Star Wars: Black Ops/story

Opening Scroll:

''It is a time of galactic unrest. The evil Empire has taken countless worlds by force. The only thing keeping them from complete domination of the galaxy is the Rebel Alliance. The Empire has recently overtaken the world of Uvena III, homeworld of the Shistavanen race. Hunter Squad, the finest Special Ops group in the Rebel Alliance, has sworn to defend Uvena III. Unfortunately for the squad, one of their members, the Shistavanen Aleeha Jors, is Force-sensitive. Her Force-sensitivity has allowed the evil Inquisitor Kallus to track the team's movements, recently following them to the ruined world of Uvena III, and from there can track them to their headquarters somewhere in the Malachor Sector...''

CRACK! A cortosis/duranium alloy slug flew through the air at four times the speed of sound. As it found its mark between the eyes of an Imperial Stormtrooper, alarms were triggered by the projectile’s motion. An arrow quivered in the chest of another man, and he went down. A hail of blaster fire rained down on the patrol on the perimeter of the outpost. When the fire ceased, only one man remained. As he aimed his rifle, futilely looking for the assailants, a Wookiee dressed in traditional Kashyyyk garb of bandoleer and headdress, crept up behind him and slid a vibroblade between his ribs. As he fell, four more beings crept out of the dense foliage. A female Shistavanen wearing a camouflage tunic and a sniper rifle on her shoulder came on all fours. A male Gand with a quiver of arrows and a bow, wearing the traditional clothing of the Findsman tradition strode proudly out next to a female Bothan in a black leather outfit and a short-ranged holdout pistol. A male Anomid wearing a Special Ops-type outfit flexed his six fingered hands in elaborate sign language. Understanding perfectly, the four other non-humans took up positions. By morning, the outpost would be theirs.

24 Hours Earlier, Yavin Base

“This mission will be as simple as eating a sweet-sand cookie. Take over an Imperial Outpost on Uvena III, show them what Hunter Squad is all about”, stated the Anomid through his vocoder’s robotic-sounding voice. “Now, we want this outpost intact so we can use it as a base of operations in that sector. Once we have the base, the Alliance fleet can come and occupy it. Any questions? Good. Rendezvous at Uvena Prime at local time 0400. Dismissed.” The four non-humans seated around the holoprojector stood, saluted, turned, and marched out the door. When the door shut behind them, the Gand said in his nasal tone, “Uvena III. Just like going home for you, isn’t it, Aleeha?” “It’s not home when the Imps are there, Gogrom. They enslave my people”, replied the Shistavanen. “Aleeha, we all know you hate the Empire, but why so much? It’s not like Shistavanens are the only species oppressed by them. Take my species of instance. Those white hats have permission to shoot us Bothans on sight if they so much as suspect us of illegal behavior”, interrupted the Bothan. “It’s… personal, Olle. I want to destroy every last son of a narglatch of them”, replied Aleeha. The Wookiee held his translator microphone to his mouth and growled into it. When he stopped, a tiny speaker in it said “I feel the same way, too. Wookiees aren’t even considered sentient.” “Thanks, Miidbacca, but you still don’t understand”, replied Aleeha. Miidbacca grunted and growled some more, and the speaker said “Make us understand”. “Ok, then. I will”, replied Aleeha. “I was very young. Life was good. My village was prosperous and peaceful. My father was a fisherman, m mother a seamstress. My brother was learning to become a carpenter, and my older sister was going to become a medicine woman. My younger sisters were twins, which is considered a good omen in our culture. They were just learning to walk around. One day, an Imperial shuttle landed nearby, and a man who claimed to be a merchant came. He brought us small metal spheres that he said would bring us good luck. Our village elders believed him, and soon there was one of these spheres in every household. The very next day, our orb began to glow on the top. I went to the neighbor’s hut, and theirs was the same. A few minutes later, my mother sent me to a neighboring village to trade some shells for tools, but when I got there, the village was in ruins. There was only one survivor, an old man. I asked him what had happened, and he said that a merchant came to his village a few days ago, bringing orbs. The next day, the orbs began to glow. After a few hours, they exploded, killing everyone in the village. He soon died. I ran as fast as I could to warn my village, but it was too late. I came back to the ashes of my family’s hut”, Aleeha said. “To this day, I want the blood of the merchant who brought what I know now to be thermal detonators and deceived my village.” The other three were silent for a time, and then Olle went up to Aleeha, whispering “I’m so sorry”, and gave Aleeha a hug. Gogrom and Miidbacca joined in. Just then, the Anomid lieutenant walked out of the briefing room and onto the hugging team. “Oh… ah, I was just… um…” he sputtered. “Oh, Lieutenant! Come on, everyone, at attention”, said Olle. “At ease”, replied the flabbergasted Anomid. “Why, Lieutenant Ranvus, I’ve never known you to be at a loss for words before”, said Aleeha. “Don’t worry, sir. They were just comforting me over the loss of my family.” “I see. Well, then, my condolences as well. Carry on”, replied Ranvus. “Well… that’s that, I suppose”, stated Aleeha.

Coming soon: CHAPTER 2!!!!!!