Well, Herding Nexu is going to be a mix of comedy and drama, as Luke tries to found his New Jedi Order.
Star Wars Alderaan Lives
- Thread starter AndrewJTalon
- Start date
Well, Herding Nexu is going to be a mix of comedy and drama, as Luke tries to found his New Jedi Order.
Ash's Boomstick
Well-known member
Personally I prefer SW fics that aren't reliant on the Jedi for the story, its why I like the X-Wing books so much.
I like them too. I just feel like Luke got so shafted by Disney and the Sequels that I have to do a lot of work to make his character fun and cool again. That, and I'm not as confident in my ability to write fighter pilots compellingly. I tried to write a sort of X-Wing/Rogue Squadron take in Star Trek? That went nowhere. Nobody liked it.
Ash's Boomstick
Well-known member
I just have missed that one, I've read a lot of your work so I can't remember them all.
Still it might be an idea to bring in non-force users into the mix, people to help rebuild the temple, tend to the grounds, the antithesis of the Jedi Order in the past. Show the public that Jedi are just normal people after all. I know this fic can't do that really because of how/where it's set (not unless they find a hidden enclave of a few dozen survivors).
Well, we've got Doctor Aphra, and we've got Hera Syndulla. I'll have them do more stuff.
Counterpoint to this...I like the idea of the Jedi doing all the menial work as well. Tend gardens, maintain buildings and equipment, etc...b/c it shows they are also willing to do the work that everyone else has to as well.
Ash's Boomstick
Well-known member
I'd have more than that, have injured soldiers no longer able to fight or those who have no home, have them build a colony alongside the temple. Create a sanctuary world like they have in Legend.
Heck you could have it start in this fic and continue on and end up with the Temple rebuilding nearby and link the two fics together.
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
hmmm it does occur to me that while the aldereanian fleet can't beat the imperial fleet at large its large enough to savage all but the most well defended bases and convoys and if massed can fight and beat any single ship in the imperial fleet that isn't at least battlecruiser sized without too much difficulty once they're properly trained up
I honestly disagree -- Luke did the exact same thing Obi-Wan and Yoda did, retreating into contemplative navel-gazing while abandoning non-Force users to live with the consequences and leaving the next generation holding the bag. In Yoda's literal words, "Failed I have. Into exile must I go."
It's a much less heroic take on Luke than Legends/EU, but Luke self-exiling after one big failure is in my opinion more bearable than the NJO just repeating the *many* failures of the old Jedi over and over and over again, and every time piling more pain and suffering on the normal people of the galaxy.
(Case in point, Kyp Durron.)
Alderaan Lives 8
- - -
Her Alderaanian Majesty's Ship Wrath of Torhu
Two months after the Battle of Yavin
- - -
Marcus Quinn pulled hard on the stick as he brought his starfighter around. The HUD cursor struggled to lock onto the fleeing target, as it bobbed and weaved desperately. Quinn kept his cool, maintaining his focus. He just had to wait... For just the right moment...
The cursor locked on. He pulled the trigger, and a barrage of laser blasts left the four tips of his X-Wing. The target was struck... But the lasers were set to low power. Good thing too-They were still rebuilding their X-Wing squadrons, and losing any of the state of the art strike fighters would be bad.
The pilots too. Especially this one.
"Good shot, Viper Leader, you got me!" Luke Skywalker called over the comm.
"Good evasion, Rogue Leader," Quinn replied, a slight smile on his face as he brought his X-Wing into formation with Skywalker's, "that's the first time I've been able to hit you all day."
The rest of their two squadrons were similarly training around the Wrath of Torhu as she orbited Uvena Prime. The Rebel Alliance had evacuated quickly in the time after the destruction of the Death Star, and most of their forces had convened at the recently liberated world. It was a point of pride for Quinn to be back here: Their little fleet had liberated this fortress, that even now they were working to reinforce.
The fact the Shistavanen were treating them like heroes was also very reassuring.
"So, how are you finding the X-Wing compared to the Z-95?" Luke asked as they orbited around the Torhu. Quinn rocked his wings up and down a bit.
"I have to admit, the response times are significantly better, in all axises of motion," Quinn replied, "the laser firing rate could be improved though. While powerful, more shots means less chance of missing."
"Yeah, the cyclers for those are a bit slow," Luke admitted, "any of your engineers find a solution?"
"There are some proposals," Quinn allowed, "but so far nothing firm. Resources are a bit thin right now, even with our hosts' generosity."
"I suppose so," Luke sighed, "reminds me of when I had to use a cryogenic unit from a moisture vaporator to get the laser cannon on my T-16 to cycle properly."
Quinn raised an elegant eyebrow.
"Did it work?"
"I had to weld it back on after every three flights, but yeah," Luke said cheerfully, "Biggs was the one who..." He paused, but pushed on.
"The one who helped me attach it."
Quinn nodded.
"He knew his stuff," Quinn said quietly.
"Anyway," Luke said, "let's get back to it, huh?"
"Works for me, Rogue Leader," Quinn replied. He immediately accelerated to attack speed, and broke formation. Luke smoothly turned to follow him, already working hard to lock on.
"R3, see if you can jam him a little more effectively this time," Quinn ordered. His dutiful astromech's reply appeared on the screen. Quinn nodded.
"Run programs Quinn Jam 3 and 5. Adjust at random intervals!"
The little droid complied, as dutiful as ever.
Quinn did his best to keep him off his six, but Skywalker was the real deal. Even with all his skill, it took little time for the nascent Jedi to lock onto him. Still, Quinn focused on improving.
The better they both were? The harder the time the Empire would have.
That was all that mattered in the end.
- - -
"All right," Rik Girard said cheerfully, as he tapped at the control panel for the automat, "we're good to go!"
The cheerful man with dusky skin and black hair was not the most likely pick for a chief engineer. Indeed, as a member of a Great House, he was actually entitled to command one of the War Frigates. But he'd passed that duty onto his younger cousin, Juni, to do what he loved best:
Work with and build better machines. It had been a lifelong obsession for the man. And frankly, Elana and Leia were more than glad for it.
At the moment, one such machine was working furiously behind him, enclosed in transparent plasteel, as droid arms worked at lightning speed to assemble a whole vehicle.
Leia and Elana watched in fascination, as the long central hull of a T-65 X-Wing soon took shape.
"It took some doing, and a lot of work with the Incom Engineers," Rik said, nodding to an older human woman with fading blonde hair, and a Mirailan man with a long bushy beard, "but we're ready to produce X-Wings right on our own ships' Automatic Manufacturing Pods! Right Frum, Tila?"
"It's not as efficient as with dedicated factories, Your Highess, My Lady," the Mirailan man, Frum, apologized, "but it will make spare parts a lot easier to come by."
The blonde woman shook her head, grinning in amazement.
"It's only inefficient because there aren't more of them. It would be better if we could incorporate this technology into our on planet facilities," Tila said with a grin, "we could increase production by ten times!"
Leia and Elana beamed. They looked over at Rik, who rubbed his scraggly beard.
"The Automat tech isn't too hard to reproduce, in theory," he said, "but the trouble is, it requires Alderaanian droid brains with the right software to operate. We could get those from Delaya, but..." He winced. Leia nodded.
"The Imperial blockade," she sighed, "we'll have to talk to Han. See if he knows any smugglers who can get past it. This kind of technology is too vital not to use."
"Agreed, Your Highness," Elana said, "but in the meantime, we might want to sell the specs of the tech to the other members of the Alliance through Incom. If they could develop their own automats, even if they're not as good as ours, it would improve all our industries tremendously."
"Sell?" Leia asked, raising an eyebrow. Elana shrugged.
"Well, Incom still has to make money to keep producing for us," she said, "we're not asking you to work for free."
She nodded to Frum and Tila. Frum smiled and nodded gratefully.
"Thank you, My Lady, Your Highness," he said, "there are companies that are profiting off this war, but... Well, we're part of the Alliance for the long haul. To victory, or death. Making money would just make it a lot easier in our case."
"We're barely scraping by as it is, with friends sending us credits through various underworld means," Tila sighed, rubbing her cheek. A prominent scar was emblazoned across it. "I mean, with enough funding we could do a lot more than just the standard X-Wings! We've got plans for new sensor arrays, better laser cannons, integrated helmet heads up displays-The works!"
Leia nodded slowly.
"All right," she said, "we will speak with Alliance Command about how to implement the sales at our next meeting. For the time being? If you need any extra resources, Rik will provide them. If he doesn't have enough? Just talk to me. I'll find them, somehow."
"Thank you, your Highness," Tila and Frum said, almost in unison, as they bowed. Rik grinned happily, and stood up to bow deeply.
"Thank you, Your Highness," he added, "I have a list of things that might make the process go more smoothly! Power converters, Alluvial dampeners, servo motors, heat sinks, cryo-"
Elana smiled at Rik gently, and squeezed his shoulder.
"Unfortunately, Princess Leia and I have another appointment today," she said, "so please forward your list to us later?"
Rik started, and nodded quickly.
"Oh! Oh, yes, of course My Lady, Your Highness," he nodded. He turned away, back to the Incom engineers with a broad smile.
"So! What do you think of shunting some of the excess ions in the drive system into a reverse thruster mode?"
"Capturing them would require an alluvial ring," Tila hummed, already on her datapad, "such designs are tricky."
"Not if you make use of the engine turbines to power the cooling system," Rik challenged.
"We're already siphoning off a lot of power as it is," Frum grumbled, "I mean, the fighter was built to be overpowered, so do we need to add more mass like that already?"
"Of course we do! We should take advantage of it but still keep producing as much power as possible!" Rik went on.
The three continued their discussion, as Leia and Elana left the manufacturing bay. Elana chuckled at Leia's wry look.
"I've known Rik since we were children," she said, "he really hasn't changed much in all that time. I still remember when we took apart his uncle's airspeeder. That was fun."
"For both of you?" Leia asked, struggling not to smirk.
"Definitely," Elana said with a grin. She walked along the corridor of the engineering section, letting her hand run along the bulkhead.
"I find myself thinking about that a lot, these days," she admitted.
"I... Try not to," Leia admitted. Elana looked over at her princess, with a neutral expression. Leia shook her head.
"It'll distract me too much to dwell on it," she said.
"I suppose," Elana said carefully, "still... I mean, the Killik Festival is this month and-"
"And you can attend to it for me," Leia stated, much colder now. Elana frowned.
"Your Highness-"
"I've got too much work to do for a celebration," Leia stated firmly, "not when you can handle that for me."
"You're our sovereign, Leia," Elana insisted, "you need to be there-"
"You can handle it," Leia stated. She looked up ahead, and then nodded to Elana.
"Give me a moment."
She headed off, and Elana narrowed her eyes at the blonde woman in an orange flight suit who Leia was meeting with. Lieutenant Evaan Verlaine.
Now, there wasn't really any reason to dislike her. She'd been one of only two surviving Y-Wing pilots at the Battle of Yavin. She had flown backseat, and kept herself and her pilot alive. That had taken a lot of skill. She was Alderaanian, too. She'd been taught by Queen Breha, as part of an outreach program the Queen had done to help promote talented children of non-noble Alderaanians. Verlaine had been exceptional, graduating the Alderaanian Flight Academy with honors and now, joining the Rebel Alliance.
Yet something about her had rubbed Elana the wrong way from the moment she'd laid eyes on the pilot. And she honestly didn't know why.
It didn't make sense, and yet...?
Leia led Verlaine back. The cold eyed woman looked Elana up and down, her face stony.
"Elana," Leia said, "you've met Lieutenant Verlaine, correct?"
"Not properly," Elana said, smiling politely and nodding her head, "Lieutenant. I again must thank you for your courage. It can't have been easy, fighting like that."
"Thank you My Lady," Verlaine replied with a nod.
"We wanted to request something of you directly," Leia said.
"Yes, your Highness?"
"I would like to take a squadron of our ships out to Naboo," Leia said, "there are reports of Alderaanian refugees being held there by the Empire. I think we can liberate them."
Elana frowned.
"Your Highness, we did request that of the Alliance Command last week," she reminded Leia, "and they declined-"
"Except this is our fleet, and our people, not theirs," Evaan sniffed, "my Lady."
She'd added that almost too late. But Elana didn't take offense to the slight... At least, nothing she would express out loud.
"I understand that," Elana said slowly, "and I would love to go myself. Liberate them. But the Imperial Blockade around Naboo is very strong right now. Quinn suggested we could try some diversionary strikes to draw them off first, coordinate with the local resistance to get them ships-"
"That will take too long," Verlaine interrupted, "our people are suffering now, my Lady! Don't you care?!"
Elana had to bite back a vicious retort at that. She grit her teeth, let them go, breathed slow and deep...
"I know that, but getting us all killed won't help them," Elana stated, again slow and deliberate.
Verlaine sucked in a breath through her nostrils. Elana turned to Leia.
"Your Highness, we can't just charge in! We only just got the automats working on our ships!" Elana insisted, "without that technology, the Alliance loses the capability to create our own starfighters and spare parts easily!"
Leia bit her lower lip before she responded.
"They're our people though," Leia insisted, "we need to do more for them."
Elana again had to fight back her own tongue. Keep the retorts back... It won't help...
"I agree," she said, "Quinn put together a plan for us to send Mu shuttles out with some fighters to escort refugee fleets to us. Alliance Intel has a lead on a few ships gathering around system J296-A white dwarf star in the Mid-Rim. It's a good start-"
"That's, what, twenty ships?" Evaan scoffed. "With a few hundred lives? There are over a thousand Alderaanians at Naboo, My Lady!"
"Alderaanians are Alderaanians," Elana said firmly, "I'm going to rescue as many as I can, but losing more lives to save lives won't let us win this war!"
Evaan sneered.
"You seem to be taking a lot of advice from Quinn, My Lady," she hissed, "are you certain you can actually trust him?"
"Well, he doesn't question my orders or accuse me of being uncaring, so yes, I think I can, Lieutenant," Elana responded, glaring daggers at the blonde woman. The lieutenant held her ground.
"Perhaps because you're acting like the Empire wants us to, My Lady."
"So the Empire doesn't want us all dead?" Elana asked dryly. "How curious. I didn't know you were a mindreader-"
"Enough! Both of you!" Leia growled. Elana held back. Verlaine sneered.
"I just think her reliance on an Imperial is risky, Your Highness," she stated.
"I said enough, Verlaine," Leia stated firmly, and Verlaine finally bit her tongue. She looked at Elana and sighed.
"I see your point of view, Elana," she said, "but... You said it yourself. I am our sovereign now. I have to look after our people."
"It's my job too, Your Highness," Elana pointed out, barely biting back her anger, "to look after all our people. You included!"
Leia nodded slowly.
"Yes, it is," she said quietly. "I'm going to attend to some things. You can handle things without me?"
"If you wish, Your Highness," Elana said, shooting a suspicious look at Verlaine. She gave nothing away beneath that icy scowl.
"Thank you, Elana," Leia said kindly, genuinely. She squeezed Elana's hand. She then headed off, Verlaine following close behind.
That bad feeling got even more pronounced now. She sucked in a deep breath.
"River?"
No response. Elana frowned and looked around.
"River? Are you there?"
A stealth field deactivated behind her, and Elana sighed in irritation as she spun back to look at her Rist Shadow.
"Not funny."
"A little funny, My Lady," River said impishly, "your orders?"
"Keep an eye on them," Elana stated, eyes narrowing.
"Understood," River said, vanishing once again. Elana shook her head, and headed off to the bridge.
Maybe she was just being paranoid... But on the other hand, being paranoid had worked so far...
- - -
Her Alderaanian Majesty's Ship Wrath of Torhu
Two months after the Battle of Yavin
- - -
Marcus Quinn pulled hard on the stick as he brought his starfighter around. The HUD cursor struggled to lock onto the fleeing target, as it bobbed and weaved desperately. Quinn kept his cool, maintaining his focus. He just had to wait... For just the right moment...
The cursor locked on. He pulled the trigger, and a barrage of laser blasts left the four tips of his X-Wing. The target was struck... But the lasers were set to low power. Good thing too-They were still rebuilding their X-Wing squadrons, and losing any of the state of the art strike fighters would be bad.
The pilots too. Especially this one.
"Good shot, Viper Leader, you got me!" Luke Skywalker called over the comm.
"Good evasion, Rogue Leader," Quinn replied, a slight smile on his face as he brought his X-Wing into formation with Skywalker's, "that's the first time I've been able to hit you all day."
The rest of their two squadrons were similarly training around the Wrath of Torhu as she orbited Uvena Prime. The Rebel Alliance had evacuated quickly in the time after the destruction of the Death Star, and most of their forces had convened at the recently liberated world. It was a point of pride for Quinn to be back here: Their little fleet had liberated this fortress, that even now they were working to reinforce.
The fact the Shistavanen were treating them like heroes was also very reassuring.
"So, how are you finding the X-Wing compared to the Z-95?" Luke asked as they orbited around the Torhu. Quinn rocked his wings up and down a bit.
"I have to admit, the response times are significantly better, in all axises of motion," Quinn replied, "the laser firing rate could be improved though. While powerful, more shots means less chance of missing."
"Yeah, the cyclers for those are a bit slow," Luke admitted, "any of your engineers find a solution?"
"There are some proposals," Quinn allowed, "but so far nothing firm. Resources are a bit thin right now, even with our hosts' generosity."
"I suppose so," Luke sighed, "reminds me of when I had to use a cryogenic unit from a moisture vaporator to get the laser cannon on my T-16 to cycle properly."
Quinn raised an elegant eyebrow.
"Did it work?"
"I had to weld it back on after every three flights, but yeah," Luke said cheerfully, "Biggs was the one who..." He paused, but pushed on.
"The one who helped me attach it."
Quinn nodded.
"He knew his stuff," Quinn said quietly.
"Anyway," Luke said, "let's get back to it, huh?"
"Works for me, Rogue Leader," Quinn replied. He immediately accelerated to attack speed, and broke formation. Luke smoothly turned to follow him, already working hard to lock on.
"R3, see if you can jam him a little more effectively this time," Quinn ordered. His dutiful astromech's reply appeared on the screen. Quinn nodded.
"Run programs Quinn Jam 3 and 5. Adjust at random intervals!"
The little droid complied, as dutiful as ever.
Quinn did his best to keep him off his six, but Skywalker was the real deal. Even with all his skill, it took little time for the nascent Jedi to lock onto him. Still, Quinn focused on improving.
The better they both were? The harder the time the Empire would have.
That was all that mattered in the end.
- - -
"All right," Rik Girard said cheerfully, as he tapped at the control panel for the automat, "we're good to go!"
The cheerful man with dusky skin and black hair was not the most likely pick for a chief engineer. Indeed, as a member of a Great House, he was actually entitled to command one of the War Frigates. But he'd passed that duty onto his younger cousin, Juni, to do what he loved best:
Work with and build better machines. It had been a lifelong obsession for the man. And frankly, Elana and Leia were more than glad for it.
At the moment, one such machine was working furiously behind him, enclosed in transparent plasteel, as droid arms worked at lightning speed to assemble a whole vehicle.
Leia and Elana watched in fascination, as the long central hull of a T-65 X-Wing soon took shape.
"It took some doing, and a lot of work with the Incom Engineers," Rik said, nodding to an older human woman with fading blonde hair, and a Mirailan man with a long bushy beard, "but we're ready to produce X-Wings right on our own ships' Automatic Manufacturing Pods! Right Frum, Tila?"
"It's not as efficient as with dedicated factories, Your Highess, My Lady," the Mirailan man, Frum, apologized, "but it will make spare parts a lot easier to come by."
The blonde woman shook her head, grinning in amazement.
"It's only inefficient because there aren't more of them. It would be better if we could incorporate this technology into our on planet facilities," Tila said with a grin, "we could increase production by ten times!"
Leia and Elana beamed. They looked over at Rik, who rubbed his scraggly beard.
"The Automat tech isn't too hard to reproduce, in theory," he said, "but the trouble is, it requires Alderaanian droid brains with the right software to operate. We could get those from Delaya, but..." He winced. Leia nodded.
"The Imperial blockade," she sighed, "we'll have to talk to Han. See if he knows any smugglers who can get past it. This kind of technology is too vital not to use."
"Agreed, Your Highness," Elana said, "but in the meantime, we might want to sell the specs of the tech to the other members of the Alliance through Incom. If they could develop their own automats, even if they're not as good as ours, it would improve all our industries tremendously."
"Sell?" Leia asked, raising an eyebrow. Elana shrugged.
"Well, Incom still has to make money to keep producing for us," she said, "we're not asking you to work for free."
She nodded to Frum and Tila. Frum smiled and nodded gratefully.
"Thank you, My Lady, Your Highness," he said, "there are companies that are profiting off this war, but... Well, we're part of the Alliance for the long haul. To victory, or death. Making money would just make it a lot easier in our case."
"We're barely scraping by as it is, with friends sending us credits through various underworld means," Tila sighed, rubbing her cheek. A prominent scar was emblazoned across it. "I mean, with enough funding we could do a lot more than just the standard X-Wings! We've got plans for new sensor arrays, better laser cannons, integrated helmet heads up displays-The works!"
Leia nodded slowly.
"All right," she said, "we will speak with Alliance Command about how to implement the sales at our next meeting. For the time being? If you need any extra resources, Rik will provide them. If he doesn't have enough? Just talk to me. I'll find them, somehow."
"Thank you, your Highness," Tila and Frum said, almost in unison, as they bowed. Rik grinned happily, and stood up to bow deeply.
"Thank you, Your Highness," he added, "I have a list of things that might make the process go more smoothly! Power converters, Alluvial dampeners, servo motors, heat sinks, cryo-"
Elana smiled at Rik gently, and squeezed his shoulder.
"Unfortunately, Princess Leia and I have another appointment today," she said, "so please forward your list to us later?"
Rik started, and nodded quickly.
"Oh! Oh, yes, of course My Lady, Your Highness," he nodded. He turned away, back to the Incom engineers with a broad smile.
"So! What do you think of shunting some of the excess ions in the drive system into a reverse thruster mode?"
"Capturing them would require an alluvial ring," Tila hummed, already on her datapad, "such designs are tricky."
"Not if you make use of the engine turbines to power the cooling system," Rik challenged.
"We're already siphoning off a lot of power as it is," Frum grumbled, "I mean, the fighter was built to be overpowered, so do we need to add more mass like that already?"
"Of course we do! We should take advantage of it but still keep producing as much power as possible!" Rik went on.
The three continued their discussion, as Leia and Elana left the manufacturing bay. Elana chuckled at Leia's wry look.
"I've known Rik since we were children," she said, "he really hasn't changed much in all that time. I still remember when we took apart his uncle's airspeeder. That was fun."
"For both of you?" Leia asked, struggling not to smirk.
"Definitely," Elana said with a grin. She walked along the corridor of the engineering section, letting her hand run along the bulkhead.
"I find myself thinking about that a lot, these days," she admitted.
"I... Try not to," Leia admitted. Elana looked over at her princess, with a neutral expression. Leia shook her head.
"It'll distract me too much to dwell on it," she said.
"I suppose," Elana said carefully, "still... I mean, the Killik Festival is this month and-"
"And you can attend to it for me," Leia stated, much colder now. Elana frowned.
"Your Highness-"
"I've got too much work to do for a celebration," Leia stated firmly, "not when you can handle that for me."
"You're our sovereign, Leia," Elana insisted, "you need to be there-"
"You can handle it," Leia stated. She looked up ahead, and then nodded to Elana.
"Give me a moment."
She headed off, and Elana narrowed her eyes at the blonde woman in an orange flight suit who Leia was meeting with. Lieutenant Evaan Verlaine.
Now, there wasn't really any reason to dislike her. She'd been one of only two surviving Y-Wing pilots at the Battle of Yavin. She had flown backseat, and kept herself and her pilot alive. That had taken a lot of skill. She was Alderaanian, too. She'd been taught by Queen Breha, as part of an outreach program the Queen had done to help promote talented children of non-noble Alderaanians. Verlaine had been exceptional, graduating the Alderaanian Flight Academy with honors and now, joining the Rebel Alliance.
Yet something about her had rubbed Elana the wrong way from the moment she'd laid eyes on the pilot. And she honestly didn't know why.
It didn't make sense, and yet...?
Leia led Verlaine back. The cold eyed woman looked Elana up and down, her face stony.
"Elana," Leia said, "you've met Lieutenant Verlaine, correct?"
"Not properly," Elana said, smiling politely and nodding her head, "Lieutenant. I again must thank you for your courage. It can't have been easy, fighting like that."
"Thank you My Lady," Verlaine replied with a nod.
"We wanted to request something of you directly," Leia said.
"Yes, your Highness?"
"I would like to take a squadron of our ships out to Naboo," Leia said, "there are reports of Alderaanian refugees being held there by the Empire. I think we can liberate them."
Elana frowned.
"Your Highness, we did request that of the Alliance Command last week," she reminded Leia, "and they declined-"
"Except this is our fleet, and our people, not theirs," Evaan sniffed, "my Lady."
She'd added that almost too late. But Elana didn't take offense to the slight... At least, nothing she would express out loud.
"I understand that," Elana said slowly, "and I would love to go myself. Liberate them. But the Imperial Blockade around Naboo is very strong right now. Quinn suggested we could try some diversionary strikes to draw them off first, coordinate with the local resistance to get them ships-"
"That will take too long," Verlaine interrupted, "our people are suffering now, my Lady! Don't you care?!"
Elana had to bite back a vicious retort at that. She grit her teeth, let them go, breathed slow and deep...
"I know that, but getting us all killed won't help them," Elana stated, again slow and deliberate.
Verlaine sucked in a breath through her nostrils. Elana turned to Leia.
"Your Highness, we can't just charge in! We only just got the automats working on our ships!" Elana insisted, "without that technology, the Alliance loses the capability to create our own starfighters and spare parts easily!"
Leia bit her lower lip before she responded.
"They're our people though," Leia insisted, "we need to do more for them."
Elana again had to fight back her own tongue. Keep the retorts back... It won't help...
"I agree," she said, "Quinn put together a plan for us to send Mu shuttles out with some fighters to escort refugee fleets to us. Alliance Intel has a lead on a few ships gathering around system J296-A white dwarf star in the Mid-Rim. It's a good start-"
"That's, what, twenty ships?" Evaan scoffed. "With a few hundred lives? There are over a thousand Alderaanians at Naboo, My Lady!"
"Alderaanians are Alderaanians," Elana said firmly, "I'm going to rescue as many as I can, but losing more lives to save lives won't let us win this war!"
Evaan sneered.
"You seem to be taking a lot of advice from Quinn, My Lady," she hissed, "are you certain you can actually trust him?"
"Well, he doesn't question my orders or accuse me of being uncaring, so yes, I think I can, Lieutenant," Elana responded, glaring daggers at the blonde woman. The lieutenant held her ground.
"Perhaps because you're acting like the Empire wants us to, My Lady."
"So the Empire doesn't want us all dead?" Elana asked dryly. "How curious. I didn't know you were a mindreader-"
"Enough! Both of you!" Leia growled. Elana held back. Verlaine sneered.
"I just think her reliance on an Imperial is risky, Your Highness," she stated.
"I said enough, Verlaine," Leia stated firmly, and Verlaine finally bit her tongue. She looked at Elana and sighed.
"I see your point of view, Elana," she said, "but... You said it yourself. I am our sovereign now. I have to look after our people."
"It's my job too, Your Highness," Elana pointed out, barely biting back her anger, "to look after all our people. You included!"
Leia nodded slowly.
"Yes, it is," she said quietly. "I'm going to attend to some things. You can handle things without me?"
"If you wish, Your Highness," Elana said, shooting a suspicious look at Verlaine. She gave nothing away beneath that icy scowl.
"Thank you, Elana," Leia said kindly, genuinely. She squeezed Elana's hand. She then headed off, Verlaine following close behind.
That bad feeling got even more pronounced now. She sucked in a deep breath.
"River?"
No response. Elana frowned and looked around.
"River? Are you there?"
A stealth field deactivated behind her, and Elana sighed in irritation as she spun back to look at her Rist Shadow.
"Not funny."
"A little funny, My Lady," River said impishly, "your orders?"
"Keep an eye on them," Elana stated, eyes narrowing.
"Understood," River said, vanishing once again. Elana shook her head, and headed off to the bridge.
Maybe she was just being paranoid... But on the other hand, being paranoid had worked so far...
- - -
Quinn's Irritation
I'm working on some other ideas for this next section. One I am enjoying writing is Marcus Quinn's reaction to the reveal of the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer...
The intel had come through... And the holorecordings were projected overhead. Every one of the Rebels gaped in astonishment... Save for Quinn, who cursed loudly.
Quinn: "Fierfek! Are they kriffing insane?!"
Elana: "Quinn, I know it's daunting but-"
Quinn: "Do they have any idea how stupid they are?! No, of course not! Kriffing morons, all of them! Argh!"
Han: "You'll... Have to give us some context there, Quinn."
Quinn: "The functions of this starship could be handled by a ship one third the size, but instead they just kept building it bigger! Even with a hypermatter reactor, a third of the volume will have to be dedicated to fuel tanks! The shields going on must blank out the comms across an entire planet when its in orbit! What utter madman designed this thing, let alone built it?! The logistics trains for it must be insane! They must have had to put up a thousand additional refueling bases and just as many tankers to keep this abomination going! What were they thinking?!"
Elana: "Quinn? These are good things. They are our enemy."
Leia: "We want them to be stupid."
Quinn: "Right, right, sorry My Lady, Your Highness... I suppose I'm just offended by so much waste and idiocy! This is the same thinking that has Star Destroyers going out without escort or support ships to protect them or augment their abilities! Without any point defenses! Or more fighters! I can't believe I was part of this Navy! Who's running all this?!"
Elana: "Again, Quinn? These are good things. They're morons."
Quinn: "I'm just saying, I am writing a comprehensive naval strategy book and everything the Empire is doing is an example of what NOT to do!"
Han: low voice "Glad he's on our side."
Quinn: "Captain Solo? I will need your assistance with my thesis given your own Imperial Navy background!"
Han: "... Most of the time."
The intel had come through... And the holorecordings were projected overhead. Every one of the Rebels gaped in astonishment... Save for Quinn, who cursed loudly.
Quinn: "Fierfek! Are they kriffing insane?!"
Elana: "Quinn, I know it's daunting but-"
Quinn: "Do they have any idea how stupid they are?! No, of course not! Kriffing morons, all of them! Argh!"
Han: "You'll... Have to give us some context there, Quinn."
Quinn: "The functions of this starship could be handled by a ship one third the size, but instead they just kept building it bigger! Even with a hypermatter reactor, a third of the volume will have to be dedicated to fuel tanks! The shields going on must blank out the comms across an entire planet when its in orbit! What utter madman designed this thing, let alone built it?! The logistics trains for it must be insane! They must have had to put up a thousand additional refueling bases and just as many tankers to keep this abomination going! What were they thinking?!"
Elana: "Quinn? These are good things. They are our enemy."
Leia: "We want them to be stupid."
Quinn: "Right, right, sorry My Lady, Your Highness... I suppose I'm just offended by so much waste and idiocy! This is the same thinking that has Star Destroyers going out without escort or support ships to protect them or augment their abilities! Without any point defenses! Or more fighters! I can't believe I was part of this Navy! Who's running all this?!"
Elana: "Again, Quinn? These are good things. They're morons."
Quinn: "I'm just saying, I am writing a comprehensive naval strategy book and everything the Empire is doing is an example of what NOT to do!"
Han: low voice "Glad he's on our side."
Quinn: "Captain Solo? I will need your assistance with my thesis given your own Imperial Navy background!"
Han: "... Most of the time."
Ash's Boomstick
Well-known member
Hmm jealousy or something more.
Hating a former Imperial for being a former Imperial will have that Verlaine butting heads with a lot of people, after all several high level officers and at least one Hero of Yavin are former Imperials and on top of that both the leader of the Alliance and the Alderaanian Monarch are technically also former Imps given they were senators of the Empire.
Also taking a dozen ships with hundreds of crew each against a blockade? Then probably getting them all killed, so losing thousands Alderaanians and not saving the thousand they know are there? Or they save those thousand but lose multiple ships that cause more than a thousand soldiers they end up with a net loss either way. She sounds more like an Imperial agitator than an Alliance officer, or someone that is so inexperienced that they are dangerous.
Hating a former Imperial for being a former Imperial will have that Verlaine butting heads with a lot of people, after all several high level officers and at least one Hero of Yavin are former Imperials and on top of that both the leader of the Alliance and the Alderaanian Monarch are technically also former Imps given they were senators of the Empire.
Also taking a dozen ships with hundreds of crew each against a blockade? Then probably getting them all killed, so losing thousands Alderaanians and not saving the thousand they know are there? Or they save those thousand but lose multiple ships that cause more than a thousand soldiers they end up with a net loss either way. She sounds more like an Imperial agitator than an Alliance officer, or someone that is so inexperienced that they are dangerous.
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
for your SSD needs 99.9% of the time something like bellator class will do
Alderaan Lives 9
- - -
Another fifteen losses (and two wins) for Quinn against Skywalker, and Viper and Rogue Squadron's commanders decided to call it a day. It wasn't just due to nearing bingo fuel, though that was a part of it.
General Dodonna had insisted that the squadrons form up.
"May I ask why, sir?" Luke asked. Quinn had been a little too hesitant to question the orders. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.
Dodonna just chuckled.
"Because you don't want to miss this... All right... Here they come."
Just outside the perimeter established by the Alderaan Civil Defense Fleet and Uvena Prime's Golan defense platforms... A C90 corvette dropped out of hyperspace. It cruised along, quickly moving towards the planet.
Another appeared, and another, and another. DP-20 Corellian Gunships, and dozens of other vessels ranging from light freighters to armed couriers jumped in next, a swarm of them expanding outward like gnasps protecting their nest. Then, Nebulon-B frigates dropped out of hyperspace, their awkward forms somehow graceful against the black of space.
After them, Pelta-class frigates emerged. Quasar-class escort carriers. Old Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers, alongside Recusant-class destroyers, Munificent-class frigates and other ships from the old CIS Navy joined them. A Providence-class dreadnought, old and worn, flew alongside aging Acclamator-class warships and a brightly painted Venator. Dozens of other capital ships, in various states of repair, jumped in-A huge mix of warships from across the galaxy.
Even these parted though, making space. Quinn held his breath, waiting.
Then... Came huge, sleek starships. Not as huge as Star Destroyers, but definitely in the same tonnage. They resembled crafted organic creatures, like gigantic sea beasts now prowling the stars. These vessels... Quinn had seen them before...
"Mon Calamari cruisers," he murmured.
For the first time since he'd dropped his rank badge... The stirrings of hope burned in Quinn.
The hope for true victory.
"Rogue Squadron, Viper Squadron, you are cleared to come aboard Home One," a flight controller announced, "Lieutenant Quinn? Admiral Ackbar has requested that you, Viceroy Elana, and Princess Leia join him aboard as soon as possible."
"Confirmed, Home One," Quinn answered, heart beating hard in his ears, "we're enroute."
"And I'd just like to say?" And here, Quinn could definitely hear the smile in the female's voice, "welcome to the Rebellion, gentlemen."
"It's good to be here," Quinn replied, fighting the stupid grin threatening to break out on his face.
- - -
The Mon Calamari starship was very humid. But Quinn was not bothered by this. He strode to the locker room, stowing his gear, and changing into a thoughtfully provided uniform. Luke did the same next to him, grinning widely.
"Geez, summoned to see the Admiral right off the bat," Luke said, "that's either really good or really bad."
"More than likely, he simply wants to know the status of our fleet," Quinn said, "I am, for all intents and purposes, the military advisor to the Viceroy and the Princess."
"That's true," Luke said with a nod, "just hoping it goes all right for you, huh?"
Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"Is there a reason it shouldn't?" He asked. "Did I... Miss something?"
Luke shook his head.
"You really gotta lighten up, Quinn," he said, chuckling, "you're already getting nicknamed 'Cold Quinn'."
"That is a terrible nickname," Quinn sniffed, "there were far better ones for me back at the Imperial Academy."
"Oh?" Luke grinned, tilting his head innocently, "mind sharing them?"
"I..." Quinn shook his head. "No thank you."
"I just want to know," Luke whined. Quinn resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"I must see to the meeting, and you should debrief your pilots," Quinn said, shaking a stern finger at him.
"All right, Mom, I'll go do that," Luke said, "but seriously-Good luck."
"Hmph. To us all, I suppose," Quinn muttered, as he headed off to the wardroom.
He gave his squadron a very quick debriefing, told them to see the deck officer for room assignments, and headed up to the command levels. The vessel was very well appointed-There was a hydroponics garden with a waterfall and pools of water underneath a wide window reinforced by forcefields. A curious feature in a warship... But then Quinn realized that these had been converted into warships from civilian vessels.
The realization made him a bit sad, but grim necessity overrode that.
He found the door to the meeting room, the location of which the deck officer had forwarded to him. He checked his chrono, then entered.
Admiral Ackbar was sitting in a chair behind a desk. The office was rather simply appointed, just old, waterproof flimsies and some holos on the shelves. An old energy trident hung over his viewport.
The admiral himself looked like a strong being gone slightly to seed thanks to years of inactivity-But his large eyes were shrewd as he calmly looked Quinn over. He stood at attention.
"Lieutenant Marcus Quinn, reporting as ordered, sir," he stated, crisp and clean.
"At ease, Lieutenant," Ackbar stated in his gruff voice, rising to his feet, "take a seat. This isn't an interrogation. We're just waiting on your sovereign and your viceroy. I want this to be relaxed... For the most part."
"Aye sir," Quinn said, relaxing to the parade rest position with his hands behind his back, before he took a seat in one of the slightly beat up chairs opposite Ackbar's desk. Ackbar's whiskers shook a bit, a sign the Mon Calamari was a bit bemused.
"I've looked over your service record from the Imperial data mining we've been doing," Ackbar said, "you're the son of Admiral Tiber Quinn, aren't you?"
Pride blossomed in Quinn's chest.
"Yes sir," Marcus said, "he fought in the Clone Wars. I looked up to him. He was killed by a Separatist gunship ramming the bridge of his Venator in the last few days of the war."
Ackbar nodded, a hint of sympathy in his hard gaze.
"He defended Dac against a number of incursions during that war," he said, "I only met him once, face to face. But he was a good man."
"Thank you sir," Quinn said.
"Your uncle, on the other hand, is a concern," Ackbar went on, "Claud Quinn. An Admiral in the Imperial Navy."
Quinn frowned deeply.
"Sir," he said, calmly and evenly, "if you have concerns about where my loyalties lie-"
"If I had those," Ackbar interrupted, his voice far gruffer, "I wouldn't have let you into my office. We've got plenty of Imperials who saw they were on the wrong side, and joined us. I was rescued by former Imperials, from slavery to Grand Moff Tarkin. No Quinn, what I'm asking is... Do you have family the Empire can try to hurt? To use against you? Because we've authorized operations to help defections before. Recover family members, move them someplace safe."
Quinn bit back a sneer. It wasn't easy, given his memories.
"No sir," Quinn stated, "my uncle does not require any such services. I believe he is quite content where he is."
Ackbar nodded slowly.
"I understand," he said.
"As for the rest of my family?" Quinn shrugged. "If any of them survived... They will hopefully wish to join us without any word from me. But I am aware of the risks involved. I will not be compromised, sir."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Ackbar stated. The doors opened, and Ackbar and Quinn both rose as Elana walked in.
"Lady Viceroy, a pleasure to meet you," Ackbar said. He looked over Elana's shoulder. "Is the Princess delayed?"
"Princess Leia has... Other things to attend to," Elana said, "she sends her regrets, and asked me to act in her stead."
Ackbar stared at her for a moment, then nodded. He gestured to the chair next to Quinn's, and she took it gladly. He sat back in his chair, and activated his holoprojector. An image of the fleet in orbit around Uvena Prime appeared, and he smiled.
"To think.. We once started with nothing more than a few freighters and corvettes," he chuckled. "It's taken a lot of hard work to get us to this point, and it'll take even more to get where we need to be in order to win this war."
"Yes sir," Quinn said reflexively. Ackbar brought up a map of the galaxy, and brought up a few small info cards of a few various planets.
"In the last few years, the Rebellion has managed to liberate, and most importantly, hold, a number of systems across the galaxy," Ackbar stated, "which have been providing desperately needed supplies to our operations. Dac is one of them. While it is not completely free of Imperial influence, they have had to withdrawal so many forces from the area due to uprisings that we can act with effective impunity-That's where Home One came from."
Ackbar pointed to another system on the Outer Rim.
"Another is Lothal, which was liberated a few months ago. It's mostly an agrarian world, but what little industry it has, has become invaluable to us."
"Yes, that's the world where Grand Admiral Thrawn's fleet was lost, with the Grand Admiral himself," Quinn mused, "it is for that reason, among other uprisings across the galaxy, that the Imperial Navy has not been willing or able to retake it."
"The more the Alliance can destabilize the Empire, the more secure our supply chain becomes," Ackbar explained, "we can't win this war with brute force. But the more support we gain, the stronger we become, and the more strategic victories we can win, even if we lose on a tactical level."
"But this fleet is huge," Elana protested, "don't you have the firepower to go on the offensive?"
It hit Quinn with perfect clarity.
"We always... I mean, the Imperial Navy always underestimated just how large a fleet the Alliance had," Quinn said, staring at Ackbar with new respect, "because a single fleet, no matter how large, could still be defeated. But preserving the fleet as a symbol is far more important than as a military asset, isn't it?"
"Oh," Elana nodded, "because as long as the fleet is intact, striking back against the Empire... The Empire is not invincible!"
Ackbar smiled, and nodded.
"Very good, both of you," he said, "that has been our strategy. And it's going to stay that way for a while... But it can't remain that way forever. We can break up the Empire, weaken it with this strategy, but we're going to need to hold ground to actually defeat it. Your liberation of Uvena Prime has given us the start, perhaps, to actually holding planets."
Ackbar brought up two more holo images: One of a Golan Defense Platform, and another of an Orbital Fabrication Facility.
"Uvena Prime is an important logistics hub for the Outer Rim, but at the moment, the Empire cannot retake it with all the other brushfires they have to put out," Ackbar explained, "most importantly? This planet can produce Golan Defense Platforms, and Orbital factories. A self-sustaining production system."
"If you have an orbital factory, you can built another one," Elana surmised, "those can build one more each, then you have four. Then eight, and so on. And the Golan Defense Platforms can be built to protect them."
"As well as the planets they are in orbit of," Ackbar added, "if Uvena Prime can produce enough such facilities for us, we can deploy them to freed or mostly freed worlds. They can manufacture their own defenses. This would allow us to hold them from anything short of an all out Imperial attack, and free up our starships for offensive strikes. We still don't have the numbers... But being able to hold these planets will let us build ourselves up to the point we can get those."
"So, do you want us to negotiate with the Shistavanen to do so?" Elana asked. Ackbar shook his head.
"No, no. You've done a good enough job of winning their goodwill, that Mon Mothma and the other civilian leaders in Alliance Command can get them to agree to that. I have no doubt they will join us. No, what I want is for your fleet to commit to defending them until they can defend themselves. We will provide as much logistical support as we can, as well as all our intelligence links, finances, you name it. But the bulk of the Alliance Fleet must continue to keep scaring the Empire, and stay mobile. Your fleet can join us when the time comes... But we need you here. You liberated them. You have the best relationship with them. Can you do it?"
Elana looked over at Quinn.
"Quinn? What do you think?"
Quinn hummed thoughtfully.
"The strategy, long term, can definitely work," Quinn said, "though, I do think in the shorter term, we can afford to go on the offensive in different ways."
"Oh? How so, Lieutenant?" Ackbar asked, a bit of a challenge in his voice. Quinn stood up to it.
"I agree, preserving the fleet is vital to the long term success of the rebellion," he said, "but continuing to strike the Empire is necessary, beyond raids and covert missions. My father spoke of his strategy: Defeat in detail."
Ackbar nodded.
"I'm aware of the concept," he said, "isolating smaller Imperial fleets and then overwhelming them with larger fleets or superior firepower?"
"Yes sir," Quinn said, "I believe that the use of the Golan Defense Platforms can aid us in such a strategy, as well..."
"Lure Imperial fleets into attacking defended worlds, while we use our fleets to trap and destroy them?" Elana guessed. Quinn nodded, and the Viceroy smiled.
"It's brutal... I love it, Quinn."
Quinn was just able to hide his blush.
"We'll see if we can make it work," Ackbar said, "but we're going to need the platforms in the first place... And we'll want a higher ranking officer to implement it."
Quinn frowned, but he saw the logic.
"I understand, sir," he said.
"Therefore," Elana said cheerfully, "with your permission, Admiral, I'd like to recommend Lieutenant Quinn for promotion to Captain. Any objections?"
Ackbar smiled, again holding back laughter judging by the shaking of his whiskers.
"None. Congratulations, Captain Quinn."
Quinn allowed himself a smile, and stood to offer a bow to both.
"I am honored, My Lady, Admiral."
They talked for a while longer, working out more details, before they left-Ackbar had other meetings and things to see to. But Quinn left with a confident smile on his face.
"Careful," Elana teased, "your reputation might suffer if they saw you looking happy."
Quinn returned to his usual neutral, hard expression.
"Sorry, My Lady," he apologized.
"It's all right," Elana chuckled, "but I like you saving your smiles only for me, you know?"
Quinn smiled again. Damnit... She got to him so easily...!
"So Captain," Elana said cheerfully, "what is our first order of-?"
Her comm beeped. Elana held up a finger.
"Hold that thought," she said, as she brought the holo up to her face, "yes River? ... River?"
River finally appeared, still in full mask and armor... But holding her side.
"Urgh... My Lady," River groaned, "I tried to stop them... I really did, but Verlaine stunned me and-"
"Wait, what?!" Elana gasped. She looked around, seeing a few Alliance personnel staring. She muted the holo, grabbed Quinn's arm, marched down the corridor, and pulled him into a maintenance closet. A lone astromech sat at a recharging station, as she unmuted her communicator.
"She stunned you?!"
"Yes, My Lady," River continued, "she and Princess Leia just flew off in a Y-Wing! They used the launch codes for a standard recon mission, but they're headed for-!"
"Naboo," Elana groaned.
"Naboo?!" Quinn asked in disbelief, "she's going all the way to Naboo?! Are they insane?!"
"Yes, and we're going to go after them," Elana stated.
"I will alert the flight deck-" Quinn began, but Elana held his hand and shook her head.
"No! Nonono! We're not alerting any one else! No more than we have to!" She hissed. She turned back to the holo.
"River? Have my shuttle prepped for launch. Get my swoop gear. Tell Earnhart to meet us in the Torhu's landing bay, now."
"At once, My Lady," River bowed, and vanished.
"But My Lady," Quinn emphasized, "should we not ask the Alliance to-?"
"They just asked us to defend a world for them, Quinn, and our princess just ran off on her own," Elana hissed, "what do you think they'll do if they find out our sovereign is off on a suicide mission they told her not to do?"
Quinn was silent... Then he nodded.
"Point very well taken, My Lady," he said.
"Good, come on," Elana said, "I'm gonna need a pilot. I'll ride in the back of your X-Wing over to the Torhu."
"Er, that will be quite a squeeze-"
"Then I'll sit in your lap!" Elana groaned, as she emerged from the closet, "I don't care!"
She glared at a few techs and droids staring at them.
"What are you looking at?!" She demanded, as she stormed down the corridor. Quinn emerged a moment later, clearing his throat.
"As you were," he ordered. The Alliance personnel obeyed... Though one tech shot him a thumbs up.
Quinn turned, chased after his lady, and focused very hard on keeping the blush off his face.
- - -
Another fifteen losses (and two wins) for Quinn against Skywalker, and Viper and Rogue Squadron's commanders decided to call it a day. It wasn't just due to nearing bingo fuel, though that was a part of it.
General Dodonna had insisted that the squadrons form up.
"May I ask why, sir?" Luke asked. Quinn had been a little too hesitant to question the orders. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.
Dodonna just chuckled.
"Because you don't want to miss this... All right... Here they come."
Just outside the perimeter established by the Alderaan Civil Defense Fleet and Uvena Prime's Golan defense platforms... A C90 corvette dropped out of hyperspace. It cruised along, quickly moving towards the planet.
Another appeared, and another, and another. DP-20 Corellian Gunships, and dozens of other vessels ranging from light freighters to armed couriers jumped in next, a swarm of them expanding outward like gnasps protecting their nest. Then, Nebulon-B frigates dropped out of hyperspace, their awkward forms somehow graceful against the black of space.
After them, Pelta-class frigates emerged. Quasar-class escort carriers. Old Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers, alongside Recusant-class destroyers, Munificent-class frigates and other ships from the old CIS Navy joined them. A Providence-class dreadnought, old and worn, flew alongside aging Acclamator-class warships and a brightly painted Venator. Dozens of other capital ships, in various states of repair, jumped in-A huge mix of warships from across the galaxy.
Even these parted though, making space. Quinn held his breath, waiting.
Then... Came huge, sleek starships. Not as huge as Star Destroyers, but definitely in the same tonnage. They resembled crafted organic creatures, like gigantic sea beasts now prowling the stars. These vessels... Quinn had seen them before...
"Mon Calamari cruisers," he murmured.
For the first time since he'd dropped his rank badge... The stirrings of hope burned in Quinn.
The hope for true victory.
"Rogue Squadron, Viper Squadron, you are cleared to come aboard Home One," a flight controller announced, "Lieutenant Quinn? Admiral Ackbar has requested that you, Viceroy Elana, and Princess Leia join him aboard as soon as possible."
"Confirmed, Home One," Quinn answered, heart beating hard in his ears, "we're enroute."
"And I'd just like to say?" And here, Quinn could definitely hear the smile in the female's voice, "welcome to the Rebellion, gentlemen."
"It's good to be here," Quinn replied, fighting the stupid grin threatening to break out on his face.
- - -
The Mon Calamari starship was very humid. But Quinn was not bothered by this. He strode to the locker room, stowing his gear, and changing into a thoughtfully provided uniform. Luke did the same next to him, grinning widely.
"Geez, summoned to see the Admiral right off the bat," Luke said, "that's either really good or really bad."
"More than likely, he simply wants to know the status of our fleet," Quinn said, "I am, for all intents and purposes, the military advisor to the Viceroy and the Princess."
"That's true," Luke said with a nod, "just hoping it goes all right for you, huh?"
Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"Is there a reason it shouldn't?" He asked. "Did I... Miss something?"
Luke shook his head.
"You really gotta lighten up, Quinn," he said, chuckling, "you're already getting nicknamed 'Cold Quinn'."
"That is a terrible nickname," Quinn sniffed, "there were far better ones for me back at the Imperial Academy."
"Oh?" Luke grinned, tilting his head innocently, "mind sharing them?"
"I..." Quinn shook his head. "No thank you."
"I just want to know," Luke whined. Quinn resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"I must see to the meeting, and you should debrief your pilots," Quinn said, shaking a stern finger at him.
"All right, Mom, I'll go do that," Luke said, "but seriously-Good luck."
"Hmph. To us all, I suppose," Quinn muttered, as he headed off to the wardroom.
He gave his squadron a very quick debriefing, told them to see the deck officer for room assignments, and headed up to the command levels. The vessel was very well appointed-There was a hydroponics garden with a waterfall and pools of water underneath a wide window reinforced by forcefields. A curious feature in a warship... But then Quinn realized that these had been converted into warships from civilian vessels.
The realization made him a bit sad, but grim necessity overrode that.
He found the door to the meeting room, the location of which the deck officer had forwarded to him. He checked his chrono, then entered.
Admiral Ackbar was sitting in a chair behind a desk. The office was rather simply appointed, just old, waterproof flimsies and some holos on the shelves. An old energy trident hung over his viewport.
The admiral himself looked like a strong being gone slightly to seed thanks to years of inactivity-But his large eyes were shrewd as he calmly looked Quinn over. He stood at attention.
"Lieutenant Marcus Quinn, reporting as ordered, sir," he stated, crisp and clean.
"At ease, Lieutenant," Ackbar stated in his gruff voice, rising to his feet, "take a seat. This isn't an interrogation. We're just waiting on your sovereign and your viceroy. I want this to be relaxed... For the most part."
"Aye sir," Quinn said, relaxing to the parade rest position with his hands behind his back, before he took a seat in one of the slightly beat up chairs opposite Ackbar's desk. Ackbar's whiskers shook a bit, a sign the Mon Calamari was a bit bemused.
"I've looked over your service record from the Imperial data mining we've been doing," Ackbar said, "you're the son of Admiral Tiber Quinn, aren't you?"
Pride blossomed in Quinn's chest.
"Yes sir," Marcus said, "he fought in the Clone Wars. I looked up to him. He was killed by a Separatist gunship ramming the bridge of his Venator in the last few days of the war."
Ackbar nodded, a hint of sympathy in his hard gaze.
"He defended Dac against a number of incursions during that war," he said, "I only met him once, face to face. But he was a good man."
"Thank you sir," Quinn said.
"Your uncle, on the other hand, is a concern," Ackbar went on, "Claud Quinn. An Admiral in the Imperial Navy."
Quinn frowned deeply.
"Sir," he said, calmly and evenly, "if you have concerns about where my loyalties lie-"
"If I had those," Ackbar interrupted, his voice far gruffer, "I wouldn't have let you into my office. We've got plenty of Imperials who saw they were on the wrong side, and joined us. I was rescued by former Imperials, from slavery to Grand Moff Tarkin. No Quinn, what I'm asking is... Do you have family the Empire can try to hurt? To use against you? Because we've authorized operations to help defections before. Recover family members, move them someplace safe."
Quinn bit back a sneer. It wasn't easy, given his memories.
"No sir," Quinn stated, "my uncle does not require any such services. I believe he is quite content where he is."
Ackbar nodded slowly.
"I understand," he said.
"As for the rest of my family?" Quinn shrugged. "If any of them survived... They will hopefully wish to join us without any word from me. But I am aware of the risks involved. I will not be compromised, sir."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Ackbar stated. The doors opened, and Ackbar and Quinn both rose as Elana walked in.
"Lady Viceroy, a pleasure to meet you," Ackbar said. He looked over Elana's shoulder. "Is the Princess delayed?"
"Princess Leia has... Other things to attend to," Elana said, "she sends her regrets, and asked me to act in her stead."
Ackbar stared at her for a moment, then nodded. He gestured to the chair next to Quinn's, and she took it gladly. He sat back in his chair, and activated his holoprojector. An image of the fleet in orbit around Uvena Prime appeared, and he smiled.
"To think.. We once started with nothing more than a few freighters and corvettes," he chuckled. "It's taken a lot of hard work to get us to this point, and it'll take even more to get where we need to be in order to win this war."
"Yes sir," Quinn said reflexively. Ackbar brought up a map of the galaxy, and brought up a few small info cards of a few various planets.
"In the last few years, the Rebellion has managed to liberate, and most importantly, hold, a number of systems across the galaxy," Ackbar stated, "which have been providing desperately needed supplies to our operations. Dac is one of them. While it is not completely free of Imperial influence, they have had to withdrawal so many forces from the area due to uprisings that we can act with effective impunity-That's where Home One came from."
Ackbar pointed to another system on the Outer Rim.
"Another is Lothal, which was liberated a few months ago. It's mostly an agrarian world, but what little industry it has, has become invaluable to us."
"Yes, that's the world where Grand Admiral Thrawn's fleet was lost, with the Grand Admiral himself," Quinn mused, "it is for that reason, among other uprisings across the galaxy, that the Imperial Navy has not been willing or able to retake it."
"The more the Alliance can destabilize the Empire, the more secure our supply chain becomes," Ackbar explained, "we can't win this war with brute force. But the more support we gain, the stronger we become, and the more strategic victories we can win, even if we lose on a tactical level."
"But this fleet is huge," Elana protested, "don't you have the firepower to go on the offensive?"
It hit Quinn with perfect clarity.
"We always... I mean, the Imperial Navy always underestimated just how large a fleet the Alliance had," Quinn said, staring at Ackbar with new respect, "because a single fleet, no matter how large, could still be defeated. But preserving the fleet as a symbol is far more important than as a military asset, isn't it?"
"Oh," Elana nodded, "because as long as the fleet is intact, striking back against the Empire... The Empire is not invincible!"
Ackbar smiled, and nodded.
"Very good, both of you," he said, "that has been our strategy. And it's going to stay that way for a while... But it can't remain that way forever. We can break up the Empire, weaken it with this strategy, but we're going to need to hold ground to actually defeat it. Your liberation of Uvena Prime has given us the start, perhaps, to actually holding planets."
Ackbar brought up two more holo images: One of a Golan Defense Platform, and another of an Orbital Fabrication Facility.
"Uvena Prime is an important logistics hub for the Outer Rim, but at the moment, the Empire cannot retake it with all the other brushfires they have to put out," Ackbar explained, "most importantly? This planet can produce Golan Defense Platforms, and Orbital factories. A self-sustaining production system."
"If you have an orbital factory, you can built another one," Elana surmised, "those can build one more each, then you have four. Then eight, and so on. And the Golan Defense Platforms can be built to protect them."
"As well as the planets they are in orbit of," Ackbar added, "if Uvena Prime can produce enough such facilities for us, we can deploy them to freed or mostly freed worlds. They can manufacture their own defenses. This would allow us to hold them from anything short of an all out Imperial attack, and free up our starships for offensive strikes. We still don't have the numbers... But being able to hold these planets will let us build ourselves up to the point we can get those."
"So, do you want us to negotiate with the Shistavanen to do so?" Elana asked. Ackbar shook his head.
"No, no. You've done a good enough job of winning their goodwill, that Mon Mothma and the other civilian leaders in Alliance Command can get them to agree to that. I have no doubt they will join us. No, what I want is for your fleet to commit to defending them until they can defend themselves. We will provide as much logistical support as we can, as well as all our intelligence links, finances, you name it. But the bulk of the Alliance Fleet must continue to keep scaring the Empire, and stay mobile. Your fleet can join us when the time comes... But we need you here. You liberated them. You have the best relationship with them. Can you do it?"
Elana looked over at Quinn.
"Quinn? What do you think?"
Quinn hummed thoughtfully.
"The strategy, long term, can definitely work," Quinn said, "though, I do think in the shorter term, we can afford to go on the offensive in different ways."
"Oh? How so, Lieutenant?" Ackbar asked, a bit of a challenge in his voice. Quinn stood up to it.
"I agree, preserving the fleet is vital to the long term success of the rebellion," he said, "but continuing to strike the Empire is necessary, beyond raids and covert missions. My father spoke of his strategy: Defeat in detail."
Ackbar nodded.
"I'm aware of the concept," he said, "isolating smaller Imperial fleets and then overwhelming them with larger fleets or superior firepower?"
"Yes sir," Quinn said, "I believe that the use of the Golan Defense Platforms can aid us in such a strategy, as well..."
"Lure Imperial fleets into attacking defended worlds, while we use our fleets to trap and destroy them?" Elana guessed. Quinn nodded, and the Viceroy smiled.
"It's brutal... I love it, Quinn."
Quinn was just able to hide his blush.
"We'll see if we can make it work," Ackbar said, "but we're going to need the platforms in the first place... And we'll want a higher ranking officer to implement it."
Quinn frowned, but he saw the logic.
"I understand, sir," he said.
"Therefore," Elana said cheerfully, "with your permission, Admiral, I'd like to recommend Lieutenant Quinn for promotion to Captain. Any objections?"
Ackbar smiled, again holding back laughter judging by the shaking of his whiskers.
"None. Congratulations, Captain Quinn."
Quinn allowed himself a smile, and stood to offer a bow to both.
"I am honored, My Lady, Admiral."
They talked for a while longer, working out more details, before they left-Ackbar had other meetings and things to see to. But Quinn left with a confident smile on his face.
"Careful," Elana teased, "your reputation might suffer if they saw you looking happy."
Quinn returned to his usual neutral, hard expression.
"Sorry, My Lady," he apologized.
"It's all right," Elana chuckled, "but I like you saving your smiles only for me, you know?"
Quinn smiled again. Damnit... She got to him so easily...!
"So Captain," Elana said cheerfully, "what is our first order of-?"
Her comm beeped. Elana held up a finger.
"Hold that thought," she said, as she brought the holo up to her face, "yes River? ... River?"
River finally appeared, still in full mask and armor... But holding her side.
"Urgh... My Lady," River groaned, "I tried to stop them... I really did, but Verlaine stunned me and-"
"Wait, what?!" Elana gasped. She looked around, seeing a few Alliance personnel staring. She muted the holo, grabbed Quinn's arm, marched down the corridor, and pulled him into a maintenance closet. A lone astromech sat at a recharging station, as she unmuted her communicator.
"She stunned you?!"
"Yes, My Lady," River continued, "she and Princess Leia just flew off in a Y-Wing! They used the launch codes for a standard recon mission, but they're headed for-!"
"Naboo," Elana groaned.
"Naboo?!" Quinn asked in disbelief, "she's going all the way to Naboo?! Are they insane?!"
"Yes, and we're going to go after them," Elana stated.
"I will alert the flight deck-" Quinn began, but Elana held his hand and shook her head.
"No! Nonono! We're not alerting any one else! No more than we have to!" She hissed. She turned back to the holo.
"River? Have my shuttle prepped for launch. Get my swoop gear. Tell Earnhart to meet us in the Torhu's landing bay, now."
"At once, My Lady," River bowed, and vanished.
"But My Lady," Quinn emphasized, "should we not ask the Alliance to-?"
"They just asked us to defend a world for them, Quinn, and our princess just ran off on her own," Elana hissed, "what do you think they'll do if they find out our sovereign is off on a suicide mission they told her not to do?"
Quinn was silent... Then he nodded.
"Point very well taken, My Lady," he said.
"Good, come on," Elana said, "I'm gonna need a pilot. I'll ride in the back of your X-Wing over to the Torhu."
"Er, that will be quite a squeeze-"
"Then I'll sit in your lap!" Elana groaned, as she emerged from the closet, "I don't care!"
She glared at a few techs and droids staring at them.
"What are you looking at?!" She demanded, as she stormed down the corridor. Quinn emerged a moment later, clearing his throat.
"As you were," he ordered. The Alliance personnel obeyed... Though one tech shot him a thumbs up.
Quinn turned, chased after his lady, and focused very hard on keeping the blush off his face.
- - -
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Leia, Leia, Leia... that's so... Anakin of you. *braces for shouts of outrage* and so is that. *ducks the flying chair* And that.
Very interesting, however, nice to see the growing chemistry.
And let me guess, his Academy nickname was Mom.
Very interesting, however, nice to see the growing chemistry.
And let me guess, his Academy nickname was Mom.
Among others, yes.
In the Disney Marvel Star Wars comics, there are a lot of instances of the "lone heroic woman" going off to "do what's right" regardless of any logic. I want to turn that on its head. Go back to the older Marvel Star Wars comics where such things could only be excused if there was a really, REEEEEAAAALLLYYY vital reason for doing such things.
And in this case? Well... You'll see.
But by the same token it just shows that Leia has inherited Anakin's recklessness, we saw plenty of that in the original trilogy, because Leia *never* hesitates to run off half-cocked. Luke is the one who actually thinks for a moment... before running off half-cocked.
That too, so I'm sticking to their proper characters... Again, better than Disney Marvel. I hope so, anyway.
But yeah. I am also setting up some potential future storylines here. Any thoughts on how I handled Quinn and Ackbar?
Hard to be worse, although Legends had its own fair share of howlers and inanity, and don't get me started on the novelizations of the original trilogy and how they contradicted the movies at points.
But focusing on the story, Leia is doing what she regularly does in the Original Trilogy, allows herself to be goaded into running off on her own. Thankfully this being Naboo instead of Tatooine it's unlikely she'll wind up in a slave bikini this time around, but hopefully Elana can thwap her Monarch (respectfully!) upside the head with a clue-by-four.
But focusing on the story, Leia is doing what she regularly does in the Original Trilogy, allows herself to be goaded into running off on her own. Thankfully this being Naboo instead of Tatooine it's unlikely she'll wind up in a slave bikini this time around, but hopefully Elana can thwap her Monarch (respectfully!) upside the head with a clue-by-four.
Elana was the wild one starting out, but she was trained to rein things in.
Now? She has to do the same for Leia. Hoo boy...