Blood of the Forgotten/Ch3

Perhaps everything was not completely lost. Obi-Wan sat at the desk in the Organa palace in Aldera City, watching the news feed scroll by. Palpatine was dead, not even two days into his tenure as the Emperor. And then he came upon the news. A man named Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker, has laid his claim to the Imperial throne. A coup one day into its existence. He named himself Galactic Emperor, with the Galactic Empress being former Senator Padmé Amidala. His suspicions were correct then. About Padmé, not Anakin growing up to become the galaxy’s second dictator.

Vizier Mas Amedda oversaw the induction of the second Galactic Emperor, before sulking away to somewhere on Coruscant. Obi-Wan didn’t notice how much his hands were shaking, despite the fact he was holding a warm cup of tea.

“Master Kenobi.” came a voice. He turned. “I am Magister Stonroy Soma. Sorry for the interruption, but Viceroy Organa requires your presence immediately. Obi-Wan stood up, and followed Soma through the winding passageways of the palace. In the palace’s war room, stood Bail and Breha Organa. Breha was standing near the back, with a little girl next to her, who looked to be one or two years old. Ah yes, that was Winter Celchu, the girl they’d adopted from a trusted aide who’d passed away.

Standing around the holotable was also Ylenic It’kla as well as Sugi - who’d agreed to send them intel on Imperial movements whenever she could. At least one bounty hunter is honorable . Or, maybe she was only doing it since the Empire had already proven it would crack down on smugglers and other criminals of the like.

“Master Kenobi,” Bail said, turning his head to look at him. Ylenic smiled at Obi-Wan. He’d only met the Caamasi once, when he was in the Council chambers reporting to them. “Sugi here has reported that there’s been an insurgence on the Outer Rim moon of Raada,” The map moved in on the small moon, a much larger gas giant also in view. Alderaan’s technology was state-of-the art, and Bail proved this by pressing a button on the side of the table that colorized the image. Pale and dark greens colored the moon - yet there was only one major body of water. A red ‘point of interest’ also lit up on the moon. Data on the point of interest scrolled down the side of the table, but it moved very quickly. Obi-Wan only got glances of the information, including the name of the interest point - Farajgad Plain.

“The settlement is the location of the major Imperial base on the moon. The moon is almost entirely inhabited by farmers and there is a mining colony in the nearby mountains to the south.” Bail zoomed in on the region, and a 3D view of the entire area was shown. “The Imperial base is here.” he said, pointing to an area that flashed red. “far in the outskirts of the city. Reconnaissance craft from Alderaan has reported that shipments occur at around noon local time, where ores and foods are shipped off-world.”

“Is there any knowledge of where these shipments end up?” piped in Ylenic It’kla, hand on his hairy chin. “Both ores and food are vital to any economy, and so they must be sent somewhere for processing.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“The only major food and metal processing planet I can think of nearby to Raada is Mastrosec - but the workers there have been on strike since the Separatist attack a few months ago.” Obi-Wan remembered Mastrosec. The Separatist were trying to cut off Outer Rim supply lines, but it ended horribly for them. “But the destination is not really the issue. Raada is already in uprising.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“I will go.” Obi-Wan said, “because I have a feeling the Force is telling me to go there. That I will see someone there, someone I seek.” <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">And yet I don’t know who I seek. <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Everyone I know is dead <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“There’s a CR90 corvette prepared in the docking bay. Good luck, Obi-Wan.” Bail said, “May the Force be with you.” Obi-Wan walked past, and Ylenic made no comment. The CR90 sat there, with a familiar protocol droid standing at the ramp.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“C-3PO?” Obi-Wan asked, amazed. He still thought the droid was with Padmé.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Master Kenobi!” the droid exclaimed. “You seem surprised to see me. Mistress Padmé sent myself and the little R2-D2 droid to Senator Organa. She never told me why.” R2-D2 rolled down the ramp. Anakin’s faithful droid. Would he even know his astromech was gone? He <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">was <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> the ruler of the galaxy now, after all... “Senator Organa told us that the <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Tantive III <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> would be our ship from now on.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Well, that’s great. It appears I’ll be going to the moon Raada with you two.” Obi-Wan responded. At least he’d be with familiar faces (or familiar plating?) for the trip.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">~

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">What fascinated Jenneth Pilar so much about Raada so much was the fact that Raada had remained untouched for so long. He stood at the head of the <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Lash <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">, an <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Arquitens <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">-class command cruiser whose duty was to make sure the shipments of food and metals made it off Raada unscathed.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“So why <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">did <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> Command send you here?” he asked the tall, thin man behind him. Supposedly, Outer Rim Command had sent this man, who identified himself as Cumberlayne Aresko, to help oversee Raada.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“They believed your work was not up to standards. I was sent here to help deal with this insurgency.” the man said. Already, Pilar knew how condescending he sounded. An emergency light beeped, and Aresko slowly turned his thin, pale head to the side. “What is the issue?”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“An unidentified CR90 corvette has entered our scanning range. We are hailing it now.” Aresko huffed.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“An Alderaanian cruiser. What are they doing so far from home?” Even though the Empire was little over 4 days old, this insurgency had started. Pilar stared out the viewscreen, seeing the corvette emerge from the opposite side of the gas giant planet. A staticky voice was heard as the connection was made.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“ <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">This is cruiser Tantive III <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">… <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">we are here on a scouting mission for Alderaan… <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">” The voice became more clear as it went on. It sounded oddly familiar.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“This system is under lockdown. Please depart now, or be boarded.” Aresko replied, before cutting the connection. There was no sign of the ship slowing down. Aresko growled. “Destroy that ship. I will deal with the obvious Alderaanian outrage.” Aresko looked out the viewport. “Oh.” he said, before a starfighter crossed over the glass, firing several shots into the side of the ship.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“We’ve been hit!” one of the workers yelled. Aresko ran - to save himself but not anyone else. A second blast hit the ship as the corvette approached - shooting its own much more powerful forward cannons at the <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Lash <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">. Pilar rushed to gain Aresko, yet his shorter legs were holding him back. When he believed he was at a good distance, he leaped forward and dragged Aresko back, both of them hitting the floor. Aresko kicked upwards into Pilar’s cheek, and blood spurted out his mouth. Pilar quickly got up and then began to punch Aresko in the face repeatedly, until a stormtrooper ran up to him and butted the back of his blaster to Pilar’s face.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“You are a traitor to the Empire!” Aresko yelled, standing up. “Kill him!” Right before the stormtrooper could get a clean shot off, more shots rattled the ship. The stormtrooper hit the durasteel floor, and Aresko disregarded it as he continued to run. Pilar picked up the stormtrooper’s blaster and fired indiscriminately in Aresko’s direction, hitting him in the arm. Aresko curled to the side, against the wall, as he grasped his arm in pain. He turned to look at Pilar, as Pilar fired again, but that shot missed.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“I am not going to <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">die <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> and you live!” Pilar cried out, and the stormtrooper’s fist connected with his jaw, triggering a reaction that ended in a blaster bolt hitting Aresko in the side, cutting straight through the man. He screamed - <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> screamed <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> - and then hit the floor in intense pain. The combined attacks of the starfighters and the corvette slowly tore the ship to pieces, killing everyone on board.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">~

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">The starfighter docked with the <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Tantive III <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">, and Obi-Wan greeted its inhabitant. He had not been informed by Bail, or anyone else for that matter, that someone would be aiding them. A man, who looked to be around 25, left the small one-man fighter.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“My name’s Chardri Tage,” he said. “And you must be the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’s an honor to meet you,”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Not to be rude - but why are you here? I was under the impression that it would only be me on this mission.” Obi-Wan returned, and Tage winked.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:justify;"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Karma;color:#000000;font-weight:500;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“Bail told me that you’d most likely need backup. So he sent me ahead of your departure. Now, let’s get your job done: meet the leaders of this group.”