#Republic ARC-170

[alphamecha-mkii]

Republic ARC-170 by Sebastian Guidobono

[pedroam-bang]

Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003-2005)

[star-wars-forever]

[cyberdex]

Appreciation Post for the ARC-170

[sanshiroiv]

Republic Armada

[noperopesaredope]

Clones Post War AU (An Order 66 Didn't Happen AU)

(I made a sideblog for this)

At the end of the Umbara Arc in Clone Wars, Rex said “We’re clones. If the war is over, what then?” I thought this was interesting, and I love me a good “Order 66 Never Happens AU” where the clones get a happy ending. So this is my take on not just what the clones might do after the war if it didn’t go the way it did, but also a speculative AU focused on what a potential post-war clone culture and society would look like. Might also add a bit of an overarching plot, but this is mainly focused on worldbuilding. Still, I did make an underlying plot, so I’ll share it at some point during the write outs.

It kind of became a bit of a beast and I’ll likely be adding new stuff all the time, so it might explore a lot more than what I initially planned and have a lot more plot/story stuff under the surface.

Part 1 (this post) will be covering the main plot of the AU/set-up the premise.

(This Post is Long, Ya'll)

Set-Up

The Discovery of Retteyo (or New Kamino)

So basically, at a certain point in the war, possibly a year or 2 in, an Acclamator-class assault ship with 15,000 clone troopers, a Jedi Master, their padawan, and 170 regular personnel crashed on a small, remote and unpopulated planet that was rarely visited: Retteyo. The Jedi Master perished in the crash, alongside 2,500 clone troopers and 150 of the regular personnel. This left the padawan, 12,500 clone troopers, and 20 regular personnel completely stranded on an unfamiliar planet. The vast majority of those on board may have survived, but most of the ship (or at least the most important parts) did not. They had no way of communicating with the Republic, no way of calling for help, nothing. It was a somewhat bleak situation with little hope for escape.

Still, they were all determined to survive, and so the padawan and a few of the higher ranking clones held an emergency “meeting” together and decided to prepare for a long term encampment. Retteyo was far from safe, with 17 of the regular personnel and 45 clone troopers all perishing in the first few weeks, but it wasn’t completely uninhabitable. In fact, it was quite habitable, just about as dangerous as some of the less safe locations on Earth. There weren’t a huge amount of dangerous animals or extreme climate/weather, unlike most other planets we see in canon.

Most of those who perished died of either infected wounds that hadn’t gotten treated soon enough, and others died while exploring unfamiliar and more dangerous terrain on foot. The group did not make the same mistakes twice, and eventually began to figure which areas were safe and which weren’t. The battalion managed to organize themselves enough to make plans for what they were going to do, and got to work on making a good liveable environment.

While a lot of the flying vehicles were unusable, many of the ground terrain vehicles still worked well enough, they just needed a bit of fixing up, which happened over the course of about a month or so as they gathered materials from the ship’s remains. This really helped them better navigate and settle on Retteyo, and they made a pretty well functioning camp, all things considered.

After the first year, the leaders of the group realized that this might be a permanent situation that could last years, and they started planning out a permanent settlement. They began taking apart the ship properly, and used both it and some of Retteyo’s natural resources to construct buildings.

A Plot Device

Due to the nature of this AU, I wanted to create a reason that clones would keep getting made even after the end of the war, since I want to make them a proper society and their own species in a way. So, here comes the big, dumb “this is purely for the plot and not important right now” thing. One day, during Year 2 of being on Retteyo, two clone trooper scouts ended up in some unfamiliar territory and discovered a field of strange, giant flowers about the size of a basket.

One of the clones ended up cutting himself on something, and the blood dropped into the center of one of the flowers. It closed, and began to glow, pulsing with energy, before opening up again, and a small baby was inside. It looked exactly like the clone trooper when they were a baby, and they showed it to their fellow trooper, who was shocked and amazed by this. They marked the field down on a map, and went back to base, where they showed everyone the baby and privately explained the situation to their commander.

Fast forward 3 years, and the war is nearing a close. Recently, the Republic has been having a bit of a problem. Well, a few problems. And all of them are centered around the clone troopers.

To explain the biggest problem, let’s talk numbers for a bit (I spent way too long on this).

Mama Mia, That’s a Lot of Clones!

It’s highly debated how many clones were created during the war, as they stated at the start of the war there were about 3 million units. This at first appears to be the amount of clone troopers, but then you realize it said units, not soldiers. We don’t know how big a unit is. Some say that it refers to a single squad, which is 5 soldiers. Others say that a “unit” is equivalent to the size of a company (US military), so about 250 soldiers or so. If it refers to the first option, the war would start with 15 million. If it refers to the second option, it would be 750 million, which is far too much in my opinion, so the first option is more likely. 

3 million is still on the table, since perhaps units could honestly just refer to individual clones, but they did say that 200,000 units were ready when Obi Wan arrived, and that’s not nearly enough for this particular war. So I’m going with 15 million.

We also know that the Senate ends up paying for 5 million more units, which is apparently extremely expensive and could push them into debt (then again, 5 million is a lot more than 3 million when you really think about it). If we go with the idea that a unit is 5 soldiers, then that’s 25 million soldiers.

It’s likely that they have also ordered more clones before, so let’s go on the lower end and say they’ve already ordered about 2 million units in total (1 million to 5 million would be too big of a jump). They probably wouldn’t order that many more clones after the 5 million units, or at least would order very few compared to that.

If we go with the idea that a unit is one soldier, that means that about 10 million clones were made during the course of the war (still feels like too few for me). If we go with the idea that a unit was 5 clones, that is 50 million clones in total, which feels a little big, but considering that the Republic controlled more than 1 million planets, I think that’s actually a pretty reasonable amount. If every planet had an equal number of clone troopers on it to protect it, they would only have about 50 soldiers for the entire goddamn planet. Taking into consideration that there would be plenty of planets that had no clone troopers due to not needing them, and other planets who had thousands of clone troopers, as well as the clones not guarding planets and actually just fighting the war, 50 million is pretty reasonable.

In many wars, less than 1% of soldiers die. One of the deadliest wars killed about 2% of soldiers. However, I will be EXTREMELY generous and say that 3% died in combat since this was such a crazy war and the clones were seen as very expendable. I’ll continue to be generous by saying 3% died of causes outside of combat, like disease or getting eaten by a giant worm, since we tend to see a lot of clones die in really weird/random ways and I feel like a lot of them died that way. This means that 5% of clone troopers died during the war. This isn’t even considering how many clones were still too young to be in combat. I’ll still count all of them as soldiers, which will still prove my point.

5% of 10 million is 500,000, so that would be 500,000 clone casualties (which feels WAY too small despite being on the bigger end of the spectrum) and 9.5 million clone survivors by the end of the war. 5% of 50 million is 2.5 million, so that would be 2.5 million clone casualties (feels about right) and 47.5 million clone survivors by the end of the war. I believe it’s the latter.

That is a fuck ton of people. Like, that is bigger than the population of Argentina. That is almost the population of the world in 1000 BCE. That is 14% of the population of the USA, which might not seem like much, but it’s still a lot. If you replaced 47.5 million people with clones, then 1 in every 168 people on Earth would be a clone. 47.5 million is probably bigger than the population of some planets in the Republic. It’s big.

And in this AU, since the Republic wasn’t exactly sure when the war would end, they ordered 500,000 more units a few months ago, so there are about 2.5 million more clones on the way, making the population of clones 50 million again, almost the size of Sudan and bigger than Spain. Again, a massive population. Also, since this is an AU, I could make it so the war lasted for a lot longer and a lot more clones were made, but I’m still going with the idea of the war lasting for 3 years (unless I want to change that up a little bit).

So now, the Republic has millions of clones who will have basically nowhere to go/nothing to do when the war ends. Some suggested they keep the clones as the official Republic army and spread them out to do stuff for the Republic, but that’s still not the best solution, and the biggest problem is that these mf will grow old at some point and not be able to fight anymore. And since they aren’t even dying in battle anymore (even when they were, it still kept their population pretty big), most of them will grow old. And they still have all these younger clones who might not get to fight in the war at all.

So they basically have a ton of clone troopers who they will have no use or place for unless they figure something out soon before the war ends.

The Whole Clone Thing is Weird

But this isn’t their only issue. I saw a post a while back wondering why nobody in the entire Senate questioned the ethics behind the existence/use of clone troopers and how they are essentially property of the Republic. I thought that was interesting, so I decided to implement that into the AU. While not many questioned the concept of clone troopers early on in the war, overtime, some civilians began raising concerns. 

One civilization (an original creation of mine) whose people were considered non-sentient only a couple of decades ago and used to be enslaved was deeply disturbed by the concept of creating living beings in order to force them to fight, conditioning them into serving the Republic and even altering their DNA to make them loyal.

A few other civilizations (also original creations) who are hiveminds (based on bees and ants and whatnot) ended up fighting alongside some clones, and quickly realized that they were individuals who saw each other as family and shared a deep connection with their fellow clones as a whole. Many of the bee and ant people saw themselves in the clones, and became almost offended at the way clones were talked about and treated as mindless robots just because they had the same DNA and looked the same.

There were also at least 2 civilizations who were disturbed on principle and disliked the use of clones not for personal reasons, but for general philosophical reasons and the basic fact that they think slavery is weird and gross, especially this kind.

These civilizations all ended up having multiple meetings together discussing the issue and their reservations, with a few even somewhat wanting to back out of the Republic out of disgust with the Republic’s actions and okay-ness with this. This was an underlying point of contention that could get extremely problematic soon.

Overtime, a movement around the rights of clone troopers began to pop up, and while it wasn't a huge problem for the Republic, it was becoming one, and they wouldn't be able to ignore it forever.

Clones Are Dissatisfied

On a related note, some clones have begun questioning their place in the Republic, especially after many heard about the Umbara incident. While it wasn't a conversation that was had out loud, some clones were becoming concerned and secretly wanted more autonomy. They weren't questioning their loyalty to the Republic by any means. Almost all of them, including the ones who were dissatisfied with things, were willing to fight and die for the Republic. They simply felt that perhaps they would like to be treated like people whose lives matter.

After all, while they were protected by most of the same laws as other sentient beings, they were still the legal property of the Republic. It’s also hard to say if they really had a choice to leave. While one might point to the episode The Deserter as proof they couldn’t leave, Rex did say that they took an oath, and real world militaries do hold similar standards once you’ve joined. However, it’s unclear whether this oath was truly voluntary, or just out of formality. 

Did any of the clones truly volunteer to join, or were they signed up at birth? While it would be extremely unlikely due to their programming, if a clone was in training and wanted to leave, could he? When is this oath taken? They start training from childhood, after all. They likely took it then, because when else would they? Can you really hold an oath like that against someone when they were essentially manipulated into taking it as a young child who probably didn’t know any better?

While the clone troopers appear to be held to the same standards as US military members, which isn’t quite as big of an issue, they are still property, and are essentially enslaved. They aren’t even paid for their work, merely provided for, and being given basic essentials is literally the bare minimum. We basically all know just how messed up the treatment of clone troopers is, and the clones agree. This is a problem for the Republic.

So, as a whole, the Republic is having some clone problems.

Retteyo Becomes a Thing

Around this point, a fleet of Republic ships end up going to Retteyo, and there, they discover the blossoming civilization of (mostly) clones. They are all shocked, the fleet admiral quickly contacts the important Republic people, explaining the situation. At first, this doesn't seem great. But the Senate realizes that this could solve their issues regarding the remaining clones. So they decide to let the formerly-stranded group remain there and prepare the planet for a bigger colonization. While the main focus right now is the war, they shall be making plans to turn the planet into a new home for the clones once the war ends.

Eventually, as the war comes to a close, the Senate announces the new plan with Retteyo to the whole Republic. It’s a bit controversial, but I’ll get into all that in another post. Because the Jedi were once peacekeepers/ambassadors and they worked closely with the clones, they were designated to help with this operation. They would help this new society develop/prepare it for the arrival of new clones while also helping all the rest of the clones transition to this new planet. 

Due to pressure from the clone rights planets, the Senate eventually decided to give the clones rights and declared them no longer property of the Republic. Now, they were free sentients and citizens of the Republic.

At a certain point in the process, as many of the clones arrived on Retteyo and settled in, certain discussions were had amongst the clones as a whole, and the major clones in charge created a proposal: Retteyo becoming a sovereign nation. This was a bit controversial, but after a lot of tense discussion and complications and political BS, the Republic Senate agreed.

It would be a pretty big process and the Retteyans would need to start actually forming a government and their own society. It was a pretty big task in the grand scheme, but the clones eventually became more self-sufficient at creating their society. They did need help with creating new buildings and having everyone settle in, but the clones didn't actually need much help with developing things like systems of government and bureaucracy. Not every clone was good at that stuff, but some clones managed to put something together everyone could agree on.

Overtime, this society flourished, gaining its own spot in the Senate after a few years and becoming a fully recognized society.

As younger generations of clones grew older (basically while some of this stuff was going on), they began to realize that one day, all the clones might die out, especially since Kamino kind of cut them off and Retteyo probably could afford it anyway. The idea of losing their entire civilization was horrifying, and the whole Prox Flower was revealed. While it wasn't the same as Kaminoan cloning stuff, it would be able to keep their population afloat. So a massive program/government branch was started to continue populating Retteyo and keeping their culture/civilization alive.

Underlying Plot

While this AU mainly focuses on just describing the evolving culture of the clones and their new planet, I think there is definitely an underlying plot within it that I mention in subtle ways. I may even use OCs to tell more about this plot as a whole, especially in case I want to make a fanfic for it all. It’s hard to leave out this plotline, so I decided to write it out as part of all this.

One of the major underlying conflicts in this AU is the generational gap between clones. In a way, there are sub-generations, but there are 3 primary generations covered in this AU. 

Gen Vet

Gen 1, also known as the “Gen Vet”, is the generation of clones who were actually able to fight in the war and see the conflict, or were at least old enough to do so. This generation is split into two primary parts: The oldest gen, who were made and trained before the war even began, and the younger gen, who received training from the Jedi and thus have a slightly different perspective on personhood. It’s like that post where

Gen Trainee

Gen 2, also known as “Gen Trainee”, is the generation of clones born on Kamino who never got the chance to participate in the war. There’s also a slight split in the generation as a whole. 3 splits, in fact. For example, the older Gen 2 are slightly more likely to side with Gen 1 and relate to younger Gen 1, since they were almost a part of Gen 1. 

The middle Gen 2 are more rebellious and have unique opinions on the whole situation, and while they grew up with Kamino training and were raised under that type of environment, they are able to stray from the mindset more and have opinions slightly similar to that of Fives, where they hold certain loyalties and a militant mindset, but also believe in standing up for themselves and being their own people. 

The youngest Gen 2 are those who were toddlers/babies when the war ended and don’t remember much of anything about Kamino or have that particular militant mindset, but are aware that they were the last clones created by Kamino, and thus have a small superiority complex over Gen 3. Most of Gen 3 does not care, though.

Gen 2 is probably the most diverse and unique of the 3 primary generations, having a variety of different perspectives on things, but many are more progressive.

Gen Rebirth

Gen 3, aka “Gen Rebirth”, is the generation of clones born on Retteyo. Some are technically the same age as the youngest clones of Gen 2, but are considered different as a generation. They are the older of Gen 3. The younger of Gen 3 are all born after Retteyo becomes independent.

Gen 3 is the most distant from the war era of the Retteyans, and thus may not have the same values and beliefs as them, but various values have been passed down nonetheless.

~~~~~

I may add more details on the plot later, particularly the underlying plot, but that's all I have for now. Next post will be out some point soon!

[detroitbydark]

Orientation Day

A (late) entry for Day 1 of Clone x OC week over @clonexocweek

@fractiouskat and I are so proud to finally introduce our babies. These two OCs are near and dear to us. They've been with us for 4 years now and they've become part of the family at this point. Some of you who've read either of our works may recognize our beloved curmudgeonly pilot from Kat's 'Follow You Into The Dark' and my 'Soul Lies'. It's an interconnected universe y'all!

Title: Orientation Day

Co-Authored with @fractiouskat

'Enemies to Friends to Enemies to Friends to Lovers.'

Rating: Teen

Summary: She's going in with high hopes she's ending it with a headache

------------------------

By the time the republic-issue shuttle drops out of hyperspace, Merricat Lasnam already has her round little face pressed up to the transparisteel viewport. It’s only the second time she’s traveled by hyperspace route, but she’s pretty sure- no, she’s positive- that it will never get old. Her breath catches in her throat as the shuttle turns and a trio of Venator-class Star Destroyers loom into view over the cloudy exosphere of the planet beyond.  The one in the center- the Liberty, she knew from her excited reading on the inbound flight- grows bigger by the second as they slow on approach, her red control towers glowing like twin beacons against the starry backdrop of space. She'd seen them in holos, of course, but in person the flagship is more than she could ever imagine. Her eyes trace from stem to stern, taking in the turbolaser turrets, the ventral doors running the length of her midline.  Five flowing red stripes down the side the destroyer announce it as a proud member of the Republic’s Fifth Fleet. 

And now, it hits her with a surge of anxious butterflies, so is she.

The expanse of the ship just keeps going and going as they drift ever closer, and Merri can’t stop naming various details in her head. By the time her eyes find ion drives she’s giddy, her booted foot bouncing in time with her racing heart. She's here. This is happening.  Nothing will ever be the same.

———

‘I’d like to be the first to welcome you to the Civilian Corps of Aviation Mechanics under the 327th Star Corps.  I’m Division Chief Hiko.”

Merri tries to focus on Twi’lek in front of her. He’s a massive male, with legs as thick as tree trunks and skin a deep rich green that reminded her of the pictures she’d seen in school of the forests on Kasshyk. His warm Ryl accent is inviting as are the smile lines at the corners of his eyes.  The name on the breast of his coveralls reads ‘Andres’.

They’d only just finished general ship orientation. She’d had approximately two minutes to throw her bags in (what she hoped was) her barracks room before the different groups had broken off based on assignments. Andres had met her and two other engineers, both with a solid decade on her, and started the hanger tour.

It’s… a lot. A lot a lot. She knows her supervisor’s still talking, but her eyes are magna-locked on a flight of shiny new ARC-170 fighters just behind him. She can’t help but to scootch a little to the side to get a better look at the closest one- the sleek lines of the fuselage, the ingenious (and downright sexy if you ask her) way their weapons systems are mounted for maximum aerodynamics. It’s absolutely stunning, and she’s not sure she’s ever wanted to get her hands on a ship quite so badly. She can already imagine what her tool box is gonna look like parked back behind one of those fighters. Maybe she’ll even add some gold pinstriping to it, just like the paintjobs on the 170s themselves.. Show some Star Corps pride. Her dad would have loved this. 

“...And further down we have my girls. The LAAT Gunship- they come in a -c suffix for tank carriers, and an -i for infantry carriers.  We mostly run the i’s.  Around here you’ll just hear them called Larties. Transports may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but they’re more than just a shuttle- they’re a high-payload weapons platform, and an integral part of the war effort getting our boys in and out of combat zones. As far as I’m concerned, they don’t get nearly the respect they should.” 

Merri eyes the big gunships with mild curiosity. The handful of other new transfer mechanics don’t even spare them a look- Their eyes seem locked on Andres. One asks about how often they were slotted breaks. The other is asking how to handle requests for leave. 

Merri couldn’t give one speck of a care about any of that. She was on a real Venator. She was a GAR mechanic. One more step toward Rothana, someday down the line. The rich smell of oil and hydraulic fluid tickles her nose as she does a slow spin, taking it all in. If there was an afterlife, she thinks this is what it must look like. 

Though maybe there, her coveralls would fit- she has to stop mid-turn to re-roll the darn things up over her heels again.  Nothing ever fit.  To be big enough for her ass, it had to be eighty parsecs long.  She was used to it, being a stocky five-foot-nothing human woman in a tall sentient’s profession, so she was settling for rolled cuffs and chafing thighs on her first day.  Whatever.  It worked for now.  

She gets lost in the daydream of wrenching as the group moves further down the line. She’ll get her fighter singing so pretty- it’ll be the quickest, snappiest, most glorious thing on the flight line. She’ll prove why she was top of her class. Everyone will-

Claxons scream to life and warning lights flash. 

“Heads on a swivel, everyone.  Gunship flights inbound.”

Yanked so rudely from her fantasy, she turns with the rest of the orientation group to watch the massive ventral doors split open just outside their secure hangar bay.  A slice of star-studded space yawns overhead, and then she hears them- a rhythmic thrum of first one, then five, then an incoming swarm of Larties, their individual engines turning into a singular, deafening roar.

They drop into the hangar in groups- flights, she knew, usually had seven craft apiece- and though she’d been told the fighting was done down on the planet below, she was surprised to see just how much damage the inbound gunships were still gliding in with.  

“They’re tough birds.  Casualties are just as high in these as in the fighters, but they come back with more holes in them when they do limp in.  Lots of salvage.  Lots of repair.”

And lots of paint- while the fighters had mostly been decked out in stripes and geometric blocks of color, the gunships were splashed with designs and figures she could vaguely make out as they went past- lots of lekku and lightsabers, and a whole lot of bright blue.  Right, the Jedi for this corps is a Twi’lek, isn’t she.  No wonder she’s popular.

The first flight had almost finished making its way to the hangars furthest back along the Venator’s massive flight deck when the alert claxons suddenly changed pitch and intensity, going from obnoxious to tooth-rattlingly awful.  She takes half a step back, her head on a swivel just the way her supervisor had demanded- and then she sees it.  A Larty was coming in without the rest of its flight, its snub nose almost vertical as it dropped below the plane of the ventral doors.  Sparks trail from the repulsor banks on its belly as it suddenly whirls around, spinning like a dancing girl back onto its flight path, engines in full screaming burn as it turns raw momentum into some semblance of control.  The wounded craft hits the deck with a horrible screech of durasteel and skids back-end first into an empty bay just across the main flight deck from where the orientation group was frozen in shock.

And then it promptly burst into flames.

“Oh shit, what do we do?!”  The younger of her two coworkers, the lanky Rodian who’d been concerned about his vacation time, looks properly flustered.  Andres just snorts and shakes his head.

“Sit tight… and hope you don’t get assigned to that one.”

Merri couldn’t help a little squeak of indignation.  She admittedly hadn’t seen much actual flying, but that was insane- absolutely crazy.  How had it missed the support pillars?  Was that on purpose?!  Just before the smoke obstructs her view entirely, she catches sight of a flash of white as it all but freefalls down the side of the gunship to splat on the hangar floor- then another (armor, it was armor, oh stars the pilots!) scrambles down from the other open canopy bubble with only slightly more grace.  Then the second grabs the first by his flight harness and drags him away in a frantic tangle of limbs.  

She didn’t realize her hands were clamped tightly over her mouth.

“Well, welcome to the front lines of the war, everyone.  Good luck.  We’ll be getting your assignments out to you shortly.”

—------

“Lasnam, Merricat?”

“It’s just Merri, sir.”

Andres looks up from the datapad in his hands with an appraising quirk of his mottled green brow. “We don’t get too many fresh graduates this far out.”

“Oh? Really?”

Andres stares hard at the datapad in his hand, a deep frown forming as he speaks.  “Venator life is not for everyone.”  He gives a quick glance up and then picks up another datapad. “You’re not getting home for Life Day. Certainly not making it to date night.”

“Oh-” she swallows down the lump that bobs like a buoy in her throat. “That’s not a problem.”

“I suppose you’re already here, so it’s not like you can go back now.” He slides the datapad across the desk toward her. “Ready to show off that fancy training?”

Merri snatches the datapad up. She's on cloud nine. Her dream is coming true. Everything is-

“A Larty?”

No, this wasn’t right. The pad goes back on the desk. She was supposed to be on fighters. She’d dreamed of being on fighters, worked her chubby little butt off to get her hands on fighters.. 

“Fall short of expectations?” The knowing look he gives her makes her feel like a brat, but it’s just not fair.

“Not exactly what I hoped for.” She tries to fight the slump in her shoulders and infuse some enthusiasm back into her voice. 

“Well, Lasnam, we all gotta start somewhere.” He nudges the datapad toward her again. She picks it up slowly and looks down at the file. “Hope you’re ready to hit the ground running because the Oola Gida is a little crispy.” Merri’s jaw drops. Andres glances again at the other datapad with a frown. “And she just lost her mechanic.”

Merri can’t quite bring herself to meet his eye. Andres’ chin dips a little, his hefty lekku swaying behind his shoulder.  “Hey kid, I promise it won’t be as bad as you think. And… you should be all right handling the pilot.”

The comment almost goes over her head.  Almost.  “The pilot...?”

The lekku-swishing stops.  “Yeeeah.  You’ll be fine.  He’s just…”

“Just… what?”

“He’s… a little bit… much.  You’ll see soon enough.”

—------

“Who the hell are you?”

It’s not the question that hits Merri wrong. It’s an honest one. She’d probably wanna know who the new boots under the bird were too if she’d been on the other side of the creeper.

So no, it’s not the question that gets her- it’s the tone and the shock of having her repulser creeper forcefully dragged out from under the larty that does it.

Her eyes aren’t ready to adjust to the harsh overhead lighting as she rapidly blinks. It’s like staring into a pair of twin suns. She resorts to her coverall-covered arm to shield herself. Whoever is standing over her doesn’t seem to be in the mood to wait. She can hear the harsh masculine huff, low and irritated, almost a growl. Whatever, they could hold their steelies for two karking seconds. The galaxy wouldn’t end because she needed to blink for a minute. Except… maybe it would? Her assailant seems to think so. He knocks a plastoid boot against the creeper. Merri’s jaw clenches, “Can I help you?”

Normally she’d make a joke about her attitude being related to her height. It’d get a laugh. She’d always had a pretty good sense of humor. Being five foot nothing, she’d have never made it out of the mechanic shops back home if she couldn’t handle being picked on just a little but none of this is going like she’d dreamed and her patience is spread thin to the point of transparency. 

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. She was supposed to be with the fighters, not being slotted into the vacancy the Oola Gida’s former mechanic had left by going on leave and sending a ‘Dear Andres’ message after his departure. 

She hadn’t seen the backside of her eyelids since she’d left Coruscant. She’d heard the Libery’s mess hall was passable, but she hadn’t a moment to try it out. Stars, she’d barely seen the inside of the fresher to empty her bladder before starting an emergency shift on Agora’s flight line and a ship that looked, at the moment, more like charcoal than metal. She was allowed to be a little grumpy about it, all right? 

“Pretty sure I asked who you were first.” The edges of a well-loved set of Phase One clone armor come into view, its white all scuffed with black and yellow pinstriping that had honestly seen a better day or twenty. 

“I’m the new mechanic.”

Another disgruntled sound and a twist of the mouth showing too many teeth. “Where’s Simmons?” 

Really? Not even a ‘hi how are you?’ She tips her head off the back of the creeper to look at her handiwork. A mess of wiring hangs like viscera from the belly of the ship. She really needed to get back to it.  “I hear his sister had a baby or something.”

A pause.  Gotcha.  “Wait. Really?”

“Yeah, apparently the baby lost its legs and arms and now it's just a stump but he and his wife are taking care of it.”

The clone looks aghast, “I-”

“It’s fairly happy I hear and-” she stops mid sentence and snorts at the clone’s look of abject horror. “I’m kidding!  Look, I really have no clue. They don’t pay me to pass along information. All I know is he’s not here now and I am. And if you don’t mind…”

Merri moves to scoot back under the Larty and continue her surgery on the open maintenance hatch, only to be slid back out before her tits have even cleared the ramp housing. That damn boot rests at the end of the creeper again, his arms crossed over his chest.

She sits up fast enough to make her head go a little fuzzy. “I don’t know who you think you are-“

“I’m the karking pilot.This is my ship.”

It’s a fight to keep her face straight and not allow her mouth to shape into a surprised ‘O’. Later she’ll eat a piece of chocolate out of her stash as congratulations. 

“Pilot,” she begins after a moment. “You’ve got issues.”

He snorts as if she’s said something funny. She hadn’t meant it to come off that way. She tries to push the creeper back again but he makes a show of his boot kicking the safety lock into place. The thing doesn’t budge.

“Fine. Maybe you’ll be interested to know why you crashed?”

He visibly bristles. ‘Listen here, New Blood, I floated her in.’ 

“And I’m Senator Amidala.”

“Maybe if she was shaped like a porg. Are you even tall enough to ride this ride?” A muscle in his jaw ticks. He doesn’t have room to talk. He looked like someone had taken a clone and put him in a dehydrator- while he had the height of the rest of the pilots and troopers she’d seen milling around the Venator, he lacked the overall heft to his body and fullness in the face.  His armor even looked smaller, somehow. He reminds her of the knock-off pocketbooks you could find on some of the more questionable levels of Coruscant. Close to the real deal but absolutely, noticeably, not.  “She took fire. It blew the repulsors.”

She doesn’t even fight the roll of her eyes, “Repulsors don’t blow.  Your shields were still up.”

‘Fire. Fight,’ he grits between clenched teeth.

“Annnd you lost fire supp and your forward regulators.’

“I was there. I know.”

“The repulsors aren’t on the same circuit. You got bigger problems.”

“Looking pretty small from where I stand.”

Even though she’d been of the same mindset he was when she’d first started to triage the situation, she wasn’t about to tell him that. It hadn’t been until she’d popped open the forward compartment panel and wiggled herself half inside to begin her damage report that she’d found the real answer. She’d heard a sound and turned her head and screamed like a shriek-hawk as the culprit made itself known. The thing had looked at her with its black beady eyes and promptly bit down on the wire cluster held between its not-at-all cute claws. The damn creature lit up like Life Day fireworks, and she’d never hated her boobs as much as she did in that moment- she’d panicked and gotten stuck, too frantic at the sight of rapidly roasting rodent to remember to squish them down enough to fit back through the tiny access panel.

Merri’s eyes narrow- if he was going to make it difficult, she could work around him. She doesn’t look back over her shoulder as she shimmies from the creeper to the ground. The rolled sleeves of her coveralls, always too long, slip over her elbows and promptly unravel down to cover her hands. She takes a moment to push them back up. She ignores his noises of annoyance as she belly crawls back to her previous spot under the Oola Gida and grabs the larger issue he didn’t think existed in a gloved hand.

“Listen, when I say-“ whatever he’s about to snark at her is cut off by the wet plop of the dead creature she tosses at his feet. It’s head rests across the top of his boot, staring up accusingly.  It’s greasy, nearly the size of a bolo ball with fur that was somehow both oily and charred. It’s mouth is seized open.  The sharp yellowed teeth in its maw mock the growing snarl on the pilot’s face. The smell of burnt hair and something distinctively rancid makes her stomach flip.

“Is that a-“

“Rous? Yeah, I’m not sure how long you had this bird on the ground, but you picked up a few passengers and they are having a field day in the wiring.” Merri pushes up off the deck and straightens up to her full height. It’s less than impressive, barely coming to his shoulders.  She has to look up to stare the clone pilot down- but stare she does.  He blinks back, his stupid ornery face still stuck in its seemingly perpetual snarl.

She takes a moment of distraction to calm her nerves, wiping her grease stained hands on her coveralls. “Unless you feel like playing nursemaid to a nest of new baby rouses next time you take off, I’d suggest you let me work.”

“There’s more…” the disgust in his voice quickly morphs back to scorn, “Look, no one touches my girl without my consent. Greasy stink-rats or not.”

Merri sighs as the pilot doubles down.

“Flyboy…” Merri points at the pilot with her hydro spanner and then taps her chest with the tool, catching the flick of his eyes to her coveralls. “Mechanic. You make sure the ship gets back. I make sure the ship can leave again. Right now she’s parked, so she’s my ship”

His head cocks to the side as he stares down at her. With every passing second Merri swears she can hear the first rous’ mate making a bigger mess of the central wiring harness- a happy little nest to pop out a swarm of ship-devouring hellspawn. 

“Are we done, Pilot?”

“Are you kid-“

“Fitz! Chow?” Merri looks past the newly named pilot as he turns his head. A pair of similarly accented clone pilots hover just in the hanger. One uses a foot behind him to hold the doors open. They’re oblivious to the proverbial pissing-match their buddy has engaged her in.

The pilot- Fitz, she commits the name to memory- sighs deeply as if the offer of the mess is the final straw in the long list of hardships he’s faced today.

“Look, just… don’t touch the paint job, ok?”

It’s Merri’s turn to study him. She lets the silence draw like she’s rolling his demand around in her head until the fingers at the end of his crossed arms begin to tap against his armor. Well, that didn’t take long.

“Fine.” She pops a lazy salute. “I won’t mess with your colors.” 

Fitz nods once and turns to meet the other clones at the door. The pair glance around him and Merri makes a point to wave and smile. Their matching looks of concern are easy to read. 

“Hi! I’m Merri! I’m the new mechanic!”

Fitz turns back. It’s only one of the other clones' hands grabbing his arm that seems to stop him from storming back “You’re not my new mechanic!” 

“Sorry ‘bout your luck!  I live here now!”

“If you think I’m letting a porg in coveralls work on my girl…”

His friend hisses something in his ear. He’s forcefully dragged through the door but she can hear him before the door whooshes shut.

“Fine, three porgs!”

Merri lets a harsh breath blow past her lips before she nudges the dead rous with the toe of her boot. The least he could have done is taken the stinking thing to the compactor hatch. The smell hits her again and she fights back the gag it triggers. Whatever. It wasn’t going anywhere now. It had taken every ounce of spite she had to pick up and chuck it at his feet in the first place. The droids could do it.

She jams her hand into the lock mechanism as she drops back onto the creeper. It hisses then floats free. Merri glances up at her new charge, The Oola Gida. She stands out in the row of LAAT/i. She’s well loved, but her history is on full display. 

Deep scars etched into her doors and below the pilot's bubbles show that she’s never been afraid of a fight, and had come home after her fair share of them. The tips of her downturned wings, nearest the ground and the box, gleam with bare metal, the paint rubbed off just a few inches back, both above and below. 

Unlike her wings, the art on the paneling of her nose appears to have been freshly touched up with an artist's fine eye for detail. Merri has seen nose art, but this one ranks up there with the best of them. She may not have seen the 327ths general in person yet, but it didn’t take first hand experience to recognize her- her blue saber ablaze, leaping into battle beneath the cockpit on the front of the ship. 

Merri was certainly no artist. The best she’d ever been able to throw together was a barely passable stick figure her father had kept on the middle of their fridge until the flimsi had fallen apart. That being said, even she could appreciate the careful brushstrokes that flowed without end from one sinuous limb of the Twi’lek Jedi general to the next, her saber somehow seeming to glow against the plain grey of the hull, the way the artist had lovingly added a spark of life to the general’s eyes.

With a sigh for the work ahead, she wiggles back into place on the creeper. Back under the ’Gida, Merri begins tracing wires and tapping different pathways into a small data controller. She lights one system after another, adjusting voltage to keep the risk of fire down but catch the culprit in the act, “Alright big girl, whadda ya say we take care of your rodent problem.”

[wild-saber1337]

THE OLD RELIABLE ARC 170

People don't realize that the rebellion used a lot of arc 170s and LA-AT gun ships as they were cheap to get from scrap yards or old battlefields or old abandoned Republic outposts/depos, and if you ask me I would gladly be a pilot too either ship

[ice-to-orange-blossoms]

The sequel trilogy should've really done something different in ship designs. It would make the old ships all the more different. Honestly this goes with all the designs. Like showing the shadows of the empire and what has become of them by stuff like Rey's goggles being damaged stormtrooper helmet lenses? Great! But it sucks that everything looks so similar. The only design that was reused at all from OT to PT (or maybe it was just clone wars) was the BTL Y-Wing, but even then a lot is changed. The Republic Y Wing is sleek, it has all its panels. You can see a lineage, sure, in the ARC-170 to X-Wing, or engine sounds from the Eta class interceptor or V-Wing to TIE. But the First Order TIE looks near exactly like the Imperial TIE. I will say the First Order's Star Destroyers are largely good, I like the big flying wing one. But IDK, there could've been more

And the Resistance, GOD. Like c'mon, think of some new fighter designs. The Star fortress was good! More like that! The X-wing update is cool but it would've been better to do more. And the A and Y wings are virtually unchanged.

Also side note, why do resistance boosters look bulkier than Rebel or Republic?

[gawayne]

If you haven't already seen, the last round of pins is late due to manufacturing delays, but they'll be shipping out on Monday so I've decided to go ahead with the next round!!

This time we have two more ship designs: an ARC-170 flying in front of one of the banners decorating the Republic Senate building, and an LAAT modelled after the Bad Batch design of Depa and Caleb's troops, with Republic cogs and Caleb's lightsaber in the background :)

The pins are gold plated hard enamel and are 2" on the longest side. Preorders run until March 17th and the pins are expected to ship in May. You might even find a few treats thrown in with your preorder 👀!

✨ grab them here: https://echofromthemill.squarespace.com ✨

[alphamecha-mkii]

Approaching Tempest by Jetfreak-7

[jedirhydon]

Armament: 8 x Dual Heavy Turbolaser Turrets, 2 x Duel Medium Turbolaser Cannons, 52 - 60 Point-Defense Laser Cannons, 4 x Heavy Proton Torpedo Launchers, 6 x Heavy Tractor Beam Projectors, 1 x Ventral mounted Beam-weapon, 6 or more x Deck Guns.

Length: 1,155 meters.

Height: 249 meters.

Crew: 9,400 (7,400 x Officers, Enlisted Crew, Pilots, 2,000 x Troopers).

Complement: 192 x V-19 Torrent Fighters/Alpha-3 Nimbus-Class V-wing Star Fighters, 192 x Delta-7 or Delta-7B Aethersprite-class Light Interceptors/Eta-2 Actis-class Interceptors, 36 x ARC-170 Starfighters, Unknown x Clone Wars era Z-95 Head Hunter Starfighters, 24 x AT-TE Walkers, 40 x LAAT/i Gunships, Unknown x Other/Landing crafts.

Shielding: Equipped.

Nav Computer: Equipped.

Hyperdrive: Class 1 with a class 15 as a backup.

Engines: 10.

The Venator-class Star Destroyer Cruiser Protector served as the flagship of the 101st Fleet and the personal command ship of Jedi Knight/General Rhydon Kenobi and Fleet Admiral Whitney Thomas. The Protector, like her sister ship, the Peace of the 82nd Attack Fleet, boasted the Sapphire Blue colors of the 101st Legion rather than the standard crimson red colors of the Republic Navy and was always seen leading the 101st Fleet from the front. Because of the leading from the front belief of the Protector's commanding officers, many in the 101st Fleet would find inspiration, and many ships would follow behind their flagship, eager to see the mission through. Throughout the war, The Protector would be home to many individuals in the 101st Legion, from Rhydon Kenobi and his wives: Zarina Kenobi, Taylor Smith, and Sierra Sommers, to Rhydon Kenobi's padawan Zayla Secura, Admiral Whitney Thomas, ARC Commander Zeus, and many others.

Continuing to fight through the Clone Wars, the Protector would see action through battles such as Christophsis, Ryloth, Geonosis, Saleucami, Kamino, Sullust, Umbara, Ringo Vinda, Anaxes, Coruscant, and Mandalore. Through each battle, the Protector was flanked by the Venator Battleships North Carolina, Washington, Arizona II, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, California, Tennessee, Nevada, Oklahoma II, Venator Carriers Enterprise, Yorktown II, Hornet II, Wasp II, and Venator Cruisers Baltimore, Bremerton, Arquitens Light Cruisers Brooklyn and St. Louis, Aspis Destroyer Laffey, and Aiwha-class Stealth Ship Nautilus. An aspect of the Protector that made it an impressive ship was the customization that Rhydon Kenobi and Whitney Thomas put into the ship; not only did the cruiser possess a unique color scheme related to its Jedi commander, but the Protector also boasted an advanced shield, armor, and a better weapons system, than most Venator cruisers. This amount of customization to the Protector was seen by many as unnecessary, but Rhydon Kenobi and Admiral Thomas stood by their decision to increase the ship’s combat capabilities.

The downfall of the Flagship Protector would come from several of the final battles of the Clone Wars, in which the ship’s shields were weakened and her armor damaged. This weakened state would come to be stressed to its limit in the Battle of Coruscant, where despite the Protector being kept in the rear of the battle for once, she would still be struck by enemy fire in the battle. Following the Battle of Coruscant, Rhydon and Admiral Whitney recognized that the Protector would more than likely not survive another battle without extensive repairs, but the need to deploy the remaining ships of the 101st Fleet to Mandalore had forced them to put repairs on hold. Rhydon and Whitney’s decision was due to the remaining half of the 101st Fleet, as well as the 332nd Armada, were already at Mandalore, performing a siege operation against the forces of Darth Maul and the Dark Acolyte Zolan Chan.

Upon their arrival at Mandalore, Rhydon had Admiral Whitney transfer any important equipment, as well as any personal items, to anyone aboard the Protector, onto the Enterprise while he led the ground forces to the planet's surface. This would prove beneficial when Order 66 was initiated, causing several clone crew members to turn against the Jedi leadership. Fortunately, the crew of the Protector, and consequently the Enterprise, and several other important 101st Fleet ships, were loyal to the Jedi and refused to follow Order 66, but this would, however, put a massive target on them, as the ships that were going through with the Order, turned on them. As it was, the Protector was situated in the middle of the Fleet formation, and while a good number of the surrounding ships were Jedi loyal, several ships weren't, thus leading to the 101st flagship being fired upon, causing her already weakened state to be further stressed to the breaking point.

Although Admiral Whitney did her best to keep order on the Protector, she would be forced to order the crew and all other clones and personnel aboard to evacuate the cruiser and quickly make her way to an escape pod. In the end, this would come to be the best choice, as the Protector would explode in a massive fireball as the escape pods and vessels made their way to any nearby Jedi loyal ships, the majority of them, including Admiral Whitney's pod, made their way to the Enterprise. Admiral Whitney Thomas would meet up with Commodore Wilhelm Halsey, who served as the commander of the Enterprise, and Jedi General Rhydon Kenobi, who had returned from the planet's surface after being rescued by female clone troopers, alongside his apprentice Zayla Secura, wife Zarina, and the Jedi loyal male clone troopers. After this, the Venator-class Star Destroyer Carrier Enterprise would take up the torch as the new flagship of the 101st Fleet, continuing to honor the legacy of the Venator-class Star Destroyer Cruiser Flagship Protector.

[spacefinch]

Warning: here be Star Wars fanfic:

I wrote this for a school assignment a few years ago….

Star Wars: Sato's Story

By Finch

[Atollon. Phoenix Squadron’s base of operations.]

Sand. Dust. That was all that my nephew Mart and I could see outside the ship’s viewport.. The entire base was on lockdown thanks to this blasted sandstorm.

"How much longer until the storm lets up?" Mart grumbled. "I hate being stuck inside."

"I am not sure. But in the meantime, I have a story I would like to tell you," I said.

"A story, huh? Is it about the ‘glory days’ you and the older pilots talk about?”

"Not exactly," I replied. "Do you remember me telling you that I used to be in the Republic Navy before you were born?"

He nodded.

"For years, I thought I knew who I was: Commander Jun Sato, one of the best Republic military tacticians to hail from the Outer Rim," I began. "But nothing could prepare me for the day my career— and my life— changed forever…"

✦

It happened during the last days of the Clone Wars, more than sixteen years ago. The Separatists were invading Mykapo, our home planet. But there was no way I was going to let that happen.

At the time, I commanded the 719th Battalion alongside Jedi General Quon-Li and Admiral Styan Haringer, an old friend of mine. We had plenty of resources: hundreds of clone troopers, a fleet of Venator-class cruisers, and state-of-the-art starfighters and bombers. To say I was confident in our ability to win would be an understatement.

Before the battle could begin, though, we had to devise a plan of attack...

"Since time is of the essence, I will make this short," Haringer said as we all stood around the holotable in the Firebrand's (the command cruiser's) war room. He began all his mission briefings this way, even the excruciatingly long ones that bored me to death when I was a cadet. Thankfully, this one was on the short side.

The plan we discussed was as follows: Our Venators and light cruisers would move to outflank the Separatist ships and open fire, cutting off escape. At the same time, a squadron of bombers would attack the Separatist command ship, with a fighter squadron serving as escort. The battle in space would keep the enemies distracted long enough for our gunships to deliver our ground troops to the planet’s surface and take care of the battle droids there. Not much different from the other battles we had fought. Except this time, I would be flying alongside my pilots, rather than giving orders from the relative safety of the cruiser's bridge.

"You don't have to do this, Commander. I am certain the general can lead our squadrons on his own," said Haringer, with a familiar look of concern in his eyes. It reminded me of the old days, when I was still learning to command. He’s still looking out for me, I thought. I can take care of myself, though.

"It's not that,” I replied. “Mykapo might just be another planet to you, but it is my home, and I will do everything I can to defend it.”

“And I will do everything I can to defend the Republic,” he responded.

✦

A few minutes later, our two fighter groups— Dragon Squadron (composed of six-winged ARC-170s) and Nighthawk Squadron (composed of Y-wings)— were ready for battle.

"This is Dragon Leader," Quon-Li said. "All wings, report in." He spoke with a deep, gravelly voice that was a characteristic of his species, the Mon Calamari. His fishlike features made it seem as though he was most comfortable underwater— which was true— but he was also a gifted pilot.

I listened through my flight headset as the Dragon pilots called in. After that, it was my turn. "This is Nighthawk Leader, standing by," I said, from the cockpit of my YT-2400, the Sato’s Hammer.

✦

“Hey, that’s the freighter we’re in now!” Mart exclaimed, interrupting my story. “That is so cool! Was R3 there, too?”

Hearing his name mentioned, Mart’s old astromech droid turned his conical head to look at us.

“Yes, he was,” I said. “Now, let us continue the story.”

✦

"Nighthawk Two, standing by!" That was Lieutenant Galt. By far one of the most enthusiastic clones in the 719th. And another good friend of mine, as well. No matter what mission we were on, he always kept everyone’s spirits up— often by starting a friendly competition to see who could shoot down the most droid starfighters.

One by one, the rest of my pilots called in.

I had commanded and fought beside these men for three years. Following Quon-Li's example, I had taken time to get to know them, not just as soldiers, but as friends. Which meant I trusted them with my life.

"All right, men, you know what to do," I said. "Attack speed!"

✦

Even with Dragon Squadron covering for us, the other bomber pilots and I had our hands full. Vulture droids came at us from every direction— like a swarm of angry hornets, only much larger and angrier.

Fortunately, we all made it through the first wave of enemy fighters in one piece. I wasn't planning on letting my guard down, though.

That soon proved to be a wise decision. Compared to the rest of the Separatists' defenses, that first wave was just the practice round.

We succeeded in destroying the Separatist’s flagship, but not everyone survived the attack run. Many good men were lost— including several from my own squadron. In spite of the losses, though the battle was a victory for both the Republic and the people of Mykapo.

✦

As cleanup dogfights concluded, the rest of my squadron suddenly changed course. That's strange. I never ordered them to do that.

I spoke into my comm: "Nighthawk Squadron, this is your commander speaking. Get back here AT ONCE!"

I expected to hear at least one "Yes, sir!" or other acknowledgement over the radio. But there was no response. This doesn't make sense. The comms are working perfectly. And it's not like the clones to ignore a direct order.

Two seconds later, I saw where the Y-wings were headed. Toward the ARC-170s, all of which were chasing a small starfighter.

Not just any starfighter. Master Quon-Li’s ship. And unlike the Hammer, Jedi starfighters weren’t designed to sustain heavy damage.

I tried contacting the fighters again. “All units, break off your pursuit, now. This is your only warning.”

This time, I did get a reply. “Negative. We have orders to terminate the Jedi,” came Galt’s voice.

This can’t be. These men would never do such a thing.

“What? Why?” I could barely contain my shock.

“He’s a traitor. They’re all traitors.”

I had only known Quon-Li— and a small number of other Jedi— for a few years. I didn’t consider myself an expert on their ways. But I had seen them in action. I had seen their dedication and loyalty to clone troopers and civilians alike. They would never betray all those people.

The next several moments felt like an eternity. Before, my goal had been clear. Lead my squadron into battle, defeat the Separatist invaders, and liberate my home.

Now, though… Now I was faced with a choice. I could choose to go along with the clones. Remain loyal to them. But then, I would be letting them kill Master Quon-Li. Did I really want that?

Or I could save the general. But that would mean turning on my own men, and by extension, the Republic. By doing so, I would be dishonoring the commitment I had made when I joined the Navy.

This was not just any decision. Not like deciding what to eat for breakfast or what to do when I was off duty. This was a matter of life and death.

I weighed the options in my mind once again. Side with the clone troopers— who were loyal to the end— or side with the general, who always did what he believed to be right. Time is of the essence, Jun, I told myself.

I made my decision.

“R3, raise deflector shields to maximum level,” I said. The droid immediately did as he was told. At least he still listened to me.

I gripped the controls of the freighter and banked hard, heading straight for the Republic starfighters. Most of the fighters remained focused on the Jedi starfighter, but a few broke off from the group and began to chase me.

If they thought that would drive me away, their assumptions were soon proven incorrect. I stayed on course, tilting my ship to dodge the incoming laser fire. For three years, these pilots had regarded me as their friend, and now they treated me as the opposite. What happened to them? How could they do this?

I opened a comm channel to Quon-Li’s fighter. “This is Commander Sato. You need to get out of here, General,” I said, trying to hide the growing fear in my voice. As if I could hide something like that from a Jedi.

“I’m trying. But my fighter doesn’t have a hyperdrive. I won’t be able to get far,” Quon-Li answered.

Blast it! How could I have forgotten about that? I scolded myself. Out loud, I said, “My ship does have a hyperdrive. If I can get close enough, you can dock with it.”

“It’s risky, but it might work,” the general replied. “Just make it quick, Commander.”

A laser blast from one of the clone fighters scored a direct hit. Warning lights flashed across the Hammer’s control panel. The deflector shields had been compromised. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the hull was breached.

I didn’t want to fire on my own squadron, but I had no other choice if I wanted to stay alive long enough to help Quon-Li get to safety. I aimed both of the Hammer’s turret guns and fired. The repeated blasts vaporized two of the pursuing fighters and sent three others spiraling out of control. I blocked out the thought of the lives ended. The lives I had ended.

I pulled my ship up alongside the Jedi starfighter. “Stand by on the docking port, R3,” I ordered. “I will handle the rest.”

Quon-Li moved into position, turning his fighter on its side so it could attach to the docking port.

R3 beeped questioningly at me.

“Not yet,” I said. “We have to get closer.”

And the sooner, the better. I closed the gap between the two ships.

“Get the docking port open, now!”

But before R3 could get it open, two proton torpedoes hit Quon-Li’s starfighter. One second, it was flying next to mine. The next, harsh light filled my cockpit viewport as the fighter burst into flame.

“NO!” I shouted.

The fighter was gone. Master Quon-Li was gone. I’ve failed.

I felt anger boiling inside me. Anger at myself for not being able to save the general. And anger at the pilot who had shot him down. Part of me wanted to make the clones pay for what they had done. Make them regret the day they turned on their own leader.

No. The clones wouldn’t just betray the Jedi. They were bred to be loyal— both to the Jedi and officers like myself. Something is amiss.

R3 turned to look at me and whistled. His one camera-eye remained as always expressionless, but I could tell what he was probably thinking in that computer brain of his. And I appreciated his concern.

“I’m fine,” I said, partly answering R3, but mostly trying to convince myself.

A light on the Hammer’s communications panel began flashing, signaling an incoming transmission from the Firebrand.

“Put it through, R3,” I said,

Immediately, a blue-tinted hologram of Admiral Haringer materialized over the panel’s projector.

“Commander,” he addressed me.

“Admiral, what is going on?” I demanded. “Why have the clones turned on their own general?”

“Actually, it is Quon-Li who was the traitor,” Haringer replied. “And the same can be said for all the other Jedi.”

This was almost exactly what Lieutenant Galt had said just minutes earlier. And it still didn’t make sense.

“You’ve known the Jedi for much longer than I have,” I said. “You know they would never betray the Republic.”

Haringer didn’t answer, but narrowed his eyes.

“At least tell the pilots to cease firing at me,” I said. “I tried telling them myself, but they don’t seem to be listening.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” It was a completely reasonable request.

“By order of the Emperor himself, all traitors to the Galactic Empire must be punished. That includes you, Sato,” the admiral said.

The Emperor? This was worse than I had thought. Much worse. Ever since the war began, I had started to see that the Republic was beginning to fall from its former glory. I just hadn’t realized how far it had fallen.

“Now see here, Admiral,” I said in a tone I rarely used when talking to a superior officer. “I am not a traitor. If anyone deserves to be called a traitor, it is you.”

Up until this point, I had respected Haringer. I had admired his loyalty to the Navy. Loyalty at any cost. Now, though… Now I realized that loyalty at any cost came with a price. A price that meant sacrificing one’s integrity and morals— sometimes even one’s own friends. Haringer was willing to pay that price, but I was not.

“I have my orders,” Haringer replied. “And it is not my place to question them.”

“Then we are enemies now. So be it,” I said, and ended the transmission.

✦

The clone pilots were fast fliers. They followed my every move, trying to cut off my escape. But their attempt was in vain. They may have been skilled, but I was more so, having more flying experience than they.

Earlier this day, I had been flying alongside these men. Now I was flying away from them. Away from my battalion. Away from my homeworld. Away from everything I had known.

The question is, where do I go from here?

Then it dawned on me. I no longer had friends here, but I did have friends elsewhere in the galaxy.

“R3, set a course for the Alderaan system,” I said. “Quickly, if possible.”

Minutes later, the Hammer made the jump to hyperspace. There was no turning back.

✦

Epilogue: Atollon.

For a few moments, neither one of us spoke.

Then, Mart broke the silence. “I’m sorry about your friend, Uncle,” he said. “It must have been hard for you to lose him.”

“Yes, it was. But I’m over it now. Mostly,” I said, looking at the red-orange sky outside the cockpit window. The sky. The sandstorm’s finally died down, I realized. Which reminds me…

“Why don’t we go outside and watch the sunset?” I suggested. “I know where we can find a good view.”

“Good idea,” said Mart, following me to the Hammer’s boarding ramp. “Come on, R3. You need some fresh air, too,”

Sixteen years ago, I thought I had lost everything. My career, my home, one of my closest friends. But in the time since, I had met new friends— a new family— during my path as a member of the Rebellion. A path that I never would have taken if I had chosen differently during that battle.

[mysterycharacterbracket]

Tier 3 Recap

192. 68. Jacopo Bearzatti from The House in Fata Morgana

191. 117. Pugsley Guttman from From the animated series Dead End: Paranormal Park

190. 57. Maglor from the Silmarillion

189. 203. Al-An from Subnautica: Below Zero

188. 112. Hercule Poirot from Agatha Christie-verse (???)

187. 122. Rampage from Beast Wars

186. 284. Callie Cuttlefish from Splatoon 1-3

185. 61. Ranpo Edogawa from Bungou Stray Dogs

184. 123. Emil from Nier series

183. 157. vriska from homestuck

182. 213. Brainy Smurf from The Smurfs

181. 36. Doppo Kannonzaka from Hypnosis Mic

180. 38. Diane Nguyen from BoJack Horseman

179. 32. Serial Designation N from Murder Drones

178. 29. Morgrem from Pokemon

177. 17. Joy Wang/Jobu Tupaki from Everything Everywhere All at Once

176. 54. Rex Salazar from Generator Rex

175. 161. Huan from The Silmarillion

174. 225. meg from megahex comic series

173. 136. [redacted] / trivia murder party host from jackbox; trivia murder party

172. 42. Toshiko Sato from Torchwood

171. 106. Veeva Dash from Stampy's Lovely World

170. 39. gaheris from arthuriana

169. 287. waylon smithers jr from the simpsons

168. 77. Nathaniel Kurtzberg from Miraculous Ladybug

167. 89. Pit from Kid Icarus

166. 82. Tsurugi Kyousuke / Victor Blade from Inazuma Eleven GO

165. 171. Danhausen from Professional wrestling

164. 3. Maia Drahzar/Edrehasivar VII from The Goblin Emperor

163. 165. Taranee Cook from W.i.t.c.h.

162. 207. Ardyn "Izunia" Lucis Caelum from Final Fantasy XV

161. 132. Invader Zim from Invader Zim

160. 94. Mumbo Jumbo from Real Life/Mcyt

159. 208. Garwin Chang from Keeper of the Lost Cities

158. 78. Aya Burnstein from Dancing In The Devils Auditorium, by xxangelxbl00dxx(the OP) on ao3

157. 230. Nintendo EShop Bag from Nintendo EShop

156. 234. Logan(Logic) from Sanders Sides

155. 261. Eridan Ampora from Homestuck

154. 235. Markiplier from Real Life

153. 138. Hajime Hinata from Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

152. 264. Bao-Dur from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2

151. 71. Fabian Seacaster from Fantasy High (Dimension 20)

150. 283. Bruno Madrigal from Encanto

149. 13. The Fifth Doctor from Doctor Who

148. 155. Tegan Jovanka from Doctor Who

147. 273. Lynne from Ghost Trick

146. 130. Hoshina Hikaru (Cure Star) from Star Twinkle Pretty Cure

145. 81. Damon of Gallifrey from Doctor Who Arc of Infinity

144. 239. "Phoenix" from iiRitW, the OP's ORIGINAL (sob) wip videogame

143. 115. Sound Saran from My School President

142. 149. data from star trek the next generation

141. 2. Iruma-kun from Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun

140. 256. Akane Kurashiki from Zero Escape

139. 104. Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon from Sailor Moon

138. 91. Kuromi from Sanrio

137. 158. Corazón de Ballena from Oxventure

136. 192. Milo Murphy from Milo Murphy's Law

135. 105. Alice Price Healy from Incryptid

134. 48. Raven Scofflaw from the submitter's OC from a wip that currently has the filler title 'Family'

133. 187. Vash the Stampede from Trigun

132. 206. Ben from the submitter's OC with almost zero information about lmao (this will change once I update artfight?)

131. 66. Natsuki Subaru from Re:Zero

130. 126. Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher

129. 255. Kevin from Ghost Host Ghost House

[kissofthemuses]

SHARA BEY

FULL NAME: Shara Bey SPECIES: human OCCUPATION: rebel alliance pilot, resistance pilot FANDOM: Star Wars **Slightly Canon Divergent

PHYSICAL

FACECLAIM: Rachael Ancheril (Younger) Lindsey Morgan PRONOUNS: she/her AGE: 50 HAIR: black EYES: brown HEIGHT: 5'8" ORIENTATION: bisexual

RELATIONSHIPS

HUSBAND: Kes Dameron SON: Poe Dameron

PERSONALITY

MBTI: ENTFJ-A/“Protagonist”

ALIGNMENT: lawful good

TEMPERAMENT: phlegmatic 

ENNEAGRAM: 1

TAGS

Threads

Headcanons

Musings

Inspo

Photos

BACKSTORY

Shara Bey was born some time prior to the Galactic Civil War, which began in 0 BBY, and grew up during the reign of the Galactic Empire. She and her husband, Kes Dameron, saw that the galaxy was suffering under Imperial rule and felt the call to serve. As a result, they joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic prior to the Battle of Hoth, which was fought in 3 ABY. Bey became a lieutenant in the Alliance Fleet and primarily flew an A-wing, while Dameron was a sergeant and a ground soldier. Bey also piloted an ARC-170 starfighter for the Rebellion at some point in her career. Together, they had a son, Poe Dameron, in 2 ABY, who lived with Bey's father while the war raged on, and neither Bey nor Dameron saw their son as much as they wanted to.

Bey became a distinguished Rebel pilot during the war, and her actions during the liberation of Gorma earned her the Bronze Nova for Conspicuous Gallantry. Less than one week later, she earned her triple ace while raiding an Imperial fuel depot at Beroq 4, during Operation: Mynock Bite. Bey fought in dozens more engagements during the war, and her fellow pilots, many of whom credited Bey with saving their lives, spoke highly of her.

At Echo Base, Bey and her husband worked on building tunnels using a A-wing's cannon. However, the cannon caused a cave in and were trapped. She refused to take Dameron's equipment even to keep herself alive. As they recorded a message for their son, Bey and Dameron were rescued by Commander Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca. Bey went with her husband and boarded a EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate for medical treatment for Dameron. After Bey recommended the use of A-wing ion cannons instead of the planned heating technology, this faster method was used with multiple ion cannons to melt new tunnels, though rebel Chase Wilsorr was unaware of what setting to use, resulting in a larger briefing room than planned.

Bey was later recruited to lead Starlight Squadron under the callsign Starlight Leader, as part of the Fourth Division's Operation Starlight. The squadron was tasked with finding the scattered divisions of the Rebel Alliance fleet following the Battle of Hoth, to warn them that the Galactic Empire had cracked Alliance communications and to deliver a new Trawak code that C-3PO and his team had developed. During their search, the squadron discovered wreckage of the Sixth Division near Felucia and encountered Imperial probe droids waiting nearby. The probe droids latched onto the astromechs of the X-wings and attempted to access their archives. Fearing the probe droids getting the other rendezvous points, Wedge Antilles suggested shooting them off, however Bey questioned their ability to actually pull it off. Instead, Bey ordered all pilots to set their astromech's self-destruct and eject them. However, doing this meant losing their nav data and getting back home. With no other choice, the droids ejected and detonated, saving their valuable data from the Empire. With no time to catch their breath, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Tarkin's Will arrived and attacked the squadron.

In 4 ABY, the Alliance learned that the Empire was building a superweapon, a second Death Star, in orbit of the Forest Moon of Endor. The Alliance Fleet assembled and launched a massive attack against the battle station.[19] Bey flew with Green Squadron during the assault against the Death Star, while Dameron served on the ground as one of the Pathfinders, an Rebel Alliance Special Forces unit under the command of General Han Solo, to destroy the shield generator protecting the Death Star. After the Pathfinders destroyed the generator, Bey and her fellow Green Squadron pilots defended the Millennium Falcon, piloted by General Lando Calrissian, as it entered the Death Star's super structure for the final attack. Calrissian and his fellow pilots destroyed the Death Star's main reactor, setting off a fatal chain reaction inside the station. Imperial ships began to flee in order to escape certain death, including an Imperial shuttle. Bey followed the shuttle to destroy it, but she was soon contacted by its pilot, Rebel Commander and Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, who had been aboard the Death Star—and whose actions led to the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and his apprentice, Darth Vader. Bey allowed Skywalker to pass unharmed, and the Death Star exploded only moments later.

When the battle came to a close, Imperial forces were left in chaos and, for the most part, retreated from Endor. Bey returned to Home One, the Rebel command ship, and reunited with those fellow pilots who survived. She received permission from Lieutenant L'ulo L'ampar, acting head of Green Squadron after Green Leader Arvel Crynyd was killed during the battle, to join her fellow Rebels on Endor, where they were celebrating their victory in the home of the native Ewoks who helped the Pathfinders destroy the shield generator. Upon her arrival, she searched the Ewok village for her husband, hoping to find that he had survived the attack. Bey encountered Generals Solo and Calrissian, and she asked Solo where she could find the Pathfinders and received a compliment on her flying from Calrissian. She soon found Dameron, alive and well, and the two went for a walk in the village to talk about their future. It was their hope that the war had come to a close and they would finally be able to resume their life together.

The next morning, Dameron was called away by General Solo, who told the Pathfinders that there were Imperial hold outs in an outpost on the far side of Endor. Unwilling to leave Imperials for the Ewoks to contend with alone, Solo and General Crix Madine agreed that the Pathfinders would launch an assault to destroy the outpost and drive the remaining Imperials off of the Forest Moon. Bey volunteered to pilot the Pathfinders to the outpost, and the group soon set off for the far side of the moon. Once they arrived, Bey brought the Pathfinders' shuttle in at a steep approach vector in order to hide their approach. The vessel opened fire on the outpost, quickly taking out many of its defenses. Dameron and the other Pathfinders entered the outpost while Bey remained behind, waiting for some time until they finally returned—bringing with them intelligence regarding the Empire's post-Endor plans. The war, it seemed, was not yet over.

With Endor behind them, Bey and Dameron once again went their separate ways. Bey continued to fly with Green Squadron, while Dameron went on more missions with the Pathfinders to press the decisive advantage the Alliance gained over the shattered Empire. As a result of Crynyd's death during the Battle of Endor, Bey became the default leader of Green Group initially. During the final stages of the skirmish on Madurs, Bey flew in amongst a dozen A-wings and one boarding craft to assist with the effort to capture Imperial Security Bureau Senior Commander Alecia Beck. Upon their arrival, Bey and the rest of Green Group managed to disable Beck's shuttle and board it, taking Beck and the rest of the shuttle's occupants into custody. Bey and the rest of the squadron then towed the shuttle and entered into a lightspeed jump, heading to a temporary headquarters where Beck was to face a tribunal.

One of the operations Bey undertook was the Beltire Liberation, where she flew assist for Rampant Squadron. Seventeen days after the Battle of Endor, Bey flew in a battle in Cawa City on the planet Sterdic IV. She and her fellow pilots destroyed a number of TIE fighters, as well as an All Terrain Armored Transport, in their successful effort to liberate Cawa City from the Empire. After the battle, she spoke with L'ulo about how much fighting had taken place since Endor and lamented the fact that the war was not yet over. Green Leader encouraged her to take a lighter assignment next, as she had been working non-stop since the Battle of Endor.

Three days later, Bey had returned to the Alliance Fleet and was assigned to be the personal pilot of Princess Leia Organa, one of the leaders of the Alliance, on a mission to the planet Naboo, where Organa hoped to rally support from the planet's government for the establishment of a New Republic. Together, they flew to Naboo without an escort; despite the princess' critical value to the Alliance, there were fears that a large group of ships headed to Naboo, the Emperor's homeworld, would attract Imperial attention. While en route, Bey talked to Organa as the latter wrote condolence letters to the families of Rebels who were killed during the Battle of Endor, including Private Able Nereno, a nurse aboard the medical frigate Redemption. The princess explained that she wrote each one personally, rather than relying on a protocol droid, as her parents—the late Viceroy Bail Organa and Queen Breha Organa of Alderaan—had taught her the value of a personal touch.

The duo soon arrived in Theed, the capital city of Naboo. Bey was surprised to see that Naboo was so peaceful, considering it was the homeworld of the Emperor. As the princess explained, terror was the greatest weapon that the Emperor possessed. For Naboo, their terror was the knowledge that he could have destroyed their world at any time, so they remained loyal to the Empire. Soon after the duo arrived, they were greeted by Governor Donta Gesset, who escorted them to the Theed Royal Palace to meet with Queen Sosha Soruna. Once there, Organa asked the Naboo to join with the Alliance in forming the New Republic and restoring the Galactic Senate. For the queen, it was an easy decision—Naboo would join the New Republic. Just as she agreed to join, the Empire began to lay siege to Naboo through the launch of Operation: Cinder, a posthumous contingency order from the Emperor to destroy the planet's environment and render it inhospitable in retaliation for his death. To carry out the order, the Empire launched satellites from an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, the Torment, in orbit. These satellites, designed to disrupt the environment of the planet, caused major storms to erupt across Naboo.

In the midst of the fires, flooding, and widespread destruction across the planet, Bey deduced that there had to be satellites in orbit in order to carry out such an attack. As a result, that meant starfighters would need to be scrambled to destroy the satellites. Although the Emperor demilitarized Naboo, some N-1 starfighters left over from the Battle of Naboo many decades earlier remained hidden in a secret hangar, though there were no combat-ready pilots to fly them. The queen escorted the group to the old hangar, where Bey, Organa, and the queen herself all volunteered to fly the mission. Although Bey was in the presence of royals, she was placed in command, at Organa's suggestion, due to her combat experiences. With the question of command settled, the three starfighters took off into the storm and readied to engage Imperial forces in orbit.

As Bey started destroying the satellites, the princess and the queen fought against approaching TIE fighters—seventy-two in total, a full complement from the Star Destroyer. Bey's fighter was damaged in the battle, enough to where she was believed she was about to die. She asked the princess not to write the condolence letter to her family, as Bey did not want to add to Organa's burdens. Before the Imperial fighter could kill her, though, the two other pilots managed to destroy the pursuing TIEs and save her life. The three of them remained outgunned as they took out the remaining satellites, but they were saved by the timely arrival of General Calrissian and the Alliance Fleet, which had learned about Operation: Cinder due to intelligence gathered by Dameron and the Pathfinders during a raid against an Imperial Security Bureau]black site.

The arriving Alliances forces destroyed the Torment, prompting Imperial forces to retreat to Theed—where standard protocol would be to attack the city. Organa ordered Bey and the rest of the Alliance to head to the surface, where the Alliance and the Naboo were able to defeat the Imperial forces. After the attack on Naboo came to an end, Bey and Organa returned to the Rebel fleet. Once there, Bey reunited with Dameron, who had arrived with Calrissian's forces.

One last mission"What makes these little trees so special that you two Rebels would try to bluff your way in here to steal them?" "These are all that remain of the tree that grew at the heart of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant." ―Commandant Hurron and Luke Skywalker.

Over the next two months, the Alliance fought against Operation: Cinder on numerous worlds. The months of continued fighting saw Bey growing dispirited about the prospect of the war ending anytime soon or being able to live a normal life with her family. Dameron put in his formal request to be relieved from duty within the Alliance, but Bey felt she had an obligation to continue fighting. Nonetheless, Captain L'ulo took it upon himself to submit the request on her behalf. She objected to the gesture, but he told her that it was not desertion. She had earned the right to live a life with her family, a life free of the war.

With the request expected to take a week to be processed, the war gave Bey one last mission to carry out. After speaking with L'ulo, she was approached by an astromech droid named R2-D2. The droid escorted her to Commander Skywalker, who was waiting in the hangar with an Imperial shuttle, the Antarra—one that he said flew better with a co-pilot. He sensed that Bey was familiar and she reminded him of their close call during the destruction of the Death Star, when she nearly shot him down as he was escaping, and Skywalker also knew about her through his sister, Organa. Skywalker asked Bey to join him on a mission to the planet Vetine in the Merrick sector, a mission that she said she was honored to undertake with the famed Jedi Knight. R2-D2 joined them on the mission as well.

While en route, Skywalker gave Bey an Imperial officer's uniform and explained that she would be posing as Alecia Beck, whose clearance codes the Pathfinders had stolen during the raid at the Wretch of Tayron. Skywalker also explained that the mission was intended to retrieve something that the Emperor had stolen, but the Jedi did not explain what he was hoping to find. The Antarra soon arrived and transmitted its clearance codes, allowing it to land safely outside the Imperial base. Bey posed as Commander Beck while Skywalker acted as her bodyguard, a ruse that saw them greeted by Commandant Hurron. Bey claimed that she, as Beck, was there to perform a surprise base inspection. Hurron, who in reality knew that they were Rebel infiltrators, feigned ignorance and allowed them entry into the base.

Inside the facility, Hurron explained that security at the research base was tighter in the wake of the Battle of Endor, with the base even more restricted than it once was. He further explained that one particular lab, the one that Skywalker was looking for, was accessible by only himself and the Emperor, revealing that he never understood the need for such a restriction—until Bey's arrival. He admitted that he knew she was not Commander Beck, as Beck was missing her left eye. Hurron brought them into the lab where they found two tree fragments. Hurron's stormtroopers took aim at the two Rebels, and he asked why they would want to break into the lab to steal 'twigs.' Skywalker explained were the last two remaining fragments of a Great Tree that had once dwelled in the heart of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, before the Emperor stole them. R2-D2, who had been secretly holding Skywalker's lightsaber, released the weapon, and a battle against the Imperial forces began. Skywalker held off the stormtroopers while Bey and R2-D2 retrieved the tree fragments; R2-D2 released the force field holding the trees in place, and Bey caught them before they fell to the ground.

The three Rebels fought their way out of the facility and into its halls, where they were confronted by stormtroopers firing a blaster cannon at them. Skywalker destroyed the weapon and took out the troopers, giving the Rebels a chance to escape back to the Antarra. Once on the landing pad, Hurron and his forces caught up with them and began firing at them, though Skywalker merely deflected the blaster shots with his blade. Realizing that blasters were ineffective, Hurron ordered his men to throw detonators at them. Skywalker used the Force to toss them back, engulfing the Imperial forces in a massive explosion and giving the Rebels a window to leave Vetine. As the Rebels began their return trip, Skywalker said that R2-D2 had overheard Bey talking to L'ulo and knew that Bey was thinking of leaving the Alliance. Bey said she was tired and she felt guilty for wanting to leave, but that she knew the war was only worth it if those who were part of it could live the lives they fought to protect. Skywalker admitted that the only reason he asked the question was because he did not expect there to be two trees, and he wanted the fragment he did not keep to find a good home—one with Bey and her family.

The request submitted by Lieutenant L'ulo was processed, and Bey's service to the Rebel Alliance came to an end. As part of her compensation package for ending her service, Bey was given the RZ-1 A-wing interceptor that she flew for Green Squadron. She brought that and the tree fragment Skywalker gave her to Yavin 4, where she and Dameron made their home in a new colony located near the old Rebel base. Bey and Dameron planted the Force-sensitive tree outside of their house, giving it the good home that Skywalker had hoped for it.

In the years that followed, Bey continued to fly her A-wing as part of the civilian defense of the system. Sometimes, she took Poe in the cockpit with her and let him sit on her lap and hold the controls, as she kept her hands on his and helped guide him in his earliest piloting experiences. They would fly together across the moon and even into space, adventures that made Poe come to love piloting. Poe's earliest memory was when he was two or three years old and Bey brought him into space let him play with the controls of the A-wing for the first time. Curious and adventurous even at that age, Poe did a few barrel rolls around the gas giant Yavin. It was through these adventures with his mother that he knew that he wanted to be a pilot like her. Poe also grew up hearing stories about his parents' time in the war. While Kes was open with him about his war stories, Bey never liked to speak about her time in the Alliance. All she would tell him was that her own actions were not important, and what mattered is that they and other Rebels stood up to the Empire and answered the call to help free the galaxy.

When Poe followed in her and Kes's footsteps, she couldn't truly blame him, though she worried for him. She and Kes stayed behind, still trying to have that life they fought so hard for. But, there came a point when Shara couldn't just stand by any more. She galaxy was falling apart around her again, and she felt called to join the Resistance at long last, fighting beside Leia once more, and this time, her son.

[stocklivemarket]

Pyongyang is the capital and most populous city of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, more commonly known as North Korea. It is located on the Taedong River, 110 km upstream from where the river joins the West Korean Sea. The city was separated from the city of South Pyongan in 1946. It has been a city directly governed by its own administrative unit, just like the city of Seoul in South Korea... The name of the city means 'flat land' in Korean. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7MGz0xGrZI[/embed] As the capital of North Korea, which is governed by a totalitarian regime, the dominant ideology of the country is reflected in the entire architectural structure of the city. The city, where tasteless concrete buildings rise, actually shows these features as it was rebuilt after it was completely destroyed in the Korean War. You can visit this city, which is extremely mysterious but very difficult to access as the administration wants to control the flow of information about the country, through private tour companies authorized by the state, as in all North Korea. They are not even allowed to communicate with the public. However, during the small city tours, which have been designed to every detail and decorated to give the impression that you are in a magnificent land of abundance, you can catch a small moment and find the real information about the daily life of the stoic people living in this city. You can see the locals picnicking, listening to music and lazing around on a walk up Moran Hill. Where Is Pyongyang? It is located on the Taedong River, 110 km upstream from where the river joins the West Korean Sea. When To Go To Pyongyang? Pyongyang, which has a humid continental climate, is dominated by cold and dry winds over Siberia in winter. This causes the season to be harsh. Especially between November and March, the air temperatures are below 0 degrees. Summer months are hot and humid. From June to August, the temperature is between 21-25 degrees. Best Places To Visit In Pyongyang The biggest challenge you will experience while visiting the city is the great effort your tour guide will make to show you and appreciate the statues, buildings, buildings, parks, etc. Triumphal Arch The Triumphal Arch was erected to commemorate the Japanese Resistance that took place between 1925-45. It is the second largest triumphal arch in the world after the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico, 60 meters high and 50 meters wide. In 1982, the arch was erected in Return of Victory Square at the foot of Moran Hill, with the aim of emphasizing and glorifying the role of president and general Kim Il-Sung in the Korean resistance. The 25,000 finely crafted white granite stones used in the construction of the monument, which was unveiled in honor of his 70th birthday, represent a day in Kim Il-sung's life up to that time. Modeled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the arch is 10 meters higher than its predecessor. There are four vaulted entrances to the building, on which there are numerous stairs, chambers, elevators and observation platforms. Each of these is 27 meters high. The words of the lament named Song of General Kim Il-sung are written on the arch. The song tells the story of the general who liberated Korea from Japanese rule in 1925 and made it independent. This tower, which exalts Juche, the administrative ideology of North Korea and formulated by the first leader of the state, Kim Il-sung, was completed in 1982. It is located on the east bank of the Taedong River. To the west of the river is Kim Il-sung Square. The 170-meter-high structure was unveiled in honor of Kim Il-sung's 70th birthday, just like the Arc de Triomphe, and the 25,000 finely worked white granite stones used in its construction represent a day in Kim Il-sung's life up to that time. . The tower can be reached by elevator and a panoramic view of the entire city is visible from the observation platform at the top. On the ground

floor of the tower, a video show explaining the importance and principles of the Juche ideology is shown at certain times. The tower is thought to be modeled after the Washington Monument. However, it is about a meter longer than its counterpart. Juche Tower is the second largest monumental column on earth. The largest monumental column in the world is the San Jacinto Monument and is about 3 meters higher than the Juche Tower. One of the walls of the tower is decorated with 82 friendship plaques, which were gifted by the Juche Working Groups and foreign supporters of the regime. Kim Il-sung Square Kim Il-sung Square is a large city square named after the founding leader of the state. The square, which was designed according to the masterplan of the restructuring process that took place in 1954 after the destruction of the city after the Korean War, was opened in 1964. Located at the foot of Nmsan Hill, the square is on the west bank of the Taedong River. It overlooks the Juche Tower just across the river. It is the 37th largest square in the world. It covers an area of approximately 75,000 square meters. It is an area suitable for gathering 100 thousand people at once. The square has great cultural significance. It is the traditional gathering point used for performances, dances and military parades. The image of this square is used in all news about the country. The square is reminiscent of Tiananmen Square in Beijing in form and design. Since its establishment and opening, it has been celebrated with many different events; Numerous military demonstration marches were organized. In the architectural design of the square, it was aimed and succeeded to create an optical illusion that shows the Juche Tower, which is separated from it by a river but stands directly opposite, as if it were at the other end of the square rather than on the opposite side. Great Mansudae Monument Mansudae Monument located on Mansu Hill is a complex of monuments. At the center of the complex are two 22 meter high statues. These statues belonging to the heads of state Kim Il-sung v Kim Jong-il are made of bronze. Behind the statues is the Korean Revolution Museum building. Paektu Mountain, the sacred mountain where the revolution took place, is depicted in a mosaic on the front of the museum. As you pass by the statues and move away from the museum building, two different monuments are seen. These depict workers, soldiers, farmers, the Anti-Japanese Revolution and the Socialist Revolution. These monuments are 22.5 meters high and 50 meters long. Monuments began to be built in 1972. At first, a statue depicting the country's founding leader, Kim Il-sung, was erected. The statue, which was covered with gold leaf when it was first erected, was later turned into bronze. After the death of the leader and his son succeeded him, a statue of his son Kim Jong-il was also erected. Visitors who want to take pictures are obliged to take the two statues together and in their entirety. Other Must See Places In Pyongyang Zoo Film Studios Tan'gun Tomb Korean Revolution Museum Transportation In Pyongyang It is forbidden for tourists to travel alone in North Korea, except for the tour routes given to them and the journey carried out under the supervision of guides. Local people generally have no barriers to roam freely. However, they are prohibited from using buses. There is a working subway system. It has two lines and is open to foreigners. Trains, albeit old, operate effectively. There are taxis, but Koreans are very reluctant to take foreigners. Pyongyang Cuisine There are restaurants in North Korea where you can find options from world cuisine. However, restaurant prices are quite expensive and the people of the country cannot eat here due to their purchasing power. You can try Sungeoguk soup, which is a special recipe from North Korea, a transparent soup containing ginger, black pepper, garlic, green onions and fish.

There are also rumors that dog meat is eaten in North Korea. In rural areas, rice, soup and stir-fries are eaten for breakfast. In the city, milk and bread are consumed. They have very light lunches. They prefer rice pasta or fried rice. Popular restaurants Chongryu Dangogi Gukjib Okryu Pyongyang Ostrich Farm National Restaurant. Tip: Employees in North Korean restaurants do not expect tips from you. But if you like the service, you can tip 10-15 percent according to your own desire. Shopping In Pyongyang In North Korea, postcards with the purpose of state propaganda are sold in souvenir shops. Do not ignore the possibility that these postcards, which have visual details resembling the propaganda tools of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, will become rare documents about the past in the future. You can also get stamps produced in the same style. The local drink, Insam Liqueur made from rice, can also be an original gift you can bring to your loved ones. However, the price is quite expensive. Pyongyang Nightlife Nightlife in North Korea is not very developed. A small number of bars and clubs are inside the hotels. Apart from these, you can go to places called Diplomatic Club, Random Access Club (RAC) or Friendship near Juche Tower. Pyongyang Festivals Kim Il Sung Birthday Celebrations (April) Dragon Boat Festival (June) Celebrations Of The Founding Of The Workers' Party Of Korea (October) Pyongyang Public Holidays North Korean New Year Kim Jong II's Birthday (February 16) Daeboreum Arbor Day (March 2) International Women's Day (8 March) Day Of The Sun (April 15) Kang Pan–Sok Birthday (April 21) Armed forces day (25 April) Labor Day (May 1) Victory Day (27 July) Freedom Day (August 15) Songun Day (25 August) National Day (9 September) Party Founding Day (October 10) Kim Jong Suk's Birthday (December 24) Constitution Day (27 December) Useful Information For Pyongyang Emergency Assistance: 119 Fire: 119 Police: 119