~Chapter 1~
After the fall of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, the Galaxy broke loose from the Galactic Empire’s evil clutches and became free once again. Once the New Republic was formed under the rule of a new Chancellor, the remnants of the Galactic Empire, and those found to still be loyal were hunted down and imprisoned. The new Chancellor spent many hard years trying to re-form the Republic into what it once was before it was created into an Empire.
Many of the planet systems broke away from the Republic after the Empire was defeated, and refused to join in fear that history would repeat itself. The new Chancellor worked hard at trying to get some of the planet systems to re-join, and although some did, most didn’t. The Republic, once gigantic and great, was now no more then a half-dozen systems.
But they were not alone. With the evil Sith destroyed, the Jedi were allowed to flourish once again and the great Jedi hero Luke Skywalker re-opened the Jedi Temple on Yavin IV. It took many years of searching and scouting, but eventually he found a handful of Force-Sensitive people from many races, to train. Once the galaxy learned of the re-emergence of the Jedi Order, thousands flocked to Yavin IV in hopes of being trained. It wasn’t much longer until the Jedi Order was made up of thousands. The Jedi once again worked alongside the Republic Senate, and they benefited each other whenever they could.
Raven Darkham loved the New Republic with all his heart. It stood for everything that a young Jedi Apprentice loved and it was because of that, that he willingly went into battle time and time again.
He had been discovered on his home planet of Titan V when he was only four years old. He wasn’t really sure of the story himself apart from knowing that a Jedi Scout was on Titan V for separate business when he sensed how strong Raven was in the Force. The Scout brought Raven to Yavin IV, where he was tested and the Council agreed to have him trained. That was really all Raven knew of his life before being a Jedi, although he did slightly remember his family, but only through dreams and deep meditation. He always told himself that one day he would go back to visit, but not until he was a full-fledged Jedi Knight, so his family could be proud of what he had become.
Raven shifted uncomfortably in his hard leather seat. As much as he loved flying, he wondered when the Jedi would create a comfortable seat for their Starfighters. He thought that maybe after he returned to Yavin IV, he would dig up the original plans for the Starfighters used before the Galactic Empire had taken over, to see how those seats were made. Whoever designed the plans for the new Starfighters certainly didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘comfortable’.
Trying to take his mind off the uncomfortable seat, he looked out his side window at the other Jedi Starfighters and Republic X-Wings. He knew his Master, Soran Darr, was someplace among them, but couldn’t locate him. At that moment one of the X-Wings slightly tilted and Raven spotted his Master’s dark blue Starfighter on the other side of it.
He looked ahead again and saw what they were approaching; there was a small Skenvi Invasion Fleet orbiting a blue planet with random large patches of land sprinkled here and there. It was a planet Raven had never been to and couldn't even remember the name of, but he knew that it had agreed to join the New Republic if they were successful in battle. If they weren’t, then he wouldn’t be alive long enough for the name of the planet to be of any importance to him.
Soran Darr’s voice filled Raven’s ****pit. “Attack Formation.” Raven didn’t have to look to know that the X-Wings were opening their wings to form the X shape, or to know that all the Starfighters were slowly spreading apart from one another so as not to bundle together and form such an easy target.
When they got nearer to the Skenvi Fleet, Soran’s voice once again filled the radio waves. “May the Force be with us all.”
Small, awkward-shaped Skenvi Bandit Fighters zoomed out of the docking bays of the larger War Ships and towards the Republic Fleet and the two sides instantly began exchanging laser fire. Ships from both sides broke formation and picked a target as they flew around. The vast blackness of space was suddenly witness to an extensive lightshow of colors as the Fighters waged battle; red, green, blue, and yellow laser streaks zooming in every direction.
As Raven exchanged rapid fire with a Skenvi Fighter in front of him, a second Skenvi Fighter came in behind from a half-turn from some place above.
“You’ve got one coming up from behind you,” Soran’s voice sounded a warning throughout Raven’s ****pit. Raven destroyed the Skenvi Fighter in front of him in a glorious display of smoke, fire, and twisted burning metal, but before he could turn his Starfighter around to deal with the other, it also exploded in a similar fashion and Soran's ship appeared through the wreckage, passing directly overtop of Raven’s crimson Starfighter. “Be mindful of all things around you, not just what’s in front of you.”
"Sorry Master," Raven apologized. "I will try to do that from now on."
"Either do it, or don’t do it," Soran came back to him. "There is no middle ground."
Raven fired at a Skenvi Fighter that dropped down in front of him, but it kept rolling back and forth around his shots. Another one dropped down behind him, boxing him in. Raven lifted his ship up, allowing the laser fire from the Fighter behind him to destroy the one in front of him.
Maneuvering into a flip, Raven came up behind the Skenvi Fighter that used to be behind him. He fired at it and it exploded. Raven spotted another Skenvi Fighter and gave chase, slightly raising his own ship in order to narrowly avoid colliding with a passing X-Wing.
***
Soran Darr was having just as much luck with Two Skenvi Fighters bearing down in front of him. He flew straight ahead, rolling his ship in a circle, the shots from the two Fighters zipping all around him. Soran hated that move; it made him feel sick and the last thing he wanted was to throw up in his Starfighter again. However he let the Force guide him and rarely ever thought beforehand about his actions.
He opened fire and his shots hit both of the ships. He straightened his Starship and turned away from the explosions, locating another Skenvi Fighter to intercept.
***
To say that Gorge Underwood was a good X-Wing pilot would be an understatement - at least in Gorge’s eyes. According to him, he was the best darn X-Wing pilot the New Republic had to offer, although just about everyone else in the Fleet would say otherwise.
Gorge dodged a few laser blasts and dipped down, pulling back on the throttle. His X-Wing picked up speed and zoomed back behind his attacker. He fired, but the Skenvi Fighter exploded before the shots even hit it. A second X-Wing maneuvered around the explosion and came zooming from beside it. Gorge opened communications with the other X-Wing and said, “Damn it, Daviton. That one was mine.”
Daviton just laughed over the radio. “I didn’t see your name on it, buddy.”
“That’s because it was sketched on the bottom.”
Daviton continued laughing. “Just because I’m a better pilot then you, doesn’t mean you need to get mad.”
“Better pilot? Ha!” Gorge laughed. “Maybe with a TG-167 back on Homtere, but up here in space with an X-Wing, I’m the master of the…” Gorge paused as he opened fire on a Skenvi Fighter passing in front of him. He changed directions to avoid the ensuing explosion and continued. “Up here, I’m the master of all.”
Daviton caught up with Gorge and the two flew side-by-side. “You always were one for thinking too much of yourself.” Gorge turned to look through the side of his window and into Daviton’s X-Wing, seeing Daviton broadly smiling. Gorge was going to laugh, but before he had the chance, Daviton’s ship exploded into a fiery mess. Gorge turned serious and looked on the sensor screen.
A Skenvi Fighter with a long black burn mark on either side of its hull was following him. It opened fire, but Gorge pulled his X-Wing into a 90 degree turn, narrowly avoiding the blasts. The Skenvi Fighter copied the move and continued firing. Gorge moved his precious ship from side to side, avoiding the lasers blasting all around him. A few skimmed his X-Wing, shaking him around a bit.
This guy is good, Gorge thought to himself as he wiped sweat from his head. More of an expert then the others, that’s for sure. But still no match for a pilot like me! He moved his X-Wing straight up, only to be met by the Expert Skenvi Fighter’s blasts.
Gorge would never again get the chance to boast about how good of a pilot he was.
***
Raven zoomed away from an exploding Skenvi Fighter. Another Jedi Starfighter flew down in front of him and quickly zoomed away again, chasing a Skenvi Fighter. Raven watched as the Jedi Starfighter blew up its target, and then he opened a COM channel to it.
“Seth, follow me,” Raven commanded. Jedi Knight Seth Re’X was one of Raven’s closest friends. He was about six years older, but had always acted like a big brother to Raven when they were kids. That closeness stuck right with them through the years.
“With you now, kid.” Raven didn’t have to look around to know that Seth’s matching red Starfighter was beside his. In the distance, Raven spotted the Expert Skenvi Fighter that killed Gorge and Daviton wipe out a Jedi Starfighter. He brought it to Seth’s attention.
“Let’s take him out,” Seth suggested. The two zoomed towards the Fighter together. As they got nearer, another Skenvi Fighter zoomed past them, firing. Knowing it would cause problems if they ignored it, Seth broke away to chase after it, wishing Raven good luck.
Raven, now alone, concentrated on keeping with the Expert Skenvi Fighter as it zoomed about, twisting and turning around the floating wreckage of other ships. Raven got the impression that it was trying to loose him.
Of course that impression was soon proved to be a wrong one as the Fighter flipped up and landed behind Raven, firing instantly.
Raven quickly dodged to the side, narrowly escaping the blasts, and then also pulled up behind, once again coming up behind the Expert Fighter. He fired at it, but it dodged his shots with seeming ease.
Raven cursed under his breath as two other Skenvi Fighters arrived and he had to break away from his attack to dodge the incoming shots. Seth returned and blasted at one of the Fighters, blowing it up.
“Thank you, Seth,” Raven communicated with his fellow Jedi.
Raven took out the other Fighter and looked around the zooming Skenvi ships for the one with the burn marks. It didn’t take him long to locate it and returned to his chase.
“You aren’t getting away that easily,” Raven whispered.
***
Soran avoided laser blasts from two pursuing Skenvi Fighters as he flew in the that blasted corkscrew manner again to dodge the shots. When he straightened himself up, he maneuvered so that he was heading toward the Skenvi Fighters from the side.
He let loose a barrage of laser fire, destroying two of the three Fighters. The third avoided the shots and went to spin up behind Soran, however the wreckage from an exploding ship blasted right into the Fighter’s path and caused it to explode as it collided with the wreckage.
***
Raven felt like he was getting even more distant from the Expert Skenvi Fighter; it seemed no matter how good he stayed with the Fighter, he still got further away. Wondering if maybe the Fighter had some kind of accelerated speed drive, Raven felt himself getting frustrated and angry at the situation. He quickly forced himself not to think such thoughts before his Master sensed it and gave him a lecture that he heard a hundred times before.
The Skenvi Fighter that Raven was chasing went to fire at a passing X-Wing in front of it, but Soran came out of nowhere and rammed the Expert Fighter from below, sending it straight up into Raven’s path. Raven locked on and fired, blowing it up. He sighed with relief.
“Thank-You, Master. I was having trouble with that one.”
“I know; I could sense your feelings of frustration.”
Raven bit his tongue, hoping that Soran wouldn’t give him a lecture. He decided to cut him off before he could even start. “I’m sorry Master. I tried not to let them control me.”
“Your feelings will always be a part of you, Raven. The true test of a Jedi is learning to control them.” Soran could hear Raven sigh over the COM and silently told himself that there would be a better time to talk about it. They were not in a good place for such a talk. “We’ll talk more about this when we return to the Temple. Right now we have a battle to mop up.”
Raven breathed a sigh of relief as Soran’s ship flew away from him. He had no doubt that Soran would lecture him when they returned, for Soran was not a forgetful person, but at least he was saved from such a boring speech for the time-being and could concentrate on the battle. Of course, that was assuming there was still a battle going on.
Raven scanned the area and saw a couple X-Wings take out the last of the Skenvi Fighters and noted that the large War Ships, now empty of Bandit Fighters, turning and preparing to jump to hyperspace as the platoon of X-Wing fighters started zooming toward them.
“Seems to be all clear, Master.”
Soran replied on the channel to all the ships, “Alright, it's all clear. I say we head home.”
Just as the Skenvi War Ships left into hyperspace in the blink of an eye, the remaining X-Wings and Jedi Starfighters turned around and zoomed back away.
Raven realized he would be getting that lecture sooner then he hoped. He turned down his radio and rolled his eyes as Soran lectured him during the long trip home.
