Beyond - Legends Across the Stars (27 ABY NJO-era, Major AU, Chapter One Out! 9/12/12)

Title: Across the Stars
Author: JediDingo
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama
Timeframe: 27 A.B.Y. (Alternate Universe).
Summary: In a galaxy far, far, away all that you know has changed. The galaxy lives under the rule of the Sith, and has since the fall of Luke Skywalker. While the Empire enjoys it's golden age, a small band of rebels still believe in hope. On a small mining planet, dreams of another life haunt a young Anakin Solo. He dreams that once he was someone else, a hero, a Jedi.

I have never been a big fan of Alternate Universes, but this is my own attempt at such. I want to try something new and bold, and just because this is an Alternate Universe it doesn't mean what has happened in canon in the real Star Wars universe has no effect on this story. The canon Star Wars Universe and this universe are very. very much connected. Here is a teaser of Across the Stars, thank you for reading!

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http://www.starwars.com/play/online-activities/crawl-creator/index.jsp?cs=jb3xbg244b



Prelude:


Slowly, the Super Star Destroyer Justice slide across the infinite black of space towards the center of civilized galaxy: Coruscant. The city-planet was once the jewel of the Republic, and it remained so for the Empire. The long triangle shaped ship approached slowly as a returning conqueror. If Coruscant was the jewel of the Empire, then Justice was the gem of the Imperial Fleet. Justice and her crew were to receive full Imperial honors for their bravery in dealing with the foreign invaders from another galaxy: The Yuuzhan Vong. The Empire had dealt with the threat quickly and efficiently, almost eradicating the entire enemy fleet in just under two years. It was Justice that led the campaign against the invaders, and it was from the Super Star Destroyer that “Alpha Red” was released on the Vong.

Captain Bolton walked briskly across the white pristine command deck, his shiny black boots clicking against the floor as he did. His collar seemed tighter than usual, and once he looked down at his uniform he could see why. He had been gaining weight ever since the start of the campaign against the invaders two years ago. Unfortunately, he was a stress-eater and it was something that his wife always liked to remind him whenever he was able to visit home. He knew it was something that needed to be taken care of soon, and thankfully he could do it now that the main campaign was about to be officially over. Bolton forced his mind to focus on the things at hand, the reason he was on the command deck in the first place.

A few feet before him stood the Grand Admiral in his white uniform, observing Coruscant through the transparisteel. The Imperial Captain stopped just behind the Grand Admiral and clasped his hands behind his back. The Grand Admiral made no movement, so Captain Bolton cleared his throat slightly. The Grand Admiral inclined his head slightly.

“Yes, captain?” His deep voice seemed to echo throughout the command deck.

Captain Bolton cleared his throat. “Grand Admiral, we have an incoming transmission from the Temple on Coruscant.”

Captain Bolton saw the Grand Admiral square off his board shoulders. It wasn’t often that they heard directly from the Temple. After a few moments of silence, Captain Bolton wasn’t sure if the Grand Admiral had heard him. Then, suddenly:

“Depart the command deck.” The Grand Admiral ordered. At once, everyone at a station or in the room got up to leave immediately. They all knew protocol; no one was to look upon the Emperor’s face. Bolton turned to leave when the Grand Admiral stopped him, turning around.

“No,” Grand Admiral Thrawn said. “Remain here with me.”

Bolton was shocked. He had no idea what to say and stumbled over his words.

“Sir, I –Uh—I don’t think that is a good idea.” Bolton squeaked.

Thrawn smiled, his white teeth seemed overly white against his dark blue skin. His red eyes seemed to shine like two stars.
“You were a major part of this campaign, Captain Bolton. The Emperor knows this, so it’ll be alright.” Thrawn explained. Bolton shook his head slightly, becoming slightly dizzy. Not many people got to see the Emperor, and now Bolton got the chance to see the leader of the entire galaxy. The stark white lights on the command deck dimmed significantly and before Thrawn and Bolton, a blue hologram began to materialize.

“Bow,” Thrawn said as he himself got onto one knee. Bolton quickly followed his example. Bolton glanced up and saw the dark figure looming over them. Thrawn had his head remained bowed and spoke with his arms outstretched.

“What is your bidding, Lord Skywalker?”

 

This looks promising. Can't wait to see what happens next. Very different from what I was expecting but bring it on!

 

Oh wow! Tag please when you update.

 

Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you guys enjoyed the teaser! Hopefully by this weekend the very first chapter will be out. I'm excited for all of you to discover this very different galaxy. Until then, enjoy some propaganda posters that you may see if you were to visit a cantina in this universe! The first two I borrowed online, the last I made.

 

I now present to you the very first chapter of Across the Stars! Please read and review and let me know what you think, positive or negative! Each chapter is a different characters perspective, like Game of Thrones. This actually make its somehow easier to write for me, so hopefully by this weekend you can have chapter two! Oh, and please post your theories on what you think is happening or you predict might happening! Thank you again, and enjoy!​

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Jade_eyes​

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ACROSS THE STARS​

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Anakin​

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The stars shone brightly in the crystal clear early morning sky. Just over the Roran mountain range, Anakin Solo saw the very first signs of sunrise, the sky in that direction was slowly turning a purplish orange color. If there was something good about this early morning shift down in the mines, Anakin definitely believed the view was it. Over the last five years, he had become accustomed to this view unfortunately and especially so once he began to cover his father’s shifts two years ago. The barren landscape zoomed past as Anakin held onto overhead rail on the train transporting the next shift of miners.

The cortosis mines that had recently been reopened ten years prior had been working overtime the last few months in response to the Invader Conflict out on the Rim. While the Empire had assured the galaxy that the threat had been neutralized, the Empire needed to catch up on their supplies that had been exhausted in their campaign. So that meant extra hours, and extra hours meant that there was only time for sleep. When working this much, Anakin learned to enjoy simple things like the sunrise.

“You ready for the day?” A gruff voice said behind him. Anakin glanced over his shoulder and saw the large Besalisk, Jod.

“I guess. How about you?” He asked.

With one of his four hands he scratched his protruding belly and shrugged. “We’ll be working hard today. That’s for sure.”

He leaned in closer glancing around the cart as if he was about to share a secret. Anakin glanced around as well, for Jod’s sake, and leaned in to hear what he had to say.

“I hear that were getting close to mining just about all that’s left here. Once that happens, you better believe the IRO will pull out of here. If I were you, I’d be looking for a chance to get off this rock and go somewhere else. Maybe Kessel, or maybe even Kashyyysk? I hear their mining some sort of ore there. Tore all the trees down to do it, too!” Jod nodded.

Anakin shook his head. “Thanks for the warning.”

Anakin knew that while Jod was right, Imperial Rim Ore was going to make sure it sucked Apatros dry of any cortosis left, Anakin guessed it wouldn’t be until about another two years until the entire planet was picked clean, a year and a half at least. Either way, it would be good to talk to his dad about once he got off his shift if he wasn’t drunk like he was most nights when he got off work.

Maybe I should ask Lando about it? Anakin thought. It was Lando who got his father the job here on Apatros, and it was Lando who convinced the IRO to let Anakin take his dad’s spot in the mines once Han had started drinking so much he wouldn’t ever leave his apartment anymore. Anakin felt bad for asking Lando to help them once again even though he knew he would no questions asked. He just didn’t like putting his friends in tough positions.

The train stopped abruptly and Anakin lurched forward, his thoughts broken. Aimlessly, the miners on the train began to shuffle towards the doors and out onto the platform the lead down into Section 23 of the mines. Anakin followed like a lemming in the standard issue orange jumpsuit that the IRO provided its workers. Anakin followed the stream of people and took an elevator down to the first section of the mine where they each retrieved a helmet and their MA-03 Mining Hammer’s. Cortosis was too sensitive to allow large mining droids to handle the work, so it was mainly the miners that actually excavated all of the ore personally.

Anakin put on his helmet, activating the breath-safe mask and hefted the hammer over his shoulder. When he first started two years ago, Anakin could barley lift the hammer to mine the ore, but now it felt like nothing. Section 23 had hardened his body, made him strong. Anakin and the rest of the miners made their way to the next shaft elevator that took them deep down into the depths of Apatros.

Once they got to the bottom, their helmet lights automatically switched on. Their crew chief was already down there waiting on them. He spoke with a clipped Imperial accent, and many believed that he was the son of someone important just learning to work his way to the top.

“Alright everybody. We have quite a bit of work to accomplish today, so let’s get to work!” Crew chief Rosh Penin stood fully erect, with his hands on his hips. It never failed that he always looked in pristine condition, and never dirty. Many loathed Penin, but there was always those who tried to make some sort of impression on him. Usually it worked, but Anakin wasn’t one to grovel. Mostly he kept to himself, and if he was in a talkative mood he would find Jod.

Anakin quickly got to work and before he knew it, four hours had already passed. To Anakin, time seemed to pass differently down in the mines. In the back of his mind he heard the sound of a siren going off, indicating it was time for a break. Anakin ignored it as he continued to use his hammer to chip away at the crust of Apatros to get the large pocket of cortosis embedded deeply.

“Anakin!”

Chipping away fervently, Anakin continued to be intently focused on the task at hand. Deeper and deeper his hammer went into the rock, his muscles straining against the force.

“Anakin!”

He still chose to ignore whoever was calling him, he suspected it was Jod wanting somebody to talk to. But if he kept working through his break, there was a chance he could get off just a bit earlier so that he could go talk with Lando about the possibility of getting another job that would benefit him and his dad. Then something undeniably strong broke through his thoughts and stabbed at his senses. Anakin reflexively stopped what he was doing, the strange sensation felt like a tingling in his mind. He let the hammer slowly shut off and stood there dazed for a moment.

In the background someone was still calling his name, but this time it seemed like more people. In his mind he heard something else. It felt familiar, yet also distant.

“Anakin, maybe you should listen to her. If this is a trap, they’ll be coming for us.” A girl’s voice almost whispered his mind.

“So what if they are? We’re Jedi, aren’t we?”

Anakin frowned. That was his own voice. He never remembered saying that. The tingling in his mind increased sharply, almost becoming pain. He dropped his hammer and clutched his head.

“Anakin, run!” Jod yelled. Anakin glanced up, his icy-blue eyes connecting with Jod’s. Behind him almost all the miners seemed to be running for the elevator shaft. Without hesitation, Anakin began running for his life. He didn’t have to look up to know that this section of the mine was probably about to collapse. This was why they had been yelling for him the entire time. As he ran towards Jod and the elevator shaft, he heard a large crack and then suddenly everything turned to black.

***

Death was all around him. Nothing could stop it. Their mission was going to fail, and it was going to be because of him. Because of his failure to lead.

“I keep getting people killed.” He said over the roar of battle.

“People are getting killed. Who says it’s your fault?” A beautiful young blond girl looked into his eyes. He could look into those eyes for the rest of his life and everything would be okay.

“I do.” He looked towards the battle. “They do.”

“Neg that! They just want you to get us out of here.” The girl yelled, but her last word was cut short by a concussion grenade exploding in the corridor. Sonic screeches filled the corridor, only adding the chaos. The blond girl shook her head, slight fear creeping into her voice. “So do I. Think of something-fast.”

As she finished her plea, she quickly grabbed the back of Anakin’s head, her slender fingers running through his sweat filled brown hair and kissed him. Anakin allowed himself to close his eyes.

Then everything faded away.

***

“Is he dead?”

“No, at least I don’t think so.”

“Shouldn’t we get out of here in case the rest might collapse?”

“He’s breathing. He is alive.”

“We must get out of here. This instance. We have no idea how unstable it is down here!” Rosh Penin said frantically.

“Wait just a minute. We aren’t leaving him.” Jod shot back.

“I have the power to fire you, you know.” Rosh said.

“Yeah? Then do it. For now, shut the frak up.” Jod said.

Anakin slowly opened his eyes, his vision swimming. Jod leaned over him, two of his arms holding his body. Another miner named Durz, a Duros, stood next to Rosh. Anakin raised his hand to his head, feeling where one of the rocks hit him on the scalp. When he took his hand away he saw the blood.

“Ouch.” Anakin groaned.

“What’s your name?” Durz asked.

“Anakin.” He replied.

“One more question: How old are you?” This time Jod asked.

“Almost eighteen.” Anakin tried to stand to his feet. Jod laughed, patting him on the back with his third hand.

“Good enough for me, let’s get out of here.”

They all rushed to the shaft and immediately began their ascension back to the surface. Once they did get to the surface of Apatros, Rosh ordered Anakin to the med bay on station. The medical droid that stitched him up said there wouldn’t be any scarring and applied bacta salve over the stitches. After some questioning from Rosh, who seemed to think that somehow Anakin did this all on purpose, he was free for the rest of the twenty hour day with the rest of Section 23. One thing was for sure, the IRO wouldn’t be happy about this at all. Somehow they would try to place the blame on him, which was even more reason to talk to Lando. Yet, there was something that concerned Anakin more than all of these things.

Something happened to me. He thought to himself. It was like he was watching himself once he passed out, and he was in some sort of battle on a ship. He remembered holding a lightsaber, and calling himself a Jedi. And there was a girl. His heart began to beat quicker and he wasn’t sure why.

Anakin got onto the next available train that would take him back to the city, the only city here on Apatros.

Maybe I can talk to Lando about this, too? He wondered. Once he got back to the city he would go straight to the Dancing Cu-Pa, Lando’s bar, and hopefully he would be able to help all the troubled him. It wasn’t long that Anakin found his thoughts going back to the girl from his dream, the girl with the green eyes.



Chapter Notes: When Anakin has his vision, I borrowed some of the text from Star By Star. = )

 

Ooh, interesting! It's like parallel universes colliding In this Anakin's "reality" he's a miner not a Jedi

 

This is really interesting, and started great. I'm a big fan of AU's so I will have not trouble getting engulfed in reading this! Nice work

 

Good chapter. Can't wait to see where it goes

 

Thanks guys! Im glad you like it. Just know, though, the action will pick up big time soon. This is just set-up. And if Anakin continues to peek into the canon EU, then maybe he'll start "remembering" his Jedi skills too! Also, did no one notice the ORA poster? And whose eyes those are?

 

Hmm this looks both good and novel. I hope you will continue

 

Great start here. It is really hard to see old favorite characters like Luke and Han in places like that. Is Leia still Anakin's mother here? I admit, I've read very little post-movie EU. I am still very intrigued! Tag me when you update.

(And please don't tell me you've given up on the conclusion of the story of the crew of the Divinity. I'm still sitting on the edge of my seat for that story.)