A New War #1: The End Or The Beginning

by Asyr Sei'lar

Lieutenant Sam Redbay ends up in a different galaxy and is caught in a war he knows nothing about.

1. The Beginning Or The End?

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, that belongs to Lucasfilm. I also don't own Star Trek Voyager, which belongs to Paramount, or the Star Trek INVASION! series, which belongs to the various authors that created it, in this particular case to Dafydd Ab Hugh, Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch for the creation of Lieutenant Sam Redbay. Rogue Squadron characters belong to Michael Stackpole. No money is being made off this story (too goofy). This story contains a scene "The Final Fury."

Historical note: For Star Wars, this occurs sometime between after Solo Command and during Isard's Revenge. For Star Trek Voyager, this occurs right after Voyager beats the Furies in "The Final Fury."

Synopsis: Redbay isn't rescued in the Star Trek Voyager book "The Final Fury", and he jumps through the wormhole with the Fury planet. He ends up in a completely unknown galaxy, rescued by a mysterious "New Republic" and caught in a war he knows nothing about. Crossover Trek/Wars.

Author: Asyr Sei'lar *[word]* indicates italics [emphasis, thoughts]

Rogue One (Wedge Antilles) Rogue Two (Tycho Celchu) Rogue Three (Wes Janson) Rogue Four (Hobbie Klivan) Rogue Five (Gavin Darklighter) Rogue Six (Asyr Sei'lar) Rogue Seven (Myn Donos) Rogue Eight (Ooryl Qrygg) Rogue Nine (Corran Horn) Rogue Ten (Inyri Forge)

A New War Chapter 1: The End or The Beginning?

" . . . The Furies attempt to create an artificial wormhole large enough to transport their entire planet was largely successful," said Tuvok, Voyager's Vulcan chief of security. Captain Janeway was silent for a long time.

"Then we failed," she said at last, mastering her emotions so completely that Tuvok was impressed. "Not exactly," said Chakotay, the ship's Amerindian first officer. "I don't know what B'Elanna did down there, but the Furies didn't jump to the Alpha Quadrant."

"Tuvok just said—"

"I said the effort was *largely* successful, Captain. They did, in fact, jump . . . *away* from the Alpha Quadrant."

Janeway looked back and forth between her senior officers. "Do we know where they jumped to?"

"No, Captain," said Chakotay. "We cannot narrow down the trail smaller than about a ninety-degree spread. They could have gone in any direction within that spread."

"All right, where *might* they have gone? Which direction?"

"They might have jumped into the Gamma Quadrant, or they might have jumped completely outside the galaxy."

"Mr. Tuvok, what are the odds that the Furies will jump anywhere near a star system?"

"I have insufficient data to make even a plausible conjecture, Captain." She thought about a planet of twenty-seven billion condemned to wander for eternity, lost between the stars. Twenty-seven billion souls whose only crime was attempting to eradicate or enslave every living being in her home quadrant.

"They must have had some provision for supporting their population away from a star," she mused; "they were planning a blind jump into *our* quadrant, after all."

"That would be logical." Janeway leaned her head back, closing her eyes, not caring who saw her in such a state of exhaustion.

"We didn't have to kill twenty-seven billion people. That counts for something, doesn't it?"

She hadn't expected an answer; she got one anyway, from Tuvok. "It counts for much, Captain."

"Hey, Lead," Rogue Three called over the comm band. "How did your date with Iella go?"

 Rogue Lead's answer came slow and cautious. "What do you mean, my date with Iella?"

"Come on," Rogue Four chimed in. "You met with her last night. For dinner. *Alone.* What does that imply to you?"

"A date," Rogue Three said promptly.

Rogue Lead abruptly broke into laughter. "It wasn't a date," he informed them between gasps for breath. "We were discussing the Lusankya situation."

"Maybe," Rogue Four conceded. "It was still a date, though." Rogue Squadron continued its patrol mission, flying along the border between the New Republic and the Empire. Lead knew that the ribbing he received from the other pilots helped to relieve some of the tedium of this mission. He could certainly understand their restlessness. Rogue Squadron was an *action* squadron, not one that was meant to patrol borders. Still, here they were.

"Lead, I'm picking up some kind of weird readings," Rogue Two said suddenly. "There's some time . . . *anomaly* forming. I've never encountered something like this before."

"Neither have I," Lead said grimly. "Everyone, back off. Maintain a distance of three hundred klicks from this . . . whatever it is."

"Understood, Lead," said Rogue Nine as the X-wings looped around, headed back a bit, then turned back to face the anomaly. Something suddenly blossomed in front of them, as if a black-gray-and-brown hole had suddenly opened in space. Rogue Nine frowned at his sensor readings. "Lead, there's a *planet* in there!"

"It's emerging now," confirmed Lead. "We should see it in three . . . two . . . one . . . now." Right on schedule, a planet with mottled brown and black spots emerged. The anomaly swirled back into oblivion as the planet continued forward, its momentum bringing it toward the Rogues.

"There are two ships launching," said Rogue Two. "Rogues, split up according to flight groups. I have One Flight, Rogue Four has Two Flight, Rogue Nine has Three Flight. Engage the enemy at will. I'm sending a message to the Mon Karren for reinforcements."

"Understood, Lead," Rogue Nine said for all of them. "Three Flight, on me. We'll engage the ship tagged as Target-Two." The acknowledgments from his unit poured in. They surged toward the ships, S-foils raising into the distinct "X" configuration. The ship advanced on them slowly, an unexpected bonus for the Rogues. It meant being able to make high-speed maneuvers these alien ships wouldn't be able to match. Rogue Nine rose slightly above his wingmates, forming a triangle with the two lower ones. They strafed the ship quickly from all sides, hitting what they believed to be weapons arrays and engines. Rogue Nine looped back around quickly, getting ready for another run.

"Sithspit!" he swore when he saw the readings. "No damage at all! What are these ships built of?"

"Don't know, Nine," Seven answered him. "Whatever it is, it's strong. Really strong."

The alien ships began to target the X-wings individually, sometimes coming too close for comfort. It was only the X-wings' superior speed that allowed the pilots to avoid the alien ships' fire. A blast partially caught Rogue Five's tail. "Lead, my hyperdrive's gone," Five said in a clipped tone. "Stabilizer's gone, engine's only partially functional."

Lead sighed. "See if you can get out of this mess," he told Five. "Wait for Mon Karren, tell them what happened here if we don't make it but you do."

"Yes, sir," Five said, sounding resigned. "Heading out now."

"Lead, Rogue Two here. I've done analysis of the planet—"

Lead grinned, despite the battle being waged. "When did you have time to do that?"

"I haven't exactly been in the center of this little fight," the other told him in a dry tone. "As I was saying, I did an analysis of the planet. There are twenty-seven billion aliens of various races on it."

"Worse than Coruscant," Lead said.

"Yes, but here's the interesting part: sensors have picked up a human life-sign."

"Human?" Lead was startled. "We have to go and rescue whoever it is. Maybe they can tell us about this planet."

"But, sir . . ." Two objected, "we're barely keeping *ourselves* alive!"

"I know," Lead told him. "Ten, go down, find whoever it is. You're small, you might be able to fit whoever it is behind you. Nine, fly cover."

The two X-wings peeled away from the battle, heading for the planet. Luckily, the battle was far enough away from the planet that they didn't need to worry about being hit by a stray laser bolt. They flew down into the murky atmosphere, locating the top of a building conveniently close to the human life-sign.

"After you," Ten said as they approached the only door on the rooftop. Nine stepped boldly into the darkness beyond.

They had to both grab onto the nearest wall, so disorienting was the architecture. The darkness had extended for only a few meters before they found the hallway lit with blood-red lamps. Not only that, but there were *bugs* in the air, flying around and around them. "I'm starting not to like this place," Ten commented weakly. "It's making me sick."

"Make one heck of a place for a horror holo," said Nine, concentrating on his handheld sensor to block out the nausea. When they had recovered sufficiently, they continued on, moving quickly so as to ignore their unpleasant surroundings. They moved further and further down, into what seemed a dungeon of some sort. "There," Nine said at last, pointing to one of the doors.

"Interesting," Ten said. "The doors are extremely strong and sophisticated, but the locks are rather primitive." She pulled out her blaster and shot the lock. Kicking the door in, she was completely unprepared for the sight that greeted her eyes.

"By the Force . . ." Nine muttered, looking at the form that lay in front of him. What had once clearly been a man now seemed as alien as the architecture around them. His tunic seemed to have been black and red, but it was ripped beyond recognition. He had once been a tall man; now he was stooped. He once had boasted bright, red hair; now, only a few, discolored wisps remained, and the rest were gray and frayed. Ugly brown spots and blotches covered his skin; they might have once been freckles, now grown monstrous under tortures that must have involved ultraviolet radiation. His eyes were vacant and stared out into space. The man's skin was pallid where it wasn't spotty, with bloodred cracks marbling the surface.

Ten felt her heart pull at her. "This is worse than the Empire ever did," she said softly. "These aliens have to be stopped."

Nine shook his head. "It's a miracle he's even still alive." He approached the man, scooped him up, and headed for the door. "We have to get out of here. Fast." They ran back to their X-wings, picking up a couple of the aliens in pursuit. They unceremoniously dumped the man behind Ten's seat and blasted off the planet. As they exited the planet's atmosphere, they could see two Mon Calamarian Star Cruisers, the Mon Karren, and Home One, slugging it out with the alien ships, while Rogue Squadron made its way into Mon Karren's hangar. "Let's move it, Ten," Nine said as they headed back toward the Mon Cal cruisers at full burn.

Medics were waiting for them as soon as they got in. The man they had rescued was immediately whisked off, while Rogue Five, Gavin Darklighter, was treated on the spot for superficial burns. Nine had offered to escort Ten to her quarters to make sure she was all right, but Ten shook her head.

"I'll be fine," she lied. She smiled. "Really, I'll be okay." Nine, Corran Horn, looked at her in concern, but she merely lowered her droid out of its socket and shut down her X-wing without a hint of hesitation.

She walked to her quarters, her astromech trailing behind her. Everytime she thought of that poor man, her fists clenched. How could anybody, even the Empire, carry out such cruel and unusual punishment? Had this human done something to provoke this treatment? Or was he merely a victim of circumstance? Utterly exhausted and emotionally drained, she collapsed onto her bed, not even bothering to change into sleepwear. She fell fast asleep.

The man awoke in stages, aware that a bright light seared his eyes, even though they were closed. It was, in fact, that pain that finally brought him fully awake. "The light," he croaked, his throat dry. "Turn it off, please." The searing light abruptly vanished, leaving behind the pain. He opened his eyes to a dimly lit room, vaguely making out the shadows of the furniture.

"How do you feel?" a soft voice asked.

Startled, he twisted his head around to see a woman smiling gently at him. He licked his dry lips. "Am I dead?" he asked, knowing at once how absurd the question was. The dead were not thirsty. The question, however, made the woman blink in surprise.

"I'm afraid not," she said, a grim yet amused note in her voice.

"Water," he rasped. "I need water." The woman poured some water from a pitcher into a cup. She gently held it to his lips as he greedily gulped it down.

"Slowly," she cautioned, "your system's still in shock."

When he finished, she replaced the cup on the table. "Are you sure I'm not dead?" he asked again.

She snorted. "Quite. Why?"

Despite the pain it caused him, he smiled. "Because, where I am, there are no women as beautiful as you."

She blushed, her reaction surprising her. "Really," she said, forcing nonchalance into her voice.

"Really," he assured her. He closed his eyes. "I've been to hell. No one should have to go there." She didn't know what "hell" was, but she gathered it was something bad.

"What's your name?" she asked gently.

"Sam . . . Sam Redbay," answering as if the name belonged to someone else. "Yours?"

"Inyri Forge," she responded, glancing at her chrono. "You've been through a lot, Mr. Redbay."

"Yes," he answered softly.

There was a lull in the conversation. To fill in the silence, Inyri said, "You'll be fully recovered in a matter of hours. Psychologically, though . . ." She glanced at Sam, who had closed his eyes. "You'll probably have nightmares for the rest of your life. Talking to a counselor will help, but . . ." She paused. "Mr. Redbay—"

"Sam," he interrupted.

 "Sam," she continued, "the New Republic is very interested in that planet. They have no information on that species. You're going to be debriefed in a few hours, soon as you're out of the bacta tank—"

He frowned. "New Republic?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"What's this New Republic?"

She stared at him in astonishment. "You mean you *don't* know what the New Republic is?"

"No idea," he told her. "I come from another galaxy."

"And you're human," she mused. "Interesting."

Just then, the medics arrived to put him in the bacta tank. "What's happening now?" he asked.

"They're going to put you in a bacta tank," she told him.

A sudden panic rose up in him as he realized that his newfound savior would not be with him. "Please," he said desperately, "don't leave me! Please—"

"I'll be right near the tank," she said soothingly. "You'll be able to see me." He relaxed somewhat, allowing the medics to shift him from his bed onto the hovergurney. Inyri followed them at a distance, reflecting on what had made her come visit Sam. It had been almost a . . . *compulsion,* as if she *had* to. She watched as they put him in the bacta tank, the green liquid swirling around him much as the anomaly had swirled open around the planet. He spotted her and waved feebly. She waved back, wondering about this mysterious man whom she had rescued. She had a feeling of impending . . . *something,* she did not quite know what. What did the future hold for the both of them? What did her "feeling" mean for her and this man?