[X-Wing] - The Farlander Paper (Russel DeMaria), Star Wars - Books And Short Stories
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Star WarsX-Wing GameThe Farlander Papers###############################################################################From the Chronicles of the Rebel AllianceIntroductionThe Old Republic is no more. The Galaxy is threatened by an evil Empire, ruled by a creature on the Dark Side of the Force. Only a small, but growing, Rebellion can stop the spread of terror and tyranny. A few dedicated freedom fighters travel the galaxy, uniting the separate planetary Resistance groups into a single, unified Alliance. This is the story of one critical period in the history of the Alliance.Chapter 1Rebel Cruiser IndependenceIn Transit to Agamar in the Lahara Sector"Some soothing Dagoban bentaxne berry tea, Madam?" The protocol droid stood rock-still, bent at the waist like the major domo of a fancy Celanon restaurant. His saucer-like eyes stared blankly, perpetually optimistic. In his hand he held a tray with a steaming plastcore cup."No, thank you, Deesix," answered Mon Mothma, Chief of State of the Rebel Alliance. A former senator of the old Republic, Mon Mothma had played a pivotal role in the unification of the scattered forces of resistance to the Empire. As the elected head of the Alliance, she held absolute power of command, but now she rested in her private study, her feet up on her desk. She was noticeably tired. The years of unceasing travel, gathering support for the growing Rebel movement, weighed heavily on her. With a visible effort, she sat straight at her desk as the droid approached, smiling wistfully, and said, "I've got several hours of work still ahead of me.""As you wish, Madam," the droid said, walking stiffly over to the recycler and placing the cup in it. "If you don't mind, Madam, I'll go on half power, then." The Chief of State nodded her agreement and turned her attention to the terminal on her desk.An hour passed in silence as Mon Mothma worked her way through a stack of recent communiques. Her voice droned softly into the terminal receiver and every once in a while she bent over the security coupler to sign off with a retinal scan and voice authorization. The droid stood statue-like, his body upright, his head slumped forward as if asleep."Deesix?"The droid was instantly at attention. "Madam?""Didn't you tell me earlier that there was a new speech for me to deliver tomorrow?""Indeed I did, Madam. I have it here somewhere. Oh, where did I put it?" The droid shuffled across the room, his head moving back and forth jerkily. Finally he stopped in front of a cabinet and opened a drawer. "Here it is!" he announced, holding up a small holo disk.Meanwhile, Mon Mothma saw that she had two more messages on the net. She punched up the first of them:To: Mon MothmaFrom: Arhul HextrophonMon Mothma:I've given your droid, D6-L5, a new draft of the speech you wrote. Please look it over and send final comments to my office. As you know, Mon Mothma, you will be delivering this speech tomorrow on Agamar. They have a growing resistance movement, but have not yet committed to the Alliance. This new speech should help decide them, along with the leaflets and the new holos you saw last week.I will be available at any time, if you should wish to contact me.Respectfully,Arhul HextrophonThe second memo read:To: Mon MothmaFrom: LazloYou should meet a new ambassador in two weeks.There was no signature. Mon Mothma's forehead creased as she deleted this innocent-looking message. It was in a very private code. Automatically, she had deciphered it. "Lazlo" was really General Madine. "You should meet a new ambassador" meant she was needed to plan operations against a priority Imperial target. "In two weeks," in this context, meant in two days.She looked up with a start. Deesix was placing the holo disk on the desk before her. "Is something wrong, Madam?" he asked.With a sigh, she picked up the holo disk. "No, Deesix. Everything is all right. You may as well rest again, though. I shall be a while yet.""As you wish, Madam," answered the droid, instantly reassuming the sleep position.Mon Mothma popped the disk in its slot and began to read. As she read, she corrected and annotated the speech using her light pen. Lazlo's message had been noted and mentally filed. She would head for Mon Calamari right after the speech on Agamar.A CALL TO REASONSPEECH TO BE DELIVERED FIRST ON AGAMARBEINGS OF THE GALAXY UNITE! SHED THE YOKE OF IMPERIAL OPPRESSION!THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY. IT IS A PLEASURE T0 BE ONCE AGAIN ON THE BEAUTIFUL PLANET OF AGAMAR. FIRST I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THIS AREA HAS BEEN SURROUNDED BY OUR FORCES. IT IS HEAVILY SHIELDED. OUR BATTLE CRUISER ORBITS ABOVE US, AND PICKET DROIDS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED. IN OTHER WORDS. THERE IS N0 CHANCE OF AN IMPERIAL SURPRISE ATTACK. YOU ARE SAFE AMONG US... FOR THE MOMENT.DID YOU KNOW...THAT THE OLD REPUBLIC WAS A DEMOCRATIC UNION OF WORLDS GOVERNED BY A DULY ELECTED SENATE! THAT IT REPRESENTED THE NEEDS OF ALL BEINGS REGARDLESS OF RACE, SPECIES, OR HOME SECTOR?THAT "EMPEROR" PALPATINE WAS ONCE A SENATOR. AND THAT HE HAS SEIZED POWER, STOLEN OUR FREEDOMS, DISBANDED THE SENUTE, AND CRUSHED ALL DISSENT?THAT THE CURRENT EMPIRE IS IN THE PROCESS OF SUBJUGATING OR DESTROYING THE NON-HUMAN RACES?THAT THERE IS HOPE?TAKE A MOMENT WITH ME NOW, MY FRIENDS, AND LEARN ABOUT THE GREATEST PERIL OUR GALAXY HAS EVER FACED! THERE IS HOPE. BUT ONLY IF YOU KNOW WHY YOU'RE FIGHTING. DO YOU KNOW WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE? DO YOU KNOW YOUR ENEMY?Chapter 2Planetside: AgamarThe Next DayThe woman on the dais paused a moment, and the crowd stood silently, thinking about what she was saying, each in his, her, or its own private world of thought. Keyan Farlander stood among them, listening to the Rebel Chief of State, taking in every word of her speech. He stood in an abandoned warehouse along with perhaps two hundred others. He had joined the growing ranks of the Resistance on Agamar only a month before, and was burning with righteous fervor. His palms sweated as he dreamed of exacting his vengeance on the Imperial troops who had destroyed his village and murdered his friends and family.Even though the site of the meeting was well guarded, Keyan was well aware of the risk every being in attendance was taking. For his part, all he wanted was to get his hands on the controls of a Rebel starfighter and blast an Imperial Star Destroyer into space dust.But he was daydreaming and the Rebel leader looked as if she were about to begin again. With an effort, Keyan focused his attention back on the woman who had come to tell him about the world beyond Agamar.The speaker seemed to take in a deep breath, as if she had spent too much time on starships and was grateful to breathe real planetary air. Then she launched back into her speech, pouring passion into each word, pausing often for dramatic effect."How did all this happen? Here's the short answer. GREED! CORRUPTION! DECEIT! OPPRESSION! TYRANNY! THAT IS THE STORY OF THE EMPIRE!"As she intoned this indictment, the Alliance leader's voice resonated through the warehouse. Then she paused again as if to let this image sink in. When she continued, her voice was controlled, quiet, penetrating . . . the voice of a storyteller. Behind her, brutal images of Imperial oppression occasionally appeared on a simple flat-screen projector. Keyan and all around him were quickly transported back to another time, far, far away, but not so long ago."It wasn't always this way. We were at peace following the Clone Wars. Guided by the Jedi Knights and the government of the Republic, war-weary citizens rebuilt their lives and restored their worlds. The central authority of the Republic encouraged prosperity and freedom for all."But the galaxy is vast. With a thousand thousand worlds to govern, a few greedy senators found that they could abuse their power, at first in small ways, but ever more boldly. Slowly but steadily corruption infected the Republic. Wore and more senators, seduced by power and wealth, allied themselves with special interests. And their corruption spread throughout the many worlds. The Republic was crumbling."Into this situation came a young senator named Palpatine. I remember him. Very ordinary. Very methodical. Nothing to call your attention . . . Just enough to keep his position. MAKE NO MISTAKE! This Palpatine was a Rodian in Ewok's clothing! His was a diabolical master plan, and he carried it out to perfection."The authority of the Senate was weakening at an alarming pace. Crime was on the increase everywhere while many worlds threatened secession. Others simply did as they wished while pretending loyalty. We needed a solution, and that is what Palpatine offered. Through a combination of political maneuvering, careful promises, and some out-and-out fraud, Falpatine got himself elected head of the Senatorial Council, President of the Republic. Many of the most honest and ethical senators backed him because he promised unity and had never Joined among the most corrupt. At the same time, the worst members of the Senate expected a weak, controllable President, a figurehead to represent justice as they continued to serve the cause of self-interest."I was young, the youngest Senator ever elected until then. Even so, I soon saw this man for the monster be was. But everyone was so anxious for a solution ..."Neither senatorial faction got what they had expected. Instead, with the power of the Presidency now secured, Palpatine suddenly emerged as a dynamic and increasingly ruthless leader, getting the government working again. Little by little, he assumed control, as the Senate consumed itself in bitter rivalries. Palpatine subtly encouraged this dissension while seeming to support various sides. He played us against each other, using every...
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