Star Wars: Threads of Dissent: Penumbra Chapter 4, a star wars fanfic

JEDI TEMPLE, OSSUS

Ten years ago, Luke Skywalker's life changed. Ten years ago, his nephew had murdered his wife in cold blood. Ten years ago, Luke had almost lost himself to the dark side in his attempt to avenge her. Ten years ago, everything changed.

Luke still mourned Mara. Despite being dead for a decade, he still spent many hours alone aboard her starship, meditating inside her old room. He found that it helped him to be closer to her force presence, despite never being able to truly reach her. While much had happened since her death, and Luke had been forced to fight an enemy more powerful than anyone could imagine, he still found himself coming back to Mara. Wishing that she had been there with him.
Jedi of the past had been wary of attachment due to the belief that it led to unbalance of the self. Attachments led to the fear of loss, and thus to the dark side. Luke understood where they had been coming from, despite allowing attachments within his own order. He himself had struggled to let Mara go, and still had not completely moved on. But there was something human about that. About returning to the Jade Shadow to remember her. At least it was something.

Luke found himself there once again, cross legged on a pillow within their old bedroom. How long he had been here he could not say, but he knew it had been at least a few hours. But something had awoken him from his meditation. The door to the room opened, and his blue and white astromech droid, R2-D2, rolled inside.

"Artoo, what's up?" Luke asked, smiling at the droid.

He chirped a reply.

"Leia's asking for me? What for?"

The droid beeped back.

"Alright, alright. I'll check my comlink." Luke reached over to his night stand, where his comlink was turned off. He always did this while he was meditating so it would not disturb him. R2 was there to alert him should anything be pressing enough to require his immediate attention.

Sure enough, the comlink was blinking with a message from Leia. He answered, "Yes?"

"Luke! You need to come to the situation room, there's something you need to see," his sister said, sounding worried.

Luke frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"I would say so, yes. Just come quickly."

"On my way."

Luke stood up, grabbing his cloak off of his bed. He walked past R2, patting the droid on the head. "See you soon, buddy."

R2 beeped a short response as Luke exited the room, leaving the ship behind. The situation room was located on the top floor of the temple, near the Council Chamber. After leaving the hangar bay, where multiple Jedi technicians were working on StealthX starfighters, he walked down the long hallway towards the turbolift. The trip to the top floor was relatively quick, with the doors opening to another hall. The situation room was just a few paces away, and he entered to find multiple people already present inside.

Along with Leia were four other Jedi Masters; Corran Horn, Kyp Durron, Saba Sebatyne, and Cilghal. The four of them stood behind a sofa chair, where Leia sat with her husband Han Solo. All were watching a HoloNet broadcast on the holoscreen on the side wall, which showed a burning building within Coronet City on Corellia.

"What's happened?" Luke asked, joining the other masters behind the sofa. None of them had to answer, as the headline at the bottom of the screen said it all.

Galactic Alliance Suites bombed at the Unification Summit; over a dozen dead, including Chief of State Wynn Dorvan.

Luke reached for his comlink, his expression grim. "Ben, come to the situation room, immediately."

His son did not take long to reply. "On my way, Dad."

They continued to watch the broadcast in silence, as images of Alliance and CorSec troops swarming the scene flashed on the screen.

"Thoughts, Grand Master?" asked Corran Horn, breaking the silence.

Luke glanced over at the Corellian Jedi Master. "Dorvan's death will throw the Alliance into chaos. Without his leadership, extremists in the senate will be emboldened into action. Especially if the Confederation was responsible."

"I seriously doubt they are. Denjax Teppler wouldn't dare assassinate another galactic leader. Especially when his government is already weaker than that of the Alliance," Kyp Durron said. "What would he hope to gain?"

"Nothing," said Han, "but extremists within the GA will try to make the argument that it was him. Reunification was already on the top of many senators' lists, and you can guarantee that it will be the top issue after this attack. The HoloNet will be flooded with senators calling for the Confederation to rejoin the GA, for national security reasons."

"I presume that Gage Kendall will be the top candidate to succeed Dorvan, as well," Leia said. "And he'll peddle those talking points to hell and back."

"But will anyone go so far as to call for conflict?" asked Cilghal.

"Undoubtedly so," Saba answered. "Relationz between the Alliance and the Confederation have always been tense, and this attack will only serve to push them over the edge. War is certainly on the horizon."

"Let's not get too hasty with our judgment," said Luke. "While speculation is always welcome, sometimes it is best to reserve it for when more details are available."

The door to the room opened, and Ben Skywalker walked in. He bowed to the masters when he saw how many were present, "Masters." He looked at Han, "Uncle."

Han showed a small wave. "Hey, kid."

Luke directed Ben's attention to the screen. It took a moment for him to read the headline, but his expression fell as he did. "That's… bad. Not sure what else I'm supposed to say."

Luke managed a small smile. "Nothing. Just knew you'd want to see this."

"What are we gonna do about it?"
Luke grimaced. "We'll worry about that later."

The images on the screen then changed, moving to a live broadcast from the press room within the Corellian Capitol Building. Standing at the podium in the center of the frame was Denjax Teppler, with General Turr Phennir by his side.

"Let's see what he has to say," Han muttered, turning up the volume on the screen.

Teppler began, "It is regrettable that I must speak to you tonight, but recent events have given me little choice. Like everyone else, I am appalled by the act of terrorism committed against the Galactic Alliance. I send my condolences to the members of the Alliance delegation, and to those who lost a loved one. This act of terrorism was not committed by or in association with the Confederation, and we will do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice. We will assist the Alliance in handling this situation to the best of our abilities, in order to ensure that no lasting tensions come from this horrible event.

"However, due to the apparent risk to the security of all those involved, and to better allow our troops to investigate this attack, I am hereby suspending the Unification Summit. This is not a decision I make lightly, as I like everyone else understands the importance of this event. But, given the circumstances, I believe it is within the best interest of all parties to end it. The Confederation-"

The feed suddenly cut to black, and the audio cut out.

"What happened?" asked Kyp.

A moment later, the feed returned, now showing three men within a darkened room. Shadows were cast upon their faces, concealing them from the camera, but the two on the outside were clearly wearing military gear. The man in the center then began to speak.

"This is a message for the Corellian people, the Confederation, and the Galactic Alliance. Today, acting upon the wishes of several within the Corellian government, we bombed the housing quarters of the Galactic Alliance delegation, and killed Chief of State Wynn Dorvan. This was done to send a message to those within the Alliance, that they are not welcome on Corellia or within the Confederation as a whole. We denounce their tyranny, and call for immediate action to secure the Confederation for generations to come. Alliance influence over our leaders is concerning, but we must unite behind the Chief of State and his staff to ensure that they do the right thing and completely cut ties with the Alliance.

"To all Alliance personnel still remaining on Corellia; leave now. If you do not, we can assure you that those remaining forces will not be tended to kindly. Go back to your capital, and never return. Or else next time, I can assure you that we'll do far more than just kill your leader."

The broadcast cut once more, this time being replaced by a screen with 'technical difficulties' written in aurebesh.

"Well now we have conflicting stories," Corran said. "And while I'm much more inclined to believe Teppler on this, given that those individuals were not official in any manner, I can't be the only one who's at least a little confused."

"You're not," Kyp assured him. "Whoever they are had access to the technology to hack into a HoloNet broadcast, which is not something an ordinary militia would have access to. They must have powerful allies."

"Within the Corellian government?" asked Leia. "Or outside of it? For all we know they were lying just to cause more chaos."

"And they'll almost certainly be successful at that," Han added. "Kendall and his cronies will take the information those men provided and run with it, regardless of what Teppler says."

Luke remained silent as the others conversed, pondering the information they'd learned. Something was very wrong, and he worried that there was more going on than what met the eye. While he had no real reason to suspect the Sith, he could not help but humor the possibility. The appearance of the dark man during the battle with Abeloth had confirmed that more Sith existed, and there were still Lost Tribe rogues running rampant throughout the galaxy.

"I think," he said, making his voice louder so the others would hear him. When they quieted down he continued, "that we should save all conversation until we can convene the full council. There is much we need to discuss, and action that needs to be taken." He looked at Leia, "Call Jaina back to Ossus, tell her it's urgent." He looked at the others, "is anybody else currently off world?"

"Barratk'l is on Ragna III with her family, but everybody else is on world," said Corran.

"Get her back here as soon as possible. The council will convene the moment they are back."

The other masters bowed, and funneled out of the room, leaving Luke alone with Leia, Han, and Ben.

"I think you'll need to pay Teppler a visit," Luke said, looking at Han and Leia. "We'll confirm with the council, but I figured I'd warn Han beforehand."

Han straightened, visibly wincing as he did so. "I think I can manage," he said, standing up. Having recently reached 81 years of age, Han's body was beginning to deteriorate. Decades of fighting had taken quite the toll on him. "Besides, it'll be good to get the Falcon out of the hangar. It's been collecting dust there for far too long."

Leia looked at him playfully. "Maybe it's time you finally pass her on to the next generation. Keep her from going to waste."
"Oh I've still got use for her, at least for a bit longer. I might be old and broken, but I'm not dead yet."

"Let's make sure we keep it that way," Leia said, smiling. She looked at Luke, her expression becoming serious, "I sensed unease within you earlier; do you think it's the Sith?"

Luke pondered for a moment, knowing that Ben was watching him intently. While his son knew more than the ordinary Jedi Knight, he still did not know everything. "The possibility crossed my mind. Ask me again once Jaina reports her findings on Hapes."

Leia nodded, satisfied.

"Ben," Luke said. "Go to the hangar and help R2 with the Jade Shadow. I'll be in my chambers if you should need anything."

His son nodded as Luke walked past him. "You ok?" Ben asked.

Luke glanced back. "Yeah, just some things I must meditate on. Too many unknowns." Then he started towards his chambers, where he hoped the force would reveal more about what was at play here.

OFFICE OF THE MINORITY CHAIR, SENATE BUILDING, CORUSCANT

It was beautiful, Senator Gage Kendall thought, as he gazed up at the name plaque being nailed above his office doorway. Minority Chair: Gage Kendall. Many had said it was impossible; how could a man who had only been in politics for four years be elected Minority Chair? He himself had thought it impossible once too, when he had first entered his name into the senate elections on his homeworld of Anaxes. Then he had won the primary, and then the seat itself. Sure, Anaxes was a bastion of Central Party power, but he was still a relatively unknown name fighting for a seat that had been held by some of the most famous Anaxan politicians. It was impressive.

Gage was ambitious. He knew that. Everybody knew that. It was what separated him from many of his peers. His speeches were loud and controversial, always saying something that would get him ridiculed on the HoloNet. But he did not care. That was his brand. Controversy had fueled his political campaign for senator, and it had been his brand during his first four years in the senate. After all, the more outrageous statements he would make, the more airtime he would be given on the HoloNet to defend himself and be debated by primetime news anchors.

Gage had not always been that way. Having been born just one year prior to the Battle of Endor, he had spent his childhood living under an Empire that was tumbling towards irrelevancy. One of his earliest memories was of watching the New Republic's taking of Coruscant live on the HoloNet from his home on Anaxes, which was still under Imperial control. Gage had been eight when the Empire ceded control of Anaxes to the New Republic, as they retreated into the Outer Rim under Admiral Pellaeon. Those had been difficult times for his family, as they had had close ties to the local Imperial government. But they had survived, with Gage attending the prestigious Anaxes War College before being admitted into the New Republic Fleet as a junior officer. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Gage had been stationed aboard a Star Destroyer in Admiral Kre'fey's First Fleet. He fought in multiple pivotal battles, including those at Ebaq 9 and Yuuzhan'tar. When the war was over, Gage retired from the military, returning home to Anaxes, which had been devastated by the Vong.

He lived on Anaxes through the Swarm War and into the Second Civil War. During the war, Gage found himself looking up to Colonel Jacen Solo for the work he had done in ridding the Alliance of corruption, and responding with force to the Confederation. Although Jacen fell in his eyes near the end of his tenure as Chief of State, due to the psychopathic acts he began to commit, his initial rise to power was still admirable. Then Daala became Chief of State, and Gage immediately found himself supporting her.

Daala represented a return to the Empire, in a way. Not the Empire as it was under Palpatine, but an Empire based upon the ideas of the New Order. Sure, Daala was still under obligation to abide by Alliance democratic principles, but she was able to clamp down on corruption and reform the GA into a more desirable state. Her main target had been the Jedi, an institution Gage had always held some discontent towards. He supported Daala's efforts to monitor Jedi activity, her exile of Luke Skywalker, and even the subsequent Mandalorian siege of the Jedi Temple. Although Daala was soon removed from power in a Jedi-led coup, her work had inspired Gage to take up politics himself.

He began to lay the groundwork for a senatorial campaign by speaking at small events, where he was given speaking time due to his familial influence. In these speeches he would reminisce about the days of the Empire, and of the stability that had been provided underneath it. While he would always denounce Palpatine and his associates, he blamed the devastation of the Yuuzhan Vong War on the New Republic's ineptitude, and the Second Civil War on GA weakness. By the time election season rolled around, Gage had gathered a large following on Anaxes, mostly consisting of younger people whose lives had been devastated by war. He officially joined the Central Party as a candidate for senator, defeating the incumbent in a primary election before winning the seat in a landslide.

After his victory he began to connect with like minded individuals within the Central Party. One of these individuals was Senator Ashfik Eccott of Alsakan, who at the time was serving as the leader of the Core Worlds Caucus, as well as being second to then Chair of the Senate Farlow Pryde. Eccott had immediately invited Gage into the Core Worlds Caucus upon his arrival in the senate, helping him to better integrate himself within the Central Party. Eccott was one of the most outspoken critics of Chief of State Wynn Dorvan, having gained media spotlight during the Third Unification Summit. Despite being twenty years Gage's elder, the two grew close during the first few months he was in the senate, namely bonding over their reminiscence about the past and their desire to reform the Galactic Alliance into an Imperial-style government. It was through Eccott that Gage found the means to take his movement national, beginning to hold similar events to those he had used to win his senatorial campaign. With Eccott acting as the behind-the-scenes financial backer, Gage's movement began to rapidly grow.

Quickly becoming known as 'Neo-Imperials', the movement grew out from Anaxes and Coruscant, reaching citizens across the GA. Despite initially being seen as a fringe group by most in the Central Party, by Gage's second year in the senate it had begun to burst onto the mainstream. Senate elections brought in a host of new Central Party senators with attachment to the Neo-Imperials, all quickly joining the newly formed Order Caucus. Having lost their majority by a large margin during the election, Central Party leadership returned to the drawing board. Senator Eccott was heavily involved in this process, being a voice for the Order Caucus on the Central Party leadership committee. Their strategy for the next year's election began to incorporate more messaging from Gage's movement, despite still treating him as an outsider among the party. Eccott was the middle-man between Gage and the party leadership, acting as the reasonable elder senator who could find common ground.

The next year's elections brought mixed results; with candidates more involved in the Neo-Imperial movement winning, and those not losing. Minority Chair McClain, who had been a harsh critic of Gage's movement, was ousted in a party vote, being replaced by Senator Eccott. Gage soon found himself more involved in party leadership decisions, while Eccott shifted Central Party election strategy towards embracing stronger Neo-Imperial policy. This would prove effective in the next year's elections, where the Central Party would bring their minority back to within just five seats of the majority. Seeing this as a validation of his shift towards Neo-Imperialist policy, Eccott prepared to continue marching the party towards what had been seen as a radical extreme.

Unfortunately for him, he would not live to see his plan through. Just four days after the new Senate members were sworn into office, Eccott would be found dead in his Coruscant penthouse. Despite initial speculation of poison, the autopsy would confirm that he had died of cardiac arrest, not too uncommon for a man of his age and health. Gage mourned his friend's death, but quickly put himself up for election as the new Minority Chair. The moderate wing of the Central Party quickly denounced him, citing his harsh rhetoric and history of controversy. But it was no use. With the entire Order Caucus behind him, Gage would narrowly win the vote for Minority Chair, placing him one step closer to the office he truly desired.
But that time was not now. Now was the time to continue his campaign for change within the Alliance, and his new position would help him further those goals.

"Is it to your liking, Senator?" the aid asked, looking down at him from his perch on a ladder.

"Oh yes," Gage said, smiling. "It couldn't be better."

Nodding, the aid climbed off the ladder, nodding to Gage. "Goodday, Senator Kendall."

With the clacking of the aide's shoes on the floor behind him, Gage stepped inside his new office, reveling in the luxury of it. Gold-lined fabric clung to the walls, spotless marble spread through the floor, and a silver chandelier hung from the ceiling. His desk sat at the end of the room, in front of a transparisteel wall that stretched ten meters across. Gage smiled as he felt the material of the desk, before sitting down in his high-backed chair. Red and black felt cushioned him as he spun towards the window, gazing out at the Coruscant skyline. This was it. His new office, and the place where he would continue his ambitions. Just four years ago he had been living alone on Anaxes, anxious to find purpose in his life. Now he was here, the second most powerful person in the senate.

A ringing behind him caused him to turn. His transmitter blinking with a red light, he quickly moved to answer the transmission. "Senator Kendall."

"You're needed in the situation room, immediately," the voice of his Chief of Staff said.

He stood. "Already on my way," he said, briskly walking out of the office. The situation room was situated just a few corridors away, and it was bustling with activity when he arrived. Taking his seat near the front of the room beside Senator Burns, he turned his attention to the HoloNet broadcast playing in front of them. An anchor was speaking over a collage of images showing a burning Corellian building, with the headline reading: Galactic Alliance Suites bombed at the Unification Summit; over a dozen dead, including Chief of State Wynn Dorvan.

"We are currently awaiting an official response from Confederation Chief of State Denjax Teppler, but our current sources do not suggest that this attack was sanctioned by the Confederation," the broadcast anchor was saying.

Gage shook his head, glancing over at Senator Arlin Burns. A member of the Order Caucus who had been elected the same year as Gage, he wore a blank expression on his dark-skinned face. "I've been telling them," Gage said.

Burns looked over at him. "Telling them what?"

"That the Confederation can't be trusted."

Burns pursed his lips. "Did you not listen to the anchor? The Confederation wasn't involved."

"And you believe that? Both times the Unification Summit has been hosted on Corellia, attacks were made against the Alliance. Officially involved or not, the Confederation isn't innocent."

"Look, Gage, I dislike the Confederation as much as you, but you can't just be throwing blame at a galactic power without any hard evidence against them. Circumstantial evidence doesn't prove anything."

"It proves that the Confederation cannot be trusted to assert control over their own capital, and that the Alliance shouldn't be sending its highest officials there under any circumstances. The Chief of State was killed!"

"I know, but that won't help our goals of peaceful unification."

Gage shrugged. "You don't know that."

Noticing that the HoloNet broadcast had shifted to show Denjax Teppler, they both shifted their attention back to it.

"It is regrettable that I must speak to you tonight, but recent events have given me little choice. Like everyone else, I am appalled by the act of terrorism committed against the Galactic Alliance tonight. I send my condolences to the members of the Alliance delegation, and to those who lost a loved one tonight. This act of terrorism was not committed by or in association with the Confederation, and we will do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice. We will assist the Alliance in handling this situation to the best of our abilities, in order to ensure that no lasting tensions come from this horrible event.

The broadcast cut to black. Gage glanced over at Burns, who had already looked over at him. They both wore similar expressions of confusion, which would soon grow further as the image on screen shifted to show three men, concealed in shadows within a dark room.

"This is a message for the Corellian people, the Confederation, and the Galactic Alliance. Today, acting upon the wishes of several within the Corellian government, we bombed the housing quarters of the Galactic Alliance delegation, and killed Chief of State Wynn Dorvan. This was done to send a message to those within the Alliance, that they are not welcome on Corellia or within the Confederation as a whole. We denounce their tyranny, and call for immediate action to be taken to secure the Confederation for generations to come. Alliance influence over our leaders is concerning, but we must unite behind the Chief of State and his staff to ensure that they do the right thing and completely cut ties with the Alliance.

Gage himself sat still, still staring at the screen ahead, which now just bore the words Technical Difficulties. His expression had changed from confusion to one of cold calculation, as his mind raced to understand what he had just listened to.

"Gage?"

He broke his focus off of the screen, turning toward Burns. "Sorry, I was just deep in thought."

"Understandable, given what we just witnessed. What do you make of it?"

Gage stood, beginning to pace. "I doubt Teppler himself was involved, but it is clear to me that these are not just ordinary terrorists. Not only were those CorSec officers, but no simple terrorist has access to the equipment necessary to hack into a HoloNet broadcast. No, these terrorists are almost certainly sanctioned by the government, which means their actions can almost be directly attributed to the Confederation."

Burns eyed him carefully. "You yourself said that Teppler wasn't involved, and last time I checked he was the man in charge of the Confederate government. Do you really think he would be oblivious to such a conspiracy?"

"Come on, Arlin," Gage scoffed. "Denjax Teppler? The guy who has let member state leaders run his government for the past nine years? His Chief of Staff could be a terrorist and he wouldn't know it."

"I don't know if I would go that far-"

"It doesn't matter if you would," Gage retorted, shaking his head. "The fact of the matter is that our delegation was just attacked on Confederate soil, by seemingly Confederate agents. Dorvan was killed! It is both my, and our duty to act swiftly against the Confederation, to ensure that this never happens again."

"Surely you're not suggesting an attack."

"No, a full-on attack would be too far. But a military blockade may be in order. Something that will show the Confederation that we will not let what happened today off lightly."
"And how do you plan to get the senate on board with your plans? Desha Lor will become the interim Chief of State, and she will be opposed to such action."

"Certainly not. Lor is too cautious to take such action. But even the Chief of State can't ignore calls from the Senate, whether she disagrees or not. And besides, an emergency election will be called, and I plan to run."
Burns made a look of confusion. "So what, you'll campaign on blockading Corellia? Do you really think a majority in the senate will go for that?"

"You underestimate the senate. The Liberalists may hold the majority, but enough of them will listen," Gage said, showing a small smirk.

"You'll be playing a dangerous game, Gage. Calling for military action- hostile or not- will make you a target. You'll be even more of a HoloNet villain than you already are."

"I'm counting on it."