Dark Mirror (AU, Luke, Mara, Jacen, Han, Leia, Jaina, Pellaeon, Thrawn, others, COMPLETE)

Twenty years have passed since the battle of Endor. It was a battle in which Princess Leia Organa, the last of the Jedi knights, was slain by Emperor Luke Skywalker. It was a battle in which the Imperial fleet, led by Grand Admiral Solo, crushed the Rebel fleet. The Empire has since conquered the whole of the galaxy, and even the farthest reaches of the Unknown Regions have fallen under Imperial dominion.

The Empire, needing to expand in order to remain stable, sets its sights further. They invade another reality, another dimension. One in which it was the Rebellion who won at Endor, Han Solo and Leia Organa are married, Luke Skywalker has reestablished the Jedi Order and married Mara Jade, and in which the Empire is at peace with the Republic.

Now the hero?s, villains and rogues of the two galaxies face their most resourceful and dangerous enemies yet ? Themselves.

---

Chapter I

The room fell silent as the Emperor entered. The Emperor was not a particularly tall man, and taken on face value, he didn?t look to be a particularly dangerous one. But he had a presence which made even the bravest tremble when he was angry.

Today, he wasn't angry. He smiled at his Grand Admirals, and nodded in greeting as he took his place at the head of the large antique wooden table.

He was less than forty years old, and his short dark blond hair was only touched by the slightest dignified grey steaks. He still had a boyish smile, which he used to his advantage, but one look at his ice cold blue eyes dispelled any notions of his innocence one might have.

He was wearing soft blue robes, of silk from Vortex. But everyone in the room knew that he was equally comfortable in his battle armor, with his lightsaber at his side.

That battle armor hadn't been used in over three years though. The whole of the galaxy was now under Imperial Dominion. The rebellion was long since crushed, with only occasional disturbances of the peace protesting his rule. And unlike his predecessor, the current Emperor responded to such rebellions not with massacres, but by addressing their concerns. Of late though, those disturbances had become more and more common.

Without any formality, he began to speak. "Grand Admirals. We approach a turning point in the history of the Empire. For over two decades, we have continuously expanded our borders. Our economy has been driven by our military, and risen to new heights."

Nothing helped stimulate the economy like a good war.

"But now," he continued "we have nowhere in our own galaxy to expand to. And it is impractical to send troops in a vain effort to invade other galaxies. We would all be dead before they would arrive." ~Or at least you all would be,~ the Emperor mentally corrected himself. He intended to live for a very long time indeed.

"Fortunately, thanks to Grand Admiral Daala, we may have an alternate means of expansion. Admiral?" he said, giving the right to speak to her. All the other Grand Admirals knew most of what she would be saying, but some procedures must be followed.

Daala was in her mid-forties now, but still beautiful The long red hair that was her trademark was still as vibrant as ever, and her porcelain face was unwrinkled. She was the only woman ever to reach the rank of Grand Admiral. Some had whispered that a series of affairs carried her through the ranks, but those whispers stopped when she donned the white uniform. The Emperor was nothing if not completely faithful to his wife, as some women had found out to their misfortunes.

She cleared her throat, and began to speak. "At the Maw installation, one of my top scientists, Qwi Xux, has developed a hyperdrive able to take a ship not between two places, but between two dimensions. This new hyperdrive has been dubbed the warp drive for its method of operation."

"Unfortunately, it's prohibitively expensive to build these warp drives. To outfit a ship the size of a Corvette would cost more than to build an Masmune class Star Destroyer."

Imperial and Victory Class Star Destroyers had long since been

 

*shudders* great, awesome, terrific, I need a theasaurrus. I loved it, how you described the Admirals, Luke/Mara, the Emporer, and the fact that they can't have kids. The only sobering note.

 

Why oh why do I know I'm going to be rooting for the Dark Side?

Awesome intro Gandolf.

 

Good to see you starting another story so soon. Sure was a long post (not complaining, but thinking how to comment.)
1) Good writing as always
2) You give a new meaning to AU. EVERYTHING is mixed up. I'm interested to see it develop. Very interested in the potential interaction of different universe Lukes (did that make sense?)
3) What a cold way to kill Leia! Oh well, so long as Luke & Mara get good roles. Plus maybe I'll get to see an alternate Leia from a different universe. (Are there any established terms to refer to different dimension characters?)

Looking forward to more!

 

*VERY* nice beginning. Utterly and perfectly dark (yes!!! ), and it's a well-laid out setup.

I shouldn't be, but now it appears I've got yet another fanfic to start checking on periodically...

 

Ahh, I'm so far behind in your other fic! Great! Good work though. I'm sure I'll enjoy both.... once I get the time to read them!

 

Such a skillfully weaved tale of terror and darkness. An alternate universe of such magnanimous proportions that it literally stretches thought to infinity. I love the way Luke and his Grand Admirals are developed. This Empire is one that may well last, if the Skywalker tendency that follows the Wizard's Third Rule (Passion rules reason) does not act up. I will eagerly await the next episode in this fantastic ballad of the Dark Side.

 

Okay, just read it! That was the coolest story I've read in along time. Not the best, but definatly the coolest.

You dwelled on the past a lot in that post. It was okay with me, just not normal.

Not of a lot of description for the setting, which is okay. In fact, it worked great here.

Characters were very nicly done. Love all the Grand Admirals. Glad Mara is still there. This story looks like it can go many differant, differant ways.

I enjoyed the mention of the Yuuzhan Vong. Hope they show up alittle later on! Maybe not, its your story and there are infanite possible dementions to conquer!

Luke as Emporor is great! This is very interesting so far! Keep it up! I'll be sure to stick with it.

 

Alright! Very cool fanfic. I love this evil mirror image of the GFFA. Keep it coming. I'd love to see the two Han's get in a brawl. That would be great!

I love seeing the mirror image of all my favorite characters: Han, Chewie, Mara, Luke, Baron Fel,...and THRAWN! Wahoo, he's back.

Say, do you have ideas for a dark Wedge and Dark Boba Fett? Or what about a Dark Talon Karrde or Dark Corran Horn.

Ah, man the possibilities are endless.
Keep up the good work.

 

This is certainly a different premise. That is one of the most evil Luke's I've read in a long time. Not a single ounce of compassion. Except maybe for his wife. Interesting concept. I'm curious to see where this goes.

 

Hey Gandolf, I have one question. Isn't love technically a light side emotion, having no place in the selfishness of the Dark Side? What of Mara and Luke then, do they still have a shred of light within them?

 

Whoa Gandolf, I knew you didn't like sticking to the established EU, but this story took me completely by surprise. I was not expecting that twist.... and I love it! The way you put all our favourite characters in such different, yet believable roles was cool. I'm looking forward to more of this story.

 

Up, more tonight, or tomorrow perhaps.


JEDIAKASH: Yes, Luke and Mara arn't completly evil. They're love for each other is about their only light quality though. Remember, I had Luke kill his father and sister without thinking twice about it.

And thank you everyone. I'll try to keep this up, though posts will probably be slow by times. Much slower than Phoenix was.

 

Hey, Gandolf, thats cool. You posted so fast on Phoenix I was quickly left behind. So, now I'm trying to finish it.

Just keep up the good work... dons't matter to me how fast you post.

 

The more things change...

---

Chapter II

Grand Admiral Solo looked around the cockpit of his temporary flagship, the Millennium Falcon. It was a heavily modified light freighter. Or at least, it had a freighter?s hull and IFF. The hull was that of an YT-1300 freighter which had seen far better days, and the rest of the ship?

The rest of the ship was brand new, and the best that could be built by the Empire. A top of the line hyperdrive, shields over twice as tough as those on a Ares class Corvette, quad turbolaser?s identical to those found in the main batteries of Star Destroyers, an Ion drive that could out speed a TIE defender. And most incredible, a layer of Quantum Armor underneath the hull, nearly as expensive as a Sovereign class Star Destroyer.

Solo grinned. He could get to like this ship, and was glad he pulled rank to be the one in the pilots chair. The Falcon would run a crew of six. Solo would be the captain, Chewie his first mate and copilot. They also had an engineer on board in case they needed to make emergency repairs, two security people who doubled as gunners, and a slicer provided by Grand Admiral Ghent.

The vessel reminded him of times long past, from before he joined Imperial service. Against his will, memories of Bria Tharen came rushing back.

It had been a cruel twist of fate that brought his ship out of hyperspace to find her Red Hand Squadron attacking an Imperial convoy. He hadn?t known she was in command of the rebels that day, and it wasn?t until he inspected the prisoners that he saw her again after so many years. She had spat on his uniform, and called him a traitor. Nevertheless, he had found it difficult not to look away as she faced a firing squad on Coruscant a week later.

?Chewie! Have the techs got that diagnostic done yet?? he shouted back at his longtime friend and bodyguard, his voice a little raw from his lingering pain.

The Wookie roared an affirmative, and Solo activated the comm. ?Control, is everyone ready??

?Yes, sir. But the last of the equipment still has to be loaded on board, as well as your disguises. So I?m afraid it will be a few minutes yet.? The lieutenant on the other end of the line seemed a little nervous. Han grimaced. Rank had its disadvantages, chief among them that he was no longer ?one of the guys.?

To pass the remaining time left until they were prepped for launch, he went to his quarters and found his ?disguise.?

In his case, it wasn?t actually a disguise, but what he wore while off duty. He took off his white uniform, folding it neatly and the bed, and donned an old shirt and pants. He was glad to be out of uniform. The suit might look impressive, but it was more than a little uncomfortable.

Absently, Han wondered about the other Grand Admiral did, what their opinion of the uniform was. At any hour of the day or night, Grand Admiral Thrawn seemed to be awake and wearing his, and judging by the wrinkles, Han thought that Ghent might sleep in his.

He straightened his color, and strapped on a gun belt. He looked at himself in a mirror. Over fifty now, hair beginning to go grey, and even after all that, and thirty years in Imperial service, he still looked like a scoundrel.

Which was how he liked it.

Really, thought Han as he walked back towards the cockpit, I?m just on this trip personally because I?m being driven nuts doing nothing except war games against Zsinj. I don?t need to do this personally. I probably shouldn?t. But when has that stopped me before?

He stepped into the cockpit, and plopped himself down into the pilots seat. After a moment, Chewie made it in, and sat next to him in the oversized co-pilots seat. ?We all ready?? Han asked.

Chewie grumbled a yes, and Han began to flick switch?s on the control panels. A panel flickered and died to his left, and he and Chewie shared a long glance. ?Damn new technology,? Han grumbled, ?totally unreliable.?

Chewie roared agreement, and Han hit the panel in frustration, knowing his trip would be delayed. To his surprise however,

 

Hah, imagine their surprise when...

"Wait a minute? There's nothing here. Just a bumch of asteroids. What the Hell!"

Yes, good, goooooood.

Keep it up!

 

I officially loved that. Han in the Falcon, classic Star WArs. Is this the universe in which Alderaan was blown to bits? If so, Han's in for a surprise.

 

"Our position is correct except, no Alderaan."

Let's see if I'm psychic.

 

The Falcon rules again!! Not even the greatly improved Empire could keep Han from a ship of this caliber. What can't she do? Interesting theory with pocket universes. Inspired by multiverses and quantum foam or no?

 

This is AMAZING, Gandolf! It's not only an incredible AU, you also are bouncing in other dimensions. Oh WOW! This story is going to be so much fun to read.

 

Ohhhh, this is going to be good!

Tee hee, can't wait to see what happens!!

 

I can imagine that scene. He he. Let me guess just what he's going to say. Then wouldn't it be funny if he headed to Yavin by mistake? *Smirk* Hey, is Grand Admiral Tiberius a Easter Egg? And what about "Warp Drive?"

 

That reminds me, do I detect the taint of s bit of ST in here. People named Tiberius (James Tiberius Kirk) and Pike (Captain Pike from original ST). Not that I'm complaining. I don't mind ST one bit. At least the classic ST, anyway.

Keep it up! Wait hardly can I!

Aaah! Backwards talking am I now!

 

This is so cool. Can't wait to see if it turns out to be the normal Star Wars galaxy or a vastly different one.

I'm wondering though: Does Han have his Blood Stripes? ANd if he does, do he wear them with his Grand Admiral uniform.... and his other cloths?

Keep it up Gandolf!

 

?Chewie, get that rear shield working!? Han shouted back at his partner. A roar and the sound of the engineers voice competed momentarily for volume, but the Wookie won the contest easily.

Han couldn?t but grin. This was like old times, before he joined the Empire. With a few differences. Here, he wasn?t in that much danger, despite the loss of the rear shield. The quantum armor would hold. He just liked to do things right, and for the Falcon to take shot after shot to an unguarded hull, and ignore it, would seem suspicious.

Not that they were going to be coming back, if the Emperor listened to his recommendations. A galaxy where a three way war was being fought between Skywalker, Palpatine, and another Sith named Exar Kun, in which even Alderaan was anything but peaceful, was not his idea of a good dimension to invade.
The shield light came on after a moment, and the wookie was wuffling happily to himself as he forced his bulk into the cockpit. At least he was until Han threw the ship into another spin, neatly avoid the green flashes of turbolaser?s aimed at his ship. The wookie hauled himself into his seat, but glared at Han, who couldn?t resist laughing.

This was more fun than he?d had in a while.

From Hans upper left came a flash of light, and it took a moment before Han realized one of his gunners had shot down one of the ships pursuing them. ?I got one? reported Captain Loran coolly a moment later.

?Great, now don?t get cocky? Han snapped happily.

Han checked the engines, and the coordinates in the computer in front of him. Everything was green. ?We?re making the jump? he said, and drew back the lever.

As he was getting familiar with, everything went black. Getting familiar with something and getting used to it were two entirely different things. The worst part was, they had no way of knowing how long it would last.

It had ranged from a few seconds, to nearly a day. That had been a very long and nerve wracking day, as Han had wondered if they would ever leave. He didn?t pretend to have the slightest comprehension how the drive worked, but he knew it scared him by times. To be trapped forever, between everything, was not something he wanted to think about.

This was one of those times where it only took a few minutes, for which Han was grateful. Blackness exploded into light, and Han was turning towards the window when Chewie roared and threw his arms up.

?Wha-? began Han, as he turned, to see a huge mass of floating rock in the Falcons path. He barely managed to send the ship into a dive at the last moment, the Falcon upper hull grazing the asteroids surface, and it?s communications dish getting ripped off.

?We didn?t need that anyways? muttered Han as he leveled off the ship. Chewie barked questioningly, and Han checked the navcomp, wondering what had happened.

?We?re in the right place all right. Just one problem. No Alderaan? he said, in incomprehension. Then he understood.

?Who the hell would blow away Alderaan?? Han asked, stunned. He knew it had to be the Death Star. There was no other weapon that could do this to a planet. But why?

Alderaan was a peaceful world. Yes, it had aided the Rebellion. But its destruction would have aided the Rebellion more, given the people of the galaxy something to rebel against. The people of that world were nearly as respected as the Caamassi, and indeed, there was a large enclave of Caamassi refugees on the planet. To destroy all of that?
Han wondered what the rest of this galaxy was like, whether it was even worth it to continue. Chewie looked to him for an order, and he absently played with the blood stripes on his pant legs, trying to figure out who would be so incredibly stupid.

?It was Tarkin. Or Palpatine? he finally said. Chewie nodded grimly. The galaxy, all galaxies? were better off with those two long dead.

The Empress had killed Tarkin with her bare hands, disdaining the Force for such an easy task. Han couldn?t say he was terribly sorry to have been on hand to hear the old mans neck snap. He certainly didn?t have n