Stygian Units
No one moved.
No one seemed to be breathing as the huge black armored thing stood beside Catherine with its massive rifle weapon raised. Few knew that the weapon was designed to defeat any target up to and including heavy armor like the hovertanks that now seemed just as frozen as everyone else. Even a wookiee would have difficulty lifting that weapon. The Dark Trooper hefted it with one hand. For her part, Catherine was fighting her temper. She was sick and tired of getting stuck in other people's messes. First Zay. Now Fett and Horn. Zay at least hadn't meant to be a problem. The poor girl had come looking for help and Catherine had been bound and determined to give it even before finding out Jade was involved. Fett and Horn now? Those were not her problem. If Horn did anything at all? He wouldn't be anyone's problem ever again. There was a reason the Empire had called these things 'Dark Troopers'. A reason they had been so feared. A reason everyone had breathed a healthy sigh of relief when Kyle Katarn had destroyed the project with Jan Orrs' help.
Or had he? The symbol on its shoulder wasn't the Imperial crest. It was some kind of stylized sword?
"Um..." Shriv's worried voice heralded the Duros exiting the ambulance. He had his weapon aimed at the ground. Wise. "Jan Orrs?" He inquired carefully.
"What is left of her, yes." Came a dry rejoinder from the huge robot thing.
"Iden always spoke highly of you." Shriv said slowly. "What little I know of what happened to you makes me very sad. For what it is worth, you have my sympathy."
"For what it is worth, thank you. We go on." Jan replied from her armor. "It is all we can do. Or not." Her voice turned to Horn who had frozen in place. "General Corran Horn. We are not your enemies. I am actually trying to help you. I am here to try and save your life and the lives of all of your men. Angering Catherine is a bad idea." She chuckled but there was little mirth in it. "Say what you will about the Mandos, they knew that. They were not about to push her as far as you just did. If you do? Every one of you will die here. I likely won't have to do a thing except ward the ambulance. This world is under our protection."
"Jan Orrs." Horn managed speech as his men eyed the Dark Trooper warily. "That is… What happened to you? What is that?"
"Why don't you ask Jade?" Jan's tone cooled and everyone went still as her free hand came up and a long steel sword extended from it! "She is the one who promised aid and instead? She took my future from me. Whatever she has promised you will be a lie. She is not in your perimeter." That was not a question.
"What?" Horn stammered as the Dark Trooper seemed to ready itself. Catherine was all but quivering in the need to rend and tear.
"I am trying to keep Catherine calm and you are being a moron." Jan hadn't changed but so much even now. She could still peel paint off a durasteel hull even without profanity. "Jade isn't here or I would have opened fire and to hell with the consequences. This world is under our protection. You will leave. Now."
Her rifle swept over, its aim point shifting to Horn's skull.
"As big and dangerous as that thing is, I have many men here." Horn said softly.
"You have sixty seven men in your perimeter, counting the seven mechanics, three medics and the cook." Jan replied offhand and Horn stiffened again. "Six war droids. Two tanks. Only one of which has operational weaponry. The artillery speeder has not been unloaded yet. The two airspeeders that are even now looping back towards this location are being shadowed. Say the word and I will have them blown out of the air."
Calm. Cold. Utterly merciless.
"By what?" Horn demanded. "Invisible air fairies?" He was not expecting Jan to snort. "What?"
"If you think I am alone in standing here with Catherine, then you are even more deluded than I thought, if that is even possible." Jan scoffed. Then she sighed and when she spoke again, it was almost sad. "That was dumb."
"What?" Horn snapped.
"The man with the rocket launcher that you just motioned him to use is dead." The occupant of the Dark Trooper had a scowl in her voice. Everyone jerked as Horn spun with an oath to see one of his men fall to the ground. Indeed, the man held a launcher. He had been in the midst of the group and there hadn't been a sound! One moment, he had been alive, the next he hadn't been!
"Jan..." Catherine said sadly. "This is only going to end one way. He will order an attack. It is all he knows. Killing. Let me loose!"
"I have to try, Catherine, or I am no better than Jade." Jan retorted and Catherine nodded, stilling herself with her iron core of discipline. Shriv stared from one to the other before moving to stand beside them, rifle coming up to aim at Horn. He looked at the dead man and shivered a little.
"You know..." The Duros spoke to no one and everyone. "I think I recognize that style. If so? You are screwed, General. The only question is how many of your men are smart and drop their weapons." He spoke to Jan next. "Jan Orrs? Do you wish me to drop mine?"
"No." Jan's reply was warmer. "You are protecting your family. Protecting Zay as Iden wished. As am I. As are we. Trust may or may not happen, but you have proven to have honor. You are protecting Zay. Keep doing that."
"Done such a great job of that so far, haven't I?" Shriv slumped a bit. "Poor kid."
"Jade is a seriously sneaky bitch. Hell, she fooled me and Kyle." Jan reassured him. "There is literally no way you could have kept her away from Zay. The good news is, we can and we will." Another of Horn's men fell, this time with a hole in her helmet! Still no sound! The Dark Trooper had not moved. "Well, General? Are you going to see reason or are all of your men going to die?"
"Specforce infiltrator." Corran Horn said slowly. "You have a Specforce Infiltrator on your side."
Rebellion and then New Republic Specforce Infiltrators were serious scary individuals. Trained in many, many ways of silent death, they were rarely seen and never heard unless things went very wrong. Then things usually got very loud for short periods of time. Demolition, assassination, any and all kinds of Special Operations had been carried out during the Rebellion in total silence and secrecy. No one would ever know exactly how many of them had existed or how many had fallen. They worked in silence, in darkness and they were never there. Their targets just died. Sometimes quietly. Sometimes loudly. Always dead.
"If so?" Jan was noncommittal! "They have probably rigged your tanks with sequencer charges by now. By all means, keep pushing." Now two of his men fell at the same time! All of the others were staring around wildly, but nothing shone. No enemy. No sound. No nothing! "Or give the order and die. As Catherine said, your vengeance is not our concern. We have wasted enough time on you. She did as she was asked. No more, no less. And yes, Fett asked. He did not demand. He at least showed a little respect. For which, Catherine did not kill him as she very well could have."
"You would kill us all." Horn's rifle drooped all the way down.
"Of course I would. You are threats to what I protect and I learned not to trust others' ideas of 'protection'." Jan retorted, still cold as ice. "Even if I was stupid enough to trust them? The Republic Government is gone. The Republic Home Fleet is gone. You can go out and kill people to your heart's content and now, there is no law to stop you. Anywhere but here!" Another trooper fell, this one clutched an arm that had a hole in it. "Here, law will prevail if it has to do so over your corpse and the corpses of every one of your men. Choose, General. Now."
Horn looked from the hulking black form to Catherine, to Shriv. Then he sighed deeply. "Weapons down. We are over-matched." One of his men started to protest, but Horn rounded on him. "Do nothing!" The General commanded. "We cannot fight what we cannot find." Catherine's grim smile faded as he turned to her. "And if she is the one who took on that First Order ship? She killed how many stormtroopers?"
"Three hundred and six stormtroopers, seven hundred and four crew." Catherine replied, her tone cold and everyone winced, even the Dark Trooper seemed to. "Not that I was there, you understand."
"'This never happened and we were never here.'" Shriv's words were both dry and biting. Catherine inclined her head to the Duros as Shriv smiled grimly. "Whoever did that was incredibly skilled and dangerous. Aggravating whoever it was is likely a bad idea." Again, desert dry.
"Likely. Take the pod and get off this planet, General." Jan said quietly. "Now. I will give Fett a day to do the same since his men were not stupid enough to attack me and mine. You can fight each other to your heart's content but do it elsewhere. If you ever come back with the intent to cause harm, expect to die."
"Everyone fall back to the dropships and for the love of the Force, keep your weapons down!" Horn snarled as his men hesitated. "Now!"
"Finally, I knew someone would eventually do something smart." Catherine snarled, her rage boiling up, but she was in control. She focused herself by reciting the Bladeborn Code softly. She heard Jan do the same. Horn eyed her warily but did not move as his men fell back in order. No more of them fell, but no one relaxed. A quick meditation and Catherine was firmly in control of her anger. The Dark Side seethed within her, but the Code held her. Catherine bowed her head. "I am sorry for my lapse, Jan."
"Jade brings out the worst in all of us." The Dark Trooper did not move as Horn backed away from the mismatched trio. Then he froze.
"Um..."A fearful voice sounded from behind Catherine and the Bladeborn spun to see a woman in a patient gown standing there, CA-E1 at her side. "Uh… Is this… a bad time?" The black haired woman asked weakly.
"Mirax..." Horn had frozen in place, his rifle forgotten at his side. "What? How?"
"I don't know. She is hurt." Catherine extinguished her saber, sheathed her Glaive and moved to the woman's side. She held out a hand to the woman who took it carefully. She stared down at the woman's bare feet and shook her head. "Let's not get you hurt any worse, shall we, Mirax? Asphalt and bare feet don't mix. Mind a ride?" She smiled at the woman who smiled back, timidly and nodded. Catherine picked the woman up with no discernible effort and turned to Horn who was staring at her in shock. "Mirax is hurt. Someone hurt her. It wasn't us and from Fett's words? It wasn't him. I bet it was Jade. Such has always been her kind of thing." She walked slowly, so as not to jar the scared woman in her arms. "What do you remember, Mirax?"
"There was a woman! She had odd red hair." Mirax was crying softly into her carrier's armored shoulder as Catherine held her. "She… She had a red thing in her hand and then I woke up here! I don't know what is going on!"
"I know. It is all right." Catherine reassured her and then nodded to Horn. "This is your husband. His name is Corran. He is a bit upset at what happened to you. I do not think he is angry with you." The glare she leveled on Corran over Mirax Terrik's bowed head promised pain if he contradicted her. He shook his head quickly. Smart man. She stepped to him carefully and waited.
"No." Corran's rifle fell from his hand to clang on the ground. He slumped a bit and then reached out to take Mirax from Catherine. "No, I am not angry with you, Mirax. I have missed you."
"I don't know what is going on!" Mirax pleaded through tears as he held her. "I don't remember you!" Corran stared from her to Catherine who frowned as she took a step back. "It was all red!"
"'Red', Mirax?" Catherine asked, her tone heavy. The black haired woman nodded and Catherine bowed her head. "Then… There is likely nothing we can do. If it was a brown crystal, it might be possible to recover it, replace what was stolen, but red…" She grimaced. "Those generally wipe parts or all of a mind." She looked away as Mirax cried. "I saw it far too often. Idiots playing with such things never end well. If Jade has one of those, we have all kinds of problems." She looked at Corran who stared at her and shivered at whatever he saw in her eyes. "Mirax here is not a threat. She is scared and hurt. She will need help to recover. Let go of your vengeance or end up like me. Lost alone in the darkness of your soul with only death as surcease. It will not come soon enough."
"I… I do not know what to do." Horn said softly as Mirax snuggled close to his armored chest. "I… This..." He shook his head and stroked her hair awkwardly.
"Keep her warm." Jan still hadn't moved from her spot. "Keep her calm. Be gentle. She will be slow to trust after such an ordeal. She will get moods. Such violations of the psyche are never easy to get past, but from what I understand, both you and she are strong. For now? Get her to proper medical care and for the Force's sake? Keep Jade away from her!"
"Could you help her?" Horn asked.
"Maybe." Jan replied. "But why would we?" She demanded, her tone turning cold. "She is your wife, not mine. Add to that, your red haired friend. Maybe since you are on such good terms, you should ask Jade to fix her?"
"No!" Mirax screamed, flailing in Corran's arms. "No! Don't let her touch me again! I don't wanna forget! I don't wanna!" She was fighting to get free as Corran struggled to keep hold of her without hurting her. Catherine shook her head stepped forward and laid a hand on the sobbing woman's brow.
"Sleep." The Masterblade commanded and Mirax fell asleep instantly. She looked Horn in the eyes as he stared at her. "Whatever you may think, now, she is an innocent and my Code is clear on such. If you hurt her, I will find you and make your death memorable." Calm. Clear. Matter of fact. Scary as hell.
"Who the hell are you?" Horn asked in a stunned voice. "You are no Jedi but also no Sith. What the hell are you?"
"What am I? Pissed off." Catherine spun on her heel and stalked back to where the Dark Trooper stood with Shriv. The Duros shook his head as Jaden stepped from the ambulance, Zay cradled in her arms. Karl followed, the prisoner gripped tight. "People who do that kind of thing really make me mad, no matter what gender they do it to."
"Go, General." Shriv said quietly. "These do not make idle threats. They will let you leave as long as you do it now." Catherine and Jaden both nodded. The Dark Trooper did not move.
"I..." Corran stared down at Mirax and then at the assorted group. "I don't know what to say. Jade did this?"
"Probably." Catherine snapped, still angry. "It is her style. All deceit and trickery and then backstabbing. It is what she does. What she has always done. Dishonorable little witch. None of us can tell if that is a clone or not. Either way, it is a hurt woman. Whether you help her or kill her is your business as long you do it elsewhere. But understand that if you do hurt or kill her? I will find you." What she would do then needed no explanation.
"You really think so little of me?" Wonder of wonders, Horn was bemused, not angry as his men retreated further, the crew of the tanks abandoning them in place. Smart.
"Your history does not engender trust any more than Fett's does." Catherine retorted. "Both of you are the same. Liars, cheaters, murderers. You say you are different, but I see no differences. He fights for credits, you fight for revenge. Neither of you have any idea what true honor is or care."
"Oh, I think I might. Now." Corran Horn looked Catherine in the eye and nodded slowly. "I apologize. After so long…" He slumped a bit. "It is hard to see the truth after so long mucking about in lies, but even a fool can learn when the lesson is properly tailored to his needs. I still hate Fett, but this?" He looked down at Mirax's face and smiled, an oddly tender expression. "Whether this Mirax is a clone or not, you have my thanks and my word. I will care for her as best I can. My war with Fett will not touch this world."
"It better not." Catherine and Jan chorused that. Horn gave them a nod, turned and followed his men without another word. A medic ran up to him and started scanning the woman in his arms, but neither slowed as they walked towards where an old style Gallofree transport was loading.
"Now what?" Shriv asked when the soldiers were out of earshot. "He isn't going to just leave. I mean... He has a Star Destroyer!"
"The Errant Venture is not a warship and he knows it. Even his resources have limits and maintaining even a 'broken down and captured by pirates' Star Destroyer is beyond those. A cursory scan shows it only has three working gun turrets at the moment. It wouldn't be much of a fight even if Catherine didn't insist on boarding as I know she would." Jan replied as her sword vanished back to wherever it had come from. Her voice turned kind. "As for now? We get you and Zay to the Nest. You will be safe there. We can heal both of you there."
"General Organa asked us to find allies." Shriv said weakly. "But your kind don't ally, do you?"
"Not with the Republic, no." Jan replied. "There is too much rampant dishonor there to for us to be allies of any kind with them, even the Resistance. That said, we may have options, but that is for later. For now? Let's get you and Zay to care. We can talk when she wakes and after you have had a stint in bacta to heal the pain I sense from you."
"You… You didn't have the Force." Shriv said softly. Catherine looked at him and he winced. "Or is this another thing I really do not not want to know?"
"It is not a pleasant story. If Zay asks, I will explain as much as I can. If she wishes to hear the story, then I will tell you both, but after healing." Jan sighed heavily. "After I get yelled at."
"Who would dare yell at that?" Shriv asked, humor rising as he eyed the massive black armored form.
"You haven't met our healer."
The Dark Trooper started off, the mismatched group following her. None of them looked back as they passed the dead troopers. Very carefully, none of them noticed when a trio of shadows came alive from the side of the closest building and started removing the bodies. In a few minutes the only traces would be the tanks and knowing those shadows? Those would only be debris. Falcon's form wavered partially visible in mid-air, sickened by the carnage and one of the shadows spoke.
"Hold tight to those feelings, Falcon." The hulking humanoid in odd armor said quietly. It was white but was distinctly not stormtrooper armor. Older? Still functional despite teh red paint that covered it, including what looked like a bloody hand print on the helmet. "If you lose them? You lose yourself and become like me."
"You are not lost, Sev." Falcon promised as she reasserted her will and her Sentient form vanished from view. "You are not dead."
"No?" The former Republic Commando asked quietly as he slung a body to carry to disposal. "Could have fooled me. I died a long time ago and my pod is gone too. This? This is all I know. All I am. Death."
There really wasn't a good answer to that, so Falcon hurried to catch up to the group, leaving the scary, sneaky folk to their grim task. Sentients could not shudder, but she managed.
The Republic made him to be this and 'I' am the one called a monster?
