A Fallen Knight: A Star Wars Fan Story
[ As it is May the 4th I felt the need for a quick fire story that may one day be expanded on. And being a fan of Star Wars itself. Here is a story for you all. May the 4th be With you all. Most of the Images within this story are from google images I do not have copyright on any of these images, this story is solely for the use of entertainment and does not gain any profit.]
Prologue:
In the years preceding the eruption of the Clone Wars, the brutal war between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, before the great purge of the Jedi. There was one particular Jedi knight who questioned it all, he questioned the stagnation of the Jedi, the bureaucracy of the Republic and their combined inability to act when needed.
His name was Elkar Zann or Zann to his friends and this is the story of his life through the years of death and oppression.
Chapter 1: A learning, joking, cultural Youngling and Padawan
Zann began his life as many Jedi within the order had done, from a very young age, he was human but never really knew where exactly he was born as humans were very common in the galaxy with many member worlds of the republic being made up nearly entirely of humans so it was very hard to know exactly where a single human was from.
Yet like all of the Jedi within the Order, Zann was taken from his home at infancy to be trained in the ways of the force and the beliefs of the Jedi, the strength of the light and evils of the dark. When he was old enough he was passed on to the younglings and tutored by Master Yoda himself, yet even at such a young age Zann began to question certain elements of the Jedi Order. The most well known as he asked various Jedi masters and Knights alike, "Are we peacekeepers or a order of monks that seclude ourselves behind the walls of the temple?". Most of those whom he asked answered the same that they do not seclude themselves and serve the Republic when needed, to which he would ask "And who decides when we're needed?".
This rebellious nature would continue through his training by master Yoda as he enjoyed in small practical jokes that made him a somewhat funny character to his fellow younglings and at times even master Yoda would chuckle at his the often elaborate pranks he would conduct. On one occasion he altered the shades in their practice room to go up and down to the rhythm of a fast pop song, although at the end of it he was expecting some punishment of some kind, instead he was thanked by Master Yoda who thought the prank served a good purpose about distraction when a Jedi requires much concentration.
Despite these practical moments of comedy, Zann was a firm student, despite his humorous exterior he was adamantly respectful to the Jedi knights and Masters to whom he always restrained himself. As well as this he often spent much time within the great Jedi library learning much which often lead him to staying over the course of many nights without much sleep. Many of the younglings in his class always thought he was trying to learn new jokes or even more elaborate pranks to perform on everyone.
Yet those who were curious such as Master Obi Wan Kenobi, Plo Koon and even Master Windu himself discovered his focus was on other things, they often found him retrieving knowledge of the wider Galaxy, the peoples and the cultures within it, various languages, which Madam Jocasta Nu one of the Librarians of the Temple would often him reciting and practicing. They were often amazed at how quick he seemed to pick up certain languages and how willing he was to ask for help, Master Plo commented to Master Yoda himself that the young one seemed to show a strength and openness when it came to different cultures, so much so that Zann had asked for the Master Plo's help in learning the words of his species the Kel Dor.
On one such overnight stay within the Library Zann became so engrossed in his studies on this occasion the theory on the force by a long lost Jedi Master who opposed the Sith during the days of the Old Republic alongside his theories of alternative lightsaber techniques. He became so engrossed in his studies of such theories that he eventually fell asleep at the console, he face between his arms that lay crossed on the table. Here a Jedi padawan found him and placed a blanket over him.
When Zann came of age, he went with Master Yoda and other Younglings to the planet of Ilum to perform a sacred rite of passage known as the Gathering where they would go into the depths of the planets caves to find their Kyber Crystals and build their lightsabers. The Crystal cave proved difficult for Zann as the trial was different for each one that entered as they had to both find their crystal as well as pass a "Test" to retrieve it. Zann found his test to be more of a puzzle, for he had to answer a riddle of sort to find his way to retrieve his crystal which sat half way down a unclimbable cliff within the cave.
Trusting himself Zann ripped the sleeve from his cold weather coat tied it around his eyes and without question trusted the Force and allowed himself to fall, with the force guiding him he grabbed his Crystal and landed safely. When he looked back up he was surprised to see it was an illusion the cliff was not a cliff at all but a small drop of a few metres not dozens nor hundreds as he had thought. He understood his lesson soon after when master Yoda spoke to him, "Much time you have spent learning of others, trust in the force you must, find your own path shall it lead you".
Upon his return to the temple Zann continued his training and eventually was passed on to the role of Padawan under a Jedi Knight, he was sent to study and learn from Master Aayla Secura the Twi'lek Jedi of renown. Humbled Zann showed much respect for his master, more so when he learned that she was the one who had put that blanket on him in the Temple Library not so long ago. From his Master, Zann learned much of the force and the techniques of the Lightsaber whilst also developing and adapting his own. It would not be long when he would pass the final trials of the Jedi and become a true Knight of the Jedi order, despite this he and his former master remained good friends through the years.
Chapter 2: A peculiar Knight of the Order
He would also often wear armour when out performing the actions of the Jedi Knights in service of the Republic, even when he wasn't on a mission for the Jedi he would wear the armour he had, he claimed it made him feel like a true knight. One thing was also noted when he was becoming more and more peculiar, those who went with him out of the temple or witnessed him practicing in the courtyard they would see his Lightsabers was changing colours, before it was the traditional blue, yet it slowly turned to a more Yellowish colour similar to the Temple Guards, then ever more to the colour of silver almost matching the colour of his armour.
When not conducting his service as a Jedi for the order or not practicing and meditating, he would often leave the Temple to wander the streets of Coruscant meeting people, make friends and learn about the world around him. He often met up with Dex in his Diner, when he wasn't busy Dex would sit with him and the two would tell stories of their adventures. If he was though Zann would stop and help serving customers and helping Dex in the kitchen, something he was caught doing when Obi Wan Kenobi came to see Dex himself. Sometimes he would even get tips from the patrons, which he never kept, he would take the credits leave half for Dex and the Diner and give the rest to those who he felt needed it.
When at the temple and when time permitted he would often sit and meditate alongside his old Master, Aayla Secura, on other occasions they would play games together like they had done when he was her Padawan and talk about everyday life. Zann despite being a knight himself still looked up to Aayla not only as a master Jedi but a friend, often looking to her when he had questions of the Galaxy. To which she would often bring up his Gathering trial and how he believed that the force was telling him to follow his own path. Despite it all and the code of the Jedi the two remained close friends and some even suspected more.
On some occasions he even went down into the lower levels of Coruscant known as the "underworld", where like up above he would wander around meeting people and learning about them just as he enjoyed. Whilst he was down there though he learned of how hard things were for the people living in the almost eternal darkness in the "Underworld" how everyday people had to work hard to make a living, which made him feel disheartened, which was only made worse when he saw the criminal element.
Despite being peacekeepers he felt that the Jedi had forgotten that Coruscant was more than the skyscrapers, on one occasion he went before the Jedi Council and pleaded with them to try and help those in need within such places. Again though he felt disheartened when the members of the Council deemed that the matter was for the authorities not the Jedi Order, which he argued against going back to when he was a youngling and asked them all the same question "Are we Peacekeepers or Monks in a temple?" as he left the Council chambers he muttered the answer he now believed "We are mere Monks trapped in tradition".
Chapter 3: The Decline and Abandonment
Things only got worse for Zann especially in the aftermath of the Naboo Crisis, where the Trade Federation under Nute Gunray invaded and occupied the sovereign planet of Naboo. Zann kept a close eye on the situation day by day, wanting desperately to help even asking the Jedi Council permission to go to Naboo to aid the people still on the planet. Yet again they put him down stating that the Senate was discussing the situation, when he got to the Senate however, Zann grew frustrated as he listened to how the Senate wanted to discuss the matter in a committee rather than take action against the unlawful invasion by the Trade Federation a member of the Republic of Naboo which itself was a member of the Republic.
Although the matter was dealt with by the election of new supreme Chancellor being Sheev Palpatine, and the defeat of the Trade Federation occupation by the combined efforts of the Gungans and the Naboo. Zann was becoming more and more lost, he believed in the ideas of the Jedi Order, being peacekeepers and protectors, but he felt that the Jedi were too mire in tradition and stifled by indecision. He felt that the Republic was decaying from the inside out starting from within the halls of the Senate, he had seen first hand that the Republic was not a fair system, he had seen many worlds in service of the Jedi.
He had seen rich, beautiful worlds in the mid rim and inner core where people prospered on the surface, but in other places they were struggling or having to serve the more powerful. Whilst even more in the Outer Rim he saw how planets were literally being forced to work extreme conditions in order to make ends meet as well as pay what he believed to be extortionate taxes. When this was added on with the fact that much of the Outer Rim was controlled by Criminal Syndicates such as the Hutts even entire planets were physically controlled by them he felt that the Republic and the Jedi were enabling criminals to operate.
Feeling such loss in his faith, he chose to speak to various other Jedi to get their perspective and their opinion on what he believed to be the continued failings of the Republic and the Order. Most however failed to give him an answer that he believed to be satisfactory, Masters Windu and Obi Wan held true to the position of the Order and the Republic. Feeling ever more lost, he went to his old Master, Aayla Secura.
He explained to her everything that he felt was wrong, of how he felt that the Force had put him on this path and how in his mind the Order didn't seem to care, even going so far as to bring up one of the teachings of Master Yoda, "Do or Do not there is no try". But as far as he was concerned the Order weren't doing nor were they even trying, he held that the Jedi were Peacekeepers but were only serving the bureaucracy not resisting it, so much so that they were not willing to do more when Naboo was invaded. As she had done in the past she told him to look to the Force and then his path shall be shown to him.
The final straw for Zann, came when he felt a disturbance in the force he felt what he would describe as a calling, something pulling him to go to a world. He left without the councils permission and went to a near forgotten system of the Republic called Requiem where a great amount of food was grown most of which went to Coruscant itself, so much so that the world prospered. And when he arrived, Zann saw just that, he witnessed a world filled with life, the capital city was beautiful with people living with extravagance. Yet the pull did not end, he found himself being pulled to a part of the world he never expected, what he found turned the idea of a prosperous, beautiful world on its head.
He came upon a slum nestled away in the hills, where people were living in squalor, filth, decay. Their homes were more shanties than houses, the floor was covered in muck and filth with each step he could hear and feel the squelch of what was under his boots. As he took a step into the slum children crowded him begging for anything, food, credits anything, which made him even more disheartened. Taking every credit from his pockets and every morsel of food he had he gave out to them all, from one he asked a question "Who is in charge here?", the child pointed at the only extravagant house in the whole slum, nestled up on a shelf upon the hill high above the Slum.
Making his way up, Zann found himself going through a place where food was passed out to the populace, wear guards wearing the Requiem emblem laughed as they tossed food to the growing crowd. Zann knew straight away from the look of the food that it was either rancid or rotten which made him feel sick, the fact these people who were starving were having to eat rancid or rotten food and from the way the guards looked and acted the food was likely left overs from their kitchen. More disgust came though as he made his way up the hill and faced the leaders house.
Before him was a square that sat in front of the house itself where a crowd had gathered surrounded by guards, high on an elevated platform was a young man who was tied to a set of poles, his arms stretched out. From a high balcony he saw a well dressed man come out and announce to the crowd that the man tied up had refused to work and was to be punished, a guard came up and using and electric whip struck the mans back again and again. Finally Zann had enough, leapt high into the air igniting his lightsabers as he went, landing on the platform he raised them at the whipping guard, declaring "Leave him".
The crowd stood in shock and fear, they had never seen a jedi before, Zann cut the poor man down and carried him away, he would eventually take him to Coruscant to give his account of what was happening on the planet. When he was healthy enough, Zann brought before the Jedi council. The man Idrus was a member of a religious minority on Requiem, who were being forced to work the farms on the planet often under extreme punishments with no pay, they were forced to live in slums where there is no electricity or running water, despite the amount of food the planet provides they never see any of it, being forced to survive on the kitchen left overs from the rich and powerful.
When asked why he was being punished, he responded saying that he was part of a group that wanted change, they had been organising workers strikes and protests in defiance of the oppression they had been experiencing for decades, all of which had been put down with brutal oppression by the Guards, with the planets government covering up those who died in such events as farming accidents.
Although intrigued the Jedi Council explained that without proper evidence they could not intervene, but they did admit an investigation was required and vowed to bring the matter before the senate. This greatly hurt Zann who stepped up and exclaimed that the evidence was before them, not only in Idrus's testimony but his own, he detailed how he saw people starving, suffering from extreme malnutrition being forced to eat rancid left over, he even took off his boots and showed the filth still clinging to the underside. He stated if that was not proof enough then what is.
In that moment he declared that if the Jedi Order wasn't going to do anything then they could accept his Expulsion from the Order. This shocked a number of Masters, many of whom had experience of Zanns fierce independence and difference of opinion, yet they also knew of his firm faith in the teachings of the Order. Zann explained it wasn't the teachings that he was losing faith with, but the order itself. He left the council chambers without another word nor a show of respect to the members as a Jedi usually would.
He went to his room in the temple and began to collect his things, all the memorabilia that he gathered during his various missions for the Order, various readings he enjoyed as well as his clothes and outfits. As he began to walk out, various members of the Order watched him walking down the stairs from every level. A number of them were people that Zann knew personally, many were Jedi he had been Younglings alongside, others were Masters whom he respected greatly even now. At the bottom of the stairs was Master Plo Koon and Obi Wan, who tried one final effort to convince to change his mind, pleading with him to stay and join the investigation the Jedi were going to conduct on Requiem, to which he said "And what then? we failed those people long before today". Before he left the archways of the Temple, Master Plo stopped him and asked him what he intended to do next.
Zann looked at the master and stated "Be what the Jedi were meant to be, Protectors".
The last person at the temple to say farewell was his old master Aayla Secura, who asked why he would leave Zann gave his reasons, from what he had seen in the Outer Rim, the bureaucracy of the Senate and stagnation of the Order and the failed traditions of the Jedi. Requiem was the final straw for him, the Jedi weren't willing to do anything without more talking and the Senate would likely only form a committee to do the same. One final failure in his mind was the Jedi code, for being protectors of peace and justice, the Jedi never speak of the sacrifices that are ingrained into them, of how they can't have friendships or relationships, but do not give a true answer for when they feel emotions such as love.
Aayla understood what he was speaking about and asked where he would go, he answered "You always told me to let the Force show me the path". She then asked how to get in touch with him if the need arises "Ask Dex at his Diner, no doubt he'll know where to find me".
None beside Aayla Secura knew what happened to Zann after he left the Order, there were rumours of a Armoured warrior wielding lightsabers protecting the workers on Requiem, to the defeat of a slavers gang in the mid rim. But the actions of Zann did bring some change, the Investigation by the Jedi uncovered the brutality by the Elites on Requiem and the Republic was forced to intervene mostly to save face.
Chapter 4: War of Clones? No of People
Despite the various rumours of Zann's exploits often reaching the Jedi Order, the High Council always deemed that since Zann was no longer of the Jedi Order then he was of not matter to them. That they would only intervene if Zann had fallen to the Dark Side or became a threat to the Republic or Order.
Yet soon their attention shifted to the growing secession movement within the Republic lead by the former Jedi Count Dooku and as more and more joined his Separatist movement the Republic found itself at a crossroads, the Jedi Order had found itself stretched further and further trying to maintain peace within the Republic.
Events came to a head when the Republic Senate voted in favour of Emergency powers being granted to Chancellor Palpatine granting him powers that could circumnavigate the system of Democracy. First among them was the establishment of a Grand Army of the Republic, with the Clone army of Kamino to be the heart of it and the Jedi leading them into battle as Generals of the Army. With the first act being the first battle of Geonosis where the Jedi lead the charge a great army behind them.
Soon however the Separatists cut off the Republic from the Outer Rim, seizing the Hyperspace lanes the Republic found itself fighting for every inch trying to get a foothold in the Outer rim. Soon however rumours once again began to spread of a Jedi not of the Order fighting on distant worlds, the High Council were at a loss to begin with until they remembered similar rumours that surrounded Zann's exploits.
She set off in a fleet of 3 Venator class star destroyers and a Acclamator transport they encountered not a separatist blockade holding tight and a hard battle to breach. No instead they found a small collection of ships of different kinds and different sizes fighting an even small fleet of Separatist cruisers. Understanding the position the Republic fleet moved in with fighters, bombers and their mighty cruisers to defeat the droid ships.
Soon the Droids were on the run and retreating to hyper space, with the path now open to the planet. Aayla contacted the other fleet, asking who they were, the reply came from an "Admiral" Rahum formerly of Mon Cala, "We are the fleet of the Galactic Militia" the Admiral gave the location of the Militias main base in the Capital, the best place for the Republic forces to land safely with less opposition. Aayla thanked the Admiral and informed him that the Republic fleet will remain in orbit to assist them should the Separatists return whilst she lead the ground forces to the surface.
He lead the pair towards a makeshift command centre in the city hall where they could find the General, as they moved through the streets the Jedi Master and Clone observed the severity of the fighting across the streets, there wasn't a single building in their view that wasn't untouched by the fighting. As they walked a siren began to echo out across the city with everyone beginning to take cover, the reason became clear as a squadron of hyena droid bombers came into view and began their bombing run, the Jedi readied her saber and Bly his blaster. Yet before they could perform any action the squadron pulled off as a reign of laser and rocket fire brought a number of them down in balls of fire.
At the City hall the pair were surprised that despite the heavy fortifications surrounding it, the inside was utterly different, it became apparent that city hall was not only serving as the headquarters of the Militias efforts, but also a refugee shelter and emergency hospital. Then they met the General, none other than Zann himself, who greeted his former master happily, at first their discussion was focused on the defensive matters of the battle and what could be done.
Zann detailed everything that his Militia was holding the line but they lacked the heavy armour to break the Droid positions beyond their trenches. Every detail was given, the constant harassment by Droid bombers on the city that made it too dangerous to move the heavy weapons away to the front to support an assault, how what vehicles they did have were limited due to their limited fuel reserves. Master Secura organised with Zann the best course of action and ordered the Commander to follow the combined plan.
When alone, the former master and apprentice were able to speak freely, Aayla asked what had happened to him since leaving the temple. He explained at first with the same words he had left the temple with "I let the force guide my path" they both laughed at this statement and she replied "Seriously" to which he nodded but did go further into detail. He explained that after leaving the temple he returned to Requiem to protect the oppressed as he called them, once he learned of the Republic intervention he left and continued on his journey's across the galaxy being what the Jedi were meant to be, peacekeepers, helping people.
With some work he was given a series vessels mostly patrol craft from various local defence forces that were loyal to the Republic. With these he had the makings of a small fleet of ships capable of ferrying the militia from one location to another whilst also being strong enough to conduct decisive strikes against Separatist fleets.
Aayla was impressed despite not being a Jedi, she was proud of how far her former Apprentice had come, she could tell from the way he spoke that he genuinely felt like he was doing right by leading this militia. When asked however whether he wouldn't feel better leading the clone armies with more resources and bigger, better ships to achieve the same goals. Zann responded with a question, "What happens after the war?" at first his former master was unsure, "What happens when the Republic wins? the Clones were built for war... what happens after?"
He explained that the men and women under his command regardless of where they were from were all citizens of the galaxy they all had something at least to return too when the fighting was over, they had lives that they could rebuild, homes to return too, families to cherish. What would a clone army do when the very reason they were created no longer exists?
For several days Aayla and the 327th alongside Zann and his militia fought a successful campaign of retaking Pilos from the Separatist forces. On the final day when Master Secura was informed that she and her troops were to move elsewhere she asked if Zann his militia would follow along. Zann regretfully said no they intended to stay a few more days to help the people of the planet start the process of rebuilding and allow his fighters to rest up before moving on.
Despite this, the Galactic Senate formerly recognised Zann's Galactic Militia as a legitimate force fighting for the Republic and attempted to bring him and the militia under the direct command of the Republic High Command most notably the Jedi. Yet Zann himself via hologram messages pleaded his case to maintain the partial independence of his Militia, as he explained his Militia had held out on Pilos for weeks by itself and successfully repelled Separatist attacks of four other systems without the backing of the Republic, the reason was because of their independence when it came to when and where they would fight. He pointed out that the Republic was often willing to withdraw its forces from situations rather than come up with strategies that could deny the droids a successful push.
He even noted that his militia was made up of people primarily from worlds in the outer rim so they knew the sectors far better than any Republic Commanders. As such they would be able to fight more effectively by being able to make their own choices and their own plans rather than be reliant on orders by those within the Inner Core. Some support came from the Jedi Council with those who knew Zann well, such as Obi Wan, Plo Koon and Aayla Secura supporting Zanns arguements detailing that his Militia could open a second front against the Separatists and allow them to deploy clone forces easier.
So reluctantly the Senate agreed with a number of Senators secretly offering financial support as well as other forms of aid such as ships, equipment and the supplies the Militia would need to keep up the fight. One among them was Senator Bail Organa who despite being a standing Senator supporting the ending of the fighting, he understood that Zann and the Militia were helping people in need, so discreetly the Senator provided support in the form of funding and secret giving of supplies.
Over the course of the Clone wars, Zann fought decisively alongside his Militia, at some point however he learned of a conspiracy that was concerning the Jedi Order, quietly he began to look into the matter himself and after hacking the systems of Kamino was able to learn of the Inhibitor chips, taking one he had a "friend" look into it and he learned of Order 66. Fearing what would happen he immediately secreted himself to his former Master, the only one willing to be seen with him openly with off the battlefield. He warned Aayla of the danger of Order 66 and clandestinely they managed to get Commander Bly and a few others to remove their chips, but suspecting what was coming Zann spoke to the Commander and the others alone, telling him that when it came to Order 66 make it look like they were obeying the order then help secret Master Secura away.
Chapter 5: The Dark Times
In the aftermath of Order 66, Zann vanished along with the majority of his militia, with many believing he had died during the purge conducted by the Empire after the initial order 66. Others however knew better, Zann knew when to fight and when to hide, now was the time to hide.
The only people who knew of Zann's continued existence were those who knew him personally such as those who were members of the Militia who despite knowing of him still being alive understood that they were not allowed to know exactly where he was. Only four people the exact location of Zann, one being Idrus his second in command, former Clone Commander Bly, now Imperial Senator Bail Organa who often asked for his help in transporting supplies to rebel groups and one other.
For years Zann remained in hiding but not alone, under the noses of the Empire and the searching Inquisitors, the fallen Jedi that had been turned to the Dark side for the Empire who now actively hunted their former Jedi kin. Zann was actually Eladus a simple shop keeper in the market who paid his taxes on time, often gave discounts to Imperial officers and stormtroopers on goods, who lived a quiet life selling his wares alongside his Twi'lek wife Aola.
Although there were times when Eladus propped up on Imperial "radar" it wasn't due to suspicion of himself but merely because of an incident in the city. For example on one occasion a group of youngster painted anti imperial graffiti on the walls of his shop, they were caught but Eladus stood up for them, going so far as to say that as long as they cleaned up the graffiti then he didn't want to press charges. Explaining to the Imperial officer present that it wasn't any act of defiance but likely an act to prove something to their friends. The officer despite being firmly loyal to the Empire, understood the argument "Eladus" was giving and told the boys to start scrubbing and be grateful to the shop keep.
For a number of years things continued on for "Eladus" and "Aola", despite the yoke of Imperial Oppression and the atrocities that they witnessed every day being committed by the Empire. They knew that for the moment the best thing they could do was keep their heads down and maintain their secrecy as Jedi, one wrong move and the Imperial hammer would come down on Ortus harder then ever before.
It was only when over coming every public display was a message from a rebel faction fighting on Lothal speaking the truth of how the Imperials had turned everything on the planet, how their oppression had destroyed the truth of the people that they needed to stand up. It was here that Zann understood that he couldn't hide anymore, he remembered that when he left the Jedi Order he promised himself that he would be different, that he would people, he would inspire hope. So he and Aayla agreed that the time had come to take up the fight again.
Zann contacted Senator Organa and informed of the reformation of the army and promised his support if he could promise a safe place to hide the families of its members including Aayla, Organa agreed and soon everyone who were unable or unwilling to fight were ferried away to a planet not on any map. Before her departure Aayla despite wanting to stay and fight with her "Husband" understood why when Zann placed his hand on her belly.
The Galaxy was awoken to the renewal of General Zann and the Army of the Free Peoples came on the same planet of Ortus. Where in a swift and decisive move the Militia swiftly defeated the local imperial Garrison and decimated the small imperial fleet in orbit, the battle for the city itself was just as decisive with the rebel militia easily forcing the Stormtrooper garrison to surrender to them. With control now certain, Zann stepped up in his old armour lightsabers in hand and made a speech over the holonet, calling on people across the galaxy to stand up and defy the oppression of the Empire that Freedom was their right at birth and that together they could not only survive the Empire but defeat it.
Chapter 6: The Galactic Civil War
With one victory and announcement, Zann had not only declared himself a Surviving "Jedi" but also gained a wave of volunteers to the Army of the Free Peoples. But he made clear to the population that they could not stay, if they did then the Imperials would return with a force far stronger and would not hesitate to perform brutal reprisals if they stayed. So like in the old days the Militia would go on the run and keep on the move.
With a collection of ships from his old fleet with the addition of captured Imperial ships that been repainted along with civilian ships that had been repurposed as transports or gunships to support it. They disappeared into the stars only appearing to strike quickly against the Imperial forces, soon Convoys would go missing on a regular basis. Imperial outposts would report being under attack before going silent, stations would go utterly silent.
Zann hadn't changed from his past in the Clone Wars, he knew that to be effective against a strong army you required mobility. So unlike the other rebel groups, factions, cells, tribes [whatever you wish to call them] that mostly remained within their own region of space and very rarely left a certain sector that was their primary focus. Zann and the Army of Free Peoples wandered the entire Galaxy, they would strike an imperial outpost in one sector disappear and then turn up days if not weeks later somewhere else entirely. This made it much harder for Imperial forces to combat him as he was proving difficult to contain in an area.
Some went so far as to claim that the only person that could truly take on this Rebel Jedi and his army of followers would be Darth Vader himself or Grand Admiral Thrawn. Despite this Zann and the Militia would remain in close contact with the other Rebel groups and Rebel high command should the need arise. And they were. Zann's first taste of a battle with the Alliance to Restore the Republic came at the battle of Scarif where his fleet joined the rebels in their assault on the shield gate whilst he sent Idrus down with reinforcements to the planet surface to help get the death star plans. In the aftermath he and the militia went into retreat once again and continued their hit and run attacks.
Not long after the destruction of the Death star itself, Zann received word from Alliance command of a plan to switch the battlefield from Guerrilla warfare to conventional, with the aim of taking the war from the outer rim to the mid rim, in an operation they called the Mid Rim Push. Although Zann was against the plan, detailing that even with the loss of the Death Star the Imperial forces remained intact and organised. And even if successful at liberating planets from the Imperials by Conventional means, the losses would be great on the side of the Rebels and such victories would be limited as he knew that the Empire would launch a counter offensive at some point and the Rebel forces wouldn't stand a chance.
After fierce fighting in the various settlements the last hold out of Stormtroopers under the local governor finally surrendered to the Militia forces with Zann himself accepting the surrender of the Governor himself personally after seeing the effectiveness of the Militia a number of locals volunteered to sign up as did many freed imperial prisoners. With another victory, Zann waited for orders to come from Alliance Command, yet they never came, with the Militia unsure whether or not to dig in and secure their position on the planet for a permanent presence. Zann refused, he informed the population of the planet that he and his forces would be moving on however if they wished he would escort them to safety in case the Imperial forces returned.
Which they did several weeks later during the Mid Rim Retreat, with rebel forces across the Galaxy being forced into a full blown retreat with the entire front being torn apart by the more powerful Imperial Navy and ground forces. The Rebels were now having to give up everything they had been spent months bleeding over, disheartened Zann reorganised his fleet and retreated to Uhipo where he kept his promise that should Imperial forces return he would protect the people there and help get them to safety.
But thankfully in the nick of time the last transports got away to the safety of Hyper space, Zann gave the order for a full retreat back to Rebel space. This would serve as the worst loss Zann had ever experienced from a single battle, before the Mid Rim Push he commanded the largest single Rebel fleet outside the mainstream alliance fleet.
But now his fleet had lost well over half its fighting ships. 2 Nebulon b class frigates lost he now had one damaged one, he had lost three quarters of his fighters and bombers, his last Dreadnaught class heavy cruiser alongside their last Neutron star class cruiser. Alongside one of their two Recusant class light destroyer, two of their Assault mark 1 cruisers and all their remaining Corellian gunships, From defending Uhipo alone.
Never mind the two Dreadnaught class heavy cruisers, 3 Neutron star class, half of their support ships consisting of BFF-1 bulk freighters, Gr 75 medium transports, the three IPV-1 system patrol craft, the four CR70 Corvettes, all the Auzituck anti-slaver gunships, the only Acclamator class assault ship alongside 2 of the Quasar fire class bulk cruiser.
Leaving them only with, One Nebulon b class frigate, one Recusant class light destroyer, one Assault mark 1 frigate, 3 interceptor class frigates, 1 munificent class star frigate, 3 Braha'tok class gunships, 2 Consular class Cruisers from Republic era, 3 CR90s Cruisers, 1 Marauder class cruiser, 5 GR75 medium transports, 1 Quasar fire class bulk cruiser, a single squadron of X-wings, 2 squadrons of A-wings, a single y-wing squadron and one Z-95 squadron.
Add on the fact that much of their heavy equipment and a great number of losses during the planetary assaults and defences. Which nearly cut the once powerful militia in half when it came to its manpower, those who still alive, were wounded and or demoralised from the constant heavy fighting. Zann himself was upset and disheartened by the losses they had suffered a number of whom had been his friends and served with him as far back as the Clone Wars.
He immediately went to see Rebel Command in person and showed his rage at the actions of the command, he warned them of the costs of the Mid Rim push of how the only thing it would accomplish would be the number of losses they would experience. He pointed out that before the push he commanded by far the largest rebel force in the Galaxy outside the main rebel fleet, now it was broken and had no chance at performing the same actions it had done in the past. In his mind he pointed out the Alliance Command had done what the Empire couldn't, they had crippled the Rebellion.
Zann and the Army of the Free Peoples partially broke away from the Rebel Alliance, focusing on the reconstruction, replenishment and reorganising of their forces after which they conducted their own missions outside the mainstream alliance but still had the support of the Alliance Command as Zann and the army behind him were the first Alliance Force to get back into the fight in the aftermath of the Mid Rim retreat.
For the most part Zann continued the Guerrilla War against the Empire whilst trying to rebuild his fleet and forces, focusing the raiding of Imperial shipyards and weapons production facilities. When word came from Alliance Command about the upcoming assault on Endor to destroy the second Death Star, they asked Zann to lead a series of tactical strikes that would force the Empire to spread the fleet out more and more. Zann knew exactly where he would strike first, he came up with a plan called Operation Shipyard Run, where his fleet alongside other small fleets of the Rebellion would strike out at Imperial shipyards across the Galaxy with the intention of both stealing imperial ships whilst also destroying or damaging ship construction capabilities. As the Imperial Navy was of great importance to the Empire he theorized that the Imperial navy would have to add more ships to the defence of such places.
The Alliance gave the go ahead and provided what ships they could spare for the assault, 2 days before the planned assault on Endor, Zann put his plan in action launching constant assaults against Imperial Shipyards across the Galaxy. Each time they retrieved more ships to add to their arsenal at one point during a strike on Fondor they were able to steal an actual Star destroyer intact. Zann joked saying that if that didn't get the Empire to respond nothing will.
And he was right, the Empire was forced to spread their fleet out much further in an attempt to prevent Zann from stealing more ships or destroying more key shipyards. When Zann got word however that the Alliance fleet at Endor had encountered a trap he immediately ordered a full withdrawal of all Alliance Ships to Endor to reinforce them. His fleet was the first to arrive approaching from a similar direction as the Alliance fleet had done, they were instantly contacted by Admiral Ackbar who instructed them to get in close among the Star destroyers to deny the operational Death Star from targeting them.
The Battle would eventually be won and the Alliance to the restore the Republic would reform into the Alliance of Free planets. Finally believing that they could truly win, Zann who despite it all had kept in touch with his "Wife" throughout the entire conflict finally felt it was time to bring her out of hiding. Aayla re-joined her "husband" aboard the newly renamed former Republic star destroyer "Jedi Knight".
Chapter 7: The New Republic and a New Age
Before the formation of the New Republic, His first Orders was to launch an offensive against Imperial forces on Ortus and liberate the planet properly this time, he undertook the mission vigorously leading the charge in person lightsabers in hand whilst Aayla organised the troops from the command centre along with their young daughter Aola. When the imperial forces finally surrendered, Zann learned that they had actually been the first alliance to liberate a planet from the Empire, at it wouldn't be the last.
Zann and Aayla would eventually become properly married within the very halls of the Jedi temple, with the entire militia that had followed them for countless years observing. When they were declared husband and wife they all cheered.
When the Galactic Empire and the New Republic signed a peace treaty officially ending the war, Zann formerly retired from the New Republic military but Mon Mothma did give him an offer, she asked if he would become the Republic Governor of the Ortus System. Zann readily agreed and returned to the planet with his family, After a great number of years, Zann finally started to understand something. He finally understood that it was the Will of the Force that he left the Jedi Order so that he would survive the purge and aid the Galaxy as a Jedi should, a Peacekeeper and Protector.
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