. — Hera said. — But disable only. Let's try to avoid unnecessary losses.
The Mandalorian girl smirked and went to work on the cannons. Ordinarily each cannon would be manned individually, but with a crew of just a few people, they had to find an alternate solution. She assigned the targets on the sensor grid for the cannons and alternated between them to fire manually while the targeting computers did most of the work.
— Hah! Gotcha! — Zeb exclaimed, as he shot the engines of one of their attackers.
— Good shot, Zeb. — Sabine said.
From the comm, the voice of Rex was heard:
— Are we under attack? — The Clone Captain asked.
— Yes, we are. — Hera said. — Care to man one of the cannons, Rex?
— I thought you would never ask — Rex said, and shouted out of the comm, but in range — Hey, Wolfe, get the kids, we have target practice!
Hera would have smiled, had ship not jolted again because of the enemy fire.
— Kallus, have you located the source of their gravity well? — Hera asked.
— Not yet. — Alexandr replied — But we have more company.
— This is not good. — Sabine said.
Observing the tactical projection, Ahsoka moved close to Hera:
— The asteroid ring. — The Trogutan said — We must seek refuge into the ring.
— That would be suicide. — Kallus replied — We would not last long there.
— I'm inclined to agree with Alexandr, Ahsoka. — Hera said — This ship is not as maneuverable as the Ghost.
— It is maneuverable enough for a pilot attuned to the Force. — She said, placing her hand on Jacen's shoulder.
Hera's eyes widened, and Sabine and Kallus looked at the Jedi:
— You must be kidding me. — Sabine said
Ahsoka ignored the comment and spoke to Jacen:
— You can do it, Jacen, just like you concentrated to assemble the aeromagnifier. — Tano said. — Just breathe, and focus.
Hera looked at her young son close his eyes and take a deep breath. His expression changed from apprehension to eerie calm. His hands reached the controls and the Twi'lek let go, praying silently that Kanan was watching over their son.
The ship moved in response to his command, and they accelerated towards the asteroids. Hera kept an eye on her son and on the controls, ready to take control at any second if necessary. She taught him how to fly a ship when they decided to join Sabine's search for Ezra, and there was no doubt in her mind how prodigious her son's talents to fly were, but this was the first time she was actually letting him fly in a serious situation.
She glanced over to Ahsoka, and saw her with her eyes closed and her hand stretched out to Jacen, and she was glad in that moment that the Jedi was there for her son.
— Four more ships jumped into the system. — Alexandr said. — And no sign of the damn gravity well.
— Moving into the field. — Jacen announced.
All the crew held in anticipation as the Spectre ventured inside the asteroid field. The enemy fighters moved in as well, and immediately one of them paid the price, as the ship exploded in a piece of debris that hit the ship square on. The corvette moved through the debris, avoiding all of the big ones and the asteroids as they flew in.
— They are moving to the edges of the field. — Zeb said.
— Then we must move through the field. — Ahsoka said.
Jacen nodded and kept bringing the ship deeper into the field, and they started gaining distance from their attackers, whe out of nowhere, a TIE Fighter , or at least what looked like a TIE crossed the space right next to them, moving fast the way they were coming from.
— What the blazes?! — Hera exclaimed.
— Another one! — Kallus said — And another!
The two other strange TIEs flew fast past them, and on the comm, they heard a communication from one of the pilots:
— Republic Corvette, move out of the field on vector 012-045-221 — The TIE pilot said — We will take care of the Grysk ships.
Hera looked at Kallus, and the former Imperial said:
— They are engaging these "Grysks" — Kallus informed
— As long as they are not shooting at us... — Zeb said
— Take us out of here, pilot. — Hera said, looking at Jacen
— Yes Sir, General! — Jacen replied, playfully. Once they moved out of the field, they saw two more wings of TIEs, these composed of five Defenders and five of the same strange TIE they had just encountered, and like the others, they ignored them, flying straight to the enemy.
As they approached the coordinates, three Imperial Star Destroyers jumped in front of them
— Evasive maneuvers! — Hera said, with urgency
— Wait. — Ahsoka interjected — look at the markings on the one in the middle.
The crew all looked at the viewport, and they immediately recognized the light paint on the underside of the Destroyer.
— The Chimaera! — Sabine said, standing up from her seat.
It was, no doubt, the flagship of the Seventh Fleet, Thrawn's flagship.
— Incoming transmission — Kallus said.
The voice of a woman came out of the speakers:
— Republic's Corvette, this is Admiral Faro of the Star Destroyer Chimaera. — The voice said — Get in our hangar, while we take care of this nuisance.
Hera looked at Sabine, Zeb, Ahsoka and Kallus, and the Lasat spoke:
— If we are to find Ezra, nothing better than asking the people he vanished with. — Zeb said
Hera looked at the others, and then nodded. Kallus then communicated back:
— Chimaera, this is the Corvette Spectre. We are moving to dock with you ship. — He said.
After a few seconds of silence, they replied:
— Agent Kallus, fancy meeting you here. — Faro replied — It has been a long time.
Alexandr winced, not knowing if that was good or bad:
— At least she knows you. — Zeb said.
— I don't know if that is a good thing or not. — Kallus replied.
Over the speakers, the crew heard another communication:
— Chimaera to Vanguard Squadron, Clear the space. —
They saw the TIEs move away from the enemy, and then the powerful laser cannons from the three Destroyers blew the enemy fighters with surprisingly ease.
— Enemy neutralized — The TIE pilot said — Proceeding to destroy the gravity well.
— Aye aye, Milord. — Chimaera replied — Don't take long, we have guests to entertain.
— Roger that. — the pilot replied.
Sabine looked at Zeb and Kallus at a loss, and Hera looked at Ahsoka, who seemed very calm.
— I guess we are to be entertained. — The Jedi said.
[ISD Chimaera]
Hera came down the ramp of the Spectre expecting guns pointed at them, but to her surprise, it was just the Admiral and another officer waiting for them. Karyn Faro approached the Twi'lek and respectfully saluted her:
— General Syndulla, welcome aboard the Chimaera. — The Admiral said — I'm Admiral Karyn Faro, mistress of this ship.
To Hera's surprise, Faro extended her hand, and she took it, shaking hands in a surprisingly amicable gesture.
— Thank you. — Hera said — I must admit, this was a much warmer reception than I thought we were going to get.
— The war between us is over, General. — Faro said — It has been over from the moment our fleet was pulled from Lothal. Here, in the Unknown Regions, our enemy is another one, much more vicious and dangerous than the former Rebellion.
— The Grysks. — Kallus said
Faro turned to him, and said:
— Precisely , Agent Kallus. — Faro said — They are the biggest current threat to the Galaxy, but by no means they are the only ones out here.
Sabine was ready to interfere and ask about Ezra, when Faro saw somebody moving behind them.
— Oh, there you are. — Faro said
They all turned to see, walking their way, three TIE pilots, in their black armor. Only that they didn't look like the classic armor, but a upgraded, more sleek design.
— Milord, how nice of you to join us. — Faro said, with a hint of sarcasm.
— The well has been destroyed. — The lead figure in the pilot's uniform said — Prepare to jump to lightspeed. Set course to Nirauan.
The officer besides Faro, Lieutenant Commander Lomar, saluted and said:
— Right away, Milord. — Lomar said, turning on his heels to get far enough to relay the orders to the bridge.
The pilot turned to Hera and the others, and he saw Ahsoka look straight at him and the thin smile that crept in her face. He spoke something in a language that they didn't understand, but his two companions did, as they saluted and moved towards one of the blast doors.
He detached his helmet and proceeded to remove it, earning gasps and expressions of shock as they recognized him. Faro took a bit o pleasure in seeing the surprise in the former Rebels faces, so she added:
— I believe you already know each other — Faro said — But nonetheless, allow me to introduce you our Executor, Lord Ezra Bridger.
Ezra looked at them with an unemotional expression for a moment, just to break it down in a smirk:
— What took you so long? — He asked, casually.
END OF CHAPTER