Entry 56

We entered the Colavas system to scout the planet Danuta. We thought it was a good prospect because the planet only had a handful of colonies consisting of mainly miners and farmers. When we came out of hyperspace all looked normal. We landed the Laranth near the capital city of Trid. That's when we heard about an Imperial Garrison located on the outskirts of the city. I immediately crossed this planet off my list of possible locations for a rebel base. We quickly returned to our ship and prepared to take off when things started to go bad. An Imperial-class Star Destroyer appeared in orbit above the planet.

I was on the flight deck with Den and Magash. Both turned to me. "What do we do now?"

I felt a twist in my gut as an impending sense of doom swept over me. I knew they had to be here for me. Why else would a ship that massive be orbiting this Force-forsaken planet? The Imperial Garrison was reportedly tiny…probably a hundred men. A Star Destroyer had a crew of over forty thousand. It was doubtful they would come all this way to drop off supplies or garrison replacements when a small shuttle or frigate would suffice.

"If they know we're here, we won't be able to slip past that ship. We can only hope that they are just passing by, perhaps checking on the garrison, and will leave soon enough." I really hoped what I said was true. This planet is so thinly populated I don't know where we could hide if we had to abandon the ship and flee.

Unfortunately, the Star Destroyer wasn't passing by and it didn't leave promptly. Transport shuttles and freighters exited the Destroyer and descended to the planet's surface to land at the garrison. This went on for the remainder of the day and until the next morning. It was was nerve-wracking having to watch a steady stream on Imperial shuttles coming and going, but it did give me some comfort. They were obviously not on a Jedi hunt. I finally decided to check out what was going on. If the Imperials were developing a larger base on Danuta the Rangers would be interested in knowing more about it.

I wanted to go alone but my crew adamantly protested that plan. They all wanted to go. I tried to convince Sacha to stay on the ship with Norro, but she refused. Magash was just as stubborn. Eventually I agreed to take my two Jedi apprentices. I left Norro with Den and I-Five as the rest of us donned nondescript overalls with blasters and lightsabers concealed in specially made interior jacket pockets.

We hired a cab to bring us to the outskirts of town and then moved in by foot. I had some macrobinoculars and a holoimager with me. We hiked up a hill overlooking the garrison. All three of us crawled the last few meters until we were lying on the top of the hill trying to minimize our silhouette. We observed the comings and goings of the Imperials for about an hour. It's obvious they plan to expand their local garrison. Almost all of the freighter shuttles were filled with construction equipment and building supplies. I was about to call off the recon and go back to the ship when Sacha requested the Macrobinoculars. She peered through the device for a long moment before she handed the field glasses back to me. "Check out the rank of that gaunt looking officer talking to that group of civilians down there."

I put the glasses to my eyes and tried to make out the front rank insignia plaque. "That's a lot of colorful squares on his uniform. Six blue squares on the top and three red and three yellow on the bottom. He also has code cylinders on both side of his uniform." I looked up from the macrobinoculars. "That's an extremely high ranking official. I know an admiral has twelve blocks, but they are usually a row of blue and a red row underneath. I think his rank indicates a Sector High Commander."

"You mean a Moff?" Sacha asked.

"Most likely."

"So that begs the question, why is a Moff overseeing the enlargement of an Imperial Garrison on some desolate planet?" Sacha turned to me for an answer.

"Obviously this location is going to be more than a simple garrison. It could become a training center, a research facility or a weapons plant. Or maybe they're going to build a spaceport and use the planet as an operational base. There are a number of reasons to have a Moff on site and none of them are good for the Rebels."

Magash grabbed the macrobinoculrs out of my hand and put them to her eyes. "Should we try to get a closer look? There are many civilian workers. Perhaps we can blend in."

A year ago I would have gladly run headfirst into the fray, but now I have a baby to worry about. "No. We'll take some imager vids from this location and then go back to the ship. If civilian traffic has been moving unimpeded it's possible we can get off this rock. If there has been a shutdown of flights we may have to wait until the Star Destroyer finishes its delivery and goes away." I pulled an imager out of my pocket and started to record the activity below. I tried to get a tight close-up of our unknown Moff, but at that magnification the images were blurry. After a few minutes of recording we backed down from the ridge and moved away from the Imperial base. When we got to the edge of town we boarded a public transit speeder and traveled back to the docking bay. As I marched up the boarding ramp of our ship I called out to Den. "How's the traffic in-and-out of here?"

Den popped his head out of the flight deck. "It appears normal. I talked to some of the mechanics around here and they said this is the first time a Star Destroyer was in orbit, but they have had a steady stream of freighters dumping their cargo with the imperials for the last few weeks."

"Will our counterfeit transponder pass Imperial scrutiny?" Sacha asked.

"I think it will, but maybe we should lay low for a while and wait for them to leave."

"No, get clearance to leave. Usually the first thing the Imperials do when taking over a planet is lock down the spaceports and begin searches of incoming and outgoing ships."

"You got it Jax." Den motioned for Magash to join him. "Come on, I'll teach you how to put in departure requests."

I went to our first aid kit and pulled out a bottle of antacids. My stomach was starting to burn from the stress. I hope we can get out of here soon.

Entry 57

We took off about an hour later. Our designated departure route took us closer to the Star Destroyer than I was comfortable with. "Let's make a few short jumps before heading back to Toprawa," I said to Den and Magash. "Just in case somebody tries to follow us."

Den nodded. "I already thought of that. The first jump is already programmed in. We just need to get out of the gravity well of the planet and put a little more distance between us and that Star Destroyer."

I stared out the cockpit viewports and gazed at the immense ship in awe. It is hard to imagine forty thousand crew members on one ship. Suddenly a dark sensation began to creep down my spine. Something evil was on that ship. "Let's hurry up. There may be an Inquisitor onboard."

Magash looked at the ship readouts. "We are less than a minute away from the proper running speed and distance from the planet."

Sacha came onto the flight deck and put a hand on my shoulder. "Do you feel that Jax?"

I nodded nervously. "It's probably an Inquisitor."

Sacha gazed at the immense ship for a long moment before she shook her head. "That presence feels familiar. Doesn't it?"

I concentrated and suddenly things became very clear. I turned to Den and screamed, "Get us out of here! Vader's on that ship!"

Den turned to Magash, "Hit it!"

She pulled back on the hyperdrive controls and the pinpoint stars stretched into long lines. Thoughts leapt feverishly through my head. "I can't go back to Toprawa…ever. If I sensed Vader, he sensed me. He will have a long range fighter tracking us." I walked up to the onboard navigation station. "We need to find a planet with a spaceport. I want to split up and rendezvous when we're sure Vader isn't following me. If he has a choice of hunting me down or my team…he'll go after me."

"We won't leave your side," Den said firmly.

I felt like pulling my hair out right about now. My friends are the most stubborn group of people I have ever met. I leaned over Magash's shoulder. "Magash, do you think your clan would hide us? With the witches being Force sensitive I would think it would be difficult to sense a Jedi there."

She nodded. "They will for at least a short time."

My breathing became rapid as perspiration formed on my brow. "Good." I turned back to Den. "Find us a planet with a spaceport with shuttle service. Drop me off and then go to Dathomir. I'll try to draw Vader away from you. If I can elude Vader I'll rendezvous with you back on Dathomir."

"Jax, we're not going…" Den started.

I put up a hand cutting him off. "Just get us to a planet with a spaceport and then we'll argue about who is going with who!"

Den frowned before turning away to search the navigation computer for a suitable planet.