[Author's Note: This story takes place four years after the events of Return of the Jedi. It does not follow the cannon (neither the new Disney cannon nor the Legends cannon). Many of the major characters are original.]

STAR WARS

REBIRTH OF THE EMPIRE

Four years after the Battle of Endor and the destruction of the second Death Star, the Galaxy is still at war. Under the leadership of General Leia Organa, New Republic forces battle against the Imperial Remnants under the command of Marshal Xi Yuanli. The ongoing war has depleted the resources of the New Republic, forcing it to abandon many Outer Rim worlds to warlords, pirates and bandits.

As the New Republic struggles to maintain its tenuous hold over a fragile Galaxy, a new, sinister threat emerges. The grandson of Emperor Palpatine's only brother escaped house arrest and is on the run. A galaxy-wide hunt to apprehend him has been ordered by the New Republic leadership, fearful of a new Palpatine rising...

Agent Naadir el-Maroun stood outside a grey six storey high building in the city of Anson, one of the busiest port-settlements on the planet of Sahir. Naadir was a lean man in his late fifties, with graying hair and trimmed beard, blue eyes and an aquiline nose. He was wearing a grey trench coat and matching trousers. Before him stood a squad of twelve elite New Republic troopers. Their uniform consisted of a blue tunic with a New Republic roundel on the left shoulder, blue trousers, white shoes, a white belt and holster and a white helmet with a black tinted visor.

"We are heading in," Naadir said. "Target's on fourth floor, apartment C. Orders are to apprehend him, but if need be, we are clear to neutralize him."

The men nodded. Two of them walked inside the building, rifles at arm. Upon signaling that the entrance was secure, Naadir and the rest of the troopers rushed inside. Taking the stairs, they reached the fourth floor. Finding apartment C, the troopers took position. They aimed their rifles at the door and waited for the signal to barge in. Naadir nodded, giving them the permission to go ahead. Two of the soldiers, who were in front of the line, were holding a battering ram; they busted down the front door. All of the soldiers, along with Naadir who had unsheathed his pistol, charged into the apartment.

"FREEZE! Put your hands in the air!" the troopers yelled at the top of their lungs. Yet there was no one inside. Someone had been living there recently, as they could tell from the untidy beds and the messy kitchen, but there was no one inside.

"Blast it!" Naadir cursed. "He escaped!"

"What now?" one of the men asked.

"Sweep this place clean. If there's any evidence as to where our target may be, find it. I'll have to inform General Organa of our failure."

Adam rushed through the crowded urban streets of Anson. A spaceport as busy as Anson was full of merchants, pilots and other space travelers. Its cantinas were crowded with people and so was the street marketplace. The thirty-two years old man could hear all kinds of languages from different species; some were chatting, others joking and some others swearing. The noise could be overwhelming, especially to those who were not used to being in such overcrowded places, but Adam had grown up in Coruscant and knew how to blend in.

Adam looked like just any other civilian. He had shaggy brown hair, light beard, and green eyes. He was wearing a brown jacket and dark blue trousers. He didn't look like someone of stature or of importance. He was just another ordinary person taking a walk; or so it seemed...

'A turn to left,' he thought as he hurried forward, 'and… I'm at dockyard 51.'

Adam pressed some buttons on a computer panel and the gate to the dock platform opened, revealing a ship. It was a grey shuttle that had three wings: one tall, dorsal stabilizer that remained stationary, and two lower wings that would extend during flight and fold upward for landing. The shuttle was mounted with two forward-facing double laser cannons. Adam let out a sigh of relief upon seeing it. He had paid a lot to buy it, but when making discreet purchases from shady characters you could never be sure if they would keep their part of the bargain.

As Adam walked to the shuttle, he heard the sound of footsteps and a man yelling "stop!". He turned around to see four New Republic troopers aiming their rifles at him. A middle-aged officer wearing a white uniform and a matching cap was the one who had yelled at him. "Stop right there!"

Adam raised his hands, to show that he was unarmed, and smiled. "Officer, I am just a law-abiding citizen. Look; I am unarmed and perfectly willing to cooperate with you."

"There are some problems with your docking license," the officer replied. "I need to check up things. No need to worry. It is standard procedure."

"Of course. I will cooperate fully. You can check my vessel, sir. I can also bring you my ID card to check it out if you wish."

The officer smirked. He seemed a lot less tense now that the man was cooperating with him. "That would be good. Bring me your ID." He then turned to his men and instructed them to search the shuttle.

Adam handed over to the officer his ID card. He had paid more than five thousand credits to Zach, a tech guy working for the Exchange crime syndicate, to forge it. It was identical to a real one: the forgery could only be discovered if the ID card was examined excruciatingly at a lab. The officer inspected the ID card closely and - as Adam expected - could not find any irregularities.

"Seems fine to me," he said. "If the search comes up with nothing, you will be clear to go."

A moment later the soldiers walked out of the shuttle. One of them stated, "Nothing out of order, sir."

The officer put on an akward smile. "I apologize for the inconvenience. Have a nice journey."

Adam laughed it off. "No need to worry, officer. You are just doing your job. Have a nice day too."

As soon as the soldiers left the platform, Adam rushed into the shuttle. He punched some coordinates on the ship's computer panel and then quickly sat on the pilot's seat, a comfy black cushioned chair. 'Let's see if the modifications work...' he thought as he pulled a lever.

"Cloak device activated, Master," a soothing female AI voice stated. Despite being one of the older shuttle models, it was equipped with some of the latest spaceflight technology available. The X-91 AI acted as a co-pilot of sorts, aiding those who flew on their own. The cloak device - also developed by X-Corp - allowed a ship to weaken the signal it was sending, making it harder to be picked up by sensors of other ships. The cloak wasn't perfect and couldn't hide even medium sized ships, but a small shuttle like the one Adam was piloting was nearly undetectable.

The shuttle left the planet's atmosphere and headed into space. It was speeding forward. All around it were ships going in and out of the planet. "And... we are out of Sahir!" Adam exclaimed. "Phew! That was close... AI, take the helm and head to the ordered coordinates."

"Yes, Master."

"AI- eh... Don't like that. It feels too impersonal. How 'bout I give you a name?"

"You can do that Master. You can also customize my voice and gender."

"Not necessary. I prefer women," he chuckled. "Oh boy... it's been so long since I've last been with someone that I am flirting with the AI..."

"I am sorry, but I am unable to provide phycological assistance Master."

"No need to. I'm perfectly alright; at least I hope I am. Anyway... how 'bout Anne?"

"Anne sounds like a fine name to me, Master. But then again, I am obliged to state that regardless of what name you come up with."

"Oh, you are spoiling me Anne. So, Anne, do tell me when we will be reaching the coordinates."

"Master, I've estimated that we will be reaching the coordinates in about eight hours. This calculation assumes that nothing happens to impact our journey."

"Damn... That's a long journey."

Adam got up from his seat and headed to the rear. He opened up a small, well-concealed hidden compartment. "Seems I wasn't cheated," Adam smirked. Inside were a number of weapons, some clothes and food supplies. Adam grabbed a bag of chips and ripped it open. He took one chip and devoured it. It had a taste of salt and vinegar. "M-m-m-m!" he exclaimed. "Haven't eaten anything for almost a whole day."

Master Luke Skywalker stood before a huge window overlooking Coruscant. He was clad in austere black and had a troubled look on his face. Luke could see thousands of speeders and starships flying right and left in the skies of the ecumenopolis. It was as if life had returned to normal. As if there was no war, no uprisings, no crisis, no shortages. It was all a façade. He sighed. He had hoped for peace and quite after the Battle of Endor. He had so many dreams; he would built a New Jedi Order, he would use his extraordinary powers to help others - rather than kill and destroy -, he would finally be at peace. But no, the war continued and Luke had to once more put aside his personal dreams and desires in the name of the cause.

"Master Skywalker."

"Eh?" Luke turned around. It was a man in his twenties wearing a long brown robe. He was tall, with dark skin and dark eyes. He was handsome, slim, and muscular, with an almost perfectly symmetrical face and shaved hair. His name was Darren Lorwin. He was one of the only four people Luke had managed to train for his New Jedi Order, before he was forced to abandon his teaching duties to focus completely on the war. Even before he had done so, Luke had only been able to train them a few hours every week, so none of his students had managed to progress far. Darren was by far the more competent of them and yet he was still a novice, having grasped only a few lightsaber and Force techniques.

"I apologize for the disturbance," Darren said, "but General Organa wants to speak with you."

Luke nodded. "Thanks." Luke had to admit that even after four years, he still felt awkward whenever being called Master and being treated with such reverence. He was still just twenty-seven years old, and so not much older compared to his four apprentices.

Luke headed to the Communications Room of the Tower. On the center was a large circular holographic device. Upon being activated, a blue holographic image of General Leia Organa appeared. The sour expression on her face worried the Jedi Master. "Luke," she softly spoke. "Operation Hawk was a failure. Adam Palpatine escaped."

"Do we have any clues as to where he might be?"

"No, but we've managed to find out that he had dealings with the local Exchange boss on Sahir. We do not have the manpower or resources to start an all out war with the Exchange, so I need someone skilled to infiltrate the boss' base and find out what they can about Adam."

"And that cannot be me since everyone in the entire Galaxy knows about me..."

"Exactly. I was hoping one of your apprentices could get the job done. With their Jedi abilities, they would be able to infiltrate much easier than the average spy."

"And because they are not officially affiliated with the New Republic, even if they got caught, they wouldn't cause an incident with the Exchange."

"Exactly. I know I am asking a lot; I fully understand your love for your apprentices and that we cannot risk losing any of the few Jedi we've got, yet this is a very serious task. If Adam is found by the Imperial Remnants, he will become a rallying symbol for those who seek to overthrow the Republic and plunge us back into a new dark age of Imperial tyranny."

Luke nodded. "I fully understand." With that, Leia cut off the communications. "Darren!"

The young man, who had been standing outside of the room, rushed inside. "Yes, Master Skywalker."

"I've got a mission for you."