~*~Rogue Aristocracy~*~__(OT) Espionage adventure (updated 5/13!!)

Rogue Aristocracy
by Brett Nilsson

Timeframe- Set in the years between ANH and TESB.
Focus-Original characters with known-character cameos.
Summary- A rebel strike team has met with disaster after infiltrating an imperial research facility. Now the survivors must make it to safety before the Empire can retrieve their stolen property.

Disclaimer: Based in the Star Wars Universe, as created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm ltd. All rights reserved by George Lucas and Lucasfilm LTD alone. This is a work of fan fiction, not to be published or reprinted for profit.

Greetings friends and new readers! I'm so used to working around this time period--my stories have been in the post-ROTJ era and most recently the TPM era--I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the Rebellion missions that [could have] happened, and bring back some of the old familiar faces from the original trilogy.

As some of you may already know, I pride myself on writing fanfics so that they may fit within the canon of the SW universe. I've done my best at researching names, places, etc, but if anyone notices a discrepancy, please let me know.

So without further adieu, I present to you...

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[u][color=blue]ROGUE ARISTOCRACY[/u][/color]


?This was a good idea.? The sarcasm in Jarren?s voice left no room for misinterpretation. Another cloud of smoke and ferrocrete chips exploded from the wall beside him. A charred and smoldering hole marked the energy beam?s entrance. The echo of blaster fire rung in his ears and ozone burned his nostrils.

The service counter and merchandise case across the room splintered as the beams arced through the shop?s front room.

Mano fired back at the Imperials from his niche at the window, then ducked again to escape the barrage of red blasts. The rodian cursed as part of the wall erupted above his head.

?One little frag of synthoid,? Jarren said for the third time since they had reached this refuge. ?Five of us died for one little frag.?

Mano was ignoring him this time as he massaged one of his antennae with long fingers. It had been pelted by debris when the wall exploded.

The frag of synthoid was actually a data disk containing the research and development plans for a new mass-production energy source. That?s what Jan Dodonna had told them in the mission briefing. He told them that if the Rebellion could get its hands on that kind of technology, they would have a strong bargaining tool to lure systems away from the Empire.

According to information gathered by the first team of infiltrators, the resource center was lightly guarded by a compliment of Army personnel and two E-web cannons mounted atop lookout platforms near the main entrance.

Jarren?s team of commandos was given the entry codes and Imperial uniforms with proper ID clearances. The Rebels had thought of everything.

It should have been an easy mission, even for a former aristocrat like Jarren Kytrys. The would-be prince of Liun was forced to abandon his home and title when an aspiring Moff named Wilhuff Tarkin realized the tactical value of his world. Liun was now an imperial munitions depot.

And Jarren was now a Rebel. He longed for his home. He longed for friends and family long gone. He longed to get out of this droid shop alive!

Of course, the information the recon team had supplied was wrong. They had walked headlong into a very active Imperial base, complete with its very own battalion of stormtroopers. To their credit, the recon team had gotten one thing right: Those E-web cannons were, in fact, where they were supposed to be. That didn?t help the infiltration team during their escape, however. Personal shielding kept the Rebels from destroying gun emplacements with the limited armament they carried.

Jarren had seen Grig and Pollax, the team?s leader, ripped open by those cannons during the escape.

Sizzling beams of red pummeled the exterior of

 

I think it's great so far!! Can't wait to read more, Cheveyo!

 

This is really intriguing Cheveyo! Awesome start.

 

Hey!! I Have readers!!!

Thank you both. I'm working on segment two right now. Hopefully, I'll have it ready to post first thing tomorrow.

 

Okay, so it wasn't posted as early as I'd hoped. Sorry about that . Here is post number 2, ***FEATURING CAMEOS!!***

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?How old is this?? asked the general. His voice was monotone, his expression, stoic. But the anxiety in his eyes betrayed him. He looked older than his years, but it wasn?t the thick silver beard that aged him as much as the tired countenance.

?No more than an hour, General,? the lieutenant answered. ?We picked up the transmission from an Imperial relay buoy outside of the Muandi System.?

The subordinate watched the general pace slowly as he re-read the message on the handheld datapad. When he finished, he set the pad down on the conference table. His eyes wandered to the small portal in the wall, and to the blue splashes of hyperspace visible beyond it. His thoughts were not on space travel.

?General Dodonna?? the lieutenant said at last. The older man had been staring thoughtfully out the viewport for a number of minutes. ?What are your orders, sir??

Dodonna let out a short ?Humph? to acknowledge the man?s presence, but did not answer immediately. When he did, it was only to thank the lieutenant for bringing this to his attention. He dismissed the subordinate and thumbed the comm unit on the table.

When a woman?s dignified voice answered the comm, Dodonna said, ?Princess, we?ve lost contact with the Muandi team.?

?Lost contact??

Dodonna cleared his throat. ?We?ve intercepted an Imperial message from that system. The report states that their research facility was compromised, but the infiltrators have been eliminated and suggests they may have been Rebels.?

The news affected Princess Leia much the same as it had with the general. For a moment she could not speak.

Dodonna cut into the uncomfortable silence. ?Team Two is on stand-by just outside the system, your Highness. They are prepared to launch an R-R immediately.? A rescue and recovery mission seemed bold and unsubstantiated now, but it was still an option he could offer.

To send another strike team into a now mobilized Imperial facility was suicide. He could hear the turmoil in the woman?s voice when she said, ?We need that research data, General. Too many alliances are riding on the sharing of this technology.?

Leia?s voice carried the sentiment of her breaking heart. ?Send your team in.?

---

what do you think?

 

Very good, this is a cool story!

 

Thanks, Arna

 

Here's a new (double-)post for your perusal!

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The thermal detonator was still rolling across the polished floor when Jarren passed Mano at a full run. They were headed down the hall toward the back of the store?the same direction in which the storekeeper and his patrons retreated. He hoped there was an exit and not just a utility closet everyone was hiding in.

They both rounded the corner so fast that they careened into the wall, their shoulders acting as cushions as they rebounded.

Behind them the high-pitched squeal of the detonator warned of its intentions.

As they rounded a second corner, they found their way blocked by a gaping hole in the floor. It was Mano who first realized the value of the open hatch. Jarren, who was set on leaving the building altogether, readied himself to leap across the meter-wide void.

The rodian caught the sleeve of his cohort?s Imperial uniform before he could jump. ?Unoskabee!?

Jarren grunted an acknowledgement as he dove, feet first, into the hole. It was deeper than he had expected. He landed with a soft thud; his knees buckling as a plume of dust billowed out from under him. Jarren let his momentum carry him into a roll that cleared the path for Mano, who was now surprisingly far above him. The foul smelling dust choked him as he tried to call up to the rodian. He coughed and spit out the particles of decaying substance that had saved him from injury.

Mano was not as eager to free-fall into the darkness. He sat himself down along the edge, his legs dangling into the void. He slowly pivoted his body and began lowering himself down.

In the front of the store, the detonator stopped squealing.

Mano?s ears perked. Realization struck him in a panic and he let go of the hatch?s edge. He was still falling when the corridor above him flashed away, carried by a white-hot shock wave.

---

?Red Five?s clear of the Diligent,? Luke Skywalker signaled. He pulled the nose of his X-wing fighter up to loop around the bridge of the triangle-shaped escort carrier. A line leak in his ventral cooling hose had delayed his launch by ten minutes.

?Copy that, Luke,? came the voice of Red Leader. ?Rendezvous at one-oh-five, mark ten.?

Luke keyed his comm unit, sending a non-verbal acknowledgement back to his commanding officer. The acting CO was an aging, cool-headed pilot named Korette. After Garvin Dreis? murder high above the Death Star, the role of Red Leader was given to Commander Narra, who readily succeeded his fallen comrade. ?Boss? Narra was currently on assignment running convoy escorts with his Renegade Flight near the Outer Rim. Lieutenant Korette was promoted to carry the Red Leader title in his place.

?Okay, Red Boys, let?s form up,? Korette ordered.

Luke?s heart tightened in his chest. Dreis used to call the group 'Red Boys'.

?I?m transmitting the waypoint coordinates,? Red Leader continued. ?Once we?re in-system, we?re to sit tight until we?re needed.?

?Another baby-sitting detail?? That was Red Four, Derek Klivian. Luke and the others knew him as ?Hobbie?. Anxious to get into the thick of the fighting, he?d put in for Narra?s Renegade Flight. He had not been called up.

?Cool your jets, Four. We?re the reinforcements this time.? Korette wanted to tell them more, but orders were orders. This was a hush run to save a botched mission, and?truth be told?even he didn?t know all of what was going on. He had been told that the Special Ops? first incursion team to Muandi was a write-off. Red Group was assigned to lay cover for S.O.?s Team Two, who was headed planet-side to finish the job.

?Hey, Hobbie,? Luke chimed in. ?Cheer up. This is'll be no sitter duty if they already need reinforcements.?

?You just watch, Farmboy. We?ll be snoring in our helmets by day?s end.?

Luke?s laughter filtered through the channel until Red Leader cut him short. He wanted his boys focused. ?Double-check your markers and prepare to make the jump.?

 

up, please. I'd love to hear some input on what I have here so far.

Thanks

 

--

 

Up.

 

I was lured here by the trailer-- good start.

 

Hey, I caught another reader!!!

I hope to have a new post here shortly, pleeeeeeeease be patient and don't wander off!

 

HI everyone! Thanks for hanging in there with me. Here's a new post. It's not as long as I'd hoped, but I hope to post more within the day.

---

His ears rang, his head pounded, and his body ached, but Jarren Kytrys was alive. The cavern he and Mano had stumbled into had been built by a genius. Reinforced durasteel walls and strengthening support beams had kept the secret passage from collapsing in the explosion.

The rodian sitting beside Jarren grumbled a reticent curse; the stormtrooper armor he wore was not designed for Mano?s anatomy. Upon landing in the cavern below the droid repair shop, parts of his flesh were pinched in between the confining plates. He rubbed some of the aches out as he grumbled.

Jarren got to his feet and left the cone of light shining from the trap door above. He could barely make out a tubular corridor before them, but the lack of direct light cast the area in deep shadow. He regretted leaving his supply pack at the ship; in it was a pair of low-vision oculars and some rations?his stomach was grumbling again. The pack, however, wasn?t something an Imperial major would carry, so he was forced to abandon it. Instead, it was Mills and Janek, disguised as Imp tech agents, who carried the team?s ?essentials? for the job. They had died in the first seconds of the firefight.

?Hand me your belt, Mano,? Jarren said. The rodian unclipped the utility belt from his stormtrooper armor and tossed it to his companion. Within its pouches, Jarren found a small ion flare. He thumbed the ignition trigger on its base and watched the tunnel appear before them in a washed green light.

?Goh antoski te noda?? Mano asked as he lifted himself off the dusty floor.

Jarren shook his head. ?No, I?m more worried about who?s in here than I am about who can see us from the surface. Besides, it?ll take them a while to sift through the debris.?

The two rebels trudged along the metallic cavern as it snaked below the Imperial-occupied city. Mano?s armor groaned and squeaked as he walked. The plates that at first didn?t fit as snuggly as they should on a shock trooper now hung loose in places and rubbed against each other. He felt safe inside the protective layer, though, and would not discard it no matter how much Jarren?or the armor?protested.

Their trek was halted several minutes later by a choice of paths. The corridor forked to the left and right, with no hint from either as to their final destination. This deep into the tunnel, neither of them knew where they were in relation to the city above them.

Jarren was about to head left?he reasoned that he was left-handed, and ?left? had always worked for him.

Mano stopped him with a long-fingered hand. The rodian?s snout bent upward to show his mockery, and he loosely compared Jarren?s method of problem solving to an Obroan scholar studying the logic of sabacc.

The former prince of Liun had a retort ready, but he didn?t have a chance to voice it. An explosion far behind them rocked the tunnel. The accompanying thunder reverberated off the polysteel walls, which intensified the cacophony. The high-pitched buzz returned to Jarren?s ears.

The Imperials had found the tunnel.

 

Sorry I haven't posted in so long, Cheveyo.

I'm glad you sent me that pm so I could get caught up!
I just hope those Imps don't catch up to Jarren and Mano! Oh, and I like the fact that Mano is a Rodian, and the way you have him speaking in Rodian, too. It's nice to see a non-human in an important role.

Looking forward to more!

 

No Problem, Sari. Thanks for reading it!! Mano has turned into a bit of a recurring character in my stories, although this is the first time he's really been "fleshed out".

As promised, post #2 today!

---

?Hobbie, watch your left!? Luke shouted into the comm. Beyond the transparasteel canopy, the young starfighter pilot saw his wingman?s X-wing corkscrew to avoid the green lasers of a descending TIE fighter. He aimed the nose of his snub fighter at the Imperial and tapped his weapons trigger. Red energy raced through the void from the four wing-mounted cannons. Luke?s first barrage missed the TIE, but its pilot had to abandon his chase to evade the assault. Hobbie was clear for the moment.

?Thanks, Farmboy.?

In his socket behind the cockpit, Artoo-Detoo whistled an excited warning, but Luke didn?t have time to read the translation. Two TIE?s had angled in on him from either side, catching him in a crossfire and driving him into a third TIE coming at him head-on.

Luke powered his etheric rudder to steer the fighter into a steep climb as the oncoming TIE opened up with its lasers. The X-wing?s chiseled nose shot upward and the Imp soared underneath it. Luke?s tactical monitor told him the third TIE had careened through his friends? crossfire. The brilliant explosion behind him broadcast the TIE?s fate.

?Shadow Dancer to Red Leader.?

Lieutenant Korette adjusted his comm settings to clear the static. ?Go ahead, Dancer.?

The pilot of the light transport seemed more exasperated than worried. ?Incursion?s a No-Go; this mission is botched. Requesting assistance in evacuating the system.?

?Understood, Dancer. Head for the hyperspace coordinates. We?ll watch your back.? Korette did a once-over of his readouts. They were still a fair distance away from the egress marker and they were still outnumbered. The Imperials had been on full alert when the troop carrier and its escort of X-wings arrived in-system. At least three TIE squadrons had been in orbit to greet Red Flight.

Korette didn?t hold much faith in luck, but it had been no small gift of fortune that all of his pilots were still alive. Now if he could keep them that way?

Red Leader toggled power from his fighter?s quad lasers to augment the shields. ?You heard the man, Red Boys. Time to cut and run. Form up to cover the transport, and mind your flanks; this is going to be a long couple of minutes.?

 

Still here Cheveyo! I'm impressed at the rate you turn out posts! This is really cool, I definately like Jarren and Mano. And Luke too! "Thanks Farmboy." Good line.

 

Thank you Arna, but don't be TOO impressed--it took a month to post these last two!

I'm back in the writing groove now, so to speak, so it won't take as long to post the next one!

Thanks so much for reading, everyone!

 

new post



Having lost the advantage of time, Mano listened to Jarren?s instincts and followed the human down the left corridor. The glow of the ion flare in Jarren?s hand lit the way through the labyrinthine tunnel under the Empire-controlled city.

?When we get out of this place, I think we should hole up somewhere?? Jarren panted as they jogged. ??Wait for the dust to clear.?

?Cho wunga to noskabi.? The rodian offered.

Jarren shook his head. ?No, we have to believe they?ve already found the freighter. It?ll be loaded with Imps by the time we reach it.? He wasn?t sure of the fact?it was entirely likely that the Imperials had no idea which freighter to impound?but they couldn?t take the risk.

They rounded a turn in the corridor and resumed their jog. Neither could hear the troops behind them. That should have made them feel better, but it only amplified their worry and threatened to overload their nerves.

Jarren risked a glance behind them as he moved. No movement. They weren?t being followed.

The only warning that something was wrong came from Mano in the form of a startled, gurgled cry. He was already falling to the ground when something hard slammed into Jarren?s turned head. The force of the blow carried his upper torso backward while his feet, still intent on running, came up and out from under him. His head, shocked by the first blow, didn?t seem to hurt when it struck the tunnel?s floor.

Someone said something, but Jarren couldn?t understand it. It wasn?t Mano?s voice?or language. It was Basic, he believed, but his head was swimming in a cloud of disorientation.

Another someone grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. Or that was their intention. Jarren?s feet wouldn?t cooperate, though, and so he had to be propped up against the corridor wall.

His face was slapped. His head was jostled. Someone said something again. Jarren couldn?t understand and he really didn?t care. He knew that much. He didn?t care what was happening. He was very tired and believed a nap might be in order.

And then everything went black.

 

good post! I hope to see more soon, Cheveyo!

 

Yikes! It sounds like the Imps might have caught up with Jarren and Mano and that CAN'T be a good thing!

Post more soon so we can find out what's happening to them, please, Cheveyo!

 

Thanks, both of you! I'm glad it's holding your attention.

And, as much to my surprise as I'm sure to ours, I have a new post!! And a fairly long one, at that!

Hope you like it

---

?Thirty clicks to the egress marker, boys. Let?s try to keep it together.? Lieutenant Korette watched his sensor readout. A group of TIE?s was still behind them, and gaining. They?d managed to shoot down or damage all of the first wave as they made their escape run. It helped that the Imp fighters were more intent on pestering the Shadow Dancer than engage the X-wings. They were fortunate to have gotten the upper leg on them early on.

Korette shook the thought from his head. Fortune had nothing to do with it. These boys were good; likely the best fighter pilots he?d flown with since? He couldn?t remember ever flying with better pilots than Red Flight. And with good reason. Two of them, Skywalker and Antilles, were the sole survivors of the original Red Flight, and that Skywalker kid was the very one who blew the Death Star?s gasket a few months back. The rumor mill said he even pulled it off without his targeting computer. Korette didn?t believe that, but he recognized that the boy had talent.

The TIE?s were closing fast. In combat speed and agility, the Imperials outranked the Incom T-65?s by a wide margin, but in an all-out run?with deflector screens, weapons, and any other energy-draining system rerouted to the engine power?the X-wings could fly laps around the TIE?s, whose own energy reserves consisted only of weapon systems and auxiliary power. The lack of shields made them sitting ducks without their guns, so it was rare to find a TIE pilot willing to shave a few seconds of his flight time.

Had Red Flight been able to open up their throttles, they would have been in hyperspace minutes ago. As it was, however, the Shadow Dancer didn?t have the speed its fighter escorts possessed. Korette and his boys had to stick close, and hope they got to the marker before that enemy squadron reached them.

The location indicator chimed on his shipboard tactical monitor. Korette let a victorious grin slip across his face. ?Shadow Dancer and Red Flight, this is Red Leader,? he addressed. ?We?ve reached the hyperspace bouy. Prepare to make the jump on my mark??

?Hold it, Lieutenant,? came the voice of the freighter?s captain. ?We?ve received a message from Home 1. It?ll take a moment to decrypt it.?

General Dodonna had contacted them in the middle of what was supposed to be a covert mission? What was going on? ?Excuse me, Captain,? Korette called back through the comlink, ?but don?t you think it would be more appropriate to view potentially classified material outside of the combat field??

?Sorry, Red Leader. We have to wait for these orders.?

?Orders?? Hobbie blurted out. ?Boss, I?ve got a bad feeling about this.?

You and me both, is what Korette wanted to say. Instead, he said what he had to say. ?Relax, Red Four. We won?t be long.?

---

?Wake up!? Someone yelled. Another slap stung Jarren's cheek. There was a certain sadistic euphoria about the way his head seemed to float in the air, unattached to the rest of his body. It was very similar to floating in zero-gravity. If it were not for the splitting, sharp pain in his temple and the throbbing ache that accompanied even the suggestion of movement, he would have enjoyed the sensation.

?I said wake up!? The slap came again, and Jarren?s eyes opened.

He was in a small room, like a utility closet, sitting in a metal fold-out chair. His arms were tied behind him with some sort of cable intertwined around the chair?s rungs. The only light came from a single red hued lamp high on the wall. It barely illuminated it?s own corner, much less the whole of the chamber.

Another voice said to the first, ?This is too risky. We should kill them now.?

?Not yet,? replied the owner of the abusive hand. ?They?re capture may be just what the Rebellion needs to give this place so

 

Hey! Another update, awesome! Looks great, keeping me in suspense with Jarren...more soon?

 

Great post, Cheveyo!!
Now I can't wait to find out what these orders are that are keeping Red Flight from getting to safety and who Jarren and Mano's kidnappers are since it seems they're not Imps after all. ?

 

I'm glad you both liked it. I'll post more as soon as I can!