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Starkiller's Fan Fic. Story

Author
Time
Starting from the beginning:

Chapter 1: The Truth is realized

“Operator, could you please get me the Pentagon? No, don’t worry about the charges. Yes, I’ll wait.”

I had been watching the local news. There had been the usual stories about corruption, sports, bad weather, and a murder. But today something was different. The anchors didn’t make much of the report. A number of triangular objects had been detected by United States satellites. The report said the size was not determinable, but I could not believe that. One very grainy image had been released to the public. I was looking at it on the TV. No other information was released.

My jaw was sitting in my lap. Could it be true? Could it really be? Was I seeing what I thought I was seeing? It had to be. There was no mistaking that shape. It was a shape that would forever be ingrained in my mind.

My first reaction was to call the Pentagon. I had to let someone know what I knew.

It took a while to get through, but I was finally successful.
“Hello, this is the Pentagon phone system. If you know the number of the office you wish to access…”
Darn it. I got the stupid phone system. I waited on the line for 10 minutes waiting for a human to pickup.
“Hello, this is the Pentagon switchboard. How many I help you?” a human voice on the other end said.
I responded, “Hello. I was just watching the local news, and I saw a report on a grainy image taken of some objects located out in space. I might have some crucial information concerning these shapes. I am sorry to say that I do not know who I need to speak to about this.”
“Well, if you will let me put you on hold, I will see if I can rout your call where it needs to go.”
Before I could say anything, I was on hold and listening to the usual easy listening. I stayed there for about 15 minutes. It was then that I finally got some response.
“Hello, office of General David Johnson, can I help you?” A male voice came through.
I repeated. “Yes, hello. As I was telling your switchboard operator, I was watching the local news, and I saw a report on a grainy image taken of some objects located out in space. I might have some crucial information concerning these shapes.”
“And what information might that be?” The man asked with a slightly indignant tone in his voice.
“Now, please don’t hang up on my as soon as I say this, because it will sound very strange, but I know exactly what ships those are, and where they come from.” I paused.

“Those are Imperator-class Star Destroyers, one of the most powerful warships of the Galactic Empire.”

As I finished, there was a strange silent on the other end. Had I been cut off? Did I sound THAT crazy? There was no dial-tone, so I didn’t think I had been hung up on. Then I heard the voice on the other end.
“Ooooookkkkaaaaaayyyy. Sir, how would you know that?” the voice was very patronizing.
“Well, I shouldn’t say I’m sure about it. But the general outline of the ship fits.” I replied.
“Well sir, tell you what. I’m going to hang up now, and I’ll take your idea under advisement and inform the general.”
“Wait, just a second. Before you hang up, let me add one last thing. These ships, they are approximately 1600M long and if I’m right about these ships, we are all in deep trouble.” I ended and waited.
There was another prolonged pause. Very prolonged. As before, I knew I was still connected, because again there was no dial-tone.
“Ahhh, sir. I’ve been advised to ask you for some additional informati…”
“What, you mean I’m right?” I interrupted.
“I’m sorry, I can’t say anything about it, but if you would give me some more information, it would be very helpful.”
This was getting annoying. I wanted to help, but government secrecy was getting in the way.
“Look, without knowing more information, I can’t give you any information that would be importance. You’ve got my number on your caller ID if you change your mind.”
At that I hung up.
Author
Time
Chapter 2: I think I struck a nerve

I didn’t sleep well that night. The hesitance on the phone only confirmed my fear. The Empire was here. But how was it possible? The Galactic Empire was just the figment of one man’s imagination, turned into the greatest Science Fiction phenomenon in the history of the Earth. Yet, there was at least 1 Star Destroyer in the solar system. I spent the night thinking out the possibilities.
Perhaps the broadcasts of the Star Wars movies had somehow reached some other planet, light-years away, and the inhabitants had used them as blueprints, and now they were coming to investigate the origin of the signal.
Or maybe it was just a strange coincidence.
I got up and was working on breakfast when the doorbell rang. I got there, and looked through the peephole. I saw two suits waiting there. I opened the door, after tying off my robe, and greeted the 2 men there.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
“Sir, we’d like you to come with us.” The one on the left said.
“What, now? Do you mind if I finish breakfast and get dressed?”
Upon finishing breakfast and getting dressed, I was escorted out of the house and told to sit in the back of a black car. I found myself going to the airport and taken on board what looked like a private jet. There, several more suits and 1 military man, a General, greeted me.
“Please, sit.” I was offered a plush seat. “Would you care for something to drink?”
The nice treatment made me uncomfortable.
Not answering the question, I spoke the first thing that came into my mind.
“General David Johnson, I presume? Now, either I’ve really screwed up my taxes this year, or you’re here because you want to know what I know about the Star Destroyers. Do I assume the intent of this meeting, accurately?”
“Right on the money.” The General replied. “And I hope you plan on being cooperative about the information you ha…”
I interrupted, “A threat?? Why this must be really important. Look, as I told the man on the phone last night, without more information, I can’t help you.”
“For reasons of national security, we can’t tell you anything more than that report.”
“General, I hate to say it, but if I was right about the size of the ship, you have much more to worry about than a little news report. This goes way beyond the scope of ‘national security’, sir. One of those ships can subjugate an entire world.” I retorted. I was somewhat stunned. They truly had no idea what was going on or the magnitude of this development.
I continued, “Look. I don’t want to hold anything back from you or the government, but I must have more information. If I can have the complete story, from the beginning, I can advise you and anyone else you might think will need to know this stuff.”
The General and some of the suits huddled and discussed the matter.
“Alright. You promise that if we give you all the information we have, that you will give us an idea of what we are dealing with?” asked the General.
I gave them my answer. “Deal. And if you continue to give me information, I can continue to give you information. Not to sound like I’m full of myself, but there are few in the world that know as much about this subject than I do. That is a plain and simple fact.”
“Good.” The General turned to a man at his side “Have the pilot prepare for takeoff.”
“Wait a second.” I interrupted. “Where are you taking me?”
“Washington D.C. If you expect to brief anyone that needs to know this information, we need to get you there. I will tell you what I can on the ride there.”
“Could I make a small request first?” I muttered. “Depending on how long I’m there, I may need another set of clothes, razor, toothbrush and that kind of stuff. Plus, if you want the definitive information, I have some books at my house that could help. I may be good, but I’m not perfect.”
The General paused, then turned to the 2 men that had brought me.
“Take him back to his house. Help him get whatever he needs.”
Turning to me, he said, “Take the time you need. 2 changes of clothes should be fine. You probably will not be in D.C. for long.”
With that I was taken home. I grabbed what books I could, stashed them in a book bag. Then I threw 2 changes of clothes in a small suitcase. I was in and out of the building in 20 minutes. We arrived back at the plane an hour after leaving, and were in the sky in 10 minutes.
I couldn’t believe it was happening. I was going to Washington D.C. to brief politicians and top-brass military about the situation. Once we were level and cruising, I was given the information I had wanted in the first place.

The General began:
“At approximately 2034 hours, 4 days ago, United States surveillance satellites began to detect a massive energy signature. The strange thing was, it was not familiar to any of the scientists, and it appeared to be emanating from somewhere off the planet. It wasn’t until about 30 hours later that we were able to get a reasonable estimate on the location of the power source. We steered several large telescopes to search the area. It took us the next 72 hours for us to find, and confirm exact location of the power. Several pictures were taken, and the worst looking one was given to the press. When we get to Washington, you can get a look at the rest. We have been monitoring the source, these triangular objects, Star Destroyers as you have called them, and they do appear to be moving towards Earth. When I left very early this morning, the ships were closing in on Jupiter’s orbit. At the clip they are moving, they should be orbiting the Earth in 36 to 48 hours.
We can estimate their size by referring to other objects in the solar system, and you are correct. They do appear to be around 1600M long. That was obviously not revealed to anyone on the outside, so that is why we knew you had information that could be helpful.”
I sat in awe. It was true. It was all true. There was no mistaking it. I hoped my jaw wasn’t very slacked. My greatest dreams had come true. We were all part of the Star Wars Universe.
Author
Time
Chapter 3: I get to brief WHO???

I spent the remainder of the flight trying to figure out what to say, what I might be asked, what I should wear (the clothes I grabbed in my haste were less than formal), how to address people.
We touched down after about 2 hours. From the airport I was taken, via limo, to the Pentagon, where I was taken to a sort of ‘war room’ filled with monitors, technicians, scientists, and more military personnel. My single suitcase was taken to a hotel where I was to stay for the time I was there. I was shown the images the General had mentioned. There were a total of 6 Star Destroyers on their way to Earth, and it was very plain to see them. The resolution on the images was clear enough to see the bridge domes. I couldn’t understand one thing, though. The actually outline of the Star Destroyers were so clear, yet there was a lot of extra, what looked like interference, in the space around them.
I asked around with the technicians and scientists. They seemed to be at a consensus that it was just interference and flaws in the transmission. It didn’t make any sense. There were no flaws inside the outline of the Star Destroyers. Then, I noticed something.
“Can someone get me a magnifying glass?” I said in a loud voice.
A few second later, I was handed one. I peered through it at one of the pictures. Hoping to confirm what I thought I had seen. After seeing it for long enough, I removed my book bag, pulled out one of my books, and flipped around for a second. Then I found it. This fleet was more than just Star Destroyers. Almost immediately, I was called over by General Johnson.
“You’ve got about half an hour before your first briefing. You will be addressing the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the President.”
“Alright, I should be ready by…wait a second, wait a second. Say that again??” I was surprised to say the least.
“I said you will be addressing the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the President.”
If I had been a cartoon, my jaw would have landed on the floor, and my eyes would have popped out of my head. I was going to be addressing the President of the United States? My stomach knotted up in several places. I knew I should have brought some better clothes.
Author
Time
Chapter 4: I get to meet the President

The half hour had gone by. I was standing in a Pentagon briefing room waiting for my audience to arrive. I had gone over in my mind what to say and when to say it several times, but I couldn’t keep it straight. Suddenly, the door opened, and in they walked. 2 each of the Joint Chiefs sat down on each side of the long table, and the President at the head. General Johnson sat in a chair off to the side. Boy, was I ever glad I had some water. I don’t think there was any way I could have talked to them if there had not been.
“Good afternoon. I’m proud to be here helping my country. Before I begin, I would like to apologize for two things. Number one, my appearance. Before I left home, I was not informed that I would be briefing anyone nearly as high in the government as you gentlemen, otherwise, I would have packed at least a dress-shirt and slacks. Number two, I do not know how much of the situation you know about, so if I cover something you have already been told, bear with me.”
I took a sip of my water.
“At 2034 hours, 4 days ago, United States surveillance satellites detected a massive energy signature. It was not familiar to any of the scientists that studied it and it appeared to be emanating from somewhere off the planet. It wasn’t until about 30 hours later that your people were able to get a reasonable estimate on the location of the power source. They steered several large telescopes to search the area. It took them the next 72 hours to find, and confirm the exact location of the power. We have been monitoring the source, the triangular objects you can see in your copies of the photos, and they do appear to be moving towards Earth. Very early this morning, the ships were closing in on Jupiter’s orbit. At the speed they are moving, they should be orbiting the Earth in the next 32 to 44 hours.”
I paused for a moment.
“Now, you may be asking yourself, who am I, and why was I brought in on this. Last night, I was watching the local news when I saw one of these pictures. I immediately called the Pentagon, because I know what they are. At first, I was not believed. It was not until I told General Johnson on the phone that these ships were 1600M long, a detail I knew that had not been released to the public, that they showed interest, but when I was refused further information that might help me provide more information, I hung up. To cut out a lot of extra story, let’s just say that when I got up this morning, I found I was keeping the good General waiting. After making a deal for my information, I was brought here to Washington D.C.”
I paused again. This time I was asked a question.
“How DID you know the length of the ship? You didn’t explain that.” Said one of the Joint Chiefs.
“Excellent question, and something I was going to get to right now. Now, why no one else called the Pentagon, I don’t know, but I am not the only person that could have seen this. Do any of you have memory of seeing the 1977 motion picture Star Wars?”
There was nothing but blank stares. I found it a surprising, but not an entirely unexpected reaction.
“Alright. Well, included in your little packs of information we provided you, is a screenshot from this movie of a warship called a Star Destroyer. If you view this image along side a picture from the surveillance satellites, you should see the same striking resemblance that I did.”
Another of the J.C. spoke up “This could just be a simple coincidence.”
“I beg to differ.” I replied. “Please dim the lights and turn on the projector. This image was taken not 5 minutes before you walked in. As you can see, it shows not one, but 6 virtually identical outlines of the same ship class. Could that be a coincidence? And what about these smaller outlines? I have personally analyzed this image top-to-bottom, left-to-right. I can identify 18 unique ships with designs comparable to those used in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, that meaning including comic books, novels, and short stories. Each of these ships is a warship in its own respects.”
“Excuse me.” A new voice came through the room.
“Yes? Oh, Mr. President. What’s your question?” I said with some jubilance in my voice. I was talking with the most powerful man on Earth.
“So, your are telling us that the warships from a 25 year old movie have appeared in our solar system, and about a day and a half away from Earth?” asked the President.
“Yes. It does appear that way. I cannot provide any explanation as to how. I would say the odds are incalculable.”
The Air Force representative of the Joint Chiefs spoke up “Provided you are correct about this, how do we know they intend to stop here? They could just be passing through the solar system.”
“Again, a very good question. I have 2 reasons. Number 1, Imperial fleets do not just fly through a solar system at sublight speeds without a reason. If they are going somewhere outside of our solar system, they would have had no reason to come. Number 2, these ships have very advanced sensor systems. No doubt they detected our being here before they even arrived in our solar system. This being the case, even if they are passing through, they have or will detect us.”
“Since I expect this question will be next, let me jump the gun and answer it. You’re probably thinking, “What do we do now?” Well, It is my opinion that we should wait. I do not believe that they would attack right off the bat. More than likely, the first move will be to send a small ship down, to give them a better idea of who we are. If these people are the Galactic Empire, then they are a xenophobic group, very pro-human, and should accept us as another planet full of humans. I don’t see any problems.”
“I also want to add something very important. If I am correct, we may have a problem on our hands. You see, with all the media that has been created concerning Star Wars, the novels, the comic books, the video games and more, we may have some limited insight into the future of our own galaxy. This kind of knowledge makes us either valuable enough for the Empire to keep a hold of, or valuable enough to be completely destroyed. Neither option would be pleasant.”
“How so?” I was asked.
“The Empire is a cruel political machine. It rules through fear. It is not unlike many of the oppressive countries we’ve had here on Earth.”
“Imagine if Hitler had gotten nuclear power in 1940. That is probably what the world could be like if they came and took control. We could resist, but they can also destroy every major city on Earth in a couple hours.”
When I stopped, I could see that several people were sweating.
“If there are no more questions, I think it is safe to consider this briefing over. If anything major occurs, we can reconvene later.”
After a pause, the five men leaned towards each other to discuss something. I couldn’t hear what they were saying. After a few moments, the Army representative of the Joint Chiefs turned to me and said, “We have no more questions. We also wish that nothing be revealed to the public at this time. Even if your description of the Empire is exaggerated, it is well beyond what we wish to do to this world. Some leaders around the world will be notified of the discovery. If there is to be hostilities, the Armed Forces of the United States will not be enough to stop it.”
With that, everyone left. I returned to my hotel for the night.
Author
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Chapter 5: Attempts to Create a Plausible Cover

When I awoke the next day, I found a limousine waiting for me. I had planned to do a little sight seeing, but I suppose the President had other plans for me. I was taken back to the same Pentagon War Room that I had visited the day before. I found the same technicians busy at work. More images had been taken and I was able to view them. I could now plainly see several other ships in formation. Shortly after I started looking them over, I was tapped on the shoulder. It was General Johnson.
“You made quite an impact on everyone at that briefing yesterday when you mentioned Hitler. Is the Empire really that bad??”
I replied, “I wish I had been exaggerating, as the Joint Chief said, but I don’t believe I was. One of their machines of fear, the Death Star, was a 120km diameter spherical space ship. Its primary weapon was a single laser with enough power to destroy an entire planet. It was constructed by slave labor taken from a prison complex on the planet it was constructed around. Upon its completion, the weapon was tested on that planet. It was used a second time, as part of an ultimatum to a member of the Rebellion, in the attempts to discover the location of their main base.”
The general stood, silent for a few moments. Then we heard some noise. It turns out that we had some work to do.
I was quickly ushered to a small round table. Also seated at the table as General Johnson, several of the Joint Chiefs and some technicians. Someone asked, “Now that we have decided that we are not going to reveal any of this to the public, we are going to need a cover story for it, for the photo that was given to the press earlier and for any possible leaks we may have in the future.”
Another voice chirped in, “Well, future leaks should probably be handled on a case-to-case basis. We do not know what is going to happen in the future.”
“Well, if we only need to discuss the photo that was given to the press, what kind of cover would work?” I asked.
All of us talked for a couple hours. We decided that a 1-in-a-million chance of several occurrences would work. A burst of solar radiation corrupted the stream of data as the image was being downloaded from the satellites, similar to how a solar flare can disrupt cellular phone calls. In addition, a software glitch, which had since been repaired, caused the satellites to be looking in the wrong area of space. The direction change was jus a fraction of a degree, but it was enough to cause incorrect information. Finally, we added in that some further file corruption was caused by a Windows fluke error while it was being saved.
Author
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Chapter 6: The Arrival

As expected, the Imperial fleet (I was now confident in calling it that) arrived in orbit, and it was, as was predicted, about 40 hours from my talk with the Joint Chiefs and the President. During that time, I was given a cell phone, as well as a notebook computer, and the usual keycards and ID badges that would let me into just about any government facility I would ever want to be in.
I also had the opportunity to return home and get some more of my belongings. I had not thought to pick up my Star Wars: Behind the Magic CD set when I gotten the chance before, and I felt it would also be an important resource. I also figured that in the event that they landed, my Star Wars phrasebook might be helpful.
As I had discovered, this fleet was more than Star Destroyers. We could now count 12 smaller support ships. Based on the size and shape of each, I built a full list: 6 Imperator-class Star Destroyers, 2 Victory-class Star Destroyers, 4 vintage Dreadnaughts, 3 Carrack Light Cruisers, and 3 Corellian Corvettes. The corvettes surprised me. I had not been aware of the Empire ever having used them before; err, in Lucas-time, at least. We continued to monitor them.
I was on my way back to the Imperial War Room, as I was calling it, from lunch when I got a call on my phone. It was from one of the personnel monitoring the situation.
“Sir, you wanted to know when we had anything unusual happening. Well, appear to have something coming down. It should be planet side in 20 minutes.”
I just about spit my Big Mac all over the inside of the car.
“Sir, are you alright??” I heard on the phone.
“Yes, I’m fine.” I replied. “Can you estimate the size of the ship?”
“We don’t have to, thanks to your books.” I had left my Essential Guides in the war room. I didn’t need them as much as the other people, and I wanted to make sure we all had access to the information we would need. “We’ve identified the ship as a Lambda-class Shuttle.”
“Good job. Where does it appear it is going to land?” I asked.
“Our current best guess is somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, but we have no idea what might happen after they get into the atmosphere.”
“Alright. Have you notified the President?”
“Yes sir. He wanted to hear from you as soon as you got off the phone with me.” He replied.
“Keep me apprised of any changes. Bye.”
I could have been a little more polite about that, but I didn’t want to keep the President waiting. I had on speed dial, as anyone with his number should. He said that he was on his way to the airport, so he could board the Presidential helicopter and arrive at the landing site. I recommended that a team of marines or something like that also be included. In the event that this turned into a shooting match, secret service would not be enough. He also said he would be waiting for me. I told him I had something to pick up, and that I would be right there.
I went to the war room and picked up my phrasebook. I had no idea what they might sound like, but if they didn’t understand English, I’d probably have to fall back on something like Huttese. It promised to make things difficult otherwise. On the way to the airport, I wondered to myself why they might have decided to land in the middle of nowhere.
As we flew, we got regular updates via phone about the estimated location of the landing shuttle. I could feel a few butterflies starting to form in my stomach, but I was used to that by now. After about 20 minutes, we landed. It was a clearing about the size of half a football field, and it was the only one in the flight path of the shuttle. I hoped that we would all fit in it once they landed.
It was silent at first, and then I could hear a very faint sound. Based on what I remembered of the ship when it took off in Return of the Jedi, I knew what it was. They were coming.
Within 5 minutes, the ship had landed. As I thought, they took up most of the clearing.
As was customary on Lambda Shuttles, we soon saw a ramp come down out of the neck of the ship. As I expected, a man in an Imperial uniform walked out, flanked by 2 white-clad stormtroopers. I was not quite sure, but it appeared that his rank plaque indicated he was a Captain. He stepped forward, as did I.
“Hello. Welcome to Earth.” I said.
The Imperial looked slightly confused.
“Hello. Welcome to Earth.” I said again.
He still appeared confused but this time said, “The Empire has no records of any humans ever inhabiting this area of space, yet we are able to speak the same language?”
It was my turn to be slightly confused. “Indeed we do speak the same language. When I said hello the first time, you have a confused look on your face and I thought you didn’t understand me. As I said, welcome to Earth. I am a representative of the planet’s most influential and usually considered most powerful country, the United States of America.”
“And I am Captain Briera of the Imperial Star Destroyer Motivator. We had been ordered to this region of space to quell an uprising, and were surprised when we picked up a low-band transmission. After completing our work, we were granted permission to investigate it. And now we are here. I come as a representative of the Galactic Empire.” Breira said in reply.
“Well, it’s an honor to have you here.” I began. “Tell us something about this Galactic Empire. How big is it? Who or what leads it? Would you allow us to become a part of it? That kind of stuff.”
“Please, please. There will be time for questions later. I simply came down to introduce myself, make sure you were aware of our presence, and also show that our purpose for being here is a peaceful one.”
“I understand Captain. Perhaps we could set up a time for your next visit. How about in 24 Earth hours? That will be one rotation of the planet. And why don’t we meet here again. We can fly you elsewhere for our discussion.” I asked.
“Excellent. I will be back then.”
“Oh, Captain, two last quick things. Number one, you do not need to come down with any armed guards. We have no reason to put you in harm’s way. Your ships could easily lay waste to the planet if something did happen to you. Number two, is more of a personal request. I was quickly looking over the side arms of your guards. They do not appear to be like any weapons we have on this planet. We use projectile-based weapons. Would you allow me to squeeze off a round or two with one??”
“I don’t see why not. If you use chemical propellant slug throwers, and you’ve never seen the technology before, these should be a big surprise to you.” The Imperial was quick to show off.
What a rush this would be. The first human from Earth to fire a real Star Wars blaster. As Captain Briera turned to one of his stormtroopers for his weapon, I also turned. I asked the Marine personnel that had accompanied us for a helmet to shoot at. At first they were hesitant, but the President made it happen. I walked off about 20M to set down the helmet, and when I got back the rifle was waiting for me.
“This is a Blastech E-11 Blaster Rifle. Effective range of 100M, and a maximum range of 300M.”
I asked. “Semi-automatic??”
The captain nodded his head.
I took the weapon. It was lighter than it looked, leading me to believe that the material was some alloy we had not yet discovered. I aimed, and shot twice, putting two holes in the Marine helmet. The blaster bolt when clear through both the front and back of helmet and even scorched the ground a little. I returned the rifle.
“Wow, that was something.” I exclaimed.
With that the Captain bid us farewell, returned to his shuttle, and left. As soon as he had left, I walked to the slightly smoking helmet and picked it up. I inspected to ground, and started to pull up some of the grass. It was then that the President, marines and secret service c
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Chapter 7: My Decision

After some business, I returned to the White House. The President had returned, with Captain Briera. They appeared to have enjoyed the game. Both had sat down for a drink when I made my announcement, or perhaps I should call it, my request.
“Captain, I have a request. It’s a big one, and I feel that its being granted would be very important for the relations of our world with the Empire.
Take me with you.
Sure, you or diplomats can tell us about your Empire, but the best way to learn, is to do. I would like to learn about the Empire and how it works, so I’d like to see it first hand.”
Briera seemed surprised by the request. He thought for a moment.
“I have to honestly say I would have some reservations about a civilian being on board a ship of the Imperial Navy, but I’m sure something can be worked out. Does your President have any problems with the idea?”
I turned to the President.
“It is a wise idea to learn more about the Empire. You may go, but I ask that you be back if and when any Imperial ambassadors arrive so you can help the world in negotiating.”
I assured the President that I would return to do so. I had already packed some bags with cloths (no Star Wars books) and picked up my laptop. I was ready to go as soon as the Captain wanted to go.
And my timing could not have been better. The Imperial fleet had been recalled, and this was the last day they could stay. I left with the Captain on the Presidential helicopter, and we headed to the clearing for the last time. I was feeling very nervous as I walked up the ramp into the belly of the Lambda Shuttle that had come down to get us, but it was a good nervous. I had made something of myself on my world. Now was my chance to do the same to the galaxy.
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Chapter 8: The First Earthling to Set Foot on Another Planet

I was setup with quarters on the Motivator; one’s usually reserved for a diplomat, so I was well off. During the long trip, I was given almost total access to the ships libraries and star charts. I transcribed what I could into my laptop. Who knows what could come in handy? About halfway through the voyage during a short stint in realspace for a course correction, I was informed that the Captain had spoken with his Imperial City superiors, and we would be heading there to meet with high government officials. It was a long trip, close to an Earth week (I didn’t know what time scale was used by the Empire). When I wasn’t reading Imperial propaganda, I walked around the ship, making myself familiar with the layout. I stopped in the launch bay and “learned” about the various craft the ship carried.
Then we arrived. Coruscant, or I should say Imperial City, home of many billions of people and thousands of races. We sat in orbit for a day or so while final preparations for my arrival were made. All the fuss was not necessary, but I let them continue without a word. It was exciting. I put on my best cloths and was soon escorted to the Lambda Shuttle, where Captain Briera met me. He seemed as excited as I was, which I found unusual. He was just going to see his superior officers, right? We descended into the atmosphere. We landed on the platform of a large building. I couldn’t see anything else. As I walked down the ramp of the ship, that is when I got the big surprise, when I figured out why Briera was so excited. I caught a glimpse of a red cloak, then another, and another. I saw a total of 6 red cloaks before I saw the black one, standing right in the middle. With a slightly twisted black cane that reflected his personality, it was the Emperor himself! I suppressed my mental questions with anything I could. I did not know the powers of the Force that the Emperor wielded, but if mind reading was one of them, he wasn’t going to learn about what I knew.
I continued to walk forward, wondering how this was going to end up. Hopefully, he would make the first move.
I tried to follow Briera’s lead. I stopped when he stopped, and I bowed a split second after he did. I kept an eye on him. He didn’t move. Then I heard the Emperor speak.
“Rise Captain. Rise honored guest.”
“Honored Guest??” I thought to myself.
The Emperor continued, “Captain Briera, you have done well. You may return to your ship now. You will be rewarded for what you have done.”
The Captain simple bowed again, and returned to the shuttle.
Palpatine then turned to me. “You do not know who I am, do you.”
“No, sir.” I said. “Despite the time I spent studying the history of the Empire while onboard the Motivator, I do not recall coming across your image anywhere.”
He then said what I already knew. “I am Emperor Palpatine, ruler of the Galactic Empire.”
I feigned shock, then fell to my knee and dropped my head, trying to be as sincere as I could. As I did so, I heard myself utter, “My Emperor.”
“Rise, please. A room has been prepared for you here in the palace and your possessions are being taken there as I speak. Feel free to move about the palace and planet, as you will. I will place 2 of my best stormtroopers on your guard while you are here. They will be able to answer any questions you may have. I wish to meet with you later today, to discuss the status of your planet.”
“Thank you, my lord. Your kindness is beyond words.” I responded.
With that the Emperor left and I was shown to my room. It was very spacious and elegant. The two guards were given orders to stand outside my door when I was in the room, and stand beside me when I wasn’t. Made using the bathroom (or, refresher as they call it here), a real hassle. After viewing my room, I took the opportunity to visit Monument Square, and see the only grass left on the planet, and to see the outside of the Senate building. By the time I arrived there though, it was time for my meeting with the Emperor. So I had to return to the palace. I was escorted to a throne room that looked strangely like the one in the second Death Star. When you’re as powerful as the Emperor, you can build things ANY way you want them, I guess.
The Emperor greeted me, and we got to business. He had gone over the reports from Captain Briera, and he said he wanted to go over a number of other things with me. Essentially, he asked questions, and I answered them. Most of them were concerning the technological advancement of the planet, but he also asked about politics, and a variety of other issues. He also asked what I felt about the Empire. When it appeared as if we were all finished, he said that it might be about 2 Imperial months before an Imperial diplomatic team arrived on Earth. I had learned during my time on the planet that all time was based on the Imperial City day. 24-hour days, like on Earth, but 5-day weeks, 7-week months, and an additional 3 weeks of festival and 3 holidays. That was 70 days, or 10 weeks back home.
“My Emperor,” I began, “If I may be as bold as to ask something of you. I left my planet to learn about the Empire. You have done a magnificent job today, by allowing me to tour your capital planet but this is one planet out of many thousands, or millions. I was wondering if I might be allowed the use of a ship and some money to explore other parts of the galaxy before I return home. I was asked by my superiors to be there when your Imperial diplomats arrived, so I might offer my perspective in any negotiations that take place.
The Emperor thought for a moment.
“An interesting idea, and not worth a second thought. Yes. There are a number of ships that have been sitting in the Imperial City impound for various reasons and lengths of time. Tomorrow, you may choose and take one. You will be provided with 50,000 Imperial credits. That should be sufficient for you to live off of for the next 2 months. I should hope, though, that you would not leave us very soon.”
“No, of course not.” I replied. “I was hoping I might have the opportunity to visit the interior of the Senate building before I left. And thank you. I should like to be going now, if you have nothing further. I have been keeping a record of what has happened to me on my computer, and do not want to forget anything.”
“No, I have nothing further. Sleep well.”
The Emperor was far more pleasant that I would have figured, but that was probably just a façade, trying to get on the good side of the Earth, for whatever reason. I returned to my room, recorded the day’s accounts and went to bed. My first day on a foreign planet. Amazing.
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Chapter 9: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Senate…

I awoke early the next morning. I dressed quickly so I could spend as much time as possible perusing the ship at the impound. It didn’t seem right, taking a ship that was technically owned by someone else, but I got the feeling that the ships I had to choose from wouldn’t be used anymore unless they were sold off to someone else.
My usual guides/ guards showed me to the impound. It was a far distance away, but the trip went fast in this ‘Air Taxi’ we used. When I arrived at the impound, there was already a worker waiting for me. He showed me a list of ships, and then proceeded to point them out to me. A couple Cloakshape Fighters here, a Z-95 Headhunter there, and a variety of other small ships were mine for the taking. As I looked over the list, I was disappointed to see no YT-series ships. Then I saw I was wrong. There was a single YT-2400 on the list. The same ship Dash Rendar piloted. This was what I wanted to find, so I patiently waited until we got to it. I looked it over. Appeared to be in good shape. The ship was decent sized, and had adequate weapons systems for my tastes. I asked the worker if he knew anything about the previous owner. That’s when it got ugly. Smuggling, more specifically, gun running, and it was his tenth offense. He was at the Spice Mines of Kessel. I thought to myself, he’s dead already. This ship was perfect.
I asked the worker, “Can I get a look inside?”
“Sure, no problem.” Was the response I got. He then started checking pockets, and found the key he wanted. He opened up the ship and I walked in. I was suddenly hit by something. It knocked me to the floor. The worker was in like a flash. He pulled out a small weapon and fired a whitish-blue shot in the direction of the attacker. When I got up, I saw a droid on the floor. I had had something thrown at me by a droid.
The worker turned to me, saying, “I’m sorry, I forgot about that. When the ship was brought here, we had a similar incident. I thought the droid had been removed or shutdown. We can have it removed for you si…”
I interrupted him, “Not necessary. Show me how to reactivate the droid and let me handle it. Yesterday I was speaking with the Emperor. No droid is going to get the best of me.”
“Yes sir. Let me know if you need anything, I’ll be waiting outside.”
I reactivated the droid. It appeared to be a LE series Repair droid. I had read about them in one of my books. They were designed to be a cross between astromech druids and protocol droids. I helped it off the floor and into a chair in the cockpit.
“State your designation.” I said to it.
“El-ee-bee-zero-bee-three. Sir, where is my master? I’ve been waiting here for a long time.” The droid asked.
I told him I didn’t know for sure, but that chances were high he would not be coming back. I couldn’t tell what the droid was thinking.
“But your welcome to stay on board with me. I’m new to this part of the galaxy, and I’ll need someone to help me with everything from piloting to customs officials.”
I went on to explain where I was from and about what had happened to me in the last week. I hoped the droid would decide to stay and help me out. It turned out to be much easier than that. There was no decision involved. EL-B0B3, as I probably should have expected, looked upon itself as something to be owned, rather than a being with any kind of thinking being. It was almost a “finders-keepers” mentality. At that moment, I did not feeling like arguing.
At that, I left the ship, closed it up, and told the impound worker that the ship was sufficient. The stormtroopers, still following me around, worked out the details with the worker, telling him where it was to be moved and related information.
With that, we left the yard, and proceeded to the Senate building. It was gigantic, and mushroom-shaped, just like in The Phantom Menace. As we found our way to a door inside, we were stopped by Senate security.
“I’m sorry, but the Senate is closed to visitors. They are holding a very important meeting right now and can’t be disturbed.” One of the guards told us.
I tried to explain that I was there at the personal invitation of the Emperor, but it didn’t seem to help. I was told that during these debates, even the Emperor was not allowed in the building. I was somewhat disgusted at this, but figured that it was ok. I didn’t want to get myself into any kind of trouble.
“Alright. If you will not allow me to enter, would you at least answer some questions for me? I’m new to this part of the galaxy.”
The guards didn’t see that as a problem, and were able to answer my questions. I was able to confirm that Garm bel Iblis was still the Corellian Senator, Mon Mothma represented Chandrila, and that Leia was the newly elected Senator from Alderaan. This was very important information for me, while trivial for most others.
With that, I decided I best get myself off Imperial City, and start exploring. I packed my things, confirmed with the Emperor that the diplomats would be arriving at Earth in 2 Imperial months, boarded my ship, and left.
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Chapter 10: On the Road Again

Due to my unfamiliarity with flying a ship, LE-B0B3 had to pilot for me to begin with. Once we got into space, I was able to take over for a little.
“So, LE-B0B3…you know, I should figure out something that was less clumsy to call you. Let’s see, how about Bob? Fits with the “B0B” portion of your designation.”
The droid acknowledged the idea. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Alright. Why don’t you tell me about this ship? What can it do, what can’t it do?”
“This is a Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-2400 Light Freighter. It is equipped with a class 2 hyperdrive and sublight engines that give it a maximum speed of 60mglts. For offensive and defensive purposes, it carries 4 laser cannons, mounted on 2 turrets, and 2 concussion missile launchers. A Titanium-alloy hull and deflector-shield system help to protect us from the vacuum of space and weapons fire.” Bob rattled off.
“That’s it?? Didn’t your previous master make any modifications to it?” I asked.
“No sir. The ship was new. He was going to have it worked on after he finished the job he was in the middle of. That’s when we were arrested.”
“Well, I intend to fix that. Our first stop will be on Alderaan. I understand it’s a beautiful planet, and I’m hoping I will have some ‘business’ there to take care of.”
I continued. “Now, show me how I setup the hyperdrive for the trip.”
As soon as we were underway, I began to evaluate the ship with Bob’s help. Before I could start throwing better equipment on board, I had to make sure I had enough power available to me. Bob’s estimates showed the ship did have available power, and plenty to go around. I had the feeling I picked the right ship.
“Question for you: Can I transfer power from one system of the ship to another? For example, if we are under attack, and our shields are about the fail, can we transfer power from the weapons to the shields and increase their strength?”
Bob’s reply was a reassuring yes.
That would help matters. We discussed the matter for the few hours it took to go from Imperial City to Alderaan.
When we arrived at Alderaan, local port authorities immediately contacted us. I explained that I was a representative from the planet Earth, and that I simply wished to view a planet I had heard was to be unparalleled in its physical beauty. After a few moments, I was given an approach vector and place to land. Within a few minutes, we were through the clouds and on our way. What a wonderful looking place.
I was surprised as we set down to see a well-dressed man and (his?) entourage waiting on the platform for me. I left my ship.
“Greetings, I am Viceroy Bail Organa. I am honored by your visit, and at the same time puzzled. We had not been informed of your arrival.”
As we shook hands, I replied.
“There is a simple explanation for that. There was no information sent. To explain this all very quickly, within the last 2 weeks, the Empire “discovered” my home planet, Earth. In order to help me learn and understand more about the Empire, I was allowed to leave my planet and visit Imperial City. The Emperor told me it would take 2 months before any Imperial diplomats would be able to visit my planet, so I was given a ship and some money, and allowed to strike out on my own to learn. Yours is the first planet I have been to since I left Imperial City. I heard that it was a most beautiful place to visit. I must honestly say I was not expecting that I would be greeted by the leader of the planet.”
“Well then, please come in and accept the hospitality of Alderaan.”
I was invited in, given food and drink, and expanded on my story. Organa seemed fascinated by the idea that humans existed somewhere and that only now, they had been found.
But the entire time I was talking with him, I had something else on my mind.
I wanted to let someone else the secret that Earth held.
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Chapter 11: The Truth Comes Out

“Viceroy, may I speak with you, privately?” I asked.
He nodded, and waved his the servants that had been attending us away.
“Is there somewhere else I could speak with you, more securely? What I wish to tell you is extremely, umm, sensitive.”
He began to decline the request, but I interrupted him with something that I could tell surprised him.
“Perhaps it would be better if I discussed this with Mon Mothma or Garm bel Iblis?”
He thought for a second, and then figured out the connection I was trying to draw. He immediately rose and motioned for me to follow. And follow I did. He led me down several hallways and through 2 locked doors to another room. From there, we walked to what appeared to be a closet, and he opened a secret panel in its back wall.
“This is the most secure room on all Alderaan. The 2 locks are genetically based; meaning only someone with my exact genetic structure can open them. We also passed through a number of scanners designed to detect listening devices. What is it you wish to discuss with me?” he said.
“Yes.” I began. “I’ve been hiding something from the Empire and everyone not from my planet, and I have to tell what it is. I feel I can trust you not to say anything. If you repeat this, it would mean everything you fight for would be lost. You must not even speak of it with me after this, alright?”
“Fine, you have my word. But, what is it?” he insisted.
“As far as the Empire knows, my world is just a backward, technologically inferior collection of people. This may be true, but we hold a knowledge that could valuable beyond words. More valuable than all the Krayt Dragon Pearls in the universe. More valuable than the Dark Force. More valuable than the treasure of the Warlord Xim.”
“Ahhh, you’ve been reading up on history, I see.”
“No sir. I haven’t. I checked the Imperial Historical documents during my trip to Imperial City. The Katana Fleet was not mentioned. Nor was the Warlord Xim. No, I knew of these things long before the Empire visited. You see, on my planet, one of our forms of entertainment is 2-dimentional moving pictures. We call them movies. Roughly 25 Earth years ago, a man revolutionized the movie industry with a story he called Star Wars. It followed the exploits of a young man named Luke Skywalker as he goes from a moisture farmer to a legendary Jedi Knight. No doubt you recognize the last name and title he gains??”
At this point, Organa was sitting very still with his head tilted down. He knew exactly what I was talking about. He began to shake his head up and down.
“Good. Well, I was a great fan of these movies. I watched them time and time again, as did millions of other people on my planet. Books were written. Toys were manufactured. It was truly amazing how popular the story had become. Well, via the movies and various other media, the Earth has a recorded history of your part of the universe that extends for the next 20+ years. I know more about it than most on my planet.”
By this point, Organa had somewhat snapped out of his amazement.
“Why tell me all this?” he asked.
“Well, number one, as I said before, I couldn’t keep it held up in me for much longer. Number two; I personally support your rebellion and its ideals against the Empire, as do many on my planet. If they find out the truth, our planet will very likely become the newest asteroid field in the galaxy, while they systematically destroy your Rebellion, piece-by-piece.”
“They don’t have the firepower to do that to a planet!”
“They will.” I replied.
With that, he slumped in his chair again.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked.
“Well, there are a number of things I need. First, I’d like it I could get my ship scanned. I don’t trust the Empire. I need it checked for anything and everything. Bombs I want destroyed. Tracking devices that are found should be removed, but not destroyed. I will return to get them later. If I destroy one now, the Empire will know I’m on to them. Second, if I ever need to contact you, I’d like the frequency of a secure channel I can use.”
“It will be done. Tell me one last thing though. Do we win?”
I sighed and thought for a second.
“Yes, but you will unfortunately not be alive to see it happen, but Leia will. She and the friends she makes will have a long road before them, even after victory is declared. But she will always find a way to survive and win. You should be very proud of her.”
He seemed disturbed for a moment, and appeared as if he wanted to ask when he would cash in his chips, but he then figured I would not tell him. A brave man he was.
The ship was scanned, nothing was found. The ship was refueled and I was given the address for a comm. channel that would connect me with Alderaan. My travels, as for as “learning about the Empire” were over. I was now going to find out what might be in store for Earth.
My next destination was Tatooine.
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Chapter 12: Complete with Stereophonic Listening

It was a long trip to Tatooine from Alderaan. The Falcon made it in about 22 hours, but that was with a class .5 hyperdrive. This was going to be a lot slower in this ship, for now. I spent the time I had trying to figure out what exactly I was going to do when I got there. One of my priorities was to speak to an Alliance sympathizer that I wasn’t sure would be on the planet. He would be there in a few years and I was positive about that. Another was to get a sidearm. I didn’t want the Empire to know about it, so I didn’t try on Imperial City, and Alderaan had no weapons, so this was my first opportunity.
After the long trip, we landed at Mos Eisley. Port authority was no problem, so long as you paid them enough. As I landed the ship, I quickly asked about various locations in the city, and, again, provided I paid enough, I was given all the information I needed.
My first stop was a weapons store. Though finding the sympathizer was more important, if he wasn’t even in the system, it would do no good to waste my time looking for him. Another factor I had not originally considered is that it is far safer to walk around Mos Eisley WITH a weapon, than without.
“Hi, may I help you?”
I was greeted rather well by a male human, or maybe it was a Hutt that spoke Basic. His size did not help me make the determination.
“Yes, hello. I’m new to this area of space. I’ve spent much of my time on planets such as Alderaan. For this reason, I had no need for any weapons. Now, I find myself in what I have heard as being a “wretched hive of scum and villainy, ” so I figured if I want to live the day, I best get something to protect myself with.”
I continued by rattling off the list of what I was looking for.
“First off, I’d like something small, but with some punch to it. A DL-44 or something similar would probably work the best. Oh, and I will need some extra charge packs for it as well, if that is possible.”
The man (I could tell now by how he moved behind the counter) looked a little bit, and found the closest thing to I was looking for, a Merr-Sonn Flash 4, and it came with a holster, belt, and 2 battery packs.
“Shouldn’t this have a scope on it as well?” I asked.
“Opps, your right, it should. I don’t think I have any other blaster like what you want, so this will have to do.”
I said it was fine, and continued.
“Next, let’s see, oh, I remember, those heavy blaster pistols can run out of juice at just the wrong time, if you know what I mean. Have you got anything that would give me more shots per battery or per gas fill-up? Longer range would be helpful as well. In fact, why don’t I just say this flat out. If you’ve got any illegal Blastech E-11 blaster rifles, I’ll take one. Money is not an issue.”
The storeowner looked a little nervous as I made this last request. He proceeded to walk out from behind the counter and make sure no one had heard my request. He then headed towards the back of the place, unlocked a door, and entering. My guess was that he did have the rifle, and that I’d have to pay plenty for it. I was right. He returned with the weapon. No belt, no batteries, nothing. Guess that’s the price you have to pay for illegal goods.
“Excellent. The last item I had on my list at this point was just a simple vibro-blade. Something about this long.” I held up my fingers about 5-6 inches apart.
He had no trouble finding what I asked for.
Last, I simply asked for 3 blasters of any make or type. I was going to hold on to these for the U.S. government to study.
Piling everything up on the counter in front of me, he totaled it up. It was 500 credits for the Flash 4, 100 for the blade. But it was the E-11 that hit me hard. 1500 credits. I paid it all with cash. I strapped on the Flash 4 and attached the knife to my belt. I then removed a shirt, and wrapped the illegal rifle with it. All I needed to do was make it back to the ship.
I was lucky. No problems.
The next item to take care of was the sympathizer, and I knew exactly where to go to find him. Quite possibly the most dangerous place in the city, the Mos Eisley Cantina. I began to walk there. It was quite a bit farther than the weapons shop. It gave me a chance to see all the various species that might come to visit Earth now. Bith, Ishi Tib, Nikto, quite a few humans, and a few druids, as well as numerous others that I never recognized before.
I passed the speeder lot where Luke sold his X-34. I decided to stop for a moment and look around. I had the money to spend, why not take advantage of that. I couldn’t use a full size speeder. I had to get something I could fit up the ramp of the ship. I decided on a swoop. As I looked around, I saw a number of models, and two that I recognized. As I looked, it appeared as if I caught the attention of the lot owner. It slowly walked over, and began to give its sales pitch. Unfortunately for it, I did not understand a word he said. It sounded a little like Huttese, but the alien spoke fast enough I could not catch it all, that coupled with the fact that my knowledge of the language was about 20 words, and only if they were spoken individually.
I hoped it would notice my confusion before he sold me the vehicle.
Luckily, it did. I soon learned that he did not understand basic.
A good day goes bad.
This would require some ingenuity that the galaxy had not seen since Harpo Marx graced the silver screen. I reached into my pocket for the imperial currency. All coins, it would prove easy to sort through. Slowly, I worked out a total of 2500 credits, and showed them to the lot owner. Once again, I got lucky. Money, not love, was the universal language. As I held out my hand, it pointed to a 1000 credit coin, and then held up 1 finger. I thought for a second.
“It wants another 1000.” I thought to myself.
Since I thought my first offer was reasonable enough, considering what I paid for the weapons, I reached into my pocket for 2 1000 credit pieces. I placed them in my hand, while removing the extra 500. My offer stood at 3000 credits. The alien thought for a moment. It then reached for my other hand, where I had kept the extra 500, and placed one 100-credit coin into the hand with the 3000. It was willing to let me have it for 3100. A far cry from the 2500 I had initially offered, but all things considered, I figured this would be a fine deal. I responded by taking the aliens hand, and transferring the money from mine to its. I also shook my head up and down. I hoped this was a gesture that it understood. Luck had been on my side that entire day, and this was not when it left me. The alien understood, then left momentarily to get me whatever I would need for the swoop.
As I waited, I noticed a helmet hanging on a wall nearby where the alien had gone. Just as it returned, I took down the helmet, pointed to it, and showed the owner a 50-credit piece. He understood perfectly, but refused the money. I guessed it was throwing in the helmet, or maybe that was part of the pitch I never understood.
After everything had been worked out, I hopped on the swoop and left for the cantina. The trip when much faster than if I had remained on foot, but I still moved slow enough that I could look at the buildings and people as I went. I arrived at the cantina, but then thought about something.
“How in the world did Luke leave his speeder behind without anyone stealing it? Everyone, including the druids, left the speeder unattended at first.”
I began to get worried. I had just paid good money for this bike, and I didn’t want to have it stolen right away. So, I did the first thing that came to mind. I walked right over to a stormtrooper and asked what I should do.
“Excuse me. I am new to this planet, and I just purchased the swoop. I wanted to go into that
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Chapter 13: Shhhh…be vewy, vewy quiet. I’m hunting Dwagons. Hahahahaha.

By the time I returned to my ship, I figured I had about 2-3 hours of daylight left, and I had one thing I wanted to do before I left Tatooine.
“Bob, how good are the sensors on this ship? For example, could we find a reptile the size of this ship if we flew within, oh, 2 kilometers of it?”
“Yes sir. We could probably detect a life form that size from 5 kilometers, 7 if we do some power transferring. May I ask what you want to do?”
“Sure. I want to do a little hunting.”
I had read all my Star Wars books very well. The vicious Krayt Dragon of Tatooine was a gigantic creature. I knew its weakness, though. It has a large sinus cavity that leads directly to the brain. A single blaster bolt could bring it down if aimed just right. Why hunt one? In one of its gizzards, I would find a treasure worth many times more than what I had received from the Emperor.
My first real problem, was finding one of the huge beasts.
My second would be getting a clear shot.
My third, would be finding the correct gizzard.
I left the ship, and informed the port authority that I was leaving for a short time, and that I planned to return. For another small fee, they promised to leave the docking area in my name, rather than loan it out again. How kind of them.
With that, I left. Bob piloted the ship, while I watched the scanners. We spent the next hour and a half scanning the Dune Sea. Then I got a blip. It grew, and grew. This was one large reptile. Bob turned towards it, and soon I could see it through the glas…er, transparisteel of the cockpit. Simply amazing. This thing had to be 40M long. It was like a gigantic alligator, except the snout was shorter, and it had to be warm-blooded. There was no way a creature like this could survive otherwise. It would have needed far too much outside heat to get moving every morning.
It did notice us, turning its head and snarling. As I readied myself, Bob piloted over a few sand dunes, to make sure it would not see me leave the ship. I grabbed my new Blastech E-11, the vibroblade, and a comlink, giving another to the droid. His orders were to give me directions and warnings, in the event that the creature caught wind of my presence.
I slowly made my way to the top of a sand dune. I hoped it would give me safe haven until I could get my own assessment of my future, rather than just rely on the ships sensors. As I peaked over the top, I could see the dragon, about 100M away. This would be fine, if he would just turn his head, I could have a clear shot. At 100M, maybe I could shoot him, then hit him again as he turned towards me. I would not have very long if I did that.
I watched as the creature walked along. I needed to do something now, before it got away. So I took aim (accounting for his speed), and squeezed the trigger.
Ouch, that had to hurt. As I had hoped, I caught him in the eye. Doing this, he would have to turn towards me to either look with the other eye, or to orient his nose to sniff for me, and I was right. It took a few more shots than I thought, but he went down immediately upon hitting the right spot on the head.
It took me a few minutes to cover the distance to the reptile. First thing I wanted to do, was remove a spine from his back as a trophy. Next, was the sick part. I began to dig in. I had to have been there for a full hour, trying to find that gizzard. I decided to just start cutting any and every little thing open. After another 15 minutes, I finally found what I was looking for, and in it, five beautiful pearls. I took my treasure, as well as some of the Dragon’s meat, back to the ship, where I also cleaned myself up.
We then returned to Mos Eisley, parked in our reserved spot, and stayed for the night.
The next day, after getting some provisions and selling the meat I had collected, we left. This time I was indirectly heading for familiar territory. Home.
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Chapter 14: Calling for the Cavalry and Returning Home

I set course for home. It was actually a shorter distance than the total Imperial City to Tatooine trip, which I looked at as being a good thing. Before I planned to land on Earth, I would contact Bail Organa, and ask him for his help. If the Empire did attempt to attack Earth, I thought it was our right to give them a fight. I spent the trip planning out how we could take out a superior foe (I didn’t think the Rebellion would be able to spare anything very large). I came up with three different scenarios. Number one, they come as they promised and negotiate an agreement between Earth and the Empire. Number two, they come and intend to subjugate us be means of force. Number three, they come and completely annihilate everything living on the planet. Option three was the bleakest, but also the most unlikely. They had no reason, unless they had found out about our knowledge, to do such a thing.
I also spent some of the time preparing a report for my return home. I knew I would have to present what I had learned to the world. This would just give me time to do other things once I made it home.
I arrived in our solar system. I was approximately in Jupiter’s orbit when I stopped and tried to contact Alderaan. After a few minutes, I got a response.
“Yes, this is Bail. Oh, hey, it’s nice to hear from you. What is it that you need?”
“After I left Alderaan, I spoke with a Rebel sympathizer on Tatooine. Someone that had some experience with Imperials. I explained to him my situation, and he told me that based on his past experience, I should not trust the Empire and its word. For this reason, I was hoping the Rebellion could help protect my planet in the event that we come under attack. Can you help us?”
“Of course, what do you think you will need?” Bail asked.
I replied, “Well, since I am not familiar with the resources you have at your disposal, I’ll just throw out some ideas, and you can let me know how it might work out. First, we would need a medium-sized capital ship, preferably with a docking bay. My first thought is a Rendilli Stardrive Dreadnaught, but I doubt you can spare one of those. Second, I think 2 squadrons of Y-Wings would be enough. Third, a ship capable of carrying a large number of assault troops in full battle gear, and that could dock with another ship. The troops themselves are not completely necessary, but any you could spare would be helpful.”
Bail paused for a while, as if he was going over something in his head.
“Well, the Y-Wings and docking-capable ship are possible. I would have to check around for a larger ship though. Most of the one’s we have are defending our important installations.”
I told him, “No problem. Don’t give any orders to come to Earth just yet, though. I still have to inform my superiors of what has gone on. They may have other plans. I will contact you again with updated information.”
With that, I shut down the subspace transceiver, started up the engines again, and headed home. On the way, I explained to Bob that he was in for some unusual treatment. No one on Earth had seen anything even remotely close to the sophistication of a droid. He was probably going to be asked a lot of technical questions about himself, and I wanted to make sure he was aware of that.
Once I arrived in orbit, I cranked up the transceiver again, setting it to a lower frequency so I could transmit to Earth. I had to play around with it for a while, and I finally got what I wanted. It was Reagan Airport in Washington D.C. I requested a connection to the Pentagon, and was granted it after I gave them my clearance codes. Once I was connected to the Pentagon, I asked for a safe location where I could set down. They then called back to Reagan Airport, and got me some special clearance I had never heard of. Basically, they block off windows, remove people from the tarmac and I land in an empty, private hangar. So, that is what I did. When I arrived, the President, the usual Pentagon personnel, plus a couple scientists greeted me.
As I walked off the ramp of the ship, I stopped and gave a salute. It was returned, and I was offered a handshake by all that had come to see me. I returned to the ship quickly, and retrieved the swoop, and with it the blasters I had bought. With Bob walking out with me, I showed the President what the galaxy had to offer. I think he was pleased. I was too. I was home again.
I was taken directly to the Pentagon, where I quickly printed several copies of my report, and prepared for another briefing. This time, I would simply be reading through my report, and answering any questions that came up. It was also at this time that I found myself needing to bring up my discussions with Bail Organa and Momaw Nadon.
“Mr. President, members of the Joint Chiefs, other distinguished members of the government. I have something additional I need to report. Something I left out of my report, in the event that what I wrote should ever be released to the public. I felt it was best that the information be held because it could conceivably cause the same panic and fear that I was afraid of occurring after the first press conference.” I began.
I was asked to continue.
“As you read in my report, a delegation of Imperial ambassadors and diplomats will be coming within the next 60-65 days. What I left from my report was my feelings concerning the Empire and a meeting I had with a rebel sympathizer on the planet of Tatooine. He was once the leader of a large group of his species, probably comparable to a President or King here on Earth. The Empire came to his planet, and made demands of him and his people. Demands that they could not respond to without breaking sacred rituals. They were threatened, and when he finally gave in to the demands, he was banished from the planet. After I explained the Earth’s situation, he told me specifically that the Empire could not be trusted. If they feel we have something of value, they will either take it from us, or wipe us out to prevent others from getting it. I feel that, if they knew about it, our knowledge of the galactic future is extremely valuable. We also do not know if there are any other resources or such they may find here to value. So, to be on the cautious side of things, upon my arrival in the solar system, I spoke with another man I met in my travels. Viceroy Bail Organa, of the planet Alderaan. Despite his planets peaceful and benign outward appearance, he is one of the leaders within the Rebellion. I requested his help in the event that the Empire should attack us. At this very moment, he is probably trying to figure out how he can spare what I asked for. I told him I must speak with you, my superiors first, to make sure it was a wise move.”
Had I overstepped my boundaries? Was my request for support not what the Earth wanted?
I paused so what I said could sink in and be considered.
The President and the joint chiefs pulled together at their table, whispering to each other. Finally, the President sat up, and the other followed.
The President spoke. “This is a difficult issue. On one hand, if you and your contact are correct, having a small defensive fleet would be absolutely necessary for our survival. On the other, if you are wrong, and the Empire finds an enemy fleet orbiting Earth, they will very likely assume we are in league with them, and might destroy us.”
I replied to his statement by saying, “I had a similar thought, but we may be able to work around all aspects of this situation. I see three possible outcomes.”
I began to outline my three plans. To me, each made perfect sense, and I saw only a small risk of Rebel exposure from each, provided everything worked as I planned. As I explained, I could tell that my audience seemed to be warming up to Rebellion intervention. Th
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Chapter 15: The Three Plans and Their Implementation

Almost immediately after my meeting was over, I returned to my ship to contact and speak with Organa. He has been able to allocate resources for my initial request. Now, I got to explain my plans.
“First off, I need to be absolutely sure of what you just told me. Are you positive, after viewing the information I just sent you, that the ships you are sending will be able to hide in the corona of our Sun, because if they are detected, they will have to get out of there really fast, and Earth will be toast.”
“Yes. I have Alderaan’s top scientists telling me that right now.” Bail responded.
“Alright then. Plan A is if the ambassadors do come as they are expected to. If this happens, your ships will have to stay where they are until they leave. At that time, I will fly my ship to them, and tell you the specifics of the agreement. In both plans B and C, I speculate the Empire will use an Imperator-class Star Destroyer. Plan B is the longest, so I will leave that for last. Plan C is if they come and decimate our planet from orbit. Under those circumstances, when the Empire leaves, come and scan the planet for life. There is no sense risking your own lives to save us. No matter what happens, I plan to be off world in the beginning, so I will survive. Plan B is for if they attack us on the ground. I see them doing this if they plan to garrison the planet or subjugate us.”
I paused, to make sure I did not forget anything.
“In plan B, I will wait until the landing of Imperial ground troops has begun, then I will come around our sun and contact the ships there. Step one is the launch of your Y-Wings. Their goal is to disable the ship’s communications, sensors and shields. They must move swiftly. Step two is where the docking-capable ship, and a payload of troops, both Rebellion and from my world, move in, land in the massive launch bay, and attempt to capture the Star Destroyer. My YT-2400 would run point for them, first to make sure that they made it to the attacker intact, and second because I could lay down cover fire while troops were unloaded. I figure that between your advanced weaponry and my planets vast number of people, we should be able to do the trick, even if it means that the transport ship has to return to either your ship or the surface to gather reinforcements. I have already spoken with my superiors, and they are willing to offer as many infantry troops as they can. Depending on what time your ships arrive, I would like it if we could get the two groups together and train.”
Bail saw a few flaws in this plan. I did remind him, though, that no plan was foolproof, and that there were always risks involved. The flaws would be minimized if the plan was executed quickly enough, and if what was planned on the planet worked.
Bail agreed to the plan and informed me that the ships I requested would arrive within one standard week. This worked fine for me.
During that week, I had many tasks. First, I had the Pentagon search through their armed forces database to get me the, as the movie Men In Black had put it, the best of the best of the best. At the same time, the President was asking governments around the world to undergo a similar process. Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Israel, Russia and more all were able to pledge some support to the campaign. I soon had a top-flight fighting force pulled together.
As this collecting of military talent was going on, I spent time briefing the U.S. military, telling them the best ways to defeat the troops they might face. Everything I said was videotaped, translated, and sent to the militaries around the world.
I also was given access to the Army laboratories, where the scientists were carefully analyzing the blasters I had brought for them. They had not been successful in finding a defense against the weapons, and had very, very limited success replicating it. I had to doubt that we would be able to arm our own troops with blasters for the mission. They had made several very helpful discoveries, though. They found that the batteries used in the weapons were DC-based. This made me happy, because I knew I would then be able to recharge the packs for my weapons.
I also took the time to ready myself for the future. I added two scope systems to my Flash 4 blaster. One was a laser scope, mounted below the barrel, and the other was a ‘high-tech’ (these words meant so little to me now) camera system that was attached to a glasses-based viewing system. A similar camera system was adapted for the E-11 I had bought. It already had the camera built-in, as some had speculated on the Internet, and the scientists I took it to found a way to link it to the same glasses.
When all the troops we had expected arrived, each was screened. The most important aspect was that they had to speak and understand English. Second to that was a loyalty to command. They had to be able to follow orders, and follow them to the letter. Third, was the ability to adapt to a situation. If something went wrong on board the ISD, they need to be able to quickly assess what was going on and change to survive. The combined force after everything was done came to about 1500 troops. Not as much as I had hoped, but the President assured me that if more were needed the day of the attack, then I would have them.
By this time, five days had gone by. I was impressed with how quickly everything had gone. I got in my ship, and took off for a set of prearranged coordinates that Bail and I had agreed upon. I waited for a few hours, and was soon greeted by the Rendilli Stardrive Dreadnaught I had requested. I had them follow me to Earth, and upon arriving, I docked and boarded their ship. I was surprised to find myself greeted by a younger version of Carlist Rieekan, the soon-to-be General that will be in charge of the Alliance base on Hoth in a number of years. He had already been informed of the plan that I had discussed with Organa.
Now that the whole fighting force was together, I felt the first important thing to do would be to train. There were about 500 Rebel troops, giving us a total of 2000 men to capture the ship with. The rebels were brought to the surface, to where we had built barracks for the fighting force, in the American Midwest. Training scenario’s were designed and used, very often involving working in corridors and rooms. Combat strategies were put together, making sure we had the maximum effectiveness. Since it was very likely that stormtrooper armor would deflect bullets, all personnel were told to pick their targets well. Earth troops to target uniformed Navy officers and enlisted, unless they found a discarded blaster. Rebels were to shoot at armored attackers. We trained, myself included, for more than 4 Imperial weeks.
I soon learned that Organa went above and beyond my request. He had also sent engineers and scientists to help our people ‘catch up’ with the rest of the galaxy. A ship repairman was assigned to make modifications to my YT-2400. He was able to boost the speed, increase the shield strength, and he installed a small quick-fire blaster cannon, similar to the one that the Millennium Falcon used against the snowtroopers in The Empire Strike Back.
I spent the remainder of the time before the Empire showed up continuing to refine the possible attack. Using the two Y-Wing squadrons, we timed how long it would take them to engage the enemy. Since we would be out of radio contact (caused by the same interference that would prevent the Imperials from detecting the Rebel fleet), we were forced to base our actions almost entirely on timing. Since I would be flying point for the transport ship, it was key that for me to watch my sensors and communications to make sure we didn’t arrive too early or too late.
The Y-Wing pilots were also briefed on their objectiv
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Chapter 16: It All Comes Down to This

Rieekan’s Dreadnaught was waiting on the opposite side of the sun with all unnecessary systems shut down, to prevent detection. About 1400 of the joint Rebel/ Earth assault group was waiting on board, while the rest waited on board the transport ship. I stood in wait by the screens that had originally detected the Imperial fleet all that time ago. Once a ship appeared on our scopes, I was to proceed directly to my ship and confirm that something was there. Upon confirming, I was to lift off, and fly to a spot that should allow me to scan, but not attract the attention of the Empire. Then, I would report whatever happened to the Dreadnaught, and put whatever plan was needed into effect.
The waiting was the hardest part. It had been 70 days since my fateful meeting with the Emperor.
Suddenly, there it was. A large energy signature that preliminary scans showed as being the right size and shape for an Imperial Star Destroyer. It was as I feared. There was no reason to send such a large warship for the purposes of simple negotiations. A simple Carrack Cruiser, or even a Lambda Shuttle would be more than enough to bring an ambassadorial team to Earth. Even so, I proceeded, as planned, to my ship, which I had recently named Gaea. Lifting off, I prepped my scanners, and looked. It was an Imperator-class Star Destroyer. Very likely a type I, but still a powerful ship, and not one I wanted to see bombarding my home planet.
I contacted Earth, to confirm that the Imperial ship was on its way. As per my plan, warplanes around the world were put on standby, while tank battalions and infantry units were readied.
I then went to my assigned spot. I shut down all my ships systems, and waited. I had to rely on my own eyes to observe what happened. I waited for several hours before the Imperial warship came to orbit the Earth. It was then that my communications system came on automatically.
“This is the Imperial Star Destroyer Pinnacle. By order of the Emperor, you planet is too technologically behind the rest of the galaxy to survive on its own. For this reason, we have been ordered to garrison your planet. Your armed forces will be disbanded in favor of our protection. Any military personnel wishing to continue in their careers will do so in the service of the Empire. You will follow our rules, use our money, and conform to all aspects of our life…”
I had heard enough.
I turned off the speaker and watched. The next step in my plan was dependant entirely on the deployment of the Imperial troops to the ground. Once the troops began to land, that meant there would be that much less resistance on the ship. It was difficult to see, but I could soon tell that shuttles and barges were making their way down to the surface. This was my cue.
I powered up the ship, and took off as quickly as I could towards the sun. Once I got close enough to it, I then circum-navigated the star and docked on the Rebellion Dreadnaught. I didn’t want to risk sending a transmission, and possibly give away the whole plan.
My arrival was the signal for the two Y-Wing squadrons to get underway. Their greatest fear would be if the Star Destroyer had a full compliment of TIE fighters on board. I had not seen any sent to the surface to help with the invasion. A few minutes after they left, I climbed back into the cockpit of my ship and took off. I flew, as planned, point for the transport. Once I left the sensor blackout area, I turned my scanners to the Star Destroyer and the Y-Wing strike force. I saw a few TIE’s, but nothing major. “An overconfident captain.” I thought to myself. The Y-Wings number was down to twenty. I was worried until I saw that several of them were lining up for an attack run against the bridge-top shield generators. They had finished the job fast.
“Gaea to transport. The Y-Wings are lining up to destroy the shield generators. Shields should be down momentarily. Full speed ahead, and may the Force be with us.”
I headed in full speed. The transport lagged behind a little, but was able to keep close enough for my ship to make an adequate shield. I probably had enough shielding to take one solid turbolaser blast, but no more. I had to hope that the sensors on the Star Destroyer were down. It wasn’t long before the fighters took notice of us, and were charging in. I put Bob on piloting the ship, while I jumped into one of the gun turrets. Saying a quick prayer to the gods of Nintendo and combat simulators, I dried my hands, and got to work clearing our path. I now know the trouble that the Falcon had leaving the Death Star. Those little things could move. They weren’t as tough as the most recent games I had played made them out to be. It was probably two or three fire-linked hits to destroy a ship.
We neared the Imperial capital ship, and I left the turret again. I had made a mental count of all the fighters I had seen and those I had shot down. My count was twenty-four launched, and I personally destroyed five. The Y-Wings, once they had the shields down, broke into two groups. One went for the engines of the Star Destroyer, while the other kept the remaining TIE’s off their backs. They had brought down another seven, or at least, that was my guess because I counted twelve more giving us problems. What confused me was the lack of fire from the Star Destroyer. They had to be seeing us by now.
We pulled in underneath the monstrous ship and into its launch bay. Luckily, the transport was small enough to make it inside AND still land. I could see people scatter as we tried to land. I deployed my auto-blaster in wait. I knew someone had to be calling in the cavalry, which is what I was waiting for. Once I spotted the main hangar doors, I set down. As much as I hated to destroy human life, I began to target and mow down the any troop or worker I spotted in the area. I had to clear things out so our troops could deploy in safety. The transport had landed behind me, using me as a shield, once again.
I half expected to see the entire ship’s crew come through that door. I was surprised when I saw about 30 stormtroopers come through it. Had no one thought to mention that a 90M transport and YT-2400 were boarding? I had to laugh.
I went through them rather quickly as well.
“I think everything is clear, you can deploy the troops now. Just be careful of the auto-blaster.” I said into the comm. system. I also got myself prepared for the fight. I had a standard issue M-16 rifle on a shoulder strap, a Baretta M9 pistol below my left arm, and reload clips for both on my belt. My Flash 4 blaster, which sat on my right hip, and vibroblade were also at the ready. I wore no form of body armor, since I knew that it would not likely do any good. I put on my headset, and made sure that the camera-viewing system that was installed on my blaster was working properly. Fighting in corridors and rooms would make the system very key to my survival. I was not going to walk into, or lead anyone into, any ambushes today.
After giving Bob orders to defend the group, I slowly descended the ships ramp. About 150 troops were already setting up a base camp in the docking bay, while another 50-60 were already making rounds at the doors. Several of the Earth coalition troops were busy collecting Blastech DH-17 blasters, dropped by Naval personnel, and stormtrooper E-11 rifles.
Slowly, all the troops finally made their way out. It was then that the specific orders of attack were given. A map of the Star Destroyer was brought out and placed on the floor. The highest-ranking members of the force were gathered.
“Priority one is holding this launch bay. By holding it, we cut the ground forces off, as well as give us a rally point if anyone gets overwhelmed. General, take 200 men and fortify the area with something. Empty fuel contai
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Chapter 17: Could there yet be a peaceful end?

Movement was slow. There were many corners to stop and check. It appeared that the Imperials had finally been alerted to our presence, because they mounted a decent defense. I lost about 50% of my force before arriving at the lift that could take a few of us all the way to the bridge. It was at this time I called back for reinforcements, and a status update.
“Team One has found the weapons lockers and had minimal difficulty capturing it. They said that it would then take about 25 minutes for them to pack all they can carry and return. Meanwhile, it’s been somewhat quiet in the launch bay, sir. We had a few Imperials come in, but they didn’t last very long. I will be sending 25 more people to your location.”
The plan was being executed perfectly. I could not have hoped for anything better.
By the time the new men arrived, I had an idea. Rather than storm the bridge, which would prove too difficult given the size of the lift, I donned the uniform of an unfortunate Imperial officer. He had been shot in the leg once by a .22 caliber bullet, then but a blaster bolt to the face. It wasn’t pretty. I took the Baretta M9 and stuck it in the back of my belt, at the same time covering the top with my shirt.
As I stepped into the lift, an Alliance soldier gave me a quick rundown on its operation. It was not quite like any elevator on Earth. All I was worried about was the floor with the bridge, and the floor I was currently on. Before I left, I made sure I tested my ‘face of pain’ out on the men. I was in deep trouble if I walked in, covered in blood, and had a smile on my face.
I began the long trip up. I tried to mentally refine the story I would tell the Captain or Admiral or whoever was in command. I could feel the lift car slow. The doors opened.
“OWWWWWWW.” I yelled as I limped out the doors. I attracted the attention of the bridge crew. As they were turned towards me, I quickly scanned their rank insignia. I quickly found the largest number of red and blue squares, and began limping that direction. It was a Captain, like Briera.
I attempted to compose myself and saluted, “Sir. We have large numbers of Rebels moving on our positions. And we have a situation that, well its beyond words. I think it would be best if you came to look for yourself.”
I began to wince in pain again, hoping my acting would help to convince him that the situation was bad enough to warrant is investigation.
“Are you alright? Perhaps we should get you to the infirmary…”
I interrupted, “Its not necessary. I was able to stop the bleeding. Some of these Rebels have very high- powered slugthrowers. They are like nothing I have seen anywhere.”
“If I go with you, will you report to the medics as soon as I’ve seen this situation?”
“Of course sir.”
He bought it.
We walked over to the lift. He stepped in first, and I stood next to him and I selected the level. As soon we started moving, I turned to face him. In one smooth motion, I removed the Imperial hat with one hand, and reached behind my and into my belt for my pistol. Before he knew it, he was sucking the business end of the gun.
I quickly checked his person for comlinks and hidden weapons. He was clean.
“I’m going to say this once. You have the barrel of a Baretta M9 semi-automatic pistol shoved in your mouth. You do one thing to provoke me, and I will have no reservations about blowing your gray matter all over the back of this lift. Do you understand this?”
He quickly shook his head up and down.
“Excellent. Now, I plan to clarify a few things for you. You have 600 Rebel and Earth troops on your ship. There are an additional 1400 reserve troops waiting on a ship currently hidden from your sensors, plus potentially millions on the planet below. Your outbound communications are ionized, and the majority of your ground troops are being obliterated on the planet below. That left you vulnerable on this ship. Now, one way or another, I will capture this ship. You, though, can help decide how that is done. If you’re smart, you will surrender. You and your men will be given a number of choices as to what happens to them. If your not so smart, you resist, and we can do this all the hard way, with our elimination of everyone on board this ship.”
We had already arrived at the correct level of the Star Destroyer, but I was on a roll. I didn’t want to stop and lose my train of thought. Once I finished, I walked him out of the lift and removed the gun. Leaving all but four of the men behind to guard the lift, I returned, with the Captain, to the launch bay. Once there, he was allowed to move a little more freely.
“So, what are your terms of surrender, so I may decide my action?” the Captain asked.
“Terms. The terms are that you surrender this ship. No one more is killed, unless they put up significant resistance. All those on this ship are given the option of joining the Rebellion if they wish to. It is done anonymously, so that the Empire cannot prosecute them or their families. The rest will be turned over to the Rebellion, and they shall decide what is do be done.”
I thought for a second.
“Well, perhaps there is another option. I would have to speak with the governments of Earth, but we have something on our planet called ‘protective custody’. You are given a productive job and home, but every aspect of your life is carefully monitored. Who you talk to, who you know, what you do, and more. You would not be able to contact anyone off world, and in every way, you would essentially be starting new. I do not know how many of your people could be allowed to do this, but I guess it is a potential option.”
The Imperial declined that choice, something about living out the rest of his life with mentally inferior people. That was his choice really. He didn’t appear to be too happy about the other choice either, but he didn’t have anything else left.
It was at this point that I left the launch bay with a few soldiers and returned to the elevator. I was still wearing the dead Imperial’s uniform, but this time I had no plans of faking out anyone. I had left my equipment with the troops at the elevator, and reclaimed most of it for this assault. Five of us were able to squeeze onto the lift and we headed up. When the lift doors reopened, we moved out quickly, trying to cover as many targets as possible.
I announced, “Your Captain has been taken as a prisoner, and has accepted our terms of a peaceful surrender. I want no more killing on this ship, unless you give us unnecessary amounts of resistance, so I’m going to give you the chance to turn yourselves over peacefully. Drop all weapons and communications devices on the floor, place your hands on the backs of your heads, and come with us to the launch bay.”
Success! Everyone almost immediately came forward. I had three men take the bridge crew down the elevator to be taken to the launch bay. While they were gone, I looked for the ships internal communications system. At this point, it was safe to say the ship was ours. I planned to announce to the ships crew that we were in control and that terms had been reached for Imperial surrender.
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Chapter 18: Now what?

It was a few hours later. The Rebellion had gained approximately 250 new members. The battle on the ground still went on, but it was solidly in the hands of the Earth forces. Mostly the ground war was mopping up stormtroopers. The heavy military equipment had been destroyed. The undestroyed technology very quickly made its way into the hands of various militaries around the world.
Luck was on our side in one respect. The Imperial commanders had decided to put their forces down in remote areas of the globe. The Montana/Canadian border. The Argentinean Pampas. An area about 100 km from Tunguska Russia. For what reason, I do not know. Perhaps they wanted to be able to regroup on the ground before they made their move. This meant interaction with the public was minimal at best.
Rebel repair teams were busy getting the Star Destroyer back into working order. Moving the ship out of visual range of the Earth was of paramount importance. While they worked, Earth scientists and technicians watched to learn how to maintain the equipment. We were very careful to disable the ships transponder system, to make sure that the Empire had no way to learn about what happened. False reports were allowed to ‘slip’ out, saying that a Rebellion owned CC-7700 Frigate had pulled the Pinnacle out of hyperspace before arriving at Earth, and that the Imperial warship had been destroyed. A debris field was also created in the area to simulate the ships destruction.
I sat on board the Dreadnaught, now orbiting the moon (it would have been spotted orbiting Earth). A small victory party had been put together by the Dreadnaught’s command staff. Myself and several members of the Earth’s leaders had been invited to celebrate the wonderful events. I, however, felt somewhat less than satisfied. What would we do now? The Emperor would no doubt contact us about what happened, or send ships to investigate what had happened. It would most likely have to be me doing the smooth talking to get us out of the mess. What would I say?
I determined it would be best if I made the first move. If I went to the Emperor asking about the diplomatic team, it might take some pressure off me. I excused myself from the party, got on the Gaea, and left. I needed to go to Alderaan. I knew that they would have a holonet transceiver that I could use to contact the Emperor. The trip took a few days, but that was all right. I took the time to study a non-propaganda filled version of the galaxies history. There was not a lot of new information for me, but it was good to read anyways.
When I arrived at Alderaan, Viceroy Organa again greeted me, and I was treated similarly to my first visit. I asked about using a holonet transceiver, and was immediately granted access. I sent a quick message to Imperial City, informing members of the Emperor’s staff that I wished to speak with him directly. He was busy at that moment, so I was forced to wait several hours. During this time, I took a quick tour of the planet surface. Simply flying in did not do the planet justice. I was truly the garden spot of the galaxy. A shame it would be gone in the next few years.
When I returned, the Emperor was waiting.
I began, “My lord, I apologize for keeping you waiting. I was not told how long I would need to wait for you, and I wanted very much to view some more of Alderaan. I requested an audience with you to express some concern. I was hoping that your Imperial ambassadors would have arrived at my planet by now, but they have not.”
The Emperor seemed surprised, “Really. I had assurances that the ship had left, and they were to arrive a few days ago.”
“Well, I can tell you for sure that it did not. Lord, I must be honest. I visited several planets during my trip home. I learned of the various, small pockets of rebellion against you. Would it be possible for one of them to be responsible for preventing that ship from arriving?” I asked.
“No. I firmly believe that.”
I quickly asked another question. “Alright then. Will you be sending another group of diplomats to speak with us?”
“No, perhaps it would work best if you sent diplomats to us. I see less of a chance of anything happening to your people, since you are not well known.”
“That is fine. I will transport them myself. I will need some time for our world to pick adequate people for the job, and then we shall come. I will stop here on Alderaan and send you word when we are on our way.”
With that, the conversation was done. I said good-bye to Bail, and returned home. After a two-week process, four diplomats were chosen, in addition to myself, to represent Earth. We were given strict orders as to what we were to try to negotiate for, which would set us in a position to not continue to be considered “technologically behind the rest of the galaxy”. If our terms were rejected or met with high requirements, we were to essentially say, “Thanks, but not thanks” and leave. Then we would get help from the Rebellion and other outside parties.
We left for Alderaan. When we arrived, I contacted the Emperor, informing him that I was on my way. He informed me that I would have the opportunity to speak, not before him, not with his diplomats, but before the Galactic Senate. I only hoped my acrophobia would not give me any problems standing on the repulsorlift platform. We stayed on Alderaan for a few days of relaxation before leaving for Imperial City.
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Chapter 19: Diplomatic charm, who needs it?

When we arrived on Imperial City, we landed at the Imperial Palace, and once again I was a guest in the massive building. There was a party of dignitaries waiting. They first apologized on behalf of the Emperor for not meeting us in person, and then explained when we would be speaking to the Senate. It was going to be within the next two days.
I was given a difference room in the palace, but that did not mean anything to me. The room was still far more luxurious than anything on Earth. My fellow terrans were given similar quarters. We arrived late during the night, Galactic Standard Time, but the planet was still on full tilt. There was activity everywhere.
I do not know what the other diplomats did with their time. I was told they had full military escort, so I wasn’t worried about them. I took the opportunity to explore the more seedy areas of the city. There were places in the lower levels of the planet that made Mos Eisley look like a church.
Before I knew it, the time had come. I was sitting in my room at the palace when one of the other diplomats from Earth knocked on my door and informed me that we would be taken to the Senate building in the next few hours. I prepared by getting into my best cloths and taking slow, calm breaths. I met with the other diplomats and we all left together.
We arrived at the Senate building shortly after what would have been lunchtime on Earth. We were shown to our box, and sat down. We were told that the Emperor would be introducing us. We sat for a while, listening to all that the other senators had to talk about. Problems here and there, complaints about Imperial taxation, and all the usual things you would expect.
Then it was our turn to speak. Our podium floated out and I began my speech.
“Representatives of the many worlds of the Galactic Senate. I come from the planet Earth, which was, until recently, unknown by the rest of the galaxy. An Imperial warship discovered us and over the past few months, have had the opportunity to experience intergalactic life. I’ve visited several worlds and seen many things. We are, by your standards, behind the rest of the galaxy and I am here on behalf of my world to ask for assistance. If I may, I have a small list of technologies in which we need the most help.
First, in my short time exploring the galaxy, I’ve seen materials that are most amazing. Transparisteel, durasteel, and similar building materials are unknown to us. We ask for information regarding the production of such materials so we might be able to build stronger and taller buildings.
Second regards the issue of transport. The people of my world, with some exceptions, are stuck on our world. We use internal combustion engines to move about on the ground, and depend on aerodynamics and rocket-style engines to rise into the atmosphere and low orbit. The introduction of repulsorlift drives, sublight engines, and hyperdrives would allow us to quickly join the rest of you among the stars.
Some other technologies that we would find useful that we would like to include are shield technology, so we can protect ourselves from technologically advanced unfriendly raiders, energy production technologies, so we can power our world without worry of damaging our environment or power outages. Information about how droids and computers are able to use advanced artificial intelligence would help immensely. Last, but not a priority, would be weapons technology. We have made our own attempts to create beam-style weapons, but they are costly, inefficient, and not made a size that make them effective for use by a single soldier. It would make defending ourselves much easier if we had the ability to face any potential enemies on their own terms.
Before I finish, I do want to add one thing, we do not wish to petition for membership into the Empire. We wish to remain independent. Perhaps sometime in the future, when we have caught up with the rest of you, we may join.
Thank you for your time. We hope you will make the right decision in helping us.”
I remained standing, for a moment, at the podium, waiting to see if anyone will have anything to say in response. Then I turned and sat down.
The rest of the Senate meeting was uneventful. It appeared that there would be no discussion concerning Earth. When it was over, the other diplomats and I returned to our rooms at the Imperial Palace. We slept and the next day left for home.
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Chapter 20: When the cats away…

Upon our return, we found several things were vastly different. The Alliance had begun training an international team of scientists, technicians and armed forces personnel in the repair and operations of the Star Destroyer before I had left, but I was completely surprised when I found out how well they were doing adapting to the new technology.
In addition, apparently the idea of having an orbiting weapons platform manned by such an international team was enough to convince the world powers to quietly agree on a global peace accord. They now knew that they would only survive by getting along with one another. They also knew if we would stand no chance in a future battle against the Empire if we were too busy fighting with ourselves.
The Alliance had also delivered several pieces of their technology. Interestingly enough, many were those that I had mentioned in my speech before the Senate. Several fusion-based power generators had been brought to Earth, but none had been installed. It would be necessary to keep them hidden until a scientist “discovered” the technology to use them.
The same was true of the holonet transceivers and anti-gravity platforms. As the Earth adapted, it seemed less and less likely that I would be needed to stay around.
I needed something to do, though. I wanted some more action. After a few days I went into seclusion, studying the books I had. I soon had my answer.
I returned to the Gaea. I began searching its computer for any references to the Adega system or the planet Ossus. There was something there I was greatly interested in. When my search turned up nothing, I turned, once again, to my allies on Alderaan.
I was surprised when Leia, and not Bail, answered my call.
“Your highness! I was not expecting to see you. No matter, I was hoping someone might be able to answer a question for me. I’m looking for the Adega system. The computer on my ship has no information regarding its location. Would the resources of Alderaan be able to provide that information to me?”
“I don’t know, let me check for you.” She said.
I waited a few moments, then I got my reply.
“I have good news, and bad news. The good news is that I have some coordinates for you. I’m transmitting them now. The bad news is that our records show it to be mostly devoid of life, and previously a war zone during the Clone Wars. The records also say that the planet was previously bathed in radioactive matter. We do not have a reason for it. I would not recommend going there. There doesn’t appear to be any practical reason for what your doing.”
I replied by saying, “Perhaps when I get back, I will be able to update your records, because there is something there. Don’t ask me how I know, because I just do. If we get to know each other better, that is something you’ll need to expect me to say for a long time. Thank you.”
I closed off the transmission.
My weapons already on board, I left Earth for the Adega system. It would prove to be a long trip, plenty of time to prepare what I would have to say when I arrived.
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Chapter 31: Meeting one of the old ones

I knew from my texts that Ossus was the third planet in the Adega system. The radiation was caused by a nearby supernova some 4000 years before. It was not this radiation, or the possible archeological possibilities related to the Clone Wars that was drawing me there. In fact, it was not really a thing, it was a being.
Ossus had been the Jedi Library world. The artifacts and stories of millennia of Jedi Knights had been held there, until the great Sith War. The intentional destruction of the nearby Cron system created the supernova that forced nearly all the jedi off. All except one. Jedi Master Ood Bnar, in an effort to preserve some artifacts, went through a natural metamorphosis, turning into a tree (of sorts). His roots covered the artifacts, and protected them from the supernova.
B0B and myself soon dropped out of hyperspace, and began to orbit Ossus. It was quite desolate, and it was easy to tell that from space. There were supposedly only a few beings on the planet, excluding Ood Bnar. I hoped I would not run into them, and if I did, that they understood basic.
Slowly, I scanned the planet. Sorting out trees would be hard, but a cache underneath one seemed not difficult to find. It was slow going, but eventually I found what I was looking for, a mass of metal under a tree that registered (only in a focused scan) a little different from the rest. No other lifeforms were present. This is where I set down.
The sky was filled with clouds and electrical discharges, not quite like lightning. I made my way the few hundred feet from where I had set down to the tree. It stood alone, apart from other trees. A small portable scanner confirmed to me that this was the Jedi Master I sought. I stood before the tree and began to speak.
“Jedi Master Ood Bnar, I am a traveler from afar. Unlike the vast majority of the galaxy, I know who you are and why you are here on Ossus. I come before you with a request. The Sith have taken control of the galaxy, and rule it with an iron fist. In time they will be defeated, but until that time all people who believe in what is good are in danger. My request is to borrow one of the ancient lightsabers you protect under your roots. I wish to help to remove this evil from its place of power.”
I stood and waited, hoping that the massive tree-Jedi would respond. After several minutes, I heard the cracking of the ground, and as I looked, I saw 2 roots begin to pull apart. I slowly moved forward, and looked in. Reaching in, I grasped for one of the precious cylinders. Pulling it out, I stopped and starred at it for a minute. I then moved my arm to my side, and looked back up at the Jedi Master.
“Thank you. I will not betray your trust. According to what I know, part of your destiny is to protect those artifacts until another jedi comes for them, to begin a rebuilding of the Jedi Order. I am sorry to say I am not him. But, I can tell you that he will come within the next 12 standard years. He is also the one who will defeat the Sith.”
With that, I began to walk away. I could hear the roots begin to work their way back into place overtop of the stockpile of lightsabers.
Before arriving at my ship, I decided to inspect the weapon. I found the activation stud, and pressed it. I heard the all too familiar hum, and paused as I saw a bluish blade form. It grew to about 3 feet, and stopped. I moved it through the air a little, and then started to look at the other controls. There appeared to be one toggle switch and a knob switch. As I rotated the latter, I saw the blade shorten, then lengthen. I then flipped the toggle, and I could see nothing happen. I tried something. I flipped the switch back, and attempted to cut a chunk of grass out of the ground. I was successful. Then I flipped the switch, and repeated the action. This time, nothing. I determined that this must be some kind of practice mode, or intensity setting. By placing the lightsaber in practice mode, one would not risk cutting off a limb by making a mistake. Its use could also be for a weapon. By changing the intensity of the blade in mid-fight, you could force your opponent to swing and lose balance expecting a parry, leaving you open for the strike.
I was satisfied at that point, so I boarded my ship and left.
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Chapter 32: My Final Work For the Earth

I returned home. A stop on the Star Destroyer revealed that it was almost fully repaired, and Earth technicians were quickly picking up the knowledge they needed to use it. I landed on Earth the same way I landed before, and was greeted by practically the same crowd.
No reports were necessary from me this time. I was growing obsolete.
I decided to make a final suggestion to the President and then I would pack up my belongings and explore some more.
“Mr. President, “ I began, “I no longer feel I am needed on Earth. The current situation with the Empire has been averted and I think its time I went elsewhere. From the scientific standpoint, we have years of research to catch up on. From the military view, we have a warship capable of defending the planet and a military that knows how to use it. The public, well, to minimize the impact of what has happened, it’s best that they learn slowly.”
I continued, “I would like to make a recommendation to you and the rest of the world leaders. I think it would be helpful to Earth to create a trading station on the far side of the Moon. Have a place where terrans and aliens can trade and interact.”

That is as far as I've gotten.
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Wow. This is good. You should end it by making yourself important to a major battle.

Or make yourself Kyle Katarn or something.

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I've thought about that. I'm tempted to make the main character (not necessarily me, I wrote it that way so that perhaps the reader might feel like it was them) eventually become a capital ship captain in the Alliance.
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Starkiller great story so far, why does it skip from chapter 20 to 31?