natureoftheforceastarwarsfanfic

[natureoftheforceastarwarsfanfic]

Ch.3.03

Rajan initially did not really think that he would take up Orrik’s offer, he had no need of old republic artifacts. But something about the way that Orrik spoke intrigued him, telling him that there was more to his “collection” than he was letting on.

By the time Orrik called a halt and clambered up the nearest manhole hatch Rajan had decided that it would be worth following Orrik to wherever he kept his collection, if only to get rid of him before heading back to his ship.

“We are close,” Orrik said quietly, peering through a thin slit he formed by holding the manhole grate open a few millimeters.

“Is the street very busy?” Rajan asked, eying the tunnel where they had just came from and listening for the sounds of sloshing water that would indicate they were being followed.

Orrik was quiet for a few moments, performing a quick check. “This time of day there are just a few people around, we are in a back alley.”

“When it looks like its clear be quick and jump out, I will follow.” Rajan followed up the ladder, grabbing his blaster and thumbing on the full auto setting.

Orrik waited a moment before flinging the manhole grate open with more noise than Rajan would have liked and then jumping out. Rajan followed right behind. Finding himself in a small side alley between two larger buildings which ended on one end with the wall of another cutting off escape.

Rajan looked down at his wet boots and tried not to think about what was sloshing between his toes. Mostly dry above the knee at least Rajan holstered his blaster, though he did not button it up completely in case he needed it.

“This is fifth street, just by the spaceport,” Orrik said walking out into the main street with Rajan following. “We need to get to third just over that way.” He pointed over beyond the row of buildings opposite the alley.

The two of them walked the short distance with only the occasional glance from a passerby at their wet trousers and bad smell. The entire journey taking just over four minutes by Rajan’s count.

“Here we are.” Orrik gestured at a small storage unit complex which lined a good part of one side of the street. “Fortunately the building is automated so we don’t have to speak to anyone, and my unit is accessed by fingerprint.

A facial scan and quick explanation about Rajan’s presence to a security droid, a modified surplus B1 with a slurred vocator, got them into the facility without issue.

Leading the way Orrik suddenly seemed to remember that just a few short minutes prior that people had been trying to kill him. His eyes darted around and he peered ahead at a human who was going through her own unit slightly ahead. She looked back curiously for a moment before returning to her things with a shrug.

As they made their way towards the end of the facility Rajan noted that the units were getting bigger, and the security more intense. They passed through another security checkpoint, this one with a pair of automated blaster turrets flanking either side of the walls.

“And here we are!” Orrik announced, standing beside one of three equally impressive vaults. He held his hand over a scanner and the door opened with a slight whine of electrical motors.

Rajan caught a whiff of processed air as the door opened. At first he saw only a dim darkness, but once the door had cycled all the way open lights began to come on illuminating an impressive collection of Republicana.

In the front of the unit were arranged various bits of stone and technology, each with a tag listing its origin. Here a piece of the ancient senate house, here a fragment of the deck plating of an Inexpungable class command ship, and there the droid brain from an early nav droid during the schisms of the fifteenth millennium.

The center of the room held several display cases and mannequins which showed off an elaborate collection of clothing in various conditions and styles. Several Coruscant evening gowns, Twilek Lekku lace, and even a traditional Gothuli shamans headdress. The two side walls were adorned with further displays of clothing, technology, data cylinders holding a number of first edition holo dramas, and even some currency. There was also a decent assortment of weaponry as well, blasters, slugthrowers, vibroblades, axes, and a handful of missiles.

But it was the far wall which interested Rajan, several items catching his eye and drawing him in as if he was under a spell. Ignoring the majority of Orriks cluttered collection he made his way back. Focusing on a crystal half buried under the mangled head of an early protocol droid.

He grabbed the crystal and hefted it briefly in the palm of his hand. “I’ll take this,” he said briefly. Pocketing the crystal he looked around, “also those.”

Orrik seemed taken back by the items he chose. “Are you sure?” He asked in alarm. “Are you sure that you don’t want to get ahold of anything else?”

Rajan was already loading the pile of items he had indicated into a well placed crate, but paused in his efforts to look around. “you’re right,” he said, much to the apparent relief of Orrik. “If that’s a model 223 commando suite I will take that as well.”

“I. That’s not what…” Orrik’s voice trailed off. He eyed the box, and apparently thought over his odds if he did not let Rajan take what he wanted. “Nevermind.”

Rajan took a brief moment to enjoy the heartbroken look in Orrik’s eyes before smiling. “Do you have anything that you want to bring along?”

Orrik did not and Rajan soon figured out how to pack the 223 suite into the crate. With nothing left to do they left the storage center and were soon standing outside the building with the crate hovering a few centimeters above the ground between them.

“I guess we are three or four kilometers from my ship,” Rajan said into the silence that had fallen between them as Orrik doubtlessly wondered at the cost of his passage with him.

“I would agree with you I think,” Orrik said. He looked down at his mostly dried trousers and shoes with a grimace.

Rajan did not need to look down to know that the smell had only gotten worse, and as they entered the high security area around the spaceport their appearance from the knee down would only draw the kind of attention they did not want.

Looking around at the street Rajan quickly found what he was looking for. A small vehicle garage on a quiet side street. And one that did not look to have major security at the exit either.

“Follow me,” he commanded.

#Charles Markov #star wars #star wars oc #original character #galactic empire #fanfic #star wars fanfiction

[natureoftheforceastarwarsfanfic]

Ch.01.02

“What a dump!” Rajan though to himself as he walked through the streets of Toboga city, the capital of the southern administrative region of Desevero.

The planet, and indeed most of the Tion sector had made a bid at independence during the Clone Wars, fielding its own army in addition to siding with the Confederacy. And the region had been among the last to fall to imperial forces after the new order rose to power.

The scars of that war were still plainly seen. With much of Toboga still scarred from the final battles of the empires conquest. As the man responsible for so much of the destruction wrought on the world he had to say it felt very odd standing upon it. At least not without a stormtrooper escort and close air support.

Walking past a town square which still held the wreckage of a half destroyed AT-TE he turned the corner and almost slammed into a squad of the local garrison forces.

“Freeze!” The squad sergeant shouted in alarm, raising his blaster just a fraction before the rest of his five man unit. “Hands up!”

“Morning sir,” Rajan answered calmly, leveling a polite smile at the sergeant even as one of the troopers peeled away and began searching him.

“Stay where you are,” the sergeant added, though his helmet dipped as he took in Rajan’s rather nonthreatening appearance. A simple tunic, cloak and knee length boots made him look like a respectable member of society.

“In my left breast pocket you will find my identification,” Rajan said still in a positive tone. “I also have a blaster in a holster in the small of my back and a knife in my boot,” he added thinking it a good thing to declare.

The trooper confiscated his blaster, the knife, and his ID in short order and returned to the protection of the rest of the squad. Handing the ID to the sergeant.

“Off worlder?” He asked after a moment looking at Rajan’s credentials.

Rajan nodded, “from Coshtii just made planetfall today.” Keeping his hands raised he gestured towards the spaceport at the edge of town.

The sergeant plugged the ID card into a reader he pulled from his belt. Waiting for it to process for a few seconds and giving Rajan another once over. A small click sounded as the card was read and displayed its results.

“Sorry for the rough handling,” the sergeant said as he straightened and lowered his blaster. “Cant be to sure here with the locals.” He handed Rajan back his ID card, and the trooper walked over with his weapons. The three other members of the squad remained on alert, though their weapons were no longer pointed at Rajan.

Leaning in close to him the sergeant confided a few words of advice. “I would stay in the city center if I were you. Gangs love to attack offworlders, they will take you for anything you have and then leave your body in a gutter.”

“I have some business to attend to here, but wont be long.” Rajan assured the sergeant.

Taking a moment to consider Rajan again the sergeant offered to send one of his mend to escort him on whatever business he had in the city outskirts.

“That wont be necessary I assure you,” Rajan held up a hand. “I will be just a few minutes more and then plan to leave the planet in a few hours.”

“Well be careful,” the sergeant cautioned. “Things aren’t as safe as they are on Coshtii.”

Rajan moved on, wishing the troopers well as he did so. He passed through more of the city, navigating past piles of rubble and blasted apart buildings. Arriving in a few minutes more at his destination. An only mildly blasted town house nestled against the city walls in a formerly upper class neighborhood.

Rajan took a moment to look around the neighborhood. Seeing only a few locals milling around staring back at him nervously. He also took a closer look at the house. Noting the mismatched trim, multi-colored bricks and different window shutters. It was clear that the house had been repaired at some point after the invasion using components from the surrounding homes.

He rapped on the door, a strange feeling forming as he did so. Inside he could hear shuffling feet and a slamming door. Taking a step back Rajan could feel the odd sensation growing in his mind.

“What do you want?” The small and squat Twilek male who apparently owned the house asked after flinging the door open. Rajan noted that his left hand was concealed behind the wall, likely clutching a blaster.

He looked Rajan up and down, not relaxing in the slightest, but also apparently deciding he was not a threat. The feeling something was wrong grew stronger.

“Orrik Negosha?” Rajan asked, putting some mild surprise into his voice.

“Yes?” Orrik answered suspiciously.

Rajan smiled, “I saw your add,” he gestured to no place in particular. “The one where you were wanting transport off world.”

“Oh,” Orrik said. His face suddenly turned ashen, no small feat given his brilliant green complexion, and the sense of wrongness exploded into a wailing alarm.

Rajan flew into Orrik, gripping the blaster he held in his left hand and hitting the ground on top of the panicked Twilek. Behind him an explosion of blaster fire ripped through the doorway and slamming into the air just above him.

Adjusting the blaster and thumbing the safety off Rajan rolled off Orrik, blasting two beings who had entered the house through a back door. He shot another as he stood up, ducking through the kitchen as the blaster fire coming from the street increased massively in scale.

Rajan dropped the borrowed blaster and grabbed his own, thumbing it onto full auto and blindly returning fire through the kitchen window. “Do you have a speeder?” He shouted, uncertain if Orrik was still alive but knowing if he was he would likely be just as desperate to get away.

“Not here,” came a reply that made Rajan’s spirits sink.

“Stay low,” Rajan advised, ducking return fire and switching position to the back of the building where he had heard foot steps. Keeping below the line of the windows he crept back. Passing a small reading room, and a bedroom.

Two humans with awkwardly large blasters, and a scarred Merkravi met him. Eachothers weapons getting in the way as they tried to bring them to bear on Rajan. They were dead before any of them could get off a shot.

“I think I have a way out,” he called, getting a soft grunt in response.

Rajan fired a few random shots out the back door, getting no return fire in response. Tentatively he chanced a quick look out at the alley. Nothing.

He returned to find Orrik in the same heap he had been in from the start. Apparently the twilek was not inclined to move much during a firefight. Rajan fired at two Rodians who were getting to close to the front door, hitting one in the chest.

“Do you want out of here or not?” Rajan asked, startling Orrik and eliciting a small yipe of surprise.

He turned to look Rajan in the eye and blinked, “a way out?” He asked somewhat dazed.

Rajan fired at the surviving Rodian, he was done asking, but he could not bring himself quite to leave the man either. Switching his blaster to full auto he fired furiously out the door one handed, using his free hand to yank the Twilek off the ground and back on his feet.

“Move!” He shouted in his ear.

The violence of being brough rapidly upright and then yelled at seemed to have jogged Orrik back to his senses and he moved forward willingly.

Rajan kept his distance some ways back. Curious to see if he had shot everyone guarding the backdoor. Orrik did not even pause at the entrance, but he was not shot instantly either. Rajan made sure to check before he left the safety of the house. Not seeing anything he stopped firing, and dashed towards a speeder Orrik seemed to also be heading to. As he ran he replaced the blasters gas cartridge.

He looked up as a sense of danger grew in his mind. He looked for potential sources for the feeling, his eyes focusing on the speeder. “No!” He shouted.

Orrik turned around as he ran. Skidding to the floor as his feet fell out from under him. He was just beginning to formulate a question asking why when the speeder blew up behind him, showering him and Rajan in debris. Sirens erupted all around the city and Rajan knew that the attackers would not take long to figure out that they had run.

“Follow me,” he said. Not bothering to ask if Orrik was alright. He looked around, finding a manhole cover nearby. “Open that and climb down.”

Keeping a watchful eye out for the gang Rajan listened as Orrik struggled to open the manhole catch. “Got it!” The Twilek called out. Chancing a glance down Rajan just caught his head disappearing down the hole. Rajan followed down and carefully closed the hatche behind him.

“Which way does the this lead at the bottom?” Rajen asked rather than apologize after stepping on Orrik’s Lekku.

“I am not at the bottom yet so I don’t know.” Came the reply. Rajan said nothing, though he did at least attempt to avoid stepping on the Lekku again.

“Hang on!” Orrik called a few moments later, Rajan wished he would speak quieter, though it was likely the sound of his voice would be largely muffled by the manhole cover. “I found the bottom,” Rajan heard a splash and grunt.

His foot found the end of the ladder and soon Rajan dropped down into knee deep standing water. Water that smelled remarkably like sewage.

Looking around in the dark Rajan’s fake eye took a moment to adapt to the low light conditions. Finding that he was indeed in a sewage system underneath the city. The tunnel they were in extended far away in two directions, running through a mental map of the city Rajan guessed at the direction of the spaceport.

“This way,” he said grabbing Orrik to make sure that he knew which direction he was meaning. “Once we get to the spaceport you are on your own.”

“You aren’t taking me off world?” Orrik demanded, his voice suddenly high pitched and desperate.

“Your add did not mention anything about a hit squad coming for you, nor did you say you would need protection during your travels.”

“But I don’t!” Orrik said.

“Our current surroundings would tend to suggest otherwise,” Rajan countered.

“But I can pay you.”

“And if I am killed? Is my life worth the risk of death?” Rajan demanded. Orrik did not respond immediately.

“Who is trying to kill you anyway?” Rajan asked, out of only mild curiosity. But he was not at all prepared for the response.

“Black sun,” Orrik answered miserably.

“What!” Rajan thundered, finding his hands suddenly around Orriks neck.

“Now you see why I need to get off this planet?” Orrik asked through choked breaths. Chuckling softly.

“What did you do?” Not releasing his grip Rajan shoved Orrik hard into the wall, knowing any remaining breath out of him. “Answer me or I assure you that black sun will be the least of your worries.”

Orrik struggled for a moment, gasping for air, and Rajan allowed him a breath. If only to get an answer before he died. But his grip remained iron tight and unrelenting otherwise.

“I sold secrets!” The Twilek said eventually.

Not liking where this was going Rajan found himself with a follow on question, “to who?”

“Crimson dawn!”

Rajan tossed Orrik aside in disgust. “You betrayed black sun to crimson dawn?” He asked incredulously. “Do you have a death wish?”

“Seemed like the thing to do at the time,” Orrik argued in a small voice. He clutched his throat, still regaining his full breath.

“Well I hope that you didn’t save what they gave you because where you are going you cant take it with you.” Rajan moved past Orrik and kept going, anxious to get as far away from him as possible and run before the gang found him.

“Please you have to help me!” Orrik pleaded still on the ground. Curled up into a ball he called out, “I will pay whatever you ask, just don’t leave me here to die!”

Rajan stopped but did not turn around, “as I said once we get to the spaceport you are on your own.” Over his shoulder he called, “I am sure you can find some poor being to get you off world.”

“Everyone has a price!” Orrik called, seeming regaining some semblance of confidence.

“I agree, but you cant afford mine!” Rajan retorted still walking away.

“I can pay you enough credits to buy a destroyer!” Orrik offered. Rajan did not give him a response, though he could hear sloshing footsteps behind him telling him that Orrik had not given up.

“I would try someone else at the spaceport but I know that you can handle yourself.” Orrik now seemed to have regained his confidence, business being something he was apparently much more familiar with then gunfights.

“I don’t want your credits,” Rajan said.

“Then what do you want?” Orrik was quick one the uptake, and seemed determined. “I have more than credits to offer you.”

Something in the aliens tone caught Rajan. An odd, conspiratorial tone which told him that whatever it was Orrik was offering it was likely rare and highly illegal.

“I don’t want spice either,” Rajan said determined to kill any such offer in its tracks.

“What if I told you that I had an entire collection of old republic era artifacts?” Orrik asked, his teeth shining in the dim light of the sewer as he smiled. “I can take you to them and let you look around, then you can decide if the price is right.”

Sensing that his hook had caught Orrik widened his smile. “The best part is that its on the way to the spaceport.”

#star wars fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #star wars #star wars legends #star wars original character #clone war #jedi #sith #the force #nature #original character #writer #author #science fiction

[natureoftheforceastarwarsfanfic]

Ch.02.01

It was a hot day, with the thick humidity handing over the ground like a thick soup. The smell of decay, rot, and panic hung in that soup. With only the muffled calls of insects reaching Rajan’s ears. All the large animals on the moon having wisely vacated the area.

Hidden in his cave Rajan hoped to go unnoticed, but the cry of an airspeeder which suddenly cut through the still air. Desperately wishing for it to continue on its journey he despaired to hear the speeders engines begin powering down, the snapping of tree branches showing that it was landing nearby.

He moved as far back into the cave as he could, hoping to loose himself into the darkness. But the cave did not go back nearly as far as he wished, and despite his best efforts he could not merge with the rock of the cave.

Footsteps began coming towards him, and Rajan could hear the hiss of breath as two trandoshans made their way towards him.

“Why do so many try to hide here?” One of the trandoshans asked his counterpart.

“I do not know, but it makes the end of the chase so much less satisfying than if we catch them in the open,” the second hissed. “We should have moved quicker.”

Neither spoke for some seconds more, the sound of their footsteps ringing in Rajan’s ears as they drew steadily closer to him. Abruptly they stopped.

“It would be much easier for you if you surrendered yourself.”

“We will make your death quick, just a blaster bolt to the head.” Rajan heard the click of a blaster safety being disabled. A panic building up inside him as he realized all hope of escape was lost.

 Rajan screamed, a primordial hate filled sound from deep in his throat, blaster moving silently to his hand and swinging towards his attackers.

But there was no one. And as the last fog of sleep dissipated, and the dream faded to the reality of his sleeping quarters, Rajan felt somewhat ridiculous. Wearing a single piece undergarment and no shoes he was hardly in a position to fight anyone. Not that it was likely anyone could get aboard his ship without him noticing this far into deep space.

Already he felt the power fading, the rage subsided, leaving him feeling small. Insignificant, and old. Out of curiosity he looked at the clock, he had gotten four hours of sleep this time, the most he had gotten in a long time.

Although he was now awake the ghosts of his past haunted him. Voices, faces, smells, and a million memories flashed through his mind in an instant.

Death was next, death on a scale few could imagine. Ships ripped apart, cities destroyed, entire planets laid to waste and thousand of starship unleashing their fury against one another. And through all of it were bodies, the bodies of friends and enemies alike intertwined intro a grotesque mental image of things he would like to forget.

“Enough!” Rajan screamed finally, some of the rage returning. But it did no good, the ghosts kept up their macabre dance in his mind.

“I cant change the past, I can only continue in the present.” He didn’t know who exactly he was speaking to, the universe, no one, himself. But it felt good to speak after so long spent in silence.

As he always did in such moments Rajan buried himself in routine. But the life of a lone spacer was several orders of magnitude less busy than the life of an imperial grand admiral. It being a simple task to ensure that the ships autopilot was still on course and prepare meals.

Passing a reflective storage container Rajan caught a look at himself. Or at least a stranger who vaguely resembled what he looked like in his mind eye. Forty years in uniform, first judiciary, then grand army, and then imperial, still made for a jarring experience to see himself dressed in a simple tunic. And his haphazard loose hair and beard made him look like someone totally different.

“Who are you?” He asked the reflection. “Look at you, you used to have a purpose, a reason to exist. Now? Now you are just drifting.”

Panic began to grip him as he imagined his life. Wandering across the galaxy idly, he had enough money that he did not need to work, bouncing from planet to planet and generally hanging low. This was no way to live.

“What am I to do?” He asked himself.

He mulled over that question for the rest of the day, going out of his way to find things on the ship to fix. The thoughts of settling down on a planet did not appeal to him. But he could not keep wandering around as he had been either.

Deep down he knew that he was only trying to find something to do as a way of avoiding his problems. But even knowing that he would still prefer to get a job than face his past.

#Charles Markov #Star wars #fanfic #scifi #star wars fanfiction #original character #writer #fiction

[natureoftheforceastarwarsfanfic]

Ch.01.06

A half hour later, and certain he had not been followed Rajan returned to his ship and began powering it up. He was airborne and climbing for altitude by the time anyone discovered the two bodies he had left behind in an alley. And the police had determined the trandoshan and officer had killed eachother in an altercation just after his arrest by the time Rajan had calculated his hyperspace jump. The case was closed and half forgotten by the time he had made his jump. Such was the nature of frontier life.

#natureoftheforce #star wars #fanfic #original character #scifi #writer #fun

[natureoftheforceastarwarsfanfic]

Ch.01.05

It was later that night, much later than Rajan thought, by the time he managed to peel himself away from the funeral, pay for his meal, say his goodbyes to his new friends the Devorian and the Human, and leave the cantina to head back to his ship.

As he left the cantina Rajan felt a chill as the cold nighttime air blew through the narrow streets of the cities entertainment district. Shivering he pulled his cloak tighter around himself and doubled his pace to the hangar.

A sudden alarm, a mere whisper at the back of his mind, made him duck left and spin around. Narrowly missing connecting his head with a stun bolt beam.

Blaster in hand Stone leveled the weapon at his assailant, a blue armored Trandoshian who snarled back at him in anger.

“Can I help you lizzardman?” Rajan asked, a snarl tugging at the corners of his mouth. He couldn’t stand trandoshians, never had been able to. The fact that this one had just fired at him, and missed, made him dislike this example of the species all the more.

“I am a bounty hunter!” The being hissed through sharp toothed snout.

“Are you a member of the guild?” Rajan asked keeping his blaster leveled squarely at a point between the creatures eyes. He noted with half a chuckle that his blaster was still switched the stun, with the other part of his mind he noted the crowd gathering along the street to watch what was going on.

“I am, and you have a bounty out on you from the Gotholia system!” The trandoshian thundered. “Lower your weapon and come with me now!”

“Amateur,” Rajan thought just as he adjusted his aim and shot the self-proclaimed bounty hunters rifle out of his hands. Three steps found him close the distance between them, though he kept to a safe distance.

“Tell me the truth now,” he said calmly, theatrically releveling his blaster to point at the trandoshians head.

Looking around he noted that the crowd had grown significantly now. Speaking much louder than he needed to so as to be heard by as many as possible.

“You claim to be a bounty hunter, that much may be true. But as far as you being a member of the bounty hunters guild I highly doubt it.” He noticed a commotion in the back of the crowd.

“The guild’s code requires a hunter to announce himself before any shot is fired, giving their target a chance to surrender themselves peacefully before violence is used. And this you did not do.” He looked the trandoshian squarely in the eye.

“That means you are either an independent bounty hunter, a member of the guild who does not follow the guild’s laws, or a fraud who just felt like shooting at a random old man.”

He smiled thinly, “its up to you to convince me either way.”

“Whats going on here?” A law enforcement officer wearing ill fitting body armor demanded, finally pushing his way past the crowd. He leveled a blaster in Rajan’s general direction. A blaster on its safe setting he noted.

“This fella just shot at the gentleman,” someone explained from behind the police man.

“Is this true?” The officer demanded speaking to no one in particular.

“He claims to be a bounty hunter with the guild,” Rajan explained. “But he failed to follow guild procedure and announce himself, and he fired upon me without warning.”

“And yet you have the blaster now buddy.” The officer pointed out, now seemingly realizing that his blaster was on safety corrected that, his blaster making an audible click as it primed itself.

“I am certain security footage will confirm my story, and you already have testimony from at least one eye witness confirming my story. And you have yet to ask my assailant for his side of the story.”

“That’s true!”

The officer seemed startled that yet another random observer spoke out, and equally perturbed that the man he was pointing a blaster at took no apparent notice. As a result it took him a few long moments to respond.

“That’s something for the boys at the station to ask him, I’m taking you both in.”

“Am I under arrest?” Rajan asked dropping his voice to a lower and less friendly tone than he had used prior. For what it was worth he also threw all the power and authority into his voice that he could muster, which was a significant amount thanks to his years of service in the navy.

The tones of authority seemed to make the officer shrink back, a natural reaction for someone who was in essence a rather low ranking beat cop likely used to being told how high to jump by his superiors.

“You are,” he finally said, putting some of his own authority into his reply, though it was clear to all that posture as he might he was not in any way in control of the situation. “Put down your weapon and get onto the ground or I will consider you as resisting lawful arrest.”

Rajan had no intention of allowing himself to be arrested. That would entail being processed, with DNA samples, fingerprints, and pictures being taken of him which would then be placed into the planets security database regardless of what happened. And by extension he would then be in the empires security database.

Alternatively he could shoot his way out of this situation, the trandoshan was no longer a threat, and the officer did not seem especially proficient with his own blaster. But that would almost be a worse outcome than simply allowing himself to be arrested, leading to him being a wanted criminal.

That left Rajan just one option. It wasn’t a very good option, but better than nothing.

Calming his mind and slowing his breathing he reached out. Not physically as his hands remained where they were, pointing his blaster at the trandoshan. Rather he reached out through the force.

His sensitivity to the force was perhaps his best kept secret. He had no idea how powerful he was, no one had ever told him, nor had he ever received any specific training to develop his connection to it. But from working with various Jedi, as well as other circumstances, he had managed to work out a few tricks.

He focused on the officer, touching his mind and prodding it.

“You don’t want to arrest me,” he suggested, his voice dropping to a whisper as a result of his concentration.

“I don’t?” The man stuttered suddenly confused. He blinked rapidly and Rajan could feel him slipping from his control.

Focusing harder he answered, “no you don’t.”

“But,” the other began, it seemed there was now nothing in the universe beside the two of them.

“No you don’t,” Rajan said with more force behind his words. “I did nothing wrong.”

“You didn’t.”

Rajan tried not to the fact he was pleased with himself for doing so well cloud his mind. “I did nothing wrong today, and you don’t have to arrest me,” he could feel the other mind slipping away as he fought against what he knew was wrong.

“I have to,” the officer answered, beginning to shake Rajan’s grip. But he didn’t have much more to do.

“I will go with you willingly though. So why would you arrest me?”

“Good.”

Rajan severed the spell, he had done enough. The officer seemed to snap back to his reality and suddenly became aware of his surroundings once more.

“Right you will have to come with me down to the station,” he announced. “Holster that blaster before I confiscate it and stand aside so that I can secure your friend.”

“My friend he most definitely is not,” Rajan answered sliding his blaster back into its secreted holster. However he did not thumb the safety on as he normally did.

“Jedi,” the trandoshan hissed silently beneath his breath. The rest of the crowd, who had been jostling one another for a look at the scene had seemed to have missed the mind trick, but with his much closer view of what had happened he had apparently managed to understand what had happened.

“Well that complicated things,” Rajan thought in dismay. With that one word the bounty hunter impersonator had sealed his, and likely the officers fate.

“I had hoped to walk off before reaching the station,” he thought with a sudden sadness.

 A half hour later, and certain he had not been followed Rajan returned to his ship and began powering it up. He was airborne and climbing for altitude by the time anyone discovered the two bodies he had left behind in an alley. And the police had determined the trandoshan and officer had killed eachother in an altercation just after his arrest by the time Rajan had calculated his hyperspace jump. The case was closed and half forgotten by the time he had made his jump. Such was the nature of frontier life.

#Star wars #Fanfiction #Star wars fanfiction #jedi #sith #natureoftheforce #scifi #scifi art #space western

[natureoftheforceastarwarsfanfic]

Ch.01.04

Trist was a small, out of the way system with only one inhabited moon which boasted a population well under one million beings concentrated in five major settlements. Rajan had touched down in one of the smaller ones. And he was now seated in yet another so same cantina.

The only thing which made this cantina stand out was the news holocaster in the far corner which was showing the funeral procession of a high ranking imperial officer. Specifically it was showing Rajan’s funeral.

“Never much liked all the pageantry,” Rajan thought as he watched the rows of marching shimmering white armored stormtroopers, the procession of walkers and flight of TIE fighters screech overhead. He had to admit though that the sight of it all, the glamour, the faceless soldiers and the sombre music of the marching band all made for a very impressive sight.

“Should have faked my death sooner!” He thought with a smile, if he had known there would be this much of a fuss made over him then he would have likely considered it.

“So who was this guy?” A Devorian in a booth beside Rajan asked his friend, a human woman.

“Some imperial navy guy I guess, a broadcast last week said it was an assassination.”

“Assassinated eh?” The Devorian asked with a whistle.

“As far as anyone knows.” Rajan thought to himself as he sipped his drink.

“Yeah, can you imagine anyone being stupid enough to kill a grand admiral?” The woman asked with a shake of her head.

“Hold up!” The Devorian said suddenly. “Is that the emperor?”

Rajan nearly spit his drink out, barely containing a coughing fit at the announcement.

Apparently the Devorian noticed the commotion, but it seemed he didn’t mind being eavesdropped on. “Hey take a look,” he said gesturing to the holocaster. “Does that look like the emperor to you?”

Rajan turned around to get a better look at the caster, “where?” He asked.

“In the middle of the red guards behind the coffin,” the woman answered.

Rajan looked at the highlighted area and exhaled audibly in a single breath. Surrounded by a procession of what had to be a hundred red robed imperial guards walked the hooded form of the most powerful being in the galaxy. Emperor Sheev Palpatine.

He walked with characteristic slowness, the entire funeral procession moving in lockstep with his pace. In his mid eighties he likely was going as fast as he could, but still managed to walk steadily and with the use only of his cane.

“At least he appears to be going as fast as he could,” Rajan thought. Out loud he said, “that looks like him, at least from this angle. Probably a double though.”

“Yeah your probably right,” the Devorian mumbled, “but even so the guy must have been fairly highly regarded.”

After a few moments staring at the image of the emperor, and Rajan was almost certain it was the emperor in the flesh in the funeral procession, the Devorian turned back to his friend. “Who did you say killed him?”

“I didn’t,” she shrugged. “They are still looking into it I guess.”

“Well whoever did it,” the Devorian gestured at the holocaster, “he is in for a world of hurt. The fact that the emperor of the kriffin galaxy took the time to be at the funeral says he was more than just an admiral.”

“He is in deep,” the woman agreed.

The Devorian and Human returned to their own conversation and Rajan returned to his drink. Sipping it slowly as the funeral proceeded in all the pomp, ceremony and solemnity due to his position.

Reaching the end of the procession a few speeches were made, with each subsequent speaker being higher ranked, more important, and more forceful in their conviction that they would find out who had been responsible for the killing.

“Well hopefully they take the bait and follow the trail I left them,” Rajan thought noting that Tarkin was nowhere to be seen. At least not behind the podium among the assembled dignitaries. As a high ranked imperial politician he was doubtlessly in the crowd.

“Unless they have already followed the trail and quietly killed him?” He dared to hope for a moment.

#Star wars #fanfiction #fanfic #short story #writer #scifi #worldbuilding #darth vader #emperor palpatine #Jedi #Sith

[natureoftheforceastarwarsfanfic]

Ch.01.03

“Freighter A1913 please identify and submit yourself for a scan!” The voice of the TIE pilot rang out over the comm.

“Imperial patrol this is captain Langman of the freighter Skosha out of Corellia carrying a load of moulders bound for Trist,” Rajan answered using the fake name and manifest he had paid so much for. He sent out the information to the TIE patrol, flipping on the passive fire director as he did so and switching the guns to ready mode, but not powering them on.

An alert told him that he was being scanned, the TIE pilots wishing to check his story, if only for something to do to relieve the monotony of a long deep space patrol.

“Short ranged interceptors on a deep space patrol. The Tarkin doctrine at work.” Rajan thought to himself. Apparently a dedicated patrol ship was beyond the limitless finances of the empire to afford.

“Its not that the empire cant afford it,” he told himself. “Its just that a patrol ship is a lot less intimidating to native populations than something like a cruiser or a frigate.”

He clicked condescendingly at the thought of how badly the empire was mismanaging its funds, “what was that freighter?”

“Nothing!” Rajan answered startled that the pilot had heard him. “I just realized I left the fresher on and was chiding myself,” he added.

“I understand,” the TIE pilot added wistfully, likely envious that Rajan had the luxury of leaving the fresher on when he lacked even a breathable atmosphere outside his flight suit.

“Your scan checks out,” he said after a moment stewing over his lot in life. “We sent a packet over to you testifying that you have been cleared, if you show it to the local imperial flight control office at Trist it should help speed your docking procedure.”

“Thank you, and happy hunting!” Rajan answered, powering down the director and switching the guns back to power off mode. He sat back and breathed a sigh of relief, watching as the wing of three TIE’s faded rapidly out of view.

“On to Trist I suppose,” he thought, pulling up the flight path and uploading it to the navicomputer.

#star wars #fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #author #science fiction #world building #writer #fanfic #scifi

[natureoftheforceastarwarsfanfic]

Ch.01.02

“This is not as much fun as I thought it would be,” Rajan thought to himself as his drink and meal arrived, delivered by a converted KT droid. He guessed the cantina did not have the money to afford a dedicated server droid.

Watching the crowd gathered near the bar, the scene reminding him of a dozen other bars and saloons he had been to in the past month, Rajan noticed a being, a Weequay from his vantage point, being dragged out the back of the bar by seven others.

A part of Rajan, a large part, said that he should ignore it, lay low and finish his food. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to himself afterall. But he had never been all that good at listening to reason, or minding his own business.

He rose and told a passing server droid that he had not finished his meal yet, and headed for the rear exit.

“Your going to get it now!” Poj the Gomorran leader of the group squealed in his language, the other members of his gang grunting their agreement.

Kon’s lip trembled, “please,” he mumbled knowing it would be useless.

“Everyone knows Poj’s table is off-limits!” A fellow Weequay snarled almost gleefully.

Kon thought briefly about saying that he had never been to the city before, and that if they should be mad at anyone they should be mad at the server droid which gave him the table. But he knew it would be useless and so instead cursed his brother for bringing him here.

“I wonder how much this is going to cost in medical fees?” He wondered for a moment. “If I even get to the hospital,” he amended a moment later when one of the group pulled a vibroblade from his pocket.

Kon closed his eyes and said a prayer that Am-Shak help him.

“What the kriffen hell do you pieces of gutter trash think you are doing?” A voice suddenly said, cutting into the insults the gang had been shouting at Kon.

Kon felt the grip of the Gomorran loosen slightly and he dared to open an eye. His other eye then falling open alongside his mouth in disbelief at what he was seeing.

A lone, somewhat aged Pantoran dressed in old-fashioned clothes, stood behind the gang silhouetted against the light of the doorway into the bar behind him. Kon noted the deep scar on the right side of his face which ran down to his neck, as well as the breather unit attached to his neck.

Poj shouted something incomprehensible to the newcomer, Kon’s grasp of Gomorran was not good enough for him to understand what he said, but the gang around him suddenly fanned out to surround the newcomer.

“Go back inside grandpa!” The Weequay said, jabbing his knife to the door. “This isn’t your business.”

The Pantoran did not budge though his eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared slightly. “The best you have is grandpa?” He asked, “that’s the best you can do? Really?”

The question seemed to have caught Poj off guard, and his grip loosened further. “Tell him the war is over and that he should go home!” He shouted after a few seconds to his gang.

“My war?” The Pantoran asked before any of Poj’s goons could carry out the insult.

“The clone wars,” the Rodian of the group said.

“And it doesn’t look like it ended well for you either!” The weequay taunted.

The pantoran seemed to sigh to himself. “What did he do?” He asked, “does he owe you money? I can pay what he owes.”

“That’s the wrong thing to say!” Kon thought as Poj suddenly turned back to face him.

“This one?” He asked in a series of squeals. He turned back to the pantoran, his men already surrounding him. “He owes us nothing,” he nodded to the rodian, who grabbed the pantoran from behind. “Question is, what have you got?” He asked.

“You seriously want to do this?” The pantoran asked as the weequay held his vibroblade in his face.

Poj dropped Kon and moved in, chuckling to himself, Kon wondered if he should bother to try and escape, if the pantoran would be enough of a distraction to give him the time he needed to leave town.

He had just decided to take his chances and turn away when the pantoran leapt into action. Stomping his foot down against the weequays leg, causing him to loosen his grip, he then viciously kicked one of the humans in the group and used the energy to flip around.

Before he landed he had produced a small club from under the cape he wore and he smashed it against the weequay’s temple, knocking him out cold with a possible concussion.

Now transfixed Kon watched as the pantoran dispatched another human and the groups twi’lek in a single fluid motion, blocking the rodian’s vibroblade with the club and then elbow him in the throat. The human he kicked at the start of the fight had recovered, and grabbed his club arm.

The pantoran used the human as a pivot point and twisted around to kick a zabrak, Kon hadn’t even seen him, in the stomach, sending him down. After that he used his free arm to grab the human by around the neck, and then squeezed until he was released.

Now with both hands freed the pantoran used his club to smash the human, zabrak, and the rodian out cold. Leaving just him and a very unhappy Poj left.

Kon had not noticed that rather than get stuck into the fight Poj had chosen to watch, likely looking forward to it. But that had been a mistake as his gang now all laid on the ground in a heap.

“Now you gonna get it!” The gomorran screeched just before he let out the battle cry and charged.

The pantoran dodged the charge and flipped his club around, pointing the handle around to face the much bigger gomorran. Kon stood transfixed, knowing that surely the old man was finished now.

He need not have worried, the pantoran had no intention of fighting Poj.

A stun bolt shot from the handle of the club, obviously it doubled as a blaster, hitting Poj squarely in the face and while not knocking him out, it did cause him to drop to the ground howling in pain. Kon was not entirely sure, but that much energy to the face had to have caused major damage to his eyes and face, stun setting or no.

Another bolt, this time to the midsection, was enough to totally knock him out. And the pantoran turned the blaster to the rest of the gang, stunning each in turn until just he and Kon remained.

“Why did they attack you?” He asked, Kon noted that the blaster/club was not quite pointed at him, but in his vague direction.

“The server droid gave me their usual booth,” Kon said, raising his hands in the air.

“Really?” The pantoran asked the blaster wavering slightly. Behind him the cantina had caught on that something was going on and Kon could hear voices.

“Really,” Kon answered knowing how ridiculous it sounded and hoping that it would convince the pantoran.

A raised eyebrow and piercing look which seemed to peirce Kon, and after a few moments the pantoran lowered his blaster seemingly convinced.

“Leave this place,” he said, hiding the blaster back into the depths of his cloak. He looked back into the cantina and walked past Kon without saying another word.

“I guess I can eat on the ship,” Rajan thought as he moved out of the alley behind the cantina and into the main street. He heard the weequay’s footsteps as he ran in the opposite direction back in the alley.

“I really must learn that I am out of practice and out of shape,” he told himself as he blended into a crowd, the sound of sirens sounding somewhere in the distance as someone in the cantina finally called the local law enforcement.

“Old man they called me!” Rajan thought. Although, out of breath and with aching joints he realized they may not be entirely wrong. His shoulder was starting to hurt as well.

“They may not be entirely wrong,” he realized with an unpleasant sigh.

#fanfiction #star wars #scifi #author #worldbuilding #star wars legends #original trilogy #luke skywalker

[natureoftheforceastarwarsfanfic]

Ch.01.01

“This is madness!” A small voice at the back of Rajans mind told him as he input the final commands into his shuttles controls. But he quickly shoved the thought aside and concentrated on what he was doing. Besides, there was no going back now. The reactor was already well on the way to over loading and could not be stopped now.

“Its not like this is even the most insane thing I have ever done.” He reassured himself. Although reflecting on his life he could not think of anything which matched his current plan in recent memory. And he had been much younger the last time he had done so.

“There’s something its better not to dwell on,” he reflected as his joints ached from sitting to long in the pilots chair.

But he was done with flying now. And with a final check on the shuttles position, and the heat levels of the reactor, he got up and calmly walked out of the cockpit and into the shuttles passenger section. Casting a final, loving look over the interior before he slipped into a skinsuit.

“This is where it can all go pear-shaped!” Rajan thought as he placed a gloved hand over the access ramp activation controls. He put his hand down and put on a heavy duty thruster pack, making a final check of the reactor before he did so to make very certain he had disabled the safeties.

And with nothing else left to do he opened the ramp and floated out of the shuttle using the gust of atmosphere rushing out into the vacuum to carry him away from the shuttle.

Deftly turning himself around Rajan caught a glance of the Lambda class shuttle, his velocity being just slightly faster than the shuttles it seemed to be following him like a puppy on a leash.

Kicking the thrusters into gear he flew under and away from the shuttle, he had only a limited time before the reactor blew to get distance between himself and the blast radius of the exploding reactor.

Fortunately the shuttle was moving away at a very high speed, far faster than his own small thruster pack could normally achieve, the two combined meant that by the time the shuttle exploded he was well clear of the danger zone.

His back was turned when the reactor did blow, and the first he knew of his was when the blast wave hit him, flinging him forcibly still further from the blast, though not so forcibly that he was at risk of being killed.

He was flung somewhat off course, but not so far off that it spelled disaster. And soon he was back on his way to the waiting escape craft he had left earlier in preparation for this very occasion. He bumped lightly against the ship, a modified FD-c3 freighter, and used the handholds on the hull to steer himself towards the airlock. Cycling through the pressure cycle quickly Rajan removed his suit and was soon in the pilots chair in the cockpit.

“Time to get going, don’t want to miss the funeral,” he thought as he fired the ships thrusters up and began plotting the jump to lightspeed.

#star wars #fanfic #jedi #sith #headcanons #darth vader #writer #fiction