Young Writers Society

4 ABY

Jakku

The sands of Jakku were buffeted by wind as below the surface, Horan Korn and her crew enjoyed some peace and quiet, away from the stars. Their ship, The Lady's Revenge, was safe under a tarp covering outside. Their base was a smallish cave below the surface of Jakku. They had arrived a few hours ago, just ahead of the storm. Her crew enjoyed various beverages as they sat in worn leather seats. "So", Zeb Driffa, her co-pilot asked her, "why exactly did we have a Star Destroyer on top of us above Tatooine?" The other crew members stared at Horan, waiting for an answer. She sighed. She was hiding something from them, that was the truth. She couldn't lose their trust, so she had to tell them. "In addition to the spices", she said, "we are transporting weapons for the New Republic". "I thought we did not ally ourselves with governments", Kat Graffis said, scowling and slowly reaching for her blaster. Harim reached over and laid his hand on her arm. She drew her hand away from her blaster warily. Horan knew why she was being this way. The Empire and the Rebels had clashed on her planet, leveling portions of her home. Her entire family had perished during the conflict. "Why", Daken asked, "why did you do this?"  Horan sighed. "One year ago", she said, "I helped the Rebellion in a firefight above the planet Gargon". "They hired me a week ago to transport this load of weapons to a stronghold on Savareen". "They need those weapons to invade Coruscant in the future."

"Okay, so one of us told them we were transporting these weapons", Daken said. "Yes," Horan said, "one of us is a traitor". "The sensors outside have been triggered", Driva said suddenly. "We are being surrounded". "Damn", Horan said, "the Empire found us again". Harim reached for his jetpack and strapped it on. He then picked up his DC-15A Heavy Blaster Rifle. The others picked up their weapons while Zeb walked carefully to the entrance. She stealthily peeked out. "There are Stormtroopers out there", she said, "along with an Imperial TIE Lander". "How many", Kat asked. "I can't tell", she said, "I can only see three". Horan crept to her and handed her a Thermal Detonator. Zeb glanced at her in worry. Zeb was still new to the business of danger. "It's okay", Horan said, "arm it and throw it". Zeb did, and dived away from the entrance. There was a loud explosion and subsequent shouts from the troopers outside. Harim charged out of the entrance firing his blaster. Horan charged out moments later with the others. There were at least fifteen Stormtroopers out there. Suddenly, Daken turned and shot Kat in the side. She screamed a curse and dropped to the sand. "That bastard!" Harim yelled. "He's the one who betrayed us!"   Daken then sprinted towards the lander as the Stormtroopers redirected their fire to avoid hitting him. Blaster Bolts slammed into Harim's armor, pushing him back a step. Horan fired her blaster pistol. The shot caught Daken's leg and he stumbled and fell. Driva charged towards the troopers while Harim laid down cover fire for her. She pulled a vibroblade and slashed at the nearest troopers exposed knee. He screamed in pain as he fell, and she stabbed his exposed neck. Horan noticed two troopers trying to get behind her and she fired, cutting one of them down. She charged out across the sand, blaster bolts flying past her, and tackled the other trooper. She got quickly to her feet and fired three shots into his body, killing him. Horan pivoted while kneeling and fired, taking down three more troopers. There were now only five left. Horan unclipped a Thermal Detonator from her belt, armed it, and tossed it at the TIE Lander. The charge exploded, and with it, the TIE Lander. The last troopers fell dead on the sand, while Daken groaned a curse a few feet away from where Horan now stood. She walked over to him and stood over him, aiming her blaster at his chest.

"Who the hell hired you to betray us to the Empire", she asked in a harsh tone. "T-Thrawn", he said. Horan gritted her teeth. "He paid well", Daken said. "I'm sorry". "Tell that to all of those that Thrawn has killed", she said. She squeezed the trigger to her blaster and fired two shots into his chest, ending his life. A familiar shriek sounded in the distance, and TIE Fighters swooped towards the group. 

Lasers slammed into the ground all around them, throwing up columns of sand. "Get to the ship!", Horan yelled. Harim lifted Kat over his burly shoulders and struggled towards the ship. The rest of them spirited up the ramp and into the ship. Horan and Zeb strapped themselves in while two of the group manned the turrets and kept the fighters at bay while Harim staggered up the ramp and into the ship. Horan fired up the engines and the ship blasted up and off of the ground. They were immediately peppered with laser fire, and the ship shuddered and rocked with each impact. The ship rocketed upwards, the TIE Fighters trailing behind them. The ship exited the atmosphere and flew through space. A shadow covered the ship as a Star Destroyer loomed far above them, its underside covered with the markings of one of the most feared imperial ships in the galaxy. It was The Chimera, the ship of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Horan spun the ship in arc as their turret gunners took out several TIE Fighters, which exploded into balls of fire. The Star Destroyer moved forward, also chasing them. Horan plugged in coordinates to the planet Savareen, and pulled the hyperdrive lever. The ship then escaped into the safety of hyperspace once more. 

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Grand Admiral Thrawn 

The Chimaera

"Sir", Captain Pellaeon asked Thrawn as they watched the vessel escape into hyperspace, "should we seek them out?" The blue skinned Chiss smiled coldly. Pellaeon had forgotten his intelligence for the second time today. "No", he said, "Daken activated the tracker he hid on the ship". "We will let them think they are safe". "We will wait for them to come out of Hyperspace, and then we will close the noose around them and their rebel friends". Pellaeon nodded and walked towards the bridge doors. Just before he exited he turned back to Thrawn. "Long live the Empire", he said. Yes, Thrawn said, "Long live the Empire". 

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Savareen

Silver Station

Commander Jeb Kraken 

"Are you sure those mercenaries and smugglers will actually show up with the weapons", Hant asked Jeb. "No", he said, "but they have to". "They must show up." "Horan will never abandon us". "She will never abandon the New Republic". "I hope so", Hant said, "I hope so". 

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Author's note: Thanks so much for reading this story. I am a HUGE Star Wars fan. By the way, all the locations in this story are in the Star Wars universe, as is The Chimera. Thrawn is also an actual Star Wars character. This is a sequel to a story that I published a little while ago. Check it out HERE. 

Yes, the sequel to this story is coming, and it will be a blast. Although, I do have a story that I will release beforehand that is totally unrelated to Star Wars. 

This story is NON CANON. At no point in the Canon timeline do these events happen. Technically the events are in the Star Wars timeline, they are just not considered canon.