Author's note: Hello again, everyone! To my long-time followers, I would like to say this: I understand that my decision to revamp my series is controversial and it's very likely upset some of you. I imagine that it would be like seeing a show or book series that you like get cancelled and getting replaced by something else that you're not so sure about, I've been there and it's never a nice feeling. But do not fret, Galactic Civil War is not over.
After I'm done with the Prologue to my revamped series, I plan to finish Season Three of Galactic Civil War under my original plans to give you all one last ride and a chance to say goodbye to it. I have many great memories of my old series and I thank you all for the support you've given me over the years, it really has meant a lot to me and has helped drive me to get better and better. I know none of this feels ideal, but I hope I can give you all some sense of closure and we can still have a good relationship moving forward.
Mygeeto
Luke lay unconscious upon the snowy platform that the dropship had crashed on. Breathing heavily, his mind began racing and he started feeling a familiar presence. And to his surprise, he began hearing a familiar voice.
"Luke…Luke…"
"Ben…" breathed Luke.
"There is something that awaits for you on this planet…something you must find…something from the past that must be brought back…something only you can bring back…"
"Ben…" breathed Luke "What is…" Obi-Wan's words were vague and made him feel confused, all he could think about was getting answers. "How…"
"To find it, you must open yourself up to the Force…When the time comes, you will know where to find it…Trust in the Force, Luke…"
"Ben…Obi-Wan…" breathed Luke "NO!" He quickly shot up and breathed heavily with shock. As he calmed himself down, he looked over at the flaming wreckage of the dropship that lay before him. Heaving out a great sigh of relief, he eased up and laid himself back.
"You're lucky I managed to pull you out of the wreckage in time" said a voice. Luke desperately turned around to find himself facing a small Black and White Ruffed Lurmen dressed in a warm white fur coat. "My apologies, I didn't mean to frighten ya'. I've just been waiten' for ya' to wake up"
"You…You're a Lurmen!" said Luke "A native of Mygeeto"
"My name is Vari" said the Lurmen "I've been watching the battle for some time and I was able to make out your situation with the dropship. You're with the Alliance, aren't ya'? The one everyone's talking about. And you appear to be a Jedi, given that laser-sword you carry with ya'" Luke quickly noticed that the Lurmen was holding his lightsaber and had his hand extended out to him.
"How do you know about Jedi?" asked Luke as he accepted his lightsaber back.
"Some of my people left this planet during the Clone Wars, but most of us remained and were present for the infamous Battle of Mygeeto" said Vari "We saw plenty of Jedi in action, it was unlike anything we'd ever seen before. They all wielded weapons just like that one. We didn't know if there were any left, but you seem to be one from what I've seen"
"I'm not exactly sure if—" said Luke as he started pulling himself up. He didn't get to finish his train of thought however, as he quickly noticed that the platform he was on was not far away from the Imperial fortress. "The…The fortress…I'm on the Imperial side!"
"Get down!" exclaimed Vari as he leapt up onto Luke's back and pulled him down out of sight. A scout trooper mounted on a 74-Z speeder bike zoomed past their position and just missed them. "Patrols search this area thoroughly; we must be on guard"
"I can't believe it!" said Luke "I landed on the Imperial side…THE BATTLE!" He rushed off over to the edge of the platform and looked on in shock at the ongoing battle between the rebel forces and the Imperial forces. "Oh no…Han…Chewie…I've got to get back to them!"
"We're too far from them" said Vari "And the Empire monitors anything that comes or goes from this side. It was a miracle ya' ended up here in the first place" Luke sighed in distress.
"Miracle…of course!" said Luke.
"What is it, sir?" asked Vari.
"I'm right outside the fortress" replied Luke "If I could somehow get in unnoticed…I could capture the general or make him surrender…and I could end this battle! But…no, no, no…they're bound to be well guarded, and I doubt dressing up as a stormtrooper will work this time"
"I know a way in" said Vari.
"You do?" asked Luke.
"Yeah" replied Vari "The Empire might be in control of the fortress, but we Lurmen have lived here long before this planet even joined the galactic community. We may not have built this city; but over time, we learnt of its surroundings and its secrets"
"Can you show me?" asked Luke.
"Of course, follow me" replied Vari as he started scurrying off "Try to remain unseen" Luke followed him close behind. Unbeknownst to either of them, a Prowler 1000 exploration droid with cyan and yellow plating watched both of them carefully and followed them silently.
Meanwhile
At the very top of the Imperial fortress' tower, General Maximilian Veers overlooked the battle carefully from a balcony. He turned around and headed back into the tower, which the Imperials had fashioned as a strategy room. He walked over to the tower's holotable that was showing the current battle outside.
"Sir, our forces are outnumbering the rebels but they're still holding their own" said an Imperial officer who walked up to Veers.
"I can see that" said Veers "However, boldness and determination can only go so far; if we can keep our attacks going, they'll weaken over time until we can take them with ease. They may be achieving minor victories right now, but it will not help them in the long run"
"That is a well constructed plan, General; and I have no doubt it will be effective" said the Imperial officer "However, the Alliance has won against greater odds in the past so I can't help but—"
"Your doubts are understandable; but do not fret, for I have a backup plan should they prove too troublesome" said Veers "Follow me" He turned and walked over to a balcony on the other side of the tower with the officer following him close behind. "Behold" The balcony overlooked a landing strip filled with TIE/sa bombers that were being loaded and readied for a bombing run.
"TIE bombers!" said the Imperial officer.
"Should the strategy fail and the rebels outcompete our forces, I'll signal these bombers to perform a bombing run on their base" said Veers "Nothing will remain but ash"
"But sir, I thought we ruled out bombing runs for this strategy due to the fragility of the platforms" said the Imperial officer "And if our men are still on the battlefield at the time, they could potentially be caught in it as well"
"Which is why we reserve it for now and only use it if our first plan fails" said Veers "The Alliance has been growing stronger recently, I will not grant them this victory"
Meanwhile
The Imperial forces marched towards the rebel outpost, being led by All Terrain Missile Platforms and DSD1 dwarf spider droids. Han had taken cover behind a crystalline spire and was shooting any stormtroopers he could make out, but aiming at them was becoming harder and harder due to the walkers and droids that made up the front of the army. Suddenly, he received a transmission from the rebel soldier who he had sent off to contact Ackbar.
"Captain, I've contacted Admiral Ackbar and told him to send reinforcements" said the rebel soldier out of his comlink "I've made our situation clear to him and he's agreed to send them in immediately"
"How soon should we expect them to arrive?" asked Han into his comlink.
"He said he'll be as quick as possible, but it may take some time due to the battle" replied the rebel soldier. Han looked over as an AT-MP launched a series of missiles that destroyed a T2-B repulsor tank that was not far away from him.
"Better not take too long, or there might not be any of us left" said Han. Suddenly, an AT-MP blasted down the pillar he was hiding behind and he only just managed to swerve aside in time before the remains of the pillar collapsed onto where he was standing. "Which might be sooner than I thought"
"The Admiral's doing his best, but even he has his limits" said the rebel soldier.
"Eh, I shouldn't be complaining" said Han as he rushed off to hide behind some debris "I know that delivering things can be a hassle if there are complications…wow, so this is what it's like to be on the other side!"
"Other side of what?" asked the rebel soldier.
"Never mind!" said Han "It just better not be at the last minute" At that moment, he heard the sound of mechanical feet rushing towards him from the other side of their outpost. From out of the shadows, Chewbacca rushed up to him, mounted on an All Terrain Recon Transport. "Chewie, you got the recon walkers prepped?" Chewbacca growled and nodded his head in response. "Good, now we can match their strength with speed" He peered out over the debris and examined the Imperial forces. "Still though; it's gonna' be tough to break their lines, especially with those missile walkers" As his eyes gradually turned from the AT-MPs over to the dwarf spider droids, he noticed that a lot of them seemed to be grouped together which caused him to develop a smirk as he began thinking. "I think I've got an idea!"
Meanwhile
"Up here, quick!" said Vari as he brought Luke up to an air vent outside the Imperial fortress.
"That's it?" said Luke.
"I've been using this for the past month" said Vari "We Lurmen can slip in and out unseen if we wish; and with this, I was able to sneak into the base and take supplies, like foodstuffs and medicine, back to my village" He leapt up onto the air vent, pulled out a screwdriver like tool from his coat, and used it to undo the bolts keeping the vent's cover in place. "This isn't the first time we suffered enslavement and subjection; long before the Empire was even formed, the InterGalactic Banking Clan moved in here and made us their slaves. Our people are used to being seen as second-class citizens, but we still hold onto our beliefs despite all of this. By the way, who this "Ben" character? You seemed quite concerned over him"
"Oh…" said Luke "It's nothing. Just somebody I used to know" At that moment, Vari successfully pulled off the air vent's cover.
"There, that should do it!" said Vari. Luke looked up at the air vent and examined it sceptically.
"Looks a little tight" said Luke.
"It's not for me" said Vari as he entered the air vent and looked down at Luke "Oh…I realize now that it may not be as comfortable for taller beings like yourself as it is for beings like we Lurmen"
"I guess it'll have to do" said Luke "But it'll be a tight squeeze" He leapt up, grabbed onto the edge of the air vent, and pulled himself up into it with Vari helping him.
Meanwhile
"We're closing in on the rebels" said the stormtrooper sergeant out of the stormtrooper commander's comlink "We'll be at their base in mere minutes"
"Good job, sergeant" said the stormtrooper commander into his comlink "Continue until you drive them out entirely" He pulled out his electrobinoculars and observed the battle. "I'm definitely getting promoted for this" At that moment, he noticed that a rebel soldier was hiding behind some debris and aiming a grenade launcher at the Imperial forces. "What is that?"
Meanwhile
"Aim for a spider droid" said Han "One that's in a group" The rebel soldier aimed his grenade launcher at a dwarf spider droid carefully and launched a sticky bomb that attached itself to the droid. When the bomb went off, it destroyed the dwarf spider droid causing it and the other dwarf spider droids around it to explode and take out a large chunk of the Imperial forces at the front.
Meanwhile
"What on Mustafar was that!" exclaimed the stormtrooper commander as he lowered his electrobinoculars.
Meanwhile
"Alright!" said Han "Time to bring the walkers in!" At that moment, Chewbacca and a group of rebel soldiers mounted on AT-RTs rushed in towards the Imperial forces. Chewbacca groaned as he reached out, grabbed onto Han by the hand, and pulled him up onto the walker with him. "Time to even the odds!" Chewbacca piloted the AT-RT through the Imperials while shooting down any that got in his way with the walker's weapons whilst Han shot at any stormtroopers around them with his blaster whilst throwing grenades at the Imperial vehicles.
Meanwhile
The stormtrooper commander clenched his fist in anger.
"That's it, I'm going in!" said the stormtrooper commander. He turned towards the pathway between the platforms and walked towards it.
Meanwhile
"We're really ploughing through them, aren't we?" said Han. Chewbacca growled in agreement. Suddenly, a stormtrooper aimed at Han and shot him. The shot just missed him but the sudden shock was enough for Han to become unbalanced on the walker. Chewbacca roared in shock as Han fell off of the walker and landed onto the battlefield, but he was going too fast to slow down or turn back and had to continue moving forward away from his smuggler friend. Han lifted himself back up and held onto his left arm in pain. "Gonna' be sore in the morning!" As he stood up, he found himself standing before two 2-M hover tanks and an AT-ST. "Huh…"
"So; you're the famed Han Solo, aren't you?" said a voice. Han turned towards the stormtrooper commander as he walked over towards him.
"My reputation proceeds me" smirked Han.
"How did you do it?" asked the stormtrooper commander "I had you all where I wanted you and you were still able to break my lines"
"Never keep dwarf spider droids bunched together like that if they're near other vehicles and troops, or at least separate them if they are" replied Han "They have a self-destruct mechanism that they can be used against enemies and blowing them up can activate it. So, if they're all bunched together and near the rest of your forces…" He snapped his fingers. "...BOOM! The droid targeted becomes ground zero. It was an otherwise good plan, aside from that little mishap; bring out the big guns once we've been weakened a bit, playing your best card not too early but not too late. Perhaps you should leave strategizing to the professionals, but I don't imagine it's a vital part of standard stormtrooper training"
"I'll bear that in mind in future battles that I command" said the stormtrooper commander "Now, shall we discuss your surrender?"
"What makes you think I'll agree to that?" said Han.
"Your lightsaber wielding friend is gone, I saw it" replied the stormtrooper commander "He crashed with our dropship on our side. And even though you've hindered our attack, we still outnumber you. Are you really willing to die for the rebel cause, smuggler?"
"Not entirely sure about that part, but I'm sure not going to give you the satisfaction of winning" said Han as he quickly pulled out his blaster, hissing slightly due to his hurt arm.
"You really are a stubborn one" said the stormtrooper commander "Can't you see what lies right in front of you? I have you outgunned! You can't take all of us; the best you can possibly do is get me and only if you shoot first, and that arm of yours doesn't look very good"
"Only my left arm, my right arm's perfectly fine" said Han "That's all I need to pull the trigger. And don't worry, I always shoot first!"
Meanwhile
Luke and Vari crawled through the air vent shaft until they reached another air vent which was located in a hallway within the fortress.
"This it?" asked Luke.
"Yes" replied Vari. Luke placed his hand upon the vent's cover and gently pushed it off. He then pulled himself out of the air vent and found himself within the supply and storage room of the fortress, a large room filled with crates and boxes. "Here we are, the supply and storage room. I knew I would be comin' back here often so I fixed the air vent to open easily on the shaft's side"
"Clever" said Luke as he observed his surroundings "There's a lot of stuff in here"
"I'm careful what I take so as to not attract suspicion" said Vari "Even in a big place like this, enough things out of place could attract suspicion"
"So I see" said Luke.
"Where to next?" asked Vari.
"First off, your work here is done" replied Luke "Go back to your village before an Imperial sees you"
"What?" said Vari "You're not going in there alone, are ya'? Ya' said yourself that they have the place armed to the teeth"
"You don't understand" said Luke "Taking out the general is my mission; you're just a civilian, I can't put you in harm's way"
"We Lurmen may abhor violence, but that doesn't we won't defend ourselves in other ways" said Vari.
"If I have to put my life on the line to stop the Empire, then I will" said Luke "But it has to be mine, no one else's"
"This is our planet, we can't just turn away from helping those who would help us" said Vari. At that moment, Luke felt a strange but faint sensation slip into his mind and flicker away in what seemed like a split second. "Is something wrong?"
"It's just…I think I felt something" replied Luke "Something's here…"
"Something dangerous, perhaps?" said Vari.
"I don't know…it's too faint" said Luke. He thought back to Obi-Wan Kenobi's teachings of the Force and of his time at the Battle of Yavin when he saved the day by opening himself up to the Force and allowing it to guide him. And if what Obi-Wan had told him before was true, this may very well be what he had to find. Whatever this faint presence was, he knew he had to open himself up and let the Force guide him again if he was to find out what it was. "Just give me a moment" He stepped forward, closed his eyes, and cleared his mind, opening himself up to the Force. He felt everything around him; he felt the harsh climate of the planet Mygeeto, he felt the intense battle between the rebels and the Empire that raged on outside, he felt the footsteps of the stormtroopers and Imperial officers who walked throughout the fortress, and then he felt IT. The faint presence within the Force flashed quickly within his mind again, as if the Force was trying to tell him something and lead him somewhere; only this time, he knew where it came from. "I know where it is!" He rushed off further into the storage room with Vari following him close behind.
"Wait up!" exclaimed Vari "What is it you need to find!?" Eventually, they reached the source of the presence; a large unidentified object that lay underneath a large brown cloth.
"Here it is" said Luke. He grabbed onto the cloth and pulled it off, revealing a large silver pod with a fogged window the shape of an upside-down triangle.
"What is it?" asked Vari.
"I can't believe it…it's a stasis pod!" replied Luke.
"Stasis pod?" said Vari.
"It's a form of suspended animation technology" said Luke "It's designed to preserve materials and even organisms. It's very rare, so whatever it's being used for must be important" He placed his hand onto the window and rubbed the moisture off of it, revealing a silhouette within it. "And it looks like someone's in there!"
"Blimey!" said Vari. Luke examined the pod and found the controls.
"What are ya' doing?!" exclaimed Vari.
"There's someone in there so I'm going to release them" said Luke.
"What if they're dangerous?!" said Vari.
"Then I'll deal with them" said Luke "But I don't believe they are. I can't explain it; but when I felt the faint presence, it was like the Force was guiding me"
"What if it tricked ya'?" asked Vari.
"It must mean something…I don't know" replied Luke "I just have a strong feeling that it does" He found what appeared to be the deactivation button and pressed it and stood back as the door of the pod unlatched and blew out steam. It then slowly opened up; and as the steam cleared, what lay within was revealed. Inside the pod was a beautiful Togruta woman with orange skin and white markings who appeared to be around the same age as Luke himself. She wore a black sleeveless shirt with gold linings at the openings, olive-coloured pants with brown boots, black fingerless gloves with wrist braces and two black bands around her arms, and a black belt with a gold belt-buckle. Instead of a traditional akul-tooth headdress, she wore a brown leather-like strap with a grey diamond-shaped object on her forehead. Her eyes were shut but she was breathing perfectly fine and calmly.
"I wasn't expecting to find this" said Vari. The Togruta's eyes slowly fluttered open as she awoke from the suspended animation. Suddenly, she let out a loud gasp as her eyes opened up wide.
"No!" exclaimed the Togruta. Acting on impulse, she shot back out of the pod and pulled herself up while breathing heavily.
"Wait!" said Luke as he extended his hands out to calm her down "It's okay, relax! It's okay!" The Togruta turned towards him and put up a defensive stance. Luke took a step back and raised his hands in hopes of calming her down. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you" After several seconds of silence and unease, she spoke.
"Who are you?" asked the Togruta.
"My name is Luke" replied Luke "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm with the Rebel Alliance"
"Rebel what?" said the Togruta. Luke realized that she may have been within in that pod for more than a few days.
"Oh; well, I guess I need to explain some things" said Luke. But before he could even say another word, the Togruta spotted the lightsaber on his belt. Recognising it almost immediately, she extended her hand out and summoned the lightsaber to her hand through the Force. She then ignited it and pointed it towards Luke.
"This lightsaber, where did you get it?!" asked the Togruta in an almost aggressive manner.
"Calm down" said Luke "It was given to me by…" He trailed off as the two of them had began to sense something within each other, something they recognised immediately.
"You're Force-sensitive!" exclaimed Luke and the Togruta simultaneously.
"I can't believe it!" said the Togruta as she began looking around at her surroundings "Where am I? What is this place?"
"The planet Mygeeto, we're inside an Imperial base" replied Luke.
"Mygeeto?!" exclaimed Ahsoka "The...The Empire!"
"Don't worry; as far as I know, they don't know we're here" said Luke.
"I don't understand, how did I get here?" asked Ahsoka.
"I was about to ask you the same question" replied Luke "I found you in there" Luke moved aside and gestured towards the stasis pod behind him. Ahsoka took one look at the pod and instantly felt a flash of anxiety, as if it brought back a traumatic memory but without any details. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?"
"I'm Ahsoka Tano" replied the Togruta.
"Are you…a Jedi?" asked Luke.
"No" replied Ahsoka "Not anymore"
"What do you mean by that?" asked Luke.
"I haven't…I haven't been a Jedi for some time now" replied Ahsoka "Not since the Clone Wars"
"The Clone Wars?" said Luke. He looked over at the pod again and began to realize something. "You…You must be who Obi-Wan wants me to find!"
"Obi-Wan!?" exclaimed Ahsoka "You know Obi-Wan Kenobi?!"
"Yes" replied Luke "He is…was my master"
"Past tense" said Ahsoka. Luke could sense the anxiety in her voice and the way she looked at the pod with uncertainty. Ahsoka was feeling confused and a little overwhelmed by everything she was learning all at once; and yet for some reason, she found herself feeling safe around Luke as if there was something familiar about him. Breathing out another sigh, she deactivated Luke's lightsaber and lowered her arms in unease. "Listen; I don't know what's going on here, but my instincts tell me you can be trusted. Everything feels…different, like I've woken in another world. I think I need some catching up to do. Let's talk"
"Sure" said Luke "I have questions as well" Ahsoka looked over at the stasis pod and couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.
"Not here" said Ahsoka "There's something about that pod that I don't like"
"Okay, we'll find somewhere else" said Luke "Vari, stand guard and alert us if anything comes up"
"I'm on it" said Vari as he climbed to the top of the crates. Luke and Ahsoka walked off together into the storage room. Whatever questions they had, they were going to be answered. But neither of them noticed the Prowler 1000 that watched them from the ceiling and recorded them.
Author's note #1: Ahsoka's outfit is based off the original concept art for her Underworld arc. You can look it up with a simple google search.
Author's note #2: As a visual aide, the rebel soldiers and officers are comprised of Aqualish, Bothans, Duros, Humans, Ishi Tib, Mon Calamari, Niktos (Kadas'sa'Niktos and Kajain'sa'Niktos), Pantorans, Quarren, Rodians, Sullustans, Twi'leks, Weequays, and Zabraks. Using this, you can all decide which ones are which individually. I'll keep the description of unnamed rebel soldiers and officers so you can decide which species and gender each one is.
Lola Jeery: Thank you for feedback. I have come a long way since I first started out writing fanfiction and I'm glad to know my writing has gotten better. About Luke; I want to show him as a strong fighter and promising young Jedi so he can hold his own against powerful bad guys at least a little bit while also showing that he's got a lot to learn and experience so as to not undermine his training with Yoda in Episode V. I looked at his fight with Darth Vader on Galaxy of Adventures as inspiration on how to keep the basics intact whilst adding a little more "flare" to it and I'll make sure he doesn't do anything too outlandish with the Force and only really knows some basic moves.
Hellman76: I'll miss the previous series as well, but I'm glad to know you're giving my revamped series a chance (I know this must be hard). And hopefully; by finishing the third season of Galactic Civil War, I'll give you a chance to say goodbye to it.