A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
VIPER SQUAD: A Star Wars Story
It is an era of uncertainty and doubt in the Republic. As more and more planets slowly distance themselves from the Republic due to internal conflict and corruption within the Senate the crime organizations, pirates, gangs and other petty criminals try their best to secure themselves a better life by robbing, pillaging and killing.
The Judicial service alongside the Jedi and planetary policing forces are trying their best to secure the peace wherever they can but due to the newly found Separatist alliance that is looking to overthrow the Republic and alongside many of the smaller civil and proxy wars that have shown up they have their hands full and are unable to help.
Task Force Viper which had been formed years prior and contains only the best soldiers that the Republic has to offer is tasked with saving a senator from the hands of a pirate gang. With time running out and the Galaxy coming ever closer to disaster will this small crew of men and women be able to do their job and secure whatever little bit of stability they could with saving one of the Galaxy's most esteemed Senators…
(Corellia, CORSEC HQ, 22 BBY)
Deep below the CORSEC building on Corellia, far below any other building stretched lay a secret complex, equipped with a shooting range, kill house, top of the range military weapon and equipment laboratories, a large office area where each member of Task Force Viper had their own room and a state-of-the-art military operations room. TFV was a super-secret group of soldiers, analysts and scientists which even many of the senators didn't know existed. It had been created 10 years prior to the Separatist crisis to more effectively combat acts of terrorism due to the Judicial services proving to not be enough to handle such threats.
All around there were two five-man teams and around forty staff members. Even though their numbers were low they were the best equipped and the most feared soldiers in the entirety of the known galaxy. The operatives led normal lives until they were called up for mission. They also had to undergo regular physical and mental check-ups showing that they were ready for duty whenever it called.
30 minutes prior both of the teams had been called in to receive their next orders. They were all assembled outside the briefing room in their casual clothing.
"What do you think its this time? Spice warehouse? Twi'lek trafficking?" Marcus, A-team's explosive specialist asked. Even though he was the youngest standing member he had been operating within the unit for four years.
"Hopefully something easy. I have a flight to Ord Mantell in two days," Flash said.
"Is it your family being annoying again?" Sage asked him. Sage was the second youngest member, being recruited from the field after he helped secure a train full of hostages. He was the only one who was ever recruited from the field without an extensive background in the military due to his natural skill with a blaster and good strategic thinking which saved four viper members on the mission.
"Yeah. They want me to help out on the farm," Flash answered, leaning on the wall with his back.
"Good day boys," Razer, A-team's leader and the oldest member of TFV alongside B-team's leader named Chief. All A-team members greeted him back with the exception of Mute who got his name from never opening his mouth except if specifically addressed. "Mute?"
"I'm good, Sir," he answered quietly. Outside of mission he usually avoided contact as much as possible unless he needed to use some people for portraits. He always carried around a sketchbook in which he drew things nobody knew since he never showed it to anybody.
B team was standing off to the side just chatting and laughing. Chief, Rommy, Duke, Hawker and Cutler were all long-standing members of TFV. They were all normal people with military backgrounds except for Hawker. He had the military background part but no the normal life one. Prior to joining the military there were no records confirming his existence and he had the most peculiar way of speaking. The only part of his background which was never confirmed was his homeplanet. His dialect along with the descriptions he gave about the planet he remembered very little about since he and his father left when he was five didn't match any known planet in the galaxy. He spoke of every imaginable biome, seasons and weather being on one planet. A handful of planets came to mind when he described it but when he got into the details people wondered if he was just making things up.
Then all of the sudden the door to the briefing room flung open and General Marleen's voice rang through for them to come in. A few moments later they were all standing at attention looking at the general who was pacing on the other side of the holo-table. The General who was a Corellian native was the brain behind every operation and also the man who brought forward the idea of TFV.
"A situation has developed on Alderaan," he said, pressing a few keys on the table's panel. A hologram of Alderaan appeared which gradually zoomed in, giving a birds eye view of a large mansion which turned into a 3D hologram of said mansion. "This is one of the countryside mansions owned by the Organa family. Senator Organa was hosting a meeting there when the mansion was attacked by pirates," he reported.
"Pirates, sir?" Chief asked in confusion. Pirates weren't usually the ones that conducted these sorts of activities.
"That's what the reports say. All the staff and guards were killed in the initial attack with senator Organa and the guests being held in the room where the meeting was taking place. The pirates' ships managed to somehow penetrate the mansion's shield generator and drop anywhere from twenty to fifty armed combatants around the mansion," Marleen continued. "There is a large orchard behind the mansion which will be your entry point. There are motion sensors placed all around the outer perimeter of the orchard and mansion so direct ground infiltration is impossible. Your main priority is the senator and his guests."
"Can't we just shut off the mansion's electricity to get rid of the motion sensors?" Razer asked.
"The Judicial forces present in the area tried that already but the mansion has its own power generator which has more than enough fuel to power all the defenses for at least thirty days. Any more questions?"
"You said that we can't get in on the ground. How will we get in because it doesn't really look like we could land anywhere without getting spotted?" Chief asked.
"Good question. Your answer awaits you in the lab along the rest of your gear," he said before stopping and putting his hands behind his back. "You have dealt with pirates many times before so it shouldn't be much of a problem. Now get out there and show them what Viper's about. Dismissed."
"Yes, sir," Chief said and all of them saluted the general before heading off to collect their gear.
"Rocket boots. Is this a joke?" Sage asked Doctor Chrome. The reason for the doctor's nickname was due to his prosthetic left leg and arm – both of which he lost in separate science experiments.
"No, this is not a joke. These boots are light, and the fuel canisters have just enough fuel to stop you from dying. Oh, and the canisters are detachable, so they won't obstruct you once you hit the ground." Chrome talked very fast, sometimes even speaking so fast that nobody could understand him, all the while he fiddled with his hands or hair.
Razer walked off to the other side of the metal table where a large box filled with two grenades he never saw before lay. "What are these?" he asked taking out one and inspecting it.
Chrome gasped and immediately ran to him, took the grenade from his hand and put it back into the box. "Do not touch that."
"Why not? We'll use them on the mission won't we," Razer said, reaching for one again.
Chrome slapped his hand away. "These are new experimental one of a kind EMP grenades. You can use them just like any other grenade but they haven't been properly tested so you should deem them volatile."
"Why are we gonna need these?" Marcus asked exiting the locker room which was only a few steps away from the table. He wore his full combat gear. Viper operatives were allowed to wear any gear they liked as long as at least seventy-five percent or more of their face was covered and if Marleen approved it.
Chrome walked over to the other side of the table to pick up his datapad. "I'm guessing this came in after Marleen sent you down here. The Judicials have sent in two probes that they have lost signal to at the same time. No gunshots or anything so they're assuming that there's a jammer somewhere in that orchard." He put the lid on the case and pushed it over to Razer and Marcus. "And before I forget. The effective range of these is ten to twenty meters and they don't forget they will fry your electrical equipment as well."
"Ten to twenty? How does that even work?" Marcus asked confusedly.
"It's because it doesn't – yet of course but once you come back and provide me with information I shall improve upon this design. Good luck gentlemen," he said before letting out a short nervous laugh.
"Take it up to the ship," Razer told Marcus who nodded and took the case while Razer went into the locker room.
The rest of his team passed him at the entrance all ready in their battle gear. He walked over to his locker and put his hand on the scanner, releasing the lock. He slowly opened the locker. On the door he had a few pictures of his late wife and child. Every time he looked at the pictures it brought back sorrow, but it motivated him to do better. About a year after he joined TFV they were called up to they were called up to resolve a hostage situation in one of the tram stations on Corellia. Things turned sour and the terrorists managed to blow up the station taking his wife and daughter among many other innocent civilians.
He quickly exchanged his clothes for his black long-sleeved T-shirt with an urban camo on the sleeves, black cargo pants, fingerless gloves and the boots that Doctor Chrome supplied him and his team. He then proceeded to put on his vest in which he carried thermal detonators, extra power packs and his trusty sidearm which was an A170. He then strapped his knife sheath around his forearm and quickly sharpened his knife before sheathing it. He kissed his palm and put it on his family's photo before taking out his balaclava, goggles and blaster rifle.
Slamming the locker shut, he slung the blaster rifle over his shoulder and put on his balaclava which had a single hole cut out for his eyes. Someone's mumbling caught his curiosity so he checked around the corner where B team's lockers were instead of heading out.
It was Hawker who was sitting on a bench. Razer never really knew the man well although he had been working with him for years, but he had never seen him do something this strange. He was holding a small book and a cross that was tied to a beaded necklace that flailed around in the air. He had drawn his two signature blue lines on his cheeks.
"Whit are ye lookin at?" Hawker asked tightening his grip on the book and beaded necklace. He winced when he saw that he said that to a superior. "Ah am sorry sir," he said immediately.
"It's not a problem. I shouldn't have been staring I was just wondering what you were up to."
"Ah wus mindin ma dad," he said. "This is aw he left fur me. Sometimes Ah read a bit ae it. Makes me mind 'im." Although he didn't speak much and minded his business through the few sentences he spoke Razer learned how to translate his weird dialect to basic as it wasn't very different.
"I know how it feels like to have so little to remember people by." Razer said staring at the floor, remembering all the good times he had with his family.
"Ah am sorry aboot whit happened there on thon day," Hawker said.
"We did all we could." A few moments of silence followed. "I'll meet you at the ship." Hawker lifted his hand in the air as a gesture of understanding.
(Alderaan)
Their Kappa-class shuttle was speeding towards the mansion grounds and it was only a minute or two away from the drop zone. The red light turned on illuminating the passenger area. The teams stood up from their benches and began checking their equipment. After checking Flash's equipment he tapped him on the right shoulder twice, telling him that he was ready to go. After the same had been done to Razer by Markus he put on his goggles and they joined the other three guys at the back of the ship where the ramp was.
B team was standing on the opposite side of the ramp looking just as ready as they were to head into the action. But instead of the confidence he always had Razer just felt like something was off. But he didn't have time to ponder as the red light shifted into a green one and he found himself plummeting through the chilly night air towards the ground below him.
This single chapter was much more fun to write than any of the previous ones in The Forgotten Order. I really thought this story through and so I hope that I will be able to present it to you in the best possible way.