The Lady Pellaeon

A Star Wars fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan-based work of prose. Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney. Please support the official release.

Mynar Pellaeon had never considered himself particularly brave. He'd signed up for Officer School in the Imperial Academy because it was expected of him. His father was a loyal and stalwart Imperial officer, slowly making his way to command. He'd been favored by Grand Admiral Thrawn himself, after all! His own mother had encouraged him to it, talking about her time piloting small craft during the Clone Wars as a relief nurse. How much he could help people. How much he could do for the Empire.

Grand Admiral Thrawn himself, friend of his father and mother, had said he could do great things if he put his mind to it. He'd only met the man a few times, but every time had left an impact that seemed to turn the galaxy upside down. An alien, the most trusted Grand Admiral of the Emperor himself! With all that encouragement, he wanted to be the best for them. He wanted to be every bit as amazing.

Yet no matter how high his grades, no matter how much he succeeded in the simulators, he could feel it: The disdain and the hate from many of his classmates. All sons of the Imperial nobility, just like him. None with a Mirialian mother. None with green skin.

He'd heard the insults many times growing up: That his father took in a green alien whore who had nowhere else to go. That she was holding back his father's career. That he was a half-breed abomination to the purity of humanity. He couldn't remember the number of fist fights he'd gotten into, defending his beloved parents against such slander. He couldn't remember the times his mother had consoled him, told him she loved him. Or the times his father had made it clear that while he didn't approve of him fighting, he was glad to see him stand up for his family.

Mynar Pellaeon never felt brave. Not really. He just did what needed to be done, especially after his father vanished from Lothal with the Grand Admiral. He kept to his studies, pushed by a genuine need to get out there and teach the Rebels a lesson for what they'd done to his father, to his mentor. A genuine desire to fight for the Empire.

Yet that desire was stomped on, day after day, by the disdain and distrust and arrogance. The smug indifference.

Even so, when word reached Coruscant that the Emperor had died, he kept to his duty in the Academy. Even when word that the fleets of the Empire were in disarray and the Rebellion was coming for them, Mynar still prepared to fight for the people who despised him. All because of his memory of his father, and his father's commanding officer. All to keep his mother's precarious position in Imperial society safe.

Even with all that hard work though, it became clear it wasn't enough. Not enough to make the Empire see him any differently.

He'd come home from the Academy as day turned into night, wanting to personally inform his mother that he'd been accepted into a fighter wing for Coruscant's defense. The words died on his lips as he saw her forlorn face, her beautiful brown hair in a simple bun behind her head. She held up a holocom, and activated it with a press of a button. Captain Yonka, a friend of his father's, appeared with a grim expression on his chubby face.

"General Carvin's going to move on you. He's been waiting long enough and found a lieutenant eager to do the dirty work. There's a shuttle under my people: Coordinates to follow..."

"Mother?" Mynar asked. She just hugged him, and then suggested they get packing. Just a few belongings they couldn't live without: His mother had not kept many items of her own, which was unusual for an Imperial lady. It did allow them to get out quickly, taking the family speeder out to a place nearby the coordinates. Here they got out, and walked into a shopping center. Mynar scanned the area keenly, ever mindful that every droid, every person, could be keeping a look out for Admiral Carvin.

They'd nearly made it to the hangar, when a low whistle broke the air in the grimy alley they'd been walking down. A spotlight shone down on them from a military speeder, which descended in front of them. It bore the markings of Imperial Internal Security, and four Stormtroopers plus an officer stepped out. The officer was unfortunately familiar to Mynar, and he bared his teeth in anger at the smug expression the man wore.

"Lieutenant Crespo," he seethed.

"Oh look, it recognizes me," the lieutenant said mockingly. "I suppose all that time you spent in my seat at the head of the class taught you something."

"More than you," Mynar retorted. Crespo shook his head, pointing a blaster at them.

"This is for the best, you know," Crespo said with mock sincerity. "A pair of alien traitors, shot down trying to defect to the Rebels. Without Pellaeon or that alien freak to protect them." He grinned savagely, unlocking the safety on his weapon. "It will prove to the Empire that none of you can be trusted. We'll fight on, and become stronger without you mongrels weighing us down."

Mynar stepped in front of his mother, and held his arms out wide. "If you want to kill someone, just kill me," he said, and to his credit he didn't shake as he said the words. "Just let my mother go."

"What, so she can breed more like you?" Crespo sneered. "Better to put the bitch down before she can produce any more embarrassments."

Mynar gritted his teeth, rage wanting him to tear into the smug little jackass but fear for his mother holding him back. He stayed in front of her, hoping she would run, try to save herself...!

Instead, she stepped out in front of him, as calm and composed as she ever was. She gazed at Crespo in pity, before she looked at the Stormtroopers. She took a deep breath, and waved her hand as Mynar felt... Something ripple through him.

"You are not here to harm us. You are here to escort us to the shuttle," she said in a calm, clear voice. Mynar's jaw dropped, but his incredulous cry was cut off as every single Stormtrooper, as one, repeated her words.

"We are not here to harm you. We are here to escort you to the shuttle," they intoned. Crespo's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wha-How did you-?!" Crepo gaped in horror as Mynar's mother reached out her hand again, and his blaster flew out of his own. She caught it, and turned it on him.

"This man is a traitor. You will execute him," Mynar's mother said, again calm and cool. The stormtroopers repeated this, and turned their weapons on the now panicking Crespo.

"You can't-I command you to-!"

His order was cut off as his body was pierced by blaster fire. He fell to the ground, smoking, his lifeless eyes locked onto Mynar's mother. She very calmly lowered the blaster, and looked back at the Stormtroopers.

"Escort us to the shuttle," she ordered. The Troopers fell into formation around them, and she took the still stunned Mynar's hand. He let himself be led by her, his eyes locked onto her slim frame. As though he was seeing her for the very first time.

"M-Mother?" He whispered. "What... How did you...?"

His mother looked up at him, smiled, and sighed. Her blue eyes were filled with sadness.

"I'm sorry Mynar. There's so much I wish I could have told you... So much I wanted to. I had hoped you might never find out, but, well..." She shrugged. "Please know though, that no matter what... I love you. And your father."

Mynar slowly nodded, and the pieces fit together in his head. Just one word sprang to his lips: "Jedi."

Lady Barriss Pellaeon, formally the disgraced Jedi Knight Barriss Offee, smiled and nodded.

I'm building a new canon for Star Wars that combines the best of the Disney with the best of Legends. This is just one of several stories I plan to fill out the universe. If you'd like to join in, look me up on Spacebattles. I'd love to have you aboard.