Skywalker's Empire

[Singular Quartet]

Let the Empire win.

[Darth Fanboy]

I ak politely that for this fic, if readers would please read the story and give feedback accordingly, but do not get overexcited or worried about the outcome. I plan on working on this fic for a while and I know where I want this story to go and it is going to be a long while before I finish, things are going to get more complicated than a simple 'Empire wins' or 'Republic wins'

I hate to say this but if you're reading this fic for the big space battles and the warring only then you might want to check out a few of the other ones on the archive, While I do plan on writing battles I am very interested in developing and utilizing Emperor Ben Skywalker as a character and the big battles aren't going to dominate the plot.

[Crazedwraith]

Sweet. I'm enjoying this very much. I hope Ben won't dispatch Kyp as easily as he did Tahiri though....

[Darth Fanboy]

Part 6: Defiance in the Face of History

Location: Kashyyk, Lowbacca's Office, former office for the Representative of the New Republic

When the Republic splintered at the beginning of the five year war, none of the factions were able to regain those assets left on neutral worlds. As such many planets like Kashyyk were able to absorb government complexes, military facilities and even ships on occasion. Lowbacca, as the most respected member of the council had been granted custody of the Senatorial Office.

[Emperor Skywalker, with formalities out of the way I trust you can now reveal the nature of your visit? You've been clear this is not a personal visit, and the Empire's diplomatic track record is less than dismal.]

"You speak of the previous Empire, Palpatine's 'New Order' doesn't hold any sway in my regime."

[Whatever the case, while the Wookie Council has authorized your visit, we are not prepared on this day to sign any accords or make any concessions.]

"Nor did I come bearing any. To be honest Counselor I fully intend never to set foot on this world again as soon as I have what i'm looking for. Kashyyk will be allowed to maintain its neutrality, although the chances that the Empire will completely encircle it at some point are almost absolute.]

Luke was spending the time silent, out of a desire not to provoke his son and to look at what he has become with his own eyes. Ben's power was immense, and it clouded the power of all around him. Lowbacca was completely off guard, and it was indeed fortunate they were not negotiating any fine points.

"I am here to claim a New Republic cache of historical artifacts, specifically only a few items in particular that belong to the Empire. These were stolen or scavenged by the Rebel Alliance and New Republic prior to the Fall of Imperial Center."

Ben was making the Imperial Distinction between the 'Fall of Imperial Center' and the 'Liberation of Coruscant'. Since the Battle of Coruscant had taken place during the climactic battle of the Clone Wars between the Republican Clone Army and Separatist Droid Army, the next conflict over Coruscant required a different name, with both sides in the conflict naming it to reflect their allegiance.

[I know of no such cache.]

"I am not surprised, not many people did. The nature of these items required absoluite secrecy and the former Republic's intelligence agency decided to suppress them. The cache is located in the Shadowlands deep beneath Kepitenochan."

[The Shadowlands? Why in the name of the Sith would NRI put it down there?]

"One of these items, in fact the one I require, may have a presence in the Force. NRI wanted to hide this and similar artifacts from those Force-sensitives who would use it for their own purposes and to hide it from those who would object to their possesion."

Luke was forced to review this new information. NRI was hiding Force sensitive items? The Shadowlands were a good place, the amount of life down there was much like Dagobah and could mask the presence of beings or items endowed with the Force, like hiding a glass of water deep in the ocean. But the way Ben said it, its almost as if the Republic was trying to hide something from the Jedi, from him.

"I know where to go once I am down there. It will be a short trip."

[Then Master Skywalker and I will accompany you.]

"It is not necessary."

[Is it now? For all we know you're going down there to get schematics for a new Death Star, or perhaps the gene sequences for Alpha Red? The 'million worlds' of the Empire may be yours Majesty, but this is my world. The Wookie people hold many sacred places within the Shadowlands. If you wish for us to respect the significance of these Imperial artifacts then you will respect that importance of our lands.]

"Your point is well made Counselor."

Ben turned to look over at Luke, who had remained eerily quiet, Ben had known him as a teacher growing up, and he was always conversing with the people he knew and cared about. He had never seen his father so quiet.

"Are you just going to stand there the entire time Jedi?"

Not even using his name, not even acknowledging the family relationship, that cut Luke deep.

"I did not realize something needed to be said."

"Fair enough, but let me remind you once again that no matter what happens, no matter what you see down there. If anything should happen to me then this world, and many others, will burn."

Location: Nar Shaddaa, outskirts of the engagement

The four TIE Defenders from Manticore Squadron, redesignated Clarion Flight were being dogged by a combined squadron of A-Wings and the little used T-Wings. Both craft utilized a speed and maneuvarability that made it difficult to kill them, and with the odds stacked up against them 3-1 there was little for even a TIE Defender to do, it didn't make things easier that the other eight members of their squadron were waging a brutal defense that was taking its toll on both sides.

"This is Clarion Leader to Clarion Flight. Optimal escape route plotted, there's an open wedge in the Rebel interdiction field. If we can break through its a clear shot to Corellia."

"Leader this is Three, we've got about a half dozen screamers and another half dozen tripods behind us. Are we free to engage?"

"Three do not engage unless necessary, we do not break off our route save for evasive maneuvering."

"This is Two, i've been painted. Incoming missle!"

"Four, break off and assist two, take his wing. Three, take my wing."

A-wings had always been known as screamers by the Imperial pilots, even in teh vaccuum of space you could swear those damned oversized engines were wailing at the top of their mechanical lungs, but the latest generations had been outfitted to the point where they were once again the fastest fighters in the galaxy, they carried little in the way of weaponry but that wasn't a concern for the pilots. The T-Wings were similarly outfitted, but were no longer in production, but that didn't stop them from service where they were.

Four flew alongside his new wingmate and increased the power of his jamming system, each of the four defenders in this flight carried a different component to complement the weapons system, and his carried the signal jammer that could be the difference in evading a homing missile. There was little else he could do though, turning to shoot the missle down would get him killed, and while he would gladly give his life to kill the enemy, nothing was more important than the mission. He cranked the power of the jammer to full, diverting power away from his weapons, the missile began to waver off its course.

"Leader, Four here, I think we've managed to shake the missile."

"Good work Four, we've got five minutes to...."

"Sir! Multiple objects inbound! Missle locks from multiple directions!"

The evasive manuevers had helped with the first missile, but now there were over twenty warheads making their way towards Two and Four, one jammer alone wasn't going to stop that.

"Clarion Flight divert all power to engines, shields too if you have to. Be ready to jump!"

They couldn't outrun the missles forever, missle technology had vastly improved since the Battle of Yavin. Speed and maneuverability had finally caught up with the destructive raw power to make the cockpit of a fighter a very dangerous place to be. They didn't have to outrun them forever though, they only had to keep enough distance until they were out of the interdiction zone and could make the jump. Manticore One knew his pilots were capable of that.

Capable as they were, Two and Four just didn't have enough distance to work with. Their maneuvers had allowed the Rebels to nearly overtake them, and they were wiped out in the first salvo. About ten missles or so pushed towards the remaining two TIE Defenders. Leader checked his sensors, something wasn't right with Three.

"Three you've started dumping power into shields, what are you doing."

"I've got a better chance of surviving if the Shields are up! Ive diverted power from my tracotr and my Lasers so that I should be able to keep going after the first hit!"

"You've got to put power back into your engines! You can do this!"

"There's no way i'm outrunning the missiles, you should...."

Where there had been Three's voice, there was now static. He had taken a trio of missles to his shields, he had indeed survived that but the Rebels were quick to overtake him and his Defender was chewed apart by crimson laser fire.

"Three? Come in Three? Damn it. REBEL SCUM!"

The TIE Defender began blazing forwards, there were missles so close to him now he could have spit on them, but he still had sitance, he still had time. The strain on his body began to push against him hard, a klaxon began blaring as the computer warned him of engine overheating. He had seconds to go before he made it though. One of the missles was so close to his engine wake that it began to heat , the warhead was about to explode.

Finally the stars began to glow and morph into the familiar streaks of hyperspace. A split second later after he was gone, the missle exploded where he had been. The Rebel fighters, who had nearly succeeded, scrambled back to the battle.

Aboard his Super Star Destroyer "Remember Bastion", Admiral Adare watched on the scope as the last fighter in Clarion Flight winked off of the display board.

"Did he make it?"

"Yes sir, Clarion Flight has been successful."

"Good, 'Anakin's Fist' and her complement are there right now. If the Rebels decide to kill us all then they will suffer the same fate. Communications, patch me onto a fleet wide channel, no encryptions."

Adare stood in front of the holotransmitter, and prepared to address his soldiers.

"Men and Women of the Empire of all species, the deceptive nature of the Rebel Alliance is eclipsed only by their cowardice! But in their rush to defeat us they made a critical error! By killing us they do no defeat us! The Galactic Empire has never been about ships in space or soldiers at war. It is about the rights of the strong to dominate those unfit to dominate themselves! Those unfit tried to disprove that mantra today, and nearly succeeded. But they underestimated our resolve to fight! And a few of our brave heroes have broken their lines! Reinforcements from Corellia will arrive shortly to exact vengeance for those who have fallen today! I am ready to fight along side you, as you all fight alongside me!"Grand Admiral Pellaeon once told us that the Empire would always strike back, even in the face of extinction, let us show the Rebels our strength in the face of THEIR extinction!"

The transmission ended. Stirring words were not enough. "Target a pair of their picket ships and reduce them to slag, then targe the most immediate threat."

"Sir, we're being battered by a pair of MC-80s, shouldn't we keep..."

"We need casualties NOW lieutenant! Our troops are not inspired by words alone, they demand the ignited corpses of our enemy!"

"Remember Bastion" diverted its attention for a split second, utterly annhilating a pair of Corellian Corvettes that we're providing starfighter cover for a Nebulon Frigate, the suddenly bold gunners took the opportunity for a few choice shots at the frigate as well, a heavy turbolaser blast punctured its shields and a second one hit it along the thin section that connected the main body of the ship to the engines. But the Super Star Destroyer was taking incredible shield damage, and Adare was forced to belay the slaughter.

"That's enough, all gunnery stations refocus on the Mon Cal ships. The pyrotechnics were stunning, but i'd much rather live to see the end of the show."

Even as Star Destroyers began to fall around him, he looked out on his fleet with pride. They were fighting like real soldiers, as Emperor Skywalker had taught them. He had helped the Empire regain its pride and Adare would not allow that pride to be lost for but one setback. He would die today, but his cause would be victorious, and that was more important to him.

Kashyyk, Spaceport

"Are you sure this is a good idea dad?" Jacen asked.

"Your mom felt it was best if you two guys hopped on the next transport out, besides your Uncle was hoping you would go and check up on a few old friends."

"And what do you think?" Jaina was still very upset about this, but she was not about to go against her mother at this juncture, there was already enough tension on the planet to make things unbearable as it was.

"What I think," Han sighed. "What I think is that you should stay. I don't think Luke is going to be enough to stop Ben."

Jacen turned and looked upwards. "Jaina and I trained Ben in a lot of what he knows, but he wasn't fully trained. If it comes to combat Ben cannot win."

"But Luke has been so sick recently, you've seen it. Up until recently he hasn't even been able to get out of bed without help!"

"He has the Force." Leia interjected. "He's proven time and again that's all he needs."

"Mom, I just wanted to..."

"Jacen you've said enough already. Just get on the transport and go."

There was no resistance, Jacen simply turned with his things and walked off.

"I realize you're upset with Jacen mom but just..."

"I'm not upset with him, but he needs to learn that not everything is a test. Jacen is going through life and every time something comes along he feels that it is something that is trying to define his self worth. He hasn't been right ever since he was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong and tainted by that so-called Jedi Vergere. Just try and help him relax okay?"

"I will, say was Mara going to be here as well or did she go with Uncle Luke?"

Han looked around real quick, "Well she left with us but I haven't seen her since we got here, maybe she...oh."

Leia held Jaina back. "Go, now. Your father and I will take care of this. I put a datapad in your luggage of some people you'll need to find. Luke has put his faith and the security of the Jedi Order in you, but you'll need a stable group around you. Find these people, and when there is no one left to look for, keep looking. We'll be in contact with you eventually, so don't worry.


Location: Kashyyk, Shadowlands

The bright red of Ben's lightsaber lit the path before him as he led the path, navigating with the datapad of former NRI information he carried. Luke and Lowbacca held back, vigilant towards Ben's intentions. would have taken several hours, but the three travellers used the Force to guide them through the underbrush and evade creatures with ease.

"The cache was built around an abandoned shelter, it should be in a small clearing just up ahead."

Luke struggled to follow, the dark presence within the undergrowth was dulliing his ability to tap into the Force, and he was weakening. Lowbacca helped where he could without making it obvious that Luke was having problems.

[I have heard tales that long ago a fallen Jedi by the name of Revan came to this place. It was then that the Blade of Bacca was rediscovered.]

"Revan?" Luke thought aloud. "Palpatine once mentioned a Sith Lord by that name during my 'instruction' on Byss. "Revan was arguably one of the most powerful Sith of all time before he vanished."

"He was brilliant," Ben said. "and if it had not been for his careless thirst for blood, he might have been able to succeed where I am about to. Of course he had an important advantage to him."

"How do you even know of all of this? Sith histories died on Korriban with Palpatine, and those events took place thousands of years ago, from what was salvaged of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, even the Old Republic's Jedi Council had but the barest details, made even barer by the purges of the Empire."

"I see the arrogance of the council lives on, even in the Jedi's final days. The Jedi had enclaves all over the galaxy. When I took the throne I immediately had access to countless Imperial surveys, visual and text records of what Palpatine had uncovered, and then reburied. Fortunately certain historians were appalled by this disregard for their work and preserved it in secret. One Imperial Official in particular held this type of information in great regard, and offered to preserve it."

The words flowed off of Luke's tongue as he realized the answer. "Thrawn."

"Perceptive as ever, and not only that, but Chiss society as a whole has done a remarkable job over the centuries of preserving the galaxy's legacy. If you had spent for time on Csilla, you might have uncovered more than just information regarding Zonama Sekot. When the Chiss Empire joined fully with the New Empire, I gained access to their records as well. I doubt you've ever heard of Darth Bastila either, but that's irrelevant at this point."

The group trudged ahead further. Entering the clearing, and coming upon a small bulding that looked most unnantural within the depths of the Shadowlands.

"We are here." Ben triumphantly announced.

[Crazedwraith]

very good. Keep it up.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Good stuff, I have no complaints except for the occasional spelling error

I gotta say, though, if Ben Skywalker beats Luke Skywalker in in anything other than the greatest, most awesome fight ever, I will be sorely disappointed. I mean, Yoda could barely walk, but when he gave himself to the Force, look what he did to Dooku.

[Admiral Felire]

I love it, it is very good. You seem to have done a great deal of work on the background and information for this, I commend your dedication.

I do have a question though, do you have any more information on Overseer. It is such a fasinating concept, one I would like more information on.

Anyway, great job and good work.

[Darth Fanboy]

I love it, it is very good. You seem to have done a great deal of work on the background and information for this, I commend your dedication.

I do have a question though, do you have any more information on Overseer. It is such a fasinating concept, one I would like more information on.

Anyway, great job and good work.

Overseer is simply a new generation of the Hapan-built Star Home, which serves as sort of a roving palace for the Queen Mother, it was first seen in "The Courtship of Princess Leia"

Star Home had roughly the armament of a Victory-Class Star Destroyer IIRC, Overseer could outgun an ImpII Star Destroyer but it would be ludicrous to use it in such a fashion, it was not deisgned for combat, all of its weapons and garrisoned eqipment serve a purely defensive role. It is escorted by a concept i'll look to introduce later into the story. "The Four Horsemen" is the given name for the Four ISDs entrusted with guarding the palace. "Weapon of War", "Pain of Pestilence", "Famine's Fire", and of course "Angel of Death".

Overseer is of Hapan design, and built using their great wealth, however the Empire at the beginning of the Five Year War was not as wealthy as its predecessor, so it could not simply work up a new Eclipse-class SSD and add in a palace. The Hapans had a perfectly functioning design though and were happy to give it to their new leader. The destruction of Bastion and the lack of prominence for Yaga Minor left the Empire without a suitable capital for the Emperor.

Overseer also allows the Emperor to keep close to his subjects rather than remaining aloof on a planet. While there are considerable risks in a mobile palace it proved invaluable in enlisting both the Hapans and Chiss. Neither of those two faction wanted to be ruled distantly (although now both sides have such favorable status within the Empire a central capital world shouldn't matter as much).