The Adventures of Hiram Abiff
By: Justin Knott
Chapter One Fall from the OrderI awoke to the shrieking alarm; "Alert enemy ships in bound. All hands to combat stations. Alert enemy ships in bound. All hands to combat stations." Before I could react the ship came to a screeching halt; I was thrown from my bunk onto the ice cold steel floor. I quickly gained my balance and grabbed my weapons, as I opened my door I saw Stormtroopers and Pilots scrambling from their rooms, whatever was going on it must have been bad; no one even acknowledged me. I began to make my way through the Crews Quarters and into the Bridges' Elevator Shaft.
"Captain Abiff, pirates are preparing to board the vessel." Admiral WaJabi BalCraine radioed over my Personal Communicator.
"I am on my way to the bridge, I will deal with whatever scum stands in my way." I replied. As I entered the main elevator to the bridge, a firefight began behind me. I turned to see four mercenaries, wearing full suits of combat armor, the Black Sun Emblem on their foreheads was clear, this was a full scale hijacking.
I took cover inside of the elevator and armed my Geonosian Sonic Blaster, I began blind firing down the hallway, I sensed a disturbance in the force, but I couldn't place what it was. I glanced around the corner and began shooting into the cluster of Mercenaries. The first one in the hallway took a sonic blast and flew into his comrades, before I could kill any more, someone shot the three mercenaries in the back. I spared no moment; I slammed the button inside of the elevator and went straight to the bridge.
As the doors opened I was surrounded by Black Sun Mercenaries, Admiral BalCraine was captured. I quickly pressed the down button and moved into cover. As the doors began to close the Black Sun Operatives opened fire into the elevator. I had no choice but to use the force to stay alive. This elevator only had two stops, Crews Quarters and the Engine Compartment, neither area had an armory or any hope for competent back up.
The doors opened into the Crews Quarters, I began making my way back to my room when a Zabrak female exited a room near me. She was wearing some Stormtrooper armor but had a DE10 pistol pointed at me.
"Master Abiff, it is a pleasure to you alive." She said.
"That is Captain to you trooper. Put your weapon down." I replied as I slowly reached for my saber. This must have been the disturbance in the force I sensed before, there were no Zabrak troopers, let alone a female.
"Trooper, no you must be mistaken, I am the feared Huntress Sophia Bennett, and you have a pretty price on your head Jedi." She replied as she shifted her weight into a Teras Kasi fighting stance
I could sense her muscles tightening around her pistol. "You must not be with the Black Sun, that puts us in a predicament. Before you shoot, hear me out." I replied.
"You have three seconds." She responded as she took aim.
"The ship is under control by the Black Sun, the bridge has fallen. If you help me retake the ship, I will pay you quadruple whatever my bounty is." I negotiated.
"An Imperial Captain asking for help, you are dumber than I thought, you don't make enough credits to pay me off. Sorry but this is the end of the line."
I could feel her heart rate increase, sweat was running down her face, and I was running out of time. "Look around you, the Black Sun will kill you, and foolishly thinking because I am an Imperial Captain means I a broke is a sad misunderstanding. Secondly, thinking you have the skill to kill me is incredible, I sense your fear, the fear of death. Aid me, and your reward will be more then you could wrap your mind around."
She hesitated for a second, and then muttered, "F-Fine, but once we get off of this ship, I want two million credits wired to my account, and then I will decide weather or not to kill you, and don't try anything stupid, Jedi"
I took a deep breath, "My quarters are down the hall, I have a few items that may prove usefu-."
"Captain Abiff, how nice it is to see you survived. And the stowaway, greetings. I am Overlord Oure and your ship is now mine. If you come to the bridge within the next five minutes, you will be spared, if you refuse, death is your only option. The timer starts now." Black Sun Overlord Oure said over the ships speaker system.
"He must have us on the surveillance system; come with me." I said as I began moving towards my room. "My chambers has no surveillance, we will be safe there, for now."
"I got your six, just keep moving, and keep your hands where I can see them." Sophia replied as she drew a second pistol.
As we got to my door I began entering my access code. "Damn it." I mumbled, "My codes have been changed." I began to smack the door panel.
"Hiram, we have a problem." Sophia said as she backed into the door next to me.
I turned to see a cluster of Black Sun Mercenaries with their weapons trained on us, the door to my chambers opened, "Captain Abiff, good to finally meet you. I am the ever grateful Overlord Oure, and this is my army." Oure said as he arrested us both. "Take them to the bridge with the Admiral." He ordered as he pulled out his personal communicator.
We were shuffled into the bridge so quick, they didn't even pat us down, the Mercenary escorting us forced us to kneel next to Admiral BalCraine in front of the communications panel. I could risk more exposure and get us out of this mess, but if the Imperials find out I am a Force Sensitive, it all would have been for nothing.
"Open the communication channels with the Imperial Fleet." Oure ordered.
"Yes Sir," a Mercenary replied, "all of the charges are primed and set."
"Wait, you can't blow the sh-" Admiral BalCraine shouted as a mercenary hit him with the stock of his rifle.
"Victory Class Cruiser Leviathan, state you're reasoning for diverting from course." The Imperial Grand Admiral ordered.
"Grand Admiral this is Overlord Draitlh Oure of the Black Sun, I have captured your ship, and three of its remaining crew, transfer twenty million credits to the bank account showing on your screen or we will kill them all and destroy the ship." Oure ordered.
"Oure, you must be mistaken; the Empire does not negotiate with terrorist scum." The Grand Admiral Replied.
"How about a demonstration?" Oure said as he pulled out a DXR-6 Carbine and executed Admiral BalCraine, "Does that work better for you, Sir?"
"Again the Empire does not negotiate with terrorist. Good Day Oure." The Grand Admiral said as he closed the communications line.
"Load the prisoners on my personal ship, gather whatever supplies you can find and blow this schutta to hell." Oure ordered as he exited the bridge and headed towards the docking stations.
"Let's go." A mercenary ordered as he tapped my back with his rifle, he guided Sophia and I into the docking chamber and onto a small vessel. The ship was much cleaner than I expected, we passed a room that had a poster that read "The Love Boat" on it. We continued down the hallway, the red carpet was soft on my feet, I could feel the difference through my boots. We were funneled into a small storage closet and the door was locked behind us. The walls were white with Kashyyykian Wood trim and ceilings.
"Well Hiram, guess our deal is off…" Sophia said as she leaned against the wall and slipped down onto the floor.
"Patience, hunter, this is not over yet." I said as I surveyed the room we were in, "There." I pointed to small vent in the upper right hand corner.
"Did you take a hit when I wasn't looking, we cannot fit through that vent." Sophia said as she smirked and mumbled "No wonder the Jedi are almost extinct."
"Make no mistake, hunter, I am no Jedi. Now give me your gloves." I said as I began pulling the vent cover off.
"Whatever, were dead anyway." Sophia replied as she pulled her Stormtrooper gloves off and handed them to me.
"When I give the go ahead, throw this vent cover at the door," I said as I handed her the cover.
"Ready in 3… 2… 1…" I counted down as she threw the cover at the door. "Hurry get into the ventilation shaft! Hurry!" I screamed as loudly as I could.
"Get ready." I whispered as the doors locks disengaged.
As the door opened, two guards ran into the room. I drew my lightsaber from under my jacket and beheaded them in a single swing. The hallway was darkened but the purple glow from my saber gave us enough light to find the door to the main chambers. Sophia picked up a DXR-6 carbine from one of the corpses, and a few grenades.
"Well Jedi, or whatever you call yourself, we still have Oure to worry about, and there is no telling what waits for us behind that door." Sophia said as she examined her weapon.
"Trust in the Force, for it guides us through many battles." I replied as I began slicing the door open.
As the door opened, we could hear music and saw flashing lights coming from a stairwell at the other end of the room. We began slowly moving through the main corridor, that appeared to be empty and deserted.
"Attention on Deck, please observe the view out of the starboard windows and see the Imperial Victory Class Star Destroyer Leviathan." Oure said over the loud speaker, "The Empire does not want to pay us, well they are going to need to build a new ship. FIRE IN THE HOLE!" he screamed as small detonations began breaching the Leviathan's hull. Within seconds the entire ship was engulfed in flames, and then the main detonation. The blast was so large we could feel it, the entire ship split in two and exploded into tiny pieces. "Now that is what I call a show! More slaves to the Bridge!"
Large chunks of the ship were hurling towards us, I thought for sure we were going to be hit, and then the sudden jolt and glorious blue light, hyperspace. "Hyperspace, take a breath, we have to get to that bridge." I said to Sophia as I began moving towards the stairwell.
As I crept up the steps I could see a few Twi'Lek slaves dancing around the bridge. In the Captain's chair, Oure, and at least six guards and another two co-pilots.
"Sophia, take the guards on the left, I'll take the right and handle Oure." I ordered, Sophia nodded and we began making our way up the steps. As we reached the top Oure saw us, before he could react Sophia opened fire on his guards. I drew my saber and cut my way into the main compartment of the bridge. I killed the slaves and the co-pilots before turning my blade to the neck of Oure.
"A Jeddai, interesting." Oure said as he pulled his head back into his chair.
"Take your mask off Oure, I want to look into your eyes," I said as I gazed into his face, "Sophia contact Imperial Command."
Oure removed his mask and stared me down; I took his Republic Blaster from his holster and put my saber away. "This is a restricted military frequency; state your name and clearance code."
"Captain Hiram Abiff, Clearance Code C-D-T-G-I-9-0-4-5-6-6" I said.
"Captain Abiff, we have records that you were killed in action today." The Imperial Private stated.
"Tell Grand Admiral Thrawn that the Leviathan is lost, we are the only surviving crew, and our captor Black Sun Overlord Oure is now dead." I reported as I pulled the trigger and killed him with his own pistol. "I will make contact once we are back in Imperial Space, Abiff out."
Sophia closed the communications channel; "So now what?" she said as she wiped blood off of her chest plate.
"You have an option, I can transfer you five million credits for your assistance, and as a show of good faith I won't have to kill you." I said firmly as I holstered the blaster.
"Or?" Sophia questioned.
"Or, you travel with me, the force has brought us together for a reason. I do not want to be foolish and ignore the call. If you choose to leave, I will transfer your money and drop you off on Nar Shadda, if you wish to stay, I need to find out who hired these mercenaries. Your knowledge of the underground would help, and the rewards will be plenty." I said as I began to plot a course for Nar Shadda.
"Well Jedi, should I call you Jedi? Anyway it looks like you have a partner and a damned good one as well." Sophia said with relief.
"I sense a great future for you, but for now, get an inventory of the ship while I get us to Nar Shadda. " I replied as I plotted new hyperspace coordinates. "Oh and I almost forgot, your ties to the Bounty Hunter Order, Guild, what have you, are to be severed. No more hunting while under my command. Do I make myself clear Sophia?"
"Sir, Yes, Sir." She replied as she exited the bridge.