Fanfic Remarks

Fanfic Remarks

I've written down a few remarks about my own fanfics. What inspired me to write the story, which official sources it is based on, which characters/events are my own creation and not part of SW canon, etc., in case you are interested in such things.

The Decision

This story was inspired by a very interesting discussion on alt.fan.wedge about Tycho's motives for joining the Imperial Navy . If you would like to read the afw thread, please click here.
The information about Tycho's family is mainly taken from chapter 11 of "The Bacta War". In "The Rebel Opposition" it is said that Tycho had two sisters, and that his fiancee was called Mia. In "Battleground Tattoine" this is corrected: Mia was Tycho's sister, and his fiancee was named Nyiestra. As Tycho only mentions 'sisters' in BW, I decided to give him three: the two mentioned in RO plus Mia. Tycho's brother Skoloc is introduced in BW, but there is no information about his age given. The way Tycho talks about him made me suspect that he was younger than Tycho, but that's just my assumption, not canon.
In this story (and also in some of the others) I mention the clone wars. After watching "Attack of the Clones" I guess that George Lucas' clone war will be very different from what I imagined, so Episode 3 might contradict some of the things I wrote.

Cadets and Rebels

Based on a conversation of Luke and Biggs in the SW Radio Drama and on the Prefsbelt scenes of "The Making of Baron Fel".
The Luke/Biggs scene is an expanded version of the cut scene from ANH in which Biggs tells Luke that he is about to join the Rebellion. In the Radio Drama version he explains his reasons. This is the part that was the inspiration for my story:

"Luke, I had a friend at the academy. He helped me through, the way I used to help you. Just before graduation, I heard he got picked up during a roundup of Rebel suspects. They said he died in interrogation."
(Biggs, Radio Drama ANH, Episode 1 "A Wind to Shake the Stars")
Zack is my own character. I created him for another fanfic which I started to work on before I wrote "Cadets and Rebels", and which still isn't finished.
This story has a first glimpse into Hobbie's past. I later expanded Hobbie's background story in "Last Farewell" and "Changes" (see below). As the only things known about Hobbie's past are his homeplanet and that he went to the Imperial academy on Prefsbelt, I had to create my own version of his past life. So except for him being from Ralltiir, everything is pure speculation and not canon.

Last Farewell

As already mentioned above, this whole fanfic is pure speculation and has very few connections to canon sources (simply because there aren't many). All that is known about Hobbie's life before he joined the Rebellion is his homeplanet Ralltiir, that he attended the Imperial military academy on Prefsbelt, and that he defected shortly after graduation. These few things I tried to include into my story, but the rest is speculation.
Not only about Hobbie, but also about Ralltiir very little is known officially. The only time Ralltiir plays an important part in Star Wars history is shortly before the destruction of Alderaan. These events are described in the SW Radio Drama and summarized in the "SW Essential Guide to Planets and Moons". See my remarks at "Changes" for a brief summary. I tried to hint at these upcoming events in "Last Farewell" and addressed them in more detail in "Changes".
In case you wonder if there is a reason that makes me think that Hobbie's family background is like I describe it in this story: there is not. I can't put my finger on anything particular in the official sources that made me write this fanfic in the way I did; it just happened :-).
About the two star destroyers I mention: I couldn't find any mention of a ISD Agitator in the offical sources, but the Devastator actually exists. It was used by Lord Tion during the subjugation of Ralltiir and shortly thereafter it became Vader's flag ship. The star destroyer that hunts the Tantive IV at the beginning of ANH is the Devastator. I only learned this after I'd chosen the name for my story, but I think it is fitting.

Changes

"Changes" is kind of a sequel of "Last Farewell", but I hope that it can be read as a stand-alone, too. It is based heavily on Hobbie's background story I created for "Last Farewell", though.
As already mentioned above, there is little known about Ralltiir. This is the excerpt from the "Essential Guide to Planets and Moons" on which I based my story:

"For generations Ralltiir has been known as a center of banking; its financial institutions were considered some of the most stable in the galaxy. Fanatic supporters of Palpatine's new regime, however, infiltrated the planetwide fiscal records and tampered with them, bringing them more 'in line' with existing Imperial prejudices. Nonhuman investors and known Rebel sympathizers logged in to discover that their life savings had been erased. Knowing that the planet's reputation was at stake, the Ralltiir High Council denounced the sabotage and worked to reverse the damage. However, anything less than a public oath of loyalty to Emperor Palpatine would not be tolerated in the current political climate. An Imperial task force under the command of Lord Tion was dispatched to quash all opposition. Tion disbanded the High Council, arrested its 'treasonous' members, and set up a puppet military tribunal in its place. Roving impressment gangs dragged suspected dissidents to interrogation centers, and a naval blockade prevented anyone from leaving. Resistance from Ralltiir's citizens was dealt with swiftly and pitilessly."
(The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons, text by Daniel Wallace, 1st edition 1998)

During these events, Princess Leia came to Ralltiir to bring supplies to the local Rebels. She wasn't able to help them, but a Rebel managed to reach her ship and she brought him to safety. From this Ralltiirian Rebel the Alliance first learned about a new Imperial superweapon code-named 'Death Star'. I don't refer to this in my fanfic, as I don't think that the pilots would know about it.
In my fanfic I state that the High Council that tried to put an end to the sabotage of fiscal records was the first that was elected democratically for years. This is speculation, not canon. I thought that there must have something happened that caused the High Council to act against the sabotage and the Empire after (most likely) years of ignoring it.
Grallia is officially mentioned as Ralltiir's main spaceport, the cities Kazan and Nitanlo are my creations.
The idea that Tycho might have quite a lot of money I got from "The Bacta War" (though I think it actually was the money Isard used to frame him, not his family's) and especially from Morwen's fanfic story "The Survivor" (unfortunately I can't find it online anymore).
In the comic "In the Empire's Service" Tycho reminds Wedge that he didn't call Tycho by his first name during his first six months in Rogue Squadron. That went into the fanfic, as well.

Past and Present

The fanfic describes a scene that takes place during the events in "NJO: Ruin", but is only hinted at in the novel. I wished Stackpole had written it, but he didn't, so I eventually decided to try to write it myself.
There are a few things mentioned that might not be/are not canon: information about Jag's siblings (see below for more details on my trouble with the Fel children), and the age of Wedge's daughters (which is approximately correct, though). I also assumed that Wedge and Syal never met during the time Soontir Fel was in Rogue Squadron, but according to Wookiepedia, they did (there is no indication, though, that Wedge knows about Syal's and Soontir's children (and according to canon, the first two were already born before they went to the Unknown Regions)).
A part of the fanfic was changed again after it was almost completed (I hope that isn't too apparent); that was done due to the events desribed in "Survivor's Quest", as it was needed to keep the story canon. There are no spoilers for SQ, though, in case you are worried.
Eventually, I had to change one more detail for canon reasons: originally, Jag mentioned one brother and three sisters. At the time of writing, it was unclear whether he had two brothers and two sisters or one brother and three sisters, and I had to decide on one version, since Jag would know, of course :-). Well, I used the wrong one, as it was later stated in "The Joiner King" that Soontir Fel has two daughters and four sons, one of them kept secret (see my remarks at Soontir Fel's profile about this mess). As I don't like to make canon mistakes (even if I can't help it because they were no mistakes at the time of the writing), and since it doesn't change the content of the story significantly, I decided to correct it. I'm not really convinced of the shadow child theory, but if it is true, Jag would not mention this brother (Cem), so he would only refer to his two brothers Chak and Davin. I tried to keep it vague, hoping to be on the safe side.
There still is at least a canon mistake, though, I'm afraid: Since it was stated in "The Joiner King" that Chak and Davin are two separate persons, and Jag talks about one dead brother in "Ruin" and it is mentioned in "Dark Journey" that Davin is dead, I assume that Chak Fel is still alive at the time of this fanfic. When I let Jag hint at the meeting between Luke/Mara and his brother, I had in mind that Chak was already dead. Since it is never actually mentioned, I didn't change it. There is also the issue that Davin and Chak both have to be older than Jag, while Jag talks about "my older brother". Since he does so in "Ruin", as well, I kept it.

Prisoner

"Prisoner" is a fanfic which I wrote several years ago, before most of my other fanfics. I wasn't satisfied with it, so I left it unfinished. When I began to work on my homepage again for the first time after five years of hibernation, I reread all my unfinished fanfics, and I liked "Prisoner" (which I had completely forgotten about) well enough to put it on my website.
That Tycho is suspected to be a brainwashed traitor is an important part of the first three X-Wing books, but we don't learn much about Tycho's feelings. To escape from months of imprisonment and torture to find that his own people don't trust him anymore...

A Challenge

I started this fanfic after I'd read "Survivor's Quest". The way Chak Fel and the "Empire of the Hand" in general is portraited in this book is very different from the portrayal of Jag Fel in the NJO books, and I tried to explain why. As very little is known about the "Empire of the Hand" and the Chiss Ascendancy (and the official sources are not all in agreement), there is a lot of speculation in this story, which might (turn out out to) be non-canon. I tried to keep such specifics as vague as possible.
Originally, the fanfic should have been longer, with this meeting the last of Jag and Chak before Chak's death. I changed it to stick to canon as the shadow child theory came up, trying to explain the existence of Jag's two older brother where there should have been only one, and consequently delaying Chak's death (I wonder why they didn't let him live, though, I would have loved to read about him again), cp. my remarks above for "Past and Present". Some of the other parts were moved to another fanfic, "Family Ties".
Nash'ra protocol is not my invention; I found it in another fanfic. Unfortunately, I neither remember title or author. I think it was taking place on Coruscant at the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war. If anyone can point me to it, please do. And my apologies to the unknown author for not giving proper credit.

Family Ties

Parts of this fanfic were originally written for "A Challenge". Due to canon issues (see above) I moved them to a different story.
An important part of this story is Syal Antilles Fel's recollection of her past, and especially of her relationship to her brother (or rather the lack thereof). I'm not sure if she would really choose this moment to tell Jag about it, but well, it just happened when I was writing it, and I hope it is convincing enough.
As the X-Wing comic series was never finished, we didn't learn how Fel found his wife (with or without the Rogues' help), and if Wedge and Syal ever met each other again. According to Wookiepedia, they met again at least once, but that seems to be a taken from a Fact File and not a comic or novel. In my mind, they never met again, since there is no indication that Wedge knows about Syal's and Soontir's children (and according to Wookiepedia, the first two were already born before they went to the Unknown Regions), but I tried to keep that - and the entire story of how Soontir Fel ended up in the Unknown Regions - vague. It might be slightly non-canon, though.
Also according to Wookiepedia, Davin was born 2 ABY and would in this case have died between 22 ABY and 23 ABY. The fanfic is supposed to take place around 23.5 to 24 ABY, with Jag already in command of Spike Squadron (which he took at about 23.5 ABY, two years before "NJO: Ruin"), and I mention that Davin died just some months ago. This was written before I learned that he was supposed to be born so early, and I decided not to change it, since the dates are still quite close and just approximately anyway (Davin could have been born at the end of 2 ABY and die in the middle of 23 ABY and still be twenty at that time).
In the comics, Syal claims that she is very fond of her brother, but in my opinion, she doesn't really act on it. I tried to address this in the fanfic.
I mention that they had to send Cem (the Fel's "shadow child") away. I do not know how keeping a child secret works in the Chiss society, but I can't imagine that it would be possible without having the child fostered somewhere else, at least for some time. But that is speculation on my part.