Skydancer
“Well… darn,” Leia said, with feeling.
Apparently she’d picked entirely the wrong time to look in on the rebels in the Dennogra system. The Imperials had somehow got wind of the presence of the base, a sting operation had gone into play – while she was there, no less – and a Star Destroyer and an Interdictor were hanging overhead, TIE fighters flying cover over the base while stormtroopers closed in.
Her transport was already disabled, burned out by the first wave of fighters, and the local Rebel net had gone silent thirty seconds ago with the last report being that Base Orenth and Base Trill had both been neutralized.
Leia reached for her hold-out pistol.
She had a choice coming up, soon. She’d either be surrendering herself into Imperial custody, hoping for the means to make an escape attempt, or she’d be selling her life dearly.
And…
...she couldn’t see herself surrendering to Imperial custody. They knew she was a Rebel, now. Tarkin might be dead, but she had no reason to expect that any Imperial captors would be even as merciful as him.
Her fingers slid over the grip of the blaster as she moved from cover to cover, ears alert for any sign of the Stormtroopers closing the net, then paused as she spotted something.
There was an A-Wing fighter left in the hanger.
Leia frowned, trying to remember what she knew about the A-Wing.
It was… shielded, she knew that much, and it was fast and agile. And it didn’t rely on an Astromech droid to make hyperspace jumps.
That was it, then. That was how she could get out of this.
She just needed to handle enough fighters to get clear, and then the Interdictor – either escaping it by flying out of its range, or disabling it.
The A-Wing had concussion missile launchers, didn’t it? And the shields on an Imperial cruiser or destroyer were…
Leia thought about that a moment longer, checking in all directions, then made up her mind and ran for the fighter.
“Hey – stop!” a voice shouted, and Leia whirled. Without stopping, she snapped off two blasts, and one stormtrooper fell with a smoking hole in his breastplate.
The other ducked into cover, then returned fire, and Leia paused by the front leg of the A-Wing before firing twice more. That left her only two shots left in the small energy cell, but the shot did down the other stormtrooper, and she hurried up the ladder into the cockpit before sealing the canopy and hitting the self-start button.
The fighter’s computer flashed an unhappy pattern of lights at her, and Leia bared her teeth.
“Come on, you bucket of bolts,” she muttered, stabbing at a few controls, then the status screen came up. She flicked the repulsors online, then the shields, and a moment later a blaster bolt peened off the shield and into the corner of the hangar.
Blasters came up next, and Leia twisted the yoke. It was intuitive and responsive, a sign of good design, and she walked her fire across a whole squad of stormtroopers.
Then she keyed the main engines, and the whole hangar behind her was fried as the powerful engines boosted her upwards.
Two patrolling TIEs immediately began closing in on her, the sensor screen pinging a warning, and Leia muttered a curse.
She wasn’t a pilot… but this was a very fast and very agile fighter.
And it wasn’t like anyone else was showing up to save her skin.
A twitch of the yoke, and she snap-rolled ninety degrees to starboard before spinning halfway around. The twin cannon spat fire, blowing one TIE to pieces and clipping the wing of the other, and the second one wobbled in an uncontrollable roll before managing to get some control of itself and come back around.
Another element of two TIEs was vectoring in, and Leia finished her spin before diving towards the ground. There were Imperial ground elements down there, still visible, and if the fighters were going to shoot at her she could at least decoy them to try and hit the ground forces – then a large Imperial walker was looming up before her, and Leia adjusted her angle a little to aim between the front and back legs.
Pulling back out again as soon as she shot between them, Leia glanced around to get a good handle on the situation, then yanked the yoke back and switched from engines to repulsors. That meant the big engines weren’t pushing her forwards any more, letting her make a tight turn, and she pulled the trigger twice about when she’d be lined up with the pursuing fighters.
Three more explosions lit the sky, followed by drifting clouds of smoke as bits of TIE fighter rained down, then Leia switched back to main engines and turned towards her next targets.
Even a novice like her could tell that she didn’t want to be surrounded by enemy fighters. So the only way out of this was going to be to make sure they didn’t – or couldn’t.
“We feared we’d lost you, Princess,” General Rieekan said, as Leia clambered down the side of the A-Wing she’d appropriated. “When we heard about the attack on the Dennogra base, we feared the worst.”
“I was all right,” Leia replied. “Fortunately I had an A-Wing.”
“You’re not wrong,” Wedge agreed, inspecting it. “That’s definitely an A-Wing.”
He frowned. “What actually happened, Princess? The report was that there was an Interdictor overhead… was that incorrect?”
“No, there was,” Leia agreed. “Along with a Star Destroyer. Like I said, I had an A-Wing. Whoever designed that fighter is a real expert, it can be flown as well as you please by even a novice.”
Wedge, Carlist Rieekan, and everyone else present not named Leia Organa exchanged confused looks.
“...no, it can’t,” Wedge said, slowly. “It’s a good bird, a bit lighter than I prefer, but it’s extremely temperamental… who else was flying with you? Did anyone else get out?”
“All the other fighters were taken out on the ground by the initial bombardment and fighter strike,” Leia replied. “The one I used happened to be deeper into the hanger and it survived.”
“You escaped by yourself?” Rieekan asked. “Princess, I’m… sorry for my tone of voice, but that’s impossible. Or it shouldn’t be possible. Those two capital ships carry nearly a hundred TIEs between them, and while some of those squadrons are bombers or boarding elements that’s still-”
He broke off, because Leia was counting under her breath.
“...that sounds about right,” she said. “Well, I counted about sixty, anyway, and maybe a dozen bombers.”
“I think we need to check the gun camera footage,” Wedge decided. “I want to see this.”
About an hour later, Leia was in the middle of catching up on important messages when Rieekan came into the meeting room she was using.
So did Wedge, and most of the other pilots on the cruiser.
“We’re not worthy,” Derek Klivian declared. “We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!”
“Hobbie,” Wedge said, shaking his head. “Are you ever going to stop that?”
“Nope, sir!” Klivian replied.
“He’s got a point,” Rieekan said. “Princess, we’ve reviewed the gun camera footage. And then taken some anti-nausea medication.”
“Is there something wrong?” Leia asked.
“Well, you’re one of the best pilots in history,” Wedge replied. “None of my best pilots could do that. I’d have said even Luke couldn’t do that, but then Hobbie told a joke and we decided to actually do it.”
“Princess,” Rieekan went on. “I regret to inform you that a genetic test has revealed that you’re Luke Skywalker’s sister. We think you’re both the children of Anakin Skywalker, who went down in galactic history as the single most capable natural pilot ever recorded.”
“...though you might just earn the top spot, now,” Tycho added. “Seriously, that was at least fourteen consecutive chakra manoeuvres and you shot down at least two fighters per chakra manoeuvre. And I never knew the A-Wing could do half of the other things you made it do.”
Leia was still wrapping her head around Luke Skywalker’s sister.
“Ever considered being a pilot?” Wedge added. “I’d say we can give you lessons but that might not even be necessary…”
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username FIC game
Heya, @bluemaskedkarma I see your "choose a song for each letter of your name" and raise you "choose a FIC for each letter of your name." It's still a "get to know me" thing, but with the bonus of boosting other fic writers. SO!
S- Stonebrook by @sl-walker (Bail saves a young Maul from prison and takes him home to Alderaan. Lots of depth to this one. Doesn't shy away from things, though later fics in the series can be funny too.)
H- The House Built on Fresh Snow by @tiend (Jango/Shmi, AU where Shmi is an engineering slave on a ship where Jango is added to the ranks. Neither could predict what happened next. It's interesting to see these two thrown together and how they complement each other.)
A- After the Storm by SpaceWall (post-war AU, everyone is struggling to move on after the war. Cody joins an agricorp mission to Mandalore and tries to cope with putting his General in a coma. Heavy stuff at times, lots of angst, but there's a hopeful ending.)
D- Dawnbreak Accord by AugustArchon (Din/Leia, Leia defends one of the Mandalorian delegates and amid paperwork and political headaches, an unexpected kinship develops. These two really click, and it's wonderful to watch it develop.)
O- Out with Lanterns by Skyebean (AU where Mace is Ahsoka's Master, how that changes things... and what it doesn't. Some fun things, some serious things, and of course O66 still happens. This time Ahsoka is in the middle of it.)
W- Why Not's and How To's by @trixree (unadulterated crack AU where Obi-Wan is a lawyer who sets his sights on emancipating the GAR. Not yet complete. SO much silliness. But also, y'know, someone fighting for Clone Rights, which is always good to see.)
M- Mand'alor Cabur by @nautilicious (slow-burn Bobadin featuring lots of foundlings, growing a family, growing a community, and growing a brain to recognize the clues. Not yet complete. Din is an absolute idiot, but luckily Boba is incredibly, incredibly patient and forgiving.)
A- All Is as the Force Wills It by felurian (Rogue One escapes Scarif by the skin of their teeth and begin the long road to recovery. Distrust and uncertainty lengthen the road, but hope remains. Some good Chirrut/Baze stuff and Bodhi angst. "Everybody lives" doesn't mean things are magically all better.)
A- and your people shall never be destroyed by @bitebackbaby (Palpatine dies. The entire Corrie Guard has disappeared. Cody and some of the other Commanders investigate. One-shot. Cliffhanger. Heavy on the Corrie whump and Commanders guilt. I'm intrigued by the possibilities left out in the open.)
T- The 212th Attack Battalion's Guide to Staging Rescues by antigrav_vector and @quarra (de-aged clones and Obi-Wan get flung into the past to Korda VI and Jaster Mereel's camp. Chaos and mass adoptions ensue. Lots of humor, lots of competence. Gosh dang did I love watching the mini-clones (and Obi-Wan) running around and being amazing.)
This shit's trickier than you think, but anyone who wants to give it a go, consider yourselves tagged!
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star wars for the fandom question game 👀
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…
Hopefully tumblr mobile and I don’t screw this one up
Favorite Male character - As a kid it was Han Solo, but more recently he’s been dethroned by the Mandalorian 😍 we’re all suckers for a mysterious stranger right?
Favorite Female character - Princess Leia. She was the character I wanted to be as a kid. As cool as the various jedi were I’d rather have her confidence and will than whatever powers the Force could give.
Least Favorite character - Shockingly it’s not Kylo Ren lol. It’s Anakin. I haven’t finished the animated Clone Wars series so I’ll hold off a little judgement but no matter how he’s been presented he’s never come across as sympathetic or interesting to me. He’s not cool until he becomes Vader.
Favorite Ship - The Millennium Falcon . Han/Leia, can’t go wrong with the originators of “I love you.” “I know.” I really like Jyn/Cassian too, in any form romantic or platonic
Favorite friendship - The dynamic of the original trio is hard to beat, but I also really enjoyed Poe and Finn in the newer movies. They deserve a series!
Favorite Quote - Sooooo many ones from Andor!!!! I think Luthen Rael’s “I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see.” goes hard though and I love it
Worst character death - Han’s wasn’t great. I used to cry almost every time Yoda died in RotJ when I was little though hahaha
This made me so happy you have no idea Moment - Din taking off his helmet to say goodbye to Grogu at the end of Mando season 2. It’s kinda a cop out to say an entire episode but seriously every second of “One Way Out” in Andor had me gleeful. What an episode!!!!
Saddest moment - Han’s death got to me the first time I saw it. Hard to watch a childhood fav go no matter how it’s done. The Acolyte as a whole was pretty sad but I’m still processing it so it’s on my mind.
Favorite location - I’m partial to Hoth because I love the snow (and the walker fight!) but Endor and the redwood trees is so pretty it wins
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Rating Mature
Chapter Summary
Led by Finn, the oppressed citizens of Coruscant revolt against the First Order. In an effort to put an end to the rebellion before it spreads, Chancellor Hux deploys the fearsome bloodtroopers, his elite Red Army. Meanwhile, Poe, Chewie, and BB-8 return to the Skywalker— the Eclipse class Star Destroyer the Resistance stole from the Kuat Drive Yards— where Poe must convince a downtrodden Leia to set a course for Coruscant to help Finn and his People's Resistance fight...
Excerpt
We’re doing this, we’re really doing this, Finn thought as he crouched in an abandoned building. There were hundreds of the people from the underground with him here, placed all over the street, watching and waiting for the First Order to spring the trap they’d set for them. They from all over the galaxy, from every walk of life. Some humanoid and others decidedly not. They had come to Coruscant in hope of a better life and ended up living in the sewers. But they were all here for the same reason, the same cause.
Everything he and Rose had talked about was coming true. This was the revolution, this "People's Resistance", and he was leading it. Well, maybe it wasn’t exactly what they’d talked about. Rose was supposed to be here with him. But there was no time for him to fall apart, not when he noticed movement down below.
Two small figures emerged from a side street, swallowed up by the desolate urban landscape.
As they got closer, Finn could make out a familiar golden protocol droid and a blue and silver astromech by his side.
Finn sighed to himself. “Come on, Threepio. Not now.”
On the ground, the two droids went on, completely unaware of the trap they were walking into.
Artoo beeped nervously.
“I agree,” said Threepio, looking at the charred tank Finn and the rest of the People's Resistance members had placed at the far end, practically right in front of them. “This certainly isn’t the Coruscant I remember.”
Just then, a shadow fell over them both.
A towering AT-MT walker entered the from one end of the boulevard, dwarfing the droids as they watched it pass.
Threepio’s photoreceptors glowed in the gloom. “Oh dear.”
Finn held his breath. Everything hinged on this moment, and of course the exact moment when the First Order found their bait, Artoo and Threepio would somehow find their way directly into the thick of it. It was almost pathological.
The walker paused directly beneath their hideout, and Finn exhaled. It was working. Even with the droids in the mix, they had it exactly where they wanted it. Now he just needed Threepio to stay quiet for once.
The comm he’d stolen crackled to life, set to the same frequency as the walker pilots.
<Any life forms?> asked the walker pilot.
<Nope.> replied his co-pilot.
Finn tensed. It was now or never.
“Now!” he shouted, his crew firing grappling guns into the building opposite. The lines criss-crossed over top the walker, the two pilots too busy focusing on the droids and the burned out tank to notice what was going on overhead. Maybe Leia had a point. You should never underestimate a droid.
“On my mark.” Finn checked to make sure everyone was ready. “Three... two ... one… go!”
New fanfic link! Likes ❤️ and Reblogs 🔁 are much appreciated!
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