During the Galactic Civil War to restore the Republic, Imperial Intelligence was to monitor and

interpret the intentions and plans of the Rebel Alliance. In the course of this monumental

undertaking, they became aware of various Rebel operatives and teams. The most famous of

these were the group known as the "Heroes of Yavin" whose exploits are widely known across

the entire galaxy. A few of the less well known and anonymous teams and individuals were

known by code names such as "Targeter", "Bandit" and "Team Rintooine".

One team in particular though, achieved widespread notoriety among the Emperor's forces, but

little is known publicly about their activities. This team often brazenly defied Imperial might in

their quest to destroy the Empire. They were as odd an assortment of misfits as was ever

assembled and their unpredictability confounded the Imperial Intelligence machinery for years.

What follows is a story of one of their many missions. This is an excerpt from the Imperial

Intelligence datafile of the group of Rebels codenamed TEAM MAVERICK.

TEAM MAVERICK:

Castellan Rising

Written by: Brian M. Wilson

Based upon the characters and situations created by George Lucas.

First serial rights reserved. 1994

Prologue: New Directions

The Imperial Star Destroyer Raptor moved silently across the icy void of deep space in a passable imitation of its namesake. Though this triangular bird of prey was not seeking a victim so much as information. Information which would determine its course both navigationally and strategically.

Within the trapezoidal bridge section, a man stood at the fore of the bridge walkway looking across the prow of the starship and into deep space. Hands clasped behind his back, he stood in a flawless parade ground posture. Captain Wilmon Trellor had spent twenty-three years in the Imperial Navy, the last three in command of the Raptor. Never had he felt so unsure about the future. He had never imagined anyone breaking the spirit of the Empire. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined the Emperor being killed. He stood now contemplating where he would be ordering his ship to go next. What would be their next objective? His contemplation was broken by the young officer who walked up behind him and spoke.

"Sir?" called the young lieutenant with a hesitant tone which indicated he regretted interrupting his captain's revere. "The Strike Cruisers Falcon and Manta have just arrived along with their Escort Frigate Guardsman. The task force commander has informed us that their mission to the Ubiqtorate base on Kellium was a success. The base commandeer recognized the priority codes and gave them all requested information. It is being transmitted to our databanks at this time."

"Very good. Order the vessels to assume picket positions and await further orders" the captain said as he turned to walk to the aft communications station. The lieutenant acknowledged his orders and turned to walk smartly in the same direction to communicate with the other ships.

A flurry of activity issued from the bridge pits on either side of the walkway as the crew members checked their stations in the hopes of being given the order to get underway soon. Theyhad been waiting for the task force to return for the last four days and the wait had become monotonous. After running the same drills and the same diagnostic tests everyday, the crew craved action.

Captain Trellor waited by the communications console for the Guardsman to finish sending the encrypted data. Once the transmission was complete, he retrieved a copy of the information on a data tape. Picking up a datapad, he turned and strode out of the bridge and stepped quickly past a pair of stormtrooper guards and into a secure turbolift.

He arrived a few moments later at a restricted level a few decks below the main bridge. Ahead of him lay the doors to the quarters reserved for flag officers. A pair of stormtroopers stood at attention in front of the doors, blaster rifles held across their chests. As he approached, they stepped aside and let him pass.

Moff Niles Carlinson sat upon a command chair at the center of a ring of display panels. He looked up as Captain Trellor entered and saluted. The Moff returned the salute and gestured to a nearby chair. The captain sat down and waited. After a moment, the Moff spoke.

"I have already begun studying the transmission, Captain. Some of the data is most disturbing. Other parts of it, though, I believe will work to our advantage. Please study your copy for a moment."

Trellor scanned the information upon the datapad he had brought with him. A frown crossed his face, souring his features. His eyes continued to dart across the display in concentration. Near the bottom of the data, a smile began to play across his lips. Noticing his reactions, the Moff spoke. "What are our impressions about the data, captain?"

"Well, it is unfortunate to hear about the loss of our Star Destroyers attached to the fleet at Endor. The Broadsword was lost with all hands and the Accuser was captured. Then the Accuser was used to capture the repair yards at Relva II along with the damaged Headsman. The Rebels must pay for that! I wonder who led their force on that mission."

"I suspect it was Endlighter or Skully" Carlinson answered as he stood to walk to his forward viewport.

"But didn't Intelligence report that Endlighter was killed by a TIE pilot over a Ubiqtorate base in the Velor system almost two months ago?" Trellor asked with bewilderment. "It probably wasn't Skully either. The plan went too flawlessly. Perhaps it was Skywalker or Solo?" he continued as he rose from his chair.

Moff Carlinson stood now with his back to the other man by the transparisteel window. Without looking around he replied, almost absently "No. My sources tell me that Skywalker and his friends left with a small task force just a day or two after the Endor battle. We've received no action reports indicating that those ships have struck yet. It was probably Endlighter, despite Intelligence to the contrary."

The Moff turned around now to look at the younger man, a grim smile on his face. He shook his head. "It does not really matter who was responsible at this point. What matters is the defense of our way of life. We must regain the initiative in this war." He walked back over to his computer displays and keyed for new information.

"Are you planning on utilizing that incomplete project involving the Castellan?" Trellor asked as he walked over to stand beside his superior officer.

"Yes captain, and then some" he replied as he pointed to one display.

Trellor's eyes opened in astonishment as he read the display. "Those? Do we have the components necessary to complete a stockpile?" he asked in astonishment.

"Yes. The Emperor anticipated that they would need to be improved to be of any use to us. This factory on Drexel VI as been completing the improved components. It is just a matter now of shipping them to the assembly plant to combine them with the final parts. Then they can be distributed to the fleet. Though I believe the Castellan would provide us with the best suited delivery platform, for obvious reasons" he finished.

Captain Trellor nodded in agreement. "Your orders then, sir?" he asked.

"Dispatch the Star Destroyer Dauntless to Drexel VI to establish a garrison and defend the factory. That system is not firmly under Imperial control and the Rebels could hamper us there. Send the Persuader to Beispiel and Callonus to retrieve our garrison personnel on those worlds as we are short on manpower aboard the Castellan" he began.

"Excuse me, sir" Trellor interrupted. "But won't we need those troops on Beispiel to safeguard the assembly plant?"

"Your concern is noted, Captain, but I believe Beispiel is too remote for the Rebels to have any concerns about a closed "food processing facility". However, order the garrison commander there to leave a squad of stormtroopers and some security droids. They are to be inconspicuous and should not leave the plant itself. Also, have him hire out locally to insure the perimeter's security. All transfers of cargo to and from the plant are to be well guarded and conducted via an unmarked cargo ship. That should prevent the Rebels from nosing around. Besides, I plan on giving them something else to worry about."

"What is that, sir?" Trellor asked.

"Have the remaining ships of my sector group headquarters rendezvous at the Balbringi shipyards. If we look like we are massing there for an operation, we should draw Rebel suspicions away from our real target. And set our course for Lianna. I have another project there which I must see to personally" Moff Carlinson finished.

The Captain acknowledged his orders with a short bow before turning about and striding for the door. He walked with a determined step to the turbolift and entered the car. Having keyed for the bridge, he relaxed his posture and allowed himself a sigh. A satisfied smile slowly appeared on his face. He thought to himself about the brilliance of his commander's plan.

"The Rebellion is finished!" he said aloud.

Chapter 1: Vigil

"Pardon me for asking, but how long are we to wait here, sir?" the artificial voice inquired of the

cockpit's only other occupant. The target of the query, glanced once at a cockpit chronometer before swiveling around in his pilot's chair to look at the black protocol droid. Taking a deep breath, he answered the automaton.

"We stay here until we get some idea of what the Empire is up to and not a second longer, Dagger." he replied wearily. "Don't blow a logic chip worrying. I don't like hanging around secret Imperial staging areas any more than you do."

In his mind he emphasized that sentiment considerably more. He had no desire to be discovered snooping around an Imperial resupply point. The Empire was not noted for its hospitality concerning rebel spies. Of that he could attest to personally. His first and only encounter with an Imperial interrogation droid had resulted in weeks of nightmares before he once again achieved a peaceful night's slumber.

General G'nash Endlighter, Alliance Intelligence Passive Operations, turned back around to continue his vigil. For three hours now he had visually and electronically monitored the movements of the Imperial ships in this system from his vantage point on the edge of the system's large asteroid field. From this point, sensors were useless as his ship, the Predator, and the Imperial ships were just out of each other's sensor ranges.

When he had arrived on the fringe of the system designated Hell's Hammer, G'nash had immediately maneuvered his modified Lantillian Short-Hauler into position to use the asteroids to avoid sensor detection by the Imperials. It is a credit both to the pilot and the craft, Predator, that the dangerous maneuvering necessary to get it through the edge of the field to this point had occurred flawlessly. Once he had arrived at a spot where he thought himself and his ship safe from any hurtling chunks of rock, he had shutdown all systems except passive sensors and life support. Using macrobinoculars and his instruments, G'nash had waited, somewhat patiently.

He glanced over at his ship's chronometer. Again. Illuminated only by his cockpit's dim, red emergency lighting, the instrument told him what he already knew. It had only been five minutes since he last checked the time.

"Damn!" he swore aloud to break the monotonous silence. "I wish they could have given this assignment to someone else!"

Slumping back in dejection, he knew that was not true. Ever since he had deserted from the Imperial military four years ago, he had always sought the most challenging assignments from his superiors. He and his friends had caused the Empire a lot of grief over the years. As he thought this, he swore again. "Damn those bounty hunters, anyway!"

"Yes, sir. That was most unfortunate that they arrived on Beispiel when they did," agreed Dagger.

"Unfortunate? Unfortunate? I'm lucky I got away with my hide intact!" exclaimed Endlighter as he whirled around in his chair.

"But fortunately, your friend there was able to assist you, sir." stated the droid in hopes of calming his master.

The sarcasm evident in the next exchange served only to perplex the droid as Endlighter replied, "Yes, I am so LUCKY that my FRIEND arrived!".

Dagger thought it best not to press the issue as it seemed to have not been so fortunate after all. He quietly watched his master turn back around to continue monitoring the ships and watch the chronometer. Perhaps he would someday find out exactly what happened on Beispiel, though he doubted he should "hold his breath", as it were.

Hell's Hammer as a system had very little to offer. The only planet formed in this desolate, out of the way place was an airless ball of rock. Any other planets that may have possibly formed here broke up during the early days of the star's existence and now composed the rather extensive asteroid field. The Empire, however, did see one use for the system. Its location just off of a major hyperspace corridor made it an ideal spot for refueling and resupply of ships of the line. It was places like this that the Alliance High Command desperately needed intelligence about. With the destruction of the Empire's second Death Star and the death of Emperor Palpatine at the Battle of Endor, the Alliance needed information about the Imperial Fleet's movements in order to continue its momentum gained within recent months. That's exactly why G'nash Endlighter had traveled to three systems in the last three days.

His patrol assignment was Mortav, Beispiel and Hell's Hammer. Mortav had revealed little more than system patrol craft still doing their mundane duties. With their lack of hyperdrive engines, they presented no threat to Alliance fleet operations elsewhere in the sector. Beispiel had yielded more.

The third planet in the Beispiel system still had an active food processing plant. During his short stopover at the spaceport, Endlighter had watched an old bulk freighter depart with a cargo from the plant, destination unknown. Direct observation of the plant had revealed a sizable contingent of troops garrisoned there to ensure continued operations. A few credits here and there and the locals confirmed that there had been a steady reduction in Imperial troops visible in the spaceport and that now they were only at the plant. He had to then cut his stay on Beispiel short due to other conflicts with individuals intent upon his capture. And with those intent upon "casual" conversation.

"What's Gall'n Flynn's game?" thought G'nash to himself. The accomplished bounty hunter had incapacitated Endlighter's pursuers and then held him at gunpoint while they talked about Ostic. Ostic Osiphe was one of Endlighter's fellow operatives and another entry on the Empire's Most Wanted List alongside Endlighter and other top members of the Alliance. For the longest time, she had remained one of the truly anonymous members of their team. Only recently had the Empire learned her true identity and it seemed that Flynn had taken up the hunt. Or had he?

"I'm worth more than she is", G'nash mused aloud with a tinge of wounded pride.

"I beg your pardon sir?", inquired Dagger.

"Nothing, Dagger. Just talking to myself."

"I hope it is a splendid exchange, sir!" replied the droid enthusiastically. Dagger hoped that his master's mood was changing for the better.

Endlighter shook his head in resignation and turned back to his consoles. He made a mental note to find a programmer back at Headquarters who could download a new personality module into the droid. Then he thought, "I could do it myself". A wide grin crept across his face.

Shaking his head, Endlighter considered his idea and thought better of it. "Fate worse than deactivation for a droid", was his final conclusion. The droid was just fine the way he was.

G'nash settled back into his observations and looked out across the black expanse of space before him. The base was still there as it had been since he had arrived. A flicker of pseudo-motion at the periphery of his vision caused him to sit-up in his seat. The chime and light coming from his sensor console reinforced what he had just seen. A ship had arrived in the system from hyperspace.

G'nash raised his macrobinoculars to his eyes to peer at the vessel which was now cruising towards the depot. It was an unmarked bulk freighter. "I think that's it!", exclaimed Endlighter. "I'd bet the Predator that that's the same ship that left Beispiel! I knew we'd beat that old crate anywhere."

"Are we absolutely certain that that is the same cargo vessel which conveyed the processed food from the production plant on Beispiel?", asked Dagger. The question was a dose of reality which stopped Endlighter's celebration.

"No, we don't", acknowledged G'nash. "But it's a pretty good guess that it is. Run a computation of it's entry trajectory from the hyperway signal receiver. See if it's possible that the ship came from Beispiel. Also, check with the Intel database and compute how long a standard ship of it's model would take to make the jump from Beispiel to here. That ought to give us some pretty solid evidence one way or the other."

As the droid turned to the ship's computers to begin it's tasks, Endlighter turned forward to watch the freighter. He watched as it moved across the system. The cargo ship glided smoothly across the void of space and beyond the depot. Surprisingly, it cut it's thrusters and began to coast across the frictionless void. As if it were waiting for something to happen. Then, something happened.

"What the..." Endlighter exclaimed, losing the thought in mid-sentence. His jaw had dropped and his eyes were wide and focusing upon the destination of the bulk freighter. A destination that had just arrived. An Imperial Super Star Destroyer! The eight kilometer long, arrowhead-shaped vessel loomed suspended over the supply base. The now insignificant bulk freighter was rapidly approaching it.

"Where the hell did that come from!" G'nash spat out as his eyes darted across status boards and sensor readouts. Across sensor readouts that were silent and blank. Across hyperway signal receiver displays that were blank. Then the realization hit him like something cold in his stomach.

"That ship didn't come from hyperspace! It was cloaked!" shouted Endlighter though the words were hardly up to the task of describing the shock he felt at what he saw.

"Sir, enemy fighters have been launched and are vectoring towards our position! Apparently, their sensors have just located us!"

"Dagger, I think we've overstayed our welcome!", exclaimed G'nash as he brought thrusters on-line and began charging defensive ray shields. "Power up the main guns and get ready for a rough ride! Prepare the calculations for a jump into hyperspace! Anywhere!"

As he skillfully banked his ship around a nearby asteroid and began driving for deep space, Endlighter looked at his aft sensors. He had never had a Star Destroyer scramble two entire TIE Interceptor squadrons after him before. For some reason, he didn't really want the honor.

The TIE Interceptors covered the gap at an incredible pace. Their triangular solar panels made them look like flying daggers as they pursued the bullet shaped craft. In the cockpit, Endlighter felt the sweat pooling on his forehead and dripping down his face and neck and into his armor. With the back of his hand, he wiped away the sweat on his brow. Pulling with his other hand on the control yokes, he brought his ship past the last of the asteroidal obstacles between his ship and freedom.

"Dagger, where are those calculations?"

"Coming through now, sir. You may make the jump to hyperspace at your leisure. I do hope it is soon, though."

Endlighter gripped the hyperspace controls and pulled back towards himself. The stars in front of his viewport turned to lines and were soon replaced by the mottled expanse of hyperspace. Releasing his breath in a sigh of relief, Endlighter turned to his droid companion.

"We'll continue on this course for a while and then change direction and head back to Endor. Mon Mothma'll want to hear about this!" stated Endlighter simply.

"Do you think that freighter was from Beispiel?" asked Dagger naively.

Shaking his head and forcing patience into his voice, Endlighter answered the droid. "I believe it's all a little irrelevant at this point in time."

As an afterthought, G'nash reached his hand around behind the droid's neck. With a satisfying "click", he found the switch he was looking for.

The rest of his journey back to Endor was very quiet and restful.