Coruscant. The world at the centre of the galaxy has seen much change over the past century, having been the capital of the Old Republic, the Galactic Empire and now the Capital World of the New Republic.
When Palpatine conquered the galaxy he tore down the Galactic Senate building and had it converted to an Imperial Palace. When the Empire fell this was reclaimed and repurposed to be the home of the New Galactic Senate. The idea was that by holding court in the home of the monster who once dominated the galaxy; the various senators would always be motivated to ensure that nothing like this can every happen again. Today the Senate is not in session. Although a meeting is being held that in many ways carries more weight. It is a meeting for the RDC – The Republic Defence Committee. Think the UN Security Council but for the galaxy.
Sat at a round table are the following – Queen Leia of New Alderaan representing the Mid-Rim Worlds, High Admiral Ackbar of Mon Calamari representing the Republic Military, Lady Clarise Sindian of Corellia – the Core worlds, Gordo the Hutt: representative of the tentative Outer Rim Alliance – over 100 worlds that the Hutts now control and together they are too powerful for the Republic to do anything about, Senator Benito Veruna of Naboo – the free outer Rim worlds and Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon of the Imperial Enclaves. One seat is empty. This seat would have been filled by the representative of the Jed.
They are watching a holofeed of Republic Troops moving through the destroyed new Jedi Temple set up on Ahch-To; an ancient core world that was where the Jedi first began and were to begin again. But that is now not to be. The temple has been torn down, the Jedi texts have been burned or profaned. And worst of all. There is no sign of a single Jedi. Not even a corpse. It is as if they all vanished.
Queen Leia Organa switches of the feed.
"Now do you see?" She began. "We've had Star Destroyers pressing our borders and hitting independent worlds, trade routes hit and plundered by TIE fighters and we know that certain Senators and world leaders have been replaced for those more suitable to certain views. And now the Jedi. How many more signs do you need? The First Order may be a remnant but they are a threat! This is just like it was 50 years ago when the Empire rose. We hold our meetings in this room so we can say to ourselves never again and yet it is happening again!"
Leia looked around the room. Ackbar was as focused as always and surprisingly Pellaeon seemed to be on her side. But the others were not, Veruna was his usual neutral self while Gordo's mind was clearly elsewhere. And Sindian...Sindian was thinking about what was best for Sindian. Sindian appears to be as kind as she is beautiful on the surface but you only have to spend time in a room with her to know that Sindian only cares about Sindian. Leia had already begun a calming exercise that Luke had taught her when Sindian stood to speak.
"I think we all understand your... position Leia but I fail to see what you claim. I see problems certainly but I do not see the rise of the second Galactic Empire. I see a few old soldiers who have not learned that the war is over. I am sure Pellaeon can put them in order."
"Pellaeon?" Ackbar barked. "Hmph! He is likely funding the First Order!"
Pellaeon leaps to his feet. After years Leia had still not made her mind up about Pellaeon. A military man through and through he has served in the fleet all his life. Having gone from a stormtrooper to Grand Admiral. While he fought in several battles in the galactic civil war, Palpatine kept him away from much of the fighting and assigned him to police back water states. When the Empire fell Pellaeon found he had little loyalty to the Empire and instead loyalty to his men and the worlds under his charge. He negotiated with the New Republic and carved out his own little kingdom. The worlds he rules seem to thank him for it, while the rest of the galaxy hate the Imperial Enclaves, believing that they are waiting for a chance to strike again. All Leia knew for certain was that Pellaeon finds that and anything in relation to Imperial Forces that are still fighting a touchy subject.
"You dare insult me?" The old admiral shouted. "Which of us has given the most support to the Jedi? Which of us has supported Skywalker at every opportunity in spite of history? I command the legitimate Imperial Forces that have decided to join me. The First Order are fanatics that have ignored every order I have sent them to disband! The only thing that would make me consider funding them is your continued insults."
Veruna of Naboo stands. An old man who has a peaceful aura of calm around him that only a Jedi can match. Leia always thought that in a way Veruna was what Palpatine pretended to be during his rise to power. A kind and gentle old man who had somehow found himself in high political office.
"I am sure that the High Admiral did not mean it Grand Admiral. These incidents have a way of inflaming old tensions."
Ackbar grumbles something that Pellaeon knows is the closest he'll get to an apology. The two not only have history but a deep personal dislike. Leia has had to separate them on several occasions.
Gordo the Hutt spoke up. A distant cousin of Jabba, Leia could not help but feel her skin crawl whenever she looked at him. "I do not see why we are concerned. The galaxy does not need the Jedi. The Outer Rim Alliance does not allow the Order to work within our borders and we have managed our affairs with no issues."
"Gordo is correct." Spoke Sindian in her silky tones. "The Jedi, while they have a historic significance are not essential to galactic stability. They are too few in number and outside of Skywalker too untrained to do that. And that is what this councils focus should be. And how do we know that the Jedi are gone as Leia claims? The Temple is burnt yes, but where are the Jedi? Are they dead? Do we see bodies? No we do not. This is likely to just be another false alarm just like when Skywalker angered those Nightmothers from Dathomir. We thought the Jedi were gone then too."
How could she be so...Leia forced herself to be calm. This was different and Sindian knew it, but because Sindian could see no benefit for Sindian she was obstructing. At least the others were cowards, Sindian was simply corrupt.
Leia kept her tone steady as she spoke. "This is different. The First Order have been planning this for decades, they have been preparing, training and now they've struck. This is the first part in a plan that ends with all of us dead or kneeling at their feet!"
"Is it?" Asked Pellaeon. "Despite what some of us may believe I have no love for the First Order but we have all seen the Intelligence. The First Order do not have the resources to destroy the Jedi. They simply don't. Is this instance with the Jedi a problem? Yes. Is it the First Order. No, it cannot be. Unless there is something you know that I don't? If so please show me, show me the First Order is this great threat you say it is and I will support you."
And there it was, there was the weakness of this room. They were afraid, afraid of a fight. It had to be proven five times over before even going to the vote. She wondered, and not for the first time if her father, Senator Bail Organa had ever felt this way. The others were all looking to her to say something. She takes a deep breath.
"I have nothing more to show. Only my intuition. Will that do?"
"You know it cannot." Pellaeon replied.
Ackbar stood. "It will for me."
Pellaeon rolled his eyes. "Of course you are being contrary to me Ackbar, perhaps we should-"
Leia could not believe it. They were bickering, after what they saw they were trying to score points. She could be calm but before she realised her hand has slammed on the table and shocked Ackbar and Pellaeon into silence.
Leia shouted at them all. "My son and brother are missing and you want to waste time arguing? What about? Tell me what is more important then?!"
"Other's sons and daughters." Gordo grumbled.
Veruna spoke quickly before Leia could respond. "Gordo is correct. We are sympathetic to you Leia but we cannot risk the lives of millions until we know for certain that the First Order are the threat you claim. We do not even know where the Jedi are, there were no bodies after all, so it may be that they are sorting out the attackers now. I know you've got wheels in motion to find out more. We must have faith in them and wait for them to report to us. But I recommend a vote; all in favour of action against the First Order based on the current knowledge?"
Leia and Ackbar raise their hands. But no one else joins them. It's four against two as she knew it would be.
"Then I suppose we are done here." Leia said wearily.
Leia heads for the door quickly but she is cornered by Sindian.
"Before you go Leia there is one thing I must know. You said your son and brother are missing. I was not aware you had a brother?"
"Figure of speech Clarise. Luke may not be blood but he may as well be after everything we've gone though. Please excuse us."
As Leia leaves swiftly followed by Ackbar a strange thought comes to Clarise Sindian. She remembers a holiday she had taken on Naboo and how during that holiday she had been to a festival of their past queens. How one in particular had caught her eye; Padme Amidala. Not because she had been the lover of Darth Vader and mother of Luke Skywalker but because she looked very similar to Leia, in fact the two could have been sisters. Sindian had had a strange theory that in addition to being Vader's lover, Amidala had been with Bail Organa as well resulting in Leia. But that theory had came up with no evidence to support it so she had abandoned it. And yet Leia had been adopted by Organa and she and Luke Skywalker did have more than a passing resemblance. Could it be true? If it was Leia would lose much of her support, it would be a scandal that could help Sindian's rise indeed. Yes, Sindian needed to do some more digging for sure.
Leia marched through the halls of the Senate Building, those fools she thought. They believed they were doing what was right but all they were doing was ensuring that liberty died with inaction rather than warfare. No, perhaps fools was too harsh, they wanted to hold on to the peace that so many had died to gain, and so did Leia, she had fought in the worst battles of the war after all. She had seen the Death Stars. But how to show them what she saw? Luke saw the extra senses that the Force granted as a blessing but she saw it as a curse, every leap that the Force allowed her to make required intense explanation to others so that it was not seemed as blind guessing. And she had to be careful to cover the tracks, if it was revealed who her father really was her support would vanish overnight. So be it she thought grimly. She would either find proof and get the support she hoped for or she would do it alone. Well not alone, she would have help after all. An aide bowed as she approached Leia, Leia smiled at her.
"Forgive me my lady but I thought you should know. There was a disturbance at the Alderaan dock, The Falcon has departed."
Fresh fury struck Leia. "I told him to wait for me!" She raged. "How could he...?"
She stopped as her fury faded to laugher. Of course, Han would do this taking off in the Falcon with no plan. But how many times had that worked? She looked to the sky and smiled while fiddling with her wedding ring.
"Do what you do best Han. Fly in the stars. Find our family and bring them home. I'll do what I can here."
Jakku. On a different continent to where Phasma and Kylo Ren took Tekka. This continent has had many names but it is quickly becoming known as the Battleground. This is because a great battle between the Imperial Remnants and New Republic took place here and the debris fell onto this continent. As such many scavengers have travelled here to delve into the downed ships and vehicles in search of scrap to sell.
Inside a crashed Imperial Star Destroyer a young girl in her early 20's walks through the engines. She wears sturdy scavenger gear from head to toe and has a head torch on her head. Her name is Rey. On the right side of her neck going from her lower neck to just below her jawline a section of skin has a distinct red tint. It's a birthmark that she has had from the beginning. At first glance the mark seems to look like a flame.
The engines were the first place scavengers went after the battle. As such everything has been stripped away. It just appears to be an empty dome around 30m wide with a walkway only reaching one side. Or so it seems. Rey can't explain it but she knows something is here. Something that can help her. It's an intuition she's had for as long as she can remember. She stops and closes her eyes for a moment. And when they open she sets off at a run. She runs along the walkway and then up a wall before leaping off the wall.
And her leap takes her far further than any jump should across the entire dome and onto the far wall where others could not reach. She grabs hold of a handhold and secures her position before she starts to climb. She stops when she reaches a fuse cabinet. She grabs the cabinet's handle and pulls. The entire door is pulled away and she lets it fall. She looks inside and grins at what she sees.
All of the fuses within are intact and in excellent condition. Imperial fuses were designed to be removed in both one big go or individually so that the ships could be repaired quickly. Rey plans to take them all. This is a big score that she is lucky to have. She reaches out to grab them but they are just out of reach. She tries again but she cannot even brush a wire with her finger tips. But then something happens. The fuse box seems to be dislodged and just slide into her grip. She grins and pulls the fuse box out. She attaches it to her back via a magnetic strip.
Later at her home town of Hagomay. Rey places the fuses onto the counter of Unkar Plutt; the local scrap dealer. Plutt is a chubby alien with greasy green skin. Plutt examines the fuse box and while he tries to play it cool it is clear he is pleased with what she's found.
"Where did you get this?" He asked.
"Found it. In the local destroyer."
Plutt's tone clearly showed his disbelief. "That was picked clean, you telling me that you found something that hundreds of other scavengers missed?"
"I'm just lucky I suppose."
"Hmmm...well for this I will give you 50 credits."
Rey sighed. This was classic Plutt, underpaying her at every opportunity. "50 credits? This is an intact engine fuse set, it's easily worth twice that at least!"
Sometimes when haggling with Plutt strange things would happen. Rey would wish for him to accept a higher price for her goods and Plutt would change his mind. She did not know who but she knew it would occur at times, she desperately hoped this would be another one of those times.
Plutt smiled, it's a slimy smile. "Do you know anyone else to sell the fuses to? No? Because I am the only dealer in this town so you have to accept what I will pay? Take the credits I'm offering and be grateful that I'm not looking into your "luck".
So it would not happen today. Rey grabbed the fuse box and for a moment she considered walking away. Or throwing the box in Plutt's face. But that would not help her so she sighs and takes the few credits that Plutt is offering. As she reaches out for the credits Plutt grabs her arm.
"I know you're saving every credit you can. I know you want off this rock. I can help you. Luck or no luck you've got a knack for finding good pieces. It's a waste for someone gifted like you. Come work for some people I know and they'll have you in another system in a cycle."
Rey pulled her arm free of his grip. "I know what your "help" means. I won't do it. I'll get out of here but I'll do it the right way. You just keep buying my pieces."
She turned and strode away from Plutt before he could say another word. She moved through Hagomay towards her home. Well shack would be more accurate. Still it had what she needed until she left behind this junk world forever.
She opened her safe and placed today's credits within. She counted her total again even though she knew what the end result would be. Not enough. Not enough for a ship. She sighs and shuts the safe. She looked out at the night sky. A new ship was in orbit over Jakku, she stared at the distant light. It felt...important. It was like her scavenging instincts but different, colder somehow. She shivered despite the warm evening. She grabbed and blanket and wrapped it around her.
"I'll make it out there. One day I will."