Author's Notes: I had decided to go back and rewrite the Prologue in order to give a more consistent flow to the story and to give better homage to the spirit of the Oliver Bowden books. It was his Assassin's Creed stories that had inspired me to write in this genre and to see this series as more than a mere video game, but rather as a tale of heroes and villains in romanticized periods of time.

Please note that starting with Chapter 22, this story will be moved to the Assassin's Creed crossover section of this site. A canon Star Wars character had made a cameo in Chapter 22, and with that character's inclusion, I am obliged to abide by the rules of the site. Thanks for the continued interest, and know that there is more to come of the story. I just wanted to forewarn anyone who is reading that you will have to look in Crossovers for the remaining chapters.

One clarification: There was a review posted that references the Assassins and Jedi as one in the same. In this story, they are separate entities, as the time frame involved is during the nine months after the Battle of Yavin after the Death Star was destroyed. The Jedi are all but extinct in this period of Star Wars history.

I hope I have captured the spirit of Assassin's Creed and Star Wars, and that I have done justice to weave an enchanting fairy tale with these worlds.

Disclaimer: While I do not own either Star Wars or Assassin's Creed, I am making claim on the characters that are of my own creation. There is no money made from this hobby, but that doesn't stop my imagination from conjuring up new stories.

Summary: A fairy tale-esque Assassin's Creed involving two strangers from very diverse existences, each with their own secrets. This is not a true crossover, but an AC story that is merely using the Star Wars galaxy as the setting.

Assassin's Creed: Choices

Prologue – The Galaxy Hates Me

It had been nearly nine months since the Death Star had received its fiery end at the hands of a Rebellion that dug its way out of oppression. While they had their underground networks of intelligence and resources, there was also another network hidden even deeper that was further splintered throughout the galaxy. They were spread thin, but their invisibly bladed hands pushed cogs in secret that would give favor to the Rebellion.

Those who existed in that invisible network had hoped that the end of the Death Star had been enough to push the Empire into receding. For the years building up to the Empire, the oppression it sought had been nothing less than the mighty ocean waves that crashed against the pylons into a billion water droplets. While those water droplets were no more harmful than a passing rain shower, the swell had managed to begin anew, and when it had, it brought with it a more dangerous crest that had loosened the rocks upon which it struck. And, if those rocks of Rebellion continued to receive such sustained assaults, the shoreline would be left defenseless, allowing the ocean of the Empire to take all that is in its path.

The dark shadow ran without pause, reflecting on how that moment of peace at the end of the Death Star had been brief and fleeting. While he had enjoyed that hiatus as a time to get back to regular business without the Empire being a constant thorn in his side, he sensed it would not last. With the Empire turning tail and hiding to regroup, it had made it so much easier to see certain political figures and power-hungry individuals have their reigns of terror ended. The citizens on those worlds would never realize the opposing factions that moved about in the shadows, and every one of them in that deep underground network preferred it that way.

Unfortunately, this dark shadow was just one of the unlucky few for whom the galaxy always seemed to find pleasure in tormenting. Sliding under a closing hydraulic door, the shadow realized the Empire had been quickly getting back on its feet after that Death Star defeat, and the galaxy had decided he would be a good candidate for life's ironies, the obvious of which was the fact that he had a small contingent of stormtroopers chasing after him.

Thinking back on it, he had decided that it was not his fault that the Imperial, Lord Yaron, just happened to be carrying the one data chip on the entire continent that he had been tasked with retrieving. It should also not be his fault that Yaron had been foolish enough to leave that data chip on a table where the shadow had easily swiped it. And, it should not be the shadow's fault that the moment he had managed to grasp it in his hands that Yaron had come back into the room with an Imperial courier who was to take the chip elsewhere. Additionally, the shadow believed that it should not have been his fault that he was forced to defend himself in order to get that data chip where it would be most useful. And, it should not have been the shadow's fault that he had to kill six stormtroopers in order to get himself out of the business office of the now-deceased Lord Yaron and his just-as-dead courier.

But, the galaxy thought for some reason that he should be at fault for that, even though the data chip he had in his possession contained the clearance codes needed to remove the trade blockade from this world.

Running up the side of the warehouse building in the Imperial sector, the shadow found the slightest imperfections in the material that he could use for hand and footholds as he made his pursuit to higher ground. He needed a better perspective of the area he was within in order to find the quickest and least-resistant path to safety.

As he moved along, he took relief in the knowledge that stormtrooper armor was not built for the kind of agility he was gifted to possess. However, the only way to really get more distance between him and the remainder of the stormtroopers below him was to drop the thermal detonator that he had stolen from Lord Yaron's office. As the small explosion pocketed the ground beneath him, the shadow felt that rolling wave of regret and relief wash over him, as he had finally ended the determined stormtroopers' pursuit of him.

Feeling the burn in his lungs for air as he reached the peak of the rooftop, the shadow glanced downward, taking inventory on the land below. His eyes concentrated on the landscape, his irises deeply studying the obstacles blocking his pathway. In seconds, he had finally found the perfect open-faced cart, over-stuffed with leaves that were removed from the freshly-trimmed tree in the yard below.

Sending his feet into the empty space at the end of the roof, the shadowed man inhaled that sweet, night air and took an exhilarating leap of faith into freedom so that he could use the data chip in his pouch to give freedom to others.