Beyond - Legends "Wraith Squadron : Shadowplay" - Double Post May 30

Ok folks - here it is. I've been working on that one for several months now and I have to admit I am not anywhere near a point where I can say 'I know how this one ends'. I mean in general terms I do, but the exact plot is still hiding in a plasma cloud It is also the first one where I broke with my usual style of having the fic ready before beginning to post.

This story is totally independant from my earlier stories so there will be no parallels or connections to them. I was pretty p*ssed when I discovered that the Wraiths disappeared in Wild Space after "Solo Command" and I always wanted to write something about their job when they became a Commando Team of NRI. To be honest the scope and the size of that story changed dramatically over the writing process - it started as a strictly EU compliant fic, but soon became larger and larger and turned AU because I got flooded by plot bunnies and each seemed to fit better than the last one

Oh and please bear with me if some facts do not really match what is said in several books - I did not have the chance to read a few until long after I had started this story.

Title: Wraith Squadron : Shadowplay
Genre (for lack of better term): EU & AU
Timeframe: some weeks after "X-Wing : Isard's Revenge" but still before "Dark Empire"´
Dramatis Personae:

Wraith Squadron
Garik "Face" Loran
Kell Tainer
Tyria Sarkin
Shalla Nelprin
Elassar Targon
Voort "Piggy" saBinring
Hohass "Runt" Ekwesh
Dia Passik

Those are the main characters. There are also a lot of other main and minor characters, but I want to leave the rest open as there are several surprises here. I cannot reveal them here as I want to do this later in the story.

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters or the events of the Star Wars World. Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and the characters to those who created them. I´m merely borrowing them.

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Face carefully knocked on the door before opening it a bit. "Shalla are you ?" He hastily withdrew his head and slammed the door shut before the object could hit him. "? awake?" he mumbled finishing his sentence.

"Stay out! Don't dare to come in," he heard her muffled response from the other side of the door.

He arched an eyebrow ? Shalla Nelprin didn't have a temper. "Lieutenant Nelprin," he called emphasizing her rank to indicate that he meant business. "I request permission to enter your quarters."

The next thing he heard was a defeated sigh. "Ok, Face. Come in."

He entered the room and closed the door before looking at the woman sitting on the couch. When he saw her he had to do a double take ? this wasn't the normal Shalla Nelprin. "Is that a side-effect of the long Bacta dip?"

Shalla glared at him. "Does it look like that?"

"Not really," he agreed and a suspicion began to worm its way into his thoughts. "Janson, Kell or Runt. Who was it?"

She responded with her patented As-if-you-couldn't-guess glare. Face decided that he'd seen that one far too often lately. "Janson," she grumbled. "Remind me to add him to my 'Shoot first, ask later' list. I never thought he'd do something like this."

"Maybe we should give him another of our 'Don't-mess-with-a-Wraith' lessons. Will it fade?"

Shalla sank back against the back of the couch. "I hope. I simply refuse to leave my quarters until all of that is gone."

Face smothered the smile that threatened to form on his lips. That was one of the typical Janson-pranks, but he'd never guessed that the Tanaabian had become that sneaky. Obviously he'd mixed some 'stuff' to a meal he'd brought Shalla who was still recovering from a bad injury she'd received two months back. Now the usually dark-skinned woman was making a rainbow look monochromic in comparison ? Face doubted there were any colors missing. Blue, yellow and green dots covered large parts of her arms, her face

 

YAY!! another Wraith Squadron fic! I love these. Good work so far, keep it up.

Wes pranks rock!

 

Great story! I'm really glad to see more Wraith Squad fics on the boards (especially one that includes Shalla! I love her!) Awesome, awesome stuff!

 

Thor!
Yeah you're posting and I know this will turn out well!
Reb

 

The Wraiths! I'm in!

 

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The Government Palace in Coronet City was already facing its threehundredth anniversary. It was a huge, dominant building that spoke of the pride of its builders and owners. During the height of the Old Republic it had demonstrated the stubborn will of the Corellians to remain largely independent from the central government on Coruscant. During Palpatine's reign it had been a fortress that stubbornly resisted all imperial attempts of indoctrination in favor of the New Order ? in spite of Dupree's open support of Palpatine's war effort. And today it still stood for the same things ? independence, seclusion and peace.

Supreme Councillor and Diktat of Corellia Dacliff Gallamby sighed deeply as he put on his heavy ceremonical robe. For the past fifteen years this had been his office, his center of life, his home. Ever since the death of his predecessor Dupas Thomree he'd been the Head of the Corellian Diktat and he was proud of his achievements. His principal duty was to protect the people that relied on him; the men and women on Corellia, the Selonians, the Duro and all people in the Corellian Sector. His whole term had been a constant challenge, the Galaxy had seen a time of trial and crisis. Now he was getting old and his spirit was slowly wearing down. He knew the time to step down and give his duties into the hands of a younger person was coming closer and closer.

But not yet, he thought again. There is nobody you'd trust not to misuse the power for selfish goals or naïve ideals.

Basically there were two persons jousting for his succession ? General Micamberlecto and Councilor Rodrik Talob.

Micamberlecto was what the people called a lifer ? a soldier from the day of his birth to the day of his death. Gallamby admired his honesty, his humility and his sense for reality. Unfortunately Micamberlecto had a lot of sympathies for the New Republic and Gallamby feared that he might attempt to join the New Republic and so draw his beloved home into this war.

The second aspirant for his chair was the complete opposite. Rodrik Talob, son of a rich enterpriser and a former holo starlet, didn't seem to know the word humility. His self-confidence bordered to arrogance and more than once he'd crossed that thin line in his life. He was a loyal follower of Palpatine's New Order and he was constantly lobbying Gallamby to join the remnants of the Empire in their war against the 'Rebels'. He was young ? by political standards 48 years was still young ? and definitely less considerate than his opponent Micamberlecto. If Gallamby had to choose his successor he would never take Talob.

After a hesitant knock the door opened and the personal servant of Gallamby stuck his head into the room. "Your Excellency? The Councilors have assembled in the Conference Hall."

Gallamby nodded tiredly. "Thank you, Belto. I will be there immediately."





Two hours later he dismissed the Councilors. He was tired, tired of the endless bickering between Micamberlecto and Talob, tired of the senseless debates. These two would never get along ? if he gave them two vibroblades they'd maul each other within milliseconds.

"Your Excellency?"

Gallamby sighed inwardly. He didn't want to discuss anything with Micamberlecto now. "Yes, General?"

"May I have a word with you, Sir? Privately."

Gallamby motioned at the door to his private audience room at the other side of the conference hall. Upon entering some strange kind of relief washed over him, a peace and the feeling of a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. "What can I do for you, General? If you wish to discuss your stance towards the New Republic I must ask you to leave. I do not have time for this."

Micamberlecto held up his hands in a gesture of defense. "No, Sir. You know my stance and I know yours."

Gallamby arched an eyebrow. What did he want from him this time? "Explain yourself, General. My time is limited."

"Excuse me, Your Excellency. I have recently realized that

 

I know parts like this aren't necessarily the best, but they're necessary to understand a few things that will pop up later

Don't say that. We trust you Sure, there was no Janson running around doing crazy things, but it was still good

 

*gives thread an inconspicious push*

 

Upppers

 

*You shall not sulk in silence*

I hope to get the next chapter up next week.

 

I just found this, and it's really good. I loved the part with face....and wes is mean. but that's normal.

 

Hey a new reader. It's slowly getting better . Grab an Ale and a few snacks and enjoy!

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"Wedge!"

Wedge turned and smiled as he recognized the voice. "Hey! Good to see you. How are you, Face?"

"I'm fine," he answered shaking his former Commander's hand. "It's good to see you in one piece. When we saw Mon Mothma's speech ..." His voice trailed off and he shuddered slightly.

Wedge grinned sourly. "You won't get rid of me that fast, Captain. Bad weeds grow tall. How's the gang? Everyone fine?"

"Well we had a rough run-in with a Golan III on our last mission and Shalla, Runt and Dia were badly wounded. Now everyone is either completely healed or on the way back."

Wedge blinked. "I didn't know all of that. Why they didn't tell me?"

Face grinned slyly. "Intel matters do not concern Starfighter Command ... at least that's what Cracken always says. How's Myn?" he asked back trying to change topics.

"He's fine," Wedge answered. "He seems to have overcome his problems and his mourning." He chuckled and added: "Right now he's depriving Hobbie, Tycho, Wes, and Inyri of their pay. They're playing Sabacc."

Face did a double take. "Myn Donos and Sabacc? The Myn Donos I'm thinking of?"

"The one and only. You should know he has this extremely cold sabacc face ? makes it very difficult to tell if he's bluffing."

Face regarded him for a few seconds and finally stated: "He ripped you off, too, didn't he?"

"My lips are sealed," Wedge shot back but the somewhat pained grin was giving Face the answer he wanted.

"You said he seems to be over his problems," Face said dropping the matter. "Do you mean he .. you know ..."

"Did you have time to look for female companionship lately?" Wedge asked raising an eyebrow. When Face shook his head he teased: "Question answered?"

"Aye," Loran sighed. He'd had a short relationship to Dia, but after a few months they had agreed to stay friends rather than lovers. Ever since he'd been alone, but he hadn't had the time to look for someone else ... "We have to hold a little get-together sometime," he continued to get his mind off these depressing thoughts. "How about a little Sabacc?"

Wedge laughed. "Too many credits, Captain Loran?"

"Maybe," Face smiled mysteriously. "So ? are you in?"

"Let me take a look at my schedule and I give you a date." Looking at his wrist chrono he apologized and shook Face's hand again. "Sorry, Face. I have one of these meetings. We stay in touch." Then he was gone ...



"I don't believe it," Wes exclaimed and threw his cards onto the table. This was the seventh round in a row he'd lost. He glowered at Myn who was sitting calmly on the other side of the table. "You don't cheat, do you?"

"Wes," the Corellian answered, "you're my friend and I hate to tell you this, but I don't have to cheat to beat you here."

"Do you want to say you cheated the rest of us?" Tycho inquired suspiciously. "Captain Donos!"

Myn glared back. "Do I look like a cheater to you?"

"No ? just like someone who has a remarkable winning streak and an interesting sabacc face for someone who hasn't played that much Sabacc before."

"I said I hadn't played much Sabacc over the past few years. I never claimed to be a complete greenhorn," Donos stated as he sorted the cred-chips in front of him.

Just then Corran entered. "Ah ? here you ..." He stopped dead in his tracks and gave the group a stunned glance. "You didn't play Sabacc with Donos, did you?"

Hobbie eyed him curiously. "And why shouldn't we? It's not prohibited, is it?"

Corran gave the players a pitying look before turning to Myn. "You didn't tell them?" he asked badly hiding a smirk.

Myn shook his head. "Of course not. They wouldn't have let me in if they had known."

Inyri leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. "Known what? I swear Donos ? if you tricked us ..."

Corran started to laugh and only sobered up when his squadmates began to glare at him. "Donos here ? at that time still Cadet

 

JUST FOUND THIS AWESOME STORY!!!!! GREAT JOB!


yah know... wes/inyri DO make a good... umm.. Couple!


loved everything so far!

 

JAGSGURL15: nice hint thrown in.Though it's a valid point.


I 've just seen this it's brilliant. I'm sorry it took me so long.

Anyway i'm definately keeping my eye on this.

 

.
Great story so far, thor. The second post was an interesting insight into the Corellian culture and mindset.

I also loved the Sabacc scene. I can't imagine anyone with a better "sabacc face" than Myn. I just hope he doesn't end up with the same fate as Shalla after beating Wes.

Keep up the good work!

-Thumper

 

I love this story so far! It's exceptionally entertaining that Myn is a sabaac champion - considering how much the others really know about him it wouldn't be that unexpected. I can't wait for the next bit.

 

Hey, this is a pretty good story you've got going, Thor. It's nice to see someone doing something with Myn other than making him mope around.

 

Thanks for the encouragement folks I'll try to get another one up this week.

JAGSGURL15 - is it me or is that always the same wish in any Rogue/Wraith stories ??? Here the Rogues are pretty minor characters, but I wanted them in for the atmosphere (and for later use ).

Lady_WinterCelchu - *bows*

Thumper09 - Ah I don't think so. Myn does not give him the same "feedback" as others. He cannot rile Myn as he can the rest.

The Corellian scene is not quite EU-compliant, but I began writing the story long before I had the chance to read the Corellian Trilogy (and I still haven't found the first book of it).

darkhelmj - That's why I wrote the scene this way

CommanderConrad - Well Myn is my favourite character. I have writteen some stories about him in the past (see my bio). But this one has no connections to those.

 

I read your other fics. I remember thinking "please let him work Myn in, please!!!" And you did! You are my hero. I knew you wouldn't let your faithful followers down. Keep the awesome posts coming.

 

Page 5?? Nah!

 

Here is the next part. *sets up lurker detection equipment *

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The men and women that sat in the briefing hall were all at wearing at least 5 golden stars on their rank stripes. Five were Generals and six Admirals ? all were representatives of the Fleet or Starfighter Command.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. May I have your attention," Admiral Ackbar called and motioned the last few groups towards their seats.

"Let me make one thing clear before we begin: This meeting is not an indicator for any upcoming operation," General bel Iblis started the presentation once the chatter had ceased. "Because of the precarious situation we could not call you away from your duties until now, but the Inner Council and the General Staff of the New Republic Military believes that you need to know the facts." He gave Admiral Ackbar a nod and took place again.

"As you all know," the Mon Calamari spoke up, "our losses in the campaign against Thrawn were gruesome. Until recently we only had rough guesses, but even these were mind-boggling. But now we finally have the final numbers and I can say these are not any better. In total the New Republic has lost 12,2 percent of its personnel due to death, 26,1 percent due to injury of which are still more than the half in the process of recovering and 14,89 percent of the Fleet's capital ships are either destroyed or were put out of comission for more than six months."

The attending officers began to murmur and to discuss this unwelcome news among themselves until bel Iblis knocked on his desk. When the room was again bathed in silence Ackbar continued. "Our situation would be far worse if there were not two factors favouring us ? a) the New Republic still holds the Shipyards of Sluis Van, Bilbringi and Kuat and b) the Imperial Factions are nowhere near forming a unified force. The latest Intelligence reports indicate that they have started fighting for hegemony among the themselves. This gives us the chance to catch our breath and compensate our losses. We have been able to persuade the Inner Council to postpone any military actions until further notice with the exception of defensive missions. Our primary concern right now is to get the armed forces back to the status of ready for action. General bel Iblis?"

The white-haired man rose from his chair and activated a holoprojector. "Over the last two weeks a team of specialists has visited the Shipyards at Sluis Van, Bilbringi and Kuat and examined the status of each facility along with the security measures. Their results were: Kuat ? 35 ships in dock, 24 waiting. Security at 98 percent. Sluis Van ? 49 ships in dock, 67 waiting. Security at 97 percent. Bilbringi ? 38 ships in dock, 12 waiting. Due to the damage caused by our own attack the facility is not yet at full capacity. Security is at 99 percent. Each facility is protected by three Starfighter Squadrons and 4 capital ships plus the defensive capacities of those ships awaiting repairs."

He switched off the holoprojector which had shown the list of ships in repair or awaiting it. "Even with this promising report we are still in deep trouble as the repairs and refittings will take more than eight months. All we now need is time."

Ackbar nodded his thanks and spoke up again: "In Starfighter Command the situation is similar. Due to our losses we had to thin out our training corps meaning that many currently active pilots are not fully trained. Additionally we lack a lot of instructors which had to be sent to the front. For that reason we have decided to temporarily assign forty percent of our frontline squadrons to training facilities to compensate the lack of instructors and to finish the abbreviated training of several squadrons."

Ackbar sighed and put the datapad back on the table. He exchanged a glance with bel Iblis, received a headshake and turned back at his audience. "Ladies and Gentlemen ? you now know the facts. If you have any further ideas to improve our situation you are free to discuss t

 

*the lurker detector starts beeping franticly*

Oh well, I guess I had to come out one day. I've really enjoyed reading the rest of your story, and I hope there's more soon.

 

Great post!

"How about taking a certain Bothan and throwing him off the highest peak of the Imperial Palace?"
Too bad they didn't... that would have solved sooo many problems!

 

*sets up lurker detection equipment*

You caught me.

No fun and original comments from me, but this story is awesome so far.