EPISODE I - ONE: Arrival

A convoy of ten TL-1200 freighters emerged from hyperspace. It was a routine run to Taris; one that was part of a monthly cargo drop to the planet's impoverished Tallin district. The planet did have its share of wealthier citizens and they had no issues securing the provisions or luxury goods they desired. One often wondered why they even stayed on such a polluted planet in the first place since they had the means to make their homes elsewhere. Surely there were nicer planets to inhabit in the known galaxy, but chances were pretty good that the Empire had a foothold there and if nothing else, that would be enough to deter anyone, rich or poor, from residing on them.

Slightly before making the jump, Affret Balagon, captain of the Amettafati, received word that the Rebellion had bested the Empire by destroying their planet-killing battle station. In short, this run felt like it would be a cakewalk, given the assumption that practically every ship in the Imperial navy would be called to whatever location the insurrection had occurred. Ten ships in. Ten ships out.

Much to Affret's disappointment, the exit into realspace was greeted by a lone Star Destroyer in a high orbit around Taris. He fully expected them to request the transmission of their inventory lists, so he began to pull those up as an unfriendly voice crackled over the comm system.

"Unidentified freighter, state your name and destination."

Affret pulled a sour look on his deeply lined face. "This is the cargo freighter Amettafati. This vessel and the other nine are heading for Tallin down on the surface." The old man paused and turned when he heard a faint noise coming from behind him. A boy of almost ten standard years stood partially hidden behind the door frame connecting the cockpit to the rest of the ship. "Didn't I tell you to stay with your friends down in the passenger compartment?" The boy nodded and slowly began to back away, knowing that he'd disobeyed the old man. 

"Grandpa," the boy sheepishly spoke. "Is everything okay?"

Affret kept his eyes forward on the star destroyer. "Yes. Everything is okay. We're just getting our landing clearance from that ship ahead. Go back downstairs and don't any of you leave that compartment until we land." The dark-haired boy nodded and skulked away. 

It seemed like minutes had passed since he transmitted his identification to the Imperials and he began to feel uneasy. He pressed the comm button and paused again before speaking. "Did you need me to send over our cargo lists so we don't waste any more of your time?"

The Imperial's clipped voice tersely responded, "That won't be necessary." No sooner did Affret breathe a sigh of relief than he found the star destroyer assailing the convoy with a barrage of laser fire. He pulled hard on the control stick to execute evasive maneuvers in an attempt to avoid contact with the red energy beams.

"All ships... break formation!" he ordered, scrambling for the proper controls. "We're under attack! Get to the surface... go to lightspeed. Do what you can to escape. We'll meet back home as we're able!!"

Flashes of red immediately made contact with two of the vessels, shattering them into sheets of twisted metal, floating cargo containers and dead bodies. The Amettafati banked hard to dodge an oncoming piece of burning hull. Affret could hear the shrieks of surprise and terror coming from his grandson and his grandson's friends below deck. The cockpit began to fill with an acrid smoke from a combination of the overheated onboard systems and the physical damage that was being inflicted on the freighter. Three more ships took hits; two were disabled and one was clearly destroyed. More pieces of wreckage pummeled the vessel and knocked out the engines. The old captain glanced out the cockpit to see the star destroyer redirecting its fire on the remaining ships that were still in motion. He spun his chair around and began to make his way to the passenger hold. Thick yellow clouds produced by burning circuit boards and insulation filled the access way, making it difficult for him to move with any speed.

"Dex!" he called out. "Dex! Are you kids alright?" He could hear the muffled voices of Dex, Kalie and Drew on the other side of the hold, but couldn't see them. 

"Yeah... grandpa, we're okay! What happened?"

"It looks like the Empire wasn't in the mood to let business go about as usual today." Affret squinted in the general direction of the escape pods. The sweet, synthetic smell in the air burned his eyes and made him cough. "You kids need to get in that pod and get out of here while there's still a ship for you to leave."

Dex stared blankly at his grandfather. It didn't sound like he was planning on going with them and it confused him. A wave of panic ran through him as reality knocked him back to his senses. He and his friends were going to be alone. "No! We can't go without you!"

Affret grabbed the boy by the shoulders and gave him a firm shake. "I will be right behind you. We don't have time to debate this, Deklin. There are two pods and the three of you are taking one. I'll be in the other one as soon as I know you've cleared the ship." He looked past Dex to see that the release mechanism on the pod was burnt out and there was no way he would be leaving the freighter, but the kid didn't know it and that would be enough to get him off the dying ship. "Get in the pod! It's gonna be okay..." 

Dex pushed Drew into the pod and the two helped Kalie inside. Dex placed his foot in the pod and turned to look at his grandfather. Affret nodded his head reassuringly. "It's time for you to go."

Kalie adjusted her position in the pod to accommodate Dex as the hatch hissed closed behind him. He saw the old man initiate the release sequence through the viewport and the pod tumbled away from the ship. Drew made a move for the thruster controls, but Dex pulled his friend's hand away.

"Don't fire the thrusters! If you control the descent, the Imperials will know that someone's inside."

Drew threw Dex a nasty look. "They're gonna know that someone's aboard because it's an escape pod!"

"No, they're not," Kalie interrupted. "Their ship is almost directly above us and the debris field is confusing their sensors. They won't be able to see us."

Dex was impressed. "There are three ways for us to get down there," he began with confidence. "The first way is in a ship, which we don't have. The second way is to be aboard their ship and that's not an option. The third way is for us to fall to the surface with the rest of the debris that's giving us temporary cover. We'll hit the thrusters once we get into the smog layer and we'll make a safe landing."

"Oh, yeah? What makes you think you know everything," Drew protested.

Dex's retort was sharp. "Uh--my grandpa is a freighter pilot and so were my parents." His moment of satisfaction was short-lived as a shockwave buffeted the capsule. He looked out the porthole towards the direction of the Amettafati and only saw the receding glow of a vapor cloud that was once his grandfather's ship. He didn't have time to let sadness consume him. There were enough losses today and he had to make sure he and his friends made planetfall in one piece. That's the way things were done. That's what he was always taught. Today was just another day in a galaxy ruled by the Empire.