CCC #37 - Voting Thread

On a distant, forgotten planet, in the middle of one of its largest forest, Si'id practiced the long, flowing motions of his ancient martial art form. His martial art was unnamed and virtually unheard of. But that's exactly how the practitioners of the art liked it. It was based on a philosophy of aggressive pacifism. Many who've tried to study have failed to fully understand this art and only the few who have understood it can truly call themselves Masters. The unique thing about this particular martial art was the fact that one needed to have a sensitive connection to the Force. Every movement of the art was designed to make full use of the Force. Si'id was deeply immersed in the Force, exploring his connection with the life giving energy. Which is why he could easily sense the presence trying to sneak up on him.

Si'id spun around even before the Sith's lightsaber had fully ignited and grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing the young acolyte to fall to his knees, while Si'id held him in a wrist lock. His lightsaber hit the ground and

"You were foolish to come here boy. And suicidal to think that it was a good idea to attack me." Si'id stated calmly.

"You should have accepted my Master's offer and joined us." The young human hissed. The Sith pureblood who held him in such a compromising position snorted in derision.

"Unlike you, I have no Master. I choose to further my own goals rather than the goals of some other mortal." Si'id replied in a condescending tone. The young acolyte moved suddenly, sweeping Si'id off of his feet and reaching for his lightsaber through the Force. The weapon leapt into his hands and he charged forward.

Si'id had used his momentum to twist in the air and put his hands on the ground and used it as a spring to flip off of the ground into a back flip, putting some distance between him and the young wannabe sith. But the real danger was the boy's Master who was attempting to attack from behind. His cowardly attempt to kill Si'id quickly was fruitless. Si'id thrust his arms out and used the force to guide the blade away from his neck and into that of his apprentice's shoulder. Si'id then reached out and grabbed the acolyte's lightsaber with the Force. Then he smirked.

"I'm not going to kill the two of you because of your attempt on my life. No, the reason you must die is because of the shame you bring to the name Sith." Si'id said. He spit on the ground in disgust. "Pathetic." He added, staring the Sith Lord in the eye.

"Silence!" The Sith Lord shrieked. He thrust his arm out and lightening leaped from his fingertips and darted out towards Si'id. Si'id laughed and stuck the lightsaber out and let it conduct the electricity through it, down the hilt and then through his body. He then stuck his hand out and sent the lightening back to its sender.

The acolyte forced himself to his feet as he watch his Master get electrocuted by his own attack. He launched himself at Si'id, who was ready for the attack. He parried punch after punch. Saw through every feint and dodged every kick with ease. He couldn't help but to laugh.

"When faced with the realization that your Master is pitifully weak, you lash out. The Sith teach you that passion is power. The Jedi teach passion is weakness. I teach that passion is nothing. Everything is nothing. And soon you and all of existence will know nothing." Si'id raved. He struck out and punched the acolyte in the chest. With the Force mixed in, the acolyte flew backwards fifty feet. Si'id walked over to the Sith Lord, who was still trying to shake off the effects of thousands of volts of electricity running through his body.

"What is your name?" Si'id asked.

"L-Lord Rha's." The Sith Lord sputtered.

"And that of your apprentice?" Si'id requested.

"Miguel." Rha's revealed. Si'id paused. "Miguel? That's a hell of a name. But nonetheless, the two of you will be sacrificed to the void."

Si'id raised the lightsaber and stabbed it into the vulnerable Dark Lord viciously and reached towards the heavens and summoned lighting. The air crackled with the immense amount of energy and pure Force being made to materialize. The lightning crashed into the hilt of the lighsaber that was imbedded in the Sith Lord.

Si'id walked away from the smoldering corpse smiling maniacally. The Void was rising. He'd warned these so called Sith to leave him be, but they couldn't wrap their mind around the thought that someone could be more dangerous than them. Or that there existed a power they couldn't control. Two days ago they'd tracked him down to this forsaken planet and delivered an ultimatum. "Join them or die." Si'id had chosen a third, and unthought of option by them. He chose to simply kill them should they continue to press the matter.

The Void would rise. And it would consume everything, and leave nothing.

The Forest Moon of Endor burned brightly in the dark void of space. Despite all odds a ragtag group of lawless rebels had bent the Empire to its knees. Calrissian freighters peppered the orbit, battering the Empire’s finest Star Destroyers as multiple strike teams had prepared to board the Death Star. Within minutes the newly reconstructed jewel of the Empire had began to slowly rot from the core.

Dozens of Star Systems away, the Empire’s remaining leadership was assembled aboard the Detriment to divvy up all Imperial resources that would survive the costly rebellion. Several Industrialists, Grand Moffs, High Commanders, and Dark Jedi had abandoned their stations to meet. It was no surprise that the Inquisitorius had appeared in full force; most inquisitors were opportunistic by nature, some were sadistic, and others were both. In all cases the Dark Jedi that ran the Intelligence division had longed for Vader’s death, so that they could claim his spot in the ensuing power vacuum.

As reports battle grew dimmer with each passing moment, Grand Moff Wicken preemptively called all reinforcements to regroup at the Detriment’s location, stranding the Emperor’s fleet.

“Grand Moff Wicken to Inquisitor Raahb…I repeat…Grand Moff Wicken to Inquisitor Raahb--”

“Should we answer him?” Asked the Pilot.

“Not yet, Grey, that sound of panic in his voice brings a melody to my ears. Such serenades remind me of what is to come.” The Inquisitor replied. He sighed after hearing the Moff call out his name a few more times. “Don’t be boring”

“Inquistor Raahb? I-inquisitor where are you?”

“Where you cowards should be, putting an end to this war.”

“Sir, you must retreat to the Detriment before it’s too late.”

Pzwww! Pzwww! Phi-Phewww!!

Raahb’s customized TIE Interceptor barrel rolled before returning fire on two Rebel starfighters.

Fwok! Fwok!

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that last part, it sounded as if your were foolish enough to order a Sith.” Before Wicken could reply Raahb interrupted him. “I don’t recognize your authority nor do I answer to any of the other traitors aboard you hidey hole. If you speak to me again--either as your subordinate or your equal--I will peel you like a grape and boil your flesh into a fine wine to go along with my supper. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-yes?”

“Good. Now ask my permission to end communication.”

“P-p-permis-sion to end com-munitcations.”

“Granted.”

**

Endor’s Orbit

ZiuZiuZiuZiu!!! Fwok! Fwok! Hiieurrh!

The dogfighting had become hectic around the Death Star, so much so that the Inquistor and his faithful companion Shen Lup had manned the turrets.

“We’re outnumbered!” The female bounty hunter shouted.

“Nonsense Shen! This is a picnic compared to my flights with the 501^st. Besides, we’re almost in,” said Grey.

CRACKOOM!!!

“Left flank! Bomber!”

“Yeah yeah,” the old clone replied before jetting overhead into an inverted angle in front of the bomber. He fired two missiles but both were blocked by a blue force field. “He’s shielded!”

“Then he’s mine.” Inquisitor placed a hand on the glass in front of his turret and located a shatterpoint in the bomber’s canopy. With a small push the canopy shattered, sucking the crew into a space vacuum. Both the Bounty Hunter and the Clone’s eyes widened as they passed several teenage rebels choking inside the prism of blue energy. “Let’s move.”

**

Death Star; Loading Bay 032

Shen Lup looked down at the chaos ensuing beneath her. Nearly half of the Planet slaying was scrapped away as rebels and imperials alike were fighting only for the mutual desire of escaping with their lives.

“They’re retreating.”

“Even rats are smart enough to desert a sinking ship. I sense that the Emperor and Lord Vader are no longer with us.”

Grey furrowed his brow. “Then our efforts have been in vain?”

“Not at all,” Raahb said, clicking his serpentine tongue. “I never came here for them; in fact, their deaths have only advanced our timetable. Proceed.”

“Understood.”

The interceptor landed into an open firefight. Instinctively both sides began to use the ships as cover whilst they Inquisitor’s party armed themselves inside the space craft.

As the sound of the landing hatch began to open two rebels left the bigger group to procure the interceptor. Once they reached the top of the access ramps the bodies trembled and froze with fear. The Inquisitor stomped between each of the frozen rebels and whispered one word. “Kneel.” Their bodies obeyed the order without question, despite their own minds’ demanding the opposite. Raahb snapped his fingers as a Clone Trooper and a female Shistavenan stepped out of the darkness. Each pulled out a side arm and put a hole between both rebels eyes.

Raahb deflected the oncoming bolts with his hands than channeled the force through his palms. His colleagues instantly moved into cover guarding their ears and eyes as the Inquisitor’s palms started to vibrate. The 14 remaining rebels in the loading bay began to see white rings appear around the Inquisitor’s hands as everything surrounding the rings started to blur. Within moments their organs writhed in agony as each began to go death, blind, bleed from open orifices, vomit, or lose control of their bowels. The Imperial officers advanced at Raahb’s cue, picking off the wounded rebels.

“You saved our lives!” The troop commander exclaimed with glee. “M’lord when I make it home, my children—no—my children’s’ children will know of your valor.”

“Perhaps…” the Inquisitor responded dismissively, walking further down the bay. As the Imperial transport lifted off Shen Lup clicked a thermite grenade and lobbed it between the twin engines.

BOOM!!!

The ignition ripped the spacecraft out of the air as the transport crashed on the dock; large debris from the explosion was swatted away from the Inquisitor and his companions. “Then again…perhaps not.”

**

Northern Command Center

The Inquisitor's party swiftly trod through the upper levels, in search of the Death Star's last remaining control panel. Troopers and Rebel scum where slaughtered indiscriminately by Raahb's companions, even unarmed passengers who had the misfortune of being trapped on the upper levels felt the charge of Shen Lup's bowcaster.

Threats became more hostile as the Inquisitor drew closer to the room, but Grey had outshot the remaining turrets the stood in their path. They approached a final obstacle in their pass, a large durasteel door that was meant to stop a rebel army, but not one of the Emperor's sworn servants.

The Dark Jedi traced his fingers over the door, scanning for shatterpoints to no avail. "Visors on." the Inquisitor ordered, reaching at his lightsaber. Like most other elements in his possession Raahb's lightsaber was both ornate and unique, the curved hilt was crafted out of precious minerals found only at his homeworld of Panatha,. The hilt had a sleeker ergonomic design, compared to the clunkier common hilts. It also had dual spiraling hanguards arranged in a scale pattern above the thumb and below the other fingers. The blade emitter shroud was coated in a phototoxin which manifested poisonous smoke whenever the light of the blade was drawn. However, the most unique detail of the lightsaber was it's color. Because Raahb's lightsaber utilized three crystals the abundance of compressed light formed bright green cracks within a smoky purple blade.

The center of the Durasteel barrier quickly turned into orange shrapnel as Shen Lup and Grey booted both sides simultaneously. The frantic officers typed out S.O.S.s to the deaf ears that were likely swarming to the Detriment in that moment. Both shooters gunned down the crew without hesitation as a fallen agent clenched one of the Inquisitor's foot.

"Please!" We both serve the Empire."

The Epicanthix smirked beneath his mask. "The Empire is dead--now join it!" With a stomp of his boot heel he crushed the officer's neck.

Raahb and Grey sliced into the terminals whilst Shen Lup kept guard. Together they reprogrammed all functioning auto-turrets to target escape pods and Imperial fighters. Afterwords, the Inquisitor opened the communications relay and typed in a ciphered message to the Detriment:

<All hope is lost, proceeding with phase 2>

a reply came back aboard the Detriment:

<Excellent. A new Order shall rise...>

The Inquisitor cracked his knuckles before concluding the transmission:

<...The First of its kind.>

**

Before exiting the control room Raahb pulled Grey aside and whispered in his ear.

"Affirmative!" The clone sprinted down the corridors past Shen Lup.

The Bounty Hunter looked back at the Inquisitor bewilderment. "Where's Grey going?"

"He's securing our way out. Follow me."

**

The Emperor's Tower; Top Floor of the Death Star

"We've been through a lot, you and I." Shen Lup pointed out.

"Your point?" Raahb asked.

The wolf girl bent her head sheepishly. "In that time we spent fighting the war, I've always felt that I've known you better every day, except for this one."

"Then maybe you never knew me at all." He jested before an awkward look of sadness peered through her tough exterior. For a moment she was hurt. "Relax Shen, that was meant to be a joke."

She smiled before pondering some more. "When the war what will you do?"

"The war never ends."

"But your side has lost, your masters are dead"

"They were never my masters!" He growled. "...and the war is far from over."

The Shistavanen was still unclear of what he meant by the former, but was reassured by the latter. "Good, I don't want the fighting to stop, peace doesn't suit me."

"Good, there's no other ally I'd prefer by my side."

The Bounty Hunter almost blushed before putting the her helmet. "We've arrived."

They halted at the open doorway of the Emperor's throne room as three of the Emperor's Royal guard waited with their weapons drawn. Two wore red armor, as was common for the royal guard but their leader wore black making him one of the Emperor's shadows. Raahb could handle both royal guards with moderate difficulty, but the ringleader would require much more strategy. Shadows were known as legendary force hunters, who's combat prowess was only matched by high level inquisitors and surpassed only by Darth Vader. The Inquisitor walked over the center with the guards as the Bounty Hunter stayed in medium range. "Why do you remain bound to this emblem of incompetence?"

The Shadow spoke freely as her party remained silent. "The Emperor foresaw the Inquisitorius's betrayal. It cannot be lost to the unworthy."

"It is meant to be free! Release my master--now!"

The shadow activated her lightsaber pike.

Bizzzzzzeeewww

The Inquisitor sighed beneath his mask. "So be it."

Bizzzzzzeeewww

**

Life Support Sector

Phew!! Phe-Phe-Phe!

The new orders programed into the auto turrets had pushed both sides to their breaking point. Seeing their fleeing comrades destroyed and a dwindling supply of escape pods being picked apart had forced the brunt of the forces into the life support stations. In a desperate attempt to keep the starcraft running crews rotated blocked off corridors and sent patrols up the the control room to disable the turrets. Amidst the confusion, Grey infiltrated the Stormtroopers' ranks after a fire fight with rebels. He quickly circled around the corridors mumbling the phrase that the Inquisitor had drilled into his mind.

"Light the fire, destroy the Death Star; light the fire, destroy the Death Star."

He dropped his rifle and entered the Life Support Station. Suddenly an engineer noticed his random mumbling. "Hey buddy, you alright?" As the engineer moved in closer the chanting got louder.

"Light the fire, destroy the Death Star! LIGHT THE FIRE DESTROY THE DEATH STAR!!"

He looked closer and saw a flashing red light glimmer through each crack in his armor. "He's gonna blow!" The engineers swarmed the Clone Trooper and wrestled him for the detonator. Before they could pry his hand loose Grey's middle and ring fingers squeezed the trigger.

KABOOM!!!

**

A maelstrom of lightning, rockets, fire, lasers and poisonous gas had ripped apart the Emperor's Throne Room. Tremors from the explosion beneath sent all five of the warriors off balance. Both Royal guards were now dead. The first guard's heart had stopped after the Inquisitor's force lightning had ricocheted off the Shadow's well timed reflection, and the second guard had choked to death after a rocket had cracked his respirator. Shen Lup was knocked down after being slammed by the first guard's force push and had lost arm when the Shadow had hurled her lightsaber lance at her. The Shadow's leg was badly burnt from the Bounty Hunter's flamethrower and a a well timed strike from the Inquisitor's lightsaber had scared her left eye. All of the muscle tendons in Raahb's off hand had been severed paralyzing his entire arm by the second royal guard, as the Shadow's lightpike had grazed his ribs when she drew her weapon back.

The Shadow and the Inquisitor rose to their feet to resume the bout, both fighters adjusting their stances to compensate for failing limbs. The Shadow swung with a broad sweeping strike and the Inquisitor acrobatically flipped over the strike to parry with his own wild blow. She blocked with the elongated grip of her pike then follow by spin kicking him on his scarred ribs before rolling back to create distance. Support beams fell down as the structure of the Death Star began to move.

"Your Death Star is dead! Your Emperor is dead! Your Empire is dead! Do you not see how meaningless this quarrel is?"

"I swore an oath to my master, to devote my life to the Empire, this quarrel is all the meaning I have left."

"And yet here you stand, in the way of fulfilling my promise to free my master."

"Not by choice comrade, by duty." The Shadow snickered. "You have far more integrity than the inquisitors I have slain in the past. It is a blessing to share my last fight with such a warrior."

"If you weren't trying to kill me, I'd almost take that as a compliment."

Bizzzzzzeeewww

Her lightsaber pike released a second blade, now forming a dual bladed lightsaber. "I will grant you an honorable death."

"You'll have to earn it!" Raahb declared.

The two dark jedi were evenly matched, her speed clashing his strength, his precision matching her raw instinct. Following nearly a dozen swings, dodges, parries, and grazes the Shadow had taken the upper hand by channeling lightning through her weapon and force choking the wounded Inquisitor. As she began squeezing the life out of his throat she raised her blade with her free arm and slowly positioned it towards the center of his chest. He focused his mind on his Shistavanen companion waking her from her unconsciousness.

Phew! Phew!

Two bolts pierced the Shadow's shoulder and mask as she released the Inquisitor to spear her lightsaber through the Bounty Hunter's neck. In a single clean motion the falling Inquisitor pulled his lightsaber out of the rubble, spun on his landing, and lopped the Shadow's head off with a one handed swing.

Before the Shadow's body had collapsed to the ground, Raahb had force sprinted into his companion, attempting to heal the wound he had caused. Looking down he saw that she had already lost too much blood from both wounds. He could he the Wolfgirl mutter something through her bloody coughs.

"I lu-uu yu." Shen Lup cried before the light faded from her wet eyes.

"I know." Raahb said. He kissed her once on the forhead before locking away his face back behind his ornate mask.

**

Raahb had limped through the collapsing room toward his master's prison. He placed a hand over Palpatine's old throne to dispel the last shatterpoint standing between him and his objective. The chair shattered as a thunderous cloud of smoke rose.

The inquisitor knelt accordingly. "Master."

The Filar-Nitzan devoured the force energy of all three Royal Guards. For the past decade he had been imprisoned by Emperor Palpatine and used as a raw supply of force energy. Raahb's true master had existed in long before there was a Republic or even a dark side for that matter. He was one of the first force users, an ancient Sith that was a literal disturbance in the force, known only in the innermost private circles of Sith as the Elder.

"You have done well, my apprentice. Soon all will know of our work to come."

The Death Star rumbled loudly, explosions on the lower levels of the ship were rising.

"It's too late for me Master. The only way that I could maximize the damage to Palpatine's loyalists was to seal them in this dying ship, even if that meant I would die with it."

"You have not outlived your usefulness. Focus you mind child."

The rumbling vibrations grew stronger.

"I don't understand!"

"OBEY!!!"

Raahb exhaled, letting the smoke enveloped his lungs as the chain of explosions obliterated the Death Star.

**

On Endor

Outside of the celebration, Luke leaned on a tree post as he gazed into the remains of the Death Star, feeling a sense of unease. "Luke! Luke! There you are. Lando and Crix want to discuss--" She shifted her eyes to his crosshairs, "Oh."

"It's hard to believe it's finally gone. I kept expecting to feel this great weight to be lifted off us all but it feels like everything has gotten heavier."

"That weight you're describing has a name y'know, it's called leadership." Leia enunciated. "You just happened to overthrow the most powerful dictator in the cosmos and you expected things to go back to normal?"

Luke grinned. "Okay, maybe not normal, but I didn't think I would become the authority on everything the alliance considers right or wrong." His face shifted sternly "What if I make the wrong judgment, or worse, what if I end up abusing my role?"

"That won't happen."

"How can you be so sure? What's to stop us from eventually becoming the same people we've just fought?"

"Luke, where is this coming from?"

"There was a moment in my fight with Anakin, when I felt pleasure from hurting him, the same way he had hurt me. It took everything in me not to kill him when the Emperor commanded me to. I still wonder, that if that darkness could exist in me--even for a moment, how could I ever trust myself to wield power that again."

"Because you aren't him Luke. You were strong enough to resist because you are a stronger person and if you ever falter I've got more than enough strength for the both of us."

"Thank you, Leia."

"Well what else is family for?" She smirked then tapped him on the shoulder. "C'mon this war isn't going to end itself."

Luke looked back at the Death Star a final time. "I couldn't agree more."

7,000 Miles Away

Nearly a dozen Ewoks surrounded the young Epicanthix, in curiosity. The saw the man fall from the stars yet there was barely a scratch on him. As one of the Ewoks poked him with a sharp stick to see if he was still alive, his mouth sprung open realeasing a thunderous smoke that engulfed the small creatures. Inquisitor Raahb awoke in a the forest with smoke seeping from his flesh between a circle of furry corpses. "How am I alive?"

"We survive the Empire's fall. We will rise as one."

"That explains it then." Raahb pulled his body up and observed the electric smoke around his limbs. "I feel much stronger Master."

"Splendid. You'll need it where we are going."

"And just where might that be?"

"Jakku...that is where we shall meet our new allies." The Elder prophecized.

Raahb nodded. "As you command master." The Inquisitor propelled himself into the air with smoke, turning invisible as he jetted to the nearest space port.

Fin.

Yavin 4

“Where’s my damn medal?” hissed Mattax Covell into the ear of his friend Lonus Vintek as the Wookie on the podium roared. The assembled members of the Rebel Alliance burst into applause, all except Mattax who folded his arms in defiance.

“What is your problem?” asked Lonus “He blew up the Death Star!”

Mattax huffed “Only because Green Squadron ran cover for Blue Squadron who attacked the super lasers. We had to distract the majority of the TIE fighters while mop top did the trench run.”

“Well done Green Two,” Lonus patted him on the shoulder. “Your service is noted.”

“And why does that scruffy looking pirate get a medal? Who the heck is he anyway?” Mattax asked as the people on stage started to disperse.

“Han Sulu I think,” replied Lonus as he turned to his friend. “You didn’t get a medal, big deal. We just knocked the Empire for a loop.”

“No, not we,” seethed Mattax pointing at the two men on stage fawning over Princess Leia. “Just them. I should march over there and give them a piece of my mind.”

Lonus shrugged and smiled “Can you afford to lose a piece?”

Mattax grunted and started towards the stage when Nichos Panib, Green Four, stopped him. The portly man smiled broadly and hugged his squad mate. “You were amazing up there.”

“At least someone noticed,” replied Mattax directing his reply mainly to Lonus who heard the snide comment but was busy chatting to a buxom communications cadet.

“Come let us have a drink,” said Nichos “We have won a battle, the war isn’t over yet.”

**

Three years later, Hoth

“The first transport is away!”

Mattax Covell sat in cockpit of the second transport readying for takeoff as the news of Lonus’ exodus from the ball of ice was successful. The Empire had somehow found the base; Mattax assumed it was because Luke Skywalker, who now was being called Commander for some reason, got lost in the snow yesterday. He flipped some switches and waited for turbolaser to fire off another round of covering fire. A barrage of blue heat shot up into the upper atmosphere so Mattax launched the transport after it with two X-Wings as support. The bulbous crate shook like a chuckling Hutt. Out the port window he caught a glimpse of the Imperial Forces marshalling on the snow fields below.

The turbolaser vomited up a volley into the sky and he followed it. “May the Force be with us,” he prayed as he saw six AT-AT’s lumbered towards Echo Base.

**

A year later, Endor

“All groups assume attack coordinates,” said Admiral Ackbar over the comms. Mattax flipped the switches on his X-Wing as he fell into formation with the rest of Green Wing. Lando Calrissian was leading the assault on the new Death Star. How that gambler and data pad pusher got put in charge was beyond Mattax’s comprehension. Luckily Wedge Antilles was up here in charge of Red Wing.

“All craft. Prepare to jump into hyperspace on my mark.” Ackbar said as the star lines blurred.

Mattax looked out the cockpit window at the looming grey skeletal ball the ominously hung above the forest moon of Endor. They had the element of surprise. He went to radio the other members of Green Wing when he noticed a strange frequency.

“They’re jamming us!” He said to himself. “How can they be jamming us?”

“Break off the attack!” ordered Calrissian from the Millennium Falcon. “The shield is still up!”

“I get no reading,” Wedge responded. “Are you sure?”

“PULL UP! ALL CRAFT PULL UP!”

“IT’S A TRAP!” shouted Ackbar. Mattax put his X-Wing into a spin as a wave of TIE fighters spurt forth. It was chaos as green laser fire lit up the black sky while in the distance an armada of Star Destroyers loomed.

“Accelerate to attack speed. Draw their fire away from the cruisers.” Calrissian ordered.

“Copy Gold leader!” replied Wedge. Mattax shook his head.

“This is what happens when you put a bureaucrat in charge of a dog fight,” Mattax spun his X-Wing in behind Wedge before being chased down by three TIE fighters. The battle was intense. Split second decisions, near misses and daring turns as the attack squad of the Rebellion took on the massive odds. Suddenly a green beam shot out from the Death Star and exploded a hospital ship.

“IT’S OPERATIONAL?!” cried Calrissian. Mattax held the controls battling the waves of force as his X-Wing was rocked by the turbulence from the explosion. He spun his ship with the wave and quickly righted it.

“We need to attack!” he yelled into his radio but wasn’t heard as the explosion had shredded his astromech and taken out his communications. “Fire, spin, stay alive.”

**

Mattax looked up at the sky as it erupted in fireworks as the little teddy bear creatures broke into a party. He wanted to join in with the catchy jaunty tune but the sight of watching them play drums with the heads of stormtroopers was a little off-putting. Besides he was looking for Lonus.

“Good flying,” said Wedge tapping Mattax on the shoulder.

“Thank you,” Mattax said. “Have you seen Lonus Vitek? Green Five.”

Wedge shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

Mattax clenched his teeth and his fists. He stormed off down the rickety wooden bridges that connected the treetop huts. As he got halfway a figure in black approached him.

“Luke Skywalker,” sneered Mattax.

“Do I know you?” Luke replied a little confused.

“Mattax Covell, Green Two.”

Luke nodded and went to step past when Mattax put a firm hand on his chest. “That’s it. A nod.”

Luke grabbed Mattax’s wrist and looked deep into his eyes. “You’re not the only one who lost someone today. I just put my father on a funeral pyre.”

Mattax was stunned and slowly removed his hand. “I’m sorry.”

Luke nodded before silently walking off leaving Mattax alone on the bridge.

The End

Kurt Drive Yards Construction Site, Dantooine, 1ABY

The thickset, green skinned Gamorrean grunted, as he pushed the cart of vibro-couplers up the ramp, to where the nearest labour droid was working. Beeping in recognition the droid looked at the new arrival, before going back to its welding, and while such behaviour was normal, something about it seemed different this time. Thinking nothing about it ‘Porky’, as the other labourers called him, offloaded the couplers, and withdrew the cart, before heading back down towards the ramp. Seconds later the droid turned, and ran at him, the welder still active, the tip spitting white hot sparks. Adrenaline taking over, Porky grappled with the droid, and flattened it to the floor, the white hot welder biting at his chest before it was shutting down, the robots head ripped off its shoulders.

Uttering a slow grunt, Porky got to his feet and looked down at his attacker, before loading the droid on the cart. Waddling back to the foreman’s office, Porky looked over the droid, and while droid maintenance was far beyond him, he knew enough to realise that the restraining bolt was missing. Parking the cart, and once again picking up the droid, Porky walked into the shack, where the Geonosian Forman was standing, flanked by a pair of Imperial storm-troopers, their weapons constantly un-holstered, their owners nervously looking him up and down. Buzzing slightly the Foreman pointed at the labour droids corpse, and then at a wanted poster hanging on the wall of a Jawa, its middle fingers raised at the photographer.

Grunting Porky slammed his fist into his open palm, before getting an affirming buzz from the Foreman. Nervously the pair of storm-troopers looked at each other, before one tapped a node on his helmet. Porky had no idea what he was doing, and didn't much care either, his task was clear, find the Jawa sabotaging the project, and make sure he paid for the damages he had caused. While his knowledge on Jawas, including the one on the poster, was limited, Porky knew enough to arm himself with a long handled hydro-spanner, and to hang around the waste cable disposal area. Jawas after all are known to do almost anything to get their hands on scrap metal, at least that’s what the vids from Tatooine showed. Fortunately Porky didn't have long to wait, as his quarry, Buzz the Jawa, according to the information on the poster, came scuttling out of a discarded permacrete storage cylinder, his tiny hands rubbing together.

Edging further and further away from his bolt hole Buzz was oblivious to Porky lying in ambush, despite the Gamorreans strong smell. Wrapping his hands around a big loop of wire, Buzz cackled mischievously as he scuttled back to his hidey-hole, only to find his path blocked. Grunting in amusement, Porky swung the hydro-spanner at Buzz, the tiny alien leaping backwards to avoid the blow. With a squeak, he offered up the ball of wire to Porky, who somewhat hesitantly took it, before the Jawa ran back into his bunker. Turning the ball of wire over in his hands, Porky let out a squeal, as a hidden flash bang grenade exploded in his hands. Snorting in rage, Porky leapt at the hole and plunged his hand in, as Buzz emerged from a manhole behind his pursuer, a stun blaster in his hand. Of course the first thing Porky knew about all this, was when a stun bolt bit into his rear.

With a roar, Porky swung round, and slammed his hydrospanner down at the manhole, just as his target ducked back down, the heavy duty tool hitting the manhole cover with a loud clang. Shaking his fist Porky was so engrossed in his task, that he missed the pair of Imperial Gunships dropping down onto the construction site, their cargo of elite storm troopers opening fire on the awestruck construction workers below. All that Porky was worried about however, was Buzz’s reappearance on top of a pile of thermal tiles, the stun blaster still clutched in his little hand. Angrily Porky walked over and grabbed the Jawa, only to receive a stun blast up close and to the face, the sudden assault causing Porky to drop his little captive, who scuttled away to the next pile of tiles. He reached the pile just as a thermal tile came flying towards him, and ducked just in time for the projectile to whizz past and knock-out the storm-trooper creeping up behind him. Cackling in glee, Buzz opened fire on Porky again, the stun bolt going wide as the Gamorrean sidestepped the beam, just as a second tile came flying back at him, the heatproof piece of metal slamming into a second storm-trooper, who had come to investigate what had happened to the first.

Jumping off the pile of tiles, Buzz landed lightly onto a cart loaded with vibro-couplers, and jabbed a small finger at the ignition button, as Porky came charging in, the massive Gamorrean reaching the cart just as the engine started up. Holding on for dear life, Porky winced in pain as Buzz picked up one of the couplers and slammed it into his head, before repeating the process over and over again, as the cart dashed across the site, slamming into a platoon of storm-troopers and knocking them aside like ninepins. It was at this moment, that the invading Imperial forces took notice of the two aliens locked in epic combat, with blaster bolts flying all over the place, all of which missed, once again confirming that storm-troopers are the best shots in the galaxy, or weren't if you looked past Imperial propaganda. Whether Porky and Buzz realised they were under fire was up for debate, at current they were so preoccupied with each other, that they couldn't care less about the storm-troopers around them.

To cut a long dash across a construction site short, the ride ended as the cart slammed into a parked gunship, the impact of the cart’s fusion core against the fuselage causing one of the missiles to detonate, as a chain reaction swallowed both craft, but not Buzz and Porky, the pair of combatants flung to safety by the blast. Recovering first Buzz grabbed his stun-blaster, just as Porky reached for a lump of polarized window pane, the blast ricocheting off the panel. With a slow deliberate grunt, Porky charged towards Buzz again, blaster bolts from both the Jawa and the storm-troopers bouncing off, with majority of the deflected lasers soaked up by the scaffolding and by the Imperial troops. Closing his eyes Buzz felt the pane hit him in the face, the blow sending him flying into a crate labelled ‘mining equipment’ in Galactic Basic.

Finally victorious, at least in his mind, Porky advanced, his ad-hoc shield in hand as Buzz reached over his head, apparently in surrender. Despite what his piggy little eyes saw, Porky wasn't taking any chances. Raising his hydrospanner over his head, he got ready to bring the tool down into Buzz’s head, just as the Jawa removed a shoulder launched ‘sand blaster’ sonic cannon from the crate, and fired, the blast shattering Porky’s pane. Cackling maliciously, Buzz charged the weapon again, as Porky ducked behind a construction walker. While he wasn't able to comprehend what the sand blaster exactly did to his body, Porky was well versed that every-time he was around one, he often defecated in his overalls. Spurred on by the power he know wielded, Buzz opened fire indiscriminately, the blasts hitting storm-troopers, construction equipment and the few remaining labour droids with the same destructive effect. Unfortunately for Buzz, he didn't hit Porky, nor see him climb up into the AT-CT walker he had been hiding behind either.

At this point, it’s probably worth mentioning that the average Gamorrean is stumped by anything more sophisticated than an axe, and while Porky was among the brighter members of his species, anything more complex than an ‘on/off switch’ was far beyond his understanding. As such the complex controls of the AT-CT was akin to you or I having to identify the UK’s ground beetles; a task that is tedious, overly complicated and involves a lot of balls. As such Porky adopted a button mash approach, which just means he hit everything and hoped for the best. What actually happened was somewhere between good and bad for both parties, but terrible for the invading Imperial Forces, as the AT-CTs tractor beam latched onto one of the many TIE Fighters flying past, and sent it spinning towards Buzz, the agile little Jawa cackling at the destruction being wrought.

The TIE fighter wasn't alone in being flung around the construction site, awkwardly the AT-CT remotely locked onto random objects and sent them flying around the area, until everything not bolted down in range of its tractor beam had been tossed away. All that is, except Buzz, who had been raining shot after shot from his Sand Blaster, at the walker. Realising that the amount of fire-power he possessed wouldn't crack the AT-CTs armour, Buzz jumped onto the walker’s foot, and pulled a grenade out of his cloak, before jamming it behind the leg mounted hydraulic pipe, and jumping clear, the walker falling to one side behind him. His mount toppled Porky smashed his way out the top hatch, and glowered at Buzz, his hydrospanner clenched in a thick green hand.

Staring each other down, the two combatants were interrupted as the sound of pounding feet rang out around them, and a platoon of storm-troopers backed up by a gunship trained their weapons on the pair of aliens. Exchanging looks with one another, both Porky and Buzz shrugged, before the former punched the later, the tiny Jawa collapsing into a heap of ragged robes. Turning to the storm-troopers he held out his time-card, before grunting and pointing to the site office. After receiving a nod from the storm-trooper captain, Porky walked away, his shift finally over. As he reached halfway to the office, he turned back to survey the mess he had just left and snorted in frustration. Buzz wasn't there, and despite his initial annoyance, he realised he didn't care what happened to the Jawa, what was more crucial, was that he hadn't noticed the pair of orange eyes watching him with an alien malice from the shadows.

Dagobah System. A purple starship drops out of hyperdrive. The Vitruvian Heron, a modified Imperial Scimitar, piloted by Eyce Veon, a purple skinned Chiss bounty hunter. Eyce checks her Navcom. "This is the place." she mutters to herself. She was nervous about coming to Dagobah. Too many stories about ships that came here but never came back.

She had been on the hunt for a powerful Jedi master for years. Yoda! She was given this task by Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Imperial fleet, her former lover. Thrawn was a Chiss like herself, though he was the more common blue skinned race. She was considered inferior by many Chiss for her purple skin, but not to Thrawn. He saw a strength in her and told her once that the Force was strong in her. He had risen through the ranks of the Imperial Fleet to become the only non human Grand Admiral. He recruited Eyce as his personal bounty hunter. Eyce looked at her hologram of Thrawn. He was a genius. She still loved him.

After years of studying everything she could about Yoda, including his artwork, she still could not find him. It was impossible. Then one night she had a dream. She was on a swamp planet, Yoda was there, as was Thrawn and the Emperor. She was bit by a red snake, then Yoda spoke "Come to Dagobah, you must." After that she decided to set course for Dagobah and find Yoda. She had considered telling Thrawn of her dream but could not bring herself to. She decided this was a journey she had to take herself.

As Eyce flew towards the planet Dagobah, another ship came out of hyperspace.The Dragons Trident, a red modified E- Wing, piloted by Terrasst, a red Trandoshan bounty hunter. Eyce was not surprised that Terrasst had followed her here. Twice now Terrasst had followed Eyce to a potential bounty, then beaten her to the capture. Eyce knew she had to put a stop to this. She once considered working with Terrasst. She had felt they had something in common, as they were both considered inferior among their species because of the color of their skin (or scales in Terrassts case), as most Trandoshans had green scales. She dismissed the idea when she found out Terrasst had a trophy case full of Wookie pelts. He was not someone she wanted to work with. She had a feeling that their fates would meet on Dagobah.

As Eyce flew through the planets atmosphere, the Vitruvian Heron began to shake violently. The computers shorted out and she could no longer control the ship. It sailed through the sky, crashing through the trees before finally coming to a stop high up over the swamp waters in two large Gnarltrees. Eyce couldn't believe her luck that she was still alive and unscathed. As she crawled out of the Vitruvian Heron, she noticed even the ship was mostly undamaged. Eyce put on a jetpack, grabbed her blaster and a pack of explosives and checked to make sure her helmet was strapped tight. Then she flew down towards solid ground. She heard a loud engine bang in the sky and looked up to see the Dragons Trident crashing toward the planet, smoke plummeting out of its engine. It crashed about 180 kilometers from where Eyce stood. She was compelled to hunt down Terrasst and finally have her showdown with him but she felt a tug in her to continue on in the opposite direction.

Terrasst tore his way out of the Dragons Trident, which was damaged beyond repair and began to sink into the deep swamp water. He grabbed his Tri-blaster and looked around to see a giant swamp slug swimming towards his ship. He shot at the slug, jumped in the water and swam as best he could towards the muddy land. Though his species was reptilian, they were not amphibious and Terrasst struggled to make it back to land. As he crawled onto the land, his white flight suit covered in mud, he looked back at the Dragons Trident as it sank, its three tips sticking out of the water. Terrasst roared with rage and anguish. He had Wookie pelts stashed in his storage container that were worth lots of credits to his fellow Trandoshans. Even more important to him, he had the pelts of four green scaled Trandoshans who had wronged him in the past. He vowed he would take Eyces bounty. And her ship. As he stormed off through the forest he did not notice that the swamp slug slowly followed him.

Eyce had been on the planet for a few days and she could not find Yoda. She was seriously beginning to doubt herself until one night she had another dream. In her dream she was running through the swamp being chased by a red dragon. A voice was trying to guide her. It was Yoda's voice. She ignored him and made it toward a cave where Thrawn was waiting for her. She woke with a scream. As she sat up she saw that her campfire was burning bright.

"Nightmares, you have." said an old voice next to her. Eyce turned her head to see Yoda sitting next to her. She immediately grabbed her blaster, only to have it snatched from her grasp and flung into the forest.

"Need that, you do not." said Yoda.

"I'm here to take you into custody on behalf of Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Imperial Fleet." she said, standing up, readying herself to tackle Yoda.

"Hrmm." Yoda's only reply.

"You are a fugitive of the Empire and.." Eyce says, leaping towards Yoda. Unaware of what happened, Eyce feels herself flying through the air towards the forest. When she crashes to the ground she sees her blaster. Grabbing it she runs back to the campfire, only to see Yoda is no longer there.

"Foolish, you are." Yoda speaks from behind her. Eyce spins around with her blaster ready to fire but Yoda is nowhere.

"Put that away, you will." Yoda demands. Eyce puts her blaster back in its holster.

"Where are you? she asks.

Yoda answers "Find me, you will, when ready you are."

Eyce hesitates, then speaks "You led me here, didn't you? Why? You know I'm hunting you for the Empire."

"Answers you have, when right questions you ask." Yoda replies.

Thinking for a moment Eyce asks "Does Thrawn love me?"

"No." Yoda says softly.

Eyce grimaces. She knows it to be true. It still hurts.

"Am I strong with the Force?" Eyce asks.

"Yes." Yoda answers.

For several weeks Eyce stays and trains with Yoda. Though he would not train her as a Jedi, he made her stronger with the Force and answered all her questions about the Empire and the darkside. Her last night of training, Eyce made her way towards a cave. She felt drawn towards the cave, though Yoda warned her she wouldn't like what she found there. As she walked through the misty cave she saw a white light at the center of the cave. As she got closer she saw amid the light was her love, Thrawn, wearing his all white Grand Admirals uniform. He smiled at her, arms outstretched towards her. She ran to him, hugging him strongly.

"I still love you." she cried.

He began to laugh at her. It was an old, evil cackle. She pulled away to see it was Emperor Palpatine holding her. She screamed as Palpatine began to electrocute her with his fingertips. Writhing on the ground she looked up to see the Emperors yellow eyes. Next to him stood Thrawn, with his red eyes, as he smiled down at her.

Eyce woke up near the campfire where she first met Yoda. She looked around, wondering if it had all been a dream.

"Learn what you needed." said Yoda next to her, in the same spot she first met him.

"Yeah." Eyce replied. "I think it's time I got off this planet and as far away from Thrawn and the Empire as I can."

"Mrmm.." Yoda grumbled. "Careful, you must be. Hunting you still, the other is."

"Terrasst!" Eyce sighs. " I fear our fates are meant to cross. Goodbye, Master Yoda."

"May the force be with you." Yoda replies.

As Eyce makes her way back to the Vitruvian Heron, still up in the Gnarltrees, she sees standing at the middle of the left tree is Terrasst. His torn flight suit no longer looks white but muddy brown. He has scratches all over his body and he was missing his left arm. He was pointing his Tri-blaster at Eyce.

"I want that bounty." Terrasst yells.

"What happenned to your arm?" Eyce asks.

Terrasst responds "Sslug ate it. It''ll grow back." He reiterates "That bounty iss mine."

"The two of us combined couldn't take him." Eyce says.

Terrasst grins, blood trickling down his chin. "It'ss a Jedi, issn't it?"

Eyce doesn't respond.

"I didn't losse my sship and trophiess for nothing. I'll jusst take your sship and tell the Empire where to find thiss Jedi." Terrasst threatens.

Eyce reaches for he blaster but Terrasst is too quick, blasting straight at her. Eyce leaps from the blast towards a dense bush. Terrasst has the high ground and the advantage. Thinking quickly Eyce takes her jet pack off, straps her helmet on top of it and the pack of explosvies on the back then blasts it off towards Terrasst. He shoots the helmet off the jet pack, thinking it's Eyce's head. Eyce points her blaster at the jet pack and shoots the pack of explosives strapped to the back. The explosion throws Terrasst from the Gnarltree into the swamp water.

Eyce swims toward the Gnarltree and climbs up to the Vitruvian Heron. As she reaches the top she sees Terrasst's body floating face up in the water. She thinks he might still be alive and considers fishing him out of the water and taking him off planet in her cargo hold. She didn't want to kill anyone anymore.

Just then a giant swamp slug rises up out of the water behind Terrasst and swallows him whole. Eyce sees a dozen Tri-blaster scars all around the swamp slugs body. Eyce shudders. She felt sorry for Terrasst.

Jumping in the Vitruvian Heron, Eyce Veon started the engines and with a pull from the force she was able to fly off the planet of Dagobah. She wasn't sure where to go. Anywhere far from the Empire. She felt a surge of freedom as she blasted off into hyperspace.