Star Wars - Wrath of the Rebellion

[Dr Midnight]

T'ek picked the lightsaber up and examined it. It was long and sleek. It had swooping curves and a design sense that seemed to suggest it was as much a product of aesthetic drive as a Jedi weapon. T'ek's own saber was blunt, blocky, and serviceable. This was a piece of art. On turning it over, he was surprised to find that both ends had emitter matrices. It had... two blades? Master Kenobi had never even suggested that such a thing was attempted.

He looked down at the form on the ground. He could detect no emanations of malice. The Dark Side did not seem to be with this one... but the Dark Side is hard to see.

T'ek tucked the lightsaber into his robes and picked the unconscious Jedi up. He carried him outside and straight to the med room. Mon Mothma was still there, speaking at leisure with the Princess. Mothma looked up as T'ek placed the Jedi on an examination table and her eyes widened. "What's this?" she asked, startled.

"You tell me. I found him on your ship."

He told her of what had happened and showed her the lightsaber. She seemed even more astonished than T'ek was, and Leia the most astonished of all. The only likely reasoning they could find was that this young man had been frozen in carbonite- a deadly practice used in only dire situations- and stowed aboard the ship. Why and for how long were impossible to know, but the only good guess was that he'd had himself frozen and hidden on the ship to avoid the Jedi purge- a horrible time decades ago when Jedi were hunted almost to extinction. To T'ek's knowledge, only he and Master Yoda were left. Skywalker would become a Jedi, and Master Kenobi had died only recently. There must be more hiding in the universe, of course, but T'ek never expected to meet one quite by accid-

"Ungh."

The Jedi was stirring. Mon Mothma and Leia stepped back. T'ek prepared himself for the worst.

The Jedi's eyes fluttered open, and he sat upright with lightning speed. "Muldak! Mul... WHERE ARE YOU, I CAN'T SEE..."

T'ek put his hand on the man's shoulder and eased his emotions using the Force. "Easy, friend. You've been frozen in time for a great while." The Jedi's blind eyes darted about. He knew fear, T'ek could see, but wasn't letting it control him. He was well-disciplined in the Jedi arts. "You're among friends. The best thing you can do right now is to relax, and tell us your story."

The Jedi turned his head toward T'ek. "First, tell me- do you know of Muldak Li'bar? Where he is, if you've heard of him?"

T'ek looked up to Mothma and Leia. They didn't recognize the name any more than he did. "No, I'm afraid I don't know where this Li'bar could be."

The Jedi sighed and lay his head wearily on the table. "My name is Zybor-Jae. I am a Jedi Master. I trained under Master Windu, and Muldak Li'bar was my padawan- that's a kind of student- when I became strong enough in the Force to become a teacher. When the Emperor began ordering Jedi hunted down and killed, I was given one small mission of many. Mine was to hide a portion of the Jedi archives. I did so, and fled with my student to a mining colony in the outer rim. When the Jedi hunters got too close, we agreed to freeze ourselves in carbonite. If all the Jedi were slain, we would be found years later and unfrozen so that we could pass our knowledge on. I'm guessing we've been separated since. Are we- am I the last Jedi? Has... ...no." His eyes were wide with relief. "You are one."

T'ek said "Yes. We're not wiped out- not yet. My name is T'ek Nova. I remain. You remain. Master Yoda remains. There is another, trained by my old master, Ben Kenobi... But apart from us four, I don't know of any Jedi in the universe." T'ek and Mothma then spent several painful minutes recounting the events of the last decades, leading up to the Rebellion and the destruction of the Death Star. To his credit, Jae didn't let his grief at Master Windu's death overtake him. They left him to recuperate in the med room. Zybor-Jae had had a horrible day, and he slept like the dead.

INT. HOTH - REBEL BASE - COMMAND CENTER
Rieekan looks up grimly from a console screen. He calls over to Leia and Han.

RIEEKAN
Princess... we have a visitor.

The group hurries over to Rieekan.

RIEEKAN
We've picked up something outside
the base in zone twelve, moving
east.

SENIOR CONTROLLER
It's metal.

LEIA
Then it couldn't be one of those
creatures that attacked Luke.

HAN
It could be a speeder, one of ours.

SENIOR CONTROLLER
No. Wait - there's something very
weak coming through.

Threepio steps up to the control panel and listens intently to the strange signal.

THREEPIO
Sir, I am fluent in six million
forms of communication. This signal
is not used by the Alliance. It
could be an Imperial code.

The transmission ends in static.

HAN
It isn't friendly, whatever it is.
Come on, Chewie, let's check it out.


Several patrol teams were sent out into the wastes around Echo Base. Han Solo and Chewbacca were sent North. Lexo Yust and Woonwooken were sent South.

Midway through their patrol, Lexo sighed with weariness. The cold here really did seem to sap the spirit. He was then thwocked in the head by something soft and freezing. He shook his head clean and looked up to see Woonwooken brushing snow off her paws, snuffling with amusement. He scooped up a ball of snow and sculpted it. It lifted off his open palm and flew through the air to smack Woonwooken in the face. She fell off her Tauntaun.

The two friends then launched into a furious snowball fight. They laughed so hard and fought so long that they didn't notice the black speck moving across the horizon behind them. In the end, they rode back to Echo Base with nothing to report. Han and Chewie, though, were much luckier.

EXT. SPACE - IMPERIAL FLEET
Darth Vader's Star Destroyer, larger and more awesome than the five
Imperial Star Destroyers that surround it, sits in the vastness of
space. The six huge ships are surrounded by a convoy of smaller
spacecraft. TIE fighters dart to and fro.

INT. DARTH VADER'S STAR DESTROYER - BRIDGE - MAIN CONTROL DECK

Controllers working the vast complex of electronic controls hear
ominous approaching footsteps and look up from their controls. The
squat, evil-looking Admiral Ozzel and the young, powerfully built
General Veers, who have been conferring near the front, also feel the
approaching presence and turn toward it. Darth Vader, Lord of the
Sith, enters like a chill wind. As Vader moves across the wide bridge,
Captain Piett hurries up to Ozzel.

PIETT
Admiral.

OZZEL
Yes, Captain

PIETT
I think we've got something, sir.
The report is only a fragment from
a probe droid in the Hoth system,
but it's the best lead we've had.

OZZEL
(irritated)
We have thousands of probe droids
searching the galaxy. I want proof,
not leads!

PIETT
The visuals indicate life readings.

OZZEL
It could mean anything. If we
followed every lead...

PIETT
But, sir, the Hoth system is supposed
to be devoid of human forms.

Vader moves to a large screen showing an image of the Rebel snow base. Rebel speeders can be seen approaching the base in the distance.

VADER
You found something?

PIETT
Yes, my lord.

VADER
(studying the image
on the console screen)
That's it. The Rebels are there.

OZZEL
My lord, there are so many uncharted
settlements. It could be smugglers,
it could be...

VADER
That is the system. And I'm sure
Skywalker is with them. Set your
course for the Hoth system. General
Veers, prepare your men.

 

[Dr Midnight]

dammit, lost Lela's post about "loving it" and almost screaming when Vader came up. I referenced that many times to give my ego a fix. It's gone forever now... sniffle.

I've reposted the last available chapter (see above) again. I hope the boards will sit still for a while.

The next chunk should be up sometime tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Horacio]

Horacio has a bizarre sensing of déjà vu...

 

[Breakstone]

...woah...

These boards are crazy...

 

[Lela]

The best part was that I was in the middle of the computer lab on campus. Now, that would have been embarrassing!

It is amazing. The colors, the pics, the movie clips. I really do almost feal like I'm watching something in a theater. I think what really brought the mood in was the intro movie you have up on your website. To think that I almost didn't go there!

I can't wait to see what happens next.

Now, someone asked if the other players get to know what's going on in the blue text or if it's strictly a Story Hour thing (which they read anyway). Don't know if you answered before the boards went nuts (again) but I'd still like to hear it.

I can't wait to find out how the combat sequence goes. You said you were jumping right in, right? I'm betting space battle, considering where you're currently at. That's assuming you have the battle on (or around) this planet. Otherwise, all bets are off.

 

[Dr Midnight]

Lexo and Woonwooken returned to base to find every able-bodied Rebel running about. The entire base was abuzz with activity. "What's happened?" Lexo asked a passing cargo porter.

"Captain Solo destroyed a probe droid. Imperial. We're expecting company real soon- it's time to abandon base. We're loading the transports up to escape." The young man dashed off on his business, leaving Lexo shaken.

Lexo ran to find the others. He came across a white-faced Dent Darkstar, emerging from the control room. Darkstar looked at Yust and said "A fleet of Star Destroyers just came out of hyperspace. We've managed to get the shield up, so they'll have to attack by ground, but it's only a matter of time." Woonwooken growled her feelings on the matter. Lexo agreed with a nervous smile- Imperials were on their way. Finally, a fight.

T'ek raced through the hangar and punched the door to open the med room. He found Zybor-Jae in his bed, looking much better than he had the day before. T'ek said "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. I can see again. My legs are a little weak, but it'll pass. What's happening? I'm sensing a disturbance."

"The Imperials are attacking. They'll reach us here by ground within an hour, we think." T'ek reached inside his robe and took out Zybor's lightsaber. He handed it to the Jedi. "Take this- you'll be better off with it, I think."

Zybor-Jae took it and smiled. "So YOU had it. Thanks." He got up and put his boots on. They walked back out into the hangar, where Princess Leia was addressing the Rebels.

She spoke quickly and commandingly. Her life as a politician and diplomat had given her the gift of effective speechmaking. "All troop carriers will assemble at the north entrance. The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as they're loaded. Only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy shield can only be opened for a short time, so you'll have to stay very close to your transports."

"Two fighters against a Star Destroyer?!" a nearby pilot exclaimed.

"The ion cannon will fire several shots to make sure that any enemy ships will be out of your flight path. When you've gotten past the energy shield, proceed directly to the rendezvous point. Understood?" The Rebels barked their affirmatives and broke up, scattering across the base. Leia stepped towards Dent and said "Captain, I understand you have a mission to leave for, and you may leave when you're ready. However, I would ask you and your group to stay. We need people to help load the transports- and we need people to fight."

"We'll stick around, your highness," Dent replied. She nodded and rushed off. Dent turned to see his group, plus Zybor-Jae, standing expectantly. They'd decided to join the Rebel troops in the ice trenches outside the base. Dent announced that he was going to apply his skills elsewhere. He broke off from the group and ran to one end of the hangar, while Lexo, Woonwooken, Zybor-Jae, Drugas, and Uschi went outside. T'ek stood still, thinking. He looked down to see R5-F6 standing nearby.

"The ship is still in the remote hangar, isn't it, R5?" he asked. The little droid bleeped its answer. T'ek knew that without the Chandrila Surveyor nearby, they couldn't make a hasty escape as they would almost certainly need to. The Surveyor was to the North. The Imperials were attacking from the North. He looked around. There was very little time, and none of his friends were nearby. He made up his mind to act. "C'mon," he shouted to the little droid as he began running towards one of the craft in the hangar.

Dent Darkstar reached the small group of Snowspeeders, where Rebel pilots in orange suits were making the final preparations before flight.

Dent approached one and said "Need an extra pilot?"

The pilot looked up with an annoyed glance. "Not unless… hey, you're Dent Darkstar, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"Word has it you're one of the best pilots in the Rebellion. We could sure use you… Know how to fly one of these things?"

"Absolutely."

The pilot grinned and tossed Dent a helmet. It had an orange visor and red Rebel insignia on the side. "Welcome to Rogue Squadron."

Meanwhile, out in the trenches, a shadow passed over the Rebel troops. A small repulsorlift transport was flying quickly away, over the field to the North. A troop looked at it and yelled "What the hell do they think they're doing? Someone's taking the snow skiff out to the North- straight towards the Imperials! That thing has no defensive capabilities!" Woonwooken, nearby, raised a pair of electrobinoculars to her keen eyes. She saw T'ek Nova through the small vehicle's windows, piloting the craft. Woonwooken gronked the message to Lexo: Nova's trying to reach the Surveyor. Another nearby troop said "Don't they know the Imperials have already landed?"

Lexo looked at him. "They did?!"

"Yeah- about three minutes ago. They'll be in range soon!"

T'ek was in deeper trouble than he knew. Lexo rallied his companions and told them the news. The verdict was simple- either go help T'ek, or lose him. He was a Jedi, and strong in the Force, but he could never defeat an invasion battalion. They ran back into the hangar and looked around.

"There- that's what we need," Uschi said. She pointed towards a small group of docked repulsorlift tandem Zip speeders. Three of them. They had two seats- one in the front for the driver with a light blaster mount. The rear seat was a revolving turret equipped with a powerful laser cannon. They ran towards them.

A passing Rebel said "You're not going out in those, are you?" They nodded- yes, they were. "I wouldn't recommend it- they're fast, they're powerful, but we haven't had time to modify them for Hoth conditions yet. They'll freeze up on you in a couple of minutes."

"Thanks for the advice, but this is an emergency," Drugas said, hopping on one and firing it up.

Far out in the field, T'ek was trying to push the antiquated transport craft as far as it could go. It wasn't built for speed. It wasn't built for much, apparently… T'ek looked down at the droid by his side. "R5, see if you can't reroute some power to the engines." R5 turned plugged into the skiff's systems and whistled when it made the appropriate connection. The vehicle surged forward with a refreshed speed. T'ek smiled and looked back up to the North. His eyes widened and his knuckles went white on the control grips. They were speeding straight towards a group of immense Imperial walkers- beastlike four and two-legged metal battleships. R5 gave a digital scream when he saw them "Hang on, R5," T'ek said as he keyed the control buttons. "We're going to go straight through them."

MORE TO COME...

 

[dpdx]

Woohah!

My friends and I just shotgunned Episodes 4, 5 and 6 tonight, half to prepare for Ep 2. So with Hoth and the beginning of Ep 5 fresh in my mind, I'm ready for a good Star Wars adventure.

And I have to commend Dr. Midnight on an excellent job already, threading his campaign seamlessly into the world of the Rebellion as it was during Episode 5. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[Horacio]

Horacio is in awe! What a movie!

 

[fenzer]

Doc, I am LOVING this!

 

[Pillars of Hercules]

Woo-hoo!!!

Excellent, keep it coming.