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Nathaniel Reed's
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:: An ongoing episodic story of fan-fic set after Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and inspired by George Lucas' historical draft concepts ::
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| November 2025 |
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Levy reveals major change for 'Starfighter'
30th November 2025 |
At the end of November, director Shawn Levy revealed that he has had to re-write the 'third act' of the in-production movie, 'Starfighter , which is due to wrap filiming in the UK at some point in December. He didn't clarify what prompted this but he said :
“There was something unexpected on 'Starfighter'. We had a whole different idea for something in the third act and then things didn’t align and I was forced to come up with a new idea. And I’m literally right now shooting that section of the movie. And everyday I’m grateful that the way I was supposed to do it didn’t work out, because the new idea that it forced me to explore is so much better than the original idea would have been.”
So, now we wait and see what the finalised movie brings us, and if we ever learn what the original plans were, and what had occurred to force the change....
In separate news on Shawn Levy's movie, the director also recently revealed that he has hired the composer Thomas Newman to score his film. On the face of it, this sounds a little odd, since Newman's discography and thematic style is often a reflective and sombre one, not necessarily associated with action-adventure stories... though I am aware that he has successfully utilised his music for tense scenes and action sequences in the past.
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| As I did with the progression of the Virtual Edition Episode X, I will post below sections of the prose for Episode XI as I draft it.... here, a disguised Han and Chewie, with Han's agent, Jayvis, arrive at Professor Floydwood's home....
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The residential sections of Imperiant City were sharply designed in a functional manner ; stylish in its geometry and use of line, but ultimately efficient and practical. The greater the affluence and elitist areas the more open spaces accompanied the structures, whereas the architecture as one descended to the working classes reflected the need to maximise the available space for mass housing.
As a scientist, as well as being afforded a research position on a confidential project, the Floydwood family were priviledged to reside in a single block of duracrete that resembled a crystalline structure of inter-lacing arms, with port holes and balconies. An amber-coloured double panelled hatch door at street level provided access, and it was in front of this that the still-disguised Han and Chewie, and their agent, Jayvis, stood awaiting an answer to the door-call.
The double door slid open, and a lavender-hued humanoid protocol droid appeared.
“How may I help you, gentlemen ?” the droid asked, with a feminine lilt.
“We’d like to speak with Mrs Floydwood, if she’s at home ?” answered Han lightly.
“Certainly sir, please wait here.”
The droid nodded, and the doors closed.
“I’ve got a bad feeling being stuck out here,” muttered Jayvis.
“It’ll be okay,” Han whispered back. “We won’t be long.”
“For what it’s worth,” came Chewie’s voice transponder, “I agree with Jayvis.”
“Thanks pal ! Let’s keep some optimism going here...”
“Well, I’m amazed Elsa was happy to wait back at the shuttle,” Jayvis remarked. “That must score us something...”
Han gave a surreptitious glance up at Chewie and raised his eyebrows.
Just then, the doors swished open once more, and a middle-aged lady with long thick brunette hair appeared. She was dressed in a blue-grey utilitarian tunic and trousers. She eyed the strangers with a little nervousness, recognising the Imperial pilot uniforms.
“I’m Mrs Floydwood, how can I help you ?”
“Your husband has sent us, Mrs Floydwood,” answered Han. “He has a request that he has bestowed on us. My name is Hux. Could we come inside for a moment perhaps ?”
Derra Floydwood glanced around the street anxiously, and then nodded. She stepped to one side, and gestured them in.
Han nodded his thanks, and the three figures entered the abode.
Inside, the hard geometry was softened by tapestries and lighting. The protocol droid stood to one side with two inquisitive children, an older boy and a younger girl. The boy was watching the newcomers intently.
“You said my husband has a request... ?” Derra began.
“Yes, indeed,” replied Han promptly. “Could we talk a little more privately perhaps ?”
Derra nodded and indicated a side room that served as a lounge space.
Han and Jayvis stepped through and sat on a long couch, while Chewie remained standing near the doorway to the hall. The heavy-set engineer leaned nonchalantly against the wall, and crossed his arms. Derra followed the two men, and stood before them. The droid and the children remained in the hallway.
Han shifted awkwardly in his seat, and then came to a decision. He leaned forward.
“The Professor has asked us to help him leave. He doesn’t feel safe about the work he’s doing, and he’d like him and his family to leave the city as soon as possible.”
Derra put her hand to her mouth and half-turned away.
“He did say he was concerned...” she began.
She glanced back at the two figures sat on her couch.
“But I’m sorry, I have two Imperial pilots in front of me, how do I know that you’re telling me the truth ?”
Han cocked his head to one side. He understood the paranoia of living in a surveilled society. “If we were here to arrest you, Mrs Floydwood, we’d surely have a few more troopers with us... ”
Han paused, then dropped his voice. “We’re from the Pan-Alliance, we’re here to get you and your family to safety !”
Derra’s eyes widened in shock. She took a step back and shook her head.
“No, no, this can’t be happening ?!”
Han remained seated, but reached out his hand towards her.
“No, I can assure you, this is real.”
“You’re going to arrest us !”
Han shook his head, and then paused once again as a new thought crossed his mind.
“Katya ! He’s doing this for his sister, Katya !”
“Kat ?”
Han nodded. “You’ve got to trust us ! And we don’t have much time ! We’re here to help you all, but we’ll have to go now !”
Derra looked down and spoke more to herself. “He had said he had spoken to his sister.”
This seemed to provide the resolution in her mind that Derra needed.
She looked back up to face Han and Jayvis and nodded with determination.
“Alright ! I’ll get some things together, and I’ll get the children to do the same !”
Han breathed a sigh of relief and grinned, and Jayvis clapped his hands together.
Derra stepped past them and the engineer to return to the hallway. She addressed the droid.
“Vander, can you help the children pack some clothes ? We’re going to be leaving immediately with these gentlemen.”
“Certainly madam,” responded the unquestioning service-droid. “Come along children, up to your rooms !”
The droid turned and the girl followed, but the boy stood his ground. He planted his hands on his hips, and scowled.
“I don’t like these people, mama ! I don’t trust them !”
Derra rushed up to him, knelt down, and gently held his arms. Han shot a quick glance at Chewie and to Jayvis.
“No, it’s fine,” Derra responded earnestly. “We can trust them, they want to help us. Daddy has sent them for our safety.”
“The Imperial Order isn’t dangerous. It provides for us, it gives us clear processes !”
“Ye-yes, it does, you’re right, darling, but sometimes we have to question what’s right...”
“Question the Imperial Mandate ? But my schola tells us the Mandate is True and Right !”
Han glanced again to Chewbacca, this time with an urgent frown.
The bulky engineer shifted on his feet, and swept his gloved right hand low.
“We also follow the Imperial Mandate,” said the tinny artificial voice transponder from under the helmet. “And we’d like you to pack your things and come with us.”
The boy and his mother glanced up at the engineer with the same puzzled expression on their faces. There was clearly an internal conflict in the young impressionable mind.
“You... you also follow the Mandate... “ he began with a stutter, “ ... and... and I need to pack my things and come with you...”
Derra’s mouth began to open, but Han stepped forward.
“That’s right, my young man !” he confirmed, with a smile. “Off you go !”
The boy looked to his mother, who nodded, and, without a second’s thought, he turned and ran up the stairs, his young sister and the service-droid following him.
“You’ll need to grab some things too,” said Han to Derra.
She nodded once more, and then also hurried upstairs.
Han glanced to his friend. “Thanks Chewie, you saved us there !”
“Don’t mention it,” came the metallic response.
Jayvis was looking at both of them, open-mouthed.
“Hey, guys, what just happened there ? That boy was going to wreck everything, and he just changed his mind, like that !” He clicked his fingers.
Han shrugged. “Yep, he just changed his mind. Kids, huh ?”
Han turned back to Chewie.
“Keep an eye on that kid, yeah ?” he mumbled. “And we’ll need to de-activate the droid. “
“Yeah, not a problem,” his friend replied.
Just then, the doorbell chimed. Han and Jayvis glanced at each other, briefly frozen.
“Stormtroopers, four of them,” came the answer from the engineer.
Jayvis glanced up at the engineer once more with incredulity.
Han nodded and beckoned his friend to follow him. He went to the door, and tapped the controls. The double doors slid open. Four stormtroopers faced them impassively.
“Floydwood residence ?” the lead trooper enquired. His white shell uniform, highlighted with the black lines on the upper limbs and helmet, also sported a single red stripe that curled over his right shoulder.
Han raised his thumb to point back over his shoulder. Four white helmets glanced up at the masked figure behind him.
The engineer raised both gloved hands and spoke.
“This is not the Floydwood residence. You have the wrong address. It’s three streets away to your left.”
Without a pause, the lead trooper turned to face his three comrades : “This isn’t the residence. We got the wrong place. We gotta go further round to the left.”
“Yes sir !” his escort chorused.
“You’re sorry you troubled us,” the engineer added. “You don’t need to come back here.”
The lead trooper turned back to face the two figures in the doorway.
“Sorry to trouble you, sirs. We won’t need to return.”
He gestured to his troops. “Come on !”
The four troopers marched off to their left.
Han laid a hand on Chewie’s arm.
“Thanks again, pal. I knew I was right to bring you along.”
Jayvis was open-mouthed and pointing.
“Are you a... a... Jedi ??!”
Han shot him a smirk.
“Not today, he’s not.”
There came a clatter from the stairs and the mother and daughter were descending, with the droid and boy following behind.
“Was there someone at the door ?” Derra asked.
Han shook his head.
“No, no one there...”
The droid piped up.
“My auditory and security sensors detected the door chime.”
“Yes,” answered the engineer, “We heard it too, but I think there was a fault. There was no one there.”
“How odd !” answered the droid.
Han clapped his hands together.
“Are we all ready ?”
Derra nodded, and turned back to face the droid.
“Can you manage here, and respond to all enquiries ? The professor will join us later. I can try and contact you on our family line,” she added.
“Of course, madam,” replied the droid obediently.
Han gestured to the door, and Jayvis led the family out. Chewie raised a gloved hand and gestured with his fingers. A click from behind the droid’s neck sounded, and it whined as it powered down. The figure slumped forward slightly, remaining in a standing position.
Han and Chewie exited, and the doors slid shut behind them.
“This way,” instructed Jayvis helpfully. “We’re on public landing pad Seven-Ten, just around the corner.”
At the Internal Security Headquarters on Imperiant City , within the Deployment and Tracking section, the duty officer’s desk pinged, and a query flag appeared on his screen. The detail of four troopers that had been sent to investigate the Floydwood residence were now moving further away from their subject of interest.
The officer reached over to a comms switch and flicked it.
“Trooper Alpha- LD-218, why are you moving away from the Floydwood residence ?”
The slightly muffled and tinny voice responded : “We had the wrong address, sir. We need to go three more streets along.”
“Are you sure ? One moment, let me check...”
The officer leaned over and pulled up a highways network schematic on another screen. The professor’s residence was clearly marked. But there was doubt in the officer’s mind, so he ran a separate check on references to the Floydwood family, correlating them, and triangulating them back to the address on record. It was the correct one.
He returned to the comm switch.
“Trooper Alpha- LD-218, you had the correct address originally. Turn around and go back there immediately !”
“But, sir, we don’t need to return there !”
The officer frowned.
“Why do you say that ?”
“The gentlemen at the door told us that.”
The officer thought for a moment, and then re-confirmed his instruction to return and investigate.
“And I’ll play back your helmet recordings to check what happened !”
“Yes, sir ! Returning now, sir !”
The duty officer swivelled on his chair, and accessed another suite of computers and their screen.
Trooper Alpha- LD-218’s helmet-camera showed an Imperial pilot and a suited and masked engineer answering the door. The larger figure raised his hands, and spoke. The trooper responded in kind, and then left.
The officer was puzzled, but knew enough of protocol to raise it. He tapped a few buttons, and then returned to his comms desk. He hailed his superior, and within a few moments, his supervisor appeared on the screen.
“Sir, we were tasked with investigating Professor Floydwood’s residence. At least two unidentified individuals were present, and they sent my detail of troopers away. I’ve re-assigned them back to the operation.”
The supervisor congratulated the duty officer, and then provided a directive. “The suspects are probably still at the house or nearby. Scan for any unusual activity in the area within the last hour. You should be able to track their approach and determine if they have a transport waiting for them.”
“Yes sir, and I’ll deploy more troops now...”
Public landing pad Seven-Ten was two streets away, and Jayvis led the family whilst Han and Chewie brought up the rear.
“A K’lor slug nest, huh ?” remarked Han to his friend as they walked quickly along. “I’m beginning to agree with you.”
Chewie, still contained within his bulky engineer’s suit, removed two cylinders from his utility belt, and began screwing them together as he loped along.
They turned a corner, and Han was relieved to see the small shuttle was still sat waiting for them and had not been impounded. Jayvis’ colleague, Elsa, was sat on the boarding ramp at the side of the ship, also seemingly patiently awaiting them.
“Elsa !” the pilot called out. “We’ve got the passengers with us, let’s get them settled in and we can be on our way !”
Elsa rose to her feet, her habitual duties taking hold once more. She rubbed her hands, and beamed a welcoming smile.
“Good afternoon !” she announced. “Please come aboard and make yourselves comfortable. This way please,” she said, pointing up the ramp.
As Derra led her children to the ramp, a whine sounded from an adjoining street, and four speeder bikes raced into view. The bikes turned sharply and came to a halt in a line. The Imperial soldiers jumped off, and two ran over to the shuttle, while the others intercepted Han and Chewie.
“Hold there !” ordered the lead trooper facing Han and Chewie. The second trooper stepped to one side and raised his assault blaster, while the two at the shuttle arrayed themselves either side of the ramp.
“Identify yourselves and your purpose here !”
Han nodded at his friend, who raised his right hand in a sweeping gesture.
“We are returning to our shuttle,” explained Chewie from under his helmet. “We are very busy and on a tight schedule. You can let us go.”
The trooper glanced over his shoulder at the shuttle behind him, and then back to the burly engineer.
“You’re returning to your shuttle,” he confirmed, and then turned to face his companion. “We can let them go, they’re on a tight schedule.”
The second trooper nodded, but the third trooper next to the shuttle stepped forward puzzled.
“Sir !” he called out. “What do you mean ? We need to hold them here until the others arrive.”
“Uh oh,” muttered Han under his breath.
Derra’s son had been following the exchange. He frowned and then pointed an accusing finger at the pilot and engineer.
“They’re not who they say they are !” the boy called out. “The big guy is saying confusing things !”
The lead trooper swung back to face Han and Chewie. He raised his blaster at them.
“Do not move !” he called out. “You’re under arr- -“
Chewie yanked his right hand over towards Han, and the trooper’s blaster flew across the space where it was caught by Han. The engineer then swept his hand back out in a quick sweeping gesture and the two troopers went sprawling.
As Elsa screamed, Han raised the blaster to his eye and fired at the third trooper who went tumbling. The fourth trooper splayed crimson laser fire out towards Han and Chewie, but a green glowing blade flashed into life with a snap-hiss ! Held one-handed, the sword cut a figure of eight in front of Han and the laser bolts were deflected harmlessly away. Han aimed once more and took down the fourth trooper with a single shot.
“Freeze !” shouted the familiar tinny voice, and Han and Chewie turned around : running up behind them and fanning out in a riot-attack formation were the first four troopers who had been sent to investigate the Floydwood residence.
A rain of laser bolts flew out at Han and Chewie. Han ducked and fired back, and one trooper stumbled with a glancing blow. Chewie swept his lightsabre in an arc and deflected some of the laserfire.
The lead trooper gestured and two of his detail moved to the left. He and his lieutenant began to move to the right.
Chewie pushed out his left hand and the two lead troopers were thrown hard against a nearby wall. Han traded fire with the other two troopers, and then they too were sent skidding across the ground with a Force-push.
Silence descended upon the platform.
Chewie deactivated his sword, and glanced over to Han.
“You okay pal ?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he muttered. “Thanks again !”
He saw the Floydwoods and Jayvis at the boarding ramp. Elsa seemed frozen to the spot, her face in her hands.
“They need to go,” he said to Chewie, “And we need to get the Professor !”
He looked around and saw the four speeder bikes.
Just then, there came the forboding squealing whine of starfighter ion engines.
“Jayvis !” Han called out. “Get them on to the ship, and get outta here ! We’ll push on !”
Jayvis raised his hand in acknowledgement, and then roughly pushed the two women and two children into the shuttle. The hatch slid shut, and the ramp retracted.
“Come on, Chewie, we gotta get over to P3 fast !”
Han ran over to the bikes and leapt on one of them. Chewie loped along behind, and hoisted himself over another.
They flicked the activator switches on the centre consoles, and gripped the handlebars. The engines revved, the brakes were released, and they shot away.
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| Nathaniel Reed, 31st October 2025 |
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