Exiles: Strangers in Time – A Force to be Reckoned With
Part 2
The stolen Separatist vessel, a Wayfarer-class transport, made its halt far from the man-made moon of destruction, opening its hailing frequencies to contact the space station itself.
"This is the Daunting Shadow, requesting permission to dock. Transmitting ID signatures. Over." Kup spoke up in Qui-Gon's stead, taking the precaution should Tyrannus or Anakin recognize his voice. There was a long period of silence, leaving the Exiles on the edge of their seats. The cargo bay was spacious enough for Kup to fit inside without transforming into his vehicle mode, so all worked well enough there.
"Roger Roger." A mechanical voice replied over the loudspeaker, the shields on one of the docking bays lowering to permit them entry. Qui-Gon breathed a sigh of relief as he brought the shuttle into dock, hoping that this bit of fortune would continue until their mission was over.
Upon landing, Qui-Gon and Legion exited the shuttle only to be greeted by a squad of battle droids who remained at ease while their commander spoke.
"What's in the shuttle?" The commander asked in a squeaky and quite annoying tone.
"Supplies." Qui-Gon bluffed, his clothing nothing like that of a Jedi but more of a Techno Union mechanic. "We've brought a supply truck to use on the more arid, mountainous worlds to aid in the battle against the Republic."
Though the droids could not display facial expressions, the commander nodded and waved Qui-Gon and Legion onward. All the while, Qui-Gon had been masking the presence of Krumm, Fionna, and Sam from the droids sensors as they moved silently towards the ventilation shafts.
"You're sure they can't see us?" Krumm whispered as he tiptoed ever so slowly towards a vent.
"Qui-Gon said they shouldn't be able to detect us." Fionna said as she looked over her shoulder as Legion and Qui-Gon were escorted away. "It looks like it worked."
Sam drew his barrow blade and placed it between where the ventilation grate met the wall and gave a slight pry, the grate falling into Fionna's waiting hands. The teen set down the grate and ushered Krumm and Sam inside. Fionna followed, setting the grate back in place to further mask their presence.
"Okay," Sam reached into his shirt and pulled out the small holo-projector as they surveyed the interior of the Death Star. "this is where Qui-Gon said we need to go." He pointed to a wide array of air shafts that snaked throughout the station, but Krumm seemed to pick up on them very quickly.
"This way!" Krumm took off quickly yet quietly, guiding the two further into the space station. Sam followed closely while Fionna kept up the rear.
"Hey guys?"
"Yeah Krumm?"
"How do we shut down a security system?"
Fionna and Sam exchanged quick glances, each of them cursing the fact they hadn't asked how to do it.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Kup remained in the spacious cargo bay of the ship, patiently waiting for the signal from Qui-Gon.
"You don't have anythin' like this where you're from, do you?"
"Oh heavens no!" Fluttershy shook her head. "In fact, I've never even seen anything like this in my entire life. I'm... not much for flying."
"But you've got those wings on your back. Don't tell me you don't use 'em..."
"I do of course! It's just that when it comes to flying high and fast I'm just not as good as the others."
Kup pondered a moment and rubbed his chin. "You mean your friends back home?"
"Oh yes sir." She nodded. "Rainbow Dash is probably the best flier I know. She's the best in all of Cloudsdale!"
"I know some pretty fancy fliers myself, but none of 'em are anythin' like you. Mostly 'cause we can transform into cars, planes, and the like."
The two sat silently for a moment, each of them shifting nervously as the anticipation grew. Kup was more interested in getting into the action whereas poor Fluttershy was hoping that there would be no action at all. She just wanted to go home.
"We might need your wings on this mission, Fluttershy."
"O-oh goodness no! We mustn't depend on my flying for anything. W-we would be better off letting the others-"
"Don't sell yourself short! You've got 'em for a reason, and you're part of this team for a reason. I know it ain't to be shy and in the background." Kup reassured the pegasus, offering her a kind wink. "We're gonna get through this. I'd bet my energon on it."
"Wait here," The droid commander ordered as Qui-Gon and Legion were placed within what appeared to be a room used primarily as a shipping office. This meant that they were still on the hangar level but a little further away than they had expected to be. As the droids shut the door behind themselves, Qui-Gon ensured that the door remained closed with a very modest use of the Force.
"Surveillance?" Qui-Gon mouthed, as he made hand motions that made it seem like he was talking about something else. Legion's single eye flashed and shut down the lone camera that had been monitoring the room.
"All audio and video surveillance within this room has been neutralized."
"Good. It won't be very long until someone notices, however." Qui-Gon reached into the pack Legion had been carrying and redressed himself in his Jedi robes, making a motion for Legion to secure the room. The geth complied readily, removing his weapons from the pack to arm himself.
"I apologize, Legion." Qui-Gon waved his hand to open the door of the room. "I will not be accompanying you for the rest of your mission. I will try to buy all of you some time until you reach Anakin. Proceed as planned."
"Acknowledged. We will proceed as directed. May the 'Force' be with you, Master Qui-Gon." Legion nodded and readied his assault rifle, exiting into the hallway with the aged Jedi Master.
Although the remark had been lost on the geth, Qui-Gon managed a smile before taking off down the opposite hallway. The sounds of droids arming themselves and raising an alarm could be heard...
… accompanied by blasterfire.
"What was that?" Sam asked as the sounds of blasterfire echoed within the ventilation shafts.
"Master Qui-Gon has provided us with a distraction. This terminal suggests haste in current objectives."
"And what was that?" Sam asked again as the Tallus lit itself up on his arm.
"We have taken the opportunity to study the 'Tallus' given to us for the purposes of our mission. Analysis shows that we are able to communicate via the Tallus and any temporal exile with a mere thought. Since this terminal is incapable of 'thought', we merely hacked into the Tallus for ease of communication with other temporal exiles."
"Okay, it's just Legion. Speaking in our heads..." Fionna held her head as the thought of a robot using telepathy was just too much for her to handle in one day on top of everything else.
"Affirmative."
"Hey! Maybe he can help us out here." Krumm thought aloud as they popped open one of the ventilation shafts.
"You're onto something, Krumm! Legion! Can you direct us to the security on this level?"
"One moment. Processing... Your current location is directly above a room adjacent to the main security controls for this level. Proceed with caution."
"Got it!" Fionna reached into her pack to pull out the sword that Prince Gumball had given her, although in reality it was an item the Ice Queen used to trick her. The human teen swung down into the hallway, landing in a crouch as she helped Krumm and Sam down from the shaft.
"How do we get in?" Sam asked again, though as if fate were messing with them, the doors slid open to reveal two bulbous eyed, blue skinned aliens with wide, toothless mouths.
"What is going on here?" One of them asked, his mouth movements slightly off from his spoken words.
"Hold your noses!" Krumm released a horrid stench from his body, causing the two aliens to collapse into heaps just inside the doorway. Sam and Fionna had been quick enough to spare themselves from breathing in the noxious fumes of Krumm's armpits. "Hehehehehe!"
"Good... going, Krumm." Fionna still held her nose and gave the monster a pat on the back as they worked their way into the room. Computers lined nearly every wall and the central console sat upon a circular dais surrounded by a half-circle of more smaller computer terminals. If anyone was more familiarized with technology it would have been Fionna, but even she seemed stumped.
"Still there Legion?" Fionna spoke up, motioning for Sam and Krumm to keep their eyes out for anyone who could be coming towards the security room.
"Negative."
"Goo- wait. You're just now speaking to me! Just now!"
"This terminal has relocated since our last communication."
"Don't be so literal! Ugh! Anyway! Can you help us out?"
There was silence.
"Legion? Legion!" Fionna called out, catching the worried gazes of both Sam and Krumm.
"EEEP!" Fluttershy cried out, ducking behind some of the goods within the cargo bay. The easily startled pegasus peeked out ever so slowly. "W-what's that noise?"
Kup raised his head and turned it in the direction of the sound. "I know my hearin' ain't as good as it used to be, but that sounds like gunfire." Kup rose to his feet, keeping his head down as he walked to the nearest wall. Through the thick metal plating on the ship he could hear the battle more clearly.
"Sounds like someone's been found out." Kup turned to Fluttershy, unsure of what to do. Should he stay here and not know what was going on outside of the ship? Or should he take her with him in order to ensure the safety of one of their allies.
"C'mon Fluttershy! We gotta help 'em!" With that being said, the old Transformer reverted into his vehicle mode and waited for the pony to climb into his truck bed "If you wanna get back home to your friends, we gotta look out for each other!"
"B-but... I'm scared!"
"Think of your friends where you're from: what would they do to save you?"
Fluttershy didn't even have to think of an answer. The images of Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity flashed in her memory and all of which would have easily rushed to her aid.
With a deep breath, Fluttershy hopped into Kup's truck bed and gave a resolute nod.
"Let's go."
Qui-Gon panted as he slashed through the last of the battle droids, leaving piles of mechanical scrap strewn about the hallways of the Death Star. The aged Jedi Master was about to put away his lightsaber when he overheard the ominous metallic rolling coming down the opposite hallway. Two destroyer droids unfolded to block the one hall while more rolling could be heard. In moments, Qui-Gon was surrounded.
"You are here for Skywalker, Jedi?" Came a hissing female voice, the cloaked figure making her way between a pair of droidekas. "He knows that you are here..."
"Then take me to him!" Qui-Gon demanded.
"Such impatience for a Jedi..." The woman pulled back her hood to reveal her pale skin and bald head, her eyes a pure milky white and her clothing nothing more than a few bands of cloth around her chest and a dark skirt that covered her legs.
"Ventress! If Anakin knows I am here, why has he not come to face me himself?"
The woman grinned wickedly. "Because I refuse to allow him the pleasure of slaying you. It is I who should be the Dark Lord's apprentice, not him! And by slaying my Lord's former pupil I hope to make the evidence far clearer to Lord Tyrannus."
"Your views are twisted, Ventress. Allow me to take Anakin back with me and you will most certainly have your wish." Qui-Gon tried to barter, though he knew his words were falling upon deaf ears.
Ventress inhaled deeply as she focused her mind, not worried so much about the Jedi making a move as the four shielded droids kept their lasers trained on him. "You've brought others... eight others..."
Although Qui-Gon was sure that it had only been the seven of them, the Exiles and himself, he had been far too focused on shielding their presence to notice who Asajj was speaking of. His eyes went wide with fear before turning his head in the direction of the hangar.
"Luke! Come back!" Leia called out to her brother who had departed the ship shortly after Kup and Fluttershy. "I told you we gotta stay in the ship!"
"I'm just scoutin', Leia." The child said as he snuck about the massive hangar, peeking out from behind one of the cargo crates that had been left behind. He ducked down when he heard the doors at the far left open, the metallic steps of a figure far heavier than any battle droid echoing throughout the hangar.
"This is the ship?" A voice was soon placed to the sound. One slightly metallic and grating yet more natural than that of a droid.
"Yes sir, General. It boarded just moments ago. The entire level is on alert and the above and below levels are locking themselves down as we speak." The droid commander explained.
"Good." The figure slowly loped further into the hangar, metallic claws clicking with every step. "And the intruder is a Jedi?"
"Luke!" Leia called out again, tugging furtively on her brother's cloak. The other boy hushed his sister and clamped his hand over her mouth to shush her.
"Yes, General. We think he stowed away on the ship and brought reinforcements."
"Luke," Leia whispered. "what do we do?"
"We gotta get out of here." The young boy had to think quickly as the metallic footsteps seemed to draw closer.
"I will inspect the ship myself. Keep your eyes open for any sign of the Jedi or his companions." Grievous hissed, his cloak draped across his body to make him look more like a ghastly spectre than a mostly mechanical general.
"Leia." Luke pointed to an empty, overturned crate. "We're gonna play hide-and-seek." The child grinned at his sister, holding her hand tightly before making a dash towards the empty crate.
Legion ducked into an alcove, prepping his rifle once again as throngs of droids continued to converge on his location. The geth had handled far worse odds alongside Commander Shepard, so this was simply nothing to him as within moments he had already hacked into several of the droids central processors.
Droids fired upon droids, giving Legion the covering fire needed to reposition himself as he sprinted down the hallway, elbowing the hacked droids on his way past. They did not fire upon him and kept their blasters trained on their unfortunate comrades until none were left standing.
His central eye flashed as his sensors picked up other sounds coming from the X-shaped hallway as three destroyer droids rolled up and unfurled to place their shields. Legion attempted to hack them quickly but it seemed that their systems were a bit too complex to take over within a matter of seconds. The geth ducked down one hallway route, back to the wall as the droids opened fire and slowly approached.
"EEEEEP!" Fluttershy cried out as she ducked down and held on for dear life as the transformed Kup barreled into one of the three droids who turned to open fire upon him instead. Several blaster shots rang out and pierced through Kup's metal plating, causing his control over himself to waver just a bit before skidding to a halt.
"Are you... okay, Fluttershy?" Kup asked, his voice sounding labored.
"Y-y-yeah..." She replied shakily.
"Good, 'cause we're makin' another round!" His tires peeled out on the floor as he struck into the other two droids, taking heavy fire once again but not before rolling over one completely and pinning the other to the wall. The Autobot transformed, his face rather dented and scratched as well as several fluids leaking from his wounded body. Kup stood the best he could but collapsed to one knee.
"Massive damage sustained. Suggest returning to terminal for repairs." Legion made his way from the hallway towards Fluttershy and Kup, scanning the old bots wounds.
"Naw, this ain't nothin'..." Kup coughed, his hand covering his mouth to hold in the purple fluid that was filling it.
"No! You're seriously hurt!" Fluttershy made her way to him, unsure of how to go about mending a robot. "W-what do we do?" The pegasus looked expectantly to Legion, hoping another robot would have a more definite answer.
Legion straightened up and turned his head to the far hallway. "Primary objective is to obtain Skywalker. Overriding objective is to ensure safety of teammates. Conflicting objectives. One must choose."
"Ch-choose? We can't leave him!" Fluttershy tried her best to help pull Kup to his feet, but his body was far too heavy for her to lift.
"G'on! I'll follow the best I can. These old rotors ain't lasted this long for nothin'... it reminds me of the time I was pinned on Golganath VII after comin' head-to-head with-"
"Kup appears to be functioning as normal again. Current objective is to rendezvous with Samwise and other Exiles." Legion interrupted, possibly not one for long-winded war stories.
"Wait..." Kup coughed again, bracing himself on the wall. "Where's Qui-Gon?"
