Hello there folks, I hope you are ready for yet another new fic. Anyway this one has been in the works for a bit with a huge amount of help from the man Bigtrunk aka Kuzaroo aka Identity Crisis…a more fitting name there never was. I kid of course.
Anyway so since this is my birthday I figured I should hurry and rush a second chapter out, it is a duty and a pleasure. Before we get to the story though a quick word about our little tale here.
I have placed Cadia into the Star Wars galaxy and tweaked quite a lot of lore to make it fit. That being said it won't just be planted on you in a big lore dump so I promise as time goes on you will learn more about this version of Cadia. As well as New Cadia, turns out the fall of Cadia is big enough of a deal that I just couldn't pass up also destroying my main character's homeworld and killing most of his family and people before the story even started.
Another perhaps even bigger note. You are getting a genderbent Anakin Skywalker. Congrats you've made it into the degensphere. You are hereby a degen.
Anyway i hope you enjoy it, lots of unnecessary violence and over the top jingoistic idealism to come.
On to the Story!
Cadia Stands
Chapter One
The Great Debt
Theed Royal Palace, Naboo
8 NC
Ulrich stood along the wall of the ornate throne room that Queen Amidala had selected to hold both her council discussions as well as today's message for the Trade Federation currently blockading the planet.
The young Lieutenant remained silent as the equally young Queen of Naboo attempted to appear as composed and authoritative as she could. His mind did wonder at the elaborate makeup and headdress that she wore. Despite the fact both his people and hers were human stock in origin and had become relatively close to one another over the last couple of centuries, their cultures really could not be any more different from one another.
A mirror like object made a brief tone before it cleared into the image of a pair of Neimoidians. The current Viceroy of the Trade Federation and some subordinate of his. He wasn't certain why she continued this charade with the aliens. It wasn't her first call to them, and they made sure to remind her of that fact.
"Ah the Queen herself. Finally some results. Again you come before us, Your Highness." Nute Gunray said in stilted basic.
"You will not be so pleased when you hear what I have to say, Viceroy. Your trade boycott of our planet has ended." The Queen spoke clearly and without fear.
The show of backbone was nice to see. The Cadians liked the Naboo, though they saw them as something of a too kind sister to their own people. One that others could take advantage of. Ulrich saw Queen Amidala as much the same, though this was not his planet and if he and his people valued anything it was the right of a people to make their own way.
"I was not aware of such a failure." Gunray responded.
"I have word that the chancellor's ambassadors are with you now and that you have been commanded to reach a settlement."
"I know nothing of any ambassadors. You must be mistaken." The alien lied easily though plainly.
The Queen didn't let any sort of reaction show on her painted face. She simply took the man's words in stride and spoke her own part.
"Beware Viceroy. The Federation has gone too far this time."
"We would never do anything without the approval of the senate. You assume too much."
"We will see." The queen simply replied and the transmission ended with the machine returning to a liquid mirror like surface once again.
"Call Senator Palpatine on Coruscant. We must discuss before the council. Lieutenant Ulrich you and your comrades are welcome to remain. I still hope to wait, but the offer of Cadian intervention may be our only recourse in time." The Queen said as some aides hurriedly tried to make contact with Naboo's representative on the galactic capitol.
"The decision will always remain yours, your Highness. We simply wish to return the good favor the people of Naboo have given us in our times of strife." Ulrich replied with a well practiced bow.
The Queen dipped her head slightly toward him, though not in a full bow as Ulrich had given her. A moment later and the Senator for Naboo appeared in a holographic form. A man well respected among the Cadians as he was among the Naboo themselves. Senator Palpatine had made the deals that secured New Cadia for them when he was still a very young man after all. In doing so he had unknowingly saved the Cadians as a race.
It stung at Ulrich's and no doubt Ulrich's soldiers prides to see the Senator and his Queen both distraught over their situation. He seemed completely stunned that the ambassadors from the republic had evidently never arrived and that negotiations were non-existent with their absence.
"How could that be true? I have assurances from the chancellor that his ambassadors did arrive." Palpatine spoke however his image and voice began to become distorted and the image flickered as it was a fire sputtering out.
"Senator Palpatine?" The Queen called out before turning her eyes to the captain of her guard. "What's happening?"
"Check the transmission generator." He ordered one of his guardsmen.
"I've seen this before, with all due respect Lieutenant, Your Majesty." One of the men with Ulrich said.
"What is it, sergeant?" Ulrich asked.
"When we were clearing out the pirates in the moons around New Cadia a few years back, they used jammers to block out our signals and to try and isolate our forces. The Trade Federation is blockading more than just trade now, sir." The older man replied.
"A communication's disruption like that can only mean one thing: invasion." One of the Queen's councilors advised.
"The federation would not dare go that far." Amidala snapped though her anger was not at her councilor but with the fleet surrounding her homeworld.
"The senate would revoke their trade franchise and they'd be finished." Captain Panaka added in.
"We must continue to rely on negotiation." The Queen said.
"Sergeant, can we get in touch with home?" Ulrich asked him.
"I've already had one of our men reach out to our shuttle. They said they have no signal offworld at all."
The council began to discuss what exactly to do. Some, made it clear that negotiation had failed them. The Federation was invading their home. The Queen however was resolute in her decision to attempt to avoid war at all costs.
"I fear that whatever the decision there will be a war." Ulrich muttered under his breath.
Naboo had little in the way of a military presence. Security forces on the world were skilled but they were trained for just what their name implied. Security. They weren't equipped or prepared to fight a war against the likes of the Trade Federation.
Cadia would help, but currently around twenty troopers were on the planet and that included Ulrich himself. He was a fourteen year old prodigy in both battle and tactics, but he was here as a liaison between the Lord Castellan of New Cadia and the Queen of Naboo. Nothing more.
Simply put Naboo had served itself on a platter to the Trade Federation and Ulrich and his men along with it.
Hours, that was all it took for the droid armies of the Trade Federation to begin pressing into the capitol. Long lines of uniform battle droids marched alongside hover tanks as they crossed the vast plains bound for Theed.
"Your majesty, I'm begging you to see reason. If you are captured you cannot negotiate for anything. You can only beg." Ulrich insisted.
"If I were to give orders to my people to fight, many would die for nothing." She argued back.
"For their freedom. They would fight and possibly die for their freedom." The young Lieutenant continued to try and convince her.
"No. Naboo has no army. Our Security forces cannot stand up to that. There is no chance of victory so we will not fight."
"Then you will surrender and your people truly will suffer for nothing. You Naboo…how have you lived for so long without fighting for anything?" He asked bitterly.
"I couldn't say but I could tell you how the Cadians live still." She fired back before realizing her words.
Ulrich and his soldiers all became rigid and tense. Padme felt immediately terrible but she couldn't unsay what she had.
"Lieutenant, I apologize…" She trailed off unsure how to proceed.
"No, I was out of order, your majesty. Cadia has a debt to you and your people I should not presume to know better how to lead them than you." Ulrich said before bowing slightly and leading his men off to who knew where.
Padme blew out a tired sigh from that. The lieutenant and his people had done nothing but supported her and now she was doing nothing but trapping him here and reminding him of his people's near annihilation.
"We can't fight. It just gives them an excuse to slaughter people." She said somberly. She was still certain on her course of action. The time for fighting might come but it wasn't now. At the moment that would achieve nothing but death.
She wished there was a way to escape. Perhaps if she and a few others could slip through the blockade and go to Coruscant to plead their case in person they might have a chance of forcing the Trade Federation to withdraw.
Unfortunately that meant she would somehow have to get offworld and across the galaxy without the federation picking her up along the way. There simply wasn't a way, and with communications jammed she couldn't threaten the Trade Federation with a real war from Cadian's joining them.
She still wasn't certain how it was that the Viceroy thought he would be able to get away with his actions without bringing the republic down onto him. He'd openly invaded them at this point. As long as she kept her people from retaliating they could use it to show the predatory nature of the Trade Federation in the Outer and Mid Rim worlds that was becoming so rampant.
"Your Highness, the droids have entered the city and are marching on the palace." Captain Panaka's voice called out over her communicator.
"Thank you captain. Assemble the council and we'll wait for them in the throne room." Padme replied before making sure that her eyes were dry and leaving with her handmaidens to get ready.
Or rather to get her double Corde ready.
The droids forced them out of the council room only a few minutes after they had arrived. She had her security officers surrender their weapons and the entirety of her court, guards, handmaidens, and all were escorted out to meet with the Viceroy who seemed to be taking them somewhere.
Padme currently remained disguised in the sunset colored robes of the handmaidens while Corde walked with the Governor, Sio Bibble and the Viceroy.
"How do you intend to explain this invasion to the senate?" Sio asked with no small amount of venom in his voice.
"The Queen and I will sign a treaty that will legitimize our occupation here. I have assurances it will be ratified by the senate." Gunray said with clear pride in what he saw as an easy victory.
"I will not cooperate." Corde played her part well.
"Now, Now, your Highness. In time, the suffering of your people will persuade you to see our point of view."
Padme inwardly scowled at his words but like the rest of the group kept a stoic resolve against such threats. They wouldn't be getting any sort of enjoyment in their reactions at the very least. However her thoughts went to the Lieutenant and his men that had quite literally disappeared a mere hour earlier. He hadn't been in the throne room when she'd called the council and she hadn't seen any sign of his small group since she last spoke with him.
Captain Panaka had also told her that the troops he'd had with his shuttle had disappeared as well.
"Commander." Gunray's voice called out to a droid with yellow markings.
"Yes Sir." It responded.
"Process them."
"Understood. Captain, escort them to camp four." The droid ordered another battle droid marked in a dark red.
"Roger, Roger."
Before the group could continue forward however there was a sudden blast and the commander droid fell to the ground with it's head removed and only the thin neck sections of metal remaining as smoke wafted off of them.
With a collective shout the platoon of Cadian soldiers accompanying the Lieutenant ambushed the droids with rapid pinpoint fire from the unique weapons that the Cadians preferred to the traditional blaster. Padme watched as the droids quickly succumbed to the attack and the skilled marksmanship of the Cadians rendered them all into smoldering piles of slagged metal in moments.
Not quickly enough though. More droids descended the stairs as the Viceroy and his subordinate fled up them. It was all Padme and her entourage could do to crouch low and take cover as the droids and Cadians entered into a heated exchange of fire. Padme herself pressed tightly against the bannister while her handmaidens crowded around her, looking terrified. Truly they were acting as human shields for their queen while the guards retrieved the blasters dropped by the droids and joined the Cadians in firing at the droids.
"Kill them, but don't harm the queen!" Gunray hollered as he was escorted to safety by several droids, his subordinate wasn't so lucky.
As the pair of Neimoidians turned the corner he just narrowly stepped into place between Gunray and the Cadians below. Lieutenant Ulrich had stepped from cover with a handgun aimed up to try and kill the Viceroy only to end the life of the man's second instead.
"Dammit, quickly get the Queen and her people up and moving!" He barked out and immediately the Cadians were in motion, leaping from their hiding places in the walls and small niches surrounding the stairwell.
Rather than heading for the queen like Captain Panaka and most of the Cadians and her own guards, Ulrich made a beeline directly for her. By the time he had reached her she and the rest of the group were on the move, but still he took up position next to her as they moved.
"Lieutenant." She greeted him as they hurried down the stairs shooting any nearby droids while they went. She noticed a couple of her guards had been killed in the ambush and at least one if not more of the Cadians had fallen as well.
Ulrich stared at her a moment before nodding his head in greeting. "Handmaiden." He simply replied.
Soon enough they got away from the droids. It was of course only a temporary thing. The droids would reform and regroup into a much larger force and then pursue them. Thankfully it would take some time as they weren't designed for quick reactions, more just overwhelming their enemy.
"We're heading for the hangars?" Corde asked.
"We plan to get you off world your highness." The Sergeant that had been with Ulrich in the throne room replied.
"And then?" She asked.
"To Coruscant or New Cadia, the choice is yours. We simply can't abide you being made a hostage of the Trade Federation." Ulrich responded.
"I see. Reaching the hangar and securing transport remains our primary issue." Corde replied. Padme would pass on her chosen destination to Corde sometime before the decision had to be made.
As they passed through a largely empty neighborhood, clearly the residents had already been rounded up by the droids, a pair of robed figures as well as a Gungan dropped down before them. Well, the Gungan mostly fell, but the two men in robes clearly surpassed human abilities in athletics. She could only imagine they were Jedi.
"We mean no harm." The elder of the two humans said as he raised his hand placatingly. Still the Cadians remained on guard.
"We're ambassadors for the supreme chancellor." He continued.
"Good job." Ulrich sniped, getting a soft chuckle from his men and a roll of the eyes from Padme.
"Your negotiations do seem to have failed, Ambassador." Sio agreed.
"The negotiations never took place. It's urgent that we make contact with the republic." The man continued.
"They've knocked out all of our communications." Captain Panaka added.
"We were headed to the hangars now to try and make a run for it." Ulrich pointed out.
"That will do, lead the way."
Ulrich was fine with that. He positioned his men to surround the group with a secondary ring of defense made up of the Naboo guard. Ulrich himself led his men from the front. The group stuck to paths out of the streets and utilized rarely used service paths to reach the hangar. Thankfully Captain Panaka was able to direct them as they went, every moment counted and soon the droids would be falling upon their position in numbers they couldn't hope to combat.
"Right through here, it's the main hangar." Panaka said.
"Good, Sergeant take our men and secure our vessel. I'll remain with the queen. Hopefully two targets will be too much and the blockade will fail to stop us both. Have the pilots take you directly to New Cadia and secure the support of the Lord Castellan." Ulrich ordered.
Padme shot a worried glance to Corde but the handmaiden in disguise had been with Padme long enough to know just what to say.
"Ensure your Lord Castellan does not bring an invasion fleet here to Naboo unless I ask for the aid, Lieutenant. I will not have all of Naboo turned into a warzone." She said sternly.
Ulrich seemed to grind his teeth together but nodded.
"You heard her majesty." He said getting a nod from his sergeant in response.
The Hangar was crawling with droids. They were guarding groups of pilots and technicians while periodically escorting a few out to be processed into prisoner containment. The fact that the federation hadn't already sent reinforcements to stop the obvious avenue of escape almost stunned Ulrich.
Rather than worry about it being a trick though he prayed that it was a true show of incompetence and joined the two obvious jedi and the rest of his men as they all stepped into the hangar and attacked the droids.
It was similar to the ambush he had laid for the droids escorting the queen. Though his pride still burned from that. His secondary objective of killing or capturing the Viceroy had failed utterly and the worm had escaped by the luckiest or unluckiest of moments depending on which of the two Neimoidians you asked.
The Jedi had wanted to simply stride up to the droids and confuse them by the non hostile move. Ulrich wasn't about to place his men and the people they had just rescued at such a risk as to plant them into the middle of a Hangar for the onset of a gun battle. No he preferred cover and he preferred his people behind cover as well.
"Not all of us as reflexes of the Jedi." He'd told them and surprisingly the jedi had relented upon that point being raised.
So instead the Jedi fell upon the battle droids with inhuman quickness while Ulrich and his men were joined by Captain Panaka and his own men in picking off the targets that they could. If anything the strategy worked far better. The droids focused their attention on the two Jedi while they were picked apart by the shots from the Cadian lasguns and the captured blasters used by the Naboo.
Sadly a couple of pilots and techs were caught in the crossfire and killed but most escaped, joining a portion of the Naboo guard remaining behind with the Queen's councilors. Those necessary to get the ships out and on their way to Coruscant and New Cadia respectively joined the crews already climbing aboard.
"Lieutenant." The Sergeant called out to him before he joined the Jedi, Queen, and other Naboo in the silver Nubian ship.
"Yes Sergeant?" He turned to face him.
"Are you sure you want to go with them? You could just come back with us. None would blame you, specially not her." The Sergeant said with a tinge of worry in his voice.
It warmed Ulrich's heart just as much as it pissed him off. He'd earned his rank despite his age and his place among the men and women of Cadia.
"It's a question of honor and duty. We have a debt, sergeant." He responded solemnly.
"Aye, sir. Good luck." The man said before pivoting and climbing aboard the green and black Aquila Lander.
Both craft neared the blockade and came under fire from the Lucrehulks surrounding Naboo. The Nubian ship was a larger target than the Aquila and took a direct hit that fried it's shield generator and damaged several other components. Worse yet it had to slow down while several Astromechs rolled out onto the hull of the ship to make repairs.
One by one the astromechs were clipped with fire from the Trade Federation ship and destroyed until only a single one remained. A perfect shot lined up on the little droid would have forced the Nubian to surrender and land with the Queen back in the federations hands if the Aquila didn't suddenly bank left and take the attack in it's stead.
With it's engines fried and it's shield overloaded, the light transport stood no chance for the next two blasts from the Lucrehulk's turbolasers and it detonated in a ball of fire.
Ulrich ignored the soft hand of the Handmaiden laying on his shoulder as he stared at the wreckage left behind by his comrades. He wouldn't show his sadness at their loss openly. It wasn't the Cadian way.
The sacrifice of the Cadian ship was enough to buy the Astromech time though and it fixed what damage it could, allowing for the Nubian to recharge it's power and make the jump to lightspeed.
"That little droid managed to do it, but theres not enough power to get us to Coruscant. The hyperdrive is leaking." The pilot said as they escaped the system.
"I hate to say it but New Cadia is out of the question. The Lord Castellan wouldn't be so willing to listen to your desires if you were safe on Cadian soil. She'd launch an attack against the Trade Federation right away. It's all she really knows how to do in this sort of situation." Ulrich admitted.
"There's bound to be some sort of hunter or Trade Federation force between here and New Cadia anyway. We'd never make it there at all." One of the Jedi pointed out.
The connections between he Cadians and the Naboo had been well documented and well known for years and they had only grown closer after the fall of Cadia.
"So we have to land somewhere to refuel and repair the ship." The elder of the jedi said calmly.
"Here, Master. Tatooine." The younger Jedi said as he pulled it up on one of the ship terminals.
"It's small, out of the way, poor. The Trade Federation have no presence there." He continued.
"How can you be sure?" Panaka asked.
"It's controlled by the Hutts." The elder Jedi answered.
"Slavers and Aliens. Wonderful." Ulrich muttered irritably.
"You can't take her royal highness there, the Hutts are gangsters. If they discover her-" Panaka began to argue.
"He's right Captain. It's our only real option out here. The Trade Federation has a lot of power in the outer rim, places like Tatooine are our only option…as much as I detest it." Ulrich said, calming the captain down.
"The Hutts at least are not looking for us. That gives us the advantage." The Jedi added.
A short time later, before they reached the planet the Queen called a small ceremony in the ship's throne room. Ulrich found it a bit odd that such a thing existed on the ship at all but it was the personal vessel of a Queen.
"Were it not the for sacrifice of our Cadian friends and the hard work of this little droid, we never would have made it your majesty." Panaka said calmly.
"All are to be commended for their actions, our Cadian friends most especially. I cannot thank them now but I thank you, Lieutenant Ulrich, in their stead."
"It is an honor, your highness." Ulrich replied though he wondered silently if his deceased subordinates thought of it as such.
"I also commend our little droid friend here. What is its number?" She asked.
"R2-D2, Your highness."
"Thank you, R2-D2." The Queen replied.
The droid whistled and chirped in response. In such a way that it sounded happy to be praised.
"Padme." The Queen called, bringing one of the handmaidens up from the wall to her side. "Clean this droid up the best you can. It deserves our gratitude."
Ulrich rose an eyebrow at the command and glanced at Padme's face but remained silent. It still struck him as a bit odd though.
"Continue." The Queen ordered.
The elder Jedi cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Your Highness, with your permission we're heading for a remote planet called Tatooine. It's in a system far beyond the reach of the Trade Federation."
"I do not agree with the jedi on this." Panaka spoke his mind easily enough.
"You must trust my judgment, Your Highness." The man pushed on.
Ulrich stepped forward then. "With all due respect, your majesty, Cadians owe almost as much to the Jedi as they do your people. I would stake my life on…"
"Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is Obi-Wan Kenobi." Qui-Gon supplied his and his apprentice's names.
"I would stake my life on the advice of Qui-Gon if only on the reputation of his order." Ulrich suggested.
The Queen nodded slowly before agreeing to the plan.
They were bound for the planet of Tatooine.
That is that for today, i wanted to get this out short and fast so we had a double update on my Birthday.
I want to say that I will be following episode one a bit closely to canon. Not exactly, I have several changes coming up quickly that I feel are pretty large, however I feel that the base story of Ani being found and taken from slavery to join the jedi order is obviously core to the story and so it remains. Also a note for the Date, that would be Cadian calendar or New Cadia as in it's been eight years since the homeworld was officially changed from Cadia to New Cadia for reasons.
Anyway I hope you enjoyed,
Till Next Time