Star Wars:


			    ECHOES OF THE PAST



				PART III






			   By JEK VEROON








21 YEARS AFTER THE TRUCE AT BAKURA...






CHAPTER 10:




	Mirax burned down two more mercenaries, then followed Ghent into the turbolift. "How much farther?"
	"Two levels, an' we're there." said Ghent.
	"You'll forgive me if I don't believe that." said Mirax.
	"One little mistake," muttered Ghent. "They had a highly sophisticated Hacker Defense. I haven't seen one like that outside of Ka'Pa the Hutt's court. An' he died years ago." The turbolift moved up, depositing them in the main operations center. It was empty.
	"At least they didn't find out about your little rescheduling trick yet." said Mirax, running over to a terminal. "Here it is. Full hyper-sensors on thirteen-thousannd bands. Let me just plug in the slaver... done."
	The readout terminal began displaying results.
	"Hurry up!" said Ghent. "I'm reading a full squad of guards headin up. You were right about SubPro. Lots and lots of underground income."
	"It's getting the results..." Mirax slapped the terminal. "Come on!"
	"What's the matter?"
	"It locked me out! Sithspawn!"
	Ghent leapt forward. "Let me at it." He typed in something, muttering. 
	Mirax, in the meantime, hotwired the door shut. "How close are you?"
	"Big time." muttered Ghent. "I wish I had an astromech series."
	"Let's go, that hot-wiring won't last long." said Mirax. The door banged a couple times.
	"I'm in!" said Ghent. "Getting hyper-coordinates of the slaver on the Pulsar Skate... done!" He gave Mirax a flimsi-disk. "There's the coordinates."
	"Good. Now we need a way out." said Mirax, tucking the flimsi into one of her pockets.
	"Two ways- other than the 'vator. Air ducts, or the hoverbum to the SubPro vehicle test depot." said Ghent.
	"Good. Open up the hoverbum." said Mirax. She jumped onto a table-display, and pulled down the grate to an air vent.
	"Uh, the hoverbum's ready." said Ghent. "Tell me we're taking the hoverbum."
	"Yeah. Just throwing off our trackers. Lock down the security systems to the entire base, password 'halcyon'." said Mirax, jumping throught the hatch that led to the hoverbum.
	Ghent followed. "Got it."
	"And off we go." said Mirax.
	"Jade, Ghent here." said Ghent. "We're heading for the Espee Lironk, codi furmer lio."
	"Kapateat." answered Mara over the comlink.
	"What was that?" asked Mirax, as the hoverbum headed for the large landing pad to the east.
	"Karrde has everybody in the organization learn Old Mabooan. I told her where to meet us. She's meeting us at the pad, with the Jade's Fire."
	"Good. Mabooan?" said Mirax. 
	"Its the language on Maboa, a lost planet. It was destroyed during the Clone Wars- the first ones." said Ghent
	"So how's it feel to actually do something outside of an office on Coruscant?" said Mirax.
	Ghent shook his head. "Reminds me of games my friends used to play illegally over the Imp HoloNet. We'd hold competitions, whoever won would get the pool of credits everyone pitched in."
	"How'd you do in the games?" 
	"To tell you the truth, I always lost." said Ghent, grinning sheepishly.
	The hoverbum flew on.




*			*			*			*



	Luke awoke with a start. Now was the time. He got out of bed. "Artoo, get me some hot chocolate, please."
	Artoo twittered in response.
	"Computer, get me General Wedge Antilles, comNet number 0091-Gov."
	"Affirmative."
	Wedge came on, rather sleepily. "Antilles here. Oh, Luke! It's oh-three in the morning, you know." Wedge rubbed his eyes. "You may have saved my life many a time, but this is kind of a wierd payback."  
	"I know about your trip to Baro."
	"Yeah." Wedge looked bewildered.
	"I want to go with you."





CHAPTER 11:



	Mirax crawled forward, blaster ready. She looked to Ghent, who followed. They were on the outskirts of the landing pad, waiting for Jade to arrive. "Miss Terrik!" whispered Ghent.
	"What?"
	"I've hacked into the planet's DefNet. They're sending sentries after the Fire. Twelve Z-95s."
	"Agreement with SubPro?"
	"Most likely." said Ghent.
	"You wait here for Mara. I've got an idea." Mirax crept forward a few meters.
	"What're you going to do?"
	"Steal a ship, and get those snubbies off the Fire's back." said Mirax.
	"You're kidding." said Ghent. "You don't know how to fly a fighter. Do you?"
	"Of course! It runs in the family." Mirax raised her blaster.
	"You're Commander Horn's relative by birth, Mirax." said Ghent. "And he'll kill me if you kill yourself!"
	"Ooh, we're on a first name basis. Now you're running after me?" Mirax said, changing the subject.
	Ghent blushed, and turned away.
	Mirax picked out a brand new SubPro model X-wing, and popped the lock. "This'll do."
 

 *			*			*		   * 



	Mirax roared forward, opening her s-foils. She hoped the Z-95s were the newer kind, because the first generation Z-95s had swivel wings that increased their manuverability. They were still several klicks away, closing in on the Jade's Fire. Mirax put more power to the engines, then pulled up higher. The astronavigation unit behind her squealed under the pressure. 	Good, the Xwing didn't have an astromech. It would lock her down in a nanosecond if it did.
	When she reached the top of her arc, she roared down, firing dual lasers. Mirax immeadiatly picked off two Z-95s. The rest dispersed, one towards the Fire, the others towards Mirax. She rolled in behind the group of three, and fired. Two were incenerated, and the other dove down, to terrain-following mode. Mirax popped off a torpedo at it. self seeking torpedoes, Thought Mirax, subpro's outdone itself this time.
	It hit the fuselage, boiling the metal behing the Z-95's cockpit and blowing out it's engines. One more to go. The last Z-95 fired of two concussion missiles, then turned upward. Mirax decided to use the X-wing's speed to her advantage. She put all power to engines, and overtook the Z-95. The missiles reacquired the Z-95, and it's own missiles destroyed it.
	Mirax let off a war-hoop, ans swung back towards the Fire. 
	"Thanks, Horn." said Jade over the comlink. "I owe you one."
	Mirax pulled the X-wing up, heading out of the atmosphere. "No problem. I'm gonna head for the coordinates of the Skate in this X-wing. We might need the extra firepower."
	"Probably. we're heading up now. Meet us on the far side of that moon."
	"Copy." Mirax brought the X-wing around, heading away.    




*			*			*			*



	"What are we going to do, Jek?" asked Benja. "We've been sitting on this moon for three days. Soon, everybody in the galaxy will be here."
	"We have to go in quietly." said Jek. "We can't just barge through the shield the Bothans put up. That'd give everybody else the same idea. Ther're three Mark IV shield generators down there." 
	"I thought you said we'd be using force." said Corran, coming into the ward room holding a bowl of spicy Corellian soup.
	"Not force." said Jek. "The Force."
	"What did you have in mind?" said Corran.
	"Luke said you're good at mind deception stuff and energy dissipation." said Jek.
	"Yeah."
	"I'm marginally good in the mind area, so I'll hide the ship thru the force." said Jek. "Then you can use the force to drain the shields just enough for us to get through."
	"Jek, even I couldn't suck a hole big enough to fit this ship through."
	Jek held up three anti-grav harnesses. "That's what these are for."




CHAPTER 12:


	Benja buckled the harness on over her suit. Jek handed her a heat dissapater. "After you jump, the heat activater will automatically start up. You'l have about three minutes before you need to activate the grav harness."
	"Right."
	Corran got his own suit ready. "Remember, try to go down feet first. You'll only have about sixteen minutes of air in the suit."
	"Corran, you ready?"
	"Right." 
	The Plutom was hovering mere meters above the shield, slaved and cloaked by Jek's meaer force ability. Corran jumped out, hitting the shield. He began drawing energy from it, using it to strengthen himself. Soon, a 3 meter long hole was open. 
	"Jump!" said Jek to Benja, and she took a graceful leap, barely missing the edge of the hole. Jek gulped, and jumped. On the way down, he gave Corran a thumbs-up signal. Corran stopped draining the shield, and dropped down as well. Then came silence. 
	Jek glanced around as the sky fell beside him. He seemed to see everything. The shield, shimmering above. The sparks that came as he pushed the limits of the atmosphere. The wooded areas below, and the large plain where the Imperial base had been. Then he felt his mag-con deploy, and he slowed even more. Suddenly, he was on the ground, helmet off.
	"Jek, we made it!" said Benja.
	"Yeah." said Jek drowsily. He unzipped his suit, and took his lightsaber and blaster out of their pouches. He looked over to Corran. "You ready?"
	"As ready as I'll ever be." said Corran. "That was the most draining experience I've ever had."
	"Well I did practically nothing, and I'm feeling stretched." said Jek. "That's why I decided not to become a Jedi."
	Benja stood. "We'd better blow before the Bothans guarding this place get suspicious."
	"The Bothans need to watch out anyway," said Jek, standing. "There's still a lot of hard feelings after that incident two years ago."
	"I heard the Contruum Democratic Fleet was trying to vape Bothawuii." said Benja.
	"They were one of them." 
	"I wouldn't have allowed that, was I still in command."
	"But you're not." pointed out Jek. "You would have allowed your experiences with Grinder to cloud your judgment, as well."
	"Let's move before one of the fleets up there decides to stop waiting." said Corran.
	"Right." said Jek. "Let's move on, shall we?"





*			*			*			*




	"Coming out of hyperspace in 5 units, at mark." said the chief helmsman, a Calamari named Grikk. "Mark."
	"Full combat alert." said Wedge, standing.
	"Full combat alert, all stations. Squadrons prepare for launch." echoed the MC-95b cruiser Lanvarok's captain, another somber-looking Calamari named Yutir.
	"Aye."
	Wedge turned to Luke. "You sure you don't want to fly my X-wing?"
	"Yes, I'm sure." said Luke, smiling. "I'll be fine, Wedge."
	"Rogue, Red, Firebird, and Nekk squadrons report at ready." squeaked the Head of Starfighter Ops, Furinit. Furinit was a rare species to be seen, a Ranat. Long thought to be mindless Semi-sentients, the Ranat Furinit, and his sister Inurin, who flew in Firebird squadron, had proved to be excellent fighters. If they could just find out the Ranat's homeworld...
	There were several thumps. "What was that?" asked Wedge.
	"Hypermines." said Yutir. "Our shields can withstand their blasts."
	"Hyperspace drop in 5,4,3,2,1, now!" said Grikk. Hyperspace congealed into tiny star-streaks, then normal-space, and ahead, the planet Baro.
	"Full stop, combat alert yellow, perform sensor sweep." said Yutir.
	"Red Alert! Enemy ships reported in all sectors!" shouted the sensor captain. 
	"What types of ships?" Wedge stood in alarm.
	"Order all squadrons to launch! Order Rillor, Hubey, Navigator, Myst, and Harbinger to prepare to fire! All gunnery sergeants, prepare to fire!" shouted Yutir.
	"I'm reading twenty-three New Imperium destroyers, four Corporate Sector Authority corvettes, six Bothan frigates, 2 Yvethan thrustships, six Red Syndicate couriers, at least 40 Shadow System ships, several Allied ships, sixteen Provisional Empire destroyers, and 12 Skipray Blastboats." said the sensor captain. 
	"Damn! They outnumber us- we'd never withstand a straight-up atack." said Wedge.
	"Just the Shadow System ships would obliterate us." said Yutir. "I'm not recieving any signs of aggression on any of the ships, though."
	"Obi-Wan once said that there are alternatives to a straight up fight." said Luke.
	"Good." said Wedge, ignoring Luke's comment. "Order the squadrons to hold back, but stay aloft. Try to open a channel to any allies we have here."
	"And get extensive sensor reading on those S.S. ships." said Luke quietly. "The time will come when we engage them in combat."
	"Jedi thing?" asked Wedge.
	"Common sense." said Luke, smiling.




CHAPTER 13:   




	Furlong watched the viewport, devoid of all light. The cloaking shield was in place, and the probe-droid that had helped them to Yif'Don had been destroyed several light-years away from the system. Now, the ships of the Empire sat at the edge of the main planet, ready to decloak at any time.
	"The Cloak-Wings have come back. They report several different governments have ships in orbit, and it is protected by an energy shield that prevents any bombardment." said Captain Mollon, coming up behind him. 
 	"Send out a Cloak-Wing flight to watch for the time that the shield is dropped. Then we strike." said Furlong. "When will the Clone Remnants arrive?"
	"Yes sir, seven hours, sir."
	Three long, elongated ships launched from the Dragon, specialy made Imperial fighters to hide from sensors. They would look like black vibro-axes on the ground, sleek and quick. Visibility of the ships were fifteen meters. They watched the planet, ready to strike...





*			*			*			*



	Mirax pulled back the hyperspace lever in the stolen X-Wing, dropping into real-space near Baro. Then the sensor reports started coming in. Her eyes grew wide. There were more than two-hundred ships orbiting Baro. And the Pulsar Skate was on the surface, behind one of the most powerful shields Mirax had seen, besides the ones at Coruscant. She still would have charged in had she Mara's support, but the Jade's Fire was slower than the X-Wing, and wouldn't arrive for another hour. She had barely missed a Hyper-Mine coming in, it exploded fairly close, though. 
	She headed for the planet, hoping to convince the authorities to drop the shields. But then six Skipray Blastboats headed for her. They were larger, better shielded, and had better firepower. "This is New Republic Merchant-Navy Master Merchant Mirax Horn. Do not fire!"
	They fired anyway. "Leave your present course! Head away from the planet! Do not attempt to breach the shield, or you will be destroyed!" came a shrill Bothan voice.
	"Don't tell me what to do, you bird-brained Bothan! I am Mirax Horn, Master Merchant in the NR Merchant Navy. This will constitute an Act of Civil War!" screamed Mirax, hit again by Bothan lasers. They fired again, throwing Mirax against the cockpit's side.
	



*			*			*			*



	"Priin, does that sound like Mirax?" asked Ooryl to his wingman, uncertain. He and the rest of Rogue squadron watched the firefight as six Blastboats attacked one X-Wing.
	"I think so!" said Priin. "What in the name of Katana is she doing here?"
	"Let's find out." said Tycho. "Rogues, follow my lead, vector 2-98-1."
	"Copy." came several replys.
	"Bothan ships, this is Rogue Squadron. Desist the attack on that ship at once, or we will attack!" said Ooryl.
	"Stay away!" came the Bothan's voice.
	"I say again, desist or we attack!" said Ooryl. He opened his S-foils, preparing to fire.
	"Ooryl, don't." said Tycho quietly.
	"My best friend's wife is out there!"
	"Ooryl, we're not here to start a Civil War."
	Ooryl ignored him, and loaded his torpedoes, locking on to the nearest Blastboat. The Blastboats stopped firing, but continued to dog the X-Wing Mirax was in. "Starfighters, this X-Wing is registered under the SubPro organisation. What would Master Trader Horn be doing with such a ship?" asked the lead Bothan pilot.
	"Let me explain!" said Mirax. "I stole it. My ship is down there, on Baro."
	"Impossible! We have had the planet under blockade for 2 weeks." said the Bothan.
	"My ship was stolen three weeks ago. The SubPro hyper-emitter on Tralask gave the exact coordinates as of the third of the month." said Mirax.
	"The Skate was stolen?" Tycho whistled. "Wait till Booster finds out."
	"I know, Tycho, I already know." said a new voice.
	"Booster?" said Tycho, turning in his cockpit to see a dillapitated Star Destroyer coming into view.
	"And Mirax, you are in very big trouble."
	




CHAPTER 14:



	Wedge and Luke met Mirax and Tycho on Booster Terrik's Star Destroyer, the Errant Venture. Three Grans escorted them to Booster's office, the Secondary Bridge. Booster and Wedge were old friends, and Wedge had happily watched Booster's daughter marry his oldest enemy's son- heck, he had performed the ceremony!	
	Booster was definitely angry. So was Tycho, and so was Mirax. Mirax was angry she'd lost the Pulsar Skate, Booster was angry she'd lost his ship, and Tycho was angry that Ooryl had disobeyed his orders. Wedge, however, was all smiles. Wedge had arranged for Booster to get this Star Destroyer after the Battle at Thyferra fifteen years back.
	Booster sat in his large chair, reading a datapad. "Hello, Booster." said Wedge.
	Booster stood. "Ah, hello, Wedge. They told me you were coming up."
	"Yeah. I always enjoy a good chewing out." said Wedge, shaking Booster's hand.
	"Wedge, ypu know that I won't do that." said Booster, turning to Mirax. "But, young lady, I am very displeased with you. Stealing technology? Not even a smuggler should do that! That's far worse than losing my ship."
	"It was just a dillapitated old X-wing." lied MIrax. It was a totally new X-wing. "Nothing new."
	"It's always 'just' something, but it can lead to bigger things..." Booster sighed. "But back to the point. Since everybody in the galaxy's here except Xim and the Massassi, I figured the Errant Venture would be at best use here, making new allies and selling food."
	"Good thinking, Booster." said Wedge. He gulped. "But, there's something all of you should know... Corran's on the planet right now."
	"What?" they cried out in unison, one in shock, one in anger.
	"Corran and one of Luke's friends came here looking for what everyone else wants, but just ahead of them." said Wedge sheepishly. "I can only hope they were in on the shield being erected."
	"What is my husband doing on that planet?" asked Mirax, turning to Luke.
	"What is down there?" asked Booster. "Is it sellable?"
	"No." said Wedge. "I already told you, Benja. They're searching for the Emperor's Chosen, I believe it was called."
	"The what?"
	Wedge turned to see Mara Jade walk in, followed by the hacker Ghent. "Hello Mara." said Wedge. 
	"Mara!" Luke hugged his wife and she pecked him on the cheek. 
	"I'd say good morning but it's neither morning nor good." said Mara, sitting in one of Booster's chairs. "What was this about the Emperor's Chosen?"
	Luke sighed. "Jek Veroon - Mara's cousin - found out about something called the Emperor's Chosen, on Yif'Don, the planet below. It was a list of several prominent Imperials, Republicans, and Jedi. Jek thought it was worth checking out, and Corran went with him. Now, what I'm about to say next is absolutely classified." he turned to Booster.
	"Hey, I know when to shut my mouth." said Booster.
	"Before he left Coruscant, Jek was attacked by what appeared to be the clone of a Jedi Master. He was also on that list. It's believed that there are clones of everyone in the Emperor's Chosen. If this is true, Corran and Jek are going to try and destroy the Chosen before anyone can get them."
	"Do you think everyone out there knows?" asked Tycho.
	"No." said Booster. "They probably heard something big was up, wanted a piece of it."
	"Well, I don't want it getting out what it really is." said Luke. "Every chance you guys get, do sensor readings on the ships out there, especially the ones we don't know a lot about. That's and order." he smiled. 
	"C'mon Luke, I have some things to tell you about," said Mara. They walked out.
	Wedge stood, and glanced at Tycho. "C'mon, we can't have our X-wings collecting dust."
	"Right. Let's go." said Tycho, looking at Booster. "Booster, I know you won't say anything..."
	"Of course not." said Booster. "Valin's father is down there, and as much as I hated Corran's father, I can't let Corran die. Unfortunately."


      *			*			*		*



	
	"The ruins are on the other side of the shield generator." said Jek, giving the macro-binoculars to Benja.
	Corran frowned, pointing at several AT-STs moving about, and the auto-guns mounted all around. "That's a pretty heavily guarded place."
	"We can get past it." said Jek. 
	"If I remember, there was several floors underground that survived the attack." said Corran. "There should be an elevator shaft in the center of the ruins."
	"Those Plof Fire-Birds are murder." commented Benja. "How do the Bothans stop them from eating out their complex?"
	"Sub-harmonic fields was what we used to keep them away." said Corran.
	"The ruins are nearly a mile away. We need to get there 'fore nightfall." said Jek. "Let's move."   
	Corran held up his hand. "Wait... something's not right here."
	"What?" Jek turned back to Corran.
	"Give me your binocs." said Corran. Jek handed the binocs to Corran. Corran stared into them. "Just as I thought."
	"What?"
	"That shield's Imperial technology." said Corran, handing the binocs back to Jek. "And there are Imperials running it."
	"How do you know?" asked Jek, blinking in suprise.
	"Look yourself." said Corran. "Look at that tower there, the balcony near the top."
	Jek looked. There was nothing, then suddenly an Imperial stormtrooper stepped into view, vaunting a blaster. He disappeared back into the tower, and Jek looked up at Benja and Corran. "This is going to be harder than I  thought."
	 


TO BE CONTINUED....