Prologue: Strike Mission on Cyonox

The Cyonox Mines. A dark cavernous system of tunnels; even the most crooked of criminals would not dare to enter. Cyonox was a small planet that rested in the Unknown Regions. It was under recent discovery that the Resistance had found out that the Third Order was using it to hide something, something very important. Queen Aliceea, who had been recently promoted to leader of the Resistance, set out a small squad of Resistance spies to Cyonox, to find and retrieve the item of importance. The spies were sent off on a small shuttle, which had a cloaking device to hide it from any lurking Third Order officials. Piloting the shuttle was the legendary Captain Ryan Vangotta, a most trusted Resistance leader.

"Captain Vangotta! What do you think lurks in those mines?" Asked one of the spies.

"Let's be real, only a few Third Order guards, that's all." Replied the captain.

"Right."

After several more minutes of flying, the shuttle had reached its destination.

"Dear God, that's Cyonox?" Asked a spy.

"You're darn right it is.." Replied the captain.

The planet had long, vast rivers of green liquid, and the planet was made of black rock.

"No life form could thrive here…" Whispered a spy.

"I hope you're right." Replied another.

"Rebellions are built on hope!" Shouted back the captain.

"Yes, sir!" Shouted back all five spies and the general simultaneously.

Captain Vangotta pulled out a sketched map of the planet. He pressed his finger on the circled area and said,

"The entrance to the mines that we're looking for is at an abandoned Imperial base: Imperial Base 206 to be exact."

"Yes, sir!" Shouted back the spies.

The captain pulled the cloaking switch, and the shuttle turned nearly invisible. He then sped up the shuttle and flew into the green sky of the barren planet. As they flew close to the abandoned Imperial base, Captain Vangotta said,

"Here we are, boys."

"What kind of troopers are those?" Asked a spy.

"Dioxis Troopers. They're specialized in environments like this." Replied the captain.

Each Resistance spy, the general and the captain had equipped special gear just for this situation. Seconds later, the shuttle silently landed on the side of a nearby cliff.

"Alright men, I need you to go out and take down the troopers with your dagger sabers, with your cloaking devices activated of course, and then I'll meet you down there." Explained the captain.

"Yes, sir!" The spies shouted back.

"May the Force be with us!" Shouted Captain Vangotta.

The spies quickly departed the shuttle and darted towards the small base.

"Sparks, Blast, and Shadow, take the troopers on the left. I, Max, and Razor will take the troopers on the right. Move out!" Shouted the general.

"Yes, sir!" Replied the spies as they moved towards the troopers.

Leading the squad was General Silas. He himself had been on several dangerous missions before, but even he was somewhat nervous about this mission. Once the spies reached their targets, they activated their dagger sabers into the hearts of the Dioxis Troopers. General Silas took out his transmitter and said,

"Captain Vangotta, the coast is clear."

"I'm on my way." Replied the captain.

Vangotta jumped out of the shuttle and dashed towards the spies.

"Into the mines!" Vangotta shouted.

The spies nodded and they ran into the mines. Unfortunately, their cloaking devices would soon run out…

After eight minutes of carefully pacing through the dangerous, dark mines, they came upon a large pool of acid.

"Relaxing…" Said Sparks sarcastically.

All was calm and peaceful, but soon a low growling could be heard out in the near distance.

"Wait a second, what in the h###..." Mumbled Razor.

A dinosaur-like creature stood up from the shadows, acid dripping from its mouth. Its height was a total of three meters tall, and it was colored with black and yellow stripes. Upon its head were two small crests, and its top teeth rested out of its mouth. The creature let out a loud, ear-piercing roar, splattering acid all over the spies protective gear, giving away their location. The creature ran through the acid, as it could not only digest the liquid, but its scales were also resistant to it. The spies quickly ran out of the way of the beast, except for one, Max.

"Holy sh-" The beast snapped Max with its jaws, stabbing his stomach with its serrated teeth. The spy screamed in absolute pain as the beast shook him side to side.

"Let's get the h### out of here!" Shouted Blast.

"Wait! We have a mission to accomplish!" Shouted back the captain.

Blast and Razor quickly began to make their way back to the base, leaving the others to complete the mission on their own.

"Sons of…" Mumbled the captain, then stopping himself.

As Blast and Razor ran for their lives, the creature was chasing them from behind.

"Keep moving! Keep moving!" Shouted Blast.

"I d### know to keep moving!" Replied Razor.

As they kept running, the creature disappeared into the shadows. Blast and Razor took a moment to catch their breaths. They had wandered into an off-limits section in the cavern: the facility that held Project Terror. Drops of water could be heard in the distance, it was silent, too silent. Razor glanced over to see something immensely dark slowly moving in the shadows, but he thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him. The light tapping of footsteps could be heard in the distance, yet they were so light, that Razor thought nothing of them. They blended in perfectly with the drops of water. All at that moment, Blast grew a bit prideful, and he began to taunt the beast that had been chasing him and Razor.

"Haha! Son of a- UCK" Four sharp durasteel talons jabbed through Blast's heart.

Blood began to drip from his mouth; his eyes rolled back to the ceiling. Suddenly, the talons drew back from Blast's heart, and he fell over to the side.

"WHAT THE-" The claws sliced upwards through Razor's face, knocking him to the ground. Razor rolled around screaming as blood flew from his sliced mouth. A terrifying mask appeared in front of him, and then Razor felt horribly sharp jabs into his stomach. All the while, distorted laughter came from the dark figure. Finally, the talons jabbed into Razor's heart, causing blood to launch from his mouth. He was fortunately killed instantly.

Captain Vangotta, General Silas, and the remaining two spies heard the screams from the unfortunate Razor.

"What the blast was that?" Asked Sparks.

"Looks like that creature found some more lunch." Replied Shadow.

"No, that was no 'creature', I didn't hear any roars." Said General Silas.

"Stay together, we'll make our way to our destination, grab what we're looking for, and get the blast out of here." Said the captain, who was currently breathing heavily.

"Yes, sir." Replied the others silently.

Shadow stood up and walked forward, but he was met with a painful feeling.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH!"

Talons jabbed into his heart, and blood spurted from his mouth. The figure threw Shadow's spastic body onto Sparks, causing him to scream in… terror. The figure swung at Sparks, but in the nick of time, he dodged the attack.

"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Shouted Captain Vangotta as they ran through the mines.

"Where the blast are we heading?!" Shouted back General Silas.

"I don't have an answer for that!" Shouted back the captain.

"Of course not!" Angrily yelled Silas.

"AGH!" Sparks tripped and fell to the hard, cold ground.

Captain Vangotta turned back and shouted, "Sparks!"

"Go on without me! I'll just hold you back!" Shouted back Sparks.

"I'm not leaving without you, Sparks!" Replied the captain, activating his two vibro swords.

Vangotta had finally gotten enough courage to fight whatever was chasing them. The captain swung his weapons rapidly, trying to hit whatever was lurking in the darkness.

"OCK!"

"I hit something!" Shouted Vangotta.

In fact, he did. Captain Vangotta had sliced the dark figure up the heart. The captain moved his right vibroblade close to the ground and saw the horrific mask of the figure.

"What kind of trooper is that?" Asked the captain curiously.

"It doesn't matter right now! We need to keep going!" Shouted General Silas.

"Agreed. Take my hand, Sparks." Said Vangotta.

"Thanks, captain." Replied Sparks as he stood up.

"No problem."

After some more running, the three had arrived at a small station.

"This has got to be it…" Mumbled Vangotta.

The three cautiously moved forward, and Vangotta walked onto the command center and began searching for what he was looking for.

"Project Terror, Project Grievous… Ha! Project Epicenter. This is what we're looking for." Said the captain as he read the small screen in front of him.

Captain Vangotta began to transfer the data to his device.

"Come on, come on…" Mumbled Vangotta.

60%, 65%, 70%...

"Captain Ryan Vangotta! Is that really you? In my mines?"

Vangotta jumped from the shock, and then looked up and shouted, "Who the heck are you?!"

"None other than Director Jox Krennic!"

"Krennic in, Orson Krennic?!" Asked Vangotta.

"Spot on, captain! He was my great uncle!"

Ryan quickly jumped out of the command center, activated his vibro blades, and crossed them around the director's covered neck.

"You are under arrest, director." Said Vangotta sternly.

"Haha... not this time, captain." Said the director with a smile.

Two Third Order Death Troopers came out from behind him and pointed their powerful E-11D blaster rifles at Vangotta's face.

"Blast." Mumbled the captain.

"It's over, cap-" *blaster firing* "D#####! FIRE!" Shouted the director.

General Silas and Sparks were firing at the Death Troopers, a few of their shots hit, but it wasn't enough; they were fighting in the dark. Vangotta jumped back and decapitated one of the troopers. The other Death Trooper scoffed in his muffled voice and activated a green vibroblade. The trooper swung at Ryan, but he blocked the attack. He then countered with a slice at the trooper's leg, but it only chipped the armor. The trooper let out a distorted chuckle and continued to rapidly slash at the captain, Ryan doing his best to defend against the vicious attacks. Meanwhile, the director, Silas, and Sparks were having a blaster duel, they were seemingly firing without knowing where to aim.

"AGH!"

"Sparks!" Shouted General Silas.

Sparks had been shot by the director's DT-29 blaster pistol. The bolt chipped the side of his heart, and he was soon going to die.

"Avenge me, general…" Whispered Sparks as he slowly died.

"Believe me, I will…" Replied the general with anger in his tone.

The general picked up Spark's Glie-44, and along with his own S-5 heavy blaster pistol, Silas began firing both weapons at the director. Two blasts hit the director's shoulders, and he fell to the ground.

"B######..." Mumbled the director.

He then fired at the general's heart, and three bolts hit it directly in the center. General Silas flew back against the mine's walls, and he then rolled to the ground, spitting blood everywhere.

"General!" Shouted the captain, turning his attention to Silas' lifeless body.

"ACK!"

Vangotta fell to the ground, the Death Trooper's vibroblade had sliced him up the chest. However, the captain did not die, as Director Jox Krennic wanted him… alive.

"You're darn lucky I don't have you killed right now… But fortunately for you, I have.. other plans." Said the director, slowly getting up off the ground.

"Now, I'll let my master know of my victory…" Said the director with a sickening smile.

The director walked over to the device plugged into the command center. It was at 100%.

"You won't be needing this any longer…" Mumbled Krennic as he slipped the device into his pocket.

"D#####..." Mumbled the now fallen Captain Vangotta.

"The crystal..."

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