Beyond - Legends The End of War

In response to Amsie's challenge, here's my story beginning immediately at the end of ROTJ.

*****

Molia Soldati had just gotten out of the bed when her com unit buzzed. She didn?t normally sleep so late, but she had been depressed lately. War had a way of doing that, and this war had gone on for over 20 years, almost as long as Molia could remember. And her husband was in the middle of it.

She pressed a button to answer the com, expecting it to be the director of the Refugee Relief Movement of her home planet of Talus, asking if she could work an extra shift. I probably should, she thought. If nothing else, to get my mind off of things.

She was surprised to see her husband?s face appear on the com?s screen, and her mouth dropped open. ?Ravel?? she said. ?Are you alright??

He smiled. ?I?m better than alright,? he said. ?Great news, darling. It?s over.?

?What?s over?? she asked.

?The war, silly,? he said, his smile growing wider. ?Palpatine is dead, at the hand of Lord Darth Vader himself. The Alliance has won. The war is over.?

Molia had to take a deep breath, step back from her com, and gasp, ?Come again?? She also had to smack herself on the forehead to make sure she wasn?t dreaming.

It was really over. The civil war, which had been tearing the galaxy apart for as long as she could remember, was finally at an end.

It had to be a dream. It was too good, and too unreal, to be true.

?It is true, baby,? her husband, Ravel, told her. ?I?m coming home. I?ll be there in three standard days.?

Molia gasped again, then burst into happy tears. For a minute she was completely unable to speak.

?Molia? Honey?? Ravel said.

She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. ?I?m sorry,? she said, sniffling. ?I?m just so happy.?

He smiled. ?I know, sweetheart,? he said. ?I am too.?

Molia lived on Talus, a green planet in the Corellian system, very near the Deep Core and the Imperial City of Coruscant. The Clone War had begun when she was three, and Palpatine had declared himself Emperor when she was six. The Rebellion formed and the Civil War began five years later. Living so close to the center of the galaxy, she hardly remembered a time when she didn?t live in constant fear of attack or capture.

She did her best, however, to put on a brave face and continue with her life as if there were no war, as if an oppressive dictator did not rule the galaxy. She finished school with top honors and went on to the university to pursue her dream of teaching. As a female, she had little chance of being drafted, even when the Corellian System joined the war on the side of the Rebellion. However, Ravel?s inscription came up quickly, and even their expeditious marriage didn?t save him from being sent away to fight the Empire on various worlds?Alderaan, Dantooine, Yavin IV, Hoth, and finally, Endor.

Molia despised both Palpatine and the Empire. She worked with many nonhuman species, both in the classroom and outside of it in her volunteer work with refugee relief, and she found the Empire?s sexist, speciesist policies disgusting. The only good thing she could say about the Empire was that it cracked down on smuggling, a dishonest practice that she hated. As far as she was concerned, the more smugglers the Empire caught and jailed, the better off the Corellian system would be. Maybe eventually the Empire would eliminate all the riff-raff.

Still, she lived in a constant state of panic. While she felt that the Empire had to be stopped, she was a pacifist and hated war. Then there was her own personal safety to consider. Talus, being so close to the Imperial City, was in danger of being attacked. Molia?s husband was in the front lines of fighting. When the Rebellion attacked the first Death Star, it was Ravel?s squadron that went in first. Molia scarcely drew a breath as she watched the holonet and saw several of Ravel?s comrades? ships blown out of the sky by Imperial TIE fighters. Her relief only came a day later, when Ravel was able

 

I like it so far. Please keep going!

 

Whoa. A little shocked to see you on this forum.

Great story though. I really like your OCs. It's nice to focus on the average citizen and get a feel for what it's like for them. Is this a one poster or will there be more?

 

GeithJiseo: Thanks!

RebelMom: Yes, this isn't an era I normally write in because I'm not a fan of the EU, but I do enjoy broadening my horizons and Amsie's challenge gave me a chance to do so.

As far as whether or not I continue it--I hadn't planned it but I'll have to see what the Muse tells me.

Thanks for reading.