In the early stages of the reign of the Empire, there was a husband and wife
of the aristocratic class living on Coruscant. Their names were Ronin and Anna
Axies. They were avid dissenters of the oppressive government and its domineering
despot. They went throughout the country side trying to remind the people of their
past freedom. It was too late to resurrect the Republic for the people were
willing to sacrifice their freedoms for the benefits of Imperial Rule. No longer
did people need to worry about surviving in a hostile, capitalistic society.
The Imperial Structure catered to the human natures tendency to be lazy.
Though not entirely successful, there were successes during their crusades.
A group of dissenters now banded together. They were a force to be reckoned with.
During one of their speeches, the couple was taken into the Imperial Palace to be
met with none other than the Emperor Palpatine himself. Dont you understand that
the defenders of the Republic are all but extinct and the Republic with them is
dead. Silence was the only answer. I now hold the power in the galaxy and
no amount of resistance will bind my might hands. Once again, there was silence.
If once more, you should be so bold as to speak against my name on this the
capital planet of my Empire, you will die. Silence.
Ronin and his wife went underground with his band of dissenters.
They were mostly old men and women, senators of the ancient Republic.
They knew they
might be killed for their resistance, and so they gave their young twin sons
Ceeeeg and Dream to friends. They were told to tell the boys about the evil of
the Empire and to tell them of their parents. They tried to convince them that
their parents were right. Though impressionable, they were too young yet to understand.
Finally after being caught underground, most of the band of dissenters
were publicly executed, and the children of all these criminals were
confiscated and raised
by the evil government. Because of their superior quick reflexes and inherent intelligence,
they were the brightest stars of these confiscated children.
As children they were taught a great many things. They were impressionable
still, so the Imperial foster parents tried to hone skills useful to the Empire.
They also taught them the propaganda that the Empire was just trying to bring
order to the galaxy. Through this noble effort, people were killed; but the
majority would be happy in the end. The brothers parents were two of those
necessary to be exterminated to bring about he common good.
Dream was
very bright as a boy, but he did not doubt what he was taught. He was trusting
(gullible, if youll excuse me). Ceeeeg always thought through what he was taught
and had a doubt that what he was being taught was truth. He remembered his
parents, and he remembered vaguely what their friends had told them about the evil
Empire. He gradually began forgetting all this, and he became very loyal to the Empire.
The Axies brothers did everything together. They never made
good friends of anyone else, so they became so close they could practically
read each others thoughts. When they reached the appropriate age, they went to
the Academy. They were 1st and 2nd in their class, and then they were drafted
into the Imperial Navy as officers. Ceeeeg was placed in the famed Gamma Squadron,
and Dream in Beta Squadron. This was the loneliest time of their lives.
Without each other, they did not know how to cope, but they were loyal to their
master the Emperor; and they did their tasks as they were told.
They have been
in their respective squads for nearly 6 months without any confrontations.
Finally they heard about a trade route in their sector that was being hindered by
pirates. The Emperor allows no such nonsense. He sent a Star Destroyer
and Gamma and Beta Squadron to end this problem. When they got there, they
saw more than they had expected. The pirates had two cruisers and 3 squadrons of
snub fighters. Ceeeeg and Dream had a little bit of uneasiness, but their respective
squads went in. This was their job. Everyone was surprised by this skill of the
opposing fighters. They were outnumbered, but Ceeeeg and Dream knew this had to be
done. Their squad leaders went in first and as they were going in another squad
came from their 6 and shot them down. Fear now set in. They were flanked. They
had to fight. While Ceeeeg were trying to maneuver through this mass of fighters, one
of them got on his six. His sensors were damaged so he didnt even know. Wes Janson,
one of this wingmen, flew in and turned the possible cause of his death in to
reddish-orange flames. While Cyrus, one of the pilots in Dreams squad, was flying
he had two fighters right in front of him. He didnt know what to do, so he took
the one pilot until he saw the other taken by Dream. As soon as he took a breath
one was on his six. So Dream flew as if he were going to crash head on into Cyrus and
at the last second pulled up and blasted the fighter on his six right out of the sky.
Finally the battle was over but only Dream, Ceeeeg, Cyrus, and Wes remained of both
their respective squadrons. Nevertheless, they fell in love with dogfighting.
The thrill of seeing your enemies go up in to reddish-orange flames by your hand
could not be matched, but something was missing in both of them. They werent
fighting for anything except for position and loyalty to a group instead of a
self-inspired, self-motivated desire for something. They fought with an emptiness,
which could be seen in their eyes and the pilots all around them. Even the
stormtroopers had it too, this same purposeless look in their eyes. Ceeeg especially
felt this emptiness. He remembered the fire in his parents eyes for the cause they
were fighting for. He was fighting for a noble cause as well as he was told, but he
did not feel this fire, this passion. Though they were somewhat dissatisfied with
their Imperial service, they became Squadron leaders of their respective
squadrons for their bravery in the pirate battles.
During their
battles, they finally made some friends mostly because of the fact that they were
the only ones left from their original squads and they saved each others lives.
Ceeeg became best friends with a very ambitious, almost psychotic pilot named
Wes Janson. He was from the Core System planet of Taanab of the Farfin Sector.
Though he remembered the constant pirate raids, he missed the green, pastured meadows
of his homeland while living in the city covered planet of Coruscant.
Wes really loved to fight, hoping to bring glory to his very much-disrespected
planet. It pleased him more than anyone else to see his enemies go up in smoke.
Dream became a close friend of Cyrus. He was one of the country boys from the planet
of Tatooine.
Wanting anything to get off the dessert that the planet was, he was one of the
bright-eyed pilots that you sometimes see when they are in their first year in
the Navy. He fought with passion and not with the regularity and purposelessness
you saw in the old-timers. The two squadron leaders had been training and practicing
for about two years before a major battle was even fought. The planet of
Alderaan had been a thorn in the Emperors flesh since he came to power. The
leadership of Bail Organa had convinced more than a majority of the people to an
Anti-Imperial mindset. His daughter Leia in the Senate was a staunch dissenter under
the most annoying cover of diplomatic immunity. It was time to show the Empires
strength. A major offensive was not in order, just a flexing of the Emperors muscles.
Though they were officially naval officers, the brothers were chosen to do a
reconnaissance mission. As they spied they heard the great Bail Organa speak:
On this great planet of Alderaan, you have had the privilege of living in
democracy for centuries. You have had the privilege to speak freely, worship freely,
write freely. You were free from despotic or even aristocratic rule. That
freedom is in genuine jeopardy. Being conceived in the bureaucracy during the
ends of the Galactic Republic, distrust in the Republic spread throughout
the galaxy. Palpatine seized this weak moment and through his scheming ways
became Emperor. He has been spreading his despotic rule throughout the galaxy.
We are one of the last harbors of freedom. Let us hold that strong, let us always
remember that we must be led by the light within and always strive for the old Jedi
maxim to preserve justice and protect the weak.
Ceeeg and Dream heard this speech as they were trying to ascertain
Alderaans strength. In Ceeegs mind, memories of his parents flashed through his mind.
He remembered their cries for freedom and the familiarity between those cries and
those of Bail Organa. He knew of the atrocities of the Empire. He knew of the slavery
of the Wookies; the massacring of whole cities in revenge of an act by one, lone
dissenter; the extinction of the Jedi at the hands of the Emperor; and especially the
execution of this parents. He was always given reasons for these atrocities, and
he believed them because he knew no other way. But for a second he thought about what
Organa and his parents fought for. Were they right? Absolutely not but, for a moment
the brothers looked at each other and Ceeeeg said to Dream, Doesnt that sound like
nevermind. Dream knew he was referring to his parents cries for freedom and answered,
Yeah, but that was years ago. The Galactic Empire is too powerful. Our parents were
foolish just like the people who raised us said. Ceeeeg answered, Yeah,I guess so.
Their friends were inquisitive, but silence was kept as instructed by those who raised
them. They continued their mission, and completed it successfully. The information
was delivered to the Admiral and the mission was underway.
(Tune in next month to see what would happen in this battle at Alderaan and
to see what would come of the doubts in Ceeeegs mind about the acts of the Empire.)
Written by LtJ Cyrus
