Star Wars Rebirth

IC: Timhos Gantry
Docking Bay 84, Coruscant

The comlink buzzes to life. "Master, I'm right on top of you. Can you open the bay enough for me to bring the shuttle down?"
"Stand by, Anakin," Windu says. "Let me see what we can do."
A long, metallic groan sounds forth as the doors attempt to open, but they are stuck fast.
"We'll have to open the doors manually." Master Windu says.
Another creak sounds, he attempts to use the backup manual door levers. But they, too, are stuck.
"And by manually I mean with the Force," he continues seamlessly. He try's to encourage the younglings, telling them of their potential.
I sit down on the floor, my cane beside me, and together we reach towards the door, channeling the force to guide it open. Slowly, painstakingly, it creaks open, letting cooler, fresh air into the bay. But the sound it makes shatters the air, making it difficult to focus, to concentrate.
Anakin's voice comes over the comm. "Hurry up, Master. You're going to bring the entire Empire down on us."
We continue to push. "Almost there," Master Windu tells him.
But suddenly, I hear a new sound. The sound of trooper and security vehicles above. They've found us.

Tag: General Valerian, The_Zeltron, Skywalker_T-65

 

IC: Padmé Amidala
Enroute to Alsakan

"It is likely a ruse, but if what Director Isard says is true, then it would probably be safe to return. You could claim you left out of fear for your safety and not from an intention to abandon the Empire, but I don't think it's best to go back until we have a solid grasp of the situation. Even then, someone else should go in your place.

Padmé agreed silently. Sending a representative would be the best option, someone who could adequately deal with the situation. That would be one of the things they would need to take care of once the situation wasn’t as hectic, as Bail had suggested. She still hoped it had been an honest message; even though her instincts told her to be cautious.

Bail continued, “As for the Jedi... this is good news. We'll need their support, and likely their protection. I just hope we can protect them until they assemble.”

She nodded and sat in the co-pilot's chair. “I agree. The Republic will be much stronger with the Jedi to assist us. I'm glad that they are safe.”

For now, she thought. She was beginning to grow anxious, the sight of the space battle stewing in her mind. The message was hopeful, but she couldn't help but see the possibility of tragedy. Once again she tried to focus on what they could do to save the Republic, not what was - or could be - lost. Her eyes moved to the displays along the console. There wasn't long left until the skiff arrived in Alsakan. Padmé began to think about what awaited them and who would be willing to support their cause. She tapped her fingers lightly against the seats armrest, watching the readings as they blinked on the screen. Of course she knew there were a number of supporters already, but with the chaos surrounding the Empire’s formation things were bound to have changed. She was interested to know how strong their exiled Republic would be. “Is there a list of planets which currently plan to support the Republic?”

Tag: Rebecca_Daniels , Skywalker_T-65 (Because we need a list of planets, I assume. )

 

IC: Anakin Skywalker - Coruscant

But suddenly, I hear a new sound. The sound of trooper and security vehicles above. They've found us.

Anakin waited, fidgeting a bit, for the doors to open. It was taking much longer than he'd hoped would be the case, and he knew someone was going to get suspicious soon, hence his comment to Master Windu. Just then, a voice came over the line he was using to keep in touch with the Jedi Master, and it wasn't a Jedi's.

"Armand Isard to Master Anakin Skywalker! I do not think that you have yet become so deeply embroiled in recent events that a skilled Advocate would be unable to disentangle you. However, if you assist Windu to evade capture and trial, you will, in my estimation, cross that line!"

Anakin had muted the comm on his end as soon as Isard began. "Great, they found us," he muttered.

Isard continued, "For your information, Windu has attacked Grand Army Troopers without any form of provocative action on their part. I am informed that some of them were choked to death. He has also used those in his company as Sentient Shields. All of those activities are entirely inconsistent with what I understand to be the Jedi Way.

It is looking increasingly unlikely that Windu consulted Master Yoda, Master Kenobi or any other off-world High Council member before setting out on his mission of murder. We have the communications records from the Temple, and they show no outgoing communications at all during that time period. There is also the point that the war with the Separatists is still ongoing; so the conditions requiring the Supreme Chancellor to give up the Emergency Powers voted him by the Senate had patently not been met. Those conditions still have not been met!

I therefore think it entirely possible that Windu has fallen victim to the same malady as overtook the one apprentice who was claimed to have mastered Windu's peculiar Lightsaber Form; and that he may be mentally unstable!

Also for your information, Jedi who were uninvolved with the assassination plot (which classification includes the Padawan and Younglings currently being utilised as Windu's Sentient Shields) have nothing to fear from the Empire. The Emperor himself has granted a grace period for all uninvolved Jedi to come forward, without fear of harm, to demonstrate that fact, and either return to Government Service or to settle on a world or worlds of their own choosing - and send representatives from those worlds to the Senate; which has now been renamed the 'Court of Moffs'.

I personally deeply regret the casualties, on both sides, that occurred during the confusion following the assassination of our Revered Supreme Chancellor. We both know, from history, that such incidents are highly likely to occur at such times of tension; and that actual wars have been started that way.

Another thing that you do not know about at present is that the violent species you heard about on your very first away-mission as a Padawan has been confirmed as having been active elsewhere in the Galaxy; in what seems to have been an exploratory, probing, attack. We even have holo-recordings of their savagery and brutality. In my opinion, we will need every Jedi we can get should they decide to go from probing to full-scale assault. We will also need to be a united Galaxy, with an even stronger Military capability than we have at present.

So, Master Skywalker, I ask you to consider your next actions very carefully indeed. I would intensely dislike having to inform Senator Amidala that you had been killed, seriously injured or become a proscribed traitor and suspected assassin yourself! She, and many of her Senatorial colleagues have left Coruscant - I believe for Alsakan - but there is absolutely no reason why they cannot come and go as they please. I have had the Emperor's personal assurance that they have broken no law by absenting themselves from the Court of Moffs, nor are they considered disloyal for taking that action because of a point of principle."

At the beginning of Isard's speech, Anakin had switched the outgoing comm to another frequency, and sent a short message to Mace Windu. "They'll be here any minute." He had a feeling someone already knew that their communications had been interrupted, even if the Jedi Master himself was too busy to notice.

Now, switching it back to the original channel, he replied, "Isard, we were declared traitors by your Emperor. There was more than sufficient provocation by your army, and while Master Windu and I have had our differences, I know that he would not behave as you have described. Moreover, you seemed to have blatantly ignored the fact that it was I who assisted Master Windu to return to the Jedi Temple after the, as you call it, 'assassination.' As for the lack of outgoing communications, the matter was too urgent for a lengthy council session... which, naturally, I would know as it just so happens that I gave Master Windu the information on which he acted."

Drawing a deep breath, Anakin finished, "So, as you can see, your offer of amnesty is neither believable nor applicable, in my case. I will take care of any Padawans and Younglings that may be in danger. And I will be happy to personally inform all of the Senators that I stand with the Jedi."

Anakin shut off the comm and exhaled shakily. Apparently, Armand Isard knew about his relationship with Padme, or at least guessed. He had to get to Alsakan as soon as possible to make sure she was safe. But, for now, he had to rescue the Jedi still on the planet. The shuttle was already hovering just above the hangar bay, and he started to lower it, angling to get between the doors. The patrols had begun to gather, and it wouldn't be long before they were under fire.

TAG: General Valerian, Random Comments, Skywalker_T-65, Tim Battershell

 

IC: Armand Isard
'Working' Office, Directorate of Intelligence - Coruscant.

The abrupt termination of Skywalker's Comm signal (and his general tone) disappointed Isard greatly;

"So, if that's the way you want to play it....!" he thought.

Changing to Imperial frequencies and encryption, he ordered the Windu pursuit units to converge on the location indicated by direction-finding stations, instructing the air-units to 'Blacksky' it (meaning, to keep in such close proximity to it and each other that a ship attempting to launch from there would almost inevitably collide with some of them. He also ordered undamaged (or relatively lightly damaged) Fleet Units to go onto overwatch positions, track any launches with sensors and engage an escapees with Ion Cannons. Any ships so disabled were to be tractor-beamed into a vacuum-filled hangar bay and conveyed to a certain set of co-ordinates, which he specified.

Then he contacted Commander Havoc and ordered one of the PEP-equipped companies to prepare for embarkation and transfer to one of the Fleet Units; and to prepare for a possible ship-boarding action on arrival at their eventual destination.


TAG: The_Zeltron, Skywalker_T-65, General Valerian, Random Comments.

 

IC: Bail Organa
en route to Alsakan

Padmé seemed troubled, and he wished he had something to say that could ease those worries; there was nothing that could be said, and he knew it. The galaxy was tearing itself apart and a great deal of people they cared for were in danger - more danger than the war with the Separatists had caused. All they could do was put on a strong face for their people and do what they did best.

“Is there a list of planets which currently plan to support the Republic?”

He looked to his datapads, but shrugged. "Some. A few declared their intentions publicly like Chandrila, others are complete unknowns. We may not know for certain for days or weeks from now when the dust from all this finally settles." Bail hesitated, but continued. "The Empire's offer to make the remaining Senators into Moffs may convince some to return. At best, most of those who left when the Empire was announced will join us, at worst..." He trailed off; one particular factor kept leaping to the top of his list of problems. "At worst, we have no legitimate inter-system government and those that leave will either be flattened by the Empire's forces or forced to join them to keep their people safe." It was a bleak thought, and he knew his own planet was one that would be in grave danger should the Republic-in-Exile not gather protective forces and form a government. All the more incentive to get it done. If other Senators were already arriving on Alsakan, however, they could have a basic constitution drafted up based on the Republic's within a few days.

"Of course, until we get confirmation from each system, we can't hold elections and choose a leader. Without a leader this coalition will surely fail." And they couldn't give a leader emergency powers like they did Palpatine. Never again. He watched for Padmé's reaction, and had a thought - one that'd he'd keep to himself for the moment, considering, well, everything. They needed a leader who could hold fast during wartime and not give into the coming pressures from the Empire to rejoin them, and right now he was on a ship with the best candidate for that job, whether she knew it or not.

TAG: Admiral Volshe

 

OOC: Sorry for the double-post... just how it has to be

IC: Obi-Wan Kenobi
Above Alsakan

The ship ceased fire and responded. "General Kenobi, it seems your identity has been confirmed." The voice sounded reluctant, and he could guess that it was the Jedi he sensed who had gotten them to hold their fire. "Please dock with the Corusca and meet with our Jedi representative. If you deviate from a direct course, we will respond will all necessary force."

Translation: we still don't trust you. It was difficult to blame them for their suspicion, considering all that had happened over the last day. Had it only been a day? No, less; though it felt like years since he'd escaped Utapau. Having Cody turn on him like that was... unpleasant, and not something he ever wanted to repeat. What he needed now were some answers; Obi-Wan had felt so many Jedi deaths he couldn't differentiate them, but he suspected that the Council had not escaped unscathed. So many lost, and still he didn't know why.

"Thank you, Glory of Alsakan." He did as instructed, wary of the tension surrounding the system. As he approached the designated ship, Obi-Wan took the few moments he had before landing in their bay to run through some calming techniques. There won't be enough calm in the galaxy to deal with this, but I can still try.

A few troopers awaited his ship and waved him towards a clear landing area. While they didn't raise their weapons, their intent was clear; however, as he raised the canopy of Grievous' fighter and jumped down - hopefully he'd never have to fly that blasted ship again - they relaxed and saluted. Jedi robes and lightsabers, he had to admit, were quite recognisable, and for once he was glad. Speaking of which, Obi-Wan scanned the hangar for any sign of the Jedi on board.

TAG: The_Zeltron

 

IC: Yoda
Alsakan

Yoda opened his eyes as a small thump announced the pod exiting hyperspace. Lacking viewports, he couldn't see what was going on outside...at least not with his eyes, in any case. Stretching out to the Force (and ignoring the sensor systems) Yoda felt out the area in orbit of Alsakan. He could feel several large concentrations of life, so many that it was very clear that there was a very large force in this system.

Perhaps more importantly however, he could sense two bright lights in the Force. Quickly identified as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Onyx Black. While Yoda was relieved they had survived, the confusion he felt amongst the fleet told him that...there might have been some difficulties. There wasn't any hostility, thankfully, but it was obvious that something was wrong.

Thus, the ancient Grand Master activated the comm device, opened his mouth to request landing clearance...

"Master Yoda, can you hear me? I'm still on Alderaan but making my way off-planet. They haven't made a decision on their allegiance but I'm not sticking around for that. What is our next move?"

And received a message from....Vydraa Jezrai. Another survivor of the attack? And on Alderaan?

"Received your message I have," Yoda said with a small smile, "to Alsakan, the Jedi go. Wait for you here, I shall."

TAG: Shereshoy Cabur , Falcon (indirectly)


OOC: Sorry for the delay.

 

IC: Jess Shern
Alskan

Jess slowly wokeup from his nap as he heard Master Yoda's voice finished what sounded like a half a conversation? He blinked his eyes a few times noting everything looked a little blurry. He began to wonder how long he had been out for. Please tell me we're going to dock soon. His legs felt stiff and kind of rubbery from being cramped up in this small tube. "Master, sorry about sounding like a twelve year old. Are we there yet? I really need to get out and stretch."

Skywalker_T-65

 

IC: Vydraa Jezrai
Location: Entrance to the main Spaceport

---

"Received your message I have, to Alsakan, the Jedi go. Wait for you here, I shall."

"Affirmative, the Beast Squad and I will be there soon." he replied and turned off his comm "Let's go Vode."

He went through the spaceport, making his way to the Obsidian Falcon, with no problem. It was expected as Alderaan hadn't become a hostile planet. Once he made it to the hanger entrance, he stopped and turned to the clones.

"Alright, let's get into our ships and go into a neutral Delta formation. We shouldn't have any problems on the way there, but just in case be ready for anything."

With that he turned into the hanger, boarded the black starfighter, turned on all system and eased his way into space with the Beast squad all falling behind him in their own ships. Turning on the private comm channel with the rest of the squad, he spoke.

"Ok boys, engaging in hyperspace in 3...2...1..."

The stars turned from dots into the familiar streaks across his viewport, and within a short amount of time they arrived in Alsakan space. Activating another private comm channel with Master Yoda, he asked, "Master Yoda, we are here in Alsakan space, where should we meet you exactly?"

---

TAG: Skywalker_T-65

 

OOC: Well, I know I've held you up forever, Rebecca_Daniels. I'm really sorry for that.

IC: Onyx Black - Corusca - Alsakan Orbit

Onyx was relieved when the Glory ceased fire. She turned to the captain, who was speaking over his helmet comm with the fleet commander. After a moment, he glanced in her direction. "Glory of Alsakan has instructed that you shall meet your Jedi friend when he docks. If he is not who you believe, you'll be the first to pay."

Onyx held his stare for a moment, then saluted and quickly left the bridge. The captain clearly would not be sorry to be rid of her, and she wondered how long he would stay loyal to the Senators gathered on the planet below. Making a mental note to bring up his attitude to someone who had the authority to do something about it, she descended to the docking bay, stepping out of the lift just in time to watch a Separatist starfighter descend to the deck. Pausing, she watched in silence, prepared to act if necessary, until an unmistakeable Jedi form descended from the fighter.

Waving the troops away, Onyx approached swiftly, stopping a few feet from the Jedi to bow respectfully. "Master Kenobi, welcome to the Corusca. I'm glad to see you made it out safely. Can I offer you anything?"

TAG: Rebecca_Daniels

 

OOC: that took rather longer than I had expected...darn schoolwork!


IC: Timhos Gantry
Docking Bay 84, Coruscant
The tinny, artificially amplified voices of the droid Coruscanti Enforcement Officers boom out from above. "Stop, in the name of Imperial Justice!"
So it's not just the Grand Army, everyone is trying to hunt us down. They were certainly efficient with their programming updates. "Imperial justice" already!
"We have this building surrounded. You have no possible escape. I suggest you come quietly." A trooper's voice, this time, equally amplified. As he speaks, I hear another ship whirr into place above us. Anakin is going to have a hard time getting through this, and we'll have an equally hard time getting out.
"Nobody has to get hurt here." Another voice, from another trooper above.
Master Windu suddenly ignites his lightsaber, cloth swishing as he turns rapidly...and deflects the stun bolts aimed at his back. They don't even care about receiving a response. Or perhaps they feel our silence was response enough.
I snap my cane apart, igniting the lightsaber, as troopers surge into the bay from behind us, the transports above whining loudly as they greedily approach.
Now would be a good time, Anakin!
"Anakin!" Windu shouts. He's arrived, and not a moment too soon.
"Master." Anakins voice is piped over the comlink. "You didn't mention there'd be this much company!"
The engine of the shuttle shifts in volume, the shuttle is picking up speed. I hear the sound of blasters firing at the shuttle. With Anakin' unexpected arrival, we've been temporarily forgotten. "Now this is podracing!"
I brace myself, expecting an explosion at any moment. But one doesn't come...yet.
"I'm coming in fast, jump on as soon as I'm close enough!"
Master Windu gathers up the younglings, preparing to launch them through the shuttle's hatchway, and the engine of the shuttle reaches its loudest yet. He's practically on top of us.
"Come on, we don't have all day!" Anakin calls.
Windu jumps, landing with Anji and Zell, the injured boy, who lets out a grunt at the contact with the floor.
Windu leaps back down, grabbing Tanyata and Gruk, and flips up with a whoosh of fabric, bringing them onto the shuttle as well.
As I prepare to quickly follow, Windu calls down to me. "Hurry, Timhos!"
Suddenly, the world jerks itself out from under me.
The last thing I hear is Anji's panicked shout. "Timhos!"
And then, nothing.

Tag: General Valerian, The_Zeltron, Skywalker_T-65