Chapter 1
"My name is Starbuck and I'm here to save the universe. " said Starbuck peering at the round smooth stone he now held. "If anybody hears my story, make sure you start with that." He glanced at the star gate behind him, at the rubble around him. He raised the stone to his mouth, knowing that it would pick up his every action wherever he held it, but needing the reassurance, the feeling of control. "I was cast out by fools who thought I had nothing to offer. They had no idea what riches I really have. I'll show them, I'll show them what its all really about."
"Some would say I gave up the wonders of the universe! The funny thing about a universe, is you can take it with you. You throw out a word like universe, and people think stars and galaxies, and comets and meteors, no, my universe is more than that,"
He paused and wet his lips.
"You see my universe is named Athena. She's out there somewhere with her dark hair and bottomless eyes. She's out there trying to be brave in the face of unspeakable terrors. She is everything to me that matters, and without her, nothing else is real. As long as I carry that with me, well, I still have something left."
He took a look at the stone in his hand. "They threw a little gem like you down there didn't they? How can a man guess value if he looks at you and sees just a stone? I'll take you with me then, you'll see what I see, do what I do and know what I know. Watch me save the universe."
Shoving the stone into his pocket he set off down the debris ridden corridor.8
***
"C'mon Chewie put your back into it!" grunted Han harshly. His companion snuffled derisively and shoved. The two were hard at work pushing a bulky piece off equipment up the ramp of a battered stock freighter. Han whipped an arm across his sweaty forehead and straightened the wide brimmed hat he wore. While a thin and ancient looking grav lift bore much of the weight, Han and his partner were doing their best to shift the crate up the ramp. "Look, if its too much for you we'll just unload some of these babies and bring 'em in after." At the answering roar Han swore, "Don't take that tone with me buddy, I'll spark you into the middle of next week!"
"Hey!" called Starbuck approaching them, "Hey, can you give me a hand? I could use a lift!" Han spun around and in a smooth motion his blaster was trained on Starbuck, Starbuck's eyes widened and he raised his hands. Chewie grunted as he suddenly bore the full weight of the crate.
"Now hold on, I'm not …" Starbuck was interrupted as Chewie stumbled with a groan and dove out of the way. The bulky Crate rolled down the ramp behind han. Han turned and gave a yelp. Holding onto his hat han sprinted forward down the ramp with the crate looming behind him, he stumbled and the ground collapsed beneath him, the crate lumbering through the space he had been a moment before. Hurredly Starbuck and Chewie raced to help, only for Han to prop himself up from a man sized hole in the ground.
"Frak I thought you'd been crushed!" said Starbuck in relief. Han shook away Chewie's helpful arms.
"Get off me you walking carpet, and you, you better explain yourself or the next words out of your mouth will be "Oh god, he shot me."
"hey I don't want any trouble." Said Starbuck raising his hands once more, "I just wanted to see if I could get a lift off this rock you know? Get back to civilization."
"How'd you get out here anyway?" Demanded Han suspiciously, "Nobody comes here anymore, there are sentries all over the system."
"Right." Answered Starbuck thinking fast, "That's what happened to my ship. I was shot down a few months ago, and I made my way here hoping to find something I could use in.." he looked back at the crumbling ruins, "These old ruins."
Han eyed the man shrewdly. "Is that so? Well it must have been rough going over all that terrain. How far away did you say your ship was."
"Oh quite a ways." Said Starbuck dismissively, "I've been travelling for so long I couldn't tell you how far, what direction, its easy to get turned around."
"You should watch for landmarks." Said Han acidly, "You'd realize your on a kriffing island." Chewie huffed amused. "No way you're getting a ride with us pal, we don't take charity cases and we don't take liars. Get lost, and hand over that weapon at your side too. I don't need to be watching over my shoulder while I load up."
"Wait, just hold on a second!" protested Starbuck as he carefully placed the Zat on the ground, "I can explain. I didn't come by ship."
"That's rich." Chortled Han, "did you swim?"
"No, " said Starbuck carefully, "There is a device down below in the ruins. Its called a Star gate. It's a portal to another planet, but its broken. I came through from another galaxy, and got stuck here."
"You expect me to buy that?" demanded Han incredulously.
"No, I expect you to sell it. " said Starbuck cagily, "You see I don't know much about this place, but I know a businessman when I see him. You look like a man who might make a bit of profit from various…odds and ends lying about."
"Listen pal, all I deal in is legitimate salvage…" began Han
"Hey there's no need to explain it to me." Said Starbuck expansively, "I'm new around here but I suppose most places have sort of a taboo against grave robbing, and a place like this might be considered a grave." He continued hurriedly at han's darkening expression, "But men like us, we're a little above superstitions and hokey religions, am I right?" Seeing Han relax a little Starbuck kept one hand in the air, and carefully reached into a pocket. "Now what I have here isn't a weapon," he began as Han tensed "I already dropped my gun just take a look at this."
"Whoop de kriffing doo, a stone." Said Han, "Am I supposed to be impressed?"
"Its not a stone pal, it's a transmitter. There's a relay device. If you scan for subspace signals you see a nice clear signal beaming to parts unknown." Said Starbuck, "This is just a little souvenir, to you know, document my story, but its an example of what I have to offer."
"I'm listening…" said Han
"I happened to notice that crate you are loading is jam packed full of drone weapons." Starbuck revealed at last, "That tells me your in the market for some advanced tech."
"I figured lord Thrawn could use a little extra ammo." Han said defensively, "I just happened to stumble on a cheap supply. They ARE difficult to manufacture. If these ones are just lying around, why not put them to use, with a little profit on the side?"
"Perfectly understandable." said Starbuck, "And here's my offer. I'm finding myself a little short on both cash, and a ride, what I have in abundance, is knowledge. "he lowered his left hand at lot which was starting to ache, "You see the drones are not the most valuable thing in these ruins. If you'd known that I'm sure we wouldn't be having this conversation, and I mean LITERALLY, we wouldn't because the device that transported me here from another galaxy is sitting beneath us. If I identify technology for you, you give me a ride, and half the profits, sort of a finder's fee."
"If you have a device like that why do you need a ride?" asked Han.
"The control interface for the device is missing or buried under all this rock." Starbuck explained, "I can't go back and besides, I came here looking for somebody."
"You know what save it." Han interrupted, "I don't need no drama mucking up my life now, I'm too old for that. Just so me what you think is worth having and I'll tell you if this little partnership will work out, say, what guarantee do you have that I won't shoot you in the back,"
"Well you could say I'm a bit of a gambler." Said Starbuck, "And as any gambler knows, its not about playing the game, its about playing the players. You get to be a pretty decent judge of character when the stakes are high."
"I hear that." Said Han with a glance at the falcon, "Chewie you stand watch, if I catch you sleeping I'll singe the fur off your mangy hide." The wookiee gave a resentful whuffle
"Its an old joke." He assured Starbuck, "Chewie never messes up, iff he did I'd just sell him, and he won't find a better master out there."
"Is he a slave?" asked Starbuck in a neutral voice.
"All non humans are slaves, "said Han, "Near humans too, until the Chiss got involved."
"Involved in what?" asked Starbuck as they clambered over the rubble, somehow Han managed it with his blaster still leveled at Starbuck's back. "I'm new around here remember?"
"The galaxy's been in an uproar for the last half century." Said Han grimly, "The wraith, Ra, Vong the Cylons, and finally Anubis. They laid waste to half the galaxy until finally the Moffs stopped bickering long enough to put Thrawn back in charge. He cleaned up their mess and booted them. Thrawn didn't want power, he just wanted order, but after he put down Anubis, he finally accepted the role of Emperor."
"'Accepted'" mused Starbuck, "How gracious of him." He clambered over a rock pile and han followed still keeping his blaster trained on Starbuck.
"Hey don't go shooting your mouth off." Snapped han, "You have no idea what we've been through. We had a strong, unified galaxy until a bunch of mongrels betrayed us and opened the door for one intergalactic invader after another. Half the galaxy was in ruin before Thrawn stepped up and drew a line. He pushed that line back across our galaxy and he holds it even today, so the rest of us can live in peace. We begged him to be our emperor for years before he accepted, no man's done more for this galaxy than he has."
"Woah take it easy!" said Starbuck glancing back, "I'm just saying for a man to be "offered" control of an entire galaxy, even more unusual for him to refuse."
"Well things don't work like that around here." Han replied severely as Starbuck splashed down into a flooded corridor, "You be sure you know what your talking about before you throw out your little opinion."
"So why drones?" asked Starbuck after an awkward silence, "You guys still sue those here?"
"Well not exactly 'still'" answered Han, "Anubis started using them against the Vong because energy weapons were proving useless. That's how the Cylons got crushed, they didn't adapt. Thrawn got a hold of the design, and they have been in use ever since, but they're expensive as hell to produce. Me and Chewie found this place during an old smuggling run gone bad, and when we realized where we were and sure enough, we found a ruined copy of New Imperial city."
"New imperial city?" asked Starbuck as they approached the gateroom. The lights in the hall flickered to life, some gave up after a moment, others continued to glow dimly.
"First imperial city was destroyed when Ra blew Byss with the centerpoint weapon." Explained Han, "When Thrawn captured the stronghold of Anubis he chose to make it the new capitol, barring the Death Star II it's the safest place in the universe and the travelling home of the Imperial senate as well."
"What in the name of Zeus is bigger than a city ship?" Starbuck wanted to know, "The Death Star II?"
"Well it was renamed The Dawn Star when it was re-comissioned." Han amended hastily, "Only us old-timers remember its original name, Palpatine used the first Death star to blow up several wraith held worlds, including Alderaan. He died on board but he already started the second one. It was two thirds built before Thrawn took over. Thrawn used it a few times, it could decide any battle but only be in one place. He never wanted to use it but when it became obvious the Vong would not stay in the containment zone, he blew up their new home world."
"Well my friend we have arrived at last." Said Starbuck jovially gesturing at the door before him. "After you."
Han eyed him for a moment and Starbuck preceded him without batting an eye.
"You know if we're going to be partners, we're going to have to learn to trust each other." He chastised.
"All I see is a room full of junk and a big sculpture." Said Han doubtfully.
"Oh this is no sculpture my friend." Starbuck said picking his way over to the star gate, "This little baby will open up a whole new world."