Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and Star Wars.
Hello again, I hope you are all well and are having a good 2024 so far!
This story has probably been the biggest one I have ever written and it still has some way to go but since Northern Wind my other active story will be finished soon hopefully this will mean I can spend more time on this one! I cannot promise I will update more often but hopefully I can.
Review Responses from the Last Chapter…
BlackWatcher1234 – I was unsure at first but it is for a reason for it. Given they didn't react to her back in Kotor 2 I doubt the Mandalorians would care much now. No, I don't intend to bring back anymore characters from that era or include the descendants. Boba Fett? I have something planned for him in a couple of chapters time.
nazarenegodfrey11 – Good point, but where is it? No trace of it later as far as I know.
WhiteElfElder – Indeed, but he makes a move that will make things more difficult for our heroes now. Indeed, but they did clear it out before doing that.
Sanders7201 – Thanks! I don't intend to bring them in as it would be a story on its own.
HowlnMadHowie – Amazing! There were enough saber parts in Mount Wayland for her to do it. Han Solo? Not sure how to bring him in as he would be likely be in a different place. Chewbacca won't be enslaved so he won't meet him. He will probably still get the Falcon but how would he meet Luke and the rest of the gang?
ironspike68 – Thank you! I love the old expanded universe too. There will always be greedy people out to help themselves so they need to be watched. The Big Push will have good and bad results.
ShadowPhyr – Indeed but it will unleash a new threat.
AnimeFan13579 – Wayland is full of secrets but I think the Emperor keeps a lot of secrets in his head or in other places like Byss or Exegol.
Jebest4781, tf330129, Leaf Ninja 91, Tabu24, dan . lew . upg, That2-one3-girl4, Rebell 01,Bia1230 - Thank you!
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark – Glad you have enjoyed it! Meetra to my mind had no chance given how much Revan consumed her life. It is nice to give her another shot. At present Satele and Meetra are about twenty-one or so. Rey? She might appear or at least her parents might. There were good parts to the Sequel Trilogy but they were never properly used or ruined by various factors. Sabine is in trouble, what she did is the sort of thing that could get her killed but there were no outside factions doing it though.
DarthEmrys – Indeed, Wayland was a big installation but not the only one. Satele probably wouldn't even react since she had little to do with the Ordos. Meetra maybe but not sure if they should meet. Gar Saxon is a coward and a sellout that is only out for himself as long as he can hide behind a bigger bully in this case the Empire. Vitiate no way, he is dead. I don't intend to bring back any more characters from the past.
More Review Responses at the end of the chapter…
5 BBY – 995 ARR
Chapter 37 – A New Threat Emerges
Rebel Alliance Base, Dantooine…995 ARR…
The lush and vast farmlands of Dantooine might be a remote and seemingly backwater world but the planet had regardless been an important battleground for centuries in many different wars.
Both Satele and Meetra had been critically aware of its significance, not least Meetra who had once trained at the Jedi Enclave here and then later had fought for and stabilized the planet in the aftermath of Malak's attack.
Now the Rebel Alliance had established a base here and was running campaigns across the galaxy from this headquarters but this would not be for long as some Imperial scouts had gotten too close to the base for comfort and so they would move to a new location soon. A new headquarters was being selected and the Yavin system was looking particularly promising with its thick jungles, remote location and Massassi temples was about as perfect as they could ever have hoped for. But for now, they were still on Dantooine.
Seeing the busy command centre was nothing new to either women, war had dominated most of their lives regardless of which era they had lived in. Neither revelled in fighting but regardless they were good at it and they were here today to meet with some of the rebel leaders to determine in what capacity they would join this struggle.
Meetra was missing her friends more than ever now, glad beyond measure that Bao-Dur was still around but Atton, Mira, Mical, Brianna, Canderous and even T3-M4 were all long gone now. It saddened her deeply, she missed them more than she had before her original death even though she found that almost laughable to say, it made it sound like it was normal.
Satele meanwhile was allowing her mind to drift back to her son, hoping that he had enjoyed a long and joy filled life and was more devastated than she would ever care to admit that she hadn't been there to see it.
Seeing the Republic that they had both fought for and bled to defend be transformed into the exact kind of Empire they had tried so hard to defeat was tragic although given how corrupt it had been the Republic had died as a result of its own failings and how much it had rotted from the inside out.
Whatever replaced it would need to do better, that was something they could both agree on.
Holograms of the four leaders of the Rebellion appeared before them, they had all been senators in the old senate and to be honest while all were dedicated and had their own plus points, they all had their share of problems too.
Garm Bel-Iblis was a planetary leader who had a powerful military at his command and was one of the best military minds the Alliance had but he was also gruff, stubborn and focused on militant action over any other.
Mon Mothma on the other hand was perhaps the weakest link in the chain, she was a woman of principle which meant something and she was a firm believer in democracy but she was far too weak in her faith that they could win. She doubted that the Rebellion could achieve the Empire's defeat and had no intention of trying to fight if she could help it, thinking it would be pointless. She was also extremely slow to commit to anything like any politician so she could pull out if required. Mothma would have to commit to something eventually they thought with dismay but how long before she did?
The remaining two were much better in their minds; Padme Amidala-Skywalker and Bail Organa. Both were believers in democracy and both were decisive in their judgement, they would take action when required and try to find a mix of both. They also happened to be ones that were keeping the peace between Mon Mothma and Garm Bel-Iblis.
If they lost both of them the Rebellion would be in a lot of trouble both women realised.
Nevertheless, they were the leaders of the group so they had to convince them.
"Those credits Anakin stole have been a great benefit to the Alliance and to Liber8, they had bought us a lot of equipment and some valuable intel." Padme said proudly as she reminded the other three of her husband's accomplishment.
"But we must now address our newest members." Bail said turning to the two young women who were in reality much older than they appeared and far more skilled. While he personally couldn't quite understand the circumstances that had brought them here, he did know they were legendary Jedi with a long list of accomplishments to their names. Either would be an asset to the rebellion but both would be a coup.
"Indeed, and judge if they are the right sort of people we need in the struggle against the Empire." Mon Mothma said with cold detachment. Garm just shook his head and scoffed at her opinions.
"They are Jedi who know how to fight and are willing too. I have seen what the Corellian Jedi can do and these two are from what I am told far above them. If you want come to Corellia just let me know." He said with the hope of getting two very strong fighters into his forces.
"The Rebellion might have need of you as well." Padme said taking control of the discussion as it was fast getting off topic. "Apart from your own considerable skills in combat and leadership which I am sure will be an immense asset there is also the matter of the force sensitives that have joined the Alliance and a few former Jedi students that never finished their training. The more Jedi there are to work with the Alliance the more effective we become and the closer we are to overthrowing the Empire to restore freedom to the galaxy. Will you work with us?" Padme asked wondering if they were as strong as Anakin had told her they were but even if they weren't they would still be a great asset to the alliance.
Meetra and Satele didn't like the idea of training soldiers, war was nothing new to either of them but they did not like the idea of training new Jedi solely to fight.
A Jedi…a real one was far more than that.
They had both trained many apprentices in their lives, many of whom had gone on to be significant themselves in some way. But even if they did train them and they worked with the alliance that didn't mean they didn't have to be just soldiers. They could show them to find their own true potential and discover just what they were meant to be.
"We will work with you, as Jedi it is our duty to help those in need and to spread knowledge of the force to those who can hear it." Meetra said having done that herself and brought the Jedi Order back from the brink of extinction in her own era. Those Jedi she had trained had restarted the order when it was on the edge of going out and she was quite willing to teach again.
Satele likewise had fought to bring the Order back after it had first been devastated by the Great Galactic War and then the Zakuul Invasion. She disliked being responsible for soldiers on the battlefield again but it was unfortunately the burden you had to bear if you were going to fight the oppressive forces against them.
"Good, then if you are prepared, we are mounting a major push soon and many of our people are ready but they lack experienced leaders. We would like to entrust two particular assaults to your capable hands." Bail Organa said with an uncomfortable look on his face when talking about military action but resolute as it would hopefully help many in the long run while Mon Mothma looked ready to demean such tactics before she was silenced by a look from Padme Amidala.
This did not fill the two Jedi with confidence as this command structure looked extremely unstable to them, inaction by politicians had certainly been a problem they had both faced in the past so fighting among themselves was not something that spelled success for the Alliance. While putting all the power into the hands of one person was not to their minds a good idea as one only had to look at Palpatine, the Sith Lord to see how doing that could be misused but having a single leader who could properly direct and co-ordinate the Alliance and its direction would likely do the organisation much good.
Neither of them wanted that position however, they both thought with revulsion. They were both creatures of duty whatever that duty meant so even if they were offered such power, they likely wouldn't accept it. But it would do good to keep an eye on the four leaders of the Alliance, not just in case one of them turned against the organisation but also in case a potential main leader emerged from it.
Liber8 Base, Classified Location…
With a major operation planned many of the leaders of Liber8 including Anakin, Devan and Kagame where locked in the planning room making final preparations as was Padme with the Rebel Alliance. This meant watching over the two newest arrivals fell to the oldest Skywalker children…but under the supervision of HK-47, both Noghri, C-3PO and R2.
After what happened last time when the children had been left unsupervised, they weren't taking any chances despite the fact that both Luke and Leia, now both turning fifteen were in no way eager to relive what had happened on their first 'adventure'. Jal though who was the same age as them was somewhat responsible and so had been left with them too.
Tash and Zak Arranda had therefore become their responsibility, Tash was only eight years of age and Zak a year younger. Mace who was only about to turn nine so he too was in their charge.
Luke and Leia felt nervous as they were for the first time responsible for not only their little brother but also for two other younglings, it honestly was unnerving despite the safety of being in the base.
So, they had decided to try and introduce the Arranda siblings to their game.
"The aim of the game is to take the ball and get it in the goal behind your opponent." Leia said with tense nerves, having changed normal puck they used for a softer cushioned ball to make sure they couldn't hurt each other by accident.
"Do we kick or throw it?" Zak asked confused and Luke told him feeling as worried about the two hurting themselves as Leia was told him.
"No, you use the force to throw it, bounce it off walls until it goes into the target but you never touch it with your body." He said, keenly making that point clear as even with the cushioned ball they could still hurt themselves if it was thrown hard enough.
"But we don't have much control over it yet." Tash admitted, her blonde hair tied in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. She looked nervous as they hadn't quite managed to control the force as they channelled it yet. They weren't as powerful as the twins but they were still strong in the force and could be capable wielders of it one day. Masters Kagame and Skywalker hadn't had many lessons with them yet so the training was still in its early stages and they needed more practice to be able to use it properly.
"You will be fine." Luke and Leia said together, sharing a look before smiling as their force bond was much stronger these days and occasionally, they found themselves saying the same sentence at the same time.
Jal sat with Mace at the side, eager to see this 'force ball' for himself as Tash and Zak stood at the ends of the small court. They nervously stood there and were almost afraid to lift the ball and so Leia showing a little of her own lack of patience so she picked up the ball with the force and threw it at Tash.
Tash screamed and raised her arms to protect herself but nothing happened as subconsciously Tash had summoned the force to stop and hold the ball. She slowly lowered her arms and saw it, shocking herself most of all while Zak looked on in surprise.
Tash slowly smiled as the ball fell but that was only for a moment before she managed to lift it again, this time on her own. Zak watched as his sister levitated the ball and then when Tash finally threw it at the goal behind him, it went straight past his head into the goal.
The scoring of the point made Zak's competitive spirit rise and he would not allow his sister to outdo him. So, he now forgot his own fear and lack of belief that he could do it, levitating the ball and throwing it back which Tash intercepted before bouncing it off the walls to score another point.
Both siblings were soon giving the game their all while Luke and Leia kept an eye on them and Jal sat with Mace to watch the match.
Unknown to any of them they were being observed by two men on a gantry nearby.
"All they needed was the right encouragement, and all the twins needed was the chance to be truly responsible to rise to the occasion." Anakin said with a proud look at his twins as unknowingly they had helped teach the Arrandas to open themselves to the force properly and improve their telekinesis at the same time.
"Some lessons work best when the student doesn't know they are being taught, or must live the lesson." Kagame said with a wise and small smile, drawing on his many years as a teacher. "Every student will learn at their own pace and so you should never judge one on the standard set by another." Kagame warned him as although he had trained three students to effective knighthood even if it was unofficial in Ahsoka's case he had not trained them that differently.
Anakin nodded, understanding that Kagame was making this into a lesson for himself too. He had five young apprentices now although Luke and Leia had come a long way in the last year and now had lightsabers of their own which were hanging from their belts. He would need to think of them as individuals and not compare them to each other.
Anakin and Kagame went back to silently observing the younglings as they played their game, gaining more confidence in their use of the force which would help them deepen their connection to it and let them learn the path ahead.
Kaitain, Pasdisahah Imperium…
Paul smiled as the children floated the ball back to him and then he did the same back to them, it was as much a game as it was an early introduction to force instruction.
The children were finally starting to open up to him, Paul thought with a smile of relief. They still were somewhat untrusting towards him but they no longer hid from him and allowed him to play their games with them. He took that to be a good sign that they were at least willing to give him a chance.
Irulan on the other hand remained as closed off as ever he thought sadly, she had been working on matters of state and her training with his mother with any time left spent with the children who loved to spend time with her, even when she was training. She had even taken lessons in lightsaber fighting and had travelled to Arrakis and dared face the desert to find her own crystal to build one with.
And he had not been allowed to help.
That stabbed at his heart, she remained as cold towards him as she had since he returned to public life.
His return to the Imperium's leadership had been met with a fair amount of scepticism, many not sure he would stay around after proving a failure before but he was slowly regaining the public's trust.
Tonight, though he thought with fear as he buttoned up his tunic, he was taking her to the opera in hopes he might make some more headway and prayed to the force to let it be so.
The time of Operation 'Big Push' had finally arrived, all the participants had been quietly preparing their forces for months in anticipation of this enormous co-ordinated attack against the Empire.
The Rift Alliance had spent the last few months staging mock exercises along their borders to slowly condition the Imperials watching to not react at a build-up of their forces, it was just another exercise after all and having seen weeks if not months of such activities none of them realised it was no exercise this time.
Not only that though but the Underworld Alliance was preparing to mount a large series of thefts from the Empire that would be extremely profitable and cause even more chaos.
The Rebel Alliance and Liber8 meanwhile were preparing their own series of raids and attacks, some of which might actually free some worlds of Imperial Oppression.
It was a major challenge for all involved to not only keep all this secret but to wait till the exact right moment to make their move. All the attacks had to be launched at roughly the same time across the galaxy and spreading the word without the Empire learning about it had been extremely hard. To the extent that many of those participating in the attack had no idea it was being done in conjunction with others on a mass scale.
When the day finally came, it was a major relief to all.
- x -
Aruza, Expansionist Region…
A pacifistic planet that had known nothing but peace for centuries the Aruza took great care of their world, ensuring it was a place of beauty and that all the needs of their people were met and improving the effectiveness of their Attanni implants that allowed them to share emotions and memories with each other when linked. To the extent that when joined they ceased to be separate people until they unlinked from each other.
They resembled the reclusive Chiss in many respects with blue skin and dark hair which may indicate a common ancestry but it was the implants that drew the attention of General Sinick Kritkeen of COMPNOR, the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order. He had grown to believe that if they could force a planet wide joining and use the implants to stimulate aggressive tendencies to force the entire species into being a violent and relentless warrior race for the Empire while stripping them of any positive emotions and enforced indoctrination to Imperial doctrine.
So, the Rebel Alliance had decided to save their people and Padme had brought in Anakin to lead the Taskforce, flying his customised T-65b X-Wing alongside the other fighter pilots as they battled the Star Destroyer in orbit.
However, while the Three Thranta-class Light Cruisers and the Nebulon-B Frigate that was operating as the flagship tangled with Star Destroyer, Anakin led the starfighter battle. His responsibility was hard enough without having the additional worry of Luke and Leia joining him for the first time.
"Got one!" Luke said from his own X-Wing nearby with excitement while Leia in her own X-Wing was not going to let her brother beat her and told him smugly.
"That still leaves you two behind me!" She told him and Anakin could feel his teeth grinding themselves together with his frustration before he told them sharply.
"This is a battle situation! No unnecessary chatter!" He scolded them and they instantly fell back into line.
"Yes dad." Both twins said quickly before resuming the fight.
As it continued though Anakin and the twins drew deeper on the force and began to slip into a bond that Anakin had only known once before, during the Clone Wars when fighting with Ahsoka over Naboo. His bond with the twins intensified and due to their deep love and trust for one another they all connected deeply to each other.
A force meld, brought about by the intensity of battle and their mutual desire to protect each other. Strengthened by their shared immense power.
The three began fighting in unison with each other, moving almost as one without hesitation or worry, their foresight now joined allowed them to foresee any danger to themselves.
They cut through the TIE fighters that were surrounding them and headed straight for the Star Destroyer, working in combination they attacked it, Luke and Leia punching through the deflector shield before blowing up the two projector domes on top of the bridge section with proton torpedoes. That left the bridge of the ship exposed and Anakin then fired his own torpedoes along with a barrage of laser fire.
The torpedoes and lasers ripped through the view screen and exploded inside; Anakin pulled up at the last moment as the headless ship staggered. All gunnery co-ordination stopped and the Rebel warships took advantage to attack the now vulnerable capital ship.
Anakin and his twins continued to move in unison across the battlefield cutting down Tie fighters with ease or using their fighters to strafe large vessels, seeing the Star Destroyer explode was rewarding before they joined the flight drop ships heading towards the surface.
Imperial Complex, Burkeen, Aruza…Later that Day…
There were no space ports on the planet as the Empire had made sure that none of the Azurans could ever leave their planet and to limit the potential spread of information on what was happening here. Regardless though rumours had leaked out and now the Rebel Alliance was at their doorstep.
Anakin with his lightsaber in hand led the charge into the Imperial Lab Complex, at his side Luke and Leia were brandishing their blue and green bladed lightsabers at his side as they forced their way into the area.
The sight of so many Azurans in pain and being left as emotionless or feral shells of their former selves was a real eye opener for the Rebel Soldiers and in particular to Luke and Leia who now saw for themselves the evils of the Empire and why it had to be fought.
Anakin himself was too controlled to allow his fury to show in any other way but an intensifying of his attacks, cutting through stormtroopers with ease and often killing them with their own blaster bolts which he deflected right back at them.
Luke and Leia both stayed close to his side, still as in tandem with him as they had been in orbit which made the trio much more effective and inspiring to their soldiers who followed their seemingly unstoppable Jedi, seemingly proven when an AT-AT walker lumbered its way into view.
Luke and Leia, leapt forward and with a single effortless swipe as they passed cut through its legs at the joints before Anakin used the force to pull the walker's top part from the separated legs, making it come crashing to the ground.
The Rebels were astonished and loved every moment of it, the legend of the Jedi seemingly brought to life before their very eyes.
As the locals joined their struggle, desperate for freedom and swelling their ranks the Rebels managed to breach the inner sanctum of the structure and came into view of the man responsible for the horrific experiments conducted on the Aruzans…General Sinick Kritkeen of COMPNOR. He seemed like nothing when you first looked at him, a human male of middle age with short brown hair but to the three Jedi among them they saw his complete lack of pity or compassion, his only desires to serve his Emperor and create a mark of his own on history for his great achievement.
Anakin did not waste any time talking with such a man especially as he would be unlikely to have any useful information and without at hesitation struck him down with his lightsaber which shocked some but it was drowned out by the cheers of the Azurans who celebrated the death of the hated general.
Imperial control of this planet was broken and many locals would join up with the Rebel Alliance which would begin construction of a base here. That might have been dangerous but the Empire had more than one front to worry about today, Anakin thought with a smirk knowing it was only the beginning.
- x -
Mantooine, Outer Rim Territories…
Travis was an experienced warrior, one who had fought in many battles over the years and for this battle had been given command of Liber8's forces, a position he was quite familiar with and ready to fulfil.
Today was a hard fight, he thought with gritted teeth. His people and the Mantooine Liberators who were the local resistance fought a harsh pitched battle against the Empire who were stubborn to give any ground. He lifted his heavy repeater and let rip towards the enemy, cutting down any that were foolish enough to stand in the open while a walker approached, just a smaller scout walker but still more than his blaster could handle.
A rocket launcher from one of the nearby rebel fighters saved him though, blowing up the ridiculous looking walker.
Still as his men and the locals were falling around him Travis knew he was in trouble; the Imperials were far too entrenched for him to make any headway in forcing his way into the complex. The space station in orbit had been easy but the ground battle was quickly bogging down.
Another three of his men were killed as they tried to run the gauntlet only to be cut down the E-web blaster turrets being deployed by the enemy. He saw one of them, Jovis a friend of his for seventeen years have half his face ripped off by the laser and he snarled with anger, his disgust at the Empire stronger than ever now.
But as he was about to risk charging the blasters himself a surprising source of reinforcements came into view, drop ships appearing just outside of the Imperial Anti-Aircraft defence net.
They were ships belonging to the nearby world of Fest, a bitter rival of Mantooine with which they fought several times in the distant past. But despite thousands of years passing the distrust between them remained. So much so that they would refuse to help each other even if it benefited both of them.
The Mantooine Liberators turned their weapons to face the Fest Resistance Group who were the ones flying the ships, convinced that they were going to be betrayed and slaughtered but what emerged from the drop ships was surprising, five MPTL-2a artillery platforms rolled out with some Fest Resistance fighters around them for protection.
They began to deploy their proton launchers but then to the surprise of the Mantooine Liberators they did not fire on them but instead targeted the entrenched Imperials. Travis smirked as a familiar robed figure appeared from one of the drop ships.
"Kagame, you son of a bitch." Travis said with pride as much as astonishment. He had not only managed to liberate the nearby system of Fest but also somehow convinced the Fest Resistance Group to help their hated rivals. To bond together against a mutual enemy.
Either way, the artillery Kagame had brought opened the way and led by Travis, the Liberators, Liber8 and Fest Resistance Fighters charged in to take the Imperial Ground Base and liberate the planet.
Mirial, Outer Rim Territories…
The home world of the Mirialians had been occupied by the Trade Federation and therefore had been a Separatist world during the Clone Wars so the Galactic Empire then took over when the wars were done.
The Star Destroyer Morrhage was on station to defend it but the Aden class ships leading the charge deployed a new weapon that the Mandalorians had ironically stolen from Count Dooku's hidden lab years, the scientists had been working on the concept for several years but only recently had it become a useable weapon.
Proton Beam weapons, a single energy beam that carried highly charged protons along it. Depending on the strength of the reactor that was powering the beam it could do considerable damage to energy shields and hulls. Three of the Adens had been outfitted with such weapons and under the co-ordination of Duke N'Val and Duchess Kane, demolished the shields and gutted the Morrhage. One lucky shot knocked out her life support and left the crew to slowly suffocate, they fled in what ships they had and abandoned the star destroyer without having set the self-destruct if it had even worked with all the damage. Duchess Kane smirked as the Morrhage would make quite a trophy, sending people out to secure it.
The space station in orbit had been rendered helpless as the Aggressor-class ship Parjai had used its special weapon to disable the station before Gladius and Halberd class ships disabled its weapons and shields so Warriors & Skytroopers could be sent to board it.
On the ground the battle raged, led by their newest Akaan, the Warriors and Skytroopers forced their way against the Imperials but there was little cover in the cold deserts that covered much of the planet and while the native Mirialians were not loyal Imperial subjects, many choose not to get involved in the battle but some who resented the Empire were only too happy to act as local guides to the invading Mandalorians, showing them paths and routes that were safer and would allow them to flank their enemies.
The Akaan leading the attack was none other than Galen Marek, brandishing his cyan lightsaber he was like a wrecking ball to the Imperials who had the misfortune to go up against him. He was extremely strong in the force and brutal in his use of it, force lightning being a speciality of his.
An entire squad of Stormtroopers found this out to their cost as he fried them with ease and he smirked especially as an AT-ST came into view.
Cute he thought with amusement.
He leapt forward, landing on top of the walker and using the force to pull the hatch open and the pilots out with it. Taking a thermal detonator from his waist he threw it inside before jumping off and letting the explosion destroy the inside of walker.
But he wasn't done yet, as the walker collapsed Galen lifted the remains with the force and smashed them down on the enemy ahead of him before scattering those behind by sending the twisted metal at them.
When the security doors on the compound tried to close, he held them open until their people could get inside and secure the gates. He then entered and moved like lightning around the compound, decimating any enemy that came his way until the planet was completely secure.
But as they approached the final area, the commander's quarters where the coward was hiding, he was surprised to find the man on his knees along with the rest of his staff as a female Imperial Officer stood above them with a blaster rifle in hand.
She looked at them and Galen's breath was caught in his throat the moment he saw her as she was possibly the most beautiful woman Galen had ever seen. Blonde hair with the clearest skin and crystal blue eyes, even the way she held herself was entrancing to him.
"My name is Juno Eclipse; Captain in the Imperial Fleet and I declare my intention to defect." She told him and her clipped tones and educated accent only made her seem more intriguing to Galen who thankfully did remember to be careful and he frowned before telling her.
"Understood, you will need to be questioned. Is that clear?" Galen asked her and she nodded.
"It is."
"Then take these scum into custody. Captain Eclipse is to be treated as a defector and not a prisoner." Galen warned his warriors who were much more suspicious than he was but accepted his orders.
Galen watched as Juno was taken away but gave her a nod of reassurance, all he could do without removing his helmet or speaking to her but she accepted and gave him a small smile that made him go slightly weak at the knees. Excusing himself to ensure the rest of the Imperial presence on this planet had been routed he struggled to get Juno's face out of his mind. Something about her just called to him and he could not really put it into words. He remembered his father had said the same thing had happened to him when he had first met his mother and from that day their paths together had been set.
Was it the same for me? He pondered before shaking his head at the sheer absurdity of it, you could not fall in love at first sight, he thought to himself scoffing at his own idiocy.
Still as he tried to sleep that night his dreams were dominated by her face.
Gamandar, Mid Rim…
Duke Ge'hark Orius was enjoying the thrill of battle, he always did and was glad to show his people that despite his advancing age he was as rugged and determined as ever. That meant usually bold and aggressive battle tactics that honestly would be frowned on by most.
And on Gamandar, would prove to be his undoing…while his armour protected him from most weapons a barrage of sustained fire could still damage it and the small turbolasers mounted to the walls of the Citadel they were storming were very powerful. He fell but when his sons caught him, he died with a smile on his face telling them to embrace life and death, you could not have one without the other.
His sons enraged by his death resumed the charge and conquered the planet in his name, the native Gamandars who had the same name as their planet cheered for their deliverance from the Empire and would gladly join their cause.
Rhen Var, Outer Rim Territories…
The icy planet of Rhen Var was strategically important as it was the ideal site for a listening post and many hard battles had been fought here before today.
The Imperial Listening Station here had originally been belonged to the Republic who themselves had taken it from the Separatists during the Clone Wars. But to Satele Shan who was leading the assault here, it was familiar for another reason.
During the Great Galactic War, she had once led a Republic assault here, attacking the fortress of Darth Mekhis who she had fought in an intense duel, gravely injuring her opponent in the process.
The landscape might have changed over all the centuries since she had last been here but the cold certainly hadn't, she thought with a sardonic grin.
"At least there is no storm." Andor said as he came up behind her and Vel at his side nodded in agreement. Satele however didn't need the force to tell them better.
"There will be, storms are common here so we have to take the outpost before dawn." Satele said with a grim smile before leaving the transport they were riding and igniting her double bladed blue lightsaber and moving to lead their troops into battle.
The stone steps of the old Citadel that held the listening post were thankfully rather easy to climb if dangerous as they were under fire, Satele thought with her saber as a beacon to follow charged into the heart of battle, deflecting blaster shots with either her saber or her own hands much to the shock of those that saw it.
She pulled down snow from the structures above positions and troopers when she could to bury them, it would be unlikely to kill them but it would disorientate or at least disable them. Many would likely die anyway but as abhorrent as she found that it was the nature and price of war she thought as she led them up and into the Citadel to capture the listening post. Moving so fast she appeared to be only a blur to their people while Andor and Vel struggled to keep up with her.
Satele's presence made what might have been a hard battle much easier, she cut through the enemy with ease and later when the Imperials tried to counterattack, she deployed something that the rebels had never heard of before…battle meditation. A special type of power that was a specialty of her family apparently, one that sapped the will of their enemies and their ability to fight effectively while bolstering that of their own people. Andor and Vel honestly could not say they had ever fought before as hard and as well as they had that day, defeating the Imperial counterattack and leaving them in possession of the vital outpost.
Yag'Dhul, Inner Rim…
Another hard-won victory occurred at the inner rim planet of Yag'Dhul, home to the Givin. Aliens who were expert navigators and starship builders. They might scare some people due to their resemblance to humanoid skeletons but their skills especially as mathematicians was legendary.
This led them to having some of the best shipyards in the galaxy even if they did not always include navicomputers or life support systems as the Givin did not require such things themselves. During the Clone Wars they had been Separatists and occupied by the Empire after the war, elements of the population though supported rebellion and given the valuable contributions they could make to the cause the Rebel Alliance had decided to send a taskforce to free their world.
Admiral Raddus in orbit smirked alongside General Rahm Kota as the planet was secured, a big victory for the rebellion and as more planets slipped from the Empire's control the weaker it became especially when they seemed incapable of stopping this.
The downfall of the Empire was coming and they both would dearly love to be there to see it.
Reytha, Expansionist Region…
Reytha was easily one of the most fertile planets in the galaxy and a major food basket, even greater than Dantooine but had the added bonus that the Imperial Governor, Antes Belladar was a soft and weak man. One that was slow to keep up with things after ruling a peaceful planet for so long, so it would be a good target for the Rebel Alliance during the big push.
To guide the battle, they had placed their forces under the command of their newest and certainly one of the most capable generals to lead the campaign.
Meetra stood in the Rebel Command Centre in the Montrosa Islands, frowning slightly as taking the planet had actually been far easier than she had imagined. With the starfighters and naval units they had brought it had taken no time at all to break the extremely small Imperial Garrison, the governor had not even known they were there until they had been right on his door step and the city which he ruled from had fallen in less than an hour…it was pathetic. Meetra thought with dismay.
After all the harsh wars she had known this had been as easy as flying a speeder! Meetra thought, not cheated of a harder win but honestly felt like it had hardly been worth doing.
Still the food productions of Reytha would soon be doing business with all the worlds of the Rift Alliance, the Rebel Alliance and Liber8. A taskforce had been assigned to guard the planet for its protection but it was a worthwhile achievement Meetra thought to herself. Many bellies would be filled thanks to this planet and she could take comfort from that.
Mechis 3, Inner Rim…
"At last, the droid factories of Mechis 3 are ours again!" Rodrack Tonith proclaimed proudly, as arrogant as his more famous uncle who had been an admiral for the Separatists during the Clone Wars but thankfully, he had assistance in this battle.
"Indeed Admiral." Kalani said with his usual deadpan voice voicer, having done much of the work for this victory that delivered the immensely useful droid factories to them, San Hill had assigned him to this personally to monitor and observe the new admiral. He was recommending that he be kept on home defence duties till his arrogance lessened and till he had gained some more experience as he had made several potential mistakes that needed to be addressed.
Kalani was due to take up a new post of his own soon as Military Advisor to San Hill after this offensive was complete. His programming had calculated that although the offensive would be successful in freeing a considerable number of star systems there was a sixty percent chance of a counter offensive from the Empire.
He would have to watch for it Kalani determined before going back to his duties.
Spirit of Fire, Mandalorian Front…
Neville Longbottom was busier than ever as he co-ordinated their special forces teams all across the war front, missions that were critical to success of the operation and despite some heavy casualties they were achieving most if not all of their objectives.
Din Djarin however delivered what might be arguably the most important prize of the day though.
The young man had outdone himself Neville thought with a slight shake of the head as the captured Star Destroyer Avatar appeared nearby, one of six that they had captured during the offensive. They might even put some of them into service in some capacity or just break them down to use the resources to build better ships or perhaps just keep them as trophies who knows. But it was not the ship that was the most valuable prize Neville thought with a smirk as they had caught a 'big fish' today.
He journeyed down to the hanger bay as the shuttle came aboard and Din proudly led the small group out of it, among them were dragging a bound and gagged figure with them. Dressed in what had been a pristine white Imperial naval uniform earlier that day was one of the twelve new Imperial Grand Admirals that had become their prisoner.
The bay was full of warriors along with members of the Rift Alliance forces that had joined with them for the assault, all of them cheered at the proud Imperial was forcefully brought before Neville who smirked under his helmet as Din threw the prisoner at his feet. Neville nodded to Din and told him.
"Excellent work Din, truly excellent." Neville told him and he could feel the boy's pride while Rufaan Tigellinus, Grand Admiral of the Imperial Fleet could only glare up at them.
- x -
Some Time Later in the ship's brig, Neville stood in front of Rufaan and after forcing Vertiserum (secretly blessing Luna for finally having discovered a way to recreate it) down his throat was prying Imperial secrets out of him. Being a social climber and a Grand Admiral Rufaan had a lot to say but then they came to the most critical thing.
"Have you any idea what Project Stardust is?" Neville asked, glad that Trilla had managed to find that much although little information about it could be found so whatever it was, the Empire obviously considered it top priority which made it top priority for them to find out what it was. Neville had been a part of the efforts to find the truth and been frustrated at every turn but thankfully today, he would finally get some answers.
"Project Stardust is a superweapon called the Death Star." Rufaan said as his face was covered in sweat from efforts to avoid talking but was unable to stop himself. "A moon sized warship capable of destroying entire planets in a single blast, a weapon to crush all resistance to the Empire." Rufaan said with a dreamy look in his eyes.
Neville honestly was shocked, having never dreamt that the Empire would actually build not only such a huge vessel but make it so dangerous. He pressed for more information but sadly despite his rank Rufaan didn't know that much more about it even where it was currently except that it wasn't operational yet. Pressing deeper revealed extremely little save for one detail that might just be the break they needed.
"Galen Erso is the leading scientist on the project." Rufaan finally admitted and Neville felt so much frustration that he actually punched the wall of the interrogation room, denting the metal he was so angry. At last, they knew just what the Empire was up to and had no idea of just how to stop it. Thinking back on the vision that Luna had showed them so long ago now it was all so clear, this Death Star was the threat she had seen.
Neville did his best to get hold of himself and took a few steadying breaths before pressing Rufaan to see if there was anything else to gain from him but apart from some information about a 'Super Star Destroyer' they were working on there was nothing more to be gained.
So, he put him under intense watch in the cell block and returned to the bridge, telling the captain to take them straight to Mandalore, he had to inform the others of what he had discovered immediately.
The Offensive was enormous and had spread itself out, the various factions pushed into the Empire and wretched many systems from its control but more than that, they cut off key hyperspace to other areas where the Imperial control would soon begin to slip while cut off from the rest of the galaxy but at the same time, unexpected consequences would emerge to this and take quite some time to truly be appreciated.
Ceremonial Square, Sundari, Mandalore...Three Days Later...
"In honour of those that lost their lives in the pursue of not only their own honour and glory that they might be remembered by our people forever, but that the galaxy would be free of the tyranny of the Empire. In this, they have succeeded and our people immortalise their names and their deeds." Haron said as he led the ceremony, surrounded by the nobility of the Mandalorians, important others in their culture along with warriors from every single clan and house.
Haron stood aside so they could all marvel at the monument to those that gave their lives for their people. It was a long list he thought with regret as many had died during this war but today, they were remembered by this fountain which ran with special fluid from the Living Waters of the planet itself.
Duke Ge'hark dying was a blow but it was how the old man had wanted to go, his sons had all agreed on that and he had attended the funeral before coming here. It was a solemn moment while the body was laid to rest followed by the most loud and energetic party possible as was the custom of their house, to be respectful to the dead and then to celebrate their life.
But with that solemn duty carried out, there was also the matter of honouring those that still lived for their own achievements.
"The Mandalorian Star, will the following people step forth." Haron said proudly as he held up the medal while calling out the names of those that would receive it. Given for showing true honour and the greatest dedication to duty.
When all those named had been given the medal, Haron turned to the next one.
"The Kad Ha'rangir Victory Medal. Please step forward as I call your names." Haron said with pride, giving the medal they awarded to those that had swayed the tide of battle with their actions.
"The Basiliskan Medallion, for those I name." Haron said holding up the medallion given to the warriors that displayed the greatest courage and valour in the face of overwhelming odds.
After giving out that medallion they began moving up the ranks to one of the most important awards that he could give out.
"The Cross of the Conqueror." Haron called out before calling forth those that were to receive it, given to those that led in battle and acquired new territory for the Mandalorians. A much short list than others but still highly important.
"And lastly but most certainly not least, to award those who have earned the highest decoration we can offer, the Star of Cassus." Haron said holding up the most coveted one of all. Awarded only to those that showed valour above and beyond the call of duty, exemplary leadership and the greatest achievements in war. Only a dozen or so had ever been awarded and he was giving out a half dozen today. Each one was called up individual and saluted the Mandalore who saluted back before placing the medal on them. The last one was a particularly important moment for him personally.
"Din Djarin." Haron called out, and his former ward and foundling stepped forward, Haron was extremely proud of him. He had managed to not only perform extremely well in battle and led their people to victory, hence why other medals already decorated his chest but more than that he had found them the critical break they needed to uncover the Empire's plans.
So, he pinned the medal to Din's chest with pride and though some might call it nepotism as for now they were keeping what they had discovered a secret so the Empire wouldn't realise that they knew about the Death Star…at least until they had found a way to stop it.
Din himself was nervous as he stood before him but controlled it with excellent resolve, Haron had never been prouder of him.
- x -
Kryze Palace, Mandalore…The Next Day…
Since the award ceremony had taken most of the day, the Dukes and Duchesses waited till the following day to meet and discuss the issue at hand but first they had some spare time to attend to some other business.
"It is with great pleasure that I award the colony of Ravara to you, Count Neville Longbottom." Haron said, awarding the new colony with extensive industrial facilities they had established on the edge of Wild Space to Neville as his holding. Neville he could feel and see was extremely pleased with this as it would ensure his sons had a future.
"And I will make it the finest you have ever seen." Neville told his long-time friend who nodded in agreement who proudly shook his hand.
"I have no doubt you will." Haron told him with a smile, none of them wearing helmets for this private gathering. Haron then turned to Din and made him an offer.
"Din, you might have saved the galaxy by capturing that Grand Admiral. While the danger is still very real, we at least have an idea of just what we need to do now. So, if any of our new holdings appeal to you, it is yours." Haron offered him with genuine gratitude, however dangerous the Death Star was thanks to Din they had time to stop it before it became operational so if he wanted something…he got it.
Din was instantly about to deny that he wanted anything but a world had in fact caught his eye, perhaps due to a sense of potential or maybe because it was a vulnerable world that he could protect it, either way he wanted to ask for it and so he did.
"Sorgan." Din said with a respectful nod, the relative backwater world that now lay within their territory which surprised most of those that were here and Haron raised an eyebrow as the planet was extremely low priority planet with little beyond a small agro colony there not to mention ongoing problems with raiders. It was hardly the sort of world that most would want even if you offered it to them.
"Are you sure?" Haron asked Din, wondering if his humility was making him ask for a smaller world than one that he might potentially want but Din didn't change his mind and repeated it.
"Sorgan, please." Din said and Haron slowly nodded hoping his former ward didn't come to regret this choice.
"If that is what you want…then Sorgan it is." Haron confirmed with a small smile which was returned by Din, Haron putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. "Now we had best assemble the council…there is an important meeting to hold." Haron said with a slight grimace as he knew this was going to be difficult.
Slowly both councils assembled in the throne room of the palace where a long table had been arranged, no-one sat on the throne as this was far too important a meeting to bother with pointless power plays. Haron having been the one to call the meeting spoke first.
"Firstly, my gratitude to you all. Thanks to your efforts and the courage of our people, we have truly expanded our territory for the first time in thousands of years over the course of this war. Once we were one-thousand-star systems, large but smaller than some. Now…we stand at thirteen-hundred systems, one thousand and three hundred worlds now fly our banner and we have proven to not only the rest of the galaxy but more importantly to ourselves that we are the greatest warriors this galaxy has ever know." Haron said and a lot of smiles and cheers went around the table as their achievement was celebrated, it was an achievement for them. They hadn't really expanded much since the time of his own ancestor ruling them and even that had only been by a handful of systems, so an expansion on this scale was legendary.
His official title was Mandalore the Unifier after he had brought their people back together but he had been called the Builder by some given how much their people had grown and developed since he came to power but also Mandalore the Victorious which he liked the least as he knew no one won all the time.
Shaking himself from those thoughts he listened to all the reports and everything had gone as well as could be hoped for although he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad would come from this. He disliked to think of this as a premonition as he was always doubtful of prophesy but at the same time it nagged at him.
With the reports done, then he dropped the most important thing that they had learned.
"With the capture of an Imperial Grand Admiral we have finally discovered why the Empire has been searching for large kyber crystals and the massive amount of construction materials have been going missing. They have been building a superweapon, a large moon sized vessel armed with a superlaser capable of destroying an entire planet. They call it the Death Star and they believe it will guarantee them domination over the entire galaxy." Haron told them with some reluctance.
The silence in the room at what he had said was awkward as they all absorbed what he had said, it didn't take long though before all of them started shouting and arguing, whatever they were saying was lost in the squabbling and Haron could feel his own rage building before he ended it with a blast of sound created by magic.
That finally brought silence to the room and he told them with a sharp and cold voice.
"However, we have learned something else, not only was this thing being built by the same idiots that built the Star Destroyer that is full of weak spots to exploit but also that the head scientist is Galen Erso. The man loves peace and the Empire killed his wife before forcing him to work for them. That man would help us if we can find him, but we will need someone he trusts to make contact. So, I want Mandalorian Intelligence looking for any sign of Galen and Jyn Erso. His daughter might be our best hope of getting him to co-operate with us. Until then we can do nothing. No panic and no surrender, when we have the pair then we will know what can be done and not before. So, no more word of this…from anyone." Haron told them coldly and they all quickly agreed, his aura in the force rising and scaring many of them with its intensity, even those that could not consciously feel the force.
Haron took a deep breath, he knew to keep an eye on them, even with this plan someone might get it in their head to betray them in hopes of being spared by the Empire so he would have to be careful for now. He hated this but he knew better than to rely on everyone to stay true to their cause in the face of such danger. Some would always give in to fear and he had to be ready for that as much as he trusted them. He just hoped he was right and Galen Erso could help them take it down.
The meeting carried on and they learned that the Separatist Alliance had recently discovered when they reclaimed Geonosis that the entire population had been wiped out apart from one survivor, a single drone with a queen egg but who knows if that would be enough to restore the species. According to the single surviving drone the Death Star might have been constructed over their planet and the Empire had actually wiped out the entire species just to leave no trace as to what they were up too.
That didn't help their mood but they had other business to attend to and Deera was quite happy to make a report of something more positive.
"Yesterday marked the first successful activation of the new Anti-proton reactor. We finally have an operational one and it is working far better than we hoped. It may work well in the Infinity Project." Deera suggested with a smirk knowing it would be perfect for the new super dreadnaught project.
"Indeed, with the Empire already working on super dreadnaughts it might not be a bad idea to have a super dreadnaught type ship of our own, even if it's just one." Duke N'Val jumped in with having been the one to start the project and was eager to take advantage of the new power source as it would solve many problems with the design they had and allow it to make the best use of all the advanced technology they had incorporated into the design.
"The Pasdisahah Imperium have a shipyard large enough for the project and they are willing to work with us on the ship, elements of it will be constructed in our own factories before being taken to the Imperium for assembly once the basic framework is in place." Ara told them and they nodded, some of them eager to see their super dreadnaught which while not as big as the fast-approaching Super Star Destroyers would be a highly formidable vessel. It lifted their spirits somewhat after the Death Star and then his youngest sister, Lelia proudly displayed her own work.
"Speaking of projects, while the Keldabe and Aden class ships have been and will I'm sure continue to be effective, the rising war means that I think a new frontline warship may be required. In conjunction with Duke N'Val I have for some time been working on a new design that not only takes the best of both classes but improves on it. Taking all the technology we have so far acquired and combining it to create a powerful warship for us. I am proud to present to you all, the Orar-class Dreadnaught."
A hologram of the ship appeared, it was similar in shape to the Aden with a long central main hull with drive units at the back and two flight pods connected from the centre but this new hull was more sleeker and aggressive looking bow section and improved armour plating. It had eight sublight drive units to the Aden's six and its flight pods had two flight decks aside, one on top of the other to aid in quick landings after a battle.
The all looked at it with intrigued looks as Lelia with an encouraging smile from her older brother and sister, not to mention Duke N'Val explained.
"At sixteen hundred metres long, it is just as big as a star destroyer. It has a greater degree of automation meaning it only needs a crew of 2500 to run efficiently, its longer flight pods and more launch tubes allow for a fighter complement of 180 depending on configurations and its improved armour and shields make it extremely tough in fight." Lelia said as she talked them through the various improvements before finally getting to the part that everyone was interested in the most.
"It has the same point defence system that is standard on all of our warships along with an array of flack guns for close range encounters with enemy ships not to mention 8 medium turbolaser cannons arranged along each of the flight pods, 10 Ion cannons, 10 missile tubes with variable payloads, the Iokath drones, 30 heavy Turbolaser batteries and finally twin heavy duty mass driver cannons mounted to the bow."
There was a silence in the room as they all absorbed all that information and it didn't take long for the grins despite the high production costs of this vessel. They could certainly build them but in far fewer numbers than the Aden or Keldabe, which were less resource intensive to build. The ship was a predator, as powerful as anything the Empire or any of the other powers had and yet more effective.
"A prototype will be constructed and tested before we consider putting them into service." Haron said with a smile, nodding proudly at his sister for her hard work which she returned with a beaming smile. Certainly, they might construct one for each of the Houses but that would depend on how effective the ship proved to be.
They continued talking for some time until Duke Takan, the head of their Intelligence Network brought up a rather thorny issue.
"Sabine Wren has been found."
There was a tense silence in the room as they all knew by now what the girl had done and the fact that she was from a well-respected clan and even more as she was Haron's niece made this a much more high-level issue than it otherwise would have been. Ara frowned as she didn't want her niece to face what was coming but knew she had little choice in it given the rules of their culture asked.
"Where is she?" Ara asked, wondering just where her niece had been hiding.
"Lothal, she's joined a rebel cell that is operating on the planet. A small one but they are fast and mobile, not to mention they have a Jedi among them. What are your orders?" Duke Takan asked patiently and Haron felt the eyes of everyone in the room on him, Ara's pleading with him not to do it but in this…he didn't have a choice he thought regretfully and wished his niece had been a little wiser so as to not get into this mess.
"Send Gundark Team to retrieve her, reinforce the team with Trilla Suduri. She will be more than a match for the Jedi. Bring her back…alive." Haron ordered sternly and Duke Takan nodded as did Neville who reluctantly nodded, knowing what the girl was facing if they brought her back. Haron turned to Din and told him. "Prepare for the trial, I want you to handle this one personally."
Din who himself had met Sabine nodded slowly, realising this was a dark day for them all, leaving the room with everyone else until it was only Haron and Ara in the room together. They stared at each other, Ara with disappointed eyes and Haron's filled with pained resignation. Even he wasn't above the law and they knew it but it was still Ara's niece and this was the one time she would have broken the rules.
She left the room and Haron sighed as she did so, knowing it would be a long time before she was willing to talk to him again.
Imperial Palace, Coruscant…
Palpatine despite the recent losses was actually pleased, his reasons for this apparent good mood…his powers were growing.
The two Nightwitches he had acquired had been extremely useful in learning their magic, it was similar in some ways to Sith Alchemy which he had been experimenting with over the years so it was nothing new to him.
As a demonstration of his new power, he levitated into the air and a green bubble formed around him, training droids fired at it but the bubble repelled all attempts to penetrate it but he was not done yet, a rotten toothy grin appeared on his face as he let loose a powerful beam of green coloured lightning at the same droids that were shooting at him, blasting them into pieces within seconds.
His smirk grew before he then concentrated and seemed to evaporate into green vapour before reforming on the other side of the room but reforming took longer than disappearing had. Palpatine's face became more serious as he managed to pull himself back together, realising even with his great power their teleportation was dangerous and until he was surer of himself, he would have to avoid using that power.
He fed on his own self assurance to restore his own confidence as he felt his power growing and more to the point, he had acquired a new useful servant. Silri, one of the Nightsisters he had acquired was fairly powerful and had an impressive survival instinct, great enough to realise she was better serving him than trying to escape or fight. She had even killed her last remaining sister Jessera at his insistence to prove her loyalty. Her building of a light whip which was an incredibly dangerous weapon if extremely difficult to use would make her a useful Dark Disciple and enforcer of his will.
- x -
Elsewhere in the Imperial Palace, Silri was studying the one holocron she had been so desperate to acquire. It had been brought to Palpatine years ago just as she had been about to acquire it and so she had sacrificed her clan's secrets and her last remaining sister's life to gain access.
It hinted of an army that one of the more powerful Sith Lords of the ancient past had hidden away in frozen carbonite. An army that would be hers to command once she had properly decoded the location and thanks to her position as a Dark Disciple, she would have enough freedom and resources to properly exploit it.
The old fool thought he would control her, but she would have the last laugh.
- x -
Some time later, Palpatine met with two individuals who promised to have solutions to their current 'Rebel' problem.
"The lack of firepower of star destroyers and the fact the rebels have capital ships of their own is a key reason the Empire has failed to strike fear into their hearts. To that end I have ordered the production of some new Allegiance class Heavy Star Destroyers. They are significantly larger with a greater weapons complement and forgo any landing bays to deter boarding operations. Also, Sienar Fleet Systems has created, the Mark 2 Tie Fighter which has substantial improvements while remaining expendable and deployable in vast numbers." Tarkin said proudly as he showed the holograms of the two ships in question.
Tarkin honestly was so predictable Palpatine thought with a smirk, he honestly believed that his large creations and disposable fighters would scare everyone so much that they wouldn't fight. The man was incapable of winning without a massive numerical advantage or overwhelming fire power. It was just as well he would shortly be meeting with someone who would be a far better leader for the Empire's military campaigns.
Turning to the other man that was trying to earn his favour, Palpatine knew the man would turn against him. His own arrogance and lust for power would see to that but he would get the most out of him before disposing of the arrogant fool he thought.
"The Force is obsolete." Doctor Cylo said with the lack of humility and total self-assurance Palpatine knew to expect of him and he had no way of knowing that calling the Force 'obsolete' was basically signing his own death sentence with Palpatine who swore to make him suffer for an eternity using the force to prove how wrong he was.
"My program of cybernetic soldiers will render any opponent and especially the Jedi helpless against their might. My plans are numerous as there are many potential avenues that can be exploited, I have a detailed presentation here for your approval." Cylo said and Palpatine smirked inwardly as there were some things here that might be useful in the long run so he would give the project his blessing, quickly dismissing the two men before turning to the one person who he was sure could bring them victory over their enemies other than himself of course.
"You see now the problems that the Empire is facing, the incompetence of many of our commanders has left us in a dangerous position and with the death of the fool Rufaan, a position among the twelve Grand Admirals has become available. I am naming you to that illustrious position and I expect that you deliver victory for this honour." Palpatine said with a warning in his voice and tone clear. The man in question nodded with a calm and cold smile on his face before answering.
"I understand your frustrations and already have prepared to remind the rebels that the Empire is far from beaten. If you will allow me to take my leave then I will rally the fleet and make that point quite clear." The man said with a cold certainty that even Palpatine found impressive.
"Do so…Grand Admiral Thrawn." Palpatine said with a nod and the Chiss in his crisp white uniform, dark hair, blue skin and red eyes took his leave. Palpatine despite not trusting him knew that if any commander at his disposal were to have a chance to defeat the rebels, it would be Thrawn.
Rebel Alliance Starship Morningstar, On Patrol…
The Thranta-class vessel Morningstar was on patrol near the recently liberated territories, it was referred to as a corvette sometimes but after its redesign and upgrades was more of a light cruiser. It was commanded by Joc Sah, a surviving Jedi who had emerged from hiding some time ago and now gave what military skills he had to the Alliance to aid their cause.
He looked out at the asteroid field they were charting, hoping it might a useful setting for a base when Joc felt something in the force coming from particularly large looking rock nearby. He turned to look at it and frowned, not sure just what he was sensing and turned to the science officer nearby.
"Analyse that asteroid. See if there is anything unusual about it." He told the Duro who looked at him confused as to why their commander would be so interested in a single piece of boring rock but frowned before accepting the order.
"Yes sir." He said and the rest of the bridge crew were as mystified by this as he was but didn't speak, assuming this was a weird Jedi thing that they wouldn't understand.
The ship's scanners took aim on the large rock and while at first glance it was just another lump of stone floating in space the ship's computer saw something that finally caught the eye of the Duro officer.
"Its surface is too symmetrical; this is not a natural surface but more like one designed rather than formed by nature. There are also indications of some kind of dock on one side." The Science Officer reported with confusion as to why someone would 'build' an asteroid. Joc turned and wondered briefly about that himself before telling the flight co-ordinator.
"Prepare a shuttle and search party. I want to check this out." Joc said, leaving the bridge to lead the away mission himself which again confused the crew but they did as they were told and allowed him to leave.
- x -
A short while later an Aegis-class Combat Shuttle approached the apparent docking port of whatever this was. A boarding party of Alliance soldiers joined Joc Sah all wearing breathing gear as there was no atmosphere and silently, they all made their way out of shuttle and into the strange structure. There was an air lock of sorts and as if sensing Joc's presence it opened, with a sense of fearful anticipation about what might be waiting for them inside they pressed on and the tech on the team spoke up when the air lock closed behind them and after a moment of pressurisation the inner door opened.
"There is an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere being generated inside, gravity and heat suitable for us." The young tech told them through the comm link.
"Keep your helmets on." Joc told them sternly as he wasn't entire convinced that this wasn't some kind of trap.
They all slowly made their way inside and saw lights start to come on, revealing long corridors ahead but spacious enough for them to move around in. With caution Joc led his team forward, alert to the possibility that this might be some kind of ambush but as they moved forward and arrived in an enormous open space filled with machinery it became apparent that no-one else was here.
"What is this?" The Marine Sergeant that accompanied the team asked and Joc could only marvel as he had no idea.
"I think we need to call in some experts. This is important." Joc said, wondering just what they had discovered.
- x -
Two Days Later…
Kagame, Padme, Mon Mothma, Anakin and Satele Shan all studied the large structure with its vast machinery that seemed impossibly advanced even to them. None of them had seen anything like it before but thankfully Satele recognised it from reports she had read during the Galactic War years ago.
"It is a Rakata Facility, they used to call it the Foundry." Satele said with an impressed stare as she knew her ancestor Revan had tried to use it to fight the Sith Empire before it had been taken over by them and then by Darth Malgus before it had been lost somehow. It was she knew now hyperspace capable so who ever had last controlled it must have hidden it here with the idea of using it again later but clearly that for some reason had never happened.
"What does it do? And who are the Rakata?" Padme asked with confusion, not knowing anything about this species as they had certainly not been covered in any of her lessons growing up.
"They were a species that once dominated the galaxy before they eventually destroyed themselves. But they built great wonders in their time." Kagame said having read the legends about them and was fully familiar with their achievements. However, of all their achievements this particular one seemed the least dangerous he thought wondering just how the Star Forge had ultimately destroyed them and how foolish they had been to use the force in such a way.
"The station is a massive automated factory, capable of producing large numbers of droids and other machines." Satele said remembering that much. "It cannot build anything bigger than a starfighter and maybe small freighters but that alone would be invaluable to the Rebellion. Parts and equipment even small craft can be constructed quickly without cost. That could make the Rebellion and do a great deal of good besides." Satele said knowing that the Foundry would not be just a military asset but a highly useful civilian one too if they used it right.
Padme nodded, eagerly seeing the great advantages this could bring which Kagame completely agreed with. Anakin who was much more a soldier saw the military applications first and while he did understand the immense value that this would be to the Alliance, there was a growing sense of unease in the force that he felt almost all the time and could only wonder what it meant.
The Salient Federation, Outer Rim Territories…
The long-time member of the Rift Alliance had been secure in that alliance for some time, the inhabited planets continued on their daily lives unaware of the horror that was awaiting them.
Their fleet was small compared to some of the other powers in the Rift Alliance but they made up for it with industrial facilities and a top tier weapons development lab.
They had no warning of the trouble to come until it was too late.
The Imperial Seventh Fleet appeared suddenly in system, over sixteen Star Destroyers with accompanying support vessels stormed into the system. The Salient Fleet was forced to engage but despite their commanders being experienced and intelligent people they were completely outmanoeuvred as the Imperial Fleet seemed to anticipate their every move and strategy, tearing them apart. Some units fled to the Separatist Alliance while any civilian ships that could fled too but soon the entire system surrendered to the Empire.
Thrawn watched the execution of the president and his council who had been captured alive, he soon received a message confirming that his promotion to the rank of Grand Admiral was now permanent and that the Emperor was most pleased with his efforts.
- x -
Sembla, Outer Rim Territories…
Grand Admiral Thrawn had not just contented himself with one target though, one of his commanders had been given charge of a small group of ships to attack the Rift Alliance world of Sembla and invade it.
The attack was supposed to happen at the same time as the strike on the Salient Federation so as to cause maximum chaos and shock not to mention leave no time for their allies to rally to their defence.
Sembla however would prove luckier, a random hyperdrive leak in the flagship slowed the deployment of their squadron and allowed a Mandalorian fleet to arrive in time to protect the system from occupation. They would remain on station for the meantime until they were more certain there wasn't another attack coming but the shock to the Rift Alliance would last a great deal longer and all question of pushing more against the Empire was stopped along with it.
There we are, Thrawn has arrived. I was a bit nervous about using him given how powerful and complex a character he is but if I am going to give my heroes a challenge then he is the best choice. Please review and let me know what you thought.
Sorgan was the planet where Din and Cara during Season 1 of the Mandalorian defended the people from raiders.
The Orar-class Dreadnaught is based on the Mercury-class Battlestar from Battlestar Galactica 2004 series. Some things were added like the drones which were based on the Ancient ones from Stargate which I previously put on the Keldabe. I have changed some of the stats to fit Star Wars but kept the core of the vessel the same.
The Tie Fighter Mark 2 is in fact the First Order Tie Fighter which was created as a response to the deployment of the T-70 X-wing.
The Allegiance class Star Destroyer is a ship from Star Wars Legends, a heavy star destroyer that is bigger than an Imperial class, has no landing bay and heavier weapons.
More Review Responses…
Berna45 – Thank you! Canderous Ordo? I can't see how.
Guest – The Jedi hiding places and Ossus? I will see about an update to do with them.
Lightning89 – I understand and I don't intend to add any more crossovers although I might add one or two in passing. Ahsoka? She is busy with her own life on her home world but I will try to bring her back at some point. I will see about updating with the Hidden Temples later.
ShadowbaneXX – They are races that I thought would fit in with the Star Wars Universe. But I don't intend to add anymore.
JaKeS91 – Thank you!
Tessia – That is a concept.
TheFishKing – I can understand why you might want those species but I only brought in those that I felt would fit with this story.
Igcasas – ¡Gracias! La armadura se guardaba por si alguna vez se necesitaba.
MrKlortho – Glad to hear that you are enjoying the story! I know, this story has grown and I will try to expand the character list on my profile.
Vic the Man – Zombies have happened in the Star Wars universe, two books on the subject have been published.
aesir21 – I am considering it.
Blaze1992 – Sabine, she is in for a hard trial in more ways than one, I will admit that.
Nato – Thank you for the support! The benefactor will be revealed in this chapter, I think you will guess who. Dark Troopers, I will consider it. The Rebels show is about to begin and I will bring them in. The Death Star is something that won't be fixed straight away, first a certain father and daughter will need to be found.
Mystery56 – Your points are understood, I try to give things build-up which was partly what the Clone Wars era was about. Building up the Mandalorians for this. Many of the actually smart Imperials are rare and I am adding one that will really give our heroes a challenge.
raw666 – Indeed.
Envy220 – Revan is unlikely but Meetra is possible.
- x -
Next Chapter – Thrawn makes his presence known as he continues his campaign against the Rift Alliance, the Ghost Crew finally appear and Sabine will face her people. Anakin meanwhile meets Baylan Skoll.