Chapter 1: That's No Shield…

"Let's move." Bravo Leader led the push towards the shield bunker. Along the way, the conglomerate met heavy resistance from Remnant Stormtroopers. Maroon Three went down from a shot to the head from a Remnant sniper, and Silver Lead took a round in the shoulder which left him unable to fight. Sila herself had been grazed in the arm once. She was now laying down fire with her modified DL-46 heavy pistol. She hit a Stormtrooper straight in the head and watched him crumple to the ground. "Stormtroopers on the right!" Bravo Leader said. "Maroon Squad, take them out!

"Light walker inbound!"

"Bravo-Four, deploy the dome shield now!" Bravo Leader ordered. A few seconds later, a one-way dome formed around the ragtag group. Just after that, a two-legged walker lumbered out of the forest and opened fire on them.

"Five seconds, sir!" Bravo-Four reported.

"Silver-Three, I need heavy fire on that walker now!"

"Yes, sir!" Silver-Three launched out of the dome with his thruster pack and broadsided the walker with a rocket. The head of the walker exploded in a fireball as the body lurched from side to side and then collapsed in a heap of metal and fire.

"Nice work!" Bravo Leader said. "Mop 'em up!" Sila slid in behind a fallen tree trunk and snapped off a few shots from her DL-46. She hit a Stormtrooper in the head with a single precise shot, causing the trooper to topple over onto another trooper. She heard a small thud as something hit the ground next to her.

"Grenade! Hit the deck!" A New Republic trooper shouted. Sila threw herself as hard as she could away from the explosive, but she still felt the brunt of the force that the grenade threw out when it exploded. She hit the ground hard and felt the wind fly from her chest. She coughed and wheezed for a second, trying to get air back in her lungs. She grunted as she hauled herself up, noting a wince of pain in her leg as she drew her heavy pistol again. When she tried to sprint back to cover, she found that her leg wouldn't respond properly, as if the joint in her knee had gone dead. She hobbled behind a tree and took pot shots with her pistol.

"We're almost there! Keep pushing!" Bravo Leader shouted. Sila pushed herself away from the tree and came face-to-helmet with a Stormtrooper. She instinctively took a step backwards before smashing her boot into the side of the trooper's helmet with a fast and powerful roundhouse kick. She paid for it a second later when her knee felt as though it was on fire as she limped towards the bunker, now just a few hundred meters away. A tap on her shoulder brought her around to another Republic trooper.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine."

"That leg doesn't look good. You should-"

"I said I'm fine." She picked up her pace just a bit. An eerie silence had fallen over the forest moon; as if everyone had just disappeared, except for the mismatched squad now advancing on the shield bunker.

"Stay alert. Stormtroopers could be anywhere." Bravo Leader said.

"Sir."

Sila had her pistol still in hand, and was now scanning the surrounding forest with it. A shuffle of foliage behind her made her whip around, pistol ready to fire, but she saw nothing. "Problem, Lieutenant?" Bravo Leader asked her.

"It's nothing. I thought I heard something behind us."

"Okay. Silver Squad, watch our six."

"Affirmative, sir."

"I'm not taking any chances here. Not with the Remnant sporting AT-ATs." Sila nodded in appreciation before picking up her pace to catch up to the rest of the team. When she caught up, the team was waiting outside the bunker. "Okay. We'll go in two teams. Omega-Three and Maroon Squad will come with Bravo in the first team. The rest keep watch. When I tell you to come in, you come in, got it?"

"Sir." Sila fall in with Maroon and Bravo squads, her pistol held tight in her hands. She was right in the middle of the single-file procession that entered the shield bunker. The inside of the bunker was as dark as dark could be. There was no way any sunlight was going to enter, because the entire bunker was sealed at every point. Even the air was filtered through an airlock at the entrance. It was bitter cold, in stark contrast to the stifling heat of the forest moon. Sila felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

"Anyone else really creeped out right now?" Someone asked.

"Stow it, soldier." Bravo leader said.

"Sir, power box over here."

"All right. Hit the lights if you can find them."

"Should be… here. Shield your eyes." Sila squeezed her eyes shut as the lights came on. When she opened her eyes several seconds later, she almost threw up.

"Oh…" She coughed.

There were dead bodies everywhere.

"Fierfek!" Bravo Leader cursed as one of his squad threw up.

"What's going on here?!" Someone shouted.

"I don't know. Stay sharp. I don't think we're alone here." Bravo Leader raised his blaster rifle and scanned the room.

"I don't think this is the Remnant's doing." Sila said. "Even they aren't this brutal."

"I agree. Eyes peeled." Bloody handprints dotted the walls as the team crept through the bunker. Through the entire bunker, there were no signs of life. Only corpses strewn about.

"Sir. This doesn't seem like a mass killing." Sila said. "The bodies are just strewn about, like they were disposed. I'm thinking that this was more of a place to discard failed test subjects."

"Why would they do that?"

"I couldn't tell you, sir." The final room in the bunker was filled with tables and terminals, none of which were operational. The tables, however, all had bodies piled on them. Blood was spilled everywhere, in some places making puddles on the ground.

"Sir, this is fresh blood. These people were killed recently." One of the soldiers said.

"That's not good. Let's see if we can find out how these poor sods died." Sila turned over with her rifle the first body she found and found a giant hole drilled in the corpse's skull. She could see parts of the brain still inside, while most of it was strewn on the floor as grey matter. The corpse's final scream was still etched onto their face, their pain never-ending. Sila felt her stomach turn on end as she struggled to keep herself from throwing up.

"Sir. You need to see this."

"Lieutenant, what's- Oh, by the Force." Bravo Leader averted his eyes when he saw the cause of death. "Poor sod."

"What were these people doing here? What kind of sick experiments was the Remnant doing here?" Someone asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Bravo Leader asked. "I certainly don't. I want to find this shield generator, shut it down and get out of here."

"Point taken, sir."

"This doesn't make sense. There's no shield generator." Bravo-Two said. "Did Command drop the ball or what?"

"Maybe we didn't search enough. Let's make another sweep. Silver Lead, come in." Bravo Leader commed. Dead silence. "Silver Leader, this is Bravo, come in."

"Sir?"

"Silver Lead, respond immediately." No answer. "Hazel Squad, report in." Static filled the channel. "What's going on here? Maroon Squad, go check on the others."

"Yes, sir."

"Omega-Three, stay close. I have a bad feeling about this."

"Makes two of us, sir."

"Bravo Leader, this is Command."

"Command, I read you."

"Get out of there now! That's not a shield bunker! Its-" The channel cut before Command could finish.

"You heard the man! Move!" Bravo Leader took off and was shot dead before he hit the door out of the room.

"Fierfek!" Sila cursed as several Stormtroopers clad in black armor appeared around the room. She drew her pistol, only to have it shot from her hand.

"You had your fun, Captain. Leave the rest alive." A deep and sinister-sounding voice said. A final person entered the room, clad in a black robe and a plain mask that shrouded his face. Sila noticed a metallic cylinder in the man's hand, and instantly knew that it was a lightsaber. "These will do. Take them alive."

"Sir." The troopers faded again. One by one, the Republic troops were knocked unconscious, until only Sila was left standing, dumbfounded at the speed of these new Stormtroopers.

"A prime subject. Perfect." A hand came down on the back of her neck which interrupted the electrical signals in her spine and knocked her unconscious.

"Good work, Captain. Secure the new subjects for transit. We can't run the tests in this… unsanitary environment."

"Yes, sir."

Darth Valir watched with a sly smirk as the Shadowtroopers rounded up the New Republic soldiers and hauled them off to the shuttle bay. He didn't like that he had to kill one of the soldiers, but if the soldier had gotten away, Valir's plans would have been ruined.

He had been surprised that there was only one female in the entire group. The Shadowtroopers had taken down several with the other squad outside the bunker, but in here, there had been only one. It struck him as odd, primarily because he had always known that the Republic was equal-minded in terms of gender. It made little difference to him, the tests would still run as planned. He had simply hoped for a more diverse pool of subjects to draw from.

"Have you found any suitable subjects?" Darth Reiniar, Valir's Sith Master, demanded.

"I have, my master. Several, in fact. They will arrive shortly."

"Good. The Warlord Project is running low on subjects. Return immediately. You must oversee the project for some time. The Master has need of me."

"I understand, Lord Reiniar."

Sila awoke to find herself strapped to a table, needles stuck in both of her arms and legs. For some reason, her whole body ached, and her nerves were on fire. Her mouth was dry and she had a terrible headache. "Subject-117 has awakened. Vitals are stable." A voice echoed over a PA system.

"Heartrate steady at ninety BPM, blood pressure is one-twenty over eighty-three. Count has leveled off just over eight hundred. Beta wave readings are off the charts. Very high levels of brain activity." One of the lab technicians reported.

"Good. Administer the next dose. Five hundred."

"Yes, sir."

A sharp lance of pain spread throughout her entire body and the only thing that she could do was scream. It did her no good, as the pain didn't go away. She was uncontrollably thrashing about on the table, even as the restraints held her down. She finally succumbed to the pain and passed out.

"Sir, her heartrate just went through the roof. One hundred, one-twenty, one-thirty bpm."

"Administer the sedative, now! We cannot lose her!"

"Sedative administered, sir. Heartrate dropping back into acceptable levels. Blood pressure still just above the acceptable level."

"What is it?"

"One-sixty-three over one-oh-five, sir."

"Count?"

"Leveling off at… fourteen-hundred."

"Let her recover for a bit. Twenty minutes, then administer another eight hundred."

"Sir."

Valir turned on his heel and walked out. After a full year of experimentation, Lieutenant Sila Dredger was the last surviving test subject. The Warlord Project had been unable to find any other suitable subjects after the Second Battle of Endor. Dredger had to survive. Valir was willing to do anything to make sure she did. Maybe with her on his side, he could get rid of Reiniar and end the pointless feud between the Jedi and the Sith. He passed several of the Shadowtroopers, but paid no attention to them. There were other matters that required his full attention.

When Sila woke again, she was still on the table, but she was no longer held down. Her arms and legs were completely numb by now, and a dull ache resounded in her entire body. She still had a headache, but it was dying down now. She arched her back and felt every joint in her spine pop. She had no idea how long she had been on that table, she only knew that she was stiff and in pain. She noticed that there were gaps in her memory, things that she should have remembered, she suddenly couldn't recall. It worried her that she was forgetting things. She was known for her amazing memory and ability to recall events in crisp detail. Now some things were a blur in her mind, and others were completely forgotten. She laid her head back down on the table and actually fell asleep seconds later.

"Sir… she just fell asleep on the table." The technician reported.

"What?" Valir asked with a chuckle.

"She fell asleep, sir."

"That's good. The experiments haven't interrupted her normal function. How are her vitals?"

"Stable. Blood pressure is one-twenty over eighty-five, heartrate leveled off about a minute ago at seventy bpm. She still has a lot of brain wave activity, though, sir."

"Then it's working."

"Correct."

"Can you administer another dose while she's asleep?"

"It could send her into shock."

"A small dose, then. No more than one hundred."

"Yes, sir."

"And were you able to recover her equipment?"

"Yes, sir. Why?"

"Familiar objects might set her at ease."

"I see. Yes. Everything is in the lockers in E-7."

"Good. Thank you." Valir strode out and went to the storage lockers where the Lieutenant's equipment was supposedly stored. While he trusted his staff, he wasn't ready to take their word on everything. They were still loyal to Reiniar, and no one knew what went on in that man's mind. If he was even a man anymore.

Valir opened the lockers and found everything just as it had been the day that Sila had been taken for the Warlord Program. Her rifle, which Valir himself had helped create the theory behind, her uniform and pistol, all were there. Valir pulled a small box and set it in the locker as well, hoping that he would be able to teach her how to use what was in the box. If he could not, the holocron that he had also stowed inside would be able to help her. No matter what, he had to make sure that Reiniar could be stopped. This pointless battle between Jedi and Sith, light and dark, had raged for ages upon end. Valir hoped that he could be the architect of true peace and balance in the Force. The architect of a world where there was no light and no dark, only the raw Force, which was not a crutch that was used when needed, but a tool of everyday life.

Valir sighed as he returned to the lab. "So now that you've made sure I was right, are you happy?"

"Very."

"Good. We're ready for the next dose."

"Has she woken up?"

"The last dose woke her up, but had no adverse effects."

"Okay. Let's do another two-hundred, then."

"Yes, sir."

"Sir… she's leveled off at thirty-eight hundred. She has surpassed the mark set by Lord Reiniar."

"Is she okay to continue?"

"I wouldn't test it, sir. She's already at a high risk of adverse conditions."

"Okay. Let's get her into recovery then. It's been two long years, but the Warlord Project is finally a success. Congratulations, gentlemen. You've done the Imperial Remnant a huge service." Valir turned on his heel and strode out, eager to report his success to Lord Reiniar.

And when the time was right, Valir would kill Reiniar.

You know, this chapter is a lot better when you listen to 'The Fall' from the Dragon Age: Inquisition Soundtrack while you read it.