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A Storied Past Part 1
A Storied Past Part 2
A Storied Past Part 3
A Storied Past Part 4
A Storied Past Part 5
A Storied Past Part 6
A Storied Past Part 7
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Having decided upon my mission. It was clear my best course of action would not be in working with the Alliance, but in working in places in which the Alliance did not have a presence. Hopefully taking pressure off of them and keeping the Empire on their toes. A large group is far easier to notice than one man. Of course I couldn't simply attack on my own. As much as I wanted to be like the Jedis I had heard stories of growing up within the Temples, I could not afford to be that bold. I needed to recruit others to the Alliances cause. I chose to first go for out of the way systems, so if there were reprisals they would be less severe since the Empire could not afford to spread it's assets that thinly. I chose the planet Garqi, in the Outer Rim, near Dantooine. It was an agricultural world. Under control of the Empire, Imperial Governor Tadrin, who spent much of his time elsewhere and thus, entrusted the security of the planet to the military prefect Mosh Barris. It is an uninteresting looking red and purple planet. According to the Imperial charts, it exported to nearby planets in the system and possessed a University. The university would be my first choice as a place to begin my investigation into insurrection. I landed out in the jungles. The planet, being sparsely populated was not overly concerned by a single ship. The Imperial presence was weak at best. The roving TIE patrols were easy enough to avoid, as they also were quite sparse. Once on the ground I outfitted myself externally to appear, as any common man one would expect to see in a university, such as this system possessed. As my mission was to accomplish my work for the Alliance while not revealing myself as a Jedi it was important I not leave behind any telling clues. Which meant I could not use my lightsabre, not where anyone could see it used anyway. I was of course loathe to part with it entirely so I formed a small holster to hold it in the small of my back, making it harder to gain access to, but nonetheless still available to me should I absolutely need it. My paired blades were another matter entirely. I could not simply walk around with two rather large blades attached to my back, not in a place like this at any rate. I had designed what I hoped was a workable solution. I had created a hollow center section, which would act as a staff when each blade was placed in either end. It still looked like a weapon, but people will tolerate a staff when they would not tolerate a blaster or other much more obvious weapon. To increase their acceptance I wore a hooded cloak and walked partially stooped and walked with a noticeable limp. Just another old man, wandering around the school. My disguise in place, my ship hidden away, I began my trek into the university. It was a largely uneventful journey. The planet was tame when compared to where I had spent most of my life. Once on the campus most people left me alone. I was just an old man walking about and looking at things to all the youngsters there. I looked into the course curriculum, not very interesting. Mostly dealing with agricultural concerns. There were a few courses in higher mathematics and manufacturing of vessel sub systems. Not really the type of thing I had expected from a university important enough to be noted in the Imperial database. As I wandered about the campus I was noted and mostly ignored by students as they passed. Once a woman came up to me and asked me if I were perhaps lost. I informed her I was merely looking into education possibilities for my grandson. " I don't believe you're old enough to have a grandson." She was polite in the manner she said it, so I was unsure of how to act. I had not spoken to a woman in years, not since I was a child. Unsure how to answer her and not wanting to be rude I simply replied " Well that may be, but I'm still looking into courses here. In particular I have some interest in high tech courses dealing with shipbuilding. I don't see much available so far. Are you a student here?" She smiled as she informed me " No, I'm an instructor. I teach hyperdrive applications." She did not look old enough to have that as a specialty, much less be teaching a course in the subject. " Do you work with Imperial designs, only? " she was silent for a moment as she formulated a response, I could see the matter gave her some concern, but she hid it well. " A ship is a ship. Imperial designs tend to be more standardized since they build so many more of them, but after so many years of hyperspace travel the designs behind the drives has not changed overly much. Why are you so interested in the subject?" Smiling within the shadow of my cloak, I responded " I merely ask on behalf of my grandson. It amazes me the things work at all. So fragile, I half expect to see the ships blow up. " Delicately, I didn't wish to alarm her, merely interest her. " So tell me, are they really that fragile or am I merely a doddering old fool?" looking at the ground she said, " I don't believe you're doddering at all, are you? " "Whatever do you mean young lady?" " I mean you're not fooling me with the old man routine. It might work on the others, but I grew up around boys pulling pranks. Not sure what your 'prank' is though, but I do have my suspicions." " Perhaps we shouldn't discuss this in the streets." " I think you're right, 'old man'. " We left the street, went into a small park on the other side of the campus. She asked me if I were affiliated with certain non-Imperial groups. Judging she was worth the risk I told her I was. We spoke conversationally for a time. Just an old man and a woman, talking in the park. She was interested in helping me with my plans. I informed her of the risks, but she seemed to think they were no worse than living on an Imperial controlled world and was eager to help. Her best asset was her knowledge of ship design. She was able to help with areas of sabotage which otherwise would not have occurred to me.She also knew which students I should avoid and which might be interested in joining the Alliance. I learned her name was Keilla Corrum. She had been an instructor at the school for a few years and most certainly knew her subject. She was nearly my age and as time went on we found ourselves growing closer together, but that is another matter. Our first target would be the Imperial shipyard in Yaga Minor. It was (relatively speaking) nearby to Garqi. Some time had passed since the Alliance victory against the Empires Death Star. The Empire was regrouping after that telling blow. We noted a lot of ship traffic leaving the area, but no Imperial ships entering the vicinity. The place had become a market for the Imperials need of ships. There were still some ships in system, but not nearly as high a level as were there prior to the destruction of the Death Star. We slipped in on the far side of the planet from the ship building yards and flew in low until we were just beyond the horizon. If we had planned correctly and been careful on our approach, they would not be ready for us. There were 9 of us, most were students of Keillas and had specialized in hyperdrive design. They knew what could be done to render one inoperable. Some of their ways were undetectable and would simply leave the ship without a functional hyperdrive. Others would disable the drive in a rather spectacular manner, by failing while in route. Literally tearing the ship apart from stresses it would normally be protected from while returning from hyperspace. We brought only the tools necessary to carry out the necessary 'repairs' to their drives. I had forgone my blades in favor of my lightsabre. Still held in its sheath in the middle of my back. I hoped I wouldn't need it, but could not leave without it. We traveled together in a single group. This made it more likely we might be spotted, but if we were, we would most likely be overlooked. We were all dressed as technicians, carrying our tools and moving from ship to ship. Picking ones that were not already being outfitted but had drives in place. That night we finished 14 ships, we also lost 3 men. It was all going so well that some of the students became a little lax in their behavior. They had traveled off ahead to the next ship in the line, when they came face to face with a crew of technicians. One in command was calling over guards as I was leaving the previous ship. When the Stormtroopers arrived on the scene I tried calming them as I slowly and carefully approached the group. The three students had begun to worry, panic clear on their faces. I tried to soothe them as well, get them to relax. I was too late. He had panicked and struck out with a hydrospanner he was carrying in his hand. The guard shot him at point blank range. Things had gotten out of hand; all had been going so well. Everything slowed down for me then. All the people were moving in slow motion as I speeded myself up to clean this mess up as quickly as possible. As I moved in my lightsabre came out and ignited. I sidestepped the first Stormtrooper as he turned to fire, slicing off the arm, which held his blaster at mid forearm. The other four Troopers, moving in to stop me, I continued moving to my right around them as I accelerated my speed. I could see them, barely able to follow me as they tried to lead me on a passing shot. They continued to miss me. They hit 4 more of the students, two died from those wounds. The others would live, but only if I got them out of here. I was confident I could do so, but I must succeed. As I was dealing with the troopers, the officers began drawing weapons they'd almost forgotten they carried. More trouble to deal with, more people to kill. Moving in amongst them so as to hinder their fire I cut them to pieces. Some, those suffering I dispatched as the battle ended. The students were in a panic now. I calmed them, those that were left. We did not have time to hike all the way back to the ship. We took our wounded with us, stole an Imperial transport and flying low, and returned to our ship. Splitting into two teams we left in the same manner we had arrived, only much more quickly. Keeping the planet between the base and us we set a series of hyperspace jumps to three different locations before finally returning home to Garqi. We hid both vessels where I had hidden my ship before. It would not do to let the Imperials track us by them. I would take care of the matter, but first we must see to the dead and wounded. It was a cold process for the dead, we couldn't afford to let their deaths be tracked back here, so friends in the schools administration changed their records indicating transfers to other schools or returning to a family farm. Whatever it took to hide the matter for now. I calmed myself as we took care of the wounded. Trying to think of ways to stop needing to kill people and have good people dying around me. No matter where I turned I was forced into these types of choices or dying. I could not simply blame the Empire though. Perhaps what I had done was brutal, but it was nothing compared to what the Empire had done to Alderaan or countless other worlds over the last 20 years. Which was poor comfort to a Jedi trained to view life as sacred. I could rationalize my choices all I liked, but in the end this would continue until the Empire fell. I must plan more carefully. Choose my compatriots more wisely |
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