Disclaimer: I do not own any of Star Wars, the right of ownership of Star Wars belong to Lucasfilm and I guess Disney too. The only thing I own is the characters you do not notice and the plot.
Year: 7 BBY
Chapter 2: Defensive Planning
There was no doubt in Mark's mind what the palace is. The palace is formally called the Aldera Royal Palace, but also come to be known as the House Organa. Just as it is stated in its name, the palace is located within the capital of Alderaan called Aldera, which is a located in the mountains and station within the center of a lake.
Mark being to Alderaan, just like he has been on Naboo, is already seen the breathtaking views of beauty. The thought brings him back to 14 BBY when he was watching Rachelle Hunter leaning against the balcony of the Skywalker's family home on Naboo, which is formally called Varykino. He was thinking how the scenery behind Rachelle was breathtaking but with her there, it seems to be more of a breathtaking effect than normal.
Then he remembers what Mara and he sensed when they arrived to the planet, Rachelle Hunter is on the planet. I have been a couple months since Mark last saw Rachelle Hunter. Just like him, she has been very busy. Yes, they worked couple times together in the past couple months, but only for a few days.
While her mentor was talking to the Queen and the Galactic Senator, Mara was watching the surroundings go by. She knows she got a great teacher. Jenna Farlay, Rachelle Hunter and even Yoda told her that she is very lucky to have Mark as a mentor because of how great he is at being a Jedi. She thought all the comments about Mark was not true until Yoda, of all people, told her that Mark is one of the best Jedi he have seen in a long time and he have been around for almost 900 years. Through when she question Mark about it, he denied such words. He told her that he is good but not great. That was when she learns that her mentor is a modest type of person.
"So are we going to see Master Rachelle and Leia?" ask Mara speaking up for the first time during the trip. Mark looks at her. "Yes, during the mission will be working with her. It will be our duty to lead the Clones in space and on the grounds just in case the True Empire threats are true." say Mark as he crosses his arms.
"It is true what they are saying about the True Empire, that Palpatine is leading that?" ask Breha as she looks at Mark. "I sensed his presence through the Force and there bunch of rumors going around. The only person we know for a fact that is leading the True Empire is a Sith Lady name Darth Asteria. I trust my abilities with the Force well enough. They never were wrong before." say Mark.
"How is the even possible, you killed him and than his body got sent into Coruscant's sun." say Breha remembers watching the event on Holonews and watching the battle between Mark and Palpatine back in 19 BBY. The battle was consider epic to most people. It was the battle that given Mark the nickname Hero of the Republic because if it wasn't for his actions on stopping Palpatine, the Republic would have been no more. He is still proving himself that the nickname is good. He has protected them from Darth Vader many times.
"He is a Sith and just like a Jedi he has a connection with the Force. Still the things he does with the Force would be consider unnaturally. All Sith have something in common, they want power to rule. They are enemies of the Jedi and stands for everything the Jedi do not believe in. While a Jedi willing to die the Sith often times try to prevent themselves from death. However that is possible, I have no clue. The Force, no one know exactly what it can do. There is saying anything is possible with the Force." say Mark as he rubs his hairy chin.
Since 10 BBY, Mark has kept the beard that Rachelle loves so much. The only thing he does is trimmed it. Through there were a couple times it got burned off. He have gotten so used to it, that it does not bother him anymore. Even Yoda was stating he looks much better with it. Looks a bit older for his age. Yoda also joked around about him no longer looking like a teenager with the beard on him.
Due to being a Bakuran, Mark will most likely will always look younger than his actual age. He is 45 and he does not look like it nor does he feel like a 45 year old. Most people around that age will start to have a lot of aches and pains in their body. Still that not the case with all Bakurans, Maxus Zane looks like his age but could move around like someone younger. Instead of someone looking to be on the verge of is late 40s, Mark look like he is his earlier 20s.
They arrive to the palace and Mara was the one to hope out first. Besides the Presidential Palace, Mara has never been in or at a palace. Mark knows that something like this will have her at awe. Mark was raised on Bakura and they do not have such fancy stuff there. Then again there are some parts of Bakura that does have royal castles and palaces.
"Master, if you do not mind me asking, but what will we be doing, until the attack happen?" ask Mara curious taking her eyes from the surroundings. "Preparing for the attack, making sure that we can plan away to prevent much damage and casualties. On a personal level, I will also be teaching you how to do those things and some stuff related to being a Jedi." say Mark as they stand up as the Speeder parked in front of the palace.
Bail steps off first and offer his hand to Breha who happily accepted it, to help her down. Mark look down at Mara. "Do not expect that or you might make Rachelle jealous." tease Mark. Mara just rolls her eyes as she walks down the ramp off the Speeder. In the distance Mark can see the Sundered Heart, which is a CR70 Corvette. The Sundered Heart is Bail Organa personal ship. Mark remembers back in his universe it was the ship that picked him up after the Republic and the Jedi Order had fall.
"If I know you, you could go and look at the mechanical stuff on the ship later." say Bail notices that his ship had attracted the attention of Mark. "No, I am just remembering the last time I ridden in it." say Mark. Bail looked confused for a few seconds. Mark never was on that ship, and then he realized that it might have been in the other universe. He has gotten so used to Mark being around that he nearly forgotten how they got Mark back in the first place.
"Exactly what was the last time you was on that ship?" ask Bail. "It was 19 BBY; the Clone Wars had just ended. I have left from Raxus Prime and came aboard the ship after Order 66 was issued. It was that ship that took Padme to the place she gave birth and die. That was the ship that took Master Yoda and Obi-wan Kenobi to the place where they would be station at until the time is right." say Mark staring at the ship.
Bail nods lightly as he knows that the topic they were approaching is painfully for the Jedi Master. He swears it is most likely the worst topic even including the destructive mission through the Hyperspace Disturbance back in 10 BBY.
They past bunch of guards as they made their way to the palace entrance. "Dad! Mom!" shout a young white hair girl. Mark knows her, she is Winter Celchu, the adoptive daughter of Bail Organa, who Mark remembers have a very good memory. "Ah, Master Zane!" say the young girl as she bow to him. "Princess Celchu." say Mark bowing his head. "Actually it is Organa now. I beg father to change my maiden name." say Winter.
"My apologizes Princess Organa." say Mark. "But you could call me Celchu Organa. I decided to take my real parents name as my middle name." say Winter. Mark nods. Mark knows about her story. Her mother was an aid of Bail Organa that have the unfortunate to be at the Senate Rotunda between his duels with Palpatine in 19 BBY. Her mother was injured and died a year later. For her whole life she have been raised by the Organa family, so it only make sense that she wants to take that name, since it was the only family she could remember.
Mark looks at Bail. "She could be quite persuasive, make a good Senator when she is older." say Bail. "Hey it's your family." say Mark as he walks along the halls of the palace. He notices that the walls were fixed up from the last event that has occurred within the walls. He knows he is standing in the spot that Bail was in when he tries to kill Maxus Zane. Mark wished he have succeeded in that goal.
They enter room that overlooks the lake behind the palace. Instantly Mark remembers the vision of him seeing about when Breha meet Leia for the first time in the other universe. He is not for sure if it is the way it happened, but he could image being at this place.
"UNCLE MARK!" shout Leia as she rushed and hug him tightly. She then greets Mara with a hug. Mark looks over and sees Rachelle looking over something on a Holodisk. Mark took off his robe and folded it over his arms. Unlike the Queen and Senator, Mark is not dress up in fancy clothing. He is wearing a gray tank-top with black pants and boots. The robe he took off was a light brown color.
"You should see my Lightsaber! It just like Dad's!" says Leia activating her Lightsaber and a blue plasma blade emits out of it. Mark smiles at the pride he senses from one of the youngest Skywalker he knows. "Pretty neat." say Mark as he sits down by Rachelle who was staring at the holographic information that was in front of her.
"Leia, can you do me a favor, Mara is having a hard time meditating, I was wondering if you could help her with it. Might get some practice for both of you. That is if it is okay with your mentor." say Mark looking at Rachelle. Rachelle gives Leia a quick nod and the two young girls took off running.
What happens next surprises Mark, Rachelle launches into Mark's arms and kisses him a lot. It seems like every part of his chin, cheeks and lips were being kissed by Rachelle. "Oh, how much I wanted to do that." whispers Rachelle lightly as she tries to prevent a smile coming on her face.
Mark places a light kiss on her lips as he picks up the fallen Holodisk. He looks at it and notice there was schematics for the palace. It makes sense why she has been studying it so well. If there going to be any ground attack, then what better place would be on the home of the person who rules Alderaan? He had trained Rachelle well with coming up with plans that will not take a lot of lives.
"Let me guess gaining ideas for plans?" ask Mark looking at the schematics, he could see that they can have snipers up on the top floors to shot down. While there are ground forces they can uses the windows to protect their ground forces from enemy threats. Right away looking at the schematics Mark can come up with a plan easy. He might be a Jedi Master but he is also a master planner. His mentor, Rahm Kota, taught him a lot about battle experiences because of being raised on a planet full of war.
"Yes, I came up with some ideas." say Rachelle as she begins to describe them. Some of them Mark approve, others he disapprove and a few belongs in the category of might be approved or disapprove. Then Mark told her his idea and she was floored by how detail it is. He only have study the schematics for a minute and here she have been studying it for days.
She has heard of what he has done in the secret base on Bakura, while she was fighting the Bakuran Poison. Lillian and Kim went days about it. None of them ever saw someone come up with such a brilliant idea that fast and was able to make it work in the limited of time they had before the attack.
"How come I could not come up with that? I mean have million ideas." say Rachelle. "Now, now do not get to upset. I only came up with one idea, it always good to have backups. Sometimes you might have to take a part of the backup and put it to the main, or scrap the whole main plan. I prefer to have million of ideas then just a single one. Look like I am still schooling you." say Mark adding the last sentence to tease her.
"You watch it, Leia will become a better Jedi then Mara." say Rachelle in a teasing way. "Oh yeah, who got the most experience with teaching?" ask Mark before pointing his thumbs at himself and says, "That's right me. I did not only train you, but I trained Kento Marek and Jenna Farlay, plus you include all the younglings I taught in class, I have a lot of experiences."
Both Rachelle and Mark have missed joking around with their lover. How in the galaxy Anakin and Padme was able to keep their relationship a secret and still remain sane while being away from each other, is a mystery. It makes Mark respect for them grow leaps and bounds and that is saying something when you already highly respect them. It must have been harder for them than it is for him and Rachelle since they do not have to keep it a secret.
Bail walks into the area with his adoptive daughter. "Instead of letting you rent a room at the hotel nearby, I figure you and your students are more than welcome to stay here at the palace until the threat is gone. It is the least I could do for Jedi friends." say Bail as he crosses his arms.
"It is better than the hotel, I swear I was sleeping on bugs at the hotel and the beds could not be adjusted." say Rachelle. Mark was about to point out that Jedi do not need luxury to live, but decided to keep quiet, yes he does loves those adjustable beds but he could live with out them. He could sleep on a forest ground and it does not bother him. When he has the choice between a hard basic bed and bed that he can adjust or is soft, he will chose the soft. Still being in a building with the beds full of bugs, is little strange. Bugs can carry several different illnesses with them. Through being a Bakuran, his immune system is stronger than most.
"The dust was unbelievable, Leia was sneezing half the night." say Rachelle. Mark nods; he knows Leia has a problem with dust. It is okay if there is small amount of dust, but if there is large amount of dust that seem to be inch thick, then it get Leia sneezing a lot.
"So how long have you been on the planet?" ask Mark. "For a month and a half, Senator Organa have requested us, but the Jedi Order could only send me at the time due to the fact that you were in the Outer Rim." say Rachelle. "So what other plans you have, you have been thinking of protection for the palace but what of other significant points of interests. It does not have to be a point of interest if it has something to do with the government. Sometimes even memorials or monuments people honor might get attacked." say Mark. There have been attacks on important and famous landmarks to destroy the spirit of the people of the planet. It is a 50/50 kind of deal, by destroying something they like it might make them fear or might give them another reason why to fight back.
Rachelle went into detail about the other locations. Mark has to smile at how well thought out Rachelle's plan for the other locations. Through she seems to focus most of the defensive around the Palace and the capitol city, which makes a lot of sense. If they manage to take the capital of the planet they could have the planet under their control. He will not let that happen.
"Mark, Master Windu is on the Holocom for you." say Breha walking into the area where Mark sitting with Rachelle. Breha remembers it as the first time she could call herself Winter's mother. Mark stands up and follows her to a chamber off the side of the hall and sees a Hologram of Mace Windu standing. "Ah, Mark a pleasure to hear from you. Sorry for throwing you in the middle of a battle that might come, but with the True Empire seem to attack a lot of the Core Words we need someone who knows there stuff. Hopefully you have some plans." say Mace.
"Don't I always? As we speak, I am currently thinking of plans base upon the information I have gathered." say Mark. "Well here something that might help. We have learned that it seem like the True Empire forces seem to come from the direction of Deep Core. We only have found this out because we was lucky to spot them dropping out of Hyperspace a few times coming from." say Mace.
Mark had a feeling that Darth Sidious knows a lot of ancient Hyperlanes within the Deep Core. Traveling through the Deep Core is highly dangerous, but it nothing as close to as dangerous as the Hyperspace Disturbance. Just the thought of that Disturbance and all the lives that was lost shakes Mark to the core. Why it is so dangerous in the Deep Core is due to the gravitation pull of all the stars that are not that many Light-years away from each other. There is also a black hole in the center of it, which turns out to be the exact center of the whole galaxy.
Mark knows a few worlds within the Deep Core and some of them are part of the Galactic Republic. Through he always figure there have been bunch of ancient Hyperlanes and through the Force he have the feeling that Darth Sidious knows most of them, which could be bad for Galactic Republic. The only thing they can do is take one thing at a time.
"That could help us predict where the attack might happen. Alderaan is a large planet so they most likely will come and attack the way they came." say Mark already have plans formulating in his mind. Mace already knows how Mark minds works. Sometime it amazes the older Jedi Master that his brain do not exploded like a star going supernova.
Mace gives Mark some more information that he think is important. With ever new piece of evidence Mark change his plans a little bit or come up with entirely new plans. Like the rest of the High Council, Jedi Master Mace Windu thinks they have put Mark on the job. They know that if Darth Asteria shows up, he will be able to stand a good chance against her. "May the Force be with you." say Mace. "May the Force be with you too, Mace." say Mark before the Holocom dies out.
Sorry for taking so long to post this chapter. Basically I have replace Leia Organa with Winter Celchu. While we are on the subject, she is a real character from the orignal Star Wars Saga and was raised by the Organas along with Leia. The mistake when I put her in the chapters before is that her maiden name is Celchu, so for this series her maiden name will be Celchu but she adopted the name Organa.
Oh with the new movies of Star Wars coming out, a lot of things on Wookieepedia will say canon (The movies) or Legend (Extended Universe/EU). I uses the Legend so if some facts does not come out as it should then that is what the problem is. Also I think the Canon also have the Canon information in. For example look up Anakin Skywalker, it gives you the canon information or you can chose the Legend.
Oh about the Deep Core thing, it is true. Here is the a part of the first paragraph defining the Deep Core from Wookieepedia:
"The Deep Core (also known as the Deep Galactic Core) was a small region in the galaxy, about seven thousand light years across, that hid unusual worlds. The Deep Core was home to some thirty billion of the galaxy's oldest stars, and at its center was a massive black hole surrounded by antimatter and dense clusters where stars were only a hundredth of a light year apart. In some areas they were in such close proximity, stars would collide and rip the cores from each other. Due to the gravitational pull of the vast number of stars and the prominence of dark matter concentrations, local space-time was severely warped, making hyperspace travel difficult at best." Like usual you can read more about it on Wookieepedia
Until next time, enjoy!