Star Wars X
Rise of the Vong
A lone Star Destroyer, the Rejuvenator, patrolled the Unknown Regions as part of an exploration mission. The always curious Empress wanted every planet and moon scanned. The Star Destroyer stopped by the icy moon of Helska IV.
"Heat signatures indicate a base on the surface," a bridge officer informed the captain.
"Native?" the captain asked.
"I don't think so. The base is shielded," the bridge officer said.
"Send probes," the captain ordered.
Probe droids exited the docking bay and shot towards the moon. Upon reaching the surface, the probe began scanning. The captain and other bridge officers watched a video screen of what the probe was seeing. Suddenly, a tall monstrous creature appeared on screen and attacked the probe with a melee weapon.
"Well, not friendly at all it would seem," the captain said dryly. "Send a report to Coruscant that we have encountered a hostile non-native species in the Helska system. Request for reinforcements," the captain ordered.
Two dozen alien Worldships exited hyperspace near Helska IV. They were large organic cells with tentacles spread out from the center. They were each one thousand kilometers in length and width dwarfing the two kilometer long Star Destroyer. The hulls were completely organic in nature with various colors and imperfections observed.
The captain stared at the collection of Worldships in awe. He had never seen such an armada before. "Hail them on all frequencies and known languages," the captain ordered.
"Hailing them," the bridge officer said.
"This is the Rejuvinator of the Galactic Alliance. We offer peace and prosperity," the captain said.
The bridge only received static in return. "They're not responding, captain," the bridge officer said.
Thousands of fighters suddenly emerged from the Worldships. These "coralskippers" appeared as alien three-toed structures with a fighter cockpit. These smaller ships went straight for the Star Destroyer and opened fire with red-hot projectiles the size of small asteroids. The projectiles went through the Star Destroyer's shields without resistance.
"Take us to light speed," the captain ordered quickly.
The bridge furiously worked to make the calculations as they were being hit. The Star Destroyer opened fire blasting a few of the fighters to pieces. Still, surface cannons were being blasted away, the shield generators exploded, and the hull was being ripped open.
The Star Destroyer moved away from Helska and prepared to go to light speed. Larger projectiles from the Worldships finally hit the Star Destroyer blasting away its engines. The Star Destroyer became engulfed in flames and was blasted apart.
On New Alderaan, a Star Destroyer fleet began firing at Resistance ships. X-wings were chased down by swarms of Tie fighters and destroyed. A blue skinned red-eyed Chiss admiral overlooked the battle from his flagship.
"I will be meeting with the 'princess' personally," the admiral said and exited the bridge.
A shuttle emerged from the Star Destroyer and descended down to the planet. It flew a distance away from a large estate mansion and landed. The admiral walked with elite black Storm troopers towards the estate. A perimeter was immediately formed around the target.
The admiral found Leia Organa waiting for him outside the mansion. Even as an old woman, she gave the admiral a fierce expression. "Shall we go inside, your grace?" Thrawn asked rhetorically.
Leia turned away and let him inside her mansion. From there, Thrawn eyed the paintings and sculptures that Leia had collected over the years. There was a prominent painting of her adopted parents and a bust of Bail Organa. "The destruction of Adleraan was senseless. Your people should appreciate your efforts to recover their art and culture," Thrawn complimented.
"What do you see in it, Thrawn? Does it give you better insight to wage war?" Leia asked scornfully.
"Yes," Thrawn replied.
Leia rested at table with Thrawn across from her. "Why are you here?" she asked.
Thrawn placed a bottle of wine on the table and poured two glasses. "There are those who still rebel against the Empress," he began.
"I left the Rebellion a long time ago," Leia said.
"True, but many still use your name as a rallying cry," Thrawn said.
"You want me to publicly endorse the Empire?" Leia scoffed and sipped on the wine.
"I would never ask you to do something that egregious to your dignity," Thrawn replied.
"You here to kill me then?" Leia asked tiredly.
"I already have," Thrawn revealed.
Leia sighed as she sensed his thoughts. The wine had been poisoned. "It will be painless, I assure you," Thrawn said.
Leia nodded and wiped away a tear. Thrawn placed a hologram emitter on the table. An image of Anakin Solo appeared in front of her. He was practicing with a light saber in a Jedi's uniform. Leia stared at the hologram happy to see him one last time.
"Did Rey order this?" Leia asked hurtfully.
"No," Thrawn answered honestly.
"That's good. There's still good in...," Leia said and then fell asleep in her chair.
Thrawn watched as her body disappeared into the Force. "Yes, there is," he agreed.
Rey watched her fifteen-year-old son practice with his light saber. Using his great grandfather's old light saber, the boy swiped through hologram projections of armed bounty hunters. The boy was dressed in traditional white Jedi robes with a military hair-cut. His movements were perfectly precise due to years of training. Rey suddenly felt a tremor in the Force and went to sit down.
"Mother?" the boy wondered as she looked distressed.
"Continue your exercises, Anakin," she said to him dismissing his concern. Unlike the boy, Rey was dressed in a black dress. She had aged well barely changing over the years. In front of her son, she always made sure her eyes were a human hazel. Like her grandfather, she had learned to hide her true appearance.
An older man in a navy uniform then entered the room and approached Rey. "What is it, Grand Admiral?" she asked authoritatively while respecting his title.
"The Rejuvinator was lost in the Unknown Regions. They sent a transmission that they were attacked by an exotic alien armada," Gilad Pellaeon told her.
"We've been preparing for this moment. Do what you think is right," she said trusting him.
"You will not regret putting your trust in me, Empress," Pellaeon said to her.
Rey simply nodded and then focused back to her son. He expertly blocked simulated laser blasts that came from various angles. Rey approached him, and he immediately deactivated his light saber. "Do you still have dreams of the girl?" Rey asked him.
"Yes, mother," he replied.
"See through the Force. Find her," Rey said to him.
Anakin closed his eyes and went into a trance. "I see forests and ancient ruins. I see a ruined city underground. She's there but there is another woman with her," Anakin said.
"Very good, Anakin. Together, we will find her," Rey promised him.
"Why do I keep dreaming of her?" Anakin wondered.
"I think the Force wants to bring you two together," Rey smiled.
"The Force has a will?" Anakin asked.
"Of course. It strives for balance in the galaxy. That is why you follow the code of the Jedi," Rey said.
"And you follow the Sith," Anakin finished for her.
"Yes, my son," Rey said gently touching his face. The boy had her brown hair but Ben's deep brown eyes. She could see so much of Ben in him.
Rey withdrew from Anakin as sadness almost overtook her. "That's enough for today," she said to him.
Anakin could sense something was wrong but didn't question her. Rey was always gentle with her son even as she was stern and ruthless to everyone else.
Rey exited the training room and ignored Coruscant politicians and military personal that immediately went to attention as she passed by. She entered her private chambers and then entered a meditation room. Closing her eyes and entering the Force, she went back in time to an earlier point in her life. There, she walked with Ben in a beautiful garden with a lake. Her young self touched a plant and made it bloom immediately. She smelled it enjoying flowers for the first time.
"I will give you everything. The entire galaxy is yours," he said with his usual stiffness.
"Just the galaxy? What about other galaxies?" Rey teased him.
Ben said nothing. "I have difficulty expressing my feelings. I was trained at an early age to never express myself," Ben said finally.
"I know how you feel," Rey allowed.
"Do you?" Ben questioned. He then approached her and took off his gloves. He touched her cheek and immediately she could feel his feelings.
Rey smiled enjoying being wanted and loved. Ben then withdrew from her and became serious. "Prepare yourself, Rey. Something is coming," he warned.
Rey opened her eyes finding herself back in the meditation room. She had learned the ancient technique to use the Force to flow backwards in time. Its limitation was that she could not change the past. She would do this frequently revisiting her childhood experiences with her parents and her brief time with Ben before Snoke took him from her.
Suddenly an explosion ripped through her office filling the room with smoke and fire. Rey stepped out of the room and found her apartment nearly destroyed and exposed to the sky. Other rooms within the structure had also been bombed. Security personal rushed in and found Rey perfectly fine.
"We will find who do this, my Empress," they said to her.
"I already know," Rey said annoyed.
A fleet of Star Destroyers approached a floating fortress in the clouds of the gas giant Yavin. It was black and had a ring of cannons to defend it. Thrawn motioned for the fleet to stop before it could get too close to it. "What is our plan of attack, grand admiral?" his captain asked him.
"We wait until their weapons and shields are deactivated," Thrawn said simply.
Dark Jedi in black robes looked out at the Star Destroyer fleet. "They won't dare engage us," a young man named Brakiss said to the others.
A portal of electrical energy then appeared on the bridge. The Dark Jedi stared at the disturbance with wonder. Rey emerged from the portal and looked over the group with yellowish eyes. "Empress, what an unexpected pleasure," Brakiss said nervously.
Rey waved her fingers closing the exists. "I have suffered you for too long," Rey said advancing on him.
"You can't keep the Force all to yourself. The Force belongs to everyone," Brakiss said and ignited his red light saber. He charged her but was thrown across the room.
Rey hit the control panel with Force lightning deactivating their systems. The Dark Jedi charged Rey but quickly found themselves hanging on the ceiling or stuck to floor. "Face me!" Brakiss said engaging her.
Rey ignited her cross guard light saber and clashed with him. She easily blocked all of his attacks and twirled his light saber out of his hand. She then sliced him through. With her left hand, she blasted out the windows. The other Dark Jedi were sucked out into space. Rey remained standing in place even as her dress flowed towards the window. She then exited the bridge with another portal.
Thrawn's Star Destroyers fired on the space station completely destroying it in a powerful fire ball. Thrawn then turned to Rey and bowed his head to her. "I want to speak to you in private," Rey said to him.
Rey entered Thrawn's office and saw an array of statues and painting from different worlds and cultures. "I was marooned on Jakku for most of my life. I never even knew what art was until I became Empress," Rey said to Thrawn.
"Such a pity. My collection is yours, of course," Thrawn replied.
"You killed Leia Organa. Don't deny it. I felt it," Rey accused.
"I don't deny it. It was mentioned in my report to Grand Admiral Paelleon," Thrawn said without a hint of fear.
"I want her buried with full honors," Rey said without emotion.
"There wasn't a body," Thrawn replied. "She simply disappeared."
Rey sighed filled with grief and guilt. "It had to be done, Empress. The Rebels used her continued existence to rally others to their cause," he said.
"I know," Rey said softly. "I just feel I should have been the one to do it."
"I wanted to spare you from it," Thrawn said.
Rey wiped away a tear. "There are Jedi on that moon. They're hiding in the jungle and underground. Make sure no one gets off the planet," Rey said to him.
"As you wish," Thrawn replied.
Author's Notes: So, I realize Thrawn's existence is in a completely different time period, but he has never shown an appearance in the movies, so I am going to use him here. The events of this story take place in 50ABY with Rey being 35 years old.