K,A/N: Before I get started, I want you to know that from now on, One-One Three Eight will go by as just Three Eight, and One-Three Seven Two will just as Seven Two; it's a pain to have to write those numbers hundreds of times
Ch. 3
Korriban; Eight years later
Three Eight woke up as soon as the blaring alarm went off in his room. He stood up, took a shower in the refreshers, and got ready for the final week of training; he put on his clothes and training gear. Once Three Eight was ready, he walked out of his room and saw that Seven Two was waiting outside for him.
"Good morning Three Eight." Seven Two said with a smile, which Three Eight found strange, even though Seven Two has repeatedly explained to Three Eight that he's the only reason she smiles.
"Seven Two. Did you sleep well?" Three Eight asked.
"A little…I'm a bit nervous; this is our last week of training. After this, if we survive, Master Dooku says he'll give us our own armor and weapons, and we'll all be sent to Geonosis, waiting for the upcoming war to start." Seven Two said.
"I honestly hope this war won't end, once it starts." Three Eight said.
"What do you mean?" Seven Two asked.
"Well, what do you think Dooku has planned for us after this war ends? We were created to win wars, so, what will we do when there is no war?" Three Eight asked, and Seven Two pondered over the question while they walked.
"I don't know…honestly, I think we'll just turn into something like advanced security or something. But let's just focus on completing our training." Seven Two said, and Three Eight nodded and the two made their way to training area. As soon as the two stepped outside, they saw a large cargo shuttle on the ground with its hatch open. Three Eight and Seven Two watched the shuttle as the other subjects came outside, and after two hours, Dooku stepped outside.
"This is your final week of training. This shuttle will take you to the planet of Geonosis, where you will complete the final stage of training, but first, there one final test you must pass." Dooku said, and suddenly, several turrets appeared from the ground and started shooting at the teenagers. Several that were caught off guard were hit and fell. Three Eight grew angry when he saw Seven Two try to take cover, but got hit, and fell at his feet. Three Eight then looked at Dooku with his murder in his eyes, and charged at the Sith, avoiding the turret fire and was about to get close enough to strangle Dooku, but the Sith Lord attacked him with Force Lightning, but that only slowed down Three Eight, since the teenager was slowly getting closer, until a turret shot hit him in the back.
Secret space station, unknown location; six days later
When Three Eight awoke, he was surprised to find that he was still alive; he thought he had been betrayed and killed by Dooku. Three Eight opened his eyes and was blinded by a white light, and when he tried to move his arms, he found that they were restrained by strong metal cuffs.
"Ah, so you are finally awake." A familiar, dark voice said, and Three Eight sat up as far as he could, and saw Dooku, standing in front of him.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?" Three Eight demanded, and Dooku chuckled.
"You and your comrades have gone through a special surgical procedure; your skeletal structure is now equipped with cybernetic enhancements, making you faster, stronger, and more deadly. You should count yourself lucky; not everyone survived the procedure." Dooku said evilly, and Three Eight's thoughts immediately turned to Seven Two, and he was worried that she might have died. That thought made Three Eight even angrier, and he started struggling to get out of the chains, and at first, nothing happened, but after a couple of minutes, Three Eight could hear metal strain, and soon, he felt the chains on the metal cuffs broke, and Three Eight jumped out of the chair he was in, and ran over to the window and jumped through it, shattering the glass. Before Three Eight could attack Dooku however, he was lifted in the air by the Force, and Dooku held him there.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Three Eight yelled, and Dooku just smiled.
"Congratulations One-One Three Eight, you have passed the next test; these cybernetic enhancements are capable of giving you the strength of a Wookiee." Dooku said as more stun turrets appeared and shot Three Eight until he passed out.
Geonosis; one day later
Three Eight woke up to find himself lying on sand. He stood up and looked around and saw that he was in the middle of an arena surrounded by his fellow Subjects, including Seven Two, who was condignly next to him, and woke up the same time he did.
"Seven Two…you're alive…" Three Eight said. "I was…worried."
"I'm fine, though I feel strange from that surgery Dooku put us through." Seven Two said, and once everyone was awake, Dooku appeared on a balcony.
"You will finish your training here, today. Several weapons will be given to you, and your assignment is to kill the warriors that will attack you. You will be given blasters and special bladed weapons. And to make this training more realistic, you will not be given the chance to get your weapons before the warriors attack." Dooku said, and several gates started to rise, and the Subjects ran across the arena, getting blasters, swords, and axes. Three Eight grabbed a DH-17 and a short, black sword; the blade itself was two feet long, and the handle, a half-foot. Three Eight then turned around and saw that he was going against Mandalorians, Zabraks, Echani, and possibly rabid Wookiee's. Unshaken by his enemies, Three Eight aimed his blaster, and fired at a Zabrak and the blaster bolt hit the warrior in the head, killing him. Three Eight unsheathed his sword and with a quick turn, he stabbed a Wookiee in its side, and then sliced its neck. Three Eight then got ready to kill more warriors, when he saw Seven Two, struggling with a Wookiee over her Vibro-axe. The Wookiee then head butted Seven Two and knocked her onto the ground, and the Wookiee the raised the axe and was about the decapitate Seven Two, who was recovering from the hit, but Three Eight jumped onto the Wookiee's back and stabbed it in the chest repeatedly until it fell over and died. Seven Two gave a quick smile in appreciation, picked up her axe, and continued fighting. Three Eight pulled out his DH-17 and began firing at any enemy he could see, when suddenly, he felt like hundreds of burning daggers were going through his bones, and he buckled over in pain, making him vulnerable. A Mandalorian, noticing that Three Eight was vulnerable, ran over and got right in front of him and aimed his blaster at Three Eight's head, and Three Eight did his best to try and move, but the pain kept him from doing so. The Mandalorian was about to fire, when a Vibro-axe blade hit his side and sent the mercenary fly a couple of feet, and before he could get back up, the blade from the axe sliced his throat, killing him. After a few seconds, the pain Three Eight was feeling subsided, and he saw a hand reaching out to him, and when he saw who the hand belonged to; he smiled to see that it was Seven Two. Three Eight grabbed Seven Two's hand and Seven Two helped him up.
"We're even now." Seven Two, and Three Eight just smiled.
"You wish." Three Eight said, and he picked up his blaster and sword, and continued fighting the warriors. Hours passed and soon, all the Mandalorians, Wookiee's, Zabrak, and Echani were dead, and only the Subjects remained, and Dooku started to clap.
"Congratulations; you have all passed your training program. You are now ready to become the Agents you were destined to become." Dooku said, and suddenly, several Geonosians walked out into the arena, carrying a large amount of crates. "These crates hold the armor you will wear into the battle; it is the most advanced armor in the galaxy, and offers the best protection available. However, five special Agents, will get their own type of armor." Dooku said, and a battle droid walked in carrying a datapad.
"Subjects One-Three Seven Two, Two-One Five Nine, Seven-Four Eight Five, One-One Three Eight, and Five-Two Nine Three, follow me." The droid said, and the five selected Subjects followed the droid into an observation room that looked over a giant droid factory, and several suits of armor in special glass cases. Three Eight looked at the armor and noticed that it looked like the black Sith Warrior armor and cape that was used during the time of the Great Galactic War. A few minutes later, Dooku walked into the room, and sat down in a chair.
"You have been selected because you are the best fighters out the three hundred Subjects that have survived this experiment, so, as a reward, you will be given this armor, which is far more advanced than the armor the others will receive; it is made out Phrik, an indestructible substance, so it will protect you from anything, including a Jedi's lightsaber. You're helmets are also equipped with far more advanced Heads-Up Display, making you more 'aware' of your surroundings. Your armor also has better weapons upgrades; there are special blades on the left forearm and right bicep that react to your Teras Kasi movements, making your fighting style much more dangerous. Under your right forearm, there is a special weapon; a thin lightsaber blade that reaches out seven inches, which can help you with lightsaber combat." Dooku said, and he pressed a button on the wall with the Force, and the glass cases around the armor lowered, and the five Subjects grabbed the armor and tried it on. Once Three Eight put on the helmet, everything was black for a couple of seconds, and then, several lights and images appeared, and he could finally see outside his helmet.
"Dooku…" Three Eight said, his voice sounding deeper and more threatening, most likely done by the helmet. "…when I was fighting in the arena, I experienced a pain unlike any other…what caused it?" Three Eight demanded,
"The cybernetics you have been outfitted with has a single side-effect; they are attached to your skeletal structure, so they will occasionally cause you the extreme pain you mentioned. There is no way to get rid of it, so you will get used to it. Otherwise, you will be useless, and I will destroy you personally." Dooku said, and Three Eight just growled. "Now, go to these coordinates and wait for my orders." Dooku ordered, and he pressed a button on his desk and coordinates around the planet appeared on the holographic projection, and the five left and went to their assigned locations.
Separatist Anti-Air cannon, Geonosis; during Battle of Geonosis
Three Eight stood at a window, looking over the entry point into the Anti-Air cannon facility, waiting for something to happen, like he had been for hours. Since Separatist communications have been jammed, he was in the dark about any Republic forces that would be heading his way, but he knew they were coming. Three Eight continued watching, waiting, when he saw four armored soldiers run towards the entry way, and engage the droids that were guarding the entrance. Based on their skills, Three Eight could tell they were commandos, because they quickly destroyed all the droids. Once the commandos were halted by the ray shielded door, Three Eight figured that was his best time to strike, so he jumped out of the window, and landed in front of the soldiers.
"What's that? Some sort of new droid?" One of the commandos asked.
"I don't think so; my sensors are picking up a biological signature underneath that armor." Another one said.
"Whatever it is Delta's, it's between us and the Anti-Air cannon. Blast it!" The lead commando said, and all four aimed their blasters at Three Eight, and opened fire, but Three Eight remained still, and although the blaster fire hit him, the Phrik armor did little more than scorch the dark robes that covered his armor.
"Uh…Boss, I don't think this is doing anything!" The first commando said, and their lead commander, Boss, switched to the private internal comm in his helmet.
"Scorch, take up an anti-armor position behind those rocks! Sev, set up a sniper position behind that pile of droid scrap! Fixer, you're with me; we're going to flank him!" Boss ordered, and his team immediately followed their orders; Scorch got behind a pile of rocks and began fire anti-armor rounds at Three Eight, while Sev got behind a large pill of droid scrap and fired head shots at Three Eight, while Boss and Fixer ran to each of his flanks and began spraying Three Eight with blaster fire again. Soon, all that could be seen where Three Eight was standing was a large dust cloud, and after a few minutes, the commandos held their fire and when the dust cleared, there was nothing there.
"Whatever that was, there's nothing left of it now." Fixer said as he and the rest of the squad formed up.
"Too bad; I was hoping for a challenge." Sev said, unaware that Three Eight had activated his cloaking device, and was standing right in the middle of their formation.
"My turn." Three Eight said, and with one quick movement, he deactivated his cloaking device and swung his arms towards Scorch and Sev, and his Teras Kasi blades shot out of their sheathes and made contact with the commando's armor. Although it protected them from being sliced and impaled, the two were sent flying across into cliff sides, leaving Boss and Fixer to deal with Three Eight, who pulled out his DH-17 carbine and began shooting at the two clones. While Boss and Fixer tried to find cover so they could shoot back, hoping to find a weakness in their enemies armor, Scorch and Sev struggled to stand back up, but they were disoriented by being knocked into the cliff side, plus their armor was starting to chip and crack from the strength from Three Eight's blow.
"Ugh…what day is it?" Scorch asked, and he tried to find his DC-17 rifle, when suddenly he found a gloved hand in front of him, and saw that it belonged to Sev.
"You alright, ner vod?" Sev asked, handing Scorch his blaster.
"Yeah. Where's Boss and Fixer?" Scorch asked as he took the hand and the blaster.
"They've been forced behind cover." Sev said. "Boss already called in for an evac." Sev explained, and the two ran over to Fixer and Boss, who were standing behind some rocks, and Three Eight was getting closer. After several minutes of hiding and shooting, Boss noticed that Three Eight stopped firing and when he looked from his cover, he noticed that Three Eight was no where to be found.
"Keep you eyes open; he could be anywhere…" As soon as Boss finished that sentence, everyone heard Sev struggling, and when he, Fixer, and Scorch look at Sev, they saw that he was being beat up by a cloaked Three Eight, and when Sev was knocked on his back, Three Eight reappeared and punched Sev's helmet off, revealing his face, and Three Eight pulled out the short blade he used during his final test, and got ready to kill Sev, but Scorch tackled Three Eight and knocked into a cliff wall, but Three Eight wasn't deterred by the attack, and he began landing punches on Scorch's chest and head, causing his helmet visor to crack. Fixer then tried to pull Three Eight off of Scorch while Boss dragged Sev and Scorch to safety. Once Three Eight broke from Fixer's grasp, he grabbed his short sword and began swinging at Fixer's head, but the commando kept dodging the blade, although it was by mere inches and sometimes centimeters. However, Fixer made a mistake and left his right arm vulnerable, and Three Eight took that opening by grabbing Fixer's arm and stabbing him in his armpit twice. Three Eight then head butted Fixer, and followed by kneeing him in the gut. Suddenly, a Republic gunship hovered over the area, and began landing behind the commandos so they could safely get on board. Sev helped Scorch onto the gunship, and Boss tackled Three Eight so Fixer could get on board. While Three Eight and Boss constantly tried to hit each other, with Three Eight giving Boss more injuries than Boss could give to Three Eight, Boss got up and began running to the gunship, thinking that Three Eight was right behind him, but when he looked back, Three Eight was just standing there, watching Boss run away like a coward. Once he was on the gunship, it took off and began avoiding fire from the anti-air battery. Once it was out of sight, Three Eight's communicator activated, and Dooku's voice could be heard.
"Agent Three Eight, report!" Dooku ordered.
"The anti-air battery is still operational; there was some opposition, but it's been handled." Three Eight said.
"Good; there is a nearby Trade Federation Lander near your position. Go there and it will transport you to a nearby Separatist fleet, which will take you to Korriban. You will remain there until I give you further orders." Dooku said, and Three Eight just growled. Once the communicator was deactivated, Three Eight began walking to the Lander, when his boot kicked something; Three Eight looked down and saw that it was the helmet of the commando's he just fought. He picked it up and saw that it had red streaks of paint on it to make it look like blood. Three Eight looked at the helmet for a few seconds before putting it under his arm and continued walking towards the Lander.
Arca Barrack's, Coruscant; six days after Battle of Geonosis
"Delta's…what the hell happened over there!" A Mandalorian wearing black armor, Walon Vau, asked angrily to a recovering Delta Squad. "You get your shebse handed to you by one soldier! I trained you better than that! You should be ashamed of yourself." Vau yelled, and the normally composed Delta Squad, couldn't even look at their former training sergeant, because they felt like they failed him.
"Vau! Stop yelling at the boys!" Another Mandalorian yelled, this one wearing sand gold armor, but his helmet was clipped to his belt. "I just went over the footage from Fixer's helmet holo-cam, and I'm survived they survived they encounter." The Mandalorian said.
"This is none of your concern Skirata! These four aren't the pampered commandos you trained; they were meant to survive! To be successful!" Vau yelled.
"Just watch this recording Walon!" Kal Skirata said, and he pulled out a holo-projector that showed the fight between Three Eight and Delta, and Walon noticed that Delta's weapons were useless against Three Eight's armor, and he also noticed the advanced cloaking device Three Eight used, as well as the rest of the equipment and weaponry that was used in the fight.
"Delta…you're dismissed…" Walon said, and Delta Squad stood up, and left the room.
"Listen Vau, this was no normal soldier; his armor is made completely out of Phrik, and that cloaking device is Stygium crystal based. He was also trained in the deadly hand-to-hand form of Teras Kasi, and those blades on his arms make the moves even more dangerous. Plus he has unnatural strength, to be able to send two commandos weighed down by Mark I Katarn armor. This guy is way more dangerous than meets the eye, and I'm willing to be there are more like him." Skirata explained.
"If he has that sort of equipment, then he's probably one of the best, though there are probably hundreds that have similar skills as him. Not even the Separatists have deep enough pockets to make Phrik armor for hundreds of soldiers." Vau said.
"You're right…we better inform our other commandos to stay away from these guys if they want to live; the fact that just one was able to make all four members of Delta Squad to turn tail and run just proves that they are extremely dangerous." Skirata said.