Foreword by the author

 

The plot of the novel is an invention of the writer. All characters, places, species and technologies appearing in the book are fictitious. Any similarities to actual events, living or deceased persons would be purely coincidental.

Copyright Notice: All content, photos, and text are copyrighted and may not be copied, modified, reproduced, or published in whole or in part without the written permission of the author. ©Oliver M. Pabst

 

Description of the novel

 

Jared Pash and his co-pilot Bacca are smugglers who mostly transport illegal goods across the galaxy for their clients. When they take on a charter mission in the rim sector, they have no idea that it will change their lives. They get into the sights of the Galactic Empire, are hunted mercilessly, join the rebel faction and have to fight for their lives, more than ever before...

Previous story

 

A galaxy far away in another time

 

The Tarin Confederation, located on the outer rim of the galaxy, was one of the last states to emerge after the Civil War. It was established from the ruins of the Old Republic to defend several independent star systems against the increasing expansion of the Galactic Empire.

They elected Kelan Valerian as their leader, the ruler from the planet Tarin. A shrewd politician, he joined the other leaders as a statesman who pursued only their best interests and felt no need to institutionalize dictatorial powers. But no sooner was he elected than he joined the Empire, which then stationed troops in that sector of space and established a regime of terror.

But there was hope. A small number of rebels bravely rebelled against the ruthless occupiers. As soon as fighting began to accumulate on a world and the imperial forces on the ground were unable to bring the situation under control, the appointed governor immediately dispatched his death squads, which mercilessly hunted down the insurgents.

From the beginning, the rebels in this sector were far outnumbered by the Empire's troops. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before the bright flame of resistance would be extinguished. Nevertheless, the resisters were determined to overthrow the hated regime and return freedom to the inhabitants of the oppressed fringe world systems.

 

Prologue

 

Surface of Tarin II,

Regional capital,

Tarin Sector

 

A Lambda-class white shuttle jumped out of hyperspace and approached the pulsating heart of the Tarin Sector, which lay at the end of a spiral arm of the galaxy and contained twenty-one star systems with well over a hundred habitable planets as well as moons. Kano Kedera reached for the data pad connected to the holoprojector. He pressed a button and a projection of a planet appeared on the display in front of him.

Tarin II was a fairly average, Earth-like planet with a breathable atmosphere and two moons, neither of which had an atmosphere or was inhabited. The surface was covered with rain forests and the length of days was twenty-one point three standard hours. The axial inclination was negligible, so there were practically no seasons. Because of its proximity to the yellow star of the system and the slight carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, the climate was tropical throughout the year, roughly comparable to that on Regallis after the storms.

As they approached the planet's surface, thousands and thousands of lights shone and hundreds of ships left or headed for it. Hanging in orbit were four large Imperial warships. These were huge, lumpy fortresses, split at one end and with a spherical superstructure containing the bridge, communications center and hyperdrive. Countless weapons systems protruded from every hatch, and fighter jets circled these huge monstrosities like flies. The more traditionally built shuttle with its three wings, flat hull and rectangular cockpit looked insignificant in the shadow of the Imperial warships, but Kedera nevertheless continued to fly toward them undaunted.

Suddenly, he got a slight chill and stared out the cockpit window. His gaze held the glittering blackness, filling his eye. Kedera was a Jedi Knight. For thousands of years, they had served as peacekeepers in the galaxy. They were considered a constant source of stability and order in an ever-changing universe.

»I have a strange feeling...«, whispered he more to himself than to his companion.

Jill Myra was his student. Her smooth face suggested immaturity, but she had long since shed it. The young woman was facing an extremely dangerous mission, so she had to wear a gray uniform of a service technician of the Galactic Empire and had hidden her long blond hair and a cap.

»Why are you so nervous, Master?«, asked she to reassure him.

He shook his head.

»There is really nothing left of the days of the Tarin Confederacy. The more you're here, the worse it seems...«

The next moment, a light on the console began to glow and the intercom began to beep. Kedera pressed a button.

»Tarin control to shuttle, please respond«, said a man's voice sounded on the speaker, accompanied by the usual jamming sounds. »We have you on the screen now. State your identification and destination.«

»Imperial shuttle Andora requesting landing on Tarin Prime.«

»Why do you wish to land on the planet?«

The Master gave his student a worried look and flipped a series of levers, resulting in a sequence of high-frequency broadcast sounds.

»We are a maintenance team and we are heading to the Imperial Archives.«

Silence fell on the other side. Inside the stolen shuttle, the two Jedi waited tensely for the answer.

»Now we're about to find out if that ship was worth the price the Rebels paid for it«, grumbled he, while Myra looked at the Imperial ships in orbit.

»They're taking a long time for clearance«, said Myra in a pressed voice.

»If they don't go for it, we'll have to leave quickly«, replied Kedera, already preparing in his mind for a quick escape from the system.

It was actually a farewell word. Both knew that they could not escape any warship here with this crate. After almost a minute, the officer's voice croaked unintelligibly at first, then came clearly through the loudspeaker.

»Landing permission granted, ferry Andora. Maintain previous course.«

Both breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, as if the difficulties were over, although they were just beginning.

»This went easier than we thought«, said Myra, relaxed in her seat.

»We just got through the checkpoint, but that doesn't mean it will continue to be that easy«, remarked he skeptically. »This planet is the center of the best guarded world in this sector. We have to be careful. It's crawling with Imperial ships and troops, not to mention dark Sith henchmen.«

»How about looking at the matter optimistically for once, Master? We've certainly made it here. We'll be fine.«

The ferry dipped through the atmosphere, then they could see the full glory of the sprawling capital. In the sky, countless cargo and passenger ships floated through the smoky haze. The towering skyscrapers shimmered amber, like artificial stalagmites that had risen higher and higher over the years and now hid the planet's natural landscape in a way that no other world had. Sunlight glittered and flashed brightly on the many mirrored windows of these massive towers.

As the ship continued to descend, they could now see the remains of the former Jedi Temple and the Tarin Senate Capitol not far away. Among all the many buildings, the magnificent palace of the tyrannical Valerian dominated the cityscape.

Their destination was the Imperial Archives. It was one of the tallest structures on Tarin III, with a massive dish antenna at the top that was used to receive massive amounts of data. Nevertheless, the massive tower did not seem insignificant among the other skyscrapers. It formed a welcome respite for the viewer's eye, a work of art in the midst of so much plain efficiency. Leisurely they flew there above the traffic. A huge landing platform was at the base of the tower, where many other shuttles and a few private yachts were parked.

»Ferry Andora, land where our pilots direct you.«

»Got it, thanks«, replied Kedera matter-of-factly, then slowly transitioned to the landing approach.

»Jill, you know what you have to do. Once you download the files, get back to the ship as soon as possible. We will stay in contact via communicator«, said he to his Padawan.

»Yes, master«, replied she nodding.

»And don't lose your nerve when the going gets tough«, he added. »Remember what I taught you and use the power.

»Of course, master.«

After landing, Myra went to the boarding hatch at the bow. Once the ramp was extended, she exited the shuttle in her disguise, toolbox in hand, and showed her perfectly forged ID to the Imperial officer who approached her with several armed soldiers.

»We have already been waiting for you. There is a problem with the air conditioning in the building. My men will escort you there«, said he, turning away from her and leaving her to his men.

»Follow us«, meant one of the soldiers in his armored uniform.

The four soldiers led the way, while Myra trotted along behind them. A short time later, the group entered the heavily secured building and rode one of the elevators to the top floor. There they marched through numerous corridors until the men stopped in front of an armored door.

»In here is the system for climate control. Tools you have yourself. Have fun with the repair«, came it from the leading officer.

Laughing spitefully, the Imperials left and Myra entered the stuffy room. The air was stagnant here, so the air conditioning really was broken. She set the toolbox down, then immediately turned to the control panel next to the entrance. The Jedi unerringly pressed some buttons, whereupon the bulkhead closed abruptly and locked it. The young woman then searched for the central maintenance tunnel. This ran vertically through the entire building and was connected to the individual air shaft systems. She climbed in and carefully descended via the mounted ladder.

It took a sheer infinity before she reached a huge room on the 65th floor. Here were countless computer cabinets that stored millions of secret data, among which they kept countless files of the former Old Republic. At the end of the room was a staircase that led to a lower room, where a series of shelves stored ancient writings and artifacts collected by the Empire's agents.

Suddenly, through a ventilation grate below her, she noticed a man sitting at a terminal and paused. She waited until he got up from the chair and disappeared. After that, Myra took her chance. She let herself slide, with a nylon rope, down into the room from the opening of the horizontal air shaft. The crackling of huge switchgear echoed as if it came from captive leviathans in the vastness, tireless, never sleeping. Two thick cables joined at a tall computer tower, with consoles installed and locked all around. But after close inspection, the Jedi pressed at a very specific spot and the flap popped open. Behind it, a blinking monitor revealed itself. With great care, she began to rewrite the system's subroutine. Deftly, Myra typed in the commands that made it possible to bypass the protection programs.

Shortly thereafter, the computer gave access to the protected files. The corner of her mouth was twisted in a smile. Now she had a search program comb the extensive databases for the file name 'Xytani'. When she found it, Myra copied the entire contents to an external storage module and typed the 'delete' command into the computer, erasing the files in the archive. No one would ever be able to use them again. Finally, she re-encrypted the protection log so that Imperial security would not suspect anything. A short message on the monitor finally ended the process. Relieved, the young woman closed the terminal and pulled a communicator out of her belt pouch.

»Master, I have the data«, spoke she quietly into it.

»Well done, Jill. Now come back as quickly as possible before you are discovered«, sounded her master's voice from the electronic device.

After Myra stowed the module with the stolen files in her uniform jacket, she left the room through the armored bulkhead at the entrance. Fortunately for her, there was no guard in the corridor. But at the next corridor intersection, she had to dodge two other technicians and scurried into a side corridor to hide. Chatting, both men moved past. For a few seconds, she stopped briefly and waited before continuing her escape.

The closer she got to the lifts, the busier it became. Bureaucrats, technicians and droids hurried past. Busy with their own tasks, they ignored the young woman. Only a few gave her curious glances. Finally, she reached the computer-controlled elevators. Actually, they should be able to respond to her spoken command. Myra studied the control panel and tried to make it sound informative and meaningful as she spoke into the voice grid. Instead, her voice seemed nervous, but the computer was purely a reaction device and not programmed to check the appropriateness of verbally communicated sentiments. So the door closed and the elevator sped down.

When Myra arrived at the first level, she followed at a normal walking pace, so as not to attract attention, the signposts that led her to the landing platform. Suddenly, a detachment of soldiers met her in the corridor. Their gray armor shone in the pale light. The young woman did not know what to do in that second of shock. She thought of fighting her way out with her laser sword, but then she discarded her thought and bravely marched past them.

Shortly after, she arrived on the platform and took out the communicator again.

»Master, open the access hatch, I'll be right there«, whispered Myra into the device.

»Was there any difficulty?«

»No, master. I just had a little trouble finding the right way«, justified she herself with a roll of her eyes.

»And where are you now?«

»At the entrance of the building opposite the ship.«

»Good, then come aboard immediately!«, said Kedera promptly, lowering the ramp and powering up the engines.

When his student finally appeared in the cockpit, she dropped exhausted into the seat next to him. In the next moment, the shuttle took off humming and disappeared into the planet's murky atmosphere. They flew smoothly past the Imperial baseships and fighters in orbit. Both breathed a sigh of relief only when they had jumped into hyperspace. However, the flight to their destination did not take long. Due to an unexpected damage of the propulsion system they had to make an emergency landing on Jasepe III. In the process, the Lambda shuttle was so badly damaged that it was no longer usable. The two Jedi Knights were now stuck on this desolate world.

Chapter 1

 

Surface of Shanri II,

Capital Tantor,

Tarin sector

 

At the same time, in a different place

 

This time, after a long time, Jared Pash was back in the rim region. Several years ago, he had described his homeworld Corella, one of the planets in this rather inhospitable, sparsely populated part of the galaxy, as the point furthest away from the luminous center of the galaxy, and he wasn't wrong. Since then, however, he had visited countless worlds. Nevertheless, the original description remained valid. And it was also valid for the rest of the region. Bloated crimson suns, orbited by frozen methane and ammonia spheres. Hot shining blue stars, whose light and heat burned their planets to cinders. Pulsars that alternately froze and melted their companion stars. Star clouds so filled with radiation sources that any life there would melt away unless opposing gravitational fields tore it to pieces. In this part of the galaxy there were countless uninhabited planets, balls of rocks and metals that would have been too costly to exploit economically because of heat, gravity, or radiation, let alone proximity to the strangest sources of danger, such as gas balloons or anomalous fluctuations. And the distances in space were vast. It happened easily that solar systems, even whole sectors, if one had no reason to seek them out, eventually could not be found or were lost from memory.

In the outlying region, the Galactic Empire had never cared much about local laws. Life as a smuggler held dangers that he accepted with a shrug of his shoulders. But with an illegal landing that would immediately earn him a summary execution if he was caught, that was another matter. But what could you do, he told himself, when your back was against the wall.

Pash and his co-pilot Bacca were in pretty deep with the worst gangster in the quadrant. This was because they lost the cargo they were supposed to be transporting for Galen Talec during one of their smuggling operations. So now a large part of all the income they earned went into the coffers of his criminal organization. For this reason, he was forced to accept all sorts of assignments, no matter how risky, much to the chagrin of his Wookie.

The six-foot-tall humanoid had bright blue eyes, thick brown fur, a black bulbous nose and a fanged smile. He was gentle with those he liked and unreservedly fierce to anyone who challenged him. There were few of his kind that Bacca was as close to as Pash, and in turn was his only true friend in a large galaxy. The long-haired giant did not lack courage, but sometimes he would have liked to take a more sedate approach.

Once they had settled their debts, they could always look for a nice planet somewhere to settle down, the galaxy was big. But there was no point in kidding themselves. Before that happened, they might as well both be dead. What, after all, would a world, anywhere, offer to someone who had wandered among the stars for so long? The urge to explore the endless expanses of space had now become a part of their personalities.

They had, of course, jumped at the chance when Talec had asked them to take on a well-paid smuggling job. But despite all the dangers and uncertainties, this one allowed them to enjoy the freedom of space again. In their eyes, the risk of dying or being captured had been the lesser of two evils.

Leaving hyperspace, was clearly noticeable by the abrupt violent jolt. Pashs owned an aged space freighter that he had bought long ago from a scrap dealer. He then rebuilt and modified the light YT-1300 freighter. The rather shoddy exterior hid a souped-up engine that made the ship almost legendary and served its owner well on numerous smuggling missions.

Externally, the Serphim looked like a normal run-down freighter, but closely examined, it was bursting with high-tech: thanks to its powerful drives and hyperspace generator, it was too fast even for Imperial starships. To reach class 0.5, the jump drive was twice as big as on normal freighters. The sublight drive, extending almost over the entire rear, consisted of modified sublight engines. The ship was armed with two quadruple laser cannons top and bottom center, a hidden blaster cannon for personal defense near the bottom of the cockpit, and two missile launchers forward between the manibles. There were also tractor beam projectors mounted on the bow. To operate the quad lasers, gravity had been switched in the gun emplacements so that one could sit in them normally, although they were actually rotated 90° when viewed from the ship. Pash later added a rotating shaft to the upper gunner's station. The design was mostly the same as normal YT-1300s, with only the sensor dish standing out. Other sensors included a passive sensor antenna, an Imperial IFF transponder, and the sensor dish. Color-wise, the ship was rather unremarkable, with the hull a dull white-gray that was replaced in some places by reddish-brown replacement panels.

The YT class was not a common sight in the galaxy. There were 5.826 of this type sold. Since production ceased fifteen years ago, only spare parts could be purchased. As a result, prices for the remaining ships had plummeted. Pash had acquired the Seraphim for a fraction of their original value.

Ahead of them lay Shanri II, the largest planet in the solar system of the same name, with two tiny moons orbiting a small, inconspicuous star. It was a dry rocky desert, as a result of its close proximity to its sun. The rest of the system was uninhabited and none of the other three worlds were suitable to support human life. Since the planet had no raw materials, the Empire was as interested in this barren world as the dust in the slums of Tarin Prime. Therefore, few Imperial troops or warships were stationed there. Moreover, most of Governor Aiden Rezal's Imperial fleet was busy hunting down rebels. Thus, only a few freighters and transporters were cruising in orbit around the planet. Here and there were others on the way, but they did not catch the eye.

Pash decided to land inconspicuously, so as not to reveal the hidden abilities of the Seraphim, after ground control had assigned him a landing site. This was not in any contiguous complex of buildings. The individual emplacements were in small bunker-like earthen buildings that provided enough space inside for medium-sized ships. However, there were so many of them on Shanri II that the capital Tantor had the largest space port. And that's exactly what the smuggler was flying to now.

When they landed, both took off their headsets and left their contour seats. Bacca took his blaster rifle and a shoulder harness with ammunition containers. The strap doubled as a sling for a pouch the Wookie usually wore on his hip. Pash, on the other hand, had his weapon strapped on. It was a custom-made laser pistol with a fixed macroscope, filed down at the front to make it easier to draw quickly. The cut-out holster, with the trigger exposed, hung low on his hip. It was attached to his thigh at the lower end by a leather strap.

The two smugglers went directly to the bow ramp of the ship. According to the planetary almanac, the atmosphere was usable for humanoid life without breathing apparatus.

»I'm going to look around for our customers. In the meantime, you see if the ship has any external damage anywhere«, he told himself to his shaggy partner.

Bacca gave a bark of approval and shuffled away. Pash took off his aviator gloves, stuffed them into his belt, then marched down the ramp that was extended on the starboard side of the freighter, aft of the cockpit. The image he presented was that of a slender young man in tall space boots and dark leather clothing. His black hair was cut short and possessed light brown eyes. He had on black elastic pants that were skin-tight but still allowed enough freedom of movement. On his upper body he wore a white shirt tucked into his pants and over it a loose dark brown leather jacket. On it there were many pockets filled with useful and life-saving utensils.

Pash ran towards the exit of the landing place and immediately spotted an attendant coming towards him. The man was just collecting the stall fees before he disappeared again. Here no one asked who he was and did here. The owners of the landing areas just wanted their unmarked credits, nothing more. Discretion here was not so much a rule or courtesy, but pure will to survive. Enough people have been shot for such things on their own property. The smuggler then continued on his way to the nearby city center.

Chapter 2

 

Surface of Shanri II,

Tavern, capital Tantor,

Tarin sector

 

The dry heat made him thirsty and wished he had taken something to drink. Then he spotted a tavern, named 'Sunstar' and went inside. Pash squinted his eyes. Inside, it was darker than he would have liked. Maybe the regulars weren't used to daylight or didn't want to be seen exactly. It didn't occur to him that the semi-dark room, along with the brightly lit entrance, allowed everyone present to look at each newcomer before he could see them.

The smuggler marveled at the variety of beings that had gathered at the bar. There were one-eyed and many-eyed creatures, with scales or fur, some with skin that seemed to change consistency depending on their currently prevailing emotions. Near the counter itself he saw two women. They were among the most normal-looking of the incredible assembly of people moving freely among the strange creatures. Feelers, claws and hands encompassed drinking vessels of various shapes as well as sizes. The conversation was an incessant tangle of human and alien tongues. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

»Captain Pash?«

He turned and held his laser pistol in his hand as if someone had conjured it there. Close beside him, no more than half a meter away from him, stood a Shenrian, a human-like species. From the clothing, Pash guessed that it must be the customer.

»You can easily get roasted that way«, growled the smuggler, who by now had regained his composure and put the weapon back in its holster.

The other did not respond to this remark.

»Did you bring us what we need?«

»Yes, I have the cargo. Beyond that, I don't know anything. Do you have some helpers? If you are alone, you will have a lot to do later.«

The man turned away for a moment and whistled briefly. Then, suddenly, several figures appeared with you, all staring silently at the pilot.

»Well, let's not waste time«, answe Pash and left the place again, while the Shenrian with his companions followed him to the landing place.

Chapter 3

 

Surface of Shanri II,

Capital Tantor,

Tarin Sector

 

As the seven men arrived at the landing site where the Seraphim stood, they heard a rumble above them. Pash saw his Wookie standing on the ship. His blaster rifle, ready to fire, was pointed at the strangers. But he signaled him, whereupon his hairy friend lowered the weapon and disappeared with it back inside the ship.

»Not all of them, my friend. First of all, just you«, stopped Pash his companions with raised hands in front of the open ramp.

The other man gave a hand signal to his colleagues and went on alone. Inside the ship, Bacca had switched the lights a little brighter. The furry hunk was already busy removing the deck plates from the hidden compartments located near the boarding hatch, usually used to hold contraband. He bent down, loosened straps as well as clamps, and lifted heavy rectangular boxes from the depths. That they had to be heavy could be seen from the play of his powerful muscle strands.

Pash ripped open one of the crates. Inside lay old laser rifles. They had been treated so that they did not reflect light. He took one out, checked the magazine, made sure it was secured, and handed it to the Shanrian. It was a simple weapon, short, light, uncomplicated. Just like all the others in the box, this piece was equipped with an optical scope, a barrel and shoulder straps. The stranger, who was obviously used to handling energy weapons, reached for it. He weighed it in his hand for weight and carefully examined the trigger mechanism.

»I have ten boxes of guns«, said the smuggler, pulling out another weapon, sliding back the cover plate in the butt and showing the adapters used to reload the weapon's energy pack.

By most modern standards, these were obsolete weapons, but then again, they had no moving parts. They were unusually durable in construction, so they could be stored without coating or other protection. The Shenrian nodded. He had understood how the loading mechanism worked.

»We had a good life until imperial troops showed up here and oppressed us. Many of us have been enslaved or killed. Now we can fight back with these weapons...«

»Stop!«, ordered Pash him, making the other one flinch. »I don't want to hear this, do you understand? We don't know each other. It's none of my business, so don't tell me.«

The stranger's eyes stared at him, but the pilot avoided the gaze.

»I got my payment in advance. So get your stuff so I can disappear again. And don't forget: The guns won't be fired while I'm here. I don't want any trouble with the authorities on my hands.«

Pash remembered the deposit he had received: Nova crystals and other gems that some sympathizers had smuggled

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: Oliver M. Pabst
Bildmaterialien: Oliver M. Pabst
Cover: Oliver M. Pabst
Lektorat: Korrekturen.de Julian von Heyl
Korrektorat: Korrekturen.de Julian von Heyl
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 30.12.2022
ISBN: 978-3-7554-2871-8

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