Chapter 25 “Well, young lady, you are quite lucky,” Doctor Tutt said while she examined the readouts. The medical droid scanned the stump of her leg taking measurements. It looked at Rae and its photo receptors blinked. “Yeah, real lucky,” it said with a slight hint of sarcasm in its voice. Rae bit her lip at the tone of the droid, not knowing if she wanted to laugh or cry at the comment. “Pay him no mind,” the doctor said not looking away from the scans. “We can fit you with a prosthetic leg within a day if you want something to match your skin tone and texture, or a few hours if you aren’t that picky.” “Prosthetic?” Rae asked. “It is the least difficult way to get you your mobility back.” She looked up from her tablet. “I mean we could try to regrow your leg. But that would…
Author: Shawn Bennett
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 24
Chapter 24“And we repeat,” Holdo said. “All ships focus your shields to port and fire as soon as you have a solution. We will only be on station fifteen seconds.” She leaned against the railing, her fingers tight around the foam guard. If the Brightsong and Tarkin’s folley could not manage to take out the corvettes creating the interdiction field then they would have to jump into the middle of the fight on their next pass. She held her breath as they came out of hyperspace, this time behind the fleet. The Imperial fleet immediately opened fire on them but thankfully most of their weapons were not able to target to their aft. Her fleet began pouring fire out at the ships. Ion bolts, turbo laser fire, and proton torpedoes hit the Imperial ships. The few smaller ships that were targeted sustained severe damage, the Star Destroyers were holding…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 23
Chapter 23Poe couldn’t believe the firepower that he saw the Star Destroyers unleash. They had not needed to destroy the task force with turbolaser fire, the weapon could have done that. BB8 whistled over the comm. Poe looked down at the scanner. Over one hundred Tie-Fighters were heading toward them. He had no doubt that they were the new ones that they had been fighting. BB8 gave a low tone of dismay. “What do you mean?” Poe asked as he adjusted the sensors. The gravity field was wrong. “There are interdiction fields.” He slammed his fist on the arm rest “Rogue Leader, Arclight.” “I read you Archlight.” “We have to buy the ships time to get away,” Wedge said. “They have interdiction fields,” Poe said. “I know. We will figure something out.” “Where is our backup?” Poe asked. “I don’t know, they will be here soon.” Poe cursed and rolled…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 21 and 22
Chapter 21Kylo paced along the upper deck of the bridge. For five days the fleet had been jumping in and out of hyperspace as they made their way across the galaxy. He had been disappointed that the Lady Luck had escaped destruction at Coruscant and there was a fleet mobilizing. He was oddly grateful to learn that the Star Dust had made it to Coruscant. At least they could wrap all of this up at once. “We have less than three minutes until we leave hyperspace, Lord Ren,” Admiral Hux said to him. “All hands are at battle stations and all fighters are prepared to launch as soon as we come out of hyperspace.” Kylo paused in his pacing and nodded to the Admiral. In Kylo’s opinion, Hux was insufferably arrogant. As insufferably arrogant as he was, Kylo knew that he was justified in being so. Admiral Hux and volunteered…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 20
Chapter 20The Star Dust exited hyperspace near Yavin 4. Rae pressed the button on the comm station. “Yavin control, this is the Star Dust.” “Star Dust, this is control. Please identify yourself.” She sighed. “This is Padawan Rae and Padawan Lowbacca. We are requesting permission to land at the temple.” “Permission granted. Master Skywalker asked to be made aware of your arrival.” “Thank you, Control, Star Dust out.” Rae leaned back in the chair. The bacta cuff was still on but Rose had told her that it would probably come off once they could get to a real medical facility. “Get us down please, Finn,” she said. “I do not show any ships approaching us,” K7 said from the co-pilot’s seat. Finn nodded and engaged the engines, probably entering the atmosphere a bit quicker than needed. The past five days, they had all felt like the fleet was right behind…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within. Chapter 18 and 19.
Chapter 18. Kylo stood straight with his hands behind his back. He looked up at the hologram of the older scarred man before him. Kylo was glad that this was over the echonet and not face to face. “Lord Ren, do you mean to tell me that your former pupils managed to escape you? Are you sure that they escaped?” Kylo ground his teeth. “I did not let them go if that is what you are hinting at, My Lord,” he said and pointed to the bandage on his face. “I did not get this because I was playing nice. And I realize that this pushes the timetables forward. It is nothing that is not insurmountable.” “Lord Ren,” the man said and crossed his arms. “You have underestimated your students several times now. They were the ones that sensed me. I called you there to kill them and eliminate the…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 17
Chapter 17Finn leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. He sighed and unlatched his helmet. He set it aside and pulled off his gauntlets. He heard someone coming up behind him and looked back. Rose stepped around the K7 unit and sat down in the copilot’s seat. “You ok?” she asked. Finn shrugged. “Well, I am now wanted for treason, sedition, and murder, so other than that, I am fine.” “Well, you are among company,” Rae said from the doorway. Lowbacca ducked in and set her in the seat that K7 wasn’t collapsed against. “Really ought to thank you two for saving our hides.” Lowbacca nodded in agreement. “You’re Finn, right?” Finn nodded. “This is Dr. Rose Tico.” Rae nodded to Rose as she turned her seat around. “I’m Rae and this is Lowbacca.” Rose watched her. “What are the Jedi doing in Imperial space?” “Looking for him,”…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 16
Chapter 16Finn felt that they were far enough away from the city and pulled up taking the Star Dust through the atmosphere and out into space. He applied more thrust and broke orbit. He had the onboard navi-computer begin to calculate a course. The dedicated computer was more effective than an astromech droid but it couldn’t help do repairs to the ship. Lowbacca growled and pointed at the sensor display. Finn looked over to see two blips closing rapidly with the Star Dust. Finn focused the sensors on them. “Interceptors,” he said. He adjusted the sensors. “And eight more behind them.” Lowbacca growled something at Finn. “No idea what you said,” Finn said, “But, we just have to keep ahead of them for a little longer and we will be out of the planet’s gravity well.” The ship rocked as a few blaster bolts hit the shields. “It’s going to…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 15
Chapter 15 Finn flew the Star Dust toward the landing field. Captain Phasma sat in the co-pilot seat and Rose sat behind her. As he came around the tower, he could see the large black ship in the middle of the landing field like a large inky stain on the ferrocrete. Beyond it was the hangar that held the tie-fighters and shuttles. “What is that?” Rose asked when she saw the ship. “A Ravager class corvette,” Captain Phasma said. “It’s been modified for covert operations. Perhaps they are going to give me an actual command.” “Maybe,” Finn said as he extended the landing gear. The comm unit sounded and he absently reached out flipping it on. “This is the Star Dust,” he said. “This is tower control. You are to alter you landing status. You are to land on pad twenty A,” a voice said. Finn was applying more power…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapters 13 and 14
Chapter: 13 Lando paced in and out of the cockpit. Each time he came in, he looked at the holo-projection then turned and walked out again. Nein sighed as Lando came back in once again. There wasn’t anything that they could do until the padawans contacted them. Lando grumbled then turned to walk back out of the cockpit. BX began making noise and whistling. “What?” Lando said. Nein said something and pointed at the holo-projection. Lando looked at the Holoprojection. It zoomed in on a ship that was descending toward the city. “It can’t be,” he said and sat down in the pilot’s chair. BX whistled again. Nein looked at some other information on a different screen. He muttered something to Lando. “Well, poodoo,” he said. “Of all the luck to see them again.” The hologram turned as the ship sailed overhead. The words Star Dust clearly visible. “I think…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 12
Chapter 12 “Oh, come on, Lowie,” Ren whispered. “Aren’t you in yet?” Lowbacca growled at her from where he was half inside a console. He grabbed hold of the frame and pulled himself out. “Don’t get that tone with me, Furball,” Rae snapped. He bared his teeth and held up a small device. “You were able to get the information?” she asked. He nodded and tucked the device into one of the pouches on his belt. Lowbacca paused as he pushed himself to his feet. He glanced to Rae and saw her frozen. He growled softly and she nodded. “I sense it to, Lowie. Someone’s coming.” She glanced over to him. “Where do we go?” He did not have to think about it. He knew the only way out was up. He pointed upward and growled. Rae didn’t argue, only gave him a curt nod. They both ran, heading out…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 11
Chapter 11 General Dene stood next to an I9L2 intelligence droid. He stood with his hands behind his back wishing that he had another cup of caff but there wasn’t time. The glossy black droid was not tall as a K-series security droid. Its torso was larger around to hold the computing power needed. The general sighed and scanned the night sky. “What is taking him so long?” he said. “According to sensors, he entered atmosphere a few minutes ago, General Dene,” the droid said. “His ship should be landing shortly.” Dene and I9L2 looked around as they both heard a humming sound. They both turned in time to see a large corvette come around the tower into view. The black color of the ship seemed to absorb the light around it, creating hole in the sky. “Does it have a cloaking device?” Dene asked. I9L2 was quiet a moment…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 10
Chapter 10 Lando held his breath as he brought them out of hyperspace. BX had engaged the cloaking device before they had completely slowed to relative speed. For a moment they were flying blind until the small extensions poked past the cloaking field. Rae stood behind Lando’s chair, holding onto the back of it. Nein monitored the ships systems from the co-pilot’s seat. Lowbacca watched the forward screen from the engineer’s seat. Nothing could be seen for a moment then the screen flickered and then they could see outside the ship. “Cloaking devices suck,” Lando said. “Sure they keep things from being able to see inside the field, but they also prevent you from being able to see out.” Lowbacca growled and MTD translated. “You are using passive probes? How big are they?” Lando nodded. “They are a millimeter in width. There are six that stick past the field.” “Can’t…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapters 8 & 9
Chapter 8 Ben strode through the halls of the Jedi Temple. He turned the corner and went into the council chambers. Luke was looking at the holographic map of the galaxy that hung in the center of the room. “You’re agitated, Ben,” he said turning away from the map to face Ben. Luke had a full beard that was going grey and white, very little of the color from his younger years as left in it or the hair atop his head. His eyes were bright though, seeming to pierce through Ben. “What has you upset?” Ben stopped and sighed. He pushed his hair back from his face. “I cannot get R2 to tell me what Lando and my padawans were looking into.” “I thought you were going to let them be and see what they came back with,” Luke said. Ben looked past Luke to the map…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 7
Chapter 7 Lando climbed down the steps that lead to the Lady Luck’s cargo hold. Rae and Lowbacca have spent most of their time there. He came down and watched them a few times. Sometimes they were just levitating some of the crates and each other, other times, they were practicing with the stun sticks that he saw Rae and Master Solo using on Yavin. This time, they were sitting a few meters apart. A torch hung in the air between them. Two more lay on the ground, twisted and broken. Occasionally, the torch would snap on then immediately shut off. Rae’s eyes were closed and she was sweating. Her body was tense as she sat there cross legged, hands going between being relaxed and balling into fists. Lowbacca sat with his legs crossed as well. His eyes were opened but it looked as if he were looking through Rae…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 6
Chapter 6 Finn fixed his helmet in place, returning to his duty as a faceless Stormtrooper. Captain Phasma had already donned her helmet and was striding down the ramp from the Stardust to the hangar of the Star Destroyer. Finn followed her in time look though the opening in the floor of the hangar and see the stars become streaks as the Star Destroyer Vigilance jumped to hyperspace. There was much activity in the hangar. Troops moving equipment and guiding heavy lift droids. Finn saw a group of officers were moving toward Captain Phasma. When they got close, Captain Phasma came to attention as did Finn. He let her salute. “Captain,” one of the men said who had a Colonel’s rank and saluted back. “Colonel,” she answered in response. “What is going on?” The colonel sighed and turned to walk toward the open space that shown with the shifting colors…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 5
Chapter 5 “Nien, I know. Not really thrilled with it but it will take days if not weeks for the Jedi to make up their mind,” Lando said. The two of them sat on the bridge of the Lady Luck with the door shut. The flicking light from hyperspace filling the bridge. Nien waved his arms and gestured back to the door. Lando sighed. “Look, Nien, they tried to kill us. You don’t try to kill someone in a business deal unless you are doing something you don’t want to get out. And don’t tell me you changed your mind about the fact that we both agreed that this wasn’t something we could ignore.” Nien made a face and gestured again back toward the hatchway. “We take what we can get, bud. We are going to head back to Yavin once we see if Takodana has anything for us.” Nien…
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 4
Scene 4 Saint swept the sidewalk in front of his store. He leaned against the broom for a moment and watched as the Lady Luck rose into the air, its landing gear retracting into the hull. It turned and headed almost straight up, growing smaller as it ascended to the heavens. He walked back into the store, leaning the broom against the door frame. His dark hands pushed the dreads back from his face and he twisted a copper strip around them to restrain them. “J12, mind the store,” he said then walked into the back. An old protocol droid pushed away from the wall. “As you wish sir,” it said and walked behind the counter. Saint moved down the hall and stepped into a locker room. He looked in the mirror staring at the older dark skinned human. He ran a hand through his beard and debated on shaving…
Star War: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within Chapter 3
Scene 3 The Lady Luck descended into the atmosphere of Yavin 4. Lando flew past a Mon Calamari Cruiser and four Nebulon B frigates that were stationed in orbit. None of the ships contacted them but they were scanned multiple times. “Yavin control to Lady Luck, please state the nature of your visit,” came an almost childlike voice from the comm. “Yavin control, this is Lady Luck. We are here to speak with,” Lando paused for a second giving Nien a glance who shrugged. “Grand Master Skywalker.” “Affirmative, Lady Luck. Sending coordinates for landing now. Please be aware, we do not have automated guidance and the skies are busy.” “Copy that, control. Coordinates received.” Lando banked the Lady Luck and descended toward the jungle below. In the distance he could see the crescent of the gas giant rising and below a jagged hung of superstructure from the original Death Star. …
Star Wars: Darkness Rising: The Threat Within – Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Han leaned against the door frame and watched as the Lady Luck glided toward the landing deck. He straightened up as he noticed several jagged pieces of metal sticking out from under the ship. “What have you gotten yourself into Lando?” Han muttered. Lando saw Han watching the ship come down. “I didn’t expect him to meet me at the landing pad,” Lando said. The ship dipped a little then leveled out. “Number two repulsor is shot,” he said. Nien nodded and sighed. When the ship touched down, he motioned Lando toward the back saying something to him. Lando smiled. “Yeah, you get the easy job, I have to explain this to Han and Leia.” Han winced as the landing ramp descended with an audible screech of protesting metal. He watched Lando come down the ramp. ‘He’s looking old,’ Han thought then laughed. Lando was only a few…
