Star Wars : The New Sith Crisis

Execution

Streaking through the mottled sky of hyperspace, the Shadow Chaser drew nearer to its destination. Sev’rannce Tann sat in the pilots seat watching as the time scrolled off. In about one minute they would be at Yaga Minor, where she would get her new ship. The proximity alarm went off and Tann’s ship exited hyperspace. Before her stood the shipyards. The Shadow Chaser landed and Tann walked out, followed by her SithDroids. She called out to the man sitting behind the main desk, "Ensign, where do I go to pick up my starfighter?" She could have gotten the information just as easily by using the dark side to look into his mind, but as an Imperial General she had to follow procedure.
"Right this way, General Tann," the young man replied. He led her along a hallway until they arrived at a docking bay. In it stood a single TIE Defender. "If I may, General," he said, "this is the finest fighter ever built here at Yaga Minor. It has a military grade hyperdrive and can make nearly .6 past lightspeed. It has a full battery of laser cannons and several banks of Predator-class concussion missiles. The shields are of the finest class and it has been fully covered in Quantum Armor. In the hands of a skilled pilot such as yourself it will be invincible." Tann looked approvingly at the sparkling fighter. "Very good, ensign." She spoke in the cultured accent that most Imperial officers learned and fine-tuned. "I will also require a pilot to bring the Shadow Chaser and these droids to Bastion."
"Yes, General. I will get one for you immediately," he answered
"See that you do, I have a tight schedule," Tann said to the receding figure.

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All across Bastion, and especially in the Imperial capitol, there was a great stir. Today, Grand Admiral Pellaeon and General Sev’rannce Tann would put Wedge Antilles, the legendary rebel general, on trial. Everyone knew that he would be found guilty of treason among other things, and then executed. Already crowds were waiting at the spaceport when the Shadow Chaser, accompanied by Tann’s Defender, landed. They all watched as the ten sparkling SithDroids emerged from the shuttle and Tann exited the fighter. They walked along the road to the Imperial Palace, where the trial would take place. As they walked along, no one noticed two small freighters land at the spaceport.

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Wedge Antilles sat in his cell, waiting for the sound of footsteps that meant he was going to his death. He was strangely calm for someone about to die. "At least I made them kill me, and I didn’t tell them anything" he thought. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and two stormtroopers opened his door.
"Alright, time to go, rebel," one of them said as the other put stuncuffs on his wrists. They led him out, none of them speaking again. They went through many passageways and, after a long walk, they exited a small door. The two led him up a stairway and they emerged onto a balcony. A large crowd was gathered in the street below, and on all the surrounding balconies people were up, watching what would happen. Suddenly, with a blast of trumpets, the doors on the grand balcony of the Imperial palace opened and several stormtroopers came out. Behind them were four Imperial Guardsmen, followed by Grand Admiral Pellaeon, with three more Guardsmen bringing up the rear.
A herald called out, "Grand Admiral Pellaeon, ruler of the empire, commander of the Imperial fleet, and the high judge of the Imperial court." The herald stopped for a minute as cheers and applause rang from the street. Then the trumpets rang again. This time on the opposite balcony, where Wedge was, a door opened and a single Chiss woman walked out. She wore long robes, like a jedi, except instead of the normal brown, they were coal black. All that was visible under the hood she wore were her blazing red eyes.
The herald spoke again, "Supreme Commander, General Sev’rannce Tann, Commander of the Imperial Army and Dark Lord of the Sith." Again, cheers rang from the crowds. The herald continued, "We have, on trial today, Wedge Antilles, general of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, formerly the Rebel Alliance. Mr. Antilles, as a citizen of the Galactic Empire, you are subject to Imperial laws and enjoy the privilege of Imperial rights. As such, you have your choice of trial by jury or trial by judge."
"I am not a citizen of the Empire, and as a citizen of the Federation, I demand you release me," Wedge said, knowing that it would be useless to try, but doing it anyway.
"Very well," the herald said, "You shall be tried before the high judge of the Imperial court, Grand Admiral Pellaeon. And now, let the charges be read." He took up a large datascroll and began. "Wedge Antilles, you stand charged with treason to the empire, murder of Imperial and Thyferran citizens, resisting with arms the spread of Imperial Law, withholding Imperial protection from peoples of the galaxy, terrorism against Imperial troops and citizens, and encouraging officers of the Imperial fleet to desert. What is your plea?"
"Not guilty, all of those were done while I was at war with you," Wedge answered.
"That plea does not exist, but because of the overwhelming evidence against you, the court recognizes it as a confession of guilt. Grand Admiral Pellaeon will read your sentence," the herald spoke again.
Pellaeon began, "As high judge of the Imperial court, Commander of the Imperial Fleet, and Protector of Imperial Law and Imperial people, I cannot let crimes of the highest magnitude get away with anything less than a punishment of the highest magnitude." He paused for the cheers to subside and then continued. "Therefore, Wedge Antilles, under Imperial special order number 4985672.1, issued by Emperor Palpatine himself, I condemn you to death by Sith Lightning. General Sev’rannce Tann will administer your punishment, but first, do you have any last words?"
"I do," Wedge said. "Even if today I die, as it appears I shall, I will die knowing that, though you kill me, you will never kill the ideas I stand for. Even though I am going to die, Freedom, Truth, and Democracy will endure. The tyranny of the Empire will never conquer. If I die, others will take my place until you have either been beaten, or exterminated the---" At that his words were lost to jeers and boos from the massive crowds. Tann stepped forward, extended her hands, and fired a burst of lightning forward. At that point several things happened at once. Wedge threw himself to the side, a blaster shot rang out, and three people leapt from the crowd. They were obviously jedi, as they made the fifteen-foot leap easily. Two of them charged at Tann, lightsabers drawn, as the other cut down the stormtroopers and released Wedge. Tann’s yellow blade flashed and the jedi all took off running through the building.

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Luke Skywalker sprinted through the building, with Corran Horn, and Mara Jade Skywalker at his side. "We have speeders waiting in the back streets, with some others. Hurry," he told Wedge. They emerged from the building and jumped onto the three speeders, they sped off in the direction of the spaceport. Already they could hear the sound of pursuing speeders. Mara looked back and saw the Sith with ten droids all riding speeder bikes chasing them.
"faster, they’re gaining on us," she called to the others. Several more Federation commandos on speeders swooped in and formed a circle around Wedge and the jedi.

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As Tann and her people chased after the escaping prisoner and his rescuers, Pellaeon was sprinting through the Imperial Palace to the VIP docking bay where his shuttle was. As he ran, he ordered the airbases to scramble all fighters and the Star Destroyers in space to interdict the planet. No one was getting in or out until the rebels were caught. Pellaeon arrived at the docking bay a full yard before his guards, and in a second they were all aboard his personal shuttle. They launched the shuttle and it went quickly through the atmosphere. Soon, Pellaeon would be where he worked best, on the bridge of the Chimaera.

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Corran watched as the eleven speeders chasing them continued to grow. Now a full thirty droids and stormtroopers were after them, not to mention the Sith. They would need to go quicker still to reach the spaceport in time.

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On a rooftop on over the street, an Imperial sniper took careful aim with his Xerrol Nightstinger. The blaster would be soundless, and clear. He would make all five shots count. He took aim at the jedi and fired.

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Mara’s danger sense suddenly flared. She ducked to the side as the trooper beside her gave a cry and fell over. Her speeder went out of control and she jumped off as it crashed. She looked up to see Luke, Corran, and Wedge also on the ground. Five troopers lay dead and the others were unable to jump from their bikes in time. The Imperials kept coming, and some of them emerged from alleys to block off all escape for the four fugitives.

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Excellent Tann thought. Those snipers have done their job. Now I have them. She stopped her speeder and got down. Her SithDroids got off around her. Suddenly, blasters fired and a group of rebel commandos attacked the Imperials that encircled the prisoners. They all went off to fight the rebels, and she motioned the SithDroids to step back.
"A well-done, but foolish rescue, jedi," she spoke. "Return the prisoner to me and save us all the trouble of me having to take him from you."
"Never, you’ll have to get him," the red-haired woman jedi retorted. Suddenly, Tann sprang forward, her lightsaber activating. The three jedi drew their weapons and received her attack. Tann slashed furiously and then dropped back into a defensive position. The jedi attacked, all of them swinging their blades. They were good fighters, but Tann blocked every stroke. They kept on fighting, and time seemed to stand still as the three of the most powerful jedi pressed their strength against the might of Sev’rannce Tann.

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Luke could feel himself sinking into the force, allowing it to guide his motions. He could feel Corran and Mara doing the same. The three masters fell deeper and deeper into the force, until they could barely even feel what was happening. They became like three different outlets of one mind, their attacks as coordinated as they could possibly be, the lightsaber blades rising, falling, and striking as one, in perfect sequence and order. They seemed impossible to stop.

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The yellow blade of Sev’rannce Tann moved faster than it ever had before. Just as the jedi fought as well as they ever had, completely giving way to the force, Tann also was fighting her best ever. Her blade was moving as fast as it possibly could, moving faster than any eye could ever see. It moved to and fro, blocking the jedi blades and striking out in return. Tann knew, however, that even she couldn’t keep up this pace of action forever. She called out a strange signal, and her SithDroids moved forward.

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Once again, Mara felt her danger sense spike. She turned and saw the ten droids moving towards her. She called to Luke and the two of them moved against the droids, leaving Corran to handle the Sith Master that had resisted the finest fighting they had ever used.

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Corran knew they were in trouble. Luke and Mara had left off to stop the droids, and he knew they would be done if the Sith got past him. Then an idea popped into his head. They haven’t cut us off from that alley yet, and it leads to the spaceport! he mentally called to the others and yelled to Wedge. RUN, FOLLOW ME AND RUN!!!!! They took off at a full dash down the alley.

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Not even stopping to catch her breath, Tann motioned the droids to follow and took off running after the jedi. They couldn’t be allowed to escape. The chase continued for a while before the escapers cut open the walls to the landing bay and killed the guards that blocked the way into their freighter. They took off as Tann rushed to her defender and launched off after them. Thinking quickly, she radioed Pellaeon in the Chimaera with the location the jedi were likely to emerge. Then she allowed herself a tight smile. She had them now.

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"Luke, we have a Star Destroyer moving to intercept us." Corran called to the leader of the rescue.
"We were planning for something like that. I have the freighter programmed to blow when they get a tractor lock. Our X-wings are hidden and we should be able to launch as soon as they get a tractor-lock," Luke answered. The escapers got into their fighters, and felt a shudder as the Chimaera got a tractor lock on them.

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Pellaeon watched in dismay as the freighter burst when the tractor beams locked onto the enemy ship. He saw four starfighters emerge. The Chimaera launched TIEs as more Imperial fighters emerged from the planet and from the interdictor cruisers guarding the planet.

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Wedge smiled in satisfaction as the enemy launched fighters. He was happy to be back in a cockpit again, and having Imps to blast made it even better. He targeted a defender that was leading the flights coming up from the surface and fired. The TIE easily dodged his shot and came back up firing. Wedge circled around to get on the enemy starship's tail, only to find that it was back on his. He tried desperately to shake it, but the Imp seemed to know exactly what he was planning to do before he could do it. He simply could not shake the defender. Suddenly, an alarm wailed. The defender’s lasers had cut through his shield.

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Sev’rannce Tann laughed in victory as the X-wing lost its shields. She fired another salvo and watched in satisfaction as the fighter burst into flames and plummeted toward the surface of the planet Bastion. No one could survive a fall from this height with their fighter in flames. She turned to attack another X-wing, only to see that the remaining three had escaped into hyperspace.

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Grand Admiral Pellaeon watched from the Chimaera’s viewport as Wedge Antilles’ fighter plunged to a fiery death. He smiled in victory at the fall of the rebel hero. Wedge Antilles, the finest pilot the galaxy had ever seen, had fought his last dogfight, and he had lost. One of the most troublesome foes of the empire was gone forever.

Nathan, please no additions. I will deal with this storyline

Posted by Jarlath Cadman at June 1, 2004 03:25 PM