Why?: Tales of Survors of Rebel Terrorism

Foreward:

We all know Rebels are a threat to the Empire, but what about the common folk? The people these Rebels are supposedly fighting for? What happens to the loyal citizens who are minding their own business just trying to live their life, content the way things are? They are usually those who are hurt the most by the thoughtless actions of these so-called "freedom fighters". These are the tales of the tragic consequences of the actions carried out by the Rebel menace. Families and witnesses were directly consulted for these stories and I've also researched in the Imperial Crime Scene Forensics database. The details may be graphic and disheartening, but stay steadfast my friends. We will ultimately prevail in this war and quash the uprising led by traitors and dissidents.

Many thanks to the brave men and women of the Anti-Terrorist Task Force (ATTF), and the survivors who let me tell their tales for them.

1: The Coronet Rail System Incident
Death Toll: 16 citizens, 24 troopers, 1 ATTF negotiator, 3 rebel terrorists
Injuries: 32 citizens, 7 troopers

Told from the perspective of Rald Tens a commodities dealer.

It was a slow night on the transit platform. Waiting for my train I saw only a few dozen board the trains heading for the other lines. Looking back I guess it's good that the station wasn't too busy, otherwise more lives would've been lost. My train arrived and I boarded, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I looked around the car and saw several other passengers, three sitting next to each other seemed a little nervous, but I paid it no mind. Perhaps I could have averted this? No, there was nothing I could have done. Plans were set in motion that night and the rest of us were along for the short ride.

I sat staring at the various ads displayed around the car, I saw one for the large toy store, S.B. Shaws, and thought about my sons birthday coming up. Then the suspicious passengers slowly stood up and one pressed the emergency brake switch (EBS) . The car came to a screeching halt and I was thrown from my seat, my momentum slamming me to the floor.
I stood up, my head aching from the impact, and I heard the odd passengers yell "Nobody move! We have a bomb!". A million things went racing through my mind but most of all was the thought of not being there for my sons birthday. I instinctively threw my hands up as did the rest of the passengers.

"What's going on?" Said a voice over the comm speaker "Why did somebody press the EBS?". "We're holding this train hostage" responded one of the Rebels "We want a negotiator here NOW!". "Okay, okay, we're making the calls now. Please don't do anything rash.". The minutes waiting for the negotiator to show up seemed like lifetimes. My arms were getting tired from holding them up for so long. One of the other passengers dropped his arms in exhaustion, his last mistake. One of the terrorists shot him dead and yelled "Nobody move! We will shoot!"

When the negotiator arrived my arms were almost ready to drop. He walked in slowly and stood in the aisle. The silence only seconds, felt like hours. "I am Negotiator Ryan of the ATTF. Tell me what you want and I'm sure we can all get out of here alive." I saw troopers outside surrounding the car. I had a very bad feeling about the outcome of this situation. "We want you to release our comrades from the prison on Dathomir." said one of the Rebels. "That's a pretty far-fetched demand" said the negotiator "We can arrange for your transport out of here".

"No, it's all or nothing!" the terrorist said, shifting the detonator around in his hand "Release them or this car is history!". Outside sharpshooters lined up their shots. "We have them in our sights. Ready to fire on your command." I heard on the Negotiators comm, I was standing close enough to hear it's very low volume. "Why don't we just settle this over some drinks?" said the negotiator. It was obvious to me that was code to shoot. The Rebels looked at each other puzzled when the Rebel on the left's head was fried by a blaster bolt, milliseconds later, the right as well. The third in the middle got struck in the shoulder and went down. He reached for his detonator and the negotiator ran at him in an attempt to stop him. It was too late.

I ran for the exit at the back of the train and leaped out as the train exploded behind me, the blast pushing me further in mid-air. I landed hard in the gravel around the tracks. I put my head down expecting more blasts. But apparently the Rebels used explosives that would only explode with a signal from the detonator. The explosives of the other two were destroyed in the blast. I blacked out and woke up in the hospital. I went through a long painful recovery but I got to see my sons birthday and that's all that mattered to me. I learned that most of the other passengers in that train died, but a few survived and we started a group called Survivors of Rebel Acts of Terrorism. Our group grew in numbers and we worked together to help each other with the mental and physical pain. The heroic negotiator now has a memorial fountain at ATTF HQ along with flowerbeds dedicated to every other victim including the troopers outside the train who were too close to the blast.
I've become good friends with his family. He had two sons, young men all grown up who wanted to follow in their father's footsteps. I've made lots of progress healing but I've never been able to fully recover from this ordeal.

Epilogue: S.B. Shaws donated 10,000 credits worth of toys for the children of the victims of this attack. Rald Tens is still undergoing therapy for his injuries. Negotiator Ryan's sons have joined ATTF and have become valuable agents in the war against Rebel terrorists. The Rebels who aided and funded this attack have since been hunted down and executed for treason. Survivors of Rebel Acts of Terrorism has become a major charity and support orginization, to which Lord Vader has donated vast amounts of credits to.