Summary: The fight and struggles of the Mandalorian House of Rook on Concord Dawn as they resist the Empire in the weeks and months following the Battle of Yavin and work to protect themselves and their people. Episodic series. Prequel to my Shadow Wars Universe. AU. Episode summaries at beginning of each episode.
Advisory: I strongly advise you go to my profile and make sure you've read the House of Rook Pilot Episode so that you are up to speed and aware of the universe and the lore I've established as well as so you're familiar with the characters.
Disclaimer: I own several OCs but the franchise rightfully belongs to the fans. This story draws inspirations primarily from Karen Traviss's Republic Commando novels, The Mandalorian, the Bad Batch, Rebels, and even the Freemaker Adventures to some degree.
This story is a prequel/spinoff to my existing Star Wars Fanfiction Series that is presently on indefinite hiatus - Star Wars: the Shadow Wars. You don't really need to know the details of that universe to get this one as the majority of the Shadow Wars occurs 28 years after Yavin. This series takes place concurrently with the Original Trilogy. The key things you need to know are this: The Force Unleashed video game is very canon and follows the Light Side ending but with one key exception that will likely come up later. The Yuuzhan Vong don't exist, Only Rebels Season One is canon, and the Final Season of The Clone Wars is non-canon specifically as it pertains to Ahsoka and Rex. That's all you really need to know. I would advise you read at least the first few chapters of my story "Marek's Rebellion" to better understand the universe as it exists compared to the mainstream Star Wars Saga but it ultimately isn't necessary (and admittedly, Marek's Rebellion is only some of my earlier work and I'm not quite as proud of it as I am subsequent releases).
Additionally, I don't count Disney Star Wars as canon barring a few exceptions. I don't view the stories they've come up with as canon for the most part (Specifically the sequels and Solo as I have several issues with those stories. The Bad Batch, the Mandalorian, and the last season of the Clone Wars I don't count either but only due to them conflicting with the lore of the universe I already have established and with partial exceptions made for Rebels and Rogue One) but I'll gladly use and probably will be using some of the different locations, species, technology (including ships, droids, vehicles, weapons etc) that they've created. It's a case-by-case basis but the rule of thumb is to assume we're going off of the Pre-Disney Expanded Universe and assuming that is canon unless otherwise stated.
Translation Advisory: As the main cast and main setting of this show heavily involves Mandalorians, there will be regular use of Mandalorian terms and phrases as they are derived from Karen Traviss's Mandalorian Dictionary. It is strongly advised that you have the Mando'a Dictionary (found at MandoCreator dot com) handy to quickly look up terms and phrases. There are a few words that I've created but they can be translated fairly easily.
Author's Notes: The family and thus the story was born from a family I created in the Sims 4. A friend of mine had gifted me the Journey to Batuu update and I am always looking to improve my game with mods and so I ended up creating a family of Mandalorians with it, with all but the youngest child having their own Mandalorian armor. From there a story just seemed to morph around the characters. Finally, I decided to put the story down and let the adventures of House Rook come to life, and to tell their story.
The Pilot Episode should be read first before you start reading this though. It can be found on my profile page.
That all being said, enjoy…
Season 1
Episode 1 – Freedom Cry
With the Empire thrown into chaos following the Battle of Yavin, and with Concord Dawn's Imperial Governor among the dead of the Death Star, the city of Ve'vut Bral has found itself free of the Empire thanks to the local efforts of the House of Rook, but will they and their allies be able to keep this freedom? The Rooks must now work out a plan to preserve this freedom and perhaps help to gain freedom for others within the Galaxy!
Ve'vut Bral – Concord Dawn – Mandalore Sector
Population: 40,000 - Estimated
Current Status: Liberated
It was midday and the smoke continued to rise from the city hall area of the city. Only now the fire was not from destroyed equipment, but from the shrouded bodies of the dead being tossed onto a large pyre. The dead were all stormtroopers and Imperial officers, including the local Imperial Minister and the school headmistress that had been killed during the Rooks' escape. The pyre was being tended to by two squads of stormtroopers, all disarmed, and one Imperial officer who sat in a disheveled state. He had messy brown hair, a clear stubble beard, his uniform was worn open and uneven, his rank plaque crooked and uniform cap sitting on a crate next to him as he took sips of a flask. The officer had the rank insignia for a second lieutenant. As he sat, he saw three shadows approach and loom over him. He looked up to see three armored Mandalorians standing over him. The lieutenant sighed and took a swig.
"I was wondering when you would show up." He replied.
"We're here to negotiate the terms of your surrender, Imperial." Cyril Glebbins, one of the councilmen, said.
"It's unconditional." The lieutenant replied.
"That was almost too easy." Jil Veska, another of the councilmen, and a Mandalorian Armorer, commented.
"After what happened to my family, the Empire can burn in…in…what's that place you Mandos call hell?" the lieutenant asked.
"Malachor?" Krios Geht a third councilor, asked, the lieutenant nodding and taking another swig of his flask.
"Yeah. They can burn in Malachor for all I care." The lieutenant said.
"Quite a change. I wasn't expecting this attitude. I was expecting defiance…or cowardice, from you Imperial types." Glebbins said but Veska suspected something.
"What happened to your family?" Veska asked.
"In a word, Alderaan." The officer replied, taking a large swig of his flask, the three Mandalorians exchanging glances, their expressions unreadable due to their helmets.
"I see. And what of your men?" Glebbins asked as one of the stormtroopers approached, removing his helmet, tucking it under one arm and saluting them.
"We've all surrendered. We'd be foolish to try and fight all of you, especially without any reinforcements. Besides, some of us are conscripts and are seeing this as a chance for freedom." The trooper reported.
"If it's freedom you want, it is freedom you'll have. But not until we're sure you're not Imperials just waiting to back stab us." Geht said as the trooper gave a nod.
"That's fair. Some of us are insisting on being treated as prisoners. They're the loyalists and have been confined to the detention block so as not to jeopardize our survival." The trooper replied.
"We'll take care of them. Add them to the pyre. We can't take any chances." Geht said.
"This freedom was won accidentally and likely isn't to last. But we'll hold onto it for as long as we can." Veska added. They then heard a jetpack overhead and looked to see a blue armored Mandalorian dropping down nearby.
"Ah, Gio. I was wondering if you'd come." Glebbins said as Giordo Rook removed his helmet, tucking it under his arm.
"I want that funeral pyre put out right now!" he ordered, startling the others.
"You what?" Veska asked.
"We're just disposing of the evidence. If the Empire were to pass through-…" Geht said but Giordo nodded.
"I know. But we need to be smart about this. Crafty. We need to make it seem to the Empire that all of this was an accident." Gio said.
"I presume you have a plan, alor Rook?" Glebbins asked.
"Yes. But for it to work, we need bodies. Not necessarily Headmistress Suul's and Minister Marson's though. We also need to stop any and all salvage operations within the city hall, with exceptions made for any destroyed equipment like that shuttle on the roof. That needs to go. Similarly, we need their communications array repaired." Gio said.
"Repaired? You're gonna need to go into more detail of what we're doing here, Gio." Veska said.
"Ever heard of a Neimoidian Village?" Gio asked.
"A Neimoidian Vi-…ah I get it now." Glebbins, the older of the four said.
"Well I don't." Geht commented.
"It's a well known incident. Decades ago, long before the Clone Wars, the Trade Federation repossessed a small colony. The sapient rights abuses there were horrifying to the Republic. To try and deny it was happening, the Neimoidians invited a Republic Delegation to inspect one of the villages on the planet. The Neimoidians filled the village with their collaborators and more pliable prisoners to pantomime a happy and functional village, showing the 'benevolence' of their invaders." Glebbins explained.
"Ah I think I get what you're going for. We're going to masquerade like the Empire's still here." Geht said as Gio nodded.
"Yes. But we best explain that later. Not in the presence of the prisoners." Gio said, eyeing the stormtroopers nearby as the funeral pyre was put out.
"Agreed." Veska said as the Imperial Lieutenant stood up, swaying lightly from his inebriation.
"If you need me to do anything, Mando, you can count me in." the lieutenant said.
"Unexpected. Why would you help us?" Gio asked, Veska leaning in towards him.
"Alderaan." Veska muttered. Gio grimaced internally but hid it from his face.
"I see. Alright then Lieutenant, if you want to assist, we will allow it. But mark my words, one false move and you'll live to regret it." Gio warned.
"Save your threats, Mando. I already have lived to regret ever signing on with the Empire. I just want to know one thing. Are you planning on hitting the Empire where it hurts?" the Lieutenant asked.
"We plan on continuing to oppose the Empire, yes. How far that will go is still a matter of conjecture and speculation right now." Gio replied.
"Good enough for me. I want the Empire to pay for taking away everything and everyone I ever loved." The lieutenant said as Gio nodded.
"Then we will see to it you get that chance. Come with us, Lieutenant. We're going to need you sober and alert for this conversation." Gio said as the Lieutenant gave a nod, starting to follow the Mandalorians away, several more armored Mandalorians approaching to oversee their prisoners.
"I've been meaning to ask, Rook, but how's your family after the whole incident?" Geht asked.
"We're fine. I think the spoils we took from the Empire as recompence are sufficient." Gio replied.
"Spoils? What spoils would that be?" Glebbins asked as Gio checked his gauntlet chronometer.
"Well right now, I think my wife's bringing it in for a detailing. It's going to cost us a bit though. It's quite the tall order…a tall and very long order." Gio replied, the other three Mandalorians and the Imperial Lieutenant looking at each other curiously.
…
On the edge of the city there was a large facility. The facility flew the flag of House Rook and was an old military vehicle yard that predated the Clone Wars, having been built within the past century but kept up well. Its exterior walls were made of the familiar sand colored stone and any military defenses had been removed. Colorful banners flapped in the breeze as kitschy Cantina-esque music played on loudspeakers over the lot. A large sign over the facility's entrance read "Numbar's Speeder Shop and Customization Yard" but it was known colloquially as "Numbar's Yard." All across the yard facing the dusty plains of Concord Dawn, were sectioned off covered areas where speeders and other privately owned vehicles were being repaired and repainted.
The owner, a human man, Numbar himself, was an older man in his mid-late fifties with a bald head with greying bushy beard while his build was a short and stocky type. As he walked through the yard, he heard a loud horn blaring from the desert side of the yard. He turned and saw a large black colored Imperial Juggernaut rolling up alongside the yard. Numbar sighed warily.
"Cut the music boys and shape up, we've got Imps!" Numbar yelled as the music was abruptly shut off. Some of the employees, consisting of a few people and droids started to meander out from the work areas as the juggernaut came to a stop with a hiss and a squeal of its brakes. A door on the side of the juggernaut soon opened, a set of boarding steps extending downward, but Numbar and his crew were quietly startled as they saw a pair of Mandalorians emerging. One was a yellow armored Mandalorian shocktrooper woman with an orange bodyglove, another was a green armored Mandalorian man with a blue bodyglove, followed by a ten year old girl with black hair that had been dyed blue at the ends, and finally a Mandalorian woman with white armor and a grey bodyglove. A red R3 unit disembarked as well, following behind them. Numbar was startled and confused as the white armored woman approached him.
"Numbar? You alright? You seem surprised." Jayna Rook, the Matriarch of House Rook said as the man blinked and fumbled into a respectful bow.
"Ah! Lady Rook, I wasn't expecting-…well, no, I was expecting you but-…" he stammered as Jayna chuckled in amusement.
"Relax, Numbar. It was my fault for springing this on you. Its transmitter is damaged I'm afraid so our message probably got a bit spotty." Jayna said, removing her helmet, allowing her jaw-length and lightly curled brown hair to hang down.
"I had heard the Juggernaut at city hall had gone missing but I didn't…ah never mind, how may my clan serve the house?" Numbar asked with another bow which Jayna returned.
"We need an estimate on repainting and modifying this old juggernaut. House Rook has claimed it as reparations from the Empire. How long and how much do you suppose it will take to repaint it and modify it to our specifications?" Jayna asked as the crew relaxed, the music starting up again as the crew returned to work.
"Well that would depend on the specifications. I'd need to know what model it is so I can get the blueprints, although given that it's Imperial it might prove difficult to acquire." Numbar said as Jayna nodded and turned to her son, the green armored Mandalorian, motioning for him to step forward.
"We've already taken care of that for you, Numbar. We have the schematics right here, along with our desired specifications. She's a HCVw A9 by the way. The smaller troop transport model, not the larger A6 model." Kaden Rook, the middle child and only son of House Rook said, handing over a small packet to Numbar. Numbar grinned and chuckled.
"Ah, Kaden leave it to you to acquire this information." He said as he pulled a data cylinder from the packet, plugging it into a datapad on a tether at his side, looking over the schematics that appeared on the pad.
"Well when one of his hobbies is studying old war machine schematics, it comes in handy sometimes. Although I'm still waiting on my special order." Janie Rook, the yellow and orange armored warrior and the firstborn of the House commented. Kaden merely shook his head.
"I'm not building you a basilisk. We've got Tina for that." Kaden muttered. The youngest of the House, Giana "Gia" Rook, the one with the black and blue hair, was resting her arms and head on R3-Z7's dome, bored.
"It'll take a while for me to compare the blueprints and preferred specs and come up with a hard figure but I can already tell you this is a tall order ma'am. You'd probably be smarter to scrap it and take the credits. Besides don't these things have Imperial Tracking Beacons?" Numbar asked, still looking over the schematics.
"It used to. We used it as skeet for target practice." Jan commented.
"Rocket skeet shooting more specifically." Kaden added. Numbar chuckled and put away the datapad.
"I'm sure. Would you like me to get back to you on the pricing, Lady Rook?" Numbar asked as Jayna gave a nod.
"That's what I was expecting. She shouldn't need much work on the repair end. The Imps aren't exactly known for being careless." Jayna said as Numbar nodded.
"Alright then. I should have a figure for you by tonight, if not tomorrow morning." He said.
"That will be fine. This is a no rush job." Jayna said as Numbar glanced at the Imperial insignia on the side of the juggernaut's hull.
"Maybe not to you, milady, but I'd rather avoid having the Empire try and arrest me for receipt of stolen goods. But once I can get it over to Lot Five we'll be able to relax a bit." Numbar replied as Jayna gave a nod.
"If you need any help with the Empire, rest assured that House Rook will take care of it." Jayna said.
"Of that I have little doubt. Vode an, milady." Numbar said as Jayna gave a nod.
"Vode an." Jayna replied, putting on her helmet as Numbar walked past her with a small crew towards the juggernaut, leaving Jayna and her kin to themselves.
"Alright so the two of you had your own things to do in town, yes?" Jayna asked.
"Meeting up with Jexxa and Jacki at the cantina. Not sure what plans we have after that." Jan replied.
"Meeting up with Aska at the cantina too and then probably going out. May not be home until later tonight." Kaden replied.
"Going to grab a carton of Mando Mix and then make kissy noises at Kaden and Aska until they start shooting at me." Gia said matter-of-factly as Kaden glared at her.
"Cantina has an age restriction. No foundlings allowed." Kaden stated bluntly.
"But that's just Imperial rules right?" Gia asked with a hopeful smile.
"That's Mando'ade rules, vod'ika." Kaden replied with his arms crossed.
"So in other words, Gia, you're coming with me and R3. Gotta have someone pay for the Mando Mix after all." Jayna said as Gia sighed.
"Fi~ine." She moaned.
"If anyone needs a ride home, your father has the speeder and we'll be meeting up this afternoon to head home. Please don't use your jetpacks too much. Fuel gets expensive." Jayna said to the other two.
"What's dad doing anyway?" Jan asked.
"Trying to cover our tracks for the most part." Jayna said softly.
"What are you going to be doing, mom?" Kaden asked.
"Doing a little shopping. Pick up a few things we're short on." Jayna replied.
"Alright. See you later then." Jan said as she and Kaden backed away slightly before taking to the air on their jetpacks. Jayna, Gia, and R3 started for the main entrance to Numbah's Yard. As the three exited, Jayna noticed her youngest was looking up at her curiously.
"What?" Jayna asked.
"When are you going to tell us more about Ana-Jy Lys? The woman you were before you became a Mandalorian?" Gia asked. Jayna smiled at her from beneath her helmet.
"Keep that name to yourself, Gia. But I'll tell you more about her tonight. I promise. In the meantime, R3…" Jayna said, reaching into her pocket. R3 immediately chirped to attention.
"…I'm giving you the credits for Gia's Mando Mix. Don't let her go overboard." Jayna said as R3 beeped his affirmative, popping one of the panels on the top of his dome open briefly in his own sort of salute before he and Gia turned to head down the busy streets of Ve'vut Bral. Jayna watched them depart before she stepped in among the crowds, walking in the opposite direction.
Jayna soon reached a building built adjacent one of the city's AA towers, the building decorated in corporate banners for several droid companies, namely Industrial Automaton and Cybot Galactica although this was more-or-less to show that the shop sold and serviced droids from both companies. The House banner flying from the building was that of House Geht. Jayna walked in through the doors, a door chime signaling her arrival. Behind the counter stood a human boy in his early teens, tinkering with a battered MSE droid. The boy put down the tools as he noticed Jayna entering.
"Buir! We've a customer!" the boy called as an older man emerged from the back of the shop, wearing an apron and welding gloves with the goggles around his neck. He had a hideous scar along the left side of his face, his entire left eye missing and his greying hair not growing on the side.
"Lady Rook, this is an unexpected surprise. To what do we owe the pleasure?" the man asked as Jayna removed her helmet.
"I'm in the market for some parts and training remotes actually." Jayna said as the older man gave a nod and limped over towards a nearby wall of assorted droid parts, an old protocol droid sitting inactive against a large chest of drawers.
"Training remotes eh? I've got a few. Traded a Mantillian freighter Captain for these just a few months ago. They've been thoroughly checked over though. I stake my reputation on it." The man said, opening the drawer to reveal it full of at least six spherical white droids with small blasters built into their spherical bodies.
"These look in good condition. They're the Marksman-H Model, correct?" Jayna asked, picking up one of the remotes, looking it over.
"Exactly. You seem to know your remotes, milady." The owner asked. Jayna smiled a little.
"Actually I just have some experience with remotes like this." She said, smiling at the remote as she became lost in thought.
…
Thirty-Two Years ago…
Jedi Temple Practice Room – Coruscant.
A young girl around seven years old, with straight long brown hair, with a thin long braid dangling down the back, stood looking at a Marksman-H model droid remote in one hand, holding a training lightsaber in the other at her side. As she looked at the sphere, she heard the wooden tapping of a cane approaching.
"Something the matter, there is?" a voice asked from nearby. The girl turned and saw the diminutive green skinned Jedi Grand Master looking at her with a gentle smile on his wrinkled face.
"No, Master Yoda. I was just making sure I didn't damage my remote just now." She said, handing the remote to Yoda who looked the device over and then chuckled.
"Worry, you should not. Okay, it is. Damage it, you did not. Harder than it looks, it is." Yoda said, handing it back to her.
"I just wanted to be sure. I hit it pretty hard. I didn't mean to hit it either." The girl said.
"Troubled by this, you are, young one?" Yoda asked as the girl nodded meekly.
"The Code says we're only supposed to take a life if we're attacked first, and the droid hadn't shot at me yet." The girl said as Yoda chuckled.
"But threatened, you knew you were. Knew the droid would attack, you did, yes?" Yoda asked as the girl nodded again.
"Yes, Master." She replied.
"Knowing when to take a life, difficult it is. Easy, it never becomes. Live with one's decisions and actions, one must." Yoda said as they heard a pair of footsteps approaching from behind.
"You must trust yourself to make the right decision as much as you trust the Force to guide you, young Ana-Jy." A voice that the girl recognized said behind her. She turned with an excited smile and looked up to see an older human man with a beard and goatee and long brown hair. Next to him was a young man with short hair and a Padawan's braid.
"Master Qui-Gon!" Ana-Jy exclaimed, rushing to the Jedi Master and throwing her arms around his waist. Qui-Gon smiled and pet her head.
"How goes your training, Ana-Jy? Are you listening to Master Yoda and heeding his wisdom, little one?" Qui-Gon asked as Ana-Jy backed up and bowed respectfully to him.
"Yes master." She replied as Yoda stepped up, letting out a chuckle of amusement.
"A good listener, she is." Yoda said, Qui-Gon looking towards him.
"I apologize for the intrusion, Master Yoda, but your message said it was urgent. I believe it mentioned the current blockade at Naboo." Qui-Gon said.
"Urgent, it is, Master Qui-Gon. But for young ears, this conversation is not." Yoda said, looking to Ana-Jy. Ana-Jy could tell that she was about to be dismissed. Qui-Gon knelt down to her level.
"We will speak again, Ana-Jy. Until then, you need to continue your training." Qui-Gon said as Ana-Jy gave a sad smile and a nod.
"Yes, Master." She replied, bowing to him.
"May the Force be with you, Ana-Jy Lys." Qui-Gon said before turning towards his Padawan.
"Obi-Wan, would you escort Ana-Jy to her room?" Qui-Gon asked, the young man nodding.
"Yes, master." Obi-Wan Kenobi replied with a smile, putting his hand to Ana-Jy's back to gently nudge her along. As they walked away, Obi-Wan noticed Ana-Jy looking back over her shoulder towards Qui-Gon as he and Yoda began a private conversation.
…
Back in the present, Jayna looked down at the remote in her hand as she stood outside the droid shop, a metal case at her side, quietly recalling the last time she ever saw the man who brought her to the Jedi Order.
"Ana-Jy." She heard a familiar voice echo in her mind. She looked around but saw no one. After a moment she sighed, placing the remote in the case along with three other remotes and some assorted droid parts, before starting back up the street.
…
Across town, the local Cantina, Ni Ganar Te Bral, or simply Te Bral Cantina was a large round building with a similar architecture to a Hutt Palace only it was much shorter in height and shared its second-floor exterior walkways with a neighboring apartment complex, the walkway bridging the street, with outdoor public seating for anyone to use. The Cantina's interior was predominantly made up of one large round room with a single circular bartop in the center of the cantina. The drink dispensers and mixers were attached to a central column that ran to the ceiling, creating a strange sort of jellyfish appearance of tubes, hoses, and pipes arching down and inward towards the bar counter. The edges of the cantina were lined with booths and seating save for one area where a stage for live bands was located. Tables and chairs were setup around the cantina while a droid-scanner was setup near the door.
At present the crowd was fairly moderate in size and had a casual feeling as a hologram of the Max Rebo band provided music to the crowd of patrons. For Jan and Kaden this was a good atmosphere. The two stepped over to a large metal rack guarded by a Mandalorian in black and red armor, a skull motif to his helmet as they removed their jetpacks.
"He~ey, Jan, Kaden. Heard you two got snatched by the shebs buy'ce the other day." The guard said as the two set their jetpacks on the rack, attaching refueling tubes to them and depositing credits into a device attached to the tubing, the tubes beginning to shake a little as fuel began to flow into the jetpacks.
"Fewer questions asked about it, the better Manui." Kaden said, Jan removing her helmet, nodding in agreement.
"Hey, my lips are sealed. May want to go check on Aska, Kaden. She's been a bit anxious ever since she heard you got captured." Manui said, Kaden giving a nod and removing his helmet, hurrying down towards one of the tables. Jan watched him hurry towards a rutian Twi'lek girl just slightly older than Kaden in a simple but stylish serving dress. She turned around before he reached her and saw him, setting down the serving tray she had been carrying to hurry towards him and throwing her arms around him, the two kissing immediately. Jan chuckled in amusement.
"I think she missed him. Call me psychic." Jan deadpanned, earning an amused snort from Manui as he turned away, returning to his duties as the door-guard. Jan then surveyed the room briefly before noticing the people she was looking for. An Ovissian woman with filed down horns and an Umbaran woman with black dyed hair and black lip stain, sitting in a booth, both in Mandalorian armor. Jan headed towards them, the two noticing her approach.
"Jan! Su cuy'gar! I don't believe it!" the Umbaran laughed as she sat back. Her armor was predominantly a glossy black with a grey bodyglove and highlights on the armor. Her helmet had a skull motif similar to Manui's by the door but black with a grey wolf insignia on the left cheek. The Ovissian's armor was a rusty red color with a blue starburst pattern on the dome of her specially designed helmet. Both their helmets were on the table.
"It takes more than an electroguillotine to take me down." Jan remarked as she plopped down in a seat facing them.
"So the rumors of you getting hauled off were true?" Jexxa Orar, the Ovissian, asked.
"As true as beskar. Luckily no measly detention block could hold me." Jan said as a blue colored WA-7 Serving Droid rolled up with a tray of drinks.
"We ordered you the usual just in case you showed up." Jacki Wolff, the Umbaran, commented as the droid set down the drinks in front of them.
"Much appreciated." Jan replied, picking up her drink, filled with a fizzing red liquid that was letting off a light layer of white mist.
"So how'd you escape…you know, for future reference." Jacki asked. Jan took a sip, looking straight ahead, briefly flashing back to the sight of her mother, wielding her Jedi weapon against the Imperials.
"Well…credit where credit is due. My mother gets the credit for our escape." Jan replied soberly.
"Hey, I've seen your mom in the battle circle. She's no slouch. She taught you to fight didn't she?" Jexxa asked.
"Yeah, she did. But she didn't teach me everything." Jan replied, taking another sip.
"So I suppose this means the end of the Empire in these parts, huh?" Jacki asked, sipping her drink.
"At least for a while. They'll be back." Jan said.
"And they'll take it out on us. And if Alderaan is any indication of what they do to the compliant planets…" Jexxa muttered worriedly.
"You think they'll try and pulverize Concord Dawn?" Jacki asked curiously.
"Maybe not the whole planet. The Rebellion took away the Empire's planet killer." Jan said but Jacki briefly choked on her drink.
"Oh get real, Rook. We all saw the hologram from Jexxa's dad. That battle station was the size of a kriffin' moon! How would the Rebels be able to stand a chance against something like that?!" Jacki asked.
"Don't take it from me. Take it from the Rebels. And with the way the Empire's been acting, they're buzzing around like someone dropped a live torpedo down a Geonosian hive. That station got blown up and took the Governor plus a whole mess of Imperial brass with it." Jan said as Jexxa glanced towards Jacki.
"She's right. Nothing short of a major upset like that could have shaken things up to this degree. What better time to strike? Whether the Rebels did it or not, bottom line, Empire took a major blow." Jexxa said as Jacki shrugged, taking another sip of her drink.
"Alright, it makes sense I suppose. But the Rebels? Yeah right." Jacki said.
"Is it so impossible to believe though? We Mandalorians have been known to win against overwhelming odds before, in many cases throughout our history." Jan argued.
"But the Rebels aren't Mando'ade. They're a ragtag band of dissidents. Plus we've got plenty of firepower." Jacki argued back, Jan giving her a blank stare.
"My vintage Clone Wars E-5C would like to challenge that assertion. Our tech is no more advanced than whatever the Rebels have. Only real advantage we have by comparison is our beskar and training." Jan said.
"And the Rebels' conviction to their cause is no different than our own. Even the Kyr'tsad had conviction to rise against both Mereel's True Mando'ade and the Kryze Duchy during the Clone Wars." Jexxa added.
"I'm not denying that. I'm just doubting that the Rebels pulled off such a major feat…if it was accomplished at all. What if we've just misread something and the Empire still has that planet killer?" Jacki asked.
"It's possible." Jexxa muttered.
"Well, the only way to find out for sure is if we went straight to the Yavin system and found out. That's supposedly where the battle took place so unless we get evidence from someplace else, we're just spinning theories." Jan said as Jacki and Jexxa exchanged curious looks.
"Not necessarily." Jexxa said with a thoughtful expression.
"What've you got in mind, Orar?" Jan asked.
"There's an Imperial Communications outpost about twelve kilometers due west of here. It relays and transmits all Imperial military transmissions and data packets across the planet and throughout most of the sector. If we could tap into it, we could get all the information we need to find out what really happened at Yavin." Jexxa explained.
"Sounds good to me. But we've got one problem. The House Decree forbidding all clans from acting against the Empire, not without expressed permission from the Head of the House. Imps don't know about it but it's kept their butts from getting spaced." Jacki said.
"And ours too. Empire would turn around and Base Delta Zero our shebs in an instant if we rose up." Jan said.
"Maybe you should ask your House Heads then."
The three turned to see Kaden sitting at a neighboring table, Aska sitting across his lap with an arm around his shoulder while he had one arm around her waist, the other was resting on the back of his chair.
"I'm going to assume you've been eavesdropping long enough to hear what we've been saying, vod." Jan said as Kaden shrugged.
"Only every word since you started mentioning the outpost." Kaden said.
"We'd need a slicer if the houses approved. You in?" Jacki asked.
"Sure." Kaden replied.
"Well that was easy." Jexxa remarked.
"I see it as a chance for revenge for their nearly cutting my head off, plus an opportunity to, maybe, get my hands on some new schematics and blueprints…preferably of the classified variety." Kaden said with a smirk as Aska chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.
"Make sure you shoot some of their troopers for me. Make them pay for what they nearly did to my peedunkee pateessa." Aska said, kissing Kaden on the forehead. Aska spoke with a heavy Twi'lek accent. Jan rolled her eyes.
"Mand'alor's sake, just say the vows already and get a room." Jan grumbled, earning a scowl from Aska.
"Beeogola Nechaska." Aska muttered, causing Kaden to tense up in alarm as Jan choked on her drink and then turned slowly back around.
"You wanna translate that one for me, vod?" Jan asked, fingering a knife and side-eyeing Aska.
"She called you a lovely woman." Kaden lied.
"No she didn't." Jexxa and Jacki both sniggered.
"Uh, before we have an attempted murder on our hands, let's first consider bringing this plan to the House Heads. They'll probably shoot it down anyway." Kaden said as Jan backed down, sheathing her knife.
"Eh, doesn't hurt to ask. They'll probably just say to krif off and that'll be it." Jacki said.
…
"Permission granted." Giordo Rook said to the four stunned Mandalorian youths as they stood before him and the other House Heads for Houses Veska, Geht, and Glebbins in the main room of the Rook Homestead. Jayna and Gia sat at the nearby countertop, sharing a carton of Mando Mix while R3 and the other Rook family droid, a heavily modified Super Battle Droid, TN-4 or "Tina" stood nearby. Aska hadn't joined them.
"Wait, what?" Kaden asked, startled.
"With the Communications Array and computer systems fried at the old City Hall, we've lost access to the Empire's communications and data network. If we can regain access, we'd be able to spy on the Empire's actions and perhaps gain advance notice in case they attempt to come towards Ve'vut Bral. Slicing into that tower would give us greater access to their network than the tower here at city hall would." Gio said as Jexxa staggered back a bit.
"Okay but we just wanted to go to settle an argument. As piss poor a reason as ever to commit an act that'd get us the firing squad if ever there was one." Jexxa said.
"Be that as it may, regaining access is integral to our plans for maintaining a free Ve'vut Bral. We've already secured the cooperation, if not loyalty of the remaining Imperials. Most of them were conscripts or demotions anyway." Veska added.
"And once we showed them the footage of that Imperial Battle Station destroying Alderaan, a good number of them threw down their uniforms and rank plaques. The rest we have incarcerated under Mandalorian guard pending execution as an added precaution." Geht said.
"Well, in that case, what's the plan?" Jacki asked as Jayna stood up.
"That outpost was established at the end of the Clone Wars when the Empire invaded the sector. If we're lucky, they'll still be using the same Clone War era tech to operate it, so it should have all the same hardware security faults from back then too. So slicing the network won't be hard. All you'll need is an Imperial code cylinder with the right permissions' set. The Late Minister happened to have one so we can spoof the permissions easily, right Kaden?" Jayna asked as Kaden pondered.
"Give me the cylinder and a blank one and give me five minutes tops." Kaden said, pulling out a datapad from his side. Gio placed a pair of code cylinders on the table, Kaden picking them up and plugging one in to the datapad before sitting down at the countertop.
"Won't take but a second." Kaden said.
"What about security? I imagine once they see us flying in they'll hit the alarms and we'd have every garrison on the planet headed towards us." Jan commented.
"We can't fly in. My dad has to chart a flightpath that puts a good ten kilometers between him and that outpost whenever he takes flight. Says there's six turbolaser AA batteries set up. We'd be shot down before we even got close." Jexxa replied as Jayna smiled.
"Well then it's a good thing we have just the vehicle to get you within the perimeter." Jayna said as she pulled out her comlink, setting it on the counter, entering a comlink number and waiting a moment before a hologram of Numbar appeared.
"Ah, Lady Rook. I was just about to contact you. We have the estimates but it's going to be quite expensive." Numbar commented.
"I'm sure it will be but something's come up. Would it be possible to get that vehicle back? We've got uh…a little something in mind for it." Jayna said with a smile towards her family who knew what she had in mind.
…
It was very early into the morning, the sun still several hours away from rising as the stolen Imperial Juggernaut thundered across the dusty plains of Concord Dawn, rolling past one of Concord Dawn's mountains. The plains were lit by the juggernaut's exterior lights, but the cockpit interior was bathed in a red glow. At the controls in the cockpit, Jayna sat fully armored, her helmet sitting on the console nearby while Kaden sat in one of the seats to her right. Jan stood just over her shoulder while Gio sat at another console behind Kaden, all of the Rooks in their armor.
"Where in Malachor did you learn to drive one of these things?" Jan asked.
"Thyferra, back during the Clone Wars. A very brave clone nicknamed Skids showed me how to drive one. He died a couple months later when the gunship carrying his tank was shot down over Kathos Minor. But he was very polite and a good instructor. I made sure he got a posthumous promotion to Sergeant after the battle." Jayna replied.
"One of these days, you're going to need to tell us more about your past, mom." Kaden said as Jayna smiled.
"I just did." She replied.
"More than that." Jan argued.
"Udesii. Your mother will tell you when she's ready. You need to consider the possibility that her past may not be something she has fond memories of. Also, consider that if word of what she truly is got out, the Empire would come for her." Gio interrupted from the station he was seated at.
"Jan, close the door." Jayna instructed, Jan quickly making sure the cockpit doors were closed, making sure that nobody in the passenger compartment could eavesdrop.
"Are you really that big of a threat to the Empire?" Kaden asked his mother.
"It's not so much of what I was. It's what I represented that threatens them." Jayna replied.
"After seeing what you did to the Imperials at the base the other day, I would believe it." Jan commented.
"Yeah I can't wait to see those Imperials' faces when you ignite that laser sword of yours." Kaden said but Jayna frowned.
"I don't have it. It's locked up back at home." Jayna replied.
"What?! Are you kidding?!" Jan asked, startled. Kaden was also surprised.
"I took a serious risk outing myself as a Jedi to those Imperials the other day. The sight of a lightsaber is like setting off a massive flare. We were just fortunate that things turned out the way it did, else we'd have been packing up and taking off for parts unknown before the ink on the papers placing the bounties on our heads dried. I'm not going to put any of you into any more danger than we already are if I can help it." Jayna said calmly.
"What's the difference between the danger we face now, and the danger that would come for a Jedi?" Jan asked. They could see a look of dire worry appear on Jayna's face even as she kept her gaze focused forward out the tank's windshields. She could almost hear a strange and unfamiliar yet terrifying filtered breathing sound echoing in the distance through the Force.
"Believe me…it would be far worse than any danger you could possibly imagine." Jayna said as Jan sat down in the seat behind her mother.
"You're afraid." Jan said, worried for her mother.
"I am…but not for myself." She said, looking at Kaden and then back at Jan before turning back towards the front. Kaden and Jan exchanged worried looks as the juggernaut rounded the edge of a mountain where they could see the communications array illuminated from below ahead of them. The array was a single large needle-like tower with four large antenna jutting out from the sides. The base of the tower was surrounded by a perimeter wall with inward sloped walls. They could make out six turbolaser towers surrounding the tower, just as described.
"There it is. Go tell our prisoner that he better be ready to do his part." Jayna said as Jan gave a nod, putting on her helmet. Jayna turned off the cockpit lighting as she and Kaden put their helmets on. Jan made her way down into the main hold where Jexxa and Jacki sat prepping their weapons. The Imperial Lieutenant from the city was also sat in one of the seats, rubbing his temples with a light moaning. R3 and Tina were nearby, with Tina offering a mug of caf from a thermos to the ex-Lieutenant. The Lieutenant was dressed in a Captain's uniform, with the rank plaque, cap, and code cylinders to match.
"We're approaching the tower. Be ready." Jan said as the two Mandalorians gave a nod. Jan then looked at the Lieutenant as he sat mewling to himself.
"You look awful." Jan muttered.
"You would be too if you finished off about two bottles of the Cantina's house brew." The Lieutenant grumbled. Jexxa immediately snapped her head towards him.
"You mean you drank two bottles of the Bral Behot IPA?! Haar'chak you've gotta have a stomach made of pure beskar." Jexxa remarked.
"I still don't speak the language. What are you saying?" the Lieutenant asked.
"Well, to put it another way, we call that drink 'Bottled Malachor,' and Malachor is what we Mandalorians consider to be the Corellian Hell." Jan replied as the Lieutenant stared at her for a moment before whimpering into his hands. Jan then stepped closer towards him, holding onto the ladder leading up to the cockpit for stability as the juggernaut shook a little from the rough terrain.
"You ready for this, Imperial?" Jan asked as the Lieutenant raised his head.
"I am, yeah." He replied before standing up, straightening his stolen uniform collar. He then looked at Jan.
"By the way, I may be a willing and cooperative prisoner, but I'd appreciate it if you at least stopped calling me Imperial or any other derogative nicknames. I do have a name." the man said as Jan looked at him for a second and then back towards Jexxa and Jacki for another second before looking back at him.
"And that name would be?" Jan asked.
"Dameron. Kes Dameron of Alderaan." He said with as much of a dignified pose as he could muster given his hangover. Jan gave him a polite nod.
"See to it that we don't find reason to curse your name at the end of the day and we'll get along fine Kes Dameron." Jan said. Meanwhile the Juggernaut began its final approach to the outpost perimeter, a pair of stormtroopers guarding the forcefield gate into the base. The juggernaut slowed to a stop outside the gate, one of the stormtroopers approaching a hatch at the front of the tank. The hatch soon opened, Kes standing in the doorway while the Mandalorians inside hid in the shadows behind him. The stormtrooper saluted him once he saw the rank plaque.
"Captain, your presence here is unexpected and unscheduled." The trooper stated as Kes gave a nod.
"Yes, I am aware. I am Minister Marson of Ve'vut Bral, and I apologize for my unannounced arrival. Our communications array has suffered a catastrophic malfunction so our communications are down. The Array has been repaired but we need to reconnect it to the network." Kes said.
"We'll need to verify your identity before we allow you in sir." the trooper said, raising a hand towards him. Kes gave a nod and pulled the code cylinder from his uniform, placing it in the trooper's hand.
"Wait here sir." He said before walking back towards the gate, towards a control console. The trooper plugged in the cylinder into the console, the image of Kes appearing but with the late Minister's personal information being displayed instead of Dameron's own. Kes glanced back into the darkened hold as the three Mandalorian women in the dark kept their weapons trained on him. Finally the trooper returned.
"You're cleared for entry, sir. Inform your driver to proceed directly to the base of the array." The trooper said, handing the cylinder back.
"Much appreciated. Ugh." Kes moaned, causing the trooper to cock his head slightly.
"Something the matter, sir?" the trooper asked.
"Just tired from having to ride in a bumpy old juggernaut through the dead of night after a stressful day and then be forced to listen to a trooper ask stupid questions." Kes snapped, looking down his nose at the trooper. The trooper straightened up at attention right away.
"Sorry sir, move along please." The trooper said, signaling the other trooper to open the gate. The forcefield gate proceeded to deactivate, the juggernaut starting to roll into the base as the hatch closed. Kes collapsed down into one of the seats, rubbing his forehead.
"Not bad, 'Minister' Dameron." Jan remarked as she walked past, taking point at the hatch, pulling an E-5C Heavy Repeating Blaster from a holster on her jetpack. The blaster had been heavily modified and had a cable running from the back of the blaster, just above the stock, to a power pack on Jan's right hip.
"After watching that bastard Marson for a few months, I learned how to come off as an odious jackass fairly easily." Kes grumbled. The juggernaut rolled up the hill where the base of the tower stood, a large entrance similar to the standard Imperial bunker doors sat near the base with another Stormtrooper guard flanking the doors. The Juggernaut came around so that it was facing the bunker directly. An Imperial Officer with a Lieutenant's plaque then emerged flanked by another pair of stormtroopers. The front hatch on the juggernaut then opened, revealing Jan with her rifle primed, holding it both at the handle grip but also by a handle immediately over the barrel. The Lieutenant blinked in alarm at the sight of the Mandalorian.
"What the-?!" the lieutenant yelped just before he was mowed down by a stream of rapid blaster fire, Jan sweeping the blaster across in front of her, mowing down the stormtroopers before they had a chance to react.
"Never was one for boring conversation anyway. JEXXA!" Jan yelled as she stepped out of the hatch and quickly ducked to the side as Jexxa came charging headfirst out of the juggernaut with a bestial roar, the Ovissian bowling over a pair of troopers attempting to intercept her as she charged into the bunker, quickly turning into the bunker's entry checkpoint office before they could seal the door. The two troopers inside tried to shoot her but only ended up getting grabbed by the throats and slammed against the wall before getting tossed through the checkpoint window. Jexxa then sat down at the controls as Jan and Jacki hurried in, Jacki carrying a Valken-38x sniper rifle as she followed Jan inside, Jan using her side arm to finish off the troopers that Jexxa had knocked over as they entered the bunker. R3 followed close behind.
"Nice work Jex." Jan commented as R3 rolled into the checkpoint office.
"Been dying to smash some of these shebs buy'ce together for a while. Felt good." Jexxa said as R3 patched into the controls. Kaden hurrying inside as blaster fire could be heard outside.
"Cin and Keiibin said they and Ne'tra will cover the entrance. Our orders are to get into the control room and do what we came here to do." Kaden said as Jan gave a nod.
"Right. Ge'tal, how's it coming on the turbolifts?" Jan asked R3. R3 beeped his answer before unplugging from the console.
"Turbolifts are locked down." Jan translated.
"Stall tactics. Pathetic." Jacki mumbled as she kept her rifle trained on the turbolifts.
"No, that's what Ge'tal did. Now anyone upstairs can't escape…not unless they jump of course." Jan said as she started for the turbolifts.
"Very nice. Uh…Jenth ehn and I will stand guard here." Jexxa said, earning a glance from Jacki.
"How did I get to be ehn?" Jacki muttered but was ignored. Jan, Kaden, and R3 made their way to the turbolift, prying open the turbolift doors. The turbolift itself was at the bottom of the turbolift shaft but locked to the bottom floor.
"Try not to make too big of a mess of the place. We're not here to destroy the place." Jan said as Kaden knocked open the escape hatch inside the turbolift cabin, helping R3 grapple up through the hatch.
"We're not?" Jexxa asked.
"No. We need this place standing and functioning." Jan said as Kaden jetpacked up through the hatch.
"If you say so." Jacki replied before Jan jetpacked up through the hatch as well. Jexxa and Jacki both then hurried out of the tower, taking up a defensive position, using the Juggernaut's massive wheels as cover.
Outside the tower, Jayna and Giordo both knelt on the roof of the juggernaut, firing at the Imperials attempting to reach the tower. Tina stood inside the juggernaut's rear hatch, firing out from inside the tank's passenger area. Kes was sitting in the tank's rear cockpit, controlling the aft-laser cannons and using them against the Imperials. One of the stormtroopers then popped up with a rocket launcher, aiming it towards the hatch where Tina stood. Jayna spotted the trooper just as he fired the rocket. She quickly raised her hand towards the rocket which suddenly veered violently away from its intended target flying harmlessly up into the air before eventually exploding.
"What the?! I've never seen a rocket do that before." Jexxa commented.
"Probably a bad targeting system." Jayna replied before headshotting the confused trooper that had fired the rocket. Inside the juggernaut, Kes heard a console beeping nearby and quickly looked at what the display was reading before grimacing.
"Uh oh! Uh, just as a heads-up, they got off a distress call. We've got fighters inbound." Kes reported into a comlink.
"How many?" Gio asked.
"Looks like only two at the moment but I'm also picking up a troop shuttle inbound. ETA five minutes, give or take." Kes replied.
"Understood. Vorpan, did you copy that?" Gio asked.
"Affirmative. We'll take care of it, don't worry. We're almost at the top of the tower now." Kaden replied as Kes looked out the windshields towards the black Concord Dawn sky, knowing that Imperial fighters would be showing up in those skies at any moment. Inside the tower control room, three technicians and two stormtroopers were in a defensive position, pointing blasters down the short hallway towards the turbolift doors. Two more technicians sat cowering behind the main controls to the communications array. After a moment the turbolift doors opened but nothing was inside except empty turbolift shaft. The troopers looked at each other before a long cylinder clattered into the room, landing at the troopers' feet before suddenly shattering, spraying a dozen smaller pellets into the air which exploded in a series of smaller explosions, killing the troopers but blinding and disorienting everyone else. Kaden and Jan soon entered the control room, Kaden shooting the technicians with a WESTAR-34 and Jan doing the same with her sidearm, making short work of the technicians.
"Alright, ge'tal, plug into the network controls. Vod let's see what secrets you can dig up." Jan said as R3 and Kaden both hurried to separate consoles. R3 plugged into a console along the outer wall while Kaden sat down at a large, curved console facing the turbolift hallway. Kaden plugged in a data spike and raised a datapad, hammering commands into it.
"Looks like what Cin said about the hardware faults was accurate. I'm in." Kaden reported as he set aside his datapad and started interfacing with the console directly.
"Alright, let's start with Alderaan. Find anything you can on what happened to it." Jan said, watching over his shoulder. Several holo-projectors activated on the console, showing holographic copies of various reports, recorded footage, and more.
"Oh, here's something. A missive sent to all Moffs, Governors, and Fleet Commanders from Grand Moff Tarkin regarding the destruction of Alderaan. He…haar'chak." Kaden said as he sat back.
"What? What is it?" Jan asked as Kaden looked at an official document with a holorecording of Alderaan's destruction.
"Tarkin gave the order to destroy it. The Empire did destroy Alderaan. There's even estimated casualty reports in the millions. The bastard practically boasts about it! He ordered Alderaan's destruction using something called the Death Star." Kaden said as Jan shook her head in disgust.
"Five credits says that the Death Star was that battle station. There's a special place in Malachor waiting for him." Jan muttered as Kaden started looking into other documentation.
"Let's see if he ended up there. I'm looking up anything to do with Yavin." Kaden said as Jan turned away.
"R3, how's it coming on your end?" Jan asked. R3 swiveled his head around towards them, beeping his response.
"Good, once you have the city linked back up, see if you can't do something about clearing the skies of any flying Imps." Jan said, R3 tooting an affirmative before turning back to his console just as they heard the screaming of TIE Fighters outside.
Two TIE Fighters had arrived, making a pass over the outpost facility before coming around to begin an attack run on the stolen juggernaut. Jayna saw the fighters and put a hand to her helmet comlink.
"Ehn, I need you juggernaut topside!" Jayna said as Jacki sighed, shaking her head from behind the Juggernaut's front left tire.
"How did I get to be ehn?!" she grumbled before jetpacking up onto the roof of the tank, hurrying to kneel behind Jayna and Giordo. Jayna quickly turned towards her.
"Switch with me and give me your rifle!" Jayna ordered, Jacki not arguing and offering up her sniper rifle as the two switched places, Jacki now using a blaster pistol as Jayna raised the sniper rifle, aiming it towards the TIE Fighters.
"You're not seriously going to try and snipe a TIE Fighter out of the sky are you?!" Jacki asked.
"She's not aiming for the fighter!" Gio replied as one of the TIE Fighters came around for another attack run on the juggernaut. As it did, Jayna took aim, not looking through the scope but down its sights. She then pulled the trigger, a bolt of blue plasma ripping through the air. The bolt flew clean through the forward viewport of the TIE Fighter, hitting the pilot right in the chest, killing him instantly and causing him to slump forward onto the controls, sending the fighter into a nosedive where it crashed into the ground. Jacki and Jexxa both were quietly stunned.
"Mandokarla!" Jexxa muttered in awe as Jayna handed the rifle back to Jacki, the two switching places.
"I thought you said she wasn't aiming for the fighter!" Jacki said to Giordo.
"She wasn't! She was aiming for the pilot!" Giordo replied before blasting a Stormtrooper attempting to step out of cover.
"We've still got another fighter!" Jexxa commented as the other fighter flew past, setting up another attack run. They could also see the lights of an approaching Sentinel Lander in the distance.
"We're about to get overrun!" Gio said.
"No, we're not!" Jan replied via the comms as the turbolaser towers lit up, turning towards the TIE Fighter and opening fire, the fighter getting blown out of the sky within seconds before the towers turned towards the lander. The lander attempted to veer off but the barrage of turbolaser fire was too much and quickly reduced the lander to a burning heap of twisted durasteel plummeting to the ground.
"So much for their backup!" Jexxa chuckled as they kept firing. Now there were little more than a handful of stormtroopers left that were quickly finished off by the Mandalorians.
"We're clear!" Kes reported from the cockpit of the juggernaut, Jayna rising to her feet. It was silent now save for the base alarms and a soft whistling in the winds.
"Dust storm's coming." Jexxa said as the Mandalorians regrouped at the back of the tank, Kes climbing down.
"Good. It'll cover our escape." Gio commented.
"I'm going to go check on the two in the tower." Jayna said as Gio gave a nod, Jayna hurrying into the tower. Gio then turned to the others.
"Return to your posts for now. Good work all of you, including you, Imperial." Gio said as Kes gave a slight nod of appreciation.
"Alor Rook, with all due respect, he has a name. I believe we should honor his efforts by at least using it instead of Imperial." Jacki said as Gio gave her a nod.
"Agreed, but not while we're here. It's for his own safety that we not use his name. You never know where the Empire's ears may lurk." Gio said.
"It's fine. I'll get the tank ready to roll out." Kes replied, turning and climbing back up the ladder into the cockpit, Gio following him.
…
Back in the tower, Jayna jetpacked up into the tower control room as Kaden and R3 kept working at the controls, Jan watching some of the monitors.
"We're clear downstairs. How are things here?" Jayna asked.
"We've got a treasure trove of information here. Fleet movements, supply lines, everything for this and the surrounding sectors. Some files are encrypted but its still a good amount of data." Kaden replied.
"We've also got the city linked back up to the Imperial data network. R3's running a purge program to wipe the access logs so they can't figure out what we've done to the systems or what we've accessed." Jan added.
"Good work. What are you doing now?" Jayna asked as she stepped around to stand over Kaden's shoulder.
"Looking up information on Yavin. That's one of the reasons we came here after all." Kaden said.
"What about Alderaan?" Jayna asked.
"Found some documents, including one that's essentially a signed confession by Moff Tarkin to the Empire's destruction of Alderaan." Kaden said as Jayna shook her head in sadness.
"So Tarkin ordered it? Figures. What about Yavin?" Jayna asked as Kaden pulled up a hologram of the Death Star exploding.
"This footage was recorded by a sensor satellite over Yavin. The logs on the satellite detected roughly thirty odd starfighters with Rebel signatures approach the station and within fifteen minutes or so, the station suffered some kind of reactor meltdown and exploded!" Kaden remarked.
"So, the Rebels pulled it off?" Jayna asked.
"Are you sure the reactor didn't just fail?" Jan asked but Kaden shook his head.
"Positive. From what I'm seeing, Yavin was the most recent incident with the Death Star. Before Alderaan, there was an APB put out to all the high-ranking Imperial Personnel, that highly classified data tapes had been stolen from a lab on Danuta. From what I can gather, it appears to have been the plans to the battle station. If my surmises are correct, the Rebels stole the plans and found a weakness they could exploit in the Death Star's construction." Kaden said with an air of impressed approval towards the Rebels' accomplishments.
"This is incredible. Excellent work ad." Jayna said as Jan quietly nodded in agreement.
"R3 helped. He was able to decrypt the documents for me." Kaden said, R3 whistling while still plugged in nearby.
"So, we have all we need?" Jan asked.
"Yep. All finished. Scanners are picking up a dust storm on its way from the south. We should move it before the storm arrives. It'll help cover our escape." Kaden said, starting to reach for his data spike.
"Just a moment." Jayna said, Kaden pausing before he and Jan turned to look towards her.
"What is it?" Jan asked as Jayna pointed to the documents still being projected in front of them.
"This right here is the smoking blaster that exposes the Empire. Not only does it prove the Empire's guilt in having destroyed Alderaan, but also that the Rebels destroyed their planet killer. This could cause a massive political backlash against the Empire if it were made public while also giving a significant boost to the Rebellion." Jayna said as Kaden and Jan looked at each other.
"I like the sound of that." Kaden said, starting to work at the terminal again.
"So, what are we going to do?" Jan asked.
"We're going to make sure the Galaxy knows what the Empire and the Rebellion has done." Jayna said.
"The Empire's gonna be mighty pissed when they find out." Jan said as Jayna gave a nod.
"That's why we need to cover our tracks. R3, how's it coming?" Jayna asked as R3 beeped affirmatively.
"Good. Once we've sent the packet, make sure the whole system gets wiped of our presence. I don't want them knowing what we've done." Jayna said as R3 beeped another affirmation back. Kaden then pulled his data spike from the terminal.
"Packet is away. A packet of decrypted Imperial documents and records detailing the destruction of Alderaan, and the Rebels' destruction of the Death Star just hit the holonet." Kaden said, standing up and pocketing the spike.
"Alright, lets get out of here fast." Jan instructed, headed towards the door as R3 unplugged and followed her and Kaden out towards the turbolift shaft. Jayna followed up the rear. But as she started to leave…
"Ana-Jy."
She heard the voice echo again. She looked around but saw no one. She then turned and dropped down the turbolift shaft.
…
Far away on Yavin IV, Leia Organa stood in the command center of Yavin IV, looking at a hologram of the galaxy as Rebel personnel carted crates full of equipment and supplies out of the HQ as the Rebels packed up, evacuating Yavin IV before the Empire could come down on them. As she watched, she heard some kind of commotion coming from the briefing room nearby. She turned and saw a couple of Rebels crowding into the briefing room. Just then, Maris Brood, the Zabrak Jedi Padawan, emerged from the crowd, hurrying towards her.
"Princess! Come quick! You need to see this!" Maris said with an excited grin, grabbing Leia by the hand and pulling her towards the briefing room. Leia was pulled towards the front but as she was, she could see on the screen that there were a number of live holonet feeds from planets across the galaxy, all showing large and massive protests and even riots or attacks against Imperials from a number of different locales.
"What is this? What's going on?" Leia asked.
"Rebellion, Princess." Rebel Leader Galen "Starkiller" Marek said with a smile and his arms crossed over his chest.
"Uprisings are breaking out across the galaxy. A spark of Rebellion has been kindled." Rahm said as Leia looked at the screen in confusion.
"But how? Did we do this?" Leia asked.
"It wasn't us, and we don't know who did it, but a packet of decrypted Imperial documents were leaked onto the holonet. The packet contained reports of our actions here at Yavin in destroying the Death Star, but most importantly, it exposes the Empire for their crimes in having destroyed Alderaan." Rahm Kota said as Leia smiled at the screens, seeing numerous signs reading "Remember Alderaan!" in a variety of languages being waved by the protestors and rioters as they rose up against the Empire. A tear ran down her cheek with a smile. She then felt a warm hand placed on her shoulder. She looked and saw Rahm giving her a reassuring smile.
"The whole Galaxy now knows what happened to your people. The tide is turning in our favor at last." Rahm said as Leia took a deep breath and then sighed with relief as a massive weight of grief was lifted. She still felt the pain of losing her whole planet and those upon it, but now there were hundreds of thousands of people across the galaxy, if not millions or billions, helping to carry that burden with her.
…
Back on Concord Dawn, it was dawn as Imperial Gunships and TIE Fighters patrolled the air around the Communications Outpost. Stormtroopers and probe droids were sifting through the damage, loading the bodies of the dead inside of repulsorlift coffins. Among the transports that had landed was a Mandalorian Aka'jor Class Shuttle in Imperial white with the Imperial insignia on its hull. Up in the tower, a woman in White armor that was a mix of Imperial Stormtrooper and Mandalorian Supercommando with a red command pauldron on her shoulder stood surveying the damage. One of the consoles then activated with a hologram of a man in a variant of that same armor but with more red on his armor than white.
"What is it? Why have you contacted me?" Viceroy Gar Saxon asked with his arms crossed over his chest as the woman turned to the hologram and saluted.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, Viceroy, but we have a situation. One of the communications outposts here on Concord Dawn has been attacked. We're still sifting through the damage to find out what they did but they were thorough and covered their tracks well." The woman said as Saxon removed his helmet with an angered glare on his face.
"Rebels? In my sector?! I will not have outsiders meddling in Mandalorian affairs." Saxon sneered but the woman shook her head.
"With all due respect sir, but I don't think the Rebels were involved. The evidence points to highly skilled warriors. A surgical strike would be my analysis. I think Mandalorians are responsible for this." The woman said as Saxon glared at her.
"If they attacked this base, they are Dar'Manda. They are traitors. Find the ones who did this and exterminate them. We must continue to show the Empire that we Mandalorians are as loyal today as we were when we first joined their side at the end of the Clone Wars." Saxon ordered as the woman gave a bow.
"Yes, Viceroy. I'll notify the Journeyman Protectors right away. We'll find these traitors and show them true Mandalorian Justice." The woman said before closing the transmission.
…
Back at Ve'vut Bral, the Rook family, sans Gia and the droids, was in Te Bral Cantina, toasting their recent victory with the other House Heads, Jexxa and Jacki, and even Kes Dameron in civilian clothes. Jan, Jexxa, and Jacki were dancing to the music while Kaden and Aska danced with each other. The rest were sitting together in a corner booth.
"You did well for impersonating a Minister, Dameron." Gio said as Kes shrugged, swirling a mug of caf in his hand.
"It was nothing. I just helped you stick it to the Empire a little. That's all." He replied.
"You did more than that. I don't think you realized exactly what we did in that tower. We aired the Empire's dirty laundry to the Galaxy. The whole galaxy knows that the Empire destroyed your homeworld. Take comfort in knowing you helped the ghosts of your people find rest." Jayna said as the others nodded.
"She's right. There's reports all over the holonet that there are protests, riots, uprisings breaking out all across the galaxy ever since your little raid. The words 'Remember Alderaan' are being repeated all over the place." Veska said, looking over a datapad. Kes sat back in silent thought at this.
"So does that technically make us Rebels?" Geht asked curiously.
"Indirectly. I mean we're not affiliated with the Rebels directly…are we?" Glebbins asked, looking to Giordo who looked at his wife.
"Indirectly." Jayna replied with an innocent light shrug.
"Regardless, the Empire's likely to come looking for whoever is responsible for the attack on that tower and whoever leaked the information. My hope is that the surge of support to the Rebellion will be enough to divert their attention." Glebbins said.
"Well it's a good thing we don't know any Rebels then, isn't it?" Gio asked with a coy smile, his arm around his wife.
"So where does this leave me? What happens to me now?" Kes asked.
"We need you to stick around for a while. We'd like to try and see how long you can fool the Empire passing yourself off as an Imperial Minister. With you acting as our puppet minister, we should be able to funnel information, resources, and more to us without the Empire's knowing anything. If they get wise, then we'll do what we can to make sure you don't meet the same fate as your people." Gio said, the other House Heads nodding in agreement.
"You mean you're not going to kill me?" Kes asked.
"We're not monsters, Mr. Dameron. I don't know what you might've heard about us but we're a people of honor. The only way that we'll kill you is if you give us reason to. Cooperate as you have been and you'll have our protection. It's as simple as that." Glebbins said.
"And if we have to pull you from your part as our puppet minister, then we'll see what we can do about making you into a Mando'ad." Geht said as Kes looked at them confused.
"But I'm not a Mandalorian. I mean I wasn't born here." Kes said but the others laughed in amusement.
"Mr. Dameron, there is no Mandalorian race. Only a culture, a way of life. I mean the first nineteen years of my life was spent on Coruscant, hardly having heard of the Mandalorians. I've only been a Mandalorian for the latter half of my life and I'm almost forty." Jayna said.
"Jexxa and Jacki over there weren't born here either. They were adopted by their parents, their clans. We don't care where you hail from. The moment you put on the armor, you are a Mando'ad. Your past ceases to matter to us." Gio said as Kes gave a slight smile and nod, looking into his mug in thought.
"I'll need to think about it. I've…got a lot to sort out first." He said.
"Of course. And if you have questions about our culture, you need only ask." Glebbins said as Veska chuckled.
"Yeah, ol' Cyril will talk your ear off about our history." Veska said.
"Well I know one thing is for certain. The past few days have made one thing very clear. The Galaxy is changing again, just like after the Clone Wars, but maybe this time for the better." Geht said, Jayna nodding in agreement.
"Agreed." She said, looking towards her children, knowing that this change would involve them as well.
End Episode 1
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I'd just like to reiterate that this is an Alternate Universe. The Expanded Universe takes priority but I will use some of Disney Canon, such as including the Ovissian race, Gar Saxon, and Kes Dameron as I see fit.