Saga [OT AU] The Forever Wars

Summary: 20 years after Anakin Skywalker uncovered and revealed Darth Sidious conspiracy to destroy the Jedi and control the Galactic Republic the Galaxy is still at war. The Sith Empire has continued to undermine and compromise the safety of the Republic while the Jedi struggle to defend it. Many fear that this twenty year war will last forever and the largest question on everyone’s mind is “What became of Anakin Skywalker?”

AN: Hopefully I'll be updating this twice a week. Feel free to leave me reviews regarding what you think!

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The Jedi Order had found its new home in the frigid mountains of Alderaan. It was a beautiful planet with scenery unique to the core worlds. While Coruscant was cramped, metallic and tinted with smoke Alderaan was lush, had clear skies and its citizens felt as if they had space to breathe. When Grandmaster Kenobi had made the controversial decision to move the Order away from Coruscant he had decided on Alderaan and many supported this idea. While the Sith Order and Jedi waged war they didn’t dare attack Alderaan. Not yet. It was too well-protected and isolated. There were easier ways to kill Jedi. When they were on the battlefront or isolated from their companions. Alderaan was both an easy target and an insanely difficult one.

Which was exactly why Luke Skywalker was anxious to get away.

The young Jedi Knight stood on the balcony and stared across the Aldera Mountain Range where the Jedi Order was located. He had spent years here training and preparing to battle the Sith. He knew that it was his destiny. The one thing that his Master had always told him was that his father had been the Chosen One. Yet when he had vanished after defeating Darth Sidious he had also resigned his position as the man who was prophesied to defeat the Sith and unite the galaxy once more. Luke and his sister had found this responsibility thrust on their shoulders. This was why Leia served as an ambassador. One who tirelessly traveled planet to planet offering relief and refuge for those who needed protecting from the evil plague that the war had become. This was why Luke Skywalker was planning to join General Garm Bel Iblis as a pilot who would fly against the dangerous Sith Raiders that had made safe travel through space impossible.

It was his destiny.

“Still brooding? Unbecoming of a Jedi.” Luke turned and saw his best friend Korto Vos approach him. Like him Korto was also planning to join General Iblis on the warfront. He was also the son of a famed Jedi Master. Quinlan Vos. He was a striking image of his father too. He was tall, broad shouldered and dark-skinned. A yellow tattoo spread across his nose right underneath his eyes. His hair was a tuft of dreadlocks and he wore dark Jedi Robes that made him look far more intimidating than he actually was. Luke felt that Korto was one of the few people that truly understood him. They both had legacies to uphold. They were both the bastard children of men who had been willing to forsake the Jedi Code in the name of love. They were both willing to die to protect the Galaxy.

“So is spending most of your nights staring at holovids of Wynessa Starflare.”

“You know; that’s not even her real name. I’ve been looking into some of her earlier vids and I’m convinced she just changed it because she wants to sound fancy.”

Luke grinned. “Oh really? What tipped you off? Her first name being Wyness or her last name being Starflare?”

Korto scowled. “Your last name is Skywalker. Does that mean I should assume its fake?”

Luke’s grin faded ever so slightly as he returned his gaze to the mountains. “Sometimes I wish my last name wasn’t Skywalker”

Korto didn’t respond and the silence dragged on for several moments. Finally Luke felt Korto’s hand on his shoulder. “This is what you get for brooding. C’mon; General Iblis is almost here. I already had 3PO move our bags for you.”

Luke’s grin returned as he turned and began to follow Korto out of the balcony and towards the inside of the Jedi Temple. “Leia is still letting you use 3PO? Especially after you used him to send her all those creepy love letters? You know; you’re lucky we’re friends or else I’d have to thrash you.” Technically speaking Leia was the eldest twin so Luke didn’t have to play the role of the elder brother. He had a feeling he’d have to if anyone else but Korto showed even the slightest interest in her. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe that other men hadn’t. These men would just have to be glad that Luke hadn’t heard about it…yet.

“Hey, they’re called sonnets.” Korto said in a hurt voice. Luke couldn’t tell if that hurt was fake or real. Either way he still laughed out loud.

“Sure. Sonnets. Whatever.”

The two Jedi continued to joke around as they made their way towards the Hangar Deck. When they finally got there the duo were surprised to see Chancellor Bail Organa and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke gripped his bag tighter in his right hand. It wasn’t that he was intimidated. He actually had a surprising close relationship to Bail Organa and to his Master. Yet at the same time he hadn’t expected to see them. He wondered if they were working together to convince him to stay. Luke had yet to complete his training and he knew Master Kenobi didn’t full approve of him leaving just yet. He was surprised that the man hadn’t used his status as Grandmaster to ground him. Yet at the same time he knew that wasn’t Obi-Wan’s way.


As both Luke and Korto entered the hangar Obi-Wan turned to greet them. The elder man was dressed in his tan-and-brown Jedi Robes. Luke couldn’t help but feel guilty. He hadn’t hesitated to change into his brown flightsuit. Korto wore the Kiffu Light Armor that was not unlike the one his father had worn during the Clone Wars. While they still wore their lightsabers proudly it was nearly clear that they were much closer to accepting their identities as military men instead of Jedi. And for that Luke felt ashamed. Yet as Obi-Wan and Bail Organa walked towards them he didn’t feel the reproach he had assumed he would get.

“Master.” They both murmured as they bowed at him.

“There’s no need for that.” Obi-Wan said with a smile as he stepped towards the two of them. “While I have yet to truly knight the two of you I am proud to say that you have both proven yourselves to be capable students under my tutorship. I am sure that your master would say the same, Korto. While I do have some misgivings about sending you off to battle I do feel that you are capable of bringing honor to yourselves and to the Jedi Order.” Obi-wan paused. “Just remember. Trust your instincts. Trust the Force. Never take the easy path. It will always leave to darkness…always.”

Bail Organa stepped forward. “I can do nothing but reflect Master Kenobi’s very statements. I think that you both will do great things. You’ll forgive me for my brevity but I am running late for a meeting.” He smiled and nodded at the two before he turned and strode away, his guards clustered around him as he did. Then Bail stopped and turned as if he had suddenly remembered something. “Luke, Leia wished for me to tell you that she’ll be seeing you soon. Your first mission with your fighter squadron will involve a rendezvous mission for her. I trust that you’ll be able to escort her to Coruscant safely.”

“I’ll try my best sir.” Luke said. He extended his hand and Bail Organa grasped it firmly.

“I’m sure you will.”

The speakers in the hangar bay began to blare out a warning about an incoming friendly ship and as it did Obi-Wan turned towards them. “May the Force be with you.” With those words he tucked his hood over his head and turned and exited the hangar bay. As he did different military recruits whether they were civilians and Jedi began to stream into the hangar bay. Waiting for their chance to make an impact on the galaxy and put an end to the war.

 

Oooh, I like Korto - as an OC and as one who is crushing on Leia; I also like the twins being raised and trained together -- cool! I love OT AUs; there can never be too many LOL and they're all unique in myriad ways. Looking forward to Luke's mission and how things unfold.

And if you have a particular Emperor's Hand show up somewhere along the line

 

You will be seeing her soon but not as an Emperor's Hand.

Chapter 3 ​

Six Months Later

Red and Green blasterfire streaked through space at just a fraction beneath lightspeed. A squadron of X-Wings and Tie-Fighters were flying so closely together that it was a wonder that half the ships hadn’t collided into each other and exploded. The skirmish was chaos and Luke Skywalker wasn’t entirely sure why they were here. He had been told that it was a simple supply run mission. They were going to blast a few Tie-Fighter escorts into oblivion and take care of a frigate bringing warheads to an Imperial Base in the Outer Rim. Instead they had run into the very same freighter that had ambushed them with a squadron of Tie-Fighters. Luke squadron was outmaneuvered and outgunned but he couldn’t let that distract him. He had this situation under control. He thought.

“Is this your dad’s sorry excuse for intelligence?” Hobbie snapped over the comm. unit as he twisted his X-Wing away from a Tie-Fighter closely on his tail. Hobbie was speaking to Korto. His father had taken the helm of Old Republic Intelligence once it had been clear the war wasn’t ending anytime soon. Unfortunately the Sith Empire had based this war on treachery and deceit. Not all the information was accurate and most of it were lies. Master Vos normally did a good job of separating the truth from the lies. But not this time.

“Can it, Hobbie!” Korto replied tersely. “You might want to focus on the battle or you’ll wind up cleaning your other leg out of the cockpit!”

The sound of laughter pealed through the cockpit and Luke couldn’t help but be annoyed and amazed that Janson could find something funny in the middle of this fight. They had already lost one pilot and things weren’t looking to good. They had managed to disable the engines and hyperdrive to the freighter but did that matter if they weren’t going to survive? “Alright everyone. Clear the chatter!” The clear and calm voice of Red Leader Biggs Darklighter reassured Luke even as he found himself constantly twisting and juking his fighter in an attempt to avoid laser fire and the ships themselves. “Everyone get your fighters close into the enemy freighter. Those eyeballs will have to fire upon their own ship if they want to take them down. In the meanwhile plot a course out of here! They shouldn’t be able to track us and we won’t survive long at this rate.”


“Copy Red Leader!” Wedge Antilles said and the other fighters repeated their request.

“Copy, Darklighter! Beginning my approach.” Porkins said over the comm. unit as he angled his fighter straight towards the freighter.

“Woah! Careful, Porkins! Careful, you’ve got a bogey on your tail. Pull out and I’ll pick him off for you!” Hobbie said immediately. The two were wingmen and relatively close. Luke chewed his lip and quickly pulled his fighter to the side and decreased the speed of his engines. As he did the tie-fighter behind him overshot him. The solar wing made a horrible scraping sound and the right glass of pane from his cockpit shattered from the contact. Glass shattered everywhere as the cockpit depressurized. Luke was glad that he was wearing his pressurized suit or he’d be dead.

“I’ve got it!”

“Wait, no! Eject. Jorkins eject!”

“Always the pessimist Hob-argh! Ahh!” Porkins ship exploded and Hobbie let out a cry of despair for his friend. As he did the victorious pilot pursuing Porkins was blown to shrapnel by Hobbie.

The whistling in Luke’s ears was starting to disturb him but he managed to fire off a proton torpedo that obliterated the Tie-Figher. He quickly pulled his ship up and away from the debris so he wouldn’t succumb to it as well. As he did his astromech unit beeped and reported that he had plotted a hyperdrive course. “I’m set to jump!” He yelled and the other fighters reported that they were as well.

“Everyone get out of here! On 1…2…3!” The remaining Red Squadron jumped away and the few Tie-Fighters still pursuing them found themselves firing at the emptiness in space.

--- ​

An hour later and Luke was stumbling out of his cockpit. He saw Hobbie do the same. The blond pilot stumbled off of his ladder and vomited onto the ground. As he did Korto rushed towards him. Luke felt the man’s guilt through The Force and felt sorry for the both of them. This wasn’t the first time that Hobbie had suffered because of faulty ORI intelligence. Korto stepped towards him and offered to help him up but Hobbie pushed him away. “Get away from me. I’m kriffing sick and tired of dealing with missions that we can’t run because your father can’t write a damn report!” There was nothing funny about this and the remaining eight pilots found themselves surrounding the two. Not sure if they should intervene or not. Even Janson had nothing to say.

“Look, I don’t know what to tell you! The Sith are tricky bastards. Intel changes every day.”

“Maybe it isn’t the intel. Maybe it’s true. Maybe your dad is a drunken fool. Let’s face it, his glory days are behind him! This isn’t the Clone Wars anymore…” Hobbie jabbed a finger in his face and Luke sighed as he realized something.

“He’s looking for a fight.” Wedge Antilles murmured towards him.

“And Korto is willing to give him one.”

They were all upset that they had lost two pilots. Jek Porkins and Kurin were good people. Luke suspected that this was why they weren’t intervening. Korto drew a great amount of flak for being the son of Quinlan Vos. Luke felt sorry for him but he knew that some of it was true. Master Vos wasn’t the spy that he used to be. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was but the man had lost his edge. Still he couldn’t let this happen. He didn’t want Korto and Hobbie to do anything they would regret. Moreso Korto than anyone else. He was a Jedi. This was unbecoming of him. Luke stepped into the middle of the crowd and prepared to say something but Biggs Darklighter made it first. The man was normally calm and amiable but not this time. This time his height and muscular frame only made him intimidating and fierce. “Knock it off!” He roared and quickly separated the two pilots. He pushed Hobbie so hard that Hobbie landed on his rear. Korto too stumbled backwards and hit the ground. “We’re pilots! Not those karking clones! You think this is how we treat each other! This was faulty intel! If you want to blame anyone blame me. I failed to adapt to the urgency of the situation on time and I got those pilots killed. Me! Not Vos.” Biggs took a deep breath and turned and climbed the ladder to Hobbie’s X-Wing until he was standing on the middle rung. “We’ve all lost people we’ve cared about. Believe me, I graduated with Porkins. He was my friend too. But we’ve got to push forward. You have two people to blame. Me or the Emperor! Don’t turn on each other. We’re all we’ve got.”

Biggs jumped down from the fighter and as he did he grasped Hobbie’s arm and helped him up. Hobbie, Biggs and Porkins had all graduated together from Flight Academy together. They were fairly close and Luke could feel the pain radiating from Biggs but the man didn’t show it. He was a leader. “I’ll be opening up a tab tonight in the bar on the Fair Maiden.” Wes said. “We’ll be telling stories about Porkins and Peat.”

“What about missions?” Someone asked.

“I’d like to see Iblis send us anywhere after that bloodfest.” Wes challenged as he stuck his thumbs into his belt. “Anyone who really cares about our friends should show up at 2100. If not just stay in your bunks.” With that Wes took off his helmet and marched out of the hangar bay, joining Biggs and Hobbie.


Luke sighed and ran his hand over his face.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Wedge said as Korto picked himself up and sourly stormed out of the hangar bay; alone.

“What am I thinking?” Luke said as he watched his friend. He wanted to join him but he knew there was no point. Korto wanted to be alone.

“This wasn’t what I signed up for.”

 

Wow! Much tension there and looking forward to how the camaraderie will eventually come.

 

Chapter 3 ​

The Hoth System was isolated and for the most part abandoned. For good reason. It was the ancient battlefield for a war between the Jedi and Sith. The planet had very few life forms and the ones that were there were openly hostile and dangerous. Personally Han Solo felt like one would have to be crazy to visit here. It gave him the creeps. Yet Han Solo was most definitely crazy. Or at least he had an absurd amount of confidence in his own skills. He wasn’t anywhere near the actual planet but he was in the asteroid field. He was keeping the ship very still while asteroids flung around them at hundreds of kilos per minute. The fact that his boss was willing to tether himself to the ship and explore an asteroid below and trust that Han could keep the ship still spoke to his craziness. Or his trust in Han Solo. Which was the same thing, kind of.

“How are our aft repulsor generators doing, Chewie?” The ship seemingly groaned in response. Clearly the methods that Han was using to keep them in place wouldn’t work forever. He just needed to know how long. He knew that the two smugglers who were out of the ship needed to take their time in order to gather the precious artifacts they needed but they didn’t have all the time in the galaxy. Nowhere near that. Chewbacca roared in response and confirmed Han’s suspicions. He sighed and pressed his fingers to his forehead before opening up transmissions with the two agents in the asteroid below. As he did he quickly adjusted the ship to avoid an asteroid the size of a starfighter from scraping across the ship. Even that movement could cause whiplash that could hurt his crew. “Hey, you guys need to pull in and fast. There’s some type of gravity well that could tear this ship apart if I stay in place for too long.”


“We’re coming. Just hold her for a little longer.” Jinn Olin said though his transmission was garbled. “The…stang…”

Han glanced out of the cockpit and frowned. He could have sworn he saw something ripple on that asteroid surface. “Hey uh..Captain? What was that about?”

“I…it looks like we’ve got a bit of a situation. Jade, double up and make sure that this thing is secured.”

Han chewed his lower lip and sighed. He had known Jinn since he was ten years old and practically a child. He had rescued him from what could be a life of starvation and slavery and shown him how to fly. The man was practically a father to him. Yet at the same time Jinn Olin insisted on taking the craziest mission that Han almost always managed to escape by the hair on his head. He didn’t normally mind. He liked the glory it earned and the chance to brush up on his piloting skills. He just didn’t like the idea of all of this danger over Jedi artifacts. All the galaxy seemed to care about were the Jedi and the fact that more and more of their missions were focused on the two warring factions annoyed him. He know Jinn hated it as much as he did but they were forced to follow the market. He’d have to remind himself to have a word with Karrde over all this. Since Olin and his crew were his most successful smugglers he knew they’d have at least some pull in their requests. Or so he hoped.


For a few moments the transmission was silent and Han stared at the dark side of the asteroid. Then the worst happened. A dark grey worm exploded from the side. The creature reared its ugly snake-like head and the asteroid was simply unable to support its own weight. It began to implode. Han cursed loudly and began to power up the ship’s engines. “We’re getting out of here!” Han yelled as the bottom of the ship began to buffet with flak. “You guys on board?” Even as he said those words he heard and felt the heavy footsteps of Jinn Olin and Mara Jade. The two of them entered the cockpit still wearing the pressurized flight suits. “About time.” Han snapped as he powered up the ship. He twisted it away from the asteroid as massive hunks of metal and debris began to strike the ship from all sides. “Hang on!” Han juked the Falcon and managed to slip it between two bigger asteroids. As he did the remaining debris buffeted the asteroids he had used as shielding instead of the ship. “Where to now?”

“Straight to Karrde.” Jinn slipped into his pilot seat and pulled off his helmet; revealing his short black hair. “I’d prefer not to stick my nose into Jedi Affairs anymore. Karrde needs to either toss in his creds with Vos and his gang of misinformed idiots or strike out on his own.”


“It’s surprising how much it can suck when you’re the best intel broker in the galaxy.” Mara quipped as he dropped into a seat behind Han. “He can’t exactly break away from his best business.”

“You need to pick a side, Mara.” Olin said with a grin. He too had known Mara for years but they had met through Karrde instead of him finding her on some desolate planet. Anyone who knew enough about Jinn knew that he had formed the massive information and spy network with Karrde. He had just chosen to stay on the field instead of running the whole organization. Han respected him for that but always wondered why he decided to stay on the field. He could lead Karrde’s organization just as well. “That being said you have a point. We don’t have much of a choice. This war becomes more polarizing every day and if we want to stay in business we’ve got to cater to a side. I’d prefer the Jedi more than the Sith if you ask me…”

Han glanced at the computer panel as he finally flew out of the asteroid field. As he did the nav computer chimed, indicating that they were ready for travel. “Hold onto your boots.” He said as he pulled back the levers. The stars elongated before they turned into a limited streak of blue and the Falcon vanished from the Hoth System.

--- ​

“I just need one more run.” Jinn said as the two of them sat in the cockpit of the Falcon. “It’s a milk run. Not for Karrde. After that we can handle all this nonsense with Jabba.”

Han nodded. “Yeah…” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t have botched that up. One mission on my own and I lose you a great deal of money. I’ll pay you back for that, Jinn. I swear.”

The elder man stood to his feet and motioned for Han to follow him. “No, don’t worry about it. I would’ve done the same thing if I was in Sith Empire territory. The only reason we’re not going to Tantooine now is because I promised that I’d have Amelia back on Hapes a month ago. She’s overdue and you know how Hapes royalty can get when they’re missing one of their women. If you think a bounty hunter is bad imagine what it’s like having Isolder leading the Royal Guard out to get you.”

Han smirked. Not many people knew this but Jinn had once saved the Queen of Hapes’ life. During that time they had spent a night together and ninth months later a baby had been born. Her real name was unknown and her identity had been hidden from the world. Yet Jinn had called her Amelia. She spent six months on Hapes and six months with Jinn and Karrde. Han was honored to know this secret though he knew that Jinn harbored many more. The smuggler wasn’t entirely sure if she was next in line for the throne or anything. However he did know that Jinn was willing to protect her with his life and he knew that Ta’a Chume was willing to do the same. Which was exactly why she needed to be on Hapes before the Queen Mother grew antsy.

The two of them soon found themselves standing outside the Falcon and as they did Han heard the sounds of a young girl prattling off question after question. Soon Chewbacca and Mara Jade arrived and between them was a seven year old girl. Her hair was rusty-red to the point where it was nearly brown. She wore dirty coveralls and that made it evident that she had clearly been in some type of mischief. As they approached she broke away from Mara and sprinted forward, jumping into Jinn’s arms. “Daddy!” She squealed and Jinn smiled before kissing her on the cheek.

“With all of Karrde’s intelligence he couldn’t figure out that she was digging around in the engine rooms again.” Mara commented dryly as she passed them and headed up the Millenium Falcon. Chewbacca growled as well and Han could tell that he had been the one to go looking for her. His brown fur was mottled with black ink-like fluid that was clearly fuel.

“Let’s get out of here, buddy.” Han said. “Sooner we drop the girl off the sooner we can handle this shavit with Jabba.”

Chewbacca’s growl indicated that he couldn’t agree more.

 

Oh that's just

 

This is very interesting and a nice breath of fresh air.

 

OOC: Thanks guys! I'm on a bit of a roll today since I have off so I might be updating all day. Who knows?

Chapter 4​

​

The showers aboard the Home One were considered to be one of the few places where Red Squadron could unwind. Since every pilot of the Red Squadron were required to use those showers everyone had learned certain things about their companions. For one thing Biggs always trimmed his beard. Wes always trimmed the downstairs. Luke was incapable of growing any facial hair whatsoever and Korto always cried when he took showers since scrubbing his face was considered painful. He had never quite recovered from the tattoo that had been burned onto his face as a child. “Knock it off, Wes! I don’t need to see your *******.” Hobbie commented sourly.


Luke grinned as he pulled on his orange flightsuit. Relations amongst the Red Squadron were still tense but they were getting along better. Biggs Darklighter was a capable leader and his charisma made everyone feel as if their voices were heard. His XO Tycho Celchu brought the professionalism and responsibility that helped checked Biggs whenever he forgot something important. If it weren’t for their leaders the squadron would fall apart. Yet Biggs was currently too busy trimming his mustache to protect the new recruits from hazing. Tycho always made it a point to get out of the showers as quickly as possible too. “C’mon guys.” Luke said, ever the mediator. “Let’s just get out of here. And to be honest you should shave your ass, Janson. It’s a bit hairy.”

Laugher spread through the steamy room and Wes chuckled too. “My lady likes it hairy.”

“What lady?” Korto responded and Luke smiled. No fights today. No arguments. Everything was going pretty well so far.

Eventually they all found themselves in the debriefing room. Biggs and Tycho stood at the helm and as Luke sat down he noted a few new faces. “First of all, I’d like to welcome the newbies to Red Squadron. I’m Biggs Darklighte; leader of Rogue Squadron. My callsign is Stache. I’m sure you can guess why.” He stroked the tuft of hair on his upper lip and many of the pilots grinned. “This is my XO; Tycho Celchu. If you need any assistance with mission protocol, paper work or any of the boring stuff you go to him. If you want to grab a drink or lose a game of Sabaac you come to me.”

“Welcome to Red Squadron, we’ve got the highest mortality rate in the Republic Military!” Wes interjected. Hobbie laughed at that joke though he was the only one who did. Luke idly reflected that Hobbie had a better reason to believe that than anyone else.

“For those who are already members of the Squadron I’d like to introduce you to our new pilots. First we have Corran Horn. He’s a native of Corellia and his grandfather was a famous Jedi Master. Glad to have you aboard.” Corran stood. He had short reddish-brown hair and was roughly Luke’s age. From the looks of it he didn’t seem entirely happy to be here. Luke had a feeling that he had been drafted.

“Nice to see a native.” Wedge said as he offered a half-hearted salute to Corran. The younger man returned it.

“We also have Dack Ralter. He’s from a planet I’ve never heard of but he’s a damned good pilot.” Dack also stood. He was clearly younger than everyone in the room. He also sported the eagerness and enthusiasm of one who had never flown in a cockpit before.

“Shira Brie.” Biggs said as he scanned the datapad. “Corsucant…and Cinda Tarheel. Socorro.”

Biggs hurriedly rushed through the last two names on the list and Luke could see why. They were both gorgeous women. Shira sported shoulder length red hair and was extremely pretty. She had an innocent aura to her. Cinda seemed to be the opposite. Her long black hair swept past her shoulders and there was something definitely alluring about her. When Cinda caught Luke’s gaze she winked and Luke hurriedly turned his attention back to Biggs as he felt his cheeks tinge red.

“Alright. This next mission should be a milk run.”

“Thank the Force.” Hobbie muttered.

“I’m sure that many of you are aware of Leia Skywalker; our very own Luke’s sister. She’s aboard the Tantive IV and is currently in need of pick up. Basically we’re escorting her ship back to Alderaan. As I said; milk run. Once we get to Alderaan we’re rendezvousing back to the general fleet. We’re getting some new intel on a secret weapon the Sith Empire is creating for the war and we need to formulate a strategy on how to deal with it.” Biggs paused. “If there aren’t any questions I’ll hand the helm over to Tycho to go over the specifics of the mission.”

=== ​

3 days later.

“I mean, no offense Luke but your sis is hot and all but when are we gonna get a chance to escort Wynessa Starflare around? I mean owee, she’s one-”

“I really wish I hadn’t told you about that.” Wedge said with a sigh. “Also just ‘cuz we’re in the same squadron doesn’t mean I’m not afraid to remove you of a wing or two, Janson.”

“Hey as long as I get to keep my laser cannon I’m all good.”

“Alright, can the chatter. We’re coming out of hyperspace in 3….2….1.”

The squadron of X-Wings materialized into real space and almost immediately were met with an image of a ship floating in the orbit of Tantooine. Luke saw the Tantive IV floating in the orbit of Tantooine. At first he thought everything was going to plan. And then he reached through The Force and didn’t feel his sister’s presence. Instead he felt a cry for help that had long since faded. Luke winced in pain and as he did Biggs came to the conclusion he did. “I’m picking up a distress signal.” Biggs said, worry clear in his voice. “I think this ship has been ambushed.” Luke frowned as he nosed his X-Wing forward and got a closer look at the freighter. As he did he saw blaster burn marks all over the ship. It was too damaged to fly and the only thing keeping it in its current position was the gravitational pull of Tantooine.

“Red 2…what mission were Leia and her crew on?” Luke questioned.


“It…it was classified.” Tycho sounded stunned.

“Big surprise there.” Hobbie muttered.

“Alright. Farmboy, Stripes, Corsec and Gunner. Board that ship. Figure out what’s going on.” Biggs said immediately. “I’ll let Iblis know what’s going on.”


“Copy.” Luke said and heard his fellow wingmen echo their confirmation of the order. Stripes was Korto. His nickname had simply derived from the brand of his Kiffu heritage. Corsec was Corran. Corran had repeatedly claimed that he had been planning to join Corellian Security before joining the warfront. This complaint had been voiced until Wes had said “Can it CorSec”. Finally Gunner was Wes. That was both a comment on his skills as a gunner and his imagined skills as a lover. Luke felt confident with them by his side. Corran was force-sensitive and though he was no Jedi he was a skilled pilot and handy with weapons. Korto was his closest friend and you always wanted Wes Janson by your side during a gunfight.

A short time later the pilots had docked. Luke led the four person group with a blaster in his hand. He stopped at the gaping opening where the blast door should have been. “Someone’s already been here.” Corran commented as he stepped towards the door. Luke glanced around the hangar bay and saw skid marks on the ground. From the looks of it some Tie-Raiders had already landed here and taken the ship. He frowned. If he wasn’t wearing his pressurized suit he would have rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. Yet he couldn’t. So instead he inhaled slowly and exhaled, calling on a Force technique to calm himself. If Leia was dead he would have felt it in The Force.

“Ya think, CorSec?” Janson questioned. The pilot held the slightest hint of frustration in his tone. Luke understood why. Leia was a vital member of the Republic and if she was gone then things were worse off than they could hope. Luke glanced over his shoulder and saw that Janson was at the back of the group. He too wore his bulky orange pressurized suit. Yet instead of holding a simple hand blaster he held a bulky rifle in his hands. Luke sighed and shook his head. Leave it to Janson to compensate. “You’ll be thankful when I’m covering your ass, Farmboy.” Janson replied. “Let’s get this over with. This place is giving me the creeps.”

“Copy that.” Korto said. He held his blaster in one hand and his lightsaber in the other. The four of them began to steadily creepy down the hall of Tantive IV. As they continued they passed deceased bodies of stormtroopers and Republic troopers alike.

“Alright.” Luke finally said as they came to a division in the hallway. One would lead to the cargo hold and computer rooms. The other would lead to the cockpit and gunnery rooms. “Janson and Corran you two head to gunnery and cockpit. See if you can get into the ship logs and find out what happened. Korto, with me. We can see if there were any recent escape pod ejections or anything of the sort.”


They split up into twos and while investigating the ship was nerve-wracking nothing significant happened. Until they both got to their respective destinations. As Luke stood guard Korto investigated the escape pod hold of the ship. He finally came to the last one and called out to Luke. Luke hurried over and heard news that could be interpreted as either good or bad. “It looks like some survivors jettisoned to Tatooine…but it wasn’t your sister Luke; it was two droids.”

Luke sighed. “It looks like it’s our only lead.” He said. His microphone transmitted the message to Janson and Corran too.

“Not our only one.” Corran said grimly over the line. “We found Captain Antilles…he’s dead…and I think I know who was responsible for this.”

“Who?” Luke and Korto questioned both at once.

“You’re not gonna like the sound of this.” Janson said.

“Stop karking around and tell us!” Korto snapped.

“Ysanne Isard.”

​

 

LOL on the nicknames on the presence of Isard.