Saga A Thousand Nations (AU timeline)

Foreword: I first got the idea for such a project after I read several excellent Star Wars alternate universe stories in Fanfiction.net, and decided to create a neat fusion AU of my own which could contain the largest number of possible factions and groups all jostling each other for power. Basically, writing this AU is a bit like playing a game of Rebellion in which one takes characters and concepts of the original series (plus the EU) and remixes it to one's liking. However, in this case, I had far more sides than the mere Rebellion and the Empire! I must confess I had the political and astrostrategic ideas in mind first, then the placement of secondary characters from the EU, and then how the original characters could fit. Here's hoping you enjoy this.

Notes: [1] marks ideas and elements that I have borrowed from Darth Yoshi's very excellent Infinities series. [2] marks ideas and elements that I have borrowed from Darquecyder 6's "A Simple Decision" series. Both series are of the type of SW AU kind that I like to classify as "holistic;" they basically incorporate loads and loads of characters and concepts from the EU and use them to maximum effect, rather than your typical alt-Obi-Wan love story. Interestingly, [1] was written from 2002-2005 and has a very different rise of Palpatine, while [2] was written only a few months ago, and is so up-to-date it references the upcoming Force Unleashed games.

On with the timeline.

 

The end of the Empire began with a sigh.

Somewhere on Coruscant, Emperor Palpatine, behemoth of the leviathan that was his Empire, felt his age. It was not a pleasant feeling for any being, but it was particularly alarming for a master of the Dark Side.

The Force was slipping away.

He did not know why. He had consulted Sith Holocrons, but the had been mute. He had paid pilgrimage to the tombs of the Sith on Korriban, but the spirits that dwelt there were silent. Even Byss, where the entire population of the planet slowly had their Force-essences sucked away for his sake, failed to cheer him up.

Palpatine knew not why. The Force was fickle, but it was still a tool. He bent it to his will, not the other way around. There should had been no reason for this. His plans did not break the rules set out by Darth Bane. He had but one apprentice, and his minions were Dark Jedi or Force Adepts but not Sith. There was no immediate danger of the Force being somehow diluted by overuse, or of secret superweapons, or anything of that matter.

Yet the Force was changing, and not for his benefit. So Palpatine, having meditated for several months, consulted with the wayward Prophets of the Dark Side he had made his Mages, and killed a few underlings for old time's sake, decided on a plan that would keep him at the top of the Galaxy (and the universe) for all time.

ABY 0

The battle begun to rage. The Death Star was assaulted by the ridiculous tiny snub-fighters, an insulting foe for the magnificent battlestation to fight against. Ridiculous! Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin surveyed his domain and smiled as the moons of Yavin loomed closer. The Rebellion was going to end here, and the end would come soon.

Outside the command center, General Moradmin Bast fretted. He had just received news that a weakness had been found in the Death Star's defenses. It was a small one, and probably hard to find, but if attacked then it was all over. He had immediately informed High General Tagge, who just looked at him with a moment of horror and returned to his post, commanding the defenses with almost a frenzy. There was no chance that he would order an evacuation, however. He was merely third-in-command of the station. That would be up to Grand Moff Tarkin himself.

He scoffed. Tarkin was in love with his machine, had fallen into a deep spell by it. There would be no way he would order an evacuation. But who else could he talk to? Admiral Conan Antonio Motti was a man meriting fear and respect, but he was also a lackey of Tarkin. If there was anyone who was more confident in the Death Star than Slick Willy, it was him. There was no one else. Unless-

Bast rushed to an office hidden in one of the innumerable hallways of the battlestation. Within was the mustachioed Wulff Yularen, officer of the Imperial Security Bureau, essentially Palpatine's non-Sithian commissar aboard the Death Star. The white haired man asked the communications officer what was the matter. Bast told him.

Wulff stared in disbelief and considered his options. Too late to do an evacuation now- so how many of his fellow ISB agents could he escape with? Perhaps all of them, actually; they weren't really an intrinsic part of the battle. But that still left hundreds of thousands of other Imperials aboard. But he shook his head. Both sides had damned them with intractability. The Rebels with their perverse, reactionary fanaticism would no doubt be able to destroy the Death Star, no matter how many TIE fighters they poured into the defense. It was too late, the weakpoint too chancy. Men like Tarkin and Motti too, had condemned the battlestation to destruction with their unwavering faith in it, in its symbolic manifestation of the Tarkin Doctrine and the New Order.

Wulff could have contacted his superior, Central Commander Sollaine, but it would have been futile. No time, and Sollaine would have just waved it off and censured him for such apparent cowardice in the middle of a battle. The officer bristled a little at that. His whole posting on the Death Star was

 

Besides a few things such as Tyber Zann being rescued from Kessel by Dash Rendar and his droid Leebo rather than Han and Chewie [2], not much different happens in this universe, other than there is a general drop in public approval ratings (well, were they to actually exist) of Palpatine, and many in his regime begin to feel a loss of confidence in him. Even his Dark Side underlings believe that he may have become weaker in the Force, as impossible as that sounds. And most importantly, as we will come to see, several of his more rebellious vassals [2] end up postponing their schemes until later.

The New Republic: The Battle of Yavin had been a victory not even Master Yoda could have foreseen. Despite the improbable survival of Tarkin and Vader, it was clear that the Empire had suffered a great propaganda defeat, and even the Emperor had somehow become unhinged by it. Almost overnight, dozens of worlds secretly approached the Rebel Council for admittance, while thousands of Rebel cells bloomed across the Galaxy. The success was perceived to be so great that the jubilant Rebels changed the name of their organization to the New Republic. But even as the celebrations went on there were some who felt that it had almost been too easy, that somehow this defeat was engineered by Palpatine himself.

They were correct.

Yes, the Republic continued to do as well as it did in the original history, striking victory after victory. But at the same time, a vague sense of near-complacency loomed its ugly head. The New Republic established a base on Hoth, and then evacuated it neatly after an Imperial incursion. The Council realized that Palpatine had began to withdraw from his already loose management of the Empire. Rumors of sickness and senility ran wild through the Empire. His Executor, Darth Vader, was also seemingly distracted, eschewing full command to pursue his own missions in search of something none but him (and the Emperor) knew. They even received the unlikely defection of Prince Xizor [1], vigo of the Black Sun and once highly-regarded pet of the Emperor. The cunning Falleen, deciding that he was on a sinking ship, and that his future would not be best served tied to an imminently dead man, brought the full resources of his criminal empire into the New Republic, and was immediately made into a General of the New Republic Intelligence Service.

Rebel Alliance: The only defeat the NR saw was the loss of Garm Bel Iblis and his Corellian Free Renegades [1]. Without Bail Organa to maintain the triumvirate, Mon Mothma and Bel Iblis came to many disagreements, and the latter finally left when he was pushed one too many times to use his forces in a way that he saw as excessive. Making muted accusations that Mothma had aspirations for the Imperial throne, he and a large detachment of the Corellian forces of the New Republic left and labeled themselves as "the Rebel Alliance," thus stealing the original moniker of the New Republic and the prestige that went along with it. Though these new Rebels agreed to maintain peace with the New-Republicans, they also vowed to continue the war on their terms and to further their own goals, i.e. the independence of Corellia. Joining them were a few others who doubted the leadership of the NR, and who had finally realized what resurrecting the Galactic Republic would actually mean.

[I kind of see the Rebel Alliance as being very much guerrilla fighters and partisans like the French Resistance, while the New Republic was much more conventional, like the Free French forces.]

Tarkin Technocracy: Shortly after the Battle of Hoth, Moff Tarkin paid a visit to the Maw Installation and his lover, Admiral Daala. There he promoted her to Grand Admiral, and together they stole the old Death Star prototype and destroyed the rest of the superweapons at the base [1]. Unfortunately, the Sun Crusher was elsewhere at the time [1]. They then took the would-be Death Star, now named the Nova Titan, to Corellia, where Tarkin had recently rooted out and crushed a Rebel base.

In an h

 

Insurgents of the Empire: Overall, the actions undertaken by the great traitors Tarkin and Zaarin robbed the Empire of between 15-20% of its territory. In the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, that figure would nearly double. The conflict had also erupted into two- the main Galactic Civil War between the New Republic and the Empire, which continued largely as it did in real history, and the Imperial Insurgency, between the loyal Royalists and the Tarkinist and Zaarinite flavors of Imperial-Insurgent.

As many critics sneered, the Tarkinists' regime was much of a Terrorcracy, while the Imperial Commonwealth were the true technocrats. The fear was established not only in the Corellian masses trembling at the thought of the Nova Titan being used against them, but by also in the government as well. Though Tarkin used terror to keep his planets in line, he himself was afflicted by it, growing more and more paranoid, afraid to engage in much expansion for fear that the Emperor had another secret superweapon to use against his Death Star [1]. In time this fear manifested as a real disease that made him bed stricken [1], a malaise that some whispered had been Force-sent by Palpatine himself.

Zaarin, on the other hand, was actually far more interested in the technocratic aspects of his splinter empire. As part of Operation Paladin, he wholeheartedly encouraged his colleagues' work into super-science in which he hoped would empower his soldiers, sailors, and pilots to fight better against the Empire. Thus, production of TIE Avengers and Defenders bloomed under his administration [2], TIE Hunters and Phantoms under GADM Batch's Imdaar projects [2], General Moc produced thousands of Dark Troopers [2], and even the crimelord Durga began work on a superweapon on the side. When the coup d'etat was attempted, however, he found that while his fancy prototypes were highly effective, the sheer numbers of the Empire was capable of overwhelming them. Furthermore, he had also overestimated his popularity; many Imperial deserters had first jumped on Tarkin's ship, and the New Republic still had the hearts of the majority of the people. So ultimately, the main battle was still betwen the New Republic and the Empire. Nevertheless, Zaarin's technological prowess and somewhat superior tactical genius brought him several victories- including the assassination of Palpatine.

The Fall of the Emperor: On Coruscant, security forces loyal to Moff Kadir allowed a contingent of specially-modified stormtroopers and Crimson Guardsmen under Carnor Jax entered into the Imperial Palace [2]. There they slew dozens of guardsmen still loyal to the Emperor, before they confronted Palpatine himself. With a cackle he then proceeded to kill nearly all the stormtroopers and Kadir, before Carnor Jax unveiled a secret weapon- a ysalamiri. Trapping themselves in a Force-proof bubble, Jax dueled Palpatine, but without the Force, the older man eventually succumbed to the young warrior. With a triumphant cry, the former Sovereign Protector declared the death of the Emperor.

Thousands and millions of light-years away, Zaarin broadcast the battle to the entire Galaxy. He proclaimed that the Empire itself was over, to be reformed under his rule as an Imperial Commonwealth, with greater rights to all beings. He then named himself Lord Protector.

However, Zaarin's conspiracy never finished its entire course. Emperor Palpatine's Imperial Will was opened and broadcast to the Galaxy by COMPNOR. It revealed that Grand Vizier Sate Pestage was to succeed him temporarily as Chancellor until a "suitably Imperial successor" could be "found." (Whether by election or by blood, it was unclear.) It also bequeathed trillions of Palpatine's secret fortune to Coruscant and thousands of the worlds of his Empire. Almost overnight, the fickle sentiments of the Galactic public shifted back to Palpatine, as they reflected with very very rosy glasses the good things he had done for the Galaxy, as well as the order he had made. Labeling Tarkin as a perve

 

The Battle of Endor: The Imperial Commonwealth had received the brunt of attacks from the resurgent Empire. Though he felt it to be beneath him, Zaarin approached the New Republic with a truce and an alliance against the Empire. The NR gladly accepted, and received the novel presence of advanced TIE craft alongside their Incom starfighters. They eventually traced the Empire's plans to the remote moon of Endor, where a Second Death Star was in construction. Named the Sith Moon, it was to be a far more powerful battlestation than its predecessor, or Tarkin's knock-off satellite. They quickly launched a mission to the moon.

And so the mission went, spearheaded by the New-Republicans with the support of Commonwealth soldiers. It also highlighted the upcoming break in the two governments' treaty of convenience- the New-Republicans were quite appalled by the viciousness of the Dark Troopers, and Luke was not amused by the presence of several Inquisitorius-sent operatives, even though they were low-ranking Dark Jedi and not really champions of the Dark Side. History went on as usual, however, and Luke soon offered himself to be taken in by the Imperials.

Meanwhile, the combined Republic-Commonwealth flotilla dueled the Imperial armada above. They had been caught surprised by a fleet that numbered at least sixty Star Destroyers, and contained not one but two Super Star Dreadnoughts [there, a compromise]: the Executor and the Imperium. The two massive ships nearly tore the combined forces apart, hammers between the anvil of the Sith Moon.

Aboard the Sith Moon, Luke confronted his father and surprise surprise, the Emperor himself! Palpatine revealed to the Jedi in training that he had mastered the technique of creating a Force doppelganger with some of his powers, and it was one of them who had been killed by Jax. He then offered him the chance to learn that technique, if he only joined the Dark Side. But Luke rejected him, and his goodness and command of the Light Side redeemed his father, who was Darth Vader no more. Turning against his former master, Anakin Skywalker killed the Emperor, at the cost of mortally wounding himself.

But that wasn't the end of it.

A massive holoprojection appeared in the throne room. The Emperor was once again alive; they had merely killed one of his doppelgangers, and he was actually aboard the Imperium. He gloated at the Skywalkers, saying they would have been far too weak to defeat him had he been present in the flesh. He revealed the true plan of his double-death: he would lull the Galaxy into mourning in his name, root out all potential traitors from the lowliest Army trooper to his greatest Sith apprentice, and create such a terrible situation in the Empire that only his return could end it. After he killed the Skywalker males, he would take Leia as a pupil, or perhaps just slay her altogether. In any case, soon he would make his triumphant return from death, cement his rule of the Galaxy for all eternity, and continue his secret plan to turn it into a Sith Empire that would one day be absorbed into himself.

Anakin told Luke that he loved him and Leia, and ordered him to escape the Sith Moon. Luke refused, but Anakin pushed him off, throwing him into the core shaft, where he landed safely on another level of the station. In perhaps the most immensely powerful feat of the Force the Galaxy had ever known, Anakin Skywalker pulled the Imperium and sent it plunging into the battlestation's superlaser. The gargantuan collision, combined with an attack on Sith Moon's core by Lando Calrissian, utterly destroyed the Second Death Star.

 

The Battle of Endor

Luke Skywalker landed on the alcove with a thud. Inches behind him sat the Sith Moon core vent, hundreds of thousands of meter deep. It led straight into the hypermatter reactor and almost certain death. As he stood up, he choked back a cry, willed himself with the Force, and began to run frantically across the myriads of corridors. Even within the station, the sounds of battle could be heard as hundreds of personnel rushed to their locations. But it would not be up to them. Their battle had already been decided. And lost.

He forced himself to run. This was an utterly bitter escape. He had rescued his father, finally met his true father at last- only to see him resign himself to death. What did this mean? Was Anakin Skywalker's destiny to never live a life, but to die?

The young knight entered one hallway only to see a full squad of stormtroopers with blaster rifles locked and loaded. Nearby, an Imperial officer in an authoritative black uniform leveled his own pistol at Luke. "Surrender, or we shall fire," he warned.

In response, Luke threw with the Force, and a whole column of the soldiers fell back. Their comrades fired at the Jedi, but he deflected their shots and closed in, Force-pushing the elite myrmidons left and right. Too much killing, he thought to himself. Too much today.

In a scant few seconds the squad had been down. Doors open, and Imperial troopers- both Army and Navy men- poured out. They were quickly dealt with as well. Only the black-clad officer stood, his pistol still pointed at Luke. He fired first.

Luke neatly deflected the shot and cut through his pistol, rendering it useless. The officer backed away, maintaining a battle-trained composure over a quickly churning mind. This was no mere pawn of the Inquisitorius, he reasoned. This one- he was capable of much more.

Luke deactivated his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. It sat next to his father's lightsaber. Only minutes before his father had given it to him before casting him into the core. Running his fingers across the weapon for a moment, he snapped back to focus as the man spoke.

"I suppose I am your prisoner now. My name is Maximilian Veers. Rank: Major General."

Luke blinked. The Empire had never considered the New Republic to be a legal enemy within the few laws of war they bothered to follow half of the time. This was a new expectation.

He replied. "The station is going to be destroyed in just a few minutes. I think you'd better order an evacuation."

"Destroyed?" Veers frowned. "But the superlaser is operational!"

Luke shook his head. "Not for long. The New Republic has launched an attack on the reactor already. They're inside the Sith Moon as we speak. We've brought down the shields already."

Veers paled inwardly, but remained stolid. "This Death Star cannot be destroyed by a few mere starfighters, Rebel."

Luke sighed and approached the man. He waved his hand, and Veers could suddenly see a vision of the Empire's flagship plunging straight into the station. Quantum steel upon neutronium armor strained and crumbled before the hint of a fireball gave way to a flash. And then he was back.

"Vader is dead," Luke simply said. "And so is the Emperor."

Veers, though composure shaken, puzzled at the second bit. Emperor? Surely Chancellor Pestage would not be so stupid as to be aboard during the middle of such a battle!

But it was of no consequence. The Major General turned to the young man who had disabled his finest squad of soldiers. "Who are you? What are you?"

"My name is Luke Skywalker," he replied as he walked away. "I am a Jedi."

***

Major General Veers stumbled into his command room. This wasn't right. He was onboard only as an impromptu security chief for this section of the Sith Moon- they were rather short-staffed, after all, and so personnel from the Endor mission were temporarily absorbed into the crew. But he had no authority to order any sort of evacuation.

The vi

 

Intersting thing you've come up with. It seems well thought out. The documentary style you're working with actually works pretty well. It's an intersting shift that adds flavor to the story. All-in-all, this could turn out well.

 

Dang... That was well written! Loved the facts, it give more of a background that definatlly adds to the story!
I can't wait for more! Could you add me to PM list if you have it?

 

With several volleys from the Home One, the HIMS Executor shuddered, hull fractures erupting all over its massive frame. It launched its turbolasers in one last futile struggle, and disappeared in a flash of a thousand points of light. But to the disappointment of the New Republic, the Executor had merely fled to hyperspace, not exploded from its reactor's final gasp. But regardless, the damage was done. Both of the Empire's flagships were gone. Many of the remaining Star Destroyers made to retreat as well, to regroup and prepare to push back some other day. But not today. Today, the forces of the Galactic Empire had been routed in its most terrible defeat.

Aboard the Home One, Admiral Ackbar resisted to join his crew in cheering. The battle was not yet complete. Several of the Imperial ships remained, resisting. And even after there was much work to be done. The Endor system was littered from the wreckage of thousands of ships. There would be a need to clean it all up, especially to prevent the detritus from falling upon the inhabited moon, causing a holocaust and the destruction of an entire planetary ecosystem, not to mention ruining the New Republic's post-battle afterparty.

The Mon Calamari's internal musings were interrupted by a broadcast. It was apparently fleetwide, and originated from the Terror, that fearsome mirror of the Executor, which still ominously remained in the battle. The Admiral did not like the alliance with the Imperial Commonwealth, did not like the Commonwealth's brutal conduct, and did not like the fact that they had a Super Star Dreadnought [there, a compromise] of their own, not to mention potential planet busters.

The visage of Lord Protector née Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin filled the viewscreens of hundreds of ships ?This is a message to all vessels present at this historic moment. Congratulations, all. With your service and sacrifice, we have defeated the Empire.?

Hundreds of thousands of cheers filled the Endor system. Despite himself, Admiral Ackbar smiled slightly. It soon faded.

?The Empire was once a noble idea, a political experiment begun with the best of intentions. But that experiment has become tainted by the presence of corrupt and decadent fools who empowered Palpatine's tyranny. I move for us to remedy this corruption.

The man in the recording raised his fist. ?This is the time, my fellow sentients. This is the time for us to reform this system, not destroy it. This Empire may have failed, but we not must be regressive. We cannot go back to the Republic, an even worse model of government. We must move to the future. I now proclaim the triumph of the Imperial Commonwealth. This is the true way. There can be no other.

Zaarin pointed out from the screens. ?I invite you all, Palpatinist and Rebel alike, to lay down your arms. You have fought valiantly, but it is in the defense of futile systems and fallen dreams. Lay down your arms now, and you shall become the first of equals in the correct way of the Galaxy: the Commonwealth. Reject, and you will be the first against the wall. I leave this to you.?

The screen clicked. Ackbar bristled. The temerity! The presumption!

He had prepared for this eventuality, actually. Typing a few commands, he instantly notified his most loyal commanders in the New Republic fleet to target their weapons at the Commonwealth forces- not to mention several NR ships that were captained by rather suspicious characters. Then he began transmitting his own message to the fleet.

?All forces loyal to the New Republic, confirm your loyalty now, or depart the battlefield. You have five minutes to comply.?

Within moments, dozens of Republican craft signaled their intentions. But others wavered, delayed. They were instantly bombarded with transmissions urgently asking for assurance.

New Republic Star Destroyer Protector

Admiral Harkov gripped his console.

The messages kept on coming.