Chapter One

As commander of Black squadron, fifty of the Empires most elite fighter pilots, Luke Skywalker, Imperial Prince, and heir to the empire, was in command of the operation to raid the recently discovered Rebel Base on Yavin 4. His father, Lord Vader, was confident of victory, having the Death Star at his command. Luke was to lead the attack and capture the Princess of Alderaan, returning before his father destroyed the entire moon. The order for the capture of the Princess had come from the Emperor himself, he know he could not fail, his punishment would be severe. She had already escaped his father, along with a pilot and a Wookie, that had come to rescue her. It had been quite the commotion resulting in a lightsabre duel between his father and an old man that accompanied them, culminating in the death of the old man. Luke had been curious as to who he was, but his father was being stubbornly vague. He had clearly been a jedi, which was odd as Luke thought they were extinct. At least they had managed to take advantage of the situation and track the ship to Yavin 4. It had spared his father the worst of the Emperors anger at having the Princess escape.

Luke stared out the window of his apartments onboard the Interceptor, he did so relish in having his own Star Destroyer. He had been rewarded with its command two years ago after successfully destroying a fleet of rebel transports delivering supplies to Teralov. Today he was hoping for such another victory. They had not long arrived at their destination and were orbiting the moon. Time to get ready. He pulled on his black flight suit over his pants and shirt. Selecting a pair of boots, he put them on and checked himself in the mirror. His father did like to scold him for looking untidy, even at the age of 19. Finally, before zipping up the suit he clipped his lightsaber to his belt, a Sith never went anywhere without it.

His command of Black squadron was the duty he enjoyed the most, the feeling of flying had no comparison. The rest of the time he was at the command of his Father and the Emperor, day and night. For this mission Luke was flying his modified Incom T-65 fighter, or x-wing as they were more commonly know, that he had worked on himself. It was much better at atmospheric flight, more maneuverable and with superior shields than the TIE fighters, it would be an advantage for this mission. Yavin 4 was dense jungle, interspaced with the huge Massasi Temples, one of which the Rebels were using as a base. Probe droids had revealed the base to heavily defended, with ion canons protected within the boundaries of their shields. The Rebel fighters were mostly the new x-wings. This would be far more difficult than Darthomir. Before leaving his apartments, he turned on his holo to speak to his father before going to the launch bay. He knelt, bowed his head, and waited.

'Son'

'Father' Luke said looking up.

'A victory here my Son will ensure the fall of the Rebellion once and for all. With the destruction of Yavin 4 in addition to Alderaan, no system will dare step out of line again. You must bring the Princess back, by any means necessary, but I want her alive. The Emperor will reward your success greatly, as will I. Do not fail me'.

With that the holo ended, Luke stood and straightened himself. He took a deep breath, remembering the beating he had endured after he'd failed to return the Bothan Spy he had been sent to arrest, at least alive anyway. His father has been waiting for a spy to interrogate and was without one, so he used Luke instead.

His squadron were already in their fighters in the hangar bay when Luke arrived, he had briefed them on the mission yesterday and ordered a good night's rest, they would need it. Half the squad would fly to Yavin 4 led by Luke, with the other half tasked with protecting the Death Star led by Darth Vader. Luke and his pilots would land and raid the base together with the army of stormtroopers set to arrive by Transport ships. Luke and Black Squadron would then break off to locate and capture the Princess, bringing her back for interrogation.

His x-wing was ready at the front of the fighters. Painted in black with red accents, it truly stood out.

'Everything ready?' Asked Luke to the engineer.

'All ready for launch my Lord' said Lt Tebris with a small bow, "The Death Star is approaching and preparing to orbit the planet, it should be within range in the next hour, plenty of time to secure the Princess."

His second in command and wing mate Deek, Black One, was waiting by the ladder of his Tie fighter.

' All set Deek? This is going to be a hell of mission.'

'All ready Luke, I got the a bottle of Correlias best brandy for when we get back.'

Luke laughed and clapped him on the back. Deek was more than his wing mate, they had attended the Imperial Navy Training centre together, learnt to fly together and they always had each other's back. Deek was also one of the few people on first name terms with the Prince. He was the only person to call Luke a friend.

Climbing into the cockpit and closing the canopy Luke ran a general check and switched on the com to all his pilots.

'Black squadron this is black leader, com check, all pilots respond.'

All the pilots checked in confirming the com's where working.

'Black squadron this is Black leader, our mission as you know is this, Black one to twenty-five with me, the rest of you with Lord Vader protecting the Death Star. We are to invade the rebel base, capture the Princess and get the hell out of there before the Death Star blows the moon to the seven hells. We will have some support from space squads who will try and drive Rebel fighters out of the atmosphere, but it is up to us to carry out and complete the ground mission. Prepare for launch, and may the force be with us'.

A cheer went up from his squad. They were all fiercely loyal to him, carrying out any order without hesitation. Luke had taken some serious punishment from both his father and the Emperor to spare them when he had, on occasion, defied their orders to save his squad.

With a roar the fighters left the decks of the launch bays, flew through the atmospheric shield, and headed towards Yavin 4.