Learning to Fly - A Star Wars Fanfiction - Part One of the "Balance" Trilogy

Morgan

    When her TIE entered the atmosphere of a planet, Morgan was met with immediate upheaval.
    "Identify yourself," a voice came over the comm. "Or you will be shot down." Great, she thought to herself. But curiosity got the better of her.
    "Where am I?" she responded. "What planet, what - What system is this?" she asked as she realized the navigational systems were fried.
    "Identify," the voice repeated. An alarm went off. Morgan's craft was being targeted.
    "Whoa, whoa! Don't shoot!" She jammed the comm button. "My name's Morgan Knight, I just escaped the First Order. I swear, I don't mean any harm. I -" she realized she was in a TIE fighter. "Ah. The ship. I stole it, swear on my life, and some Resistance guy gave me the coordinates. An X-Wing pilot? Does that mean anything to you guys?" She was getting more panicked by the minute. A pause, and her heart rate accelerated. Then the alarm stopped.
    "Permission to land," the voice informed her. She nodded, breathing heavily, relief flooding her every thought.
    "Awesome. Okay. Great." She sighed and dipped the ship down, looking for a landing pad. When she spotted one, she continued on her way.

As she touched down, she glanced out the window. Four soldiers had gathered outside the platform that was lowering. She swallowed, then made her way down the ramp. The soldiers stood up straight, watching her carefully. Then they parted and a woman walked between them, composed and graceful. She eyed Morgan carefully.
"Every bone in my body is telling me to arrest you but I don't think I should until I'm sure you're the enemy," she said with hesitation.
"That's nice of you," Morgan sighed in relief, then immediately forced herself to be polite off the woman's look. "No, really. Thank you. It's just... It's been a long day. But, I promise you, you've made the right choice, I'm not the enemy, I -" The woman nodded, holding back a smile and lifting a hand. Morgan went quiet.
"It's alright. I believe you," she nodded to the the soldiers beside her, who relaxed. "We'll get you a place to stay for the night. Then, we'll chat in the morning. Clear?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Morgan nodded quickly.
"Absolutely," she replied. The woman nodded, almost resigned. Then, without a word, she turned and walked away. One of the soldiers glanced at Morgan.
    "Follow us," he told her. They started forward, and she took off after them.

    Morgan wasn't able to sleep that night. The General had given her a room near the pilots' quarters to rest until further arrangements could be made. That didn't mean she'd made herself at home just yet. Eventually, the sun began to rise, and she could hear commotion outside her door. A knock. Then a woman's voice.
    "Can I come in?"
    "Yeah," Morgan replied after a slight hesitation. The door slid open and in walked the General, wearing slightly more casual attire.
    "I'm assuming you weren't able to sleep at all," she said, trying to make light conversation.
    "No," Morgan admitted. Then she caught herself. "I mean, I'm very grateful for the room and you allowing me to stay and, you know, not arresting me..." The General smiled.
    "You seem to be lacking the arrogance and the, and I quote, 'lack of respect for authority figures' your profile details," she told her.
    "Profile?" Morgan repeated, shifting on the bed, on the edge of which she now sat, giving a sideways smile. "What profile? What – What does it say?" She forced herself not to get distracted. "Why would you have a profile on me?"
    "We keep profiles on all of the family members of anyone who has ever been a part of our ranks," she informed her. Morgan frowned.
    "I'm sorry? You must have another Morgan Knight. I'm not related to any Resistance person. I haven't even met my parents, much less know them to be some 'rebels'." The General opened her mouth as if to say something, the closed it, deciding against it. Morgan swallowed. The General had made a mistake. They'd throw her out. Right? Then the General put a hand on the wall behind the bed. A screen flickered on, reading the lines on her palm.
    "Access granted," a monotonous voice spoke.
    "Information on Cade and Marian Knight," the General ordered. The computer paused, then lit up with file after file. Morgan's eyes widened. Images flew across the screen, documents filled with mission details, datapad video logs, and, much to her surprise, an image she'd thought had been destroyed many years ago. It was the one the General selected now. The digital photograph grew until it filled the screen. Morgan drew in a breath. It - It was. This was the only picture she'd ever had of her parents, the only other possession of her family that she'd owned besides her father's neckerchief and jacket. She could feel her eyes watering. They looked so... So happy. Marian was a fairly short woman, but her smile lit up the entire room as she hugged her husband, Cade. She had Morgan's dark hair and cerulean eyes while Cade had straw-blond hair and emerald green eyes. In this picture, however, some details that had been manually cut out of Morgan's copy were now visible. In the background were other people, some in casual wear and some wearing the uniforms Morgan had seen some of the very few Resistance soldiers at the base wearing: an orange jumpsuit and a white vest, adorned with the red Resistance symbol. They were all smiling, some drinking blue milk and others doubled over in laughter, particularly one man and the General herself, looking much younger. Morgan could barely look away from the screen, her guard having been lowered for the first time in a decade. She couldn't believe it. The General looked at her, eyes soft in sympathy.
    "They -" Morgan started, then swallowed. "I can't - How -" The General put a hand on her shoulder.
    "They were two of our best. Cade's father was one of the pilots that flew in the Battle of Endor. Soon after, Cade was born, along with Marian from two of our intelligence officers. They'd been friends for ages, but finally got together. Then the First Order grew in power and they were pulled right back into the fight. Cade was a gifted pilot and was deployed in one of our intel missions. Marian had been announced pregnant just two days before. He'd promised to be home to see his daughter's birth," the General hesitated. "He didn't come back," Morgan stared into space, body trembling.
    "How did I -"
    "Marian insisted on bringing the news to Cade's family herself. They lived in the Outer Rim. She flew in and they welcomed her. But the Rim can be unpredictable. They were attacked. Cade's parents were killed and Marian captured by outlaws. She died in childbirth soon after. The outlaws, not knowing what to do with a baby, dropped it off at the Ring of Kafrene on a supply run and took off. You know the rest. It's your story." Morgan looked at her, dead serious.
    "And the Resistance didn't do anything? Nothing at all to help?" Her eyes found the General's, who sighed.
    "By the time Marian contacted us, it was too late, and you were gone. We knew you were on the Ring. We sent men to find you. But they always turned up empty handed. You had seemed to vanish. Until Jay, of course, heard your name. He didn't know who you were at the time, just had a faint recognition. And now you're here," The General leaned in towards her. "I'm sorry. I really am. But it's over now. You're home." Morgan nodded.
    "I -" she rubbed her eyes. "I need some time."
    "Of course." The General nodded, getting to her feet. "I shouldn't have sprung this on you so early in the morning. I'll send someone to check up on you later, but you can have a few hours. Unfortunately, that's all I can offer. You may have noticed the Resistance isn't what it used to be. We've... Sustained some heavy losses." Morgan noticed bags under the General's eyes, which were a faint red like she'd been crying.
    "Thanks," Morgan nodded. It was all she could say. But she meant it.