Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars and I'm pretty sure I never will.

Author's note: For those reading my other story, "Ties That Bind", keep in mind that this story happens in a separate AU, starting shortly after ESB, so despite having many of the same characters, the time periods and circumstances are completely different.

Star Wars: Galaxy Under Siege

Darth Vader stood on the bridge of the Executer and watched as the star lines flashed by the view port in front of him. While he was normally outraged at any mission that got in the way of his search for Skywalker, this time was different. In fact had the Emperor ordered him not to go or decided to send someone else, Vader would have protested and insisted on leading the mission. Given how grave the situation was, the Emperor would have been foolish to send anyone other than Vader, there was no better warrior in the galaxy than him. In Vader's high opinion there was only one man working for the Empire that even came close and it was to that man's aid that Vader was now headed. Behind him he sensed the approach of Admiral Piett, even more nervous and tense than usual. Vader turned his head slightly to indicate to the Admiral he was listening, and then turned to look back out the view port.

"My Lord, we will be coming out of hyperspace in two minutes. All tie fighter squadrons have been prepped as have several squads of stormtroopers as per your orders." Piett managed to speak calmly and hide his nerves with impressive skill.

"Has the medical bay also been prepped and cleared of all non-critical patients? I am certain we will be forced to deal with a great number of wounded."

"Yes my Lord, all is ready."

"Good. Return to your duties, Admiral." Out of the corner of his eye Vader saw the admiral's sharp salute before he left. As the seconds began to count down the Dark Lord mentally prepared himself for the worse. For what seemed like the hundredth time he replayed the distress message that had been sent to the Emperor, who had instantly sent it to Vader with orders to leave immediately for a rescue mission. The blurry image of the Grand Admiral, bloodied but determined, detailing to them the nightmare his small fleet were encountering before the transmission was suddenly cut off. There were very few people Darth Vader could say he genuinely admired, but the Grand Admiral had proven himself to be not only a brilliant mind and true warrior but also a trustworthy ally. Vader truly hoped to arrive in time to rescue the admiral and his fleet but if he didn't…well, he would honour the man's memory by inflicting a terrible revenge on their enemies…

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Luke Skywalker entered the Alliance meeting room with a strange feeling of dread growing in the pit of his stomach. He hadn't made it out of the docking bay before he was hurried by the crowd of rebels in the hall because of an emergency meeting. He searched through the crowd, spotting Han Solo talking with Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca and headed toward the group. Han caught sight of him and waved.

"Hey kid where've you been?" Han's voice was cheerful but Luke could sense the tension in the older man and his eyes were clearly worried.

"I had to visit an old friend before I could come back." Luke kept his voice calm and reassuring, hoping to hide his own mounting dread. "What's going on here, Han?"

Han frowned before he answered. "So far I've only heard a few rumours, kid, but something big is about to happen. High command is keeping it under wraps until everyone is assembled. I tried to ask Leia but she was pretty much dragged away by Mon Mothma." Han shook his head. "I've got a bad feeling, Luke, a really bad feeling."

Chewie growled his agreement and Lando nodded his head. Luke wanted to say something comforting but before he could open his mouth, everyone's attention was drawn to the front of the room, where Mon Mothma stood waiting. The room became eerily silent and the rebel leader finally spoke.

"We have just received a vital message sent to the Emperor by an Imperial fleet charting territory in the Unknown Regions. Our Bothan sources confirmed the Imperial codes the message was sent over, managing to splice into the frequency and copy it for us." Mon Mothma paused for a moment, allowing everyone to absorb the importance of her words before continuing. "I believe the message itself will speak better for the urgency of the situation than I can."

Mon Mothma leaned over the central display console and pressed a button. For a second there was nothing but static then the blurry image of a man in what appeared to be an Imperial Grand Admiral's uniform came slowly into view. His head was bent and a black gloved hand covered his face, he slowly straightened, dropping his hand to reveal the face of an alien. Luke could hear multiple gasps around him. How had no one known about an alien being in such a high ranking position in the Empire? As the shock of the red eyed, blue skinned face wore off Luke realized why his hand had been blocking his face, the alien had been trying to stop the blood trickling down a nasty looking gash on the right side of his forehead. The room went dead silent as the mysterious figure began to speak.

"My Emperor, I hope this reaches you in time that you might prepare the rest of your fleet for the nightmare to come. The time we have dreaded for so many years has arrived far sooner than either of us anticipated. The Far Outsiders have attacked. I have gathered all my resources and managed to drive the enemy back but greater numbers are on the way and my small fleet has been demolished. Given the condition of our few remaining ships we will be unable to make the jump to lightspeed. I am sending you co-ordinates in the hope that some of my people might live long enough for you to send a rescue team. If not, I have stored as much information as I could gain about the enemy and their bizarre organic technology in my…" The image suddenly cut to static and there was a moment's silence as everyone in the room absorbed the amazing story they had just heard.

Han was the first to speak. "How certain are we that it's genuine? It could be a trap by the Imps…has anyone heard anything about this alien Grand Admiral before?"

Ackbar answered. "It is actually the presence of the alien that confirms to me the message's authenticity. If the Imperials were attempting to set a trap they would not have chosen such an obviously suspicious messenger…they would have undoubtedly chosen a well-known Grand Admiral to convince us."

Mon Mothma nodded her head in agreement. "It is likely that the Grand Admiral's presence in the Unknown Regions is due to his alien origin; the Emperor found him useful but did not want to disturb his anti-alien policies in the core of the galaxy. We also know that one of the Grand Admirals was charged with treason and needed to be replaced…since such events were relatively recent it is possible that our mystery admiral was promoted without the information having time to spread yet."

Ackbar continued. "Due to the potential seriousness of the issue we have decided it would be best to send our own team to the co-ordinates given in the message in order to confirm what we may be up against. Of course, since the place will likely be covered with Imperials it will be necessary to send a very small, well disguised team."

Luke felt a sudden, powerful urging from the Force. "I volunteer to lead the mission."

Ackbar nodded. "Very well, who-"

Han moved to stand next to Luke. "Count me in."

"Me too." Added Lando and behind them Chewie growled his decision.

Ackbar nodded. "Very well, you will leave as soon as possible."