LOTF: Collision/Chapter 2

As he entered the atmosphere of his destination, the pilot of the Fortune Destroyer caught his reflection gazing back at him on the window. His brown eyes studied his ever-lengthening blonde hair, before meeting themselves. There was a fire of determination in them, one that he had felt reflected in his soul for many, many years now, since he had given up his old name to take on his current one, Hans Novastar.

The planet of Nar Shadda was one familiar to Hans, and had never been one he had liked. Like Coruscant, the entire planet was buzzing with activity, but unlike Coruscant, Nar Shadda made little effort, if any, to mask the corruption that floundered across it-corruption like that which he would have to utilize now to have any hope of succeeding in his mission. At the helm of his ship, he plunged into the orange planet through the neverending traffic that lined the skies. He turned to his right to observe his copilot's reaction to seeing the planet, as he had spent an extensive amount of time there growing up. Cade Slarwalker didn't take notice of Hans' gaze; the bright lights of orange, green, red, yellow, everything in between glowed against his tan skin and black hair, and cast a light in his ocean blue eyes, vessels for a mind that was already far elsewhere, reliving the memories of years spent here during his servitude for the Brotherhood.

Hans made his way down towards an old, derelict landing pad that jutted out of the side of an equally poorly-maintained former palace, one that Hans knew well and was in part responsible for the damage it had endured. The palace, years ago, had belonged to the crime lord Goma the Hutt. Goma wanted to start an alliance with the Republic, and he had information on Hans- not just his whereabouts, but detailed surveillance of his daily activities and contacts, amassed to improve the Hutt's chances of striking a bargain, alongside other crucial pieces of information. Hans' assault on the palace did indeed result in Goma's death, but also led to his capture and induction into Antimatter Squadron, as well as Cade's, because Goma the Hutt had secretly been a leading member of the Brotherhood.

That seemed to be a trend in Hans' career. Hans' father, a senator named Berloc Cerrano, was one of the first notable individuals who had been subverted by the Brotherhood, giving them influence and information on Senate meetings, and giving them a much broader shadow to operate under. His mother had eventually discovered this deception, and she paid the price with her life. Hans, at this time a fresh recruit into the Coruscant Security Force and determined to avenge his mother, dedicated himself to the hunt for her killer with another officer, Taran Ragnan. Finally, when Hans had reached the truth, Taran revealed that he had switched sides and framed Hans for the murder, forcing him to take to the underworld to survive. Taran persisted to be problematic through Hans' career, as his successful cover-up of the Cerrano murder earned him a much more influential position within the Brotherhood, and he eventually became the second-in-command of the whole organization. Hans had met the leader, Dylan Antiunknown, as well without having known at the time. Dylan was stowed away on a highly secret Republic cruiser and Hans and his allies had saved him from certain death at the hands of the Shadow Assassin Arek Saris, a move he would come to deeply regret.

"Initial scans show nothing unexpected," Cade reported as he returned to his task. "Gangsters, weapons, shipments-probably spice-, readings from what might be a hidden hangar. Makes sense; I can't see another way inside."

"Good." Hans succinctly responded. He flicked a switch on the left side of the controls, activating the ship's intercom. "All right, this is it. Transmit IDs."

"Transmitting..." Ranulph Darkhitch replied nervously.

Beyond the sight of mortal eyes, a signal quickly made its way to the palace, carrying with it the token of identification that would permit Antimatter Squadron to land. It made its way towards the palace and was received by a small computer inside it. The dimly lit room containing it was spacious, and justly so; it was the former throne room of Goma the Hutt, though it was now occupied by an organization that would have burned the whole structure to the ground if they had known the truth about Goma at the time. The computer's screen activated and flashed brightly, displaying information about the inbound ship and identifying its crew as guests of the Nebula Corporation, visiting to discuss business. In the chamber, a few heads raised, taking notice. Among the armored thugs, mercenaries, and other varying alien hooligans, a young, dark blonde-haired man took notice. His light blue eyes instinctively scanned the room, and, finding nothing, he made his way over to the computer where he processed the information. "Your Majesty," he said as reverently as he could, "The mercenaries have arrived."

The response, spoken powerfully in Huttese, was composed of four slow words. "Bring them to me."

...

Shortly after, Hans and Cade entered the room, flanked by the rest of Antimatter Squadron, five figures suited up in black tactical gear, and a black super battle droid.

First in the rest of arriving group was Ranulph, the short-haired veteran of the group who was almost never without his bright orange tech goggles, though on this occasion they were actually lifted above his gray-blue eyes, which were paler and covered in stretch marks.

Second was Asura, the team's slicer, a young Zabrak woman with long, messy black hair going over her horns, her emerald eyes glistening from the few lights within the room. She scanned the room nervously, closely clutching the holoprojector in her right hand.

A purple skinned Rodian with a red right eye followed alongside the droid, tall and imposing. He was Praxon, and the droid was DX-245, a heavily modified droid whose processor was linked to Praxon's mind through his cybernetic eye. They had their old adversaries, Taran Ragnan and Cyana Bastra of the Brotherhood to thank for that.

Last to enter the room were two hooded figures, once a man and the other an Arcona. Their features were obscured, but Hans knew them well. Galen Slarwalker and Sen Qorbin had held instrumental parts in the conflict which led Hans to meet the Jedi Master Ganner Slarwalker. Galen was his father, Qorbin his master, and Ganner was another story entirely. He was the reason Antimatter Squadron had come here in the first place.

The man who had first noticed the arrival of the group now was the first to welcome them; he approached them with open arms and a smile Hans knew was fake. "Antimatter Squadron," he warmly spoke, "Your reputation proceeds you."

"We're grateful for your hospitality," Hans replied, playing his part as well.

"The Nebula Corporation seeks to satisfy all of its business partners as much as it can."

"I like the sound of that."

The man opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted. "Enough, Esvald." A booming voice demanded in Huttese. "We have not the time for idle chatter."

Sheepishly, Esvald led the team further into the room, where on top of a elongated throne sat a large, purple blob, known by name as a Hutt. Hans and the others did their best not to show their surprise; so far as everyone had known, a human named Xalandra was the leader of the Nebula Corporation. The Hutt's yellow eyes showed impatience as it folded its arms as best it could over its torso-like mass. Hans bowed and lowered his head, and the others quickly followed suit.

"Ah. The infamous Antimatter Squadron, here to seek my assistance. And yet, you seem surprised to be in my presence."

Slowly raising his head, Hans did his best to explain. "Great Hutt, we had been lead to believe the leader-"

The Hutt, already knowing what Hans would say, couldn't help but let out the traditional Hutt laugh, comprising of deep chuckles that, even for a Hutt, sounded utterly alien. "Perhaps once Xalandra held power within this group, but that time has long passed. I am Nova, and all here answer to me!" The Hutt declared triumphantly.

"O, wise and powerful Nova, it would be prudent to soon begin the negotiations." Esvald reminded the Hutt, reverent to the point of hyperbole.

"Yes!" The Hutt agreed eagerly. "You spoke of the Brotherhood's whereabouts."

Hans glanced back to his right, meeting eyes with Asura. She knowingly stood up, coming forward as she activated the device in her hand, which suddenly deactivated the room's lights and replaced them with the blue glow of various planets as a holographic map of the galaxy formed itself. Esvald's face quickly shifted to one of hostility, but Nova raised her hand to him dismissively, and Esvald calmed himself.

"A few weeks ago," Asura began informatively, "Antimatter Squadron became aware of an abandoned Brotherhood facility on Manaan. We raided it, and managed to pull off the biggest data haul off of Brotherhood servers we've ever seen. Maybe the biggest one the Brotherhood had. When we finally decrypted it, we found something no one on this side of the Galaxy has seen in at least six years..."

She pressed another button on the holoprojector, and in one of the furthest corners of the display representing the Unknown Regions, a new, small planet appeared. The map then zoomed in on the planet, showing its snowy terrain and a large satellite orbiting it- the Brotherhood headquarters. There was a small commotion in the room from the group of observers that had grown, but they were quickly and angrily shushed by Nova, who was now clearly very intrigued by the presentation.

"This is Anarto II, where the Brotherhood has been hiding since the end of the Clone Wars." Asura declared. "All their forces compressed into a single target."

At the word 'target', Hans suddenly heard a voice in his head, one familiar to him but one he could not put a name to.

"You will do all in your power to destroy the criminal organization known as the Brotherhood."

He looked around and saw himself in his cell on Facility 406-P, as a man in shadow loomed over him, then, in a blink, he found himself standing as he had been once more. As calmly as he could, Hans scanned the room to see if anyone else had been affected by the voice, and seeing no reaction, he continued to observe Asura as though nothing had happened that wasn't planned.

"Ah.... that's why you're here!" Nova said, now understanding the situation. "You bring not just information. You need more than an alliance. You need my aid in destroying the Brotherhood."

"Indeed it is, great Nova." Hans responded. "They're too much of a threat for us to sit idle while their back is turned, and too great an enemy for us to face alone. With our skills and your forces, they have no chance."

Nova closed her eyes in contemplation for a tense moment, before opening them and responding. "An interesting proposition, but do you think I have forgotten what you did?" The Hutt pointed to Praxon, whose arm moved ever so slightly downwards, ready to slide out the vibroblade he had hidden up his sleeve. In front of Praxon, Hans lightly tapped his leg once with his left hand, indicating to Praxon that he needed to stand down.

"Dani Morrow was one of my finest servants, and her death left me with Esvald here in her place!" Nova yelled.

It was true, Antimatter Squadron was behind Dani Morrow's death, but only because the Brotherhood had forced them to kill her. In fact, her assassination was part of what led Hans to recruit Asura, Praxon, and DX-245. Each member of Antimatter Squadron visibly tensed up.

"Your Majesty," Hans protested, "The Brotherhood was behind her killing, not-"

"Silence! I have long awaited the day I would see justice for Morrow's death."

"The retribution you seek doesn't lie with Praxon," Galen calmly countered from the back of the room. "He was but a pawn."

"I think not." The Hutt brusquely replied. "Detain them!"

As the Nebula Corporation mercenaries closed in, Hans looked around and barked an order. "Stand down! We can't afford to kill them." It was all he was able to get out before he was violently grabbed by two Weequays, one of whom put a bag over his head, blinding him as they began to drag him away from the growing commotion.

...

Across the stars, a dull pain in a man's head brought him to consciousness again, and he opened his eyes slowly. He brought his hand towards the source of the pain in his head and felt a soft cloth, which he pulled away and looked at. It was a white bandage, covered in blood, but the blood was long dried, and Ganner didn't feel any more coming from his wound. Discarding the bandage, he looked around the room he was in, a spare room filled mostly with old tools and rusty hydrospanner parts. He then sat up, and as he did, fragments of his memories barraged him. He saw a large brown-skinned alien, sparring with him using a weapon producing a bright green beam of light. "Ganner Slarwalker," a woman's voice whispered to him. "Let us meditate."

As spontaneously as the experience had begun, it faded, and Ganner (as he deduced his name to be) quickly returned to his senses. The vision made no sense to him, for it was the only thing he remembered. Suddenly, the obvious fact behind that hit him— he didn't remember anything else. He quickly scanned the room and himself to any clues that might help him remember, but found nothing but a pile of modest, tan clothes that had been left for him the night before, and a cylindrical device lying next to them. He looked at it more closely, and upon realizing it to be one of the devices he had just wielded in his memory, suddenly recalled its identity: a lightsaber.

He instinctively grabbed the lightsaber and held it lengthwise. The hilt of the weapon was sleek, sporting a long grayish-purple grip giving way to two peaks resembling more typical blades on either side of the emitter. He searched for a button or switch to activate it, but found none, and briefly discarded the lightsaber again. After he was dressed, Ganner clipped it back onto his belt, scanned the room quickly to make sure he hadn't left anything before exiting.

He walked out into a small main living pit, where the sand on the ground reflected the sky's twin suns, blinding him momentarily.

"Ganner," a soft voice spoke in surprise. "You're up?"

His vision cleared, and he saw a woman approaching him. She had black hair reaching down to her shoulders and bright green eyes that gleamed with a surprising energy. Her appearance disguised the years she'd spent on the planet; her grace masked the resilience she had built up over that time. She moved quickly towards Ganner, who leveled the lightsaber at her defensively.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Where am I?"

Immediately, she backed away, sputtering out "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! It's me! Linora! You're on Tatooine where I found you!"

Ganner stopped for a second to process the names, but found nothing. Linora quickly broke the silence.

"I've been nursing you since I found you after that crash."

The word crash sent a ripple through Ganner's mind like that of the first raindrop in a still pond preceding a light shower. He first remembered the crash itself, seeing the surface of Tatooine approaching him. Then the next ripple struck, and he remembered opening his eyes to see Linora watching him against a starry sky, her body painted with the orange flames of the ship she had saved him from, which he looked back towards. Another ripple, and another. "Who am I?" he asked in the memory.

Linora looked at him incredulously, then responded: "I don't know, but I'm Linora Taske, and I'm saving your life."

In the present, Ganner lowered his weapon. "I think I remember the crash... You saved me. Why?"

"Does kindness need a reason? You've been falling in and out of consciousness for a week now, do you remember any of it?"

"All I remember is the crash, some sort of weapons training, and... a voice in my head telling me to meditate."

"Well, maybe you should." Linora said delicately.

"I don't even know how to."

"Then..." Linora turned back around, extending her arms as a gesture to the whole of the area. "Look at this. The Taske homestead. Not easy for one woman to maintain. I'm keeping you alive, least you can do is help keep yourself alive too."

"What do you have in mind?" Ganner asked.

Linora smirked.