Samuel Miles walked back to his throne. Summoning again the Legends he tried to get more information. He was met with an identical volley of rebukes, reprimands and scorn. Fuming mad he walked away, leaving all the holograms to themselves. Ezio spoke first. "Miles will destroy the Holocrons. I am certain of that." "The Holonet is our only way of escape." Edward reasoned. Genisys said, "We could upload ourselves on the Holonet and aid the resistance." Haytham put in, "Well, going into the Holonet and sabotaging the New Sith Order's systems will be easy enough, but we should fight as well." Shay spoke next, "We will have to create physical forms for ourselves. We can fight that way." "It will be hard. Genisys, you have the power to control the Holonet, am I correct?" Altaïr pointed out. "Indeed, I have." Genisys replied. "I can easily send us all to the Holonet as quickly as the eye winks." Connor interjected. "I choose not to go just yet, but I will remain here as a spy. I will hide away for the moment. Create a physical form for me, but when the time comes that I find that should Miles be incorrigible, I will join you." The other six replied, "Agreed." So Genisys concentrated and all seven holograms shut off. Very soon, Samuel returned. Pressing the hologram buttons, he found that only a whisper of static emitted from the devices. Then, he saw the hologram-noticeboard on his throne arm flicker to life. A message was neatly written there. (You have failed in your journey to become a Sith. From this moment henceforth, you are no longer welcome to gather information from us. Farewell!) Samuel, realising that he had been betrayed, ignited his lightsaber. "No. NO. NOOOO!" Yelling, he ignited his blade, raised it and started slashing up his throne room, the Holocrons and his throne in a blind rage. His Sith Enforcers and Sith Mentors, Seiki Hime, Allemandé, Nikkolo and Nolad, seeing the sparks and molten metal fly out of the room, decided not to interfere. They walked away hurriedly. *** Cormac sat in his ship, contemplating the near futures. He was interrupted by a beep from his console. Cormac pressed a button and a hologram shimmered to life. It was Scrait. The hologram said, "Master Cormac, your fellow assassins deserted and ran off. I couldn't stop them." Cormac casually replied, "As long as they don't compromise our Brotherhood, who cares? I have another mission." So, saying, he shut off the holorecorder. Pressing some buttons and flipping switches, Cormac activated the Shadow Blade's hyperdrive. Rotating 45°, he pressed a large red button. The night stars turned into long streaks of light and as fast as the eye blinks, the heavily armed and modified Yautja light enforcer fired its engines and streaked off. Meanwhile, Scrait gave instructions to Speedy, Kylo Ren, Rey and Jyn Erso 8. "You are to land on Coruscant and capture the bounties. The city guards are not to be messed with. Their weapons can easily overpower a fully armed palace guard." Speedy declared that they would try their best to succeed. Scrait rubbed his hands together. "Go!" As soon as the four hunters left, Scrait commanded his entertainers to start. The Twi-lek sisters stood up. Their chains were released and the throne room door slammed shut. The band started to play. Taking her sister's hand, the dancing girl
started to dance.
*** Coruscant's population had decreased over the years. Now, just one-quarter of the original population remained. Still, it was a lot of people. Now the four hunters surveyed the night crowds with their scanners, trying to find their bounties. Jyn looked around. Suddenly, the android-clone spotted a thug sauntering towards her. He was dead drunk. "You! Pretty girl! Come with me and spend the night!" Laughing, he stumbled towards her. The android-clone raised one hand and concentrated. The synthetic skin on the lower part of her forearm parted with a whirring sound, revealing her cybernetic hand underneath. A laser gun barrel folded itself out and a tiny chain of charges dropped from behind the gun. The thug stopped, not believing his eyes. Jyn mentally set her gun to stun, then thumbed the black cybernetic implant on her index finger. It was a trigger. A blue stun blast tore from the barrel and struck the drunk directly in the chest. He bowled over and slumped to the ground, unconscious. At that moment, Speedy spotted the bounties. A Corellian man and woman crouched behind an old metal roof. Speedy touched one of five blue studs on his belt. Instantly, ten belt hatches opened and ten pieces that made up his lightsaber flew out. They snapped together and Speedy was holding his lightsaber in hand. To avoid suspicion, he had disassembled his weapon and hidden it in his belt. His electric-blue blade blazed to life and he dashed at the targets. They drew electrostaffs. A few city guards saw them and activated their deadly wrist cannons. They ran to the hangars. Soon, the two targets were fighting the four hunters. Suddenly, five smallish one-man fighters, called Combat Pods, banked down and fired electric blasts. With the Force, the three Jedi deflected the blasts away from them and back at the ships. With a snap, crackle and a pop, electricity coursed through four ships and they powered off and crashed. The one remaining fighter sent out a piercing siren. When everybody was distracted, they didn't see Speedy silently return his weapon pieces to their compartments. Soon, a squad of heavily armed city guards rushed towards them. The six fighters raised their hands. Suddenly, Speedy caught sight of a black hooded figure leap down from a building. He landed on two guards with Hidden Blades unsheathed, and the guards died immediately. "Who?", Speedy thought. But there was no time for spectulations. The black figure flicked his left wrist, and a small projectile shot out of his gauntlet. One more soldier fell. The attacker swept his hands down and flicked his wrists back. Both blades sprang back and in the same movement, the attacker's pistols leapt out of their quick-draw holsters. Both silence-capped pistols fired twice. The rest of the soldiers dropped down, dead. The mysterious attacker looked at them. Then, more Coruscant soldiers in their Combat Pods fired their immobilising rays. The seven were frozen and carried up into the air. "What should we do with them, Commander?", One soldier asked his leader. "Take them to the Klyn II!", the commander ordered. *** The Klyn II was a massive starship that functioned as a maximum-security prison. The most dangerous inmates were placed in solitary confinement, restrained by laser cuffs. Both males and females were kept in the prison. Rewards were given to the best inmates. The rewards ranged from sweet sugar-coated beignets to prison guard
caps and better-quality clothing. The food in the prison consisted of "portions", a half portion would be a half-packet of instant bread and half a piece of a nutrient block that was sometimes flavoured with a form of sweet brandy syrup. A full portion would be twice that amount, and two portions would be two packets and two blocks. To "cook" the bread, the inmate simply had to pour the bread powder into a dish of water and stir it up. After ten seconds, the powder would soak up the water and puff up into fragrant bread. It came with a 2 by 2 by 1 inch pat of butter. On weekends, however, a piece of broiled meat in thickened barbeque sauce would be given too. This energising food that the inmates were given was to prepare them for the strenuous recreational work that they were made to do. During free time slots, however, inmates usually were engaged in fights. Every day, at least five inmates were seriously injured. Every month, a minimum of ten deaths were reported. The guards did not care what inmates did in the prison, because their sole duty was to keep inmates from escaping. However, guards were stationed in the dining area to keep inmates from tearing each other apart during mealtimes. This was a typical day in the Klyn II. 7.30am-8.30am: Breakfast. (½ portion with a pint carton of juice.) 8.30am-11.30am: Recreational work. (Frail inmates could get overworked.) 12.30pm-1.30pm: Lunch. (1 portion with a carton of juice.) 1.30pm-5.30pm: Free time. (This was usually the time in which inmates fought.) 5.30pm-6.30pm: Dinner. (2 portions with a double carton of juice.) 6.30pm-8.30pm: Free time. (Again!) 8.30pm-6.00am: Sleep.
***
The seven new inmates were hosed down and had all their personal belongings taken from them. They were allowed to keep their belts, though. No one knew that Jyn was an android-clone, so they treated her like a regular prisoner. All inmates wore black combat boots and grey uniforms. They all donned a cap that said, "Klyn II inmate." Speedy stared into the other cells as he was led to his shared cell with Cormac, Kylo Ren, Rey and Jyn. Three Whipids peered at him from one cell. Six Patrolians stared back at Speedy. Five Arcona sat mediatating. Seven Chevins sat silently, contemplating the Force. Three Kitonaks played a merry tune. Two fleshcoloured Twi-lek females huddled in a dark corner between two benches, their faces uncomfortably close to one another. A hulking Swokes-Swokes lazed on his bench. Three Corellians played a game of Sabacc with fake money chips. Finally, the cell doors of Speedy's cell opened and he walked in, followed by the others. Each cell was ten by ten feet long and had five narrow metal benches. The next day, prison work would start. Night came soon. Several guards made their rounds. The tremendous snoring from the next-door cell kept most of the prisoners on the cellblock awake. Speedy sat against the wall, staring at the wall of the opposite cell. All of a sudden, he was aware of Cormac getting up and approaching the door control panel. Light glinted on a blade jutting from his wrist. "Hidden Blade? I thought they disarmed
him..." Speedy thought. Cormac drove the blade into the panel and the door slid open silently. The Sith Assassin crept out. Speedy thumbed the first stud on his belt. As always, the parts of the lightsaber flew through the air and snapped together. Speedy roused the others and crept out too with the others following. Cormac looked at the blade on his wrist and gave a flicker of what seemed like a grin. Twenty years ago, Sith surgeons had surgically placed a blade and an arming mechanism in Cormac's left forearm. The blade came out through a permanent slot covered by black metal in his wrist, just before the hand joined with the arm. Invisible to all scanners, the Fleshblade was an excellent secret weapon. The Assassin spotted two guards sitting at their stations, watching a holovid of a funny comedy. Cormac silently unsheathed his blade and sneaked up behind one guard. Breaking one guard's neck, he then stabbed the second guard's neck. Both guards collapsed on their consoles. Cormac noticed six guards draw their blasters and look around suspiciously. He sheathed the blade and drew out a little telescoping blowpipe made of metal from his belt. Cormac applied pressure on both ends of the blowpipe and the blowpipe telescoped to its full length. Taking a special "Berserk Dart" from a slim belt compartment, he slid it down the barrel. Firing at the closest guard, he waited to see what would happen. The guard slapped his neck as if he had been bitten by some flying insect. At first, nothing happened, but then after three seconds, the guard let out a ferocious snarl and dashed at his colleagues, blaster in hand. Swinging the weapon like a club, he whacked two guards, caving their skulls in. He levelled his weapon at the other three and squeezed off three accurate shots. Cormac waited for thirty seconds until rising out of his hiding place and watched the poisoned guard fall to the ground, dead. Cormac had three types of darts in his arsenal: Sleep Darts (which made the victim fall unconscious), Hallucinogenic Darts (which induced the victim to see terrifying hallucinations), and Berserk Darts (which released a chemical that made the victim go berserk and kill others). Retrieving the recyclable dart, Cormac placed it back into its case where it speedily refilled with chemical. Finally, Cormac found a quiet corner where he had infiltrated the previous day. Pressing a newly-installed button on the railing, he summoned two Command Pods, each the size of his fist and two times longer. He stretched out his hands and each pod unfolded and clamped over his wrists. These were his Wrist Bracers, which were outfitted with various hidden weapons, including his Hidden Blades, a Rope Launcher, Hidden Guns on each bracer and a Phantom Blade on his left. Cormac sheathed his Fleshblade and unsheathed both Hidden Blades. All of a sudden, he was enveloped in light. Looking up, he looked at a powerful spotlight attached to the Control Tower shining directly at him. Thirty-four guards were arranged on the five levels, pointing their blasters at him. On the Control Tower's circular balcony there were six more guards with their weapons drawn. Cormac grinned and couldn't wait to get started. *** "This way!" hissed Kylo Ren as he discovered a door marked: "Inmate Belongings". They saw that the door was locked with a keypad and iris scanner. Jyn Erso 8 said, "I will try." Shutting her eyes, the android-clone activated her lockbreaker. The door popped open after five seconds. Speedy first got all their
belongings and weapons, then gathered up all the inmates' weapons, mostly vibroblades and blasters, into four large cargo sacks. They also took the 100 prison guard's blasters on standby. Each taking a sack, the four hunters crept out. They came into the square, a large assembly area in the prison. All the prisoners were gathered around while at least forty guards fought with Cormac, who was easily cutting down assailants. Light flashed on his Bracers as they flashed through the air, blades unsheathed. The blades cut the head of a guard open, cracked the skull of a second, pitching a third into a dirty puddle, striking a fourth to the heart, slicing the throat of a fifth and cutting open the chest of a sixth. Some prisoners were itching for a fight, but they had no weapons. Rey smiled. She tore open the sacks. Working together, the four sent the huge heap of blasters and blades into the air, then the 500-odd weapons clattered to the floor. At the same time, a guard standing with his back to Speedy was stabbed through with a blazing blue bar of light through his chest. Two hundred more guards poured out from hidden hatches inside the cells. Chaos ensued as the inmates grabbed whatever blasters and blades that they could find on the floor. Some wielded two blasters, but the ones with one were doing just fine. The whole prison seemed to explode with laserbolts. The Corellians fired, neatly cutting down six guards. A Trandoshan used his knife to skilfully skin the guards in one slash. A Duros used his long-handled vibroblade to tear six guards apart at one go. The three Kitonaks popped out blades concealed in their pipes, then set to work butchering the guards. The Arconas stood on the second level raining murderous fire down upon the guards with their heavy blasters. The other prisoners who didn't get weapons used their bare hands to rip their captors apart. A human arm flew. Approval thundered from a hundred inmates' throats. Suddenly, Sith Mentor Nikkolo dashed into the prison. He ignited his lightsaber and started to slash up prisoners. But after less than five seconds, a fiery-orange laserbolt skimmed past his ear, cutting off the tip. Nikkolo yelped in pain and scampered out. Then, the five hunters slipped out of the prison, firing and cutting down the guards who stood in the way. They came to a small tenperson scout enforcer craft parked in the hangar. It was a heavily-modified Yautja enforcer named The Shadow Blade. Cormac didn't have to say whose ship it was. Palming a hand panel that switched on the systems, he dashed up the ramp, followed by the others. Guards in standby Combat Pods wielding Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) blasters leaned out of their cockpits and opened fire. The Shadow Blade flew off as electricity flashed off its shields. The Shadow Blade responded in like and fired all 4 of its EMP batteries. The tough but slow Combat Pods could not dodge in time. "ZAAAAAP!" Many Combat Pods were deactivated and hurled down to the ground. More Combat Pods flew out of their docking stations and swarmed towards The Shadow Blade in a cloud. Cormac grinned. "Let's see them get through this." He thumbed a firing stud and laser fire tore from the 8 laser batteries. A quarter of the cloud was obliterated. Then the Shadow Blade's two missile tubes glowed. Four torpedoes streaked out and each separated into eight mini missiles. The 32 EMP warheads smashed into the cloud. There was a huge crackle of electricity and the cloud dissipated. "Stop!" yelled the many guards at the hangar bay doors. Instead, Cormac punched the accelerator and rammed through the giant metal doors, spilling guards everywhere and ripping a large hole in the doors, sucking guards out into the
vacuum of space. The light craft's engines glowed and it sped for the Cormac's larger dropship, The Eclipse, which was in orbit of Coruscant.