So, I'm back with more Star Wars! This story is mainly focused on two of my OCs, Ardeth Vao and Miranaken'yon. This is time gap filler between my other story, Change of Destiny and the sequel, but can be read by itself. I only suggest anyone new to my AU read Change of Destiny first so any events referenced here will make sense. I'll include a small character guide at the end of each chapter to help clear up any confusion.
This is also a work in progress, so updates will come as I get the next chapter written.
Disney owns Star Wars. I'm only dreaming here.
STAR WARS
A tremor ran through the cockpit as Second Chance exited hyperspace over Ryloth. The planet loomed in front of them, large, red, and barren, looking almost completely devoid of life. Its five moons were arrayed in a ring around it.
"Doesn't look particularly hospitable, does it?" Miranaken'yon commented, glancing over at her copilot.
"About as endearing as Tatooine." Ardeth Vao said, staring at the homeworld he didn't remember. "Less, actually."
"When we set down, we'll be on the night side, so we'll be safe from the sun. As soon as your supplier makes contact, we can load up and get out of here."
"Never that easy Mirana. You should know that by now."
Mirana flicked one of her lekku at Ardeth, hitting him on the shoulder. "Killjoy. Am I allowed to hope?"
"Sure. But you probably jinxed it now."
"I didn't think you Jedi were superstitious."
"We're not." Ardeth returned. "But you should never say something is easy. That's just inviting something to happen."
"That's why I brought you along for." Mirana grinned. "You and your lightsaber."
Ardeth put a hand over his heart, feigning offense. "And here I was thinking that you wanted me around for my good looks and winning personality."
Mirana smiled. "Those are just added bonuses, Ardeth."
Ardeth snorted and shook his head, remembering the exaggerated grin and thumbs up Raoul had given him before they had left the base. "Yeah. Sure." He drawled.
Mirana settled Second Chance onto her landing gear. After powering down the engines, Mirana stood and stretched, reaching toward the ceiling of the cockpit, her back flexed with audible cracks. Straightening up, she snatched her gun belt and a black nerf hide jacket off the empty navigator's chair.
"Thank you for flying Kenyon Air. Please file out of the cockpit in an orderly fashion and have a good time dirt side." Mirana said with a flourish of a dusky red hand towards the ramp.
"Yeah, thanks." Ardeth rolled his eyes and adjusted his vest before following her through the ship and out into the underground spaceport.
The scent of exhaust and fuel, a fairly common scent on any of the Rebel bases, was almost overwhelming, hitting the two Twi'leks like a wall as they stepped off the ramp. The cavern where the spaceport was located was at the bottom of Ryloth's capital of Kala'uun.
Kala'uun itself was built into a hollow mountain. The upper levels were where most of the cantinas and other businesses were. The lower levels were residential, and off limits to offworlders. The two Rebels would only be visiting the upper levels.
Securing the lock, Ardeth turned and followed Mirana into the spaceport. It reminded him a lot of Mos Eisley, actually, except for the fact that this one was underground. And a whole lot cooler.
"On Tatooine, we were able to live above ground." Ardeth commented; starting as Mirana threaded her fingers through his.
She smiled at him. "They can go out on the surface here, too."
"At night." Ardeth grumbled, allowing Mirana to steer him into a shady-looking cantina.
The cantina was dark, with a Bith band playing an upbeat jazz tune in one corner. Two female Twi'leks danced to the music, using their scantily clad bodies and shapely lekku to their full advantage as they moved with the energetic music. Colored lights danced around the band to play off the Biths' pale bulbous heads, and gave the two dancers, one pink, the other green, an almost wraithlike quality.
The tables and stools around the bar were dimly lit by grimy glow panels that looked like they hadn't been washed since the Clone War. The tables were slabs of some sort of rock, and, like every other bar that Ardeth had had the misfortune of visiting; they were pockmarked with carbon scoring. The walls were also dotted with evidence of past shootouts. From the gouges on the floor, Ardeth guessed that the tables also made good shields and could be flipped to take the worst of the blaster bolts.
"Remind me again why we come to these places." Ardeth said, eyes roving around the cantina.
"'Cause here we blend in with all the other riff -raff."
Ardeth paused in the doorway. "Riff-raff?"
Mirana raised an eyebrow at him. "If we were running something legitimate, would we be here? Would anyone be here?"
"That's encouraging." Ardeth commented.
Mirana grinned. "It's not supposed to be."
"I can tell." Ardeth muttered under his breath, following Mirana down the stairs and weaving through the tables to the bar, ordering drinks that they had no intention of drinking, and finding a table in the back with a good view of the entrance.
"I'd feel better if we'd brought Raoul with us." Ardeth grumbled, pretending to take a sip of his drink. It was a disturbing shade of florescent aqua blue and smelled absolutely vile.
"He'd stick out too much." Mirana murmured back.
"I know." Ardeth griped; resisting the urge to check his boot to make sure his lightsaber was still there.
"Can we trust them?" Mirana asked, surveying the bar carefully, noting an argument between a human and a Twi'lek that could potentially turn into a brawl.
Ardeth sighed and leaned back against the wall. "As much as we can trust anyone these days."
"That's not particularly encouraging."
Ardeth gave her a slightly mocking grin. "It's not supposed to be."
"Oh, shut up." Mirana huffed. Ardeth laughed softly.
Silence descended on their table. It wasn't an awkward silence as it would have been two years before on their chaotic, self-appointed mission which had served no real purpose other than a chance to form a bond between the members of their group. This silence was easy, companionable in a way that can only be achieved between friends who know each other so well that no words are necessary.
The door to the cantina opened, admitting a tall, dark skinned human and a chestnut furred Bothan.
"That's them." Ardeth said, sitting up straighter as the two strangers wove between patrons and tables to the bar, collected drinks and took a meandering path around the barroom to their table. Mirana shifted around to sit next to Ardeth, and the newcomers took the other side of the table, Bothan on the inside, human next to him.
"I'm Gordon Walker. This is my copilot, Girov Oktra'bun."
Ardeth shook hands with the two smugglers. "You'll understand if we don't give you our names."
Walker didn't seem particularly happy about that. He offered a predatory half smile that immediately set off all of Ardeth's internal alarms. "Not at all. We've dealt with Rebels like you before."
Mirana tensed next to him, and Ardeth leaned back, away from the table, fingers closing around the handgrip of his blaster.
They hadn't told Walker that they were rebels.
"Really?" Ardeth asked, easing his blaster out of its holster.
"Really." Girov agreed, thunking a heavy blaster down on the table, pointing it at Mirana's chest. The doors to the cantina opened and stormtroopers entered, shoving their way through the bar's various patrons.
"Sonuvagundark!" Mirana hissed as Walker and Girov stood, blasters leveled at them.
"Why?" Ardeth asked Walker.
Walker spread his arms in a half shrug. "What can I say? The Empire is paying more."
"I bet they are." Ardeth muttered darkly, feeling a stormtrooper's hand close around his arm to pull him out of the booth. He flipped the table. It landed on its edge with a deafening crack of rock meeting rock, and, judging from Walker's shout, it had landed on his foot. Ardeth really hoped it broke bones.
Ardeth and Mirana vaulted over the back of the booth and bolted out a side door into the alley beyond, and ran. They bolted across streets and through alleys, even scaling a fire escape before they finally stopped running.
"This is officially FUBAR." Mirana said, breathing hard and leaning her back against a wall.
"Yeah," Ardeth agreed, sucking in great gulps of air. "Let's get back to the ship and get off this rock."
Mirana stood. "That's the best idea you've had all day." They both dove for cover as blaster bolts showered bits of adobe down on them. "How do you suggest we do that?"
Ardeth returned fire before responding. "No idea!"
"Hsst!"
Ardeth spun; blaster leveled at… a teenage male Twi'lek crouched in the shadows farther down the alley.
"This way!" The teenager hissed, waving at them.
Ardeth and Mirana exchanged looks and shrugs before sprinting after him.
STAR WARS
What do you think so far? Like it? Hate it? Suggestions?
Thanks for reading!
-CommChatter
Character guide:
Miranaken'yon: She also goes by Mirana. She's a Lethan (red) Twi'lek. She was originally a dancer on Nal Hutta, but a group of smugglers helped her escape and gave her her own ship, Second Chance. She became a smuggler for the Alliance and occasionally flies X-wings when needed. In 3 BBY she and Ardeth, along with two others attempted to help retrieve the Skywalker family.
Ardeth Vao: He's a Rutian Twi'lek. His skin is aqua blue and he has blue eyes. When Order 66 was issued, he was eighteen months old and living in the Jedi Temple. It's unclear how he escaped the slaughter- Jedi Masters Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi found him hidden in a closet when they returned to the Temple to search for survivors. Obi-Wan took Ardeth and raised him on Tatooine, training him as a Jedi before they both joined the Alliance in 3 BBY to help the Skywalker family escape the Empire. He was eighteen at the time.
Raoul: His full name is Raoul Tano, and he is the son of the Togruta Jedi Ahsoka Tano, who escaped the Purges. His mother trained him as a Jedi on their homeworld of Shili before they both joined the Alliance in 3 BBY to help the Skywalkers. Raoul was fifteen at the time.