As the Dark Times fade.
Disclaimer: Skymaster23 doesn't own anything of Lucasfilm, and does not want a connection to fox news.
This story will be a mix of legends and disney-canon.
This is for observations, emphasis, and yelling.
Location: Planet, Chandrila. City, Emita. One week before Yavin 4.
Three uniformed individuals are in The Woozy Gronda tapcafe while a song by Umjing Baab plays in the background. "You heard anything more about Omonda's arrest?" One of them asks while pausing a holofilm.
"I did. One of Moff's Seerdon's people says that Mothma losing her little Slice-hound at Jedha is the better topic; it makes her that much closer to paying for G'rho." The second says before another sip of his Green Galaxy while a fourth exits the refresher, only to stop and point out a projection.
"-erial Center has declined to give any details on the ISN's withdrawal from Ord Biniir, citing security reasons, but we can safely assume that we will regain the system before too long." The Mediacaster said.
"That they will. Agreed?" The third asks outloud, gaining several nods, some more enthusiastic than others.
"Indeed, even the Star Destroyer that friend of yours serves on may take part in it, Carlin." The fourth says.
"That'll be something to hope for." Carlin, the first man, replies as he holds up a glass. "Another round for we who serve The Empire, at home and across the galaxy!" He adds boisterously, only for one other customer to balk.
"The confidence of the sheltered."
"Excuse me, citizen?" Carlin asks him rhetorically, knowing a challenge when he hears one.
"You know service goes both ways, Patroller Deler... but do they know it?" The person asks in turn, clearly speaking about Imperials as he ignores the suggestions to sit back down. "For all twenty years since we've been living under it, our voices have been dimmed in favor of the Empire's physical, even downright animalistic, displays of dominance."
Carlin is about to respond before the fourth of the group takes over. "Vocal forms of resolving things only works for civilized people like us in the Core and Inner-Rim. Further than that-" The fourth Patroller says before being interrupted.
"Civilized, you say; Humans, you mean. We have never been greater than any other species of the galaxy, nor lesser." The man says, only for Carlin to shake his head.
"You just had to turn this into a disruption of a public business, didn't you." He said smugly as he motioned for the fourth Patroller to reach for his binders while other diners take the citizen's side.
"Don't you touch him with those, you sycophant."/"Jord, get the manager."/"Sit back down; let the man do his job."/"Oppressor; you shame the Protectorate by doing this!" Is heard throughout the tapcafe until they four hear an alert from CCP Dispatch to any Patrollers near quadrant 3 regarding a stolen speeder in their headcomms.
"Or not... Patrollers Deler, and Imbru here; we'll check it out." Carlin says after rolling his eyes, and heads out with the fourth to investigate. The two board a Vornskr police interceptor*.
After eight minutes flight-time, they spot their quarry. "There it-wait... that's a QH-7!" Carlin announces.
"A what now; that's army property we're chasing?!"
Despite the new-found dread, the airspeeder dives down to forty feet above it. "This is the CCP. Decelerate immediately and exit the vehicle." Deler says over the Vornskr's loudhailer, only to see blaster bolts pass by in response. "Shots fired; ascending to maneuver! Standby to ionize them, Imbru."
"Way ahead of you. Please don't get dented, please don't get dented." Imbru tells Deler, and himself. After they reach 106 feet, Deler noses down for the shot, but sees the target has crashed into one of the buildings.
"Were they too busy shooting at us?" He asks his partner before calling for a Med-skiff.
"You have a bad feeling about this, too?" Imbru asks him, but gets no answer. "...Carlin?" When they land, they find the speeder, and a bit more. "Oh, we are going to be dragged through thorns for this." Imbru says as they check the wreck before checking the bodies, of whom only one was human. "And what could have done this; it's still melting." He then wonders as he holds up half of an A-280 blaster rifle.
"The scanner says one human, one fleabag, and... a Cerean?" Carlin discovers. Finding a Bothan on Chandrila isn't unusual, but as far as either of them is aware, the Cereans went extinct after the Clone Wars. The plot deepens when he lifts some debris off the first alien, and drops it back down when seeing she is missing her head... and any blood stains. They then see a speeder bike down the street heading south, followed by an explosion on the third floor of the nearest building it could have come from.
"Deler to Dispatch; send more units, now! There's been a bombing!" Carlin then shouts, and turns to Imbru. "Follow that biker, I'll check inside!"
As Imbru departs, Carlin pulls out his SC-4 and heads into the building, a droid repair shop. "CCP! Are there any survivors?" He asks outloud, out of procedure since he has little concern for an injured enemy of the state, and continues to check the first floor. Likewise ignoring the fumes and heat, he finds it empty, he goes up to find four bodies and a damaged R3-series astromech, then hears a noise in the corner. He turns to see a dark-skinned person with several bruises and a wound similar to the Bothan's neck on what's left of his right wrist. The area around him is strangely devoid of scorching from the bomb. "This is almost starting to make sense now... Chandrilan resistance." Carlin says as the person winces mid-breath.
"You d-don't... don't approve, seccer?" The dying man asks in an inner rim accent as he looks up.
"Not when you disrupt galactic order, or interrupt Miss. Starflare's latest holodrama, traitor." Carlin replies as he holsters his sidearm, and turns after hearing a vehicle approaching, but feels the man grab his hand.
"No time left, Carlin Deler. Know th... their deeds." He says as Carlin tries to pull away, and sees the surface of a planet he thinks he recognizes, but is unable to be certain as a green wave races over it, replaced by three individuals, although only two of whom he definitely recognizes before the scene goes dark.
Carlin blinks in confusion before realizing he's back in the room. "How do you know my full name-and what in Casnirin's name did you just do to me?" He says to the man, who starts gasping weakly as voices are heard downstairs.
"Find... in the force." The person told him with his last breath.
* A made-up newer model of the Police Airspeeder seen in the Clone Wars cartoon.
Carlin Deler. Born 22 BBY. The most i can say of his appearance is that his hairstyle is similar to ANH background character Moradim Bast.
Send a P.M. if you're willing to be a co-writer of this story.