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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Star Wars: AU Episode 4 - New Hopes, Old Grudges, and Final Chances - Updated 23 October 2001

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction Stories--Classic JC Board (Reply-Only)' started by Quietman77, Sep 28, 2001.

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  1. Quietman77

    Quietman77 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2000
    Star Wars: AU Episode 4 - New Hopes, Old Grudges, and Final Chances


    Disclaimer: The Star Wars franchise, and all characters originated in the movies and books, are owned by Lucas Arts and George Lucas. I own nothing, I claim nothing.

    This story is public domain, and I am not compensated in any way. Should Lucas Arts decide to press legal action, I hereby declare that they are welcome to every cent I make off of this story.

    Apologies and Explanations: This story is intended to replace my previous story, thread #716226, ?An AU Episode 4: A Much Different Anakin Skywalker and a Much Different Darth Vader.? To those readers who stuck with me through that story, I would like to thank you for your patience.

    For reasons that I?d rather not elaborate upon, I was forced (no pun intended) to put my old story on hold for several months. Rather than plucking cobwebs off the old thread, I decided to redo the whole thing, and fix some of the more glaring problems that, to me at least, were annoyingly obvious.

    Consider this to be a ?Special Edition? without Jabba the Hutt.

    To those of you who are reading this for the first time, I sincerely hope you enjoy it. To those of you who have read the old story, please don?t give away the ?big secret? that was revealed 1/3 the way through (?nuff said).


    Rating: At least PG-13 for violence, language, adult themes.


    Mood: Dark and brooding, much like my personality. Even when the good guys win, don?t expect an entirely happy ending. There will be no Ami / Ani reunions. If I introduce any Ewoks, Gungans, Pixies, or bunny rabbits, they will be treated like Spinal Tap drummers.


    Very Special Thanks: Thanks to my beta readers, Clarus and Julie, without whom I?d STILL be trying to figure out how to begin this big, run-on sentence.





    Prologue - Amidships Fighter Hanger: Rebel Cruiser Liberty - The Battle of Alderaan:


    As Luke Skywalker climbed into the X-Wing?s cockpit, his hands shook. He was as frightened as he?d ever been in his life. Considering how much combat, how many close calls he?d survived in the past two days, he was amazed that anything in the galaxy could still inspire him to feel fear.

    But he was, indeed, frightened. There were several perfectly valid reasons for this. The stakes were incredibly high; the lives of literally billions of Alderaaneans, and the very future of the rebellion, were endangered. Furthermore, he wouldn?t be able to use stealth, he couldn?t remain hidden during this fight, as he?d been able to do earlier. By flying a rebel X-Wing into combat, he would make himself a direct target for the Empire.

    And yet, these were relatively vague concepts, more or less in the back of Luke?s mind. What truly scared him were the circumstances which placed him inside this particular cockpit. Having so recently joined the Rebel Alliance, Luke was merely a reserve pilot, and was not assigned a starfighter of any type. All of Liberty?s pilots were healthy, and currently engaged in the battle over Alderaan?s skies. Only an extraordinary set of circumstances could get Luke into the fight.

    Those extraordinary circumstances, indeed, came to pass. An X-Wing from Red Squadron took several direct hits in the vicinity of it?s cockpit, but had miraculously survived. The X-Wing?s astromech droid somehow escaped destruction, and managed to nurse the stricken ship back to the Liberty. The cruiser?s hanger crew were able to perform emergency repairs, enough to get the X-Wing spaceworthy again. Thus, in spite of all odds, Luke Skywalker would get his chance to fly against the Empire.

    Nevertheless, the sight of the pilot, a heavyset man named Jek Porkins, being pulled from the cockpit, affected Luke deeply. The X-Wing?s canopy had been mangled, penetrated cleanly by a TIE Fighter?s lasers, and the cockpit had certainly decompressed. Porkins, of course, had his flight suit to provide protection against the vacuum of space, but had been severely wounded by
     
  2. Daath666

    Daath666 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 25, 2001
    yay!!! :) this looks really interesting and much better than the original...
     
  3. Luke'sryb

    Luke'sryb Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    May 17, 2000
    Love story but PLEASE DON'T KILL LUKE, LEIA OR THEIR FATHER, whichever one he is!
     
  4. Julie

    Julie Moderator Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 1, 1998
    Yes!!!! I am sooooo happy that you have begun posting again! :D :D :D This has been one of my very favorite stories from the first post last year. Your original version was already awesome, I can't begin to imagine how even more spectacular it will be now!
     
  5. Quietman77

    Quietman77 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2000
    Chapter 3 - Various Locations - Sienar Fleet Systems Aerospace Fighter Production Facility #4:


    Though no living being would ever know it, fate was about to be altered by, of all things, a droid with a bad gasket.

    The droid in question was a ?fork-droid? named HL-2F. His sole purpose in life was to move heavy loads from Point A to Point B, and his entire design was centered around this task. He was a huge mechanism, designed around a 15 meter long skeletal frame, equipped with two sets of hydraulic "forks", a double set of treads, and two hard points useful for towing trailers.

    HL-2F was also equipped with something else which was extremely useful for his role in life: a limited intelligence. His job was dull and repetitive, and a sophisticated droid, such as an astromech, would soon become bored. Consequently, HL-2F?s designers had limited his processing power and his initiative. Sadly, the facility?s employees weren?t sensitive to this; they derisively labeled the faithful droid ?Big Stupid.?

    HL-2F really didn?t have enough self-awareness to take insult. He followed his programming, and was perfectly happy to do so. And shortly after picking up fifty tons of thermocrete shield blocks, a gasket in his master brake cylinder ruptured, and HL-2F's programming told him to pull over to the nearest loading zone, and transmit his condition to the facility?s mainframe computer.

    ?Alaan, we?ve got problems with Big Stupid again,? Control Room Operator Zunni Oart told her crew chief.

    ?What?s wrong with that waste of space now?? Alaan Medraucht asked. Medraucht was one of HL-2F?s biggest detractors.

    ?According to telemetry, he?s lost all hydraulic pressure in his braking system. He?s sitting in a loading zone right now, and won?t budge,? Oart replied.

    Medraucht was unimpressed. ?So? He can limp over to Maintenance without brakes.?

    ?He was carrying a full load of shielding blocks for Furnace 3,? Oart explained. ?His interlocks won?t let him move without brakes if he?s carrying a load.?

    ?Where is he?? Medraucht asked. Oart pressed several buttons on his console, and the control room?s main holographic projector soon provided Medraucht with his answer.

    ?All right...? Medraucht muttered. ?Send one of the cranes over to pick those blocks up, and take ?em to Furnace 3. Then send piece o? trash droid to maintenance. Either that or the scrap yard; I don?t much care which.?

    ?Alaan, we shouldn?t do that,? Oart objected. ?If the crane dumps those blocks...?

    ?It shouldn?t be a problem,? Medraucht said. ?The cranes all have good tractor beams. We?ve picked up loose loads before.?

    ?Loose load, sure, but never this heavy,? Oart argued. ?Look, right now, the blocks are in safe area, neatly stacked. Everything basically looks normal. When the Chancellor gets here, he probably won?t notice that anything?s out of the ordinary.?

    ?Sienar will,? Medraucht said.

    ?Sienar?s not going to say a word, not in front of the Chancellor,? Oart continued. ?But if we dump all those blocks all over the floor...?

    ?It?ll stick out like a sore thumb,? Medraucht said. He was experienced enough at covering his butt to see that Oart?s arguments made sense.

    ?OK, Zunni, you win. But send out a few operators with some bags of floor sweep. Big Stupid probably leaked hydraulic fluid all over the deck. Clean up the area as much as possible. Send a few techs out too; maybe they can fix Stupid enough so he can move.?

    ?I?m on it,? Oart said, with a hint of smugness.

    ?I hate inspections,? Medraucht said, mostly to himself. ?People like me get time off without pay for mistakes like this.?

    Seconds later, HL-2F, received orders to hold position until further notice. That was fine with the faithful fork-droid; he could sit idle for days, even weeks, at a time in perfect contentment.

    I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I

    Hyacinth?s pilots were quite skilled. The Nubian ship landed smoothly at the Aerospace Fighter Production Facility, in spite of the fact that the landing pad was packed with hundreds
     
  6. Daath666

    Daath666 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jul 25, 2001
    more please!!! :D
     
  7. Connemara

    Connemara Jedi Knight star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2000
    Very interesting so far...:)
     
  8. Quietman77

    Quietman77 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2000
    Chapter 4 - Various Locations - Sienar Fleet Systems Aerospace Fighter Production Facility #4:


    Palpatine was impressed. The tour of the facility had begun at the main production lines, where the finished aerospace fighters were being rolled out at an impressive pace.

    ?It seems that you?re building fighters faster than I can provide pilots for them,? Palpatine told Raith Sienar approvingly. ?A problem, to be sure, but one that I?m happy to suffer.?

    ?I may have a solution, Supreme Chancellor, or at least a partial solution,? Sienar said. ?Those fighters are designed to be very simple, very basic. Anybody with average intelligence and decent hand-eye coordination can learn to fly one. More importantly, each one can be used as its own flight simulator.?

    ?Really?? Palpatine was genuinely intrigued.

    ?Yes, sir,? Sienar said. ?The avionics, displays, acceleration compensators, everything, are all designed to mimic the sensations of flight. Even the cockpit windows have built-in holographic projectors, to complete the illusion. A student pilot can be trained from day one in the very ship he will fly into battle.?

    ?How much extra does that capability cost?? Palpatine asked, with obvious suspicion.

    ?Almost nothing, Supreme Chancellor,? Sienar answered. ?The projectors are the only extra hardware, and we build our own on-site. The rest is all done with software. It?s essentially free.?

    ?Ingenious.? Palpatine said, quite sincerely.

    ?Thank you, sir,? Sienar was beaming with pride. ?Actually, I can?t take full credit for the innovation. Capital ships have long since been equipped with simulation protocols, but for some reason no other manufacturer ever took the time and effort to apply the concept to starfighters. Their loss, my gain,? he shrugged.

    ?And this facility is entirely self-sufficient?? Palpatine asked, though he already knew the answer.

    ?Yes, sir, at least, as much it can be. It?s true that this facility was much more expensive than previous fighter factories,? Sienar admitted ruefully. That had been a sore subject during construction. ?But we can build our ships without the involvement of so much as a single outside vendor. Our mill manufacturers as many duralloy castings as we need.

    ?Granted,? he added reluctantly, ?We still have to import raw materials in bulk. Ores, electronic components, wires, cables, certain chemicals...?

    ?That?s not an issue,? Palpatine interrupted. ?Industrial material shipments draw little attention, even in the quantities that this place requires. Make no mistake, Sienar, I?m very pleased.?

    ?It was my honor to serve the Supreme Chancellor,? Sienar answered. It was true; Palpatine was extremely pleased with both the facility, and with its creator. Raith Sienar had done very well for himself, and he knew it.

    Unfortunately, Raith Sienar did not know when to keep quiet.

    ?You may find this funny, Supreme Chancellor,? Sienar began. ?This facility?s production rates are so high that, in about five months, I?ll be in control of the third largest aerospace force in the quadrant.?

    ?Yes, that?s quite amusing,? Palpatine said with a chuckle. His lighthearted reaction was purely an act, a deception. Though his outward demeanor provided no indications, he was furious.

    So, you think that you?ll be the one to control these fighters, Sienar? Palpatine thought. YOU?LL be in control? My foolish friend, you are at MY disposal. I am NOT at yours.

    It was at that instant that Palpatine privately passed a death sentence on Raith Sienar, to be carried out as soon as an appropriate cover-up could be arranged.

    I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I<>I

    Palpatine, the Technician thought, if I?d known that you were going to take so long to get here, I?d have stopped by the cafeteria for an early lunch.

    The Technician did not know exactly what the Supreme Chancellor?s itinerary was, but it obviously involved touring the production lines first. Consequently, he had plenty of time to prepare for his assassination attempt. The extra time
     
  9. Quietman77

    Quietman77 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2000
    Quick question; how do I post a link?

    I want to close off the old version of this story, and I want to add a link at the end of it to lead any readers to this version.

    Help:

    Q77
     
  10. LordShmer

    LordShmer Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    May 2, 2001
    I don''t know but that is a good idea. I for one really enjoyed the old thread, and I am really enjoying the new one as well.
    Keep up the good work.
    Lord Shmer
     
  11. Cowboy_Jedi

    Cowboy_Jedi Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 20, 2001
    Look's cool! Much better than the first one! :)
     
  12. Midnightetak

    Midnightetak Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Sep 28, 2001
  13. Julie

    Julie Moderator Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 1, 1998
    It is great to see your wonderful story posts again! Thank you so much, Q77!

    (To find out how to make a link, go look at the top of the page and click on Markup Codes. It has all of the other neat stuff like color text, etc., too.)
     
  14. Quietman77

    Quietman77 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2000
    Chapter 6 - Platform of Remote Control Crane #3 - Duralloy Mill - Sienar Fleet Systems Aerospace Fighter Production Facility #4:


    Ben! Why you, why now? The Technician was infuriated, though not entirely surprised, that Obi-Wan Kenobi would be the one to spoil his attack. What am I saying? Of course you?d make this harder for me. You?ll probably expect me to thank you afterwards, won?t you?

    The Technician looked on, hoping that Palpatine would step back a pace or two, so that he could take a shot without endangering Obi-Wan. Unfortunately, Palpatine and Obi-Wan seemed to be having some sort of conversation, and an angry, animated one at that. Quite a curious thing to do, considering that the mill was melting down around them.

    What could you two be talking about? He wondered. Unfortunately, he didn?t have any way to hear their words; the insight would have been valuable.

    ?Are you responsible for this travesty?? Palpatine demanded. ?This is an official Republic defense installation, Jedi!?

    ?Spare me!? Obi-Wan answered, with absolutely none of the respect due a Supreme Chancellor. ?This place was built in secret, and not at all for the Republic?s benefit! But, to answer your question, no, I?m not responsible. I?m here to save your life.?

    ?Oh?? Palpatine?s voice dripped of sarcasm. ?I?m honored. Crassiuk, did he fight you??

    ?No, sire, the Jedi put up no struggle whatsoever,? the captain of the Crimson Guard answered. There was an undercurrent of disgust in his voice. ?He surrendered willingly, and gave up his weapon when ordered.? Crassiuk handed Palpatine a lightsaber, Obi-Wan?s lightsaber. The very lightsaber that once belonged to his late, beloved master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

    ?A Jedi Master parting with his lightsaber?? However much Palpatine loathed the Jedi Order, he understood the power of their creed. A lightsaber was more than a mere weapon, it was a symbol of a Jedi?s heritage and position in the galactic culture. For a formidable, and rather old-school Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi to allow it to be taken...

    ?All right, Kenobi. How, exactly, is my life endangered, aside from the obvious?? Palpatine swept his arm to indicate the duralloy furnaces, one of which was now ruptured and spilling molten duralloy slag onto the mill?s floor.

    ?Chancellor, we know that you?ve had contact with a Sith Lord...? Obi-Wan began.

    ?Is that what you believe, Jedi? Is that really what you think of me?? Palpatine cut him off. He actually seemed amused by the idea.

    ?Chancellor, this is no time for evasion!? Obi-Wan spat. ?Your association with the Sith has made you a target. I?m trying to prevent your murder!?

    ?And who is my would-be murderer?? Even as the second duralloy furnace ruptured, Palpatine still seemed amused.

    ?I can?t say,? Obi-Wan said softly.

    Step away from Ben, you piece of filth. The Technician silently urged the Supreme Chancellor.

    ?You can?t say?? Palpatine muttered. ?Who else...?

    Palpatine?s next actions surprised everyone. Palpatine?s next actions surprised Palpatine. When he realized what the threat was, or, more correctly WHO the threat was, he allowed the Dark Side of the Force to take him over completely. He leapt away from Obi-Wan, Crassiuk, and his Crimson Guardsmen, and drew his lightsaber from beneath the sleeves of his robes.

    A barrage of high-energy laser blasts sliced through the air, directly into the space that Palpatine had occupied only moments earlier. The blaster beams swept towards Palpatine, obliterating four Crimson Guardsmen in the process, but stopped short of the Supreme Chancellor. With his lightsaber drawn, Palpatine could theoretically deflect the blasts back toward their source; that had been the Technician?s biggest concern during the planning of his private war.

    Palpatine unleashed a long burst of Force lightning. Obi-Wan was struck hard, squarely in his upper chest. He collapsed to the deck. He had never encountered a Force manifestation of this sort, so he wasn?t prepared to repel it. He was only saved from
     
  15. padawan3

    padawan3 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 1999
    Go Ani, Go Ani, Go Ani!!
     
  16. LordShmer

    LordShmer Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    May 2, 2001
    The beginning of this rewrite totally blow the old one out of the water.
    Well done and looking forward to more.
    Lord Shmer
     
  17. padawan3

    padawan3 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 1999
    Looking for the next post.
     
  18. Julie

    Julie Moderator Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 1, 1998
    That was an intense fight scene, and Anakin's just getting started! You have a fabulous talent for battles, Q77. Please send along the next post soon! :D
     
  19. quietlunatic

    quietlunatic Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2001
    Quietman77, I had been lurking at the old thread for a while, and when it seemed like you'd been gone, I thought the story was dead.

    Only recently have I stumbled upon the newer version, and, to quote LordShmer, it blows the other one out of the water. Nice job, Quietman77.

    Up!

    ql
     
  20. padawan3

    padawan3 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 1999
    Its been a while so I'm wondering, when are you going to post.
     
  21. padawan3

    padawan3 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 1999
    UP! UP! UP! UP! UP! UP!
    UP! UP! UP! UP! UP! UP!
     
  22. quietlunatic

    quietlunatic Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2001
    UP! UP! UP! UP! UP! UP!
    UP! UP! UP! UP! UP! UP!
     
  23. Riin

    Riin Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2000
  24. Kazaiar

    Kazaiar Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 3, 2002
    I hope you're going to post again soon, Q77. I was really enjoying the old version.
     
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