Title: Alliance of Heroes
Author: JediMara77
Timeframe: 0 BBY - 1 ABY
Characters: L/M, H/L, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Wedge Antilles, Tycho Celchu
Genre: Drama, Action, Romance
Summary: After the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel Alliance struggles to maintain its forward momentum in its quest to bring freedom to the galaxy. Meanwhile, even the most loyal Imperials face a crisis of conscience after the destruction of Alderaan. When old allegiances are forced to be set aside, can new alliances be forged?
Author's Note: This is Part One of a trilogy.

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Dramatis Personae:

With the Rebel Alliance:
Admiral Ackbar - Director of Fleet Command
C-3PO - protocol droid
Chewbacca - co-pilot, Millennium Falcon
Commander Arhul Narra - Renegade Leader
Commander Luke Skywalker - Rogue Leader
Flight Officer Dack Ralter - Rogue Six
General Airen Cracken - Director of Intelligence
General Carlist Rieekan - High Councilor
General Jan Dodonna - Minister of War
Han Solo - captain, Millennium Falcon
Lieutenant Hobbie Klivian - Rogue Four
Lieutenant Wedge Antilles - Rogue Three
Lieutenant Wes Janson - Rogue Five
Lieutenant Zev Senesca - Rogue Two
Mon Mothma - Commander in Chief
Princess Leia Organa - High Councilor
R2-D2 - astromech droid
Red - astromech droid

With the Empire:
Admiral Kendal Ozzel - Death Squadron commander
Captain Firmus Piett - captain, Executor
Darth Vader - Dark Lord of the Sith
General Maximilian Veers - Death Squadron ground forces commander
Mara Jade - Emperor's Hand
Palpatine - Emperor
Tycho Celchu - TIE fighter pilot

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They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally they became heroes. - Leia Organa of Alderaan, Senator

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PROLOGUE

The corridors of the Death Star were a brilliant white, a stark contrast with the dark uniforms of the officers escorting her down the hallway. The atmosphere was bright and sterile, like a medic's office, but Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan knew that it was all part of the ruse to conceal the true, insidious nature of the Empire's new battle station.

Rumors about the Death Star had been flying among the Rebel factions for years. Even though the battle station had never been acknowledged by the Empire, and would remain a secret until it was fully operational, the leaders of the Rebel Alliance had known for years of Emperor Palpatine's ultimate plan to crush all opposition to his rule. He need only wait until the Death Star was operational, and then all opposition would cower at his feet.

But Leia Organa believed differently. It would be impossible to remain neutral in the galactic conflict when confronted with the fact that Palpatine, and by extension his Empire, would do anything to maintain control of the galaxy. Even exterminate entire civilizations.

If the Death Star's primary weapon were to ever be used…Leia could only imagine the implications.

A steel grip clamped down on her shoulder, and she twisted around to glance at Darth Vader, the second most powerful man in the Empire. Leia knew that others had crumpled before the Dark Lord's gaze, but Leia would not let herself be intimidated by such a creature. She had withstood his torture only hours earlier and continued to refuse to divulge information about the secret Rebel base. The young senator could feel Vader's anger at her stubborn refusal, but still that did not intimidate her. She would be dead soon anyway, and at least she would go to her grave knowing that she had not betrayed her comrades. The Rebels would gain possession of the Death Star plans, strike a crushing blow against the Empire, and the path to freedom would begin to once again take hold in the galaxy.

Leia narrowed her eyes defiantly as she turned back to the scene in front of her. Her hands were bound, but the two officers beside her guided her towards a large room with a viewport. She allowed herself to spare a glance at the young officers escorting her. They seemed young and dutiful, like many fresh recruits from the Imperial academy, and Leia could only wonder if they knew the true nature of this battle station. The officer to her right met her eye and forcefully grabbed her arm and pushed her forward.

Ignoring his actions, Leia focused on the room in front of her. A sneer came to her lips as she recognized Grand Moff Tarkin, the commander of the Death Star, standing next to an admiral she did not know. Still surrounded by the two officers and Vader, Leia marched defiantly toward the gaunt-faced moff. "Governor Tarkin," she began, giving him an approximation of a diplomatic nod. "I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board."

The older man smiled thinly. "Charming to the last," he drawled. "You don't know how hard I found it signing the order to terminate your life."

"I'm surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself," she retorted. If she were to die, she would die with a fight.

Tarkin did not answer right away; he paced around the room, which Leia approximated to be one of the battle station's main control rooms, before turning back to her. "Princess Leia, before your execution, I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station operational. No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now."

Leia allowed herself a guffaw. It was so simple to understand, how could the Empire not see it? "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers," she warned him.

"Not after we demonstrate the power of this station," Tarkin countered. Leia's heart fluttered in her chest…was the station already operational? "In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first. Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the Rebel base, I have chosen to test this station's destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan."

It was only then that Leia noticed the swirling blue orb in the viewport in front of her—her beloved Alderaan—and her heart seemed to stop. All pretenses of bravery and valor flew out of her mind and her only thoughts were of her family and friends and all the other innocents living peacefully on the beautiful globe in front of her, and she found herself crying out, so unlike the stoic senator she had become: "No! Alderaan is peaceful, we have no weapons, you can't possibly—!"

Tarkin turned around, his features growing hard with impatience. "You would prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system!" He advanced on Leia, pressing her into the imposing figure behind her, as she glanced between him and her beloved home…

"I grow tired of asking this, so it will be the last time," he warned. "Where is the Rebel base?"

Leia's breath caught in her throat…did she dare reveal the Alliance's secret to save her beloved home, and the lives of the millions of innocents living there? If the Rebel base was destroyed it would be a disaster for the cause...but still, she knew that Mon Mothma and several other members of Alliance Command had been stationed elsewhere. Even if the Death Star turned its weapon on the main base, the Alliance would survive such an attack…

But Alderaan would not. An entire world, an entire civilization, would be destroyed in heartbeat because of her refusal to divulge a simple piece of information. Could she do that? Could she hold responsibility for such a disaster? Would she ever be able to forgive herself?

Her father was down there…Leia could only wonder what he would do in this situation. He was a fighter, but he would never be able to live with himself for causing the death of nearly two billion sentients…

And Leia knew it could never have been otherwise. "Dantooine," she whispered. Then, louder, more defiantly—"They're on Dantooine." She glared at Tarkin before taking a deep breath, collapsing into Vader's chest. It was done. She had saved her home.

Tarkin smiled thinly. "There. You see Lord Vader? She can be reasonable." Leia blinked tears from her eyes, silently cursing the horrible man…and then he turned to the admiral, and Leia heard the most frightening words she had ever heard in her life: "Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready."

Her stomach dropped from underneath her and it took all her strength not to collapse to the floor. She tried to rush forward to strike Tarkin but she couldn't move: "What?"

"You're far too trusting," Tarkin reproached. "Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don't worry—we will deal with your Rebel friends soon enough," he promised.

"No!" Leia groaned, but Vader's hand was still clasped on her shoulder, holding her back. In that moment she hated Vader more than she could ever hate Tarkin; how could he stand there and watch this? How could he hold her in place, forcing her to witness her planet's destruction? What kind of monster was he?

Leia grimaced and blinked away tears as she heard the controllers' voices over the comm system, the countdown to primary ignition, the calls for standby…

She wanted to scream, she wanted to turn away and hide her eyes from the carnage she was about to witness…but she couldn't. The people of Alderaan had no idea what was about to happen to them. They were innocents, about to be slaughtered by the Empire to prove its might and strike fear into the heart of the galaxy. They were Leia's family and friends and kin.

They were Alderaanians.

It would be a disgrace for her to turn away. She had to witness.

A bright green beam jumped across the blackness of space and before she could blink, Alderaan, her home, was gone.

The triumph in the room was palpable, and it took all of Leia's strength not to be sick. She keeled over, retching, as if she could feel the deaths of every person on the planet, but Vader's hand held her upright. She tried to pull away but he held her firm, and she felt the urge to spin around and spit on his helmet. Rage boiled up inside her and as Tarkin turned to stare at her, there was only one thing she could think of to say:

"And you call yourselves human."

Tarkin ordered for her to be taken back to her cell. Leia no longer cared if she would still be executed of if she would be spared for giving Tarkin the information he desired. She didn't care if he discovered her lie. It no longer mattered, because everything else in her world was gone.

The two young officers escorted her to her cell, Vader staying behind in the control room. Leia refused to look at him as she left, and she knew that the hatred she felt towards the man would burn inside her soul even after death.

Halfway to her cell, Leia allowed herself to glance at her captors. They looked to be not much older than herself, and unlike the earlier walk down the sterile corridors, they no longer appeared confident to hold the mantle of the Empire.

Seeing an opportunity, Leia grasped it. "Do you agree with what was just done?"

The officer on her right grabbed her arm more tightly. "Shut it, Princess. We're not supposed to talk to you."

Refusing to be discouraged, Leia turned to the man on her left. "And you? Will you stand by while the Empire murders entire worlds to demonstrate its power?"

He stared at her impassively. "Alderaan was full of traitors."

"Was it?" Leia countered. "Alderaan is—was—a peaceful planet."

"You're a Rebel," the first officer shot back.

Leia didn't deny it this time. "And that condemns every innocent being from my planet?" The officer didn't answer, and closed his mouth defiantly. Again Leia turned to the officer on her left, who had suddenly grown very quiet. Leia had always been very good at reading people, and she had a hunch… "Where are you from?" she asked.

"None of your business," the first officer said. "Now shut your mouth!"

But the other officer answered anyway, "I'm from Imperial Center."

"Coruscant," Leia said, purposefully using the planet's name during the Republic. "A lovely planet. But I sense that your heritage is not purely Coruscanti. Am I right?"

They had arrived at her cell just then, and the officer on her right grabbed her arm and shoved her hard through the doorway. "That's enough, Your Highness," he spat. "Enjoy the last few hours of your life."

The officer marched away down the hallway, leaving his companion to follow. But before he did, he paused in the cell's entry for a long moment, deep in thought. He reached out to activate the door…

And then he turned to Leia, a look of profound pain on his face. "My mother was from Alderaan," he whispered.

Leia nodded in understanding. "And you're going to stand for this?" she asked, gesturing around her, to the battle station that had destroyed a world.

For a moment the officer didn't answer. The he stood military straight, narrowed his eyes, and activated the door panel, leaving Leia alone in her cell.

But it didn't matter. Leia knew that, in the space of a heartbeat, everything in this war had changed.

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From a secluded corner of the Death Star's control room, Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand, watched as an entire world was annihilated.

Her training kept her impassive, even as she struggled to shield her mind against the wave of anguish that threatened to overwhelm her through the Force. Across the room, Organa was hunched over as if she were to become ill. Despite the fact that the young senator was a Rebel and therefore Mara's sworn enemy, she could not help but feel sympathy for the other woman…sympathy andrespect. Sympathy because the Princess had been forced to watch as her world was figuratively and literally destroyed, and respect because, in the end, she still remained determined and defiant.

The Princess was taken back to her cell, and Mara found herself watching Grand Moff Tarkin, commander of the Death Star, as he conferred with his two closest subordinates, Admiral Motti and General Tagge. The young Hand could not help but think that destroying Alderaan had been a huge blunder. She agreed that an example needed to be made of the Rebellion, so that other star systems did not openly rebel against the Empire. She knew that traitors to the Empire could not be tolerated; she had taken care of many of them herself. But using the Death Star against Alderaan? Organa's homeworld or not, it was a cultural and historical center of the galaxy. Many sons and daughters of the Empire came from the planet. How would they react to its destruction? Would they question the Empire that they so loyally served? Would they want to join the Rebellion to avenge their families' deaths? Would the Empire soon suffer the repercussions of mass defections?

"Emperor's Hand."

Before she could think too hard on the day's implications, Mara was startled from her thoughts by none other than Darth Vader. She cursed herself for allowing him to approach her unnoticed. Her master would chastise her greatly for such a mistake.

The imposing figure in front of her did not command her obedience, but Mara knew it was pointless to be anything but obedient towards the Dark Lord of the Sith. While they both reported directly to the Emperor, Vader maintained a much higher rank in the Empire, by virtue of the fact that the galaxy trembled in fear at his name. Mara, in turn, was an unknown, acting only under the Emperor's mandate, not her own.

She bowed her head in a polite greeting. "Lord Vader."

"Your presence here is an unexpected pleasure," he said. His sarcasm was obvious, but Mara refused to respond in kind.

"I apologize for the intrusion, Lord Vader. My ship was in need of repairs and this was reported to be the closest Imperial outpost."

For a long moment, there was silence. It was a classic strategy, to remain quiet and force your enemy to keep speaking, possibly to divulge important information. But Mara was not Vader's enemy, and she desired to remind him of that fact, so she bit her lip and forced herself to remain quiet. The Sith Lord had shown modest acceptance of her since their first introduction when she officially received the rank of Emperor's Hand, but Mara hoped that they could at least learn to work together in harmony, without outright animosity.

Finally Vader spoke, the battle of wills over. "I have been made aware that your ship has been repaired. You may leave the station immediately."

Mara knew that it was an order, not a gracious gesture. She also knew it would be futile to argue. "As you wish, Lord Vader. Thank you for your assistance."

"Emperor's Hand." His voice stopped her before she could turn to leave the control room. She turned and graced him with her most obedient of expressions. "I sense that you are disturbed about Governor Tarkin's actions today."

Mara's breath caught in her throat, and it was hard to stare blankly at the black helmet in front of her. Was Vader strong enough in the Force to break through her shields? Was she broadcasting her thoughts unknowingly? Whatever the case, she knew that the best strategy from this point was to be honest. If Vader had truly sensed her misgivings, it would be pointless to continue shielding. If he hadn't and was merely bluffing to force her to admit a wrongdoing on her part, she could always work that to her advantage…

"I simply question Governor Tarkin's insight, my lord," she began. "We all know that the Empire has recently experienced many problems with defectors. Therefore, I fear that today's test will cause many more soldiers to defect to the Rebellion."

"I see," Vader replied. "Perhaps you should present your misgivings to the Emperor. Surely he would be more than pleased to send his most trusted assassin to take care of such treason."

Mara nodded, wondering at Vader's overtures…had he finally realized that they were on the same side, and that she was not his enemy? Or did he have more devious intentions? Either way, it did not matter; although she had never before openly questioned her master, Mara knew that Vader was correct. The Emperor trusted her judgment and would no doubt see the danger that lay in wait as a result of Tarkin's actions. "Yes, Lord Vader," she said. "I thank you for your insight."

"Then, farewell, Emperor's Hand."

"Farewell, Lord Vader."

Mara left the control room, feeling the Dark Lord's stare boring into her back even as she disappeared down the hallway. She spoke to no one as she made her way through the battle station to her ship, and tried to put the day's events out of her mind as she piloted the ship out of the hangar and set a course for Imperial Center.

But later, as she lay in her bunk, her thoughts swirled around Alderaan and she could do nothing to stop it. For as long as she could remember, Mara had been raised to serve the Empire and fulfill the Emperor's commands without question. It was not her place to question the Empire that she loved and served, and she had never before had reason to do so. Yet today she had. Today, for the first time in her life, she had questioned the actions of the Empire. It did not matter that her intentions were benevolent. It did not matter that the person she questioned was Grand Moff Tarkin and not the Emperor himself. None of that mattered. In questioning alone, the Emperor's Hand had done the unthinkable.

She could think of nothing else as she drifted off to sleep.