Krant - Hidden Alliance Stronghold dubbed: Ghost Base

Princess Leia Organa watched as the Corellian VCX-100 Light Freighter landed in the open slot. "That's the Ghost;" she explained to the aged Jedi Master beside her. "It was originally owned by one of our best Commanders, Hera Syndula. She was killed along with her crew but General Kota and his militia were able to recapture the ship with the assistance of one of our agents code-named Fulcrum."

Jedi Master Echuu Shen-Jon nodded. "Kota was always resourceful. He never trusted or wanted to work with the Clone troopers the Republic had purchased, said that it was almost as bad as conscripting child soldiers. Apparently, he had a lot of experience with child soldiers on his home planet. Anyway, he worked with a single cruiser and a tight-nit group of militiamen. Because of that, he was able to pull off missions that a whole army of Clone troopers wouldn't have been able to do."

As he spoke, the ship settled onto the ground and the boarding ramp lowered. Down strode Rahm Kota, wearing his signature battle armor and behind him walked four others in Alliance combat fatigues. "Echuu;" said Rahm, smiling a little larger than he normally did. "It has been some time."

The clasped hands the Master Shen-Jon said, "Indeed it has. According to the reports, we should both be dead and have come back to be a thorn in the Empire's side. Are these your students?"

"Yes they are;" said Rahm as he motioned back to them. "Luke Skywalker, Kyle Katarn, Keyan Farlander and X2. He's a clone but don't let that bother you. His template was my old Padawan Falon Grey."

Echuu looked at them grimly for a long moment before saying, "It's good to see so many Jedi gathered in one place. Come, we have a lot to discuss and a plan of action to devise. You always were a far better strategist than I was, Rahm."

"Doubtful;" chuckled Kota. "You defeated Sev'rance Tann, arguably the best strategist the Confederacy had before Grievous. I'm sure we can put something together. I have some help coming, too - help with artillery and armor."

Echuu's eyes widened. "Really? Let's go discuss this."

The Jedi Masters headed towards the command center. Luke hugged Leia and said, "How are you?"

"I've been better and I've been better and I've been worse;" she said before letting him go. "I'm glad you and Rahm are here, Luke. We're going to need your help with this."

Luke nodded grimly. "According to the general, it's a pretty serious situation. This Vor'na'tu artifact sounds important."

"It is if half of what Master Shen-Jan says is true. Oh and by the way, there's someone else here who I'm sure you'll be happy to see."

Waiting for them inside was a golden protocol droid. "Oh! Master Luke! It is so good to see you again!"

Luke grinned broadly. "See-Threepio! Are you taking care of the Princess?"

"To the best of my abilities, Sir. How is Artoo? Is he with you?"

"He's back on the cruiser. I'll have him come on down when we get an understanding of what's going down here."

"Skywalker;" said Kota gruffly, "pay attention. This is serious business."

"Yes, sir;" said Luke, trying not to chuckle.

He and the other Jedi Padawans sat to Kota's left and right. The whole discussion was around a ring-shaped table with a holo-projector in the middle of it. Leia looked over at Threepio and said, "Why don't you go get us some refreshments, Threepio."

"Of course, Mistress Leia! I shall be back shortly."

Luke watched him go, chuckling again before focusing on the matter at hand. Leia cleared her throat and said, "Thank you for responding so quickly, General Kota. The situation is too much for myself and my small escort, I'm afraid."

"Of course, Princess;" said the General. "Now tell us exactly what we're dealing with."

"The Imperial Warlord Moff Yittreas is holding the Vor'na'tu holocron in a fortress - one of two Sith Temples on this planet. The other has been converted into a base for the Imperial Inquisitors - more specifically, High Inquisitor Jerec and his Inquisitor team, including four apprentices. They have a full team of Shadow Guards, Stormtroopers, Storm commandos and even a private army of mercenaries guarding the temple for them."

Kota looked grim. "Is the holocron being held in Yittreas's palace or in Jerec's temple?"

Master Echuu grimaced slightly. "I'm not entirely sure, I'm afraid, Rahm. We just know that it's being held in one of them. If I were to hazard a guess, Jerec has probably taken command of the artifact so that he can study it."

Kota shook his head slowly. "I highly doubt that the kid Starkiller or Vader would want him looking at anything in there. However, considering that Jerec is more ambitious than a Moff whose superior just died, I would guess that he is copying as much information as he is able until the Emperor sends for it."

"Well he won't have much longer;" rumbled Kota. "Starkiller will be here within a few days."

They all looked at him in shock. "Can you sense that, General?" asked Leia.

"No, I can't. I listened to our most recent intel report just before heading down here. According to Fulcrum, Starkiller left less than twenty-four hours ago and is on his way here. We have a couple days at the most."

Echuu looked grim. "That isn't a lot of time to take an Imperial fortress - especially if we don't know which one to assault."

General Kota gave a tight smile. "When my old friend gets here, we'll have a lot more resources to work with than a handful of bodyguards, two Jedi Masters, four Jedi apprentices and a cruiser full of elite pilots and commandos."

Echuu raised one bushy eyebrow. "Really? All I was counting on was your elite pilots and commandos."

Rahm grinned broadly and one of Leia's guards came in. "Princess Leia, over a dozen ships just dropped out of hyperspace and are coming in to land. Eight Amphibious Intersteller Assault Transports and another six Low Altitude Assault Transport/Carriers are landing a hundred meters or so outside the base. They don't have any Imperial markings and we couldn't understand what they were saying over the comms."

Kota stood and said, "That would be my friend. Let's go say 'hello'. Make sure your droid comes along, Princess."

Outside, Leia and the others were pleasantly surprised to see the towering hairy figures of Wookiee warriors disembarking and detaching equipment from the ships. One of them, a tall figure with a strange headdress and a read cloak, strode up with two others beside him. "Attichitcuk! I did think you'd lead the force yourself!"

The brown and silver haired Wookiee in the lead gave a low growl and embraced the old general. Leia was wide eyed. "I thought the Wookiees were all enslaved!"

"They were;" said Rahm with a grin. "During the eighteen odd years between the end of the Clone Wars and the battle of Yavin, I've freed tens of thousands of Wookiees as they were transported from Kashyyyk and Alaris Prime to the various Imperial construction projects. They tended to gather together and form large resistance groups, though some stayed with me or joined the Rebellion. Kashyyyk is still subjugated and so is Alaris Prime but we've been working together for some time now."

He turned back to the Wookiee chieftain. "You've brought some pretty heavy equipment. That's good. I'm going to need you to work with this Jedi Master here and the Princess to give us a decent distraction. You'll also have three elite Alliance fighter squadrons and a small army of elite commandos and militiamen at your disposal. Out of curiosity, exactly what ship did you come in to get here?"

The Wookiee gave a short reply and Kota's sightless eyes widened. "You still have a couple Venators and Acclamators? Well done. Anyhow, come on inside and we'll make a finalized plan and explain the full situation."

Attichitcuk turned to his second in command and gave a growl before following Kota towards the command center. Luke's blue eyes were wide. "That is a lot of Wookiees!"

"Just be glad they're on our side, kid;" chuckled X2.

The Raider-Class Corvette Conviction

Captain Rawshek gazed out through the viewport, gazing at the brilliant blue tunnel of hypersapce. He had always been fascinated by the swirling miasma that appeared during lightspeed. During his younger years, he had read about the discovery and innovations in light speed travel. It had been dangerous at first but now it was something that beings almost took for granted, traveling for star system to star system in a matters weeks, days or even hours. Many scientists who studied it theorized that, when one passed the speed of light, they entered a corridor outside of reality. This corridor, if properly or improperly navigated could be used to travel, not just great distances, but also through time. Atharious wasn't so sure about that. It sounded plausible in theory but he was a practical man.

"Lady Jade, on the Bridge;" called out a Lieutenant behind him, snapping him out of his revelings.

Captain Rawshek turned and snapped to attention as the gorgeous young woman, dressed in a standard Imperial officer's uniform now, made her way down the walk towards him. "As you were, ladies and gentlemen;" she called.

Atharious smiled and turned back to the viewport. Moments later, Lady Jade said, "Good day, Captain."

"Good day, my Lady. I trust all the planning and preparation is going well?"

"It is. As soon as we reach Fresia, you will be landing at the Imperial base and getting in contact with the local ISB liaison. We will be coordinating with them for the duration of the mission."

Atharious managed to hide his disgusted grimace but clearly Lady Jade's force senses were strong enough to still detect his feelings. She chuckled and said, "Now Captain, I don't love the ISB any more than you do. But they are a necessary evil. Without them, operations like this would be alongside Imperial Intelligence instead."

The Captain managed to suppress his smile. He was well aware of Lady Jade's aversion to Director Ysanne Isard. "That is true of course, my Lady."

They were silent for several long minutes before Lady Jade murmured, "This is going to be a long undercover mission, Atharious. It's going to take months to follow up every lead and investigate every shipment until they get to their final destinations."

Atharious nodded. He had expected this. The investigation at Blastech hadn't taken long simply because the weapons they were tracking were highly regulated for the Imperial military or law enforcement. These ships now, they were much more difficult. The T-65 X-wing Starfighter had been taken out of production and banned and all schematics and blue prints had been confiscated, or so the Empire thought. Unfortunately the similarities between the Z-95 Headhunters and the X-wing made it easy to smuggle pieces and parts of the ships to who-knew-where and reassembled them there. And everyone from local security forces to mercenary companies used the Z-95 Headhunter. It wasn't expensive, it was easy to modify and it was, all around, a sturdy ship.

"I've been hired on as the new secretary for the shipping and receiving supervisor at the Fresia plant. By all accounts, this supervisor is a fair and honest woman and employer and nothing in her record or psych profile indicate any kind of duplicity or that she would even be willing or capable of it."

The Captain nodded, considering her words before asking, "Then why would you get a position so close to her?"

"Access, my dear captain;" said Mara with a devious smile. "I will have the access to anywhere and everywhere that shipments are being sent out to. I'll have a list of all clients ordering starfighters or starfighter parts for Z-95s. With a copy of that list, I'll be able to send investigative teams to the most likely culprits."

Captian Rawshek frowned. "Wouldn't it be far simpler to simply come in with the full authority of the Emperor's Hand and demand a look at the records? From there, you could search through records and investigate the suspects at will."

Mara chuckled, "Because it is far easier to gain full cooperation when acting as a helpful and loyal employee and to simply do a job than to try and force it with a group of scary Dark Jedi and Imperial Commandos. This way, I'll be able to compile lists and send them to ISB and Imperial Intelligence without the suspects ever knowing I had anything to do with it. Besides, I do enjoy going under cover, sometimes."

Atharious chuckled. Their conversation faded into a companionable silent until Lady Jade murmured, "Since this may be the last time we get the chance to, I would like you to have dinner with me tonight."

Captain Rawshek smiled, "And breakfast with you tomorrow, I suppose?"

"My, my;" replied the Emperor's Hand with mock surprise, "aren't you getting bold - and presumptuous. I said 'have dinner' and never mentioned anything else."

"Ah, of course. My great apologies, Emperor's Hand. Moving forward, I shall have zero assumptions. So, dinner tonight, assuming the invitation is still on the table."

Mara laughed quietly. "Of course it is, Atherious. Anyhow, I have briefed my operatives and, until ordered otherwise, they are at your disposal if you have need of them."

He shivered. "I'll use them sparingly then. I have no desire to offend any of his Excellency's Dark Jedi."

"Ah but for the moment, they are my Dark Jedi, Captain. You have nothing to fear from them."

They were quiet again before she turned and said, "I think I will go and meditate for awhile. Alert me if anything changes, Captain."

"As you wish, my Lady;" he turned and watched her stride down the walk, thinking that even in the drab, rather boring Imperial Officers uniform and even with her brilliant red-gold hair in a bun, she still looked breathtaking.

Hyperspace - Aboard the Rogue Shadow

Lord Starkiller sat cross-legged on the cold durasteel floor, immersing himself in the force and following the currents and eddies that flowed through it. The paths of light and darkness were clear to him and easy to follow, especially since the single largest bright point in his life was in the cockpit, humming quietly to herself as she looked over the instruments on the console. The Sith Lord smiled and eased himself out of his trance before standing and stretching. "Juno - are you hungry? I was going to put a light meal together."

"That would be nice, Galen. Thank you. Would you mind putting some caf on as well?"

He chuckled. "Getting sleepy on me?"

"Well it's not as if you let me sleep very much last night, Dear." came the good-natured reply.

"Hey now! I was satisfied and you were just insatiable."

A laugh came from the cockpit, followed by a tallish, beautiful woman with blond hair pulled into a tail. "Can you blame me? It's not as if we get a lot of time together these days. We have to be so discrete in the palace or on the Executor. Here on the Rogue Shadow, we have no such restrictions."

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him tenderly. After several minutes, she pulled away and said, "I'm glad we had this opportunity, Galen."

"Me too;" he said before kissing her forehead.

They held each other quietly for awhile, reveling in their privacy and closeness. "Some day;" murmured Starkiller, "you and I are going to be able to live together in the open, not as a secret."

Juno chuckled, "Galen, everyone within the highest echelons of the Empire already knows that we're having an affair."

"Yes, but I want the whole of the Empire, the whole of the galaxy, to know that I love you. And I don't want you to be in danger because of it either. Some day, you will be known as the woman I love and you will be protected by the best security that I can get you."

Juno's eyes were shining with unshed tears. "You say such beautiful things, Galen - but what happens if you decide that - that I am no longer of interest to you?"

Galen looked stunned. "I would never do that to you, Juno! I love you!"

In a voice that was quiet and almost afraid, she asked, "The same way you loved the adept you found during the hunt for Shaak Ti on Felucia? The same way you love Roganda Ismaran?"

Galen sighed and led her over to the seats next to one of the tech stations. "Juno, look at me;" he said, taking her chin in his hand and gently guiding her eyes to meet his.

"I didn't love them. At that time, I didn't love anybody. I was still in my training and they were nothing more than a way to relieve stress. You, I truly love."

"I want to believe you, Galen;" she whispered.

"Then believe me;" he said firmly. "I never even told them that I loved them because I never did."

She searched his eyes and Starkiller silently begged her to believe him. When she smiled and said, "I believe you. And I love you too."

Galen smiled and kissed her and said, "I'm going to shower off while the food and caf are being prepared. They should be ready soon. Care to join?"

Juno chuckled and said, "The last time we did that while food was in the auto-chef, it was burned to a charred lump, so no thank you."

Starkiller gave a mock pout. "Fine. I'll make it quick then."

Juno smiled as he disappeared into the fresher. As soon as he was out of sight, the tears threatened to spill again. She hated this. She absolutely hated it. The only reason that she could continue with the lies was that she truly loved and cared for Galen and firmly believed that he had a good heart and that some day, she could pull him away from his dark beliefs. Until then, she had to keep the truth hidden.

Turning to the tech station, she picked up her personal data pad and then walked over to where one of Starkiller's large black cloaks hung on the wall. She took it and put it on, tucking her blond hair back into it and pulling the hood low over her face. Once she was ready, she began recording. "This is Fulcrum to General Rahm Kota. Darth Starkiller has arrived on Krant and will be heading directly to Moff Yittreas's Palace where the holocron is being held. You must move quickly if you wish to avoid another confrontation with him."

She ended the recording and sighed. The whole situation was tearing her apart. She loved Galen and hated the idea that she was betraying him but after Corulag, after Alderaan and after hearing about entire species brought to the edge of extinction like the Caamasi or enslaved like the Wookiees, she couldn't stand for it anymore.

During leave around six months back, she had gone off the radar and found a way to contact the rebels, volunteering to give them information from the top. After nearly a week of questioning, the Alliance had given her the code name Fulcrum and whenever a major Imperial move was going to be made or whenever a big opening for an attack appeared, she would contact the Alliance - and she hated herself for it, even as she believe she was doing the right thing.

Krant - Alliance Stronghold Dubbed: Ghost Base

Gathered around a large holographic representation of the fortress of Moff Yittreas and the surrounding terrain, the Rebel leaders listened as Kota went over the finalized plan for the battle. As the blind general spoke, X2 would point, beginning with a flat area in front of the fortress, "The Wookiee force will set up and dig in here with the majority of my commandos and vehicles. While this is going on, a much smaller unit of myself and my students and a dozen of my very best commandos will go in through this side here;" and X2 indicated a craggy area. "We will use the secret passageways pointed out to us by Master Shen-Jon and sneak in the west side, under cover of darkness. From there, we will get into the vault or treasury or wherever the holocron is hidden and capture it. Any questions?"

X2 lifted a hand. "Sir, how will we know where to look for the holocron? We won't have time to look through the whole fortress."

"We'll trust in the force to guide us, of course;" replied Kota. "A relic that powerful will be bound to put out a noticeable sensation in the force."

Kyle chuckled and said, "That and when you see a bunch of Shadow Guards and Dark Jedi guarding a room, that might be a good indication as well."

"Besides;" said Master Shen-Jon, "considering the two cruisers we currently have in orbit, including starfighter support, we will most likely be able to take the fortress. There are also rumblings among the people of the nearby cities about them sending help. Apparently they have grown tired of the Moff's oppression and want to drive him off Krant."

X2 frowned. "Are they armed?"

Reasonably well;" said Echuu. "And I've helped them get some military training in as well. Hopefully it will be enough. I hadn't done maneuvers before that since the Clone Wars."

"I'm sure it will be more than enough, Master Echuu;" said Leia with a smile and a friendly pat on the arm.

"Are their any questions?" asked Kota.

When none were forth coming, he deactivated the holo-projector and said, "We have a couple another day and a half to prepare. The day after tomorrow, I want barrages of ordinance level those fortress walls at mid-morning, no later than 1000."

They all frowned slightly and Luke asked, "But sir, why so late?"

Kota gave one of those rare wicked grins. "Because while the Wookiees, out forces and any locals that might show up to help dig in and coordinate, the six of us Jedi as sneaking into the Inquisitor post in the other Sith Temple."

Echuu gave a feral grin of his own. "Just in case the holocron is there and not at the main fortress. I like it. When do we leave."

"I see no reason to wait. Does anyone else?"

Leia didn't look too happy about it but she didn't protest. The Wookiees didn't either. "Alright;" said the old general, "let's get our gear together and head out. Princess, we'll have our comlinks on us but don't try to contact us unless it's an emergency."

"Yes, General."

"We leave in a half hour;" Kota announced.

Luke went to the Ghost and grabbed the A280-CFE from his locker and a hold out blaster as well, stuffing it in one of his empty belt pouches. "This really is a magnificent ship. I wish we'd had these back during the war."

Luke whipped around to see Master Echuuu Shen-Jon looking around in interest. Luke chuckled, "It is a great ship. I've only seen one better, at least as far as light freighters go. Of course, that one was a flying maintenance project but it was fast and had some decent armament."

Echuu turned his brown eyes on Luke and studied him for a moment. Finally, he said, "I met your father a couple times, you know. He was young and some would say that he was arrogant. But by the reports I heard, he was just that good - one of the best pilots and swordsman the order had ever known, or so the reports say. The 'Hero with no Fear' he was called, though of course, that was after I had gotten out of the war."

Luke listened hungrily, wanting to know every detail about his father. Echuu smiled and said, "Don't get too excited, Lad. I never worked with him. While I was here fighting the Separatist General Sev'Rance Tann, he and Obi-wan Kenobi were busy tracking down something called the Dark Reaper."

"The Dark Reaper? What was that?"

Echuu waved it away. "Oh, some kind of Dark Side super weapon from way back during the First Great Sith War. I don't know much about it."

"The Great Sith War?"

A small part of Luke's mind realized that he sounded like a ridiculous, over-eager kid but he had never heard of any of this before. Master Echuu laughed, "Yes, The Great Sith War - but I'm not a historian, Lad. Once we retrieve the Vor'Na'Tu, I'm sure it will be able to teach you about every war since the First Great Schism."

Luke blushed slightly and said, "I look forward to it, Master."

Echuu studied him for a long moment before saying, "I sense darkness in you, young Skywalker. Deep within you, I sense a desire for revenge. Take it from one who allowed it to consume him - down that path lies only regret, pain and loneliness. It isn't worth it to get your vengeance, only to realize that you cannot go back to the life you had. Remember that."

Luke wanted to snap back at the old man, tell him that he didn't know what he was talking about but the sadness and pain in Echuu's eyes stopped him. After a long silence, Luke replied, "I will keep that in mind, Master. Thank you."

"Good lad. Now come on. If Kota is anything like Master Mace Windu, being late will get a short, but efficiently stern lecture about time management."

"Who was Mace Windu?"

"Later, Lad. Later, I'll tell you all about Jedi Master Mace Windu."