Here's to my first ever Star Wars Fan Fiction! This show has been among my favorites since I can remember, and no Sci Fi writer is ever truly complete without trying their hand at the granddaddy of them all. So without further ado, here's my story, A Rebel Lost.
Of course I didn't forget to put in a disclaimer. I do not lay claim to anything written in this story. Star Wars is the exclusive property of Lucas Arts and George Lucas. All of this is written for the purpose of having fun and getting an idea out of my head and onto the paper.
A Rebel Lost
Chapter One
Planet Hoth
"Ten-hut!" the voice of Sargent Woods bellowed in the icy hall outside Second Squad's Barracks.
The twelve men and women of the squad snapped to attention as commanded by their gruff commander. They tried hard not to shiver in the cold but failed miserably. They were dressed in the white winter fatigues issued to them when they arrived on Hoth and were carrying their boxy backpacks and weapons over their shoulders. For the new greenhorns, this was their first day on Hoth, they'd all just arrived on a transport from Corellia that was in the midst of a record summer. The eight new rookies were young and inexperienced, the youngest of their number being a mere seventeen years old. They would have a rude awakening to life as a Rebel.
"Right, this is for you new blokes, I'm Sargent Woods. While you are under my command you will do as you are told. No more no less, I run a tight ship here no excuses lads and lasses. You are now soldiers of Alliance and will behave as such, do you get me?"
"Sir yes sir!" the new rookies hollered, stiffening up.
The older members of the squad smirked at the response the rookies had given their commander. It had been a while since they'd had some replacements, not since the Battle of Yavin IV had their squad ever been at full strength. Then again, no squads had been at full strength since Yavin.
"Now, since we have no training facilities for you to show me your training, assuming you've had any, you'll learn on the job. We've pulled some easy duty this morning, guard duty over the South Entrance and over the transports docked there. So let's move out! Left, face!"
The squad turned in unison to their left and waited for Woods to give the order to head out.
"Forward, march!"
As one, the squad started off, grateful to be moving at last and using that to stave off the cold they relished I the movement. Leading the pack was Sargent Woods, A295 slung over his shoulder. He stared ahead with the utmost confidence a decade of battle brought. He was followed by his most experienced troopers, Gage and Grey. Grey was a big man, hoisting the squad's only missile launcher over his shoulder with ease while Gage was armed with the standard A295 and a pair DC-17 Blasters, relics from the Clone Wars. Gage was something of an enigma, he was the oldest of the group and the most battle hardened, he took orders without question and performed them to the maximum efficiency. He didn't talk much and his tanned skin and crew cut black hair were signs of a past that he wanted to live down. Grey Past was the wise man of the group, knowing the secrets to every mystery that the younger members of the squad always came across. Needless to say he was the one man that would believe in the cause for freedom even if there were no Rebellion.
Then there was Sam Intar, the shady one of the group, he was a scheming man, always having a plan of some sort to get out of every battle and problem he could think of. Next to him was Nester Hind, the nut job of the squad and the reason the squad hadn't gone insane with boredom, he always had something that would get under the Sargent's nerves and push Gage to the point of stunning him with his DC-17's. Behind them were the rookies, Fara Hebridiim, the new sniper, Dex Hart, the squad's new technology expert, and the new riflemen; Xander, Thell, Dee, Cormen, Wyatt, and Rat. Last in the line was the squad's XO, Corporal Jack Ruyus, he'd been with the Rebellion since the beginning as a refugee who'd been taken under the wing of the Rebel Army and trained to fight for three years until he was allowed to the frontlines two years ago.
"Let's go, keep up the pace!" Jack said to a lagging Dex.
The squad marched past other Rebels on their way to the South Hangar where the supplies that ran and operated Echo Base were offloaded. A disorganized column of orange clad pilots came waltzing around the corner and threw a few insults their way as a show of superiority they believed they had.
"Hey, look who it is, the cannon fodder," one of them teased.
"I wonder how long these ones will last," another piled on.
"What did you say to me?" Rat pulled out of line to confront these flyboys.
The whole column stopped as their organization was disrupted by the young Rebel stepping out of line, literally and figuratively. Jack stepped up and grabbed Rat roughly by the shoulder and pulled him back.
"Get back in line Private."
"Thank you Corporal, I was afraid I was going to have to put this one in his place," the leader of the pilots said as Jack had his back turned.
Jack froze as the pilot implied what Jack thought he was implying. Sargent Woods saw this and subtly shook his head to warn off the temperamental Corporal.
"Stick to your specialty, in the air. We'll stick to ours on the ground."
"Running like little wamp rats?"
Jack balled his fist as he prepared to put these flyboys in their place before Sargent Woods could stop him from beating the pilot who said that into a smear on the wall. But as he was about to turn and slug the grinning pilot Gage grabbed him roughly by the arm and restrained him and looked him in the eyes with a look that said it all.
"They're not worth it sir," he whispered in his ear.
Jack nodded and returned his icy gaze to his Sargent who nodded and called out.
"Fall in!"
The twelve young infantrymen returned to their formation and continued on toward their assigned post. They passed other infantry, engineers, officers, and pilots on their way. The ice tunnels were crowded but not overly so. It took about five minutes to get to the large open space the South Hangar.
"Alright, take position around the perimeter, keep watch for those wampas. We don't want any more supplies or tauntauns being stolen," Woods hollered taking his rifle off of his back and readying it.
"You heard the man! Section One on that ridge with the Sargent! Section Two on me!" Jack yelled out assigning the individual duties of each section of six men and women. The squad immediately split up with the first section which contained the rookies Rat, Dee, Xander, and Thell along with the more experienced Sam and Nester.
The first section ran off past the groups of Rebels overseeing the offloading of several transport vehicles while the second took up a patrol around the transports in pairs. Jack was paired with Gage, as he always had been while Dex and Fara were paired up and Grey was with Cormen and Wyatt. Jack had to keep a watch with his equal over the newbies that had just arrived to make sure that they did their job. It was quiet and cold duty that they'd been assigned but they knew that they could be out on patrol instead.
"Gage, you hear something?" Jack asked, listening to the growing sound of engines.
"Yeah, I do, is that a ship?"
"Looks like it."
They both looked up in time to see a large shape come through the clouds and descend toward a large open space that was cleared for its apparent landing. The ship was a recognizable design, a CR-90 class Corvette, otherwise known as a Rebel Blockade Runner. IT was painted differently than most other ships of her class. It had a dark gray coat with several parallel red lines going down its length. The ship was well piloted as it came down with the grace of an X-Wing as the pilot brought her down right on top of the landing area that had been cleared for it.
"Ruyus," Woods called on the comm.
"Yes sir."
"You and Gage check that pilot's clearance and clear the cargo. The supply loaders are late this morning."
"Got it boss, come on Gage, let's give this flyboy a welcome."
"Or girl," Gage replied taking his rifle off his back to hold at the ready.
"Yeah, or girl, shutup and come on."
The two soldiers hustled over to the landing pad where the rookies Dex and Fara were already standing. Jack was about to order them back to their stations when the ship descending finally touched down. The ship landed with its port side facing them and as soon as the ship landed the men and women standing near the ship rushed towards it with fuel pumps and scanners ready to give the ship a quick once over. The ship powered down immediately and its engines hummed to silent and dimmed out. The lights on the ship however were still on, blinking away. The ship hissed as steam and assorted gasses belched from its open valves until they too were finally stopped as the ship itself settled on the ground. Finally the gangway shot out of the port side and the hatch opened up to reveal two things that Gage immediately aimed at.
"Droids!" Gage yelled aiming his weapon at the two gray B1 Type Battle Droids who walked down the ramp and started looking the ship over themselves.
"Drop that weapon Lance Corporal," Jack calmly ordered Gage.
"Sir, those are Battle Droids they'll…"
Gage was cut short by one of the droids falling flat on its face after stepping into the landing gear. It immediately began flailing as it tried to get to its feet. Gage blinked twice to take in the clumsiness of these so called killers.
"You were saying Gage?"
"Never mind sir."
"Come on, you two with us," Jack ordered Dex and Fara.
The four Rebel soldiers marched towards the open hatch of the ship and were confronted by the outline of a young woman stepping out of the ship and onto the ramp. She was of medium size, about 5'8" and thin with graceful curves that would turn the head of any man who saw her. Her wavy brunette hair reached her back and blew in the icy wind, she had a smirk of satisfaction at accomplishing her objective of landing her ship and its cargo. She was in a word, beautiful, and her clothing made that abundantly clear to the group. She wore tight brown leather pants with a holster attached to her belt with an extremely rare WESTAR 34 Blaster Pistol in chrome. The woman, more of a girl really, also wore a tan flight jacket with several pockets that diverged from the skin tight fabric. She had her hands on her hips as she waited at the ramp for the Rebel troops to come up.
"Hello boys," she called down to them, "like what you see?"
Fara slugged Dex on the shoulder and made him snap out of the stare he was currently performing on the young starship captain.
"I'm Corporal Ruyus, Eighth Battalion, Delta Company Second…"
"As much as I'd like to hear your life story, Corporal, I don't care. I'm here to drop off my cargo get my pay and leave."
"A smuggler," Gage observed with a bit of disdain.
"Captain Ally Valderam at your service," the girl responded with quite a bit of pride.
"Well, Captain, before you even think of going anywhere you'll be cleared by us, now we'll need to get aboard to inspect your ship," Jack explained to the girl who was leaning against the hatch that lead into the ship.
"Uh, how about no, no grunt can just waltz around on my ship!"
"That's too bad; now if you want to get paid you'll let us on your ship to check for Imperial tracking devices or bombs. That or we arrest you and inspect the ship anyway," Gage responded.
The girl pulled her exotic pistol out at the end of Gage's threat and aimed it at Gage's head. The Rebels aimed their rifles at the girl and the Battle Droids stopped what they were doing immediately to watch and wait for something to happen.
"I dare you to try," the smuggler hissed as other Rebels took notice of the situation.
The smuggler was very much outnumbered and outclassed by these soldiers and any wrong move who seal her fate before she could blink. But, thankfully for all involved a voice of authority stopped everything immediately.
"Stand down!" the voice of Han Solo bellowed at the Rebels and Allya.
The Rebels immediately dropped their weapons and stood down. Running up behind the crowd of troops was the blue clothed Captain who everyone on the base knew. It was Han Solo, and he immediately got to figuring out the problem and solving it.
"What's the trouble here Corporal?" Solo asked in a calm voice.
"This smuggler won't let us aboard to check her ship for anything unauthorized," Jack replied.
Ally shrugged and kept the weapon pointed from her hip.
"And you are?" Solo asked the young smuggler.
"Ally Valderam, I'm here to drop off my cargo, get my pay, and leave, but these boys wanted to make it a bit too hard."
"You're either stupid or a rookie," Solo nearly yelled, "it's standard procedure to check a cargo and a ship before giving the money, not just for the Rebel Alliance but for any client!"
"I…I..." Ally stammered, her cover of a tough independent smuggler threatened.
"Troopers, get this ship cleared and start unloading the cargo. You come with me," Solo stopped her stammering before she made herself into a real fool.
A stream of troops made their way onto the ship as Ally made her way down the ramp, much deflated but still holding her head high. Jack and Gage shouldered their weapons and turned to leave as the two smugglers walked into the base.
"Damn smugglers, no respect," Jack growled.
Solo led the way down a corridor to the HQ of the Base itself with Ally in tow.
"You are a rookie aren't you? How long have you been in the business?"
"This is my first ever mission, I hauled some freight legally but it didn't pay very well and the boss tried to…umm…"
"Is that why you have a pair of Battle Droids with you and a WESTAR 34 Blaster?" Solo asked, understanding.
"Actually I have about a dozen of those B1's and a pair of B2's but I only activate them when I'm in a place I don't know, yeah I know, I found them aboard the ship when I first…acquired her," Ally responded.
"What's her name anyway?" Solo asked casually.
"New Divide, oldest in her class."
"Hmm…that name sounds familiar, I can't remember why though."
Their conversation was cut short as the duo was stopped outside the entrance into the HQ by a pair of armed guards. The men checked Solo's clearance and nodded for him to enter and paid the two of them no mind. Ally was immersed in quite a bit of chaos as she walked into the crowded room where no one seemed to be doing nothing. Dozens of men and women were working furiously in the cold room, calling out numbers and status reports, going over scans from unseen devices, and running errands for those higher up the chain than themselves.
"Colonel," Solo called out to a man in a coat going over a great many reports on a holopad in front of him.
"What is it Solo?" the man replied not looking up.
"Uh Captain Valderam has arrived with…what is it you're hauling in that ship of yours?" Solo asked.
"Weapons, ammo, uniforms, equipment, you name I have it. Mostly infantrymen stuff."
"Good to see you made it Captain," Colonel Volosk, head of supply for the base, responded at the good news.
"Where's my money?" Ally responded to the man, her head on what she wanted.
"You'll have your money Captain, first we need to make sure you didn't swindle us on our deal."
"Fine, have the money by day's end. Now, if you need me I'll be in your rec room, getting my own reward off those sapps in there," she teased, turning to leave.
"She's a pistol," Solo observed, watching the girl walk out, turning heads as she went.
"Who, Ally? Yeah, but she's a rookie that makes stupid mistakes. It's a wonder she managed to bring that piece of junk all the way from Corellia without getting nabbed by a Star Destroyer," Colonel Volosk responded.
Ally waltzed down the hall until she found the metal door that led into the warmer metal rec room now being used by the Alliance soldiers and airman. It was a rowdy place, being a place for soldiers to relax and cut loose a bit, so she wasn't noticed as she walked in and let the door hiss shut behind her. The room was large, almost as large as the HQ she'd been in moments before. The walls were white, like they'd been taken right off a ship and buried here in the ice. There was a bar complete with numerous fountains and pipes for the soldiers to drink that was serviced by a six armed modified medical droid. There were several pilots there already along with a pair of officers. Several tables were being used for some games of assorted types. But Ally wasn't looking for a simple holo-game, she was looking for a game of Sabaac. And she found what she was looking for in the back corner where a group of assorted Rebels huddled around a circular table with a stack of money in the middle. She smiled and popped her fingers in readiness for the fun she was going to have.
Back outside the New Divide was getting finished up being unloaded and the squad had finished its watch over the area and was headed inside to warm up and rest until their new orders came in. They were all tired and shivering as the day dragged on. They were all covered with crusted snow and ice that they tried to shake off of their white uniforms and weapons. But Jack was still fuming about the incident with the smuggler and the ice seemed to melt from the hot fury that had built up since that event. All he wanted to do was go to the rec room and get into a boxing match to just let loose some steam.
The Corporal marched into the room to see that the majority of the room was not spread out as they always were, but instead they were massed around the back corner where someone was always playing Sabaac. There were at least a dozen troopers, officers, and pilots there now. Being a bit curious the Corporal walked over and was infuriated yet again that day. There was Ally Valderam, playing Sabaac with several Rebel soldiers and winning. She saw him and smirked up at him, comfortable with all the people around her admiring her success.
"Care to join us Corporal? We could use some fresh meat for the grinder. These boys are just about empty already," Ally teased taking in another pot that emptied out most of the table.
"No thanks," Jack said, focusing on the smuggler's sleeve as she pulled in the cash.
"That's too bad, I'm sure that you would have been a steal anyway and not worth my time," she said back without so much as blinking.
"A steal huh?" Jack responded leaning on the table.
"That's right, care to prove me wrong?" she challenged him.
There was an awkward silence as the both of them sized each other up. The men and women of the crowd waited for either one of them to blink first or make a sudden move. But it was Jack who stepped to the plate to take her on in her arena.
"Let's do this," Jack responded, laying down his money.
"Okay, deal him in!" one of the men behind Jack hollered.
The cards went out fast, and the players grabbed their cards quickly and checked them over. Some of the other players at the table were not exactly gamblers as their facial expressions gave them away as soon as they got their cards. Each of the three other players folded after losing their pot money to a bad round of cards, but Jack had a decent hand, a ten, a six, and a five. A total of twenty-one, two points away from a perfect score. These cards were the old fashioned paper kind, which made them easy to manipulate therefore easy to cheat with. Jack watched carefully as Ally kept her cards face down, with her right precariously close to the center of the table with her arm covering it mostly. As she pulled her arm back to draw some credits to make a bet she brought her hand over her cards and Jack had to e sure he wasn't seeing things but the cards moved a bit as she put her arm back.
"You seem a bit confident there buddy," she taunted, trying to elicit a reaction from the young soldier.
"I am," Jack said, but the reason I'm confident will end up costing you, he thought.
"Show 'em," she ordered narrowing her eyes.
Jack flipped his good hand over and revealed his good hand and waited for her to show her own hand. She paused to take in his hand and then slowly, deliberately brought her hand over to reveal an even better set. It was two tens and a three, a perfect twenty-three. Jack didn't even flinch; he kept his composure as she reached out to grab the money he kept within arm's reach of himself.
"Well, like I said a steal…" she was interrupted by her right arm being grabbed suddenly by Jack in a vice like grip.
"Really?" Jack taunted, not letting go when she tried pulling back.
"What the Hell are you…" she was cut off by a gasp from the assembled crowd as Jack yanked two cards from her sleeve. Jack grinned at having caught her in the act of cheating these soldiers out of their hard earned cash.
Ally, however, was not so pleased. She scowled and in a sudden flash brought her left fist up and smashed Jack's nose in a violent desperate maneuver. He was caught off guard and let go for a split second before his training kicked in and he regained his focus and let loose on this cheating smuggler. Before she could get out arm's reach he grabbed ahold of her left arm and yanked her across the table. She screamed as the soldier threw her to the ground and was surrounded by Rebel troops who immediately hoisted her to her feet and restrained her. She saw the large figure of Jack with his nose trailing blood down his lip directing the smuggler to an elevated platform. He climbed up and she followed, although unwillingly and was thrown onto the mat and she got up to face the boy. She put her hands on her hips and waited for the soldier to say something.
"Well…now what soldier boy?" she taunted not really realizing what she was in for.
"Defend yourself."
She realized what those words meant when the boy threw down his hat to let his short brown hair free and put up his fists in preparation to fight. She too did put up her fists and started out, but she was in for a world of hurt. She fired off a fast punch that he sidestepped and countered with an unchallenged elbow to her chin. She stumbled back at the ferocity of the attack and finally figured out that this Rebel was not joking. So she too put her game face on, and fired off again. She launched herself at Jack with an animal ferocity that she didn't know she had and was expertly blocked in her first attempts. But when he tried for his attack she kicked out and connected with his hip and forced him back but opened herself up to attack when she attempted follow up. He threw up his right forearm and blocked the right hook she threw at his temple grabbed ahold of her arm and lifted her off the ground and slammed her into the mat and knocked the breath out of her. She knew she was in trouble when a vicious punch connected with her jaw while still being pinned to the mat by his arm. She felt the blood in her mouth and lashed out with her left arm and hit him on the cheek bone and threw him off balance and she kicked back up with her feet and got him off her and onto the ground. But the trooper was not close to done, and neither was she. She got up before he did and rushed at him to get on top and have an advantage for once in this fight. But she simply reflected off of him after he rolled to dodge and ended up on top of her again and fired off a few punches that hit her in the nose and mouth she managed to wrap her legs around his head and threw him back and she got up just in time to have him tackle her to the ground and roll of the wrestling mat. The duo hit a table next to the mat and toppled the drinks on it and spilled their exotic contents onto themselves as they continued to struggle for an edge. Bt a pair of large soldiers rushed to each of them and yanked the two quarreling youngsters apart.
"That's enough Corporal!' the voice of Sargent Woods screamed in Jack's ear as Woods and Gage restrained him while Grey held Ally back.
"What's going on here?" a distinct voice ordered.
"Commander Skywalker, sir. Corporal Ruyus caught her cheating, and she punched him and well, things escalated from there sir," Woods reported.
"Take her to the brig. Corporal, your fate is in the hands of Sargent Woods," Skywalker said calmly, stepping forward with his hands clasped behind his back.
Jack and Ally weren't paying attention, their adrenaline levels were still spiking after their ferocious fight that had gone a step too far and they continued to stare daggers at each other.
"Attention all personnel," the loud speakers bellowed, "man your stations, Imperial Fleet detected. All pilots report to your briefing rooms. All defense personnel man your battle stations this is not a drill."
That's all for this chapter folks, thanks for reading.
Next Chapter Preview: The squad is sent into battle and the droids have their own temper tantrum with the Rebels.
