Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to Disney, not me!
AN: Alright, Episode 7 is going to be coming out in at least two years. The story of the sequel trilogy is original, deviating completely from the EU that comes after Episode 6: Return of the Jedi. However, I came up with the idea of what would happen if Episode 7 did follow the EU continuity.
Basically, this is my version of Episode 7. This follows the EU, including everything from the fall of the Empire to Darth Krayt's rule.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
STAR WARS
EPISODE VII
Sparks of War
Much has changed following the past decades after the fall of the Galactic Empire. After the dreadful invasion of the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong, an alliance with remnants of the Empire has reformed the New Republic into the Galactic Alliance. Remnants of the Empire remain, yet under the rule of Jagged Fel, the Imperial Remant retains a fragile peace with the Galactic Alliance.
Though Jedi Master Luke Skywalker passed away, his new order of Jedi Knights have made themselves the new guardians of the galaxy. Leaving their Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV and have spread out the galaxy, reclaiming their homes on Galactic Alliance capital world of Coruscant and the Jedi world of Ossus.
Continuing their service to the galaxy, the Jedi act as the Galactic Alliance's representatives with other civilizations. Jedi Master Kyp Durron of the Jedi Council meets with the ruler of the Hapan Consortium, the Queen Mother and former Jedi Knight Tenel Ka...
The ends of the dark-colored Jedi robes flowed in the air as Jedi Master Kyp Durron strode through the hangar of the Star Destroyer Skywalker. Hanging from the Jedi Master's belt was his lightsaber that jostled against his thigh as he walked towards the Hapan shuttle that docked mere minutes ago.
Surrounding the shuttle were Galactic Alliance soldiers, armed with their blasters and gray uniforms. They kept their hands around their weapons, ready to fight against hostile actions sent to anyone on board, including the Jedi Master. Kyp felt it was unnecessary, considering his many years of experience as a Jedi Master, but it was standard policy and this was no simple visit.
Exiting the shuttle were a group of Hapan royal soldiers, each carrying their own blaster pistols to protect their ruler. They left the boarding ramp and stood near the entrance with their hands close to their blaster pistols, in the case of anyone trying to fire. Kyp could feel the tension radiating off of both the female warriors and the Galactic soldiers, but he attention left it as his brown eyes fell upon the Queen Mother of the Hapan Consortium as she emerged from the hull of the shuttle.
The sleeves of her blue dress ran only down to her shoulders for the Queen Mother of Hapes had a stump replacing her left forearm, a result of her lightsaber malfunctioning during a training exercise. Her golden red hair had been tried into multiple braids that rested on her shoulders.
Kyp suppressed the temptation to ran a hand across the multiple gray strands of his once-black hair. The Queen Mother retained some of her youthful appearance, despite the number of years passed since Kyp saw her. The sight of Tenel Ka made Jedi Master feel nostalgia nip at the back of his mind.
Before she was Queen Mother, Tenel Ka Djo was a member of the Jedi Order before the dreaded Yuuzhan Vong invasion. It was during the war that Tenel Ka became the new Queen Mother when her mother, Teneniel Djo had been poisoned by her grandmother, former Queen Mother Ta'a Chume. When the war was over, Tenel Ka left the Jedi Order to attend to her duties as Queen Mother. Yet, Kyp could see the Hapan ruler carrying her lightsaber on her person, the rancor tooth hilt hanging from her belt.
When Tenel Ka's feet met the floor of the hangar, Kyp stepped forward to greet her. "Greeting, Queen Mother. It is good to see you again," he gave Tenel Ka a small bow.
The Queen Mother's gray eyes met the Jedi Master's browns. If Tenel Ka was a simple Jedi Knight and not a sovereign of her own cluster of star systems, she would have bowed in respect to the Jedi Master. Though, Kyp was glad Tenel Ka returned his gesture with a smile. "You as well, Master Durron." Eying him for a moment, Tenel Ka stated, "I see you're still on the Council.
Straightening his back, Kyp replied "It's what Master Skywalker would have wanted."
The Queen Mother understood too well. It had only been a year since Luke Skywalker passed on, leaving many legacies behind him. One such legacy was the New Jedi Order that Luke founded years ago, starting with a Jedi Praxuem on Yavin IV. Tenel Ka, herself, studied in the ways of the Force on that jungle moon, along many other students.
"He would," Tenel Ka agreed. "I only wished things had not become so bitter with his passing."
The Jedi Master could only nod at that. Ever since Luke Skywalker passed, the Jedi Order was left open to ridicule by the Hapan nobles, who were already known for their anti-Jedi sediments. The Jedi Council found themselves at odds with Hapan diplomats, who ridiculed the Jedi whenever they had the chance. Things had reached their peak when the Hapan nobles slandered the Jedi Council on the capital of Coruscant. Kyp did his best to prevent himself cutting the nobles in two with his lightsaber.
To mend the damage done, Tenel Ka agreed to meet with a Jedi Master, and Kyp was more than happy to do so. Kyp had been known for his unpredictability and stubborn nature, two unfavorable traits for a diplomat, but he was more than glad to accept the position for he knew the Queen Mother still had retained some relations with the Jedi. Still, he did not expect was to be meeting with Tenel Ka on the borders of the Hapes Cluster and to be greeted by a Battle Dragon of the Hapes Royal Navy.
"So do I, your highness," Kyp spoke in a somber tone.
The ruler of the Hapes Consortium simply stared the Jedi Master, taking hint of the somberness in Kyp's voice. Kyp Durron was among the first of Luke's students. During his training, Durron had been seduced to the Dark Side by the spirit of Exar Kun, a Sith Lord from four thousand years ago. His redemption came soon afterwards and Kyp rose up through the ranks to become a member of the Order's new Jedi Council.
Wishing to change the subject, Tenel Ka motioned her only hand to Kyp. "Perhaps we should go elsewhere to talk."
Kyp nodded at the Queen Mother's request. "Very well." The Jedi Master took notice of the exit placed at the far side of the hangar. He gestured an arm towards the closest exist of the hangar. "This way."
The Queen Mother proceeded towards the exit with the Jedi Master walking at her side. Both female Hapan guards and male Galactic Alliance soldiers flanked the two on their right and left, respectively. As they walked, Kyp could not help but feel a strange vibe in the Force that made his eyes dart through the entire hangar.
The hangar was filled with multiple staff as well as multiple starfighters, many of which had been used by the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War such as X-Wings and Y-Wings. However, they were also joined a few StealthXs, upgraded versions of the X-Wing model that were only meant for Jedi to pilot. The pilots attended to their fighters, joined by technicians, both organic and droids.
"I've heard Master Solo-Fel has been living within Imperial space," Tenel Ka said, catching Kyp's attention.
Bringing his eyes to the Queen Mother, Kyp could see Tenel Ka herself inspecting the hangar as well. Her pacing had not changed, but the Force allowed Kyp to sense she had suspicion as he did. Tenel Ka's eyes slowly darted around from one person to the next in the hangar.
Not trying to catch anyone's attention, Kyp turned his attention to the hangar's exit as he answered, "I'm afraid we haven't had much contact with her for the past few weeks. The last we heard of her, she was with her husband on Bastion."
The name of the Imperial Remnant's capital brought a small tinge of worry to Tenel Ka, but she concealed it. The Queen Mother turned her eyes away the technicians and pilots and to the Jedi Master as she showed a hint of curiosity at news of her old friend. "How is she doing?"
Momentarily, Kyp look at the former Jedi and could sense the concern in her question, which was no surprise to the Jedi Master. Jedi Master Jaina Solo-Fel and Tenel Ka were good friends ever since they trained together on Yavin IV.
He simply answered. "There have been some tensions with her and the moffs, but things have been easy for her." Kyp's lip turned into a smirk. "Being married to the head of the Imperial Remnant would do that."
The Queen Mother agreed with that, but her concern was still eminent. True, Jaina was married to the head of the Imperial Remnant, but the moffs under Fel were known for their 'personal differences' with the Jedi Order. The moffs would likely try to get rid of Jaina so she would not get in the way of their plans.
"Perhaps..." Tenel Ka's voice stopped and her footsteps came to a halt.
Through the Force Kyp could sense the danger and so did the Queen Mother as the two quickly grabbed their lightsabers. Thumbing the switch on her rancor tooth hilt, Tenel Ka's blue lightsaber activated in time to send a blaster bolt into the floor in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, Tenel Ka could see Kyp's own lightsaber come to life, the violet blade blazing in the air.
Both the Jedi Master and the Queen Mother turn their attention to the one who fired the shot, as did both the Hapan Royal Guards and the Galactic Alliance soldiers. The seeming assassin had hidden himself amongst the others in the hangar, donning the typical gray outfit of starfighter technicians. In his hand was a blaster pistol with smoking rising from the barrel.
One of the Galactic Alliance guards took a step forward towards the assassin, but another blaster bolt struck him in chest. The guard's body fell onto the floor and the other guards immediately saw that the blast came from another technician who held a blaster as well. The other guards immediately raised their blasters at the assassins.
The few shots that came next turned into multiple as blaster fire was exchanged between the coalition of Galactic Alliance soldiers and Hapan royal guards, and the assassins. "Protect the Queen Mother!" one of the Hapan royal guards shouted over the blaster fire.
The Queen Mother the royal guards tried to protect was already doing well on her own, swinging away her lightsaber at the assassins' fire. The Jedi Master beside her did the same, deflecting the blaster fire away from himself and Tenel Ka. Kyp seemed to really help when he noticed another barrage of fire coming from the other side of the hangar. The source of it were the other technicians, each of them firing away their blasters at the two Jedi and their guards.
Two lightsabers, one blue and the other violet, deflected the blaster fire coming at them from both sides and it seemed that there would be no escape. That was until Kyp decided to take the advance and rush towards the assassins on the left side of the hangar. A push from the Force sent him towards the assassins like a speeding starfighter, and it was the Force that guided the Jedi Master to avoid the blaster bolts. The assassins were too late to do anything as Kyp's lightsaber found its way into the body of the closest assassin. As that assassin fell, Kyp went for the next one and then the next one.
On the other side of the hangar, one of the assassins took notice of the Jedi Master's action to his comrades. One by one, the assassins numbers had been reduced to half as Kyp cut them down. The assassin tried to raise his blaster, but a blue flash sliced off the barrel, rending the weapon useless. Soon, the blue flash stopped at his neck, revealing it to really be a blue lightsaber. The heat of her lightsaber fell on the assassin's neck and he could see its point a hair's breadth away from his skin.
Turning his head around, the assassin saw the lightsaber held in the palm of the one he had been sent to kill. The look on Queen Mother's face was one that had seen many conflicts and battles in her life time. Tenel Ka's eyes shone with determination as she spoke "I suggest you surrender."
The assassin gave his target a small glare before he reached his free hand to his belt. The Queen Mother's eyes widen at the sight of a thermal detonator within the hand of the assassin, who did not hesitate to activate it. The detonator discharged a burst of energy meant for its target. Tenel Ka managed to erect of barrier of the Force to protect herself, but the energy of the explosion sent the Queen Mother towards the transparisteel floors of the hangar.
The sound of the explosion that followed caught Kyp's attention as the Jedi Master whirled his head around. Kyp could see a large cloud of smoke filling the other side of the hangar and he sprinted towards it with another push from the Force. He sensed the Queen Mother's presence within the cloud of smoke and it was not that long until he came across Tenel Ka lying on the floor with the burnt corpse of the assassin across from the Queen Mother. There had been no burns on her, much to Kyp's relief, and he saw her slowly get up on her knees.
Approaching the Queen Mother, Kyp asked, "Are you alright?"
Though a little weary from the blast of the explosion, Tenel Ka nodded. "I'm fine," she replied as she slowly stood.
Both of them turned their attention away from each other and towards the rest of the hangar. The smoke from the explosion had cleared, allowing Tenel Ka and Kyp could see the Galactic Alliance soldiers and the Hapan Royal guard fanning out. There had been no sign of the remaining assassins. Almost as if they disappeared.
One of the Galactic Alliance soldiers approached the pair. "The assassins have escaped, master Jedi," the Galactic Alliance soldier reported.
Frustration rose in the Jedi, but he quickly suppressed and began giving out orders. "Have the entire ship on lockdown! I don't want another ship to get in or out until we've searched this entire ship!"
The soldier immediately left to convey his orders to his fellow soldiers, and Kyp turned to the Queen Mother. "I must speak with the Jedi Council about this," he informed her. "They must be informed about this."
Tenel Ka nodded. "I will come along as well."
The first thought for Kyp was to have argued, yet he decided against it. The Jedi master said, "Very well."
With that, both the Jedi Master and the Queen Mother immediately left the hangar and towards the nearest communications array. Hopefully, they would find a way to get into the bottom of this recent assassination attempt.
AN: Okay that's it! I know this isn't written that well, but I was in a bit of a rush. Hopefully, if anyone takes up with this fic, it'll be written a lot better. Now this was actually going to be a fic I planned to post, but I eventually gave it up because I was busy with classes and my other fics.
Now then, please leave your comments and thoughts in the reviews and if you have any criticism, please let it be constructive. Also, this it up for adoption. If anyone wants it, please send me a PM or let me know in the reviews. Thank you.
Raika out!