Disclaimer: Think about it. If I owned SW, this wouldn't be here. It would be in paperback, and I'd be swimming in the profits. Instead, Lucas gets that pleasure. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: Sorry folks, but this is only the prologue. The rest of it's still in process. Although if I know people are actually reading it, it might help...
Tales from the Rebellion: MASADA
Prologue
Nightfall. The skies tonight were, clear, giving the planet below a clear look at the stars. The disruption of the atmosphere caused the lights above to twinkle, their brightness dimming and climbing in an irregular pattern. but despite this, the overall pattern was calm, serene, peaceful.
Nothing at all like what was truly happening between the stars. Armies, fleets, throwing themselves against each other and dying, as a small group of freedom fighters tried to pry the Empire's grip from the throat of the galaxy. But that didn't really affect Kadish II, since it was simply a small transfer point, moving materiel from one part of the galaxy to another. They were not part of this war, so why worry?
All things must change.
A number of dull, grey cargo transports sat in a waiting area at the spaceport, waiting to be refilled. They had served the Empire faithfully for years, being very strong of hull. The last of the reloading was tonight; tomorrow, they would climb away from the heavyness of gravity into the harshness of vacuum, doing what they were made to do.
A stormtrooper on patrol was the first to see that times were changing, although he didn't comprehend what he saw. Marching next to one of the freighters, he saw a small blinking light halfway up the hull. The diminished area of view in those helmets, plus the lack of light both prevented him from recognizing the explosive charge. By the time he saw the light of the explosion, the stormtrooper no longer mattered.
The flightline was awash in flame. Three of the charges had misfired, but the cumulative effects of the other freighters going up made up for it. Before the last explosive detonated, the entire squad of stormtroopers assigned to the base were already pouring out of the barracks. On a rooftop eight miles away, a lone figure watched the devastation through a pair of vision enhancers.
I just hope Shade got out of there. The figure turned, and walked back inside the building. Once he arrived at his apartment, he accessed a double-blind account on the local comm net and sent the base commander a single file: a lilting peice of music, one of the last to be released from Alderaan before its death. The gauntlet was thrown.