Aboard the Death Star - Orbit over Alderaan

Darth Starkiller watched as stormtroopers brought Princess Leia to the view port from her cell. Her home planet was clearly visible in the distance and he could just feel unease squirming in her belly. She was a very lovely young woman but her charm meant nothing to Starkiller. He was having a less than secret affair with his pilot. It was known in the upper echelons of the Empire but neither Starkiller nor his father nor his lover cared. The Emperor was happy so long as she did not become a distraction, and she was happy so long as he came home safe. Starkiller was happy so long as his father and his lover were happy.

As Princess Leia came to the viewport where Starkiller and Tarkin waited, Princess Leia said in a voice with more confidence than she probably felt, "Governor Tarkin, I should have guessed that it was you holding Lord Starkiller's leash. I recognized your fowl stench as soon as I came on board."

Starkiller burst into truly goodnatured laughter. "Princess, Tarkin does not hold my leash. No one does."

Tarkin shot him a glare before smiling sardonically at the princess. "Charming to the last. You don't know how hard I found it signing the order to terminate your life."

"I'm surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself;" she snapped back. Starkiller's smile broadened. He truly did regret that she would be executed. He was really beginning to like her. Tarkin's face became just a fraction harder and he announced, "Princess Leia, before your execution, I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station fully operational. No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now."

Starkiller resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This man would never understand that even fear was not enough to keep people down. Fear had to be mingled with true respect - something that the Emperor understood, a fact that made Starkiller wonder why he had abolished the Imperial Senate.

Princess Leia retorted easily, "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

It was clear that the exulted Grand Moff was getting very irritated with this brave young princess. Where once had been a smug smile, now a glare rested on the man's lean face. "Not after we demonstrate the power of this station. In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first. Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of your Rebel base, I have decide to try this station's destructive power of your home planet of Alderaan."

Starkiller's expression remained stoic but his mind raced. This was a dangerous move. If she called Tarkin's bluff, he could not destroy the planet below. It was too important for the people of the Empire, a rallying symbol for peace and culture and the arts. Luckily for the moff, she seemed to buy it. "No! Alderaan is peaceful, they have not weapons! You can't possibly-"

"You would prefer another target? A military target? Then name the system!" he commanded, his voice and face growing harsh and angry. "I grow tired of asking this, so it will be the last time. Where is the rebel base?"

And here was the moment of truth. Would she call or fold, to use crewed sabaac terms? Time stretched on and the Sith Lord glanced at Tarkin. "Dantooine;" the princess said in a defeated voice. "It's on Dantooine."

Starkiller frowned. It was likely to be on such a remote planet but the Rebels had been hiding well in the preceding months. There was a good chance she was being honest. "You see, Lord Starkiller, she can be reasonable."

He turned to his officer and said casually. "Continue with the operation, you may fire when ready."

"What?" screamed the Princess. Starkiller snarled, "Belay that order! Grand Moff Tarkin, I need to speak with you."

"I command this station, Lord Starkiller, and all of its operations;" said the Moff loftily. "You may be the supreme commander but even you cannot interfere here."

Darth Starkiller's hands crackled with blue force lightning. "You are right, Moff. I am the Supreme Commander of the Empire's Military and this falls under that."

"Not technically it doesn't. This is a civilian government mining sphere according to official reports, remember Lord Starkiller?" retorted the Moff. "I am the son and Heir to Emperor Darth Vader." snapped Lord Starkiller. "You will follow my commands or I will execute you right here and right now!"

"Even you would face dire consequences for that, my Lord;" said the Moff confidently. "I am far too important to the Emperor for you to just kill off hand."

Their eyes blazed into one another. "You will do nothing until I return, Tarkin;" growled the Sith Lord. "If you so much as look at the firing control room, I will send your shriveled husk to the rebels as a gift."

With that, he turned and pulled his comlink as he hurried towards the turbo lifts. "Juno, I need you to power up the Rogue Shadow. As soon as I get there, we need to head to Coruscant. I must speak with my father!"

Within minutes, the starship had launched and minutes after that, it had jumped to lightspeed. Tarkin watched it go before turning to his officers. "As I said, proceed with the operations."

Leia tried to rush him but a pair of stormtroopers took her arms and held her. "You are far too trusting, I'm a afraid your highness and Dantooine is far too remote a locations for an effective demonstration but don't worry. We will join your rebel friends soon enough."

The world seemed to slow down. Instead of minutes going by, it seemed as though an eternity stretched on. Leia could almost hear the orders being relayed and the core being powered up. She watched in terrified, devastated fascination and horror as a beam of energy the size of a cruiser blazed from the main gun and streaked through empty space and in a flash of blinding light, an entire planet, an entire civilization went up in fire and debris. Leia had averted her eyes at the last moment but that did not stop her from almost feeling the planets death. Despite her best effort, she could not wrestle down her anger and grief and she screamed. She honestly didn't even remember what it was that she screamed but when she was back in her cell, weeping and broken, her voice was hoarse and her throat, sore. She had just witnessed everything that she knew, everything that she was fighting to protect, die before her very eyes.

Lord Starkiller felt it even in hyperspace as the planet died. He heard the dying screams of billions and his emotions became turbulent. His pilot, his beloved Juno Eclipse ran from her place in the cockpit. "Galen, what is it?"

He sat stock still, his throat still stinging from the roar of pain and anguish he had just experienced. Starkiller had felt death before but nothing to this magnitude. It was so harsh, so painful and so unnatural that it paralyzed him. Captain Eclipse ran to him. "My love, what is wrong?"

Her hand on his stubbly cheek brought him out of it and the strangest thing that she had ever seen happened. Darth Starkiller, closed fist of the Emperor and heir to Darth Vader, ruler of the known galaxy, had tears in his eyes. Within moments, they were streaming down his face as well. "Tarkin - he just used the Death Star to destroy Alderaan."

Juno recoiled. "No! Not even Tarkin-"

"He's an evil man driven mad by his own power and the power of his newest toy. As soon as we get to Coruscant, I will implore my father to allow me to execute him for a war crime of this magnitude. "

Juno watched as he continued to deteriorate into a weeping child. "Shouldn't we go back and deal with this now?" she asked, but he shook his head. "Without my father's command, it would be useless."

He was unable to speak further as he devolved into hopeless tears. Juno Eclipse, seeing the man that she loved and adored in such a state, a man more powerful than any she had ever seen, caused her to fear for if something like this could effect her cold, calculating lover, how would if effect the rest of the galaxy?

Aboard the Millennium Falcon - Hyperspace

Luke and Ahsoka were in the hold when she felt the effect of the far off destruction. Her eyes became wide and she shuddered, going to a nearby seat and sitting down, shivering like a leaf. Luke, who had been practicing with his lightsaber by blocking stun bolts from a remote, paused with a look of concern on his face. "Are you alright?"

Ahsoka shivered. "I just felt a massive disturbance in the force, as if millions of voices all cried out and once and then went suddenly, horribly silent. Something terrible has happened."

Luke chewed one of his lips before asking quietly, "Do you know what it could be?"

Ahsoka took a deep breath and said briskly, "No, not a clue I'm afraid. Now, you need to get back to your practice with that. Go on! Back to it!"

Luke grinned but also uttered a low groan. It wasn't easy. He had caught a few of the bolts but he mostly kept getting stung by the little scrap sphere. Suddenly, Han came through the corridor, a very self confident smile on his chiseled face. "Well, you can forget about your trouble with those Imperial slugs. I told you that I'd outrun them."

He plopped into a seat and looked around as if expecting them to heap him with praises. When they did not, he muttered in disgruntlement, "Well don't everyone thank me all at once. Anyway, we should be at Alderaan at about 0200 hours."

Over in the corner, See-threepio and Artoo were playing a game of holo-chess with Chewbacca. They seemed to be arguing, which Han joined in with. Ahsoka and Luke ignored them. As Luke continued, Ahsoka said with a wry smile, "Remember, Sky-guy, a Jedi can feel the force flowing through him."

Ignoring her seeming fondness of that nickname for him, Luke asked, "You mean it controls your actions?"

"Partially, yes but it also obeys your commands;" she replied and observed. The next bolt caught Luke on the hip and he cursed. Han laughed, "Hokey religion and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."

Ahsoka gave him an amused look while Luke demanded rather irritably, "You don't believe in the force, do you?"

With another chuckle, Han replied, "Kid, I've been from one side of this galaxy to the other and I've seen a lot of strange things but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's an all-powerful force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. It's all a bunch of simple tricks and nonsense."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and said, "Wait a moment Luke, here."

She grabbed a face mask and eased it over Luke's head. "But with the mask on, there's no way for me to see! How am I supposed to fight?"

"Your eyes can deceive you. You need to learn not to rely on them. Don't think to hard. Forget about everything around you. Don't listen to Han or the droids or Chewie or the ship. Keep your mind focused in the right here, right now and ignore all distraction. Stretch out with your feelings."

She patted his shoulder and then backed up. Luke took a deep breath and tried to quiet his mind. The idea that he was being watched by mocking eyes kept bugging him and a bolt stung his shoulder. "Don't worry about that;" said Ahsoka. "It's just you and that remote. Stretch out with your feelings."

With one more calming breath, Luke lifted his weapon and waited. Suddenly, there was a shift and he could sense everything with hyper awareness. Luke could sense Ahsoka's confidence in him and her concern about whatever it was she had just sensed through the force. He could also sense Han's amusement and arrogance but it was just a mask for a hard life. Primarily what he sensed was exactly where the remote was and where it was about to shoot him. Moving with fluid ease, he caught one, two and three blasts on his blue blade before closing the weapon down again, grinning broadly and removing the mask. Ahsoka was smiling proudly and winked at him. "See, Sky-guy? You'll get this Jedi thing real quick."

"It was luck;" snorted Han. Ahsoka rolled her eyes and said, "Step back, Luke."

She activated another three remotes so that four of them buzzed around her and put the mask on herself before pulling the long, slim lightsaber hilts from her belt and igniting them. Both Luke and Han watched in interested as, one after another and at a much more rapid pace then one had shot at Luke, the remotes opened up. Ahsoka was a blur of silver light and orange skin as she deflected one after another after another. When she had finished, not a single stun bolt had hit her and she wasn't even breathing heavily. "Call that luck, Solo?" Luke said, smirking. Han closed his mouth and cleared his throat with a shrug. "Look, good against remotes is one thing. Good against the living, that's something else."

An alarm started to sound and he said briskly, happy to finish the conversation. "Well looks like we're coming up on Alderaan."

He headed to the cockpit while Luke, still grinning, said, "I could sense something. I could almost see the remote!"

"Welcome to the world of the Jedi, Luke;" she said with a bright smile. "I'll teach you more as we travel and, hopefully if our paths take us to the Yavin system, I can introduce you to someone who can teach you even more."

They headed up to the cockpit and strapped in as Han dropped out of hyperspace - smack into a meteor shower!

"What the-" he snapped as one smacked against their dorsal bow. "We've come out of hyperspace into a meteor shower - some kind of asteroid collision. It's not on any of the charts!"

"What the hell, Solo?" snapped Ahsoka.

"Our position is correct except there's no Alderaan?"

"What do you mean? Where'd it go?" asked Luke in confusion.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, kid. It ain't there. It's been completely blown away."

"What?" asked Luke incredulously. "How?"

Ahsoka looked grim as death. "It's been destroyed by the Empire."

Han shook his head. "Their entire Starfleet couldn't destroy the planet. It would take a thousand ships with more firepower than I've-" an alarm cut him off. Checking the scanners, Han all but growled, "There's another ship coming in."

"Maybe they know what happened." said Luke only half hopefully but Ahsoka shook her head. "No. It's an Imperial fighter, TIE type, I think."

To prove her point, a H-shaped vessel with a spherical cockpit between two solar panels shrieked overhead. "It followed us!"

"No;" said Ahsoka. "It's a short range fighter."

Han nodded in agreement. "There aren't any bases nearby. Where did he come from?"

Luke chewed his lower lip before saying, "Well he sure is leaving in a big hurry. If he identifies us, we're in big trouble."

"Not if I can help it;" snapped Han. "Chewie, jam his transmissions. Ahsoka stood. "I'll take one of the guns. Get me in range and I'll take him out."

"Right;" said Han as she hurried back. "Well she sure is something, isn't she;" muttered Han to himself. Luke, thinking that the smuggler was talking to him said, "What? Yeah, I mean, I guess so."

Han looked at him in confusion. "What?"

Luke just shook his head and watched as they gained on the fighter. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

Han frowned and put more power to the thrusters. Luke was still considering the fighter ahead. "He must have gotten lost, been part of a convoy or something. Well he ain't gonna be around long enough to tell anyone about us;" said Han.

Looking ahead, Luke noticed something. "Look, he's headed for that small moon."

Suddenly, behind him, Ahsoka spoke, making him jump slightly. "That's no moon - that's a space station."

Her voice sounded haunted and even scared. Han tried to dismiss it. "It's too big to be a space station."

"I have a very bad feeling about this;" said Luke to no one in particular.

Han quickly realized that Ahsoka was correct. Ahsoka looked down at him. "Turn the ship around;" she said in a quiet whisper. "Right;" murmured Han. "Chewie, full reverse!"

But nothing happened except that the ship started to shake. Han went pale. "Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power!"

Still nothing but even more violent shaking. "Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power!"

"Too late. They got us in a tractor beam;" said Ahsoka, her fists clenched tightly. "There's nothing more that I can do. I'm going to have to shut her down. But they're not going to get me without a fight."

Ahsoka took a deep breath and said, "Even we can't pull that kind of fight off, Solo. Good news is, I think I have an acceptable alternative."

Updated 12.12.2017