Gamers in the Multiverse...WTF!
Chapter 9
Lord-of-Change
Hello everyone and welcome Back to Gamers in the Multiverse...WTF! so contnues the adventures of the Stormlord, Please enjoy!
(Insert Star Wars The Clone Wars Opening Theme)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
A life with no purpose, is no life at all
(Music at 00:16)
"Evil takes root! Due to the actions of human commander Bazerker and his Obelisk, the ruthless commander known only as the Stormlord was flung away from the galaxy he had waged war in for all his life. Now, he finds himself alone in a galaxy he had believed to be mere fiction, with his vast fleet scattered and his territories gone. Lost in this foreign place, the Stormlord feels for the first time in his existence like his life has no purpose, as the Grand Championship was no more and all of his former allies or enemies apparently gone for good. But news reach him from the planet Hoth, were his head of research and development Illuminor Szeras has established as base of operations for the Stormlord and his Necron legions. But during the work, Szeras had discovered something unknown buried in the ice, and it has now prompted the Stormlord to travel to Hoth in order to personally investigate this anomaly. A choice the rest of the galaxy would grow to regret,"
(End music here)
Once it exited FTL travel, the massive World Engine halted well away from the planet. But it still gave the Stormlord quite a spectacular view of the planet via his array of holographic screens. In a way, it felt strange for him to view the planet below, a planet that was not supposed to exist at all. And yet there it was, as real as Earth itself. 'If it still exists, that is,' he added to himself bitterly. He may have left humanity's cradle behind long ago, but it still held a small nostalgic place in his cold and black heart.
"Bazerker, if you still exist, I swear that there will be a reckoning for what you've done," he swore to himself before rising from his throne and striding out of his command center. "Trazyn, have you located Illuminor Szeras base on the planet?"
"Of course, my lord. He's sent us a signal, informing us of where to land," Trazyn responded as the Stormlord stepped into a teleporter array.
"Hangar bay," he spoke out, right before he vanished in a flash of green light and reappeared in one of the hundreds of hangar bays that existed across the World Engine's surface. "Then let's not waste any time. I'm very eager to see what he's discovered," as the Stormlord spoke, he marched towards a squad of four Necron Biotics and eight Lychguard armed with Hyperphase Swords and Dispersion Shields, all of them standing in perfect formation while patiently waiting for orders.
"Form up, we depart now," he commanded, the Necrons instantly springing to life as they formed a protective formation around their master, right before a Night Scythe activated and lifted off the ground. It quickly came to hover over the assembled group, its powerful engines causing the Stormlord's mantle to flap violently in the gale even as its owner remained unmoved. Then the Night Scythe activated its underslung teleporter, swallowing the Stormlord and his bodyguards up in a flash of green light, before blasting off and out of the hangar, entering supersonic speed the second it had cleared the World Engine. Within a matter of minutes, it entered the planet's atmosphere, slowing its descent down to avoid crashing like a meteor.
The weather though was not kind this day, as a violent snowstorm raged in the lower atmosphere, with furious winds mercilessly whipping the small aircraft as it navigated through such an intense blizzard that vision was all but gone efter only a few inches beyond one's eyes. An organic would have lost his way and crashed, and so would this galaxy's primitive versions of robots no doubt. But the Necron piloting this craft was neither and organic nor a primitive droid. Its superior sensors, along with advanced pilot programming, made this storm nothing more than a minor nuissance. Not to mention that the transport's own systems and engines ensured that the ship remained on course no matter what.
Then, without warning, the Night Scythe stopped its angled descent and began hovering. No organic eye could see it, but solid ground was now only a few meters below it. Having reached its target, the Night Scythe's teleporter activated again, dropping off its passengers safely on the ground below before picking up speed again and vanishing back up the way it came.
"Let's go," the Stormlord ordered as he began walking, his body guards dutifully marching along with him on every side. But even with his helmet's in-built sensors, the Stormlord could barely see a few feet ahead of him. Thankfully, he did not need to see, as Illuminor Szeras' signal served as a beacon for him, leading the way through this terrible blizzard. And at last did he arrive at his destination as what appeared to be a massive cave opening spread out before him.
Stepping inside finally allowed the Stormlord to see again without snow blowing in his face. The first few feet ahead of him reinforced the idea that this was a natural cave, but what lay beyond that showed that this was more than just a natural cave. Stone was replaced with metal, and uneven surfaces became smooth walls and floor. But the Stormlord could instantly tell that this was not constructed by his forces. For the surfaces were rusty, with a thin sheet of ice near the entrance. This was constructed long before the Stormlord ever arrived in this galaxy.
"An old military complex," he suddenly realized as he strode deeper into the ancient corridors. "No doubt a relic from the Great Galactic War, abandoned at the war's end along with the rest of the planet," he had read up on that galactic conflict between Jedi and Sith. If he remembered correctly, both sides had maintained a presence on Hoth to salvage lost ships that had crashed to the surface. Judging by the state of this place, he could surmize that those efforts must have ended decades, perhaps even centuries ago. At least that narrowed down the possible time period he may have appeared in.
But those were thoughts for later, as he had more pressing matters. The deeper he went, the more signs of Necron occupation he found. Old durasteel replaced by Necrodermis, Scarabs of various sizes scuttling about, Warriors silently patrolling the corridors and construction machines working tirelessly to erect whatever hardware they were tasked with. None of that really caught the Stormlord's interest as he strode onward. Finally, he arrived at his destination, which he guessed used to be the base's command center in ancient times. Now, it was being reconfigured into a Necron command center, with abandoned technology being rapidly disposed of and replaced with Necron computer systems and holoterminals. And overseeing it all, was Illuminor Szeras.
"I see you've been busy, Szeras," the Stormlord commented as he eyed the massive chamber that could easily house over a hundred people at the same time. Hearing his name spoken, Szeras turned towards the chamber's entrance, swiftly falling into a deep bow once he saw who was standing.
"Efficiency at all cost is what I'm best at, master. While I do apologize for the fact that not everything have been fully installed, this base should be more than ready enough to hopefully serve as your home away from home," he spoke subserviently, with quite a slimy and snake-like tone. 'When the hell did I give Szeras the voice of Orochimaru?' the Stormlord found himself asking. Not that it really mattered, since it did fit quite nicely with how he designed Szeras. It was at that moment though that the sound of Gauss weapons discharging could be faintly heard in the distance, followed by the pained roar of some beast.
"Now if only we could get rid of these annoying pests," Szeras added in annoyance. He probably would have scowled in irritation as well if his metallic face had possessed the ability to form facial expressions.
"Trouble with the local wildlife?" the Stormlord asked as he leaned against his staff, prompting Szeras to straighten up from his bow as he waved a hand in the air as a sign of dismissal.
"Just some Wampas that infest the lower levels of this base. We'll soon have them cleared out, so nothing to worry about," he responded as he made his way towards a newly installed holo table, a design clearly inspired by designs used by Star Wars factions.
"In that case, let's get down to business," the Stormlord spoke before he came to stand opposite of Szeras at the holo table. "What have you found that you deemed important enough to bother me with?" at his request, Szeras waved his hand over the holo table, causing the machine to spring to life.
"This," he answered as a holographic image, rendered in far more color and detail than those primitive machines used by the Republic could ever hope to achieve. What appeared before the Stormlord was a spacecraft, a warship if he guessed correctly. At first not sure what model he was looking at, a quick search of his archives via a remote link in his helmet revealed the ship's origin.
"A Harrower-class dreadnought, the primary warship used by the Sith Empire during the Great Galactic War," he spoke out loud as he eyed the wedge-shaped warship. "I will admit, I have been curious about seeing one up close, but this alone hardly contributes to needing my attention,"
"It's not the ship that has caught my interest, master, it's what's on board the vessel," Szeras was quick to rectify, right before a blinking red dot appeared inside the holographic image. "My sensors have been able to pinpoint the anomaly to somewhere in this region of the ship. Whatever it is, the energy readings are something I've never before seen, nor is it something that has been documented by other human commanders," as the explanation went on, the Stormlord, interest grew stronger and stronger. There were few things in the galaxy that humans had not already discovered and catalogued. To come across something truly unknown to his people…
"I'm going in there to investigate myself," he declared with conviction, already imagining what might lie hidden inside those ancient corridors.
"Are you certain, master? Would it not be better to send in your minions to investigate while you monitor the situation from here?" Szeras asked in concern, his program to ensure the Stormlord's safety obviously kicking in. But the Stormlord was undeterred.
"No, I will go down there personally, I need to go down there," he stated, eyes never leaving the holographic image floating before him. Then, without another words spoken, he turned around and marched out of the command center, the location of this Sith warship having already been downloaded into his helmet. 'Please, let this be a sign. Let this lead me to a purpose in this galaxy,' he fervently prayed to himself.
….
On Serenno, you would be hard pressed to find evidence of the ongoing war that raged across the galaxy. Here, peace and stability still held on, its people continuing with their daily lives without a care in the world. Not so with Count Dooku, leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the apprentice of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Currently, Dooku was anxious, for his master had not contacted him yet. This worried him, for they had matters of state to discuss about, to make sure the war proceeded as they had planned. Thankfully, he did not need to wait for long, as the holographic image of his master appeared before him, at which point he quickly went down on one knee.
"My lord," he greeted with his head bowed in subservience.
"There has been a recent development in the galaxy," Sidious began. "Something has got the Jedi scared, something they believe can be a threat to all of us," this surprised the count, and worried him. For while he believed the Jedi to be blind and incompetent fools, it was not wise to dismiss something that could have the Jedi worried.
"Do we know what exactly it could be?" he asked carefully.
"Unfortunately, no. But I have sensed a disturbance in the Force. Something is moving out in the galaxy, something we haven't seen before," Sidious revealed, for the faintest of moments almost sounding worried.
"What is to be done then, master?" Dooku inquired
"Keep your eyes open, find this anomaly. If it can be reasoned with, try to bring it to our side," his master ordered.
"And if it refuses?" Dooku already knew the answer to that, but it was best to be on the safe side.
"Eliminate it,"
…
For thousands of years, the Harrower-class dreadnought had lied undisturbed on the planet Hoth, buried beneath layers upon layers of ice and snow. Alone, and silent. That ended today as one of its access hatches were blown open, the explosion echoing through the frozen corridors. First one to set foot in this warship was the Stormlord, the clang of his staff striking its metal surface filling the vessel. Behind him followed his attaché of bodyguards, along with dozens of Canoptek Scarabs.
"Let's go," he commanded before striding forward, deeper into the vessel, with his bodyguards dutifully trailing behind him. As they moved ever closer towards their goal, the Stormlord could not help but compare the situation to the set-up of a horror movie. Abandoned ship, silent halls, something unknown existing deep with this ship. All it missed was some type of horror monster, and this ship would have the complete set. But the Stormlord was not intimidated, for he was not some lesser being, weak and vulnerable in the face of the unknown. No, he was a human commander, and nothing would stand in his way. Suddenly, he halted in his steps, and his bodyguards raised their weapons in preparation.
"Movement up ahead," the Stormlord stated, his motion- and heat tracker having detected a large creature lying in ambush around the corner of a juncture ahead of them. Instantly, three of his Lychguard stepped forward to form a shield wall between their master and whatever it was ahead of them, while a single Biotic advanced ahead with his Warscythe held at the ready. The second he stepped around the corner, a fierce roar signaled the attack of whatever was lurking behind the corner. A mass of fur and muscle, towering above the Necron rushed at its prey with teeth and claws at the ready.
Unfortunately, the Biotics was faster, and sidestepped the vicious lunge while swinging his Warscythe at the beast, it's left arm promptly being severed clean off. A roar of anguish followed this strike, as the creature clutched its bleeding stump. It should have attacked the Biotic again, or fled in terror, yet did neither, instead, it turned and charged straight at the Stormlord, small beady eyes burning with hatred. The Lychguard all took a unified step forward to halt the rampaging best, but they need not have bothered, for the Stormlord simply raised his staff and discharged a blast of Gauss energy at the creature, turning its head and most of its upper body to dust. The legs comically enough continued their charge for a few more steps before they seemed to realize that the creature they belonged to was dead, at which point they collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Something's not right here," the Stormlord commented to himself as he glared suspiciously at the remnants of the creature, a Wampa he now realized. Its behavior confused the Stormlord, it seemed to be far to intelligent for a mere animal. Somehow, it seemed to have singled him out as the greatest threat and went for him, ignoring all other threats. That was not the instinct of a predator. But before he could ponder about this any further, the whole shop was shaken to its very core by a multitude of roars from all over the ship, causing the Lychguard to instantly close ranks and form a protective shield around the Stormlord while the Biotics paired up and made ready to receive whatever dared to threaten their lord.
"Master, what is going on down there? We're detecting massive movements all over the ship," the alarmed voice of Illuminor Szeras asked over the comm link.
"Nothing serious, just ran into a few local residents, and they're not all that thrilled about intruders," the Stormlord responded nonchalantly, even as he felt the floor vibrate by the dozens or so Wampas charging towards him from all over the ship. "Let's not waste any more time, we push onward," with those words, the tightly packed group continued their advance. They did not get far before a horde of Wampas came barreling down the corridor towards them, snarling and roaring like the wild animals they were.
"Biotics, clear a path," the Stormlord commanded, and the two Biotics at the front responded by using biotic charges to slam into the leading Wampas like living cannonballs, crushing bones and pulverizing organs. Those Wampas at the front were in turn flung back into more of their kin, knocking them all over like bowling pins. Enraged, they struggled to get untangled and strike at their opponents, but the Biotics gave them no chance as they systematically decapitated each Wampa lying on the ground. Like a pair of farmers cutting down wheat with scythes, the two Biotics heaved their way through the Wampas.
But no matter how many they struck down, more kept on piling into the combat, each one falling before te duos fearsome biotics and unmatched combat skills. As they led the way, with the Stormlord and his retinue following behind them, they left a literal carpet of dead Wampas on the floor. And yet still the beasts kept on coming.
"This isn't natural, something must be driving these creatures on," the Stormlord observed as he uncaringly stepped over the multitude of rapidly cooling corpses.
"My lord, more of the beasts approaching us from the rear," one of the Biotics guarding the way they came reported as true to his words, more Wampas came charging at them from behind, rapidly closing the distance with their claws outstretched, waiting to rend and tear the Stormlord and his minions.
"Deal with them," the Stormlord simply commanded without really bothering to turn around and look at the new threat. As he saw it, these pathetic creatures posed no threat to him, and whoever it was controlling them must be a fool if he thought otherwise. Soon enough, he could hear the unmistakable sound of Warscythes carving into flesh behind him, followed by animalistic roars of pain.
"Szeras, please send in some squads of Warriors. This local pest infestation is growing a bit annoying," the Stormlord absentmindedly ordered.
"At once, master," Szeras was quick to respond. With that done with, the Stormlord's journey continued, over the backs of dead Wampas that must now had numbered at least fifty or more.
"You're wasting your time," the Stormlord spoke out loud, expecting whoever was pulling the strings on these beasts to hear him. "These pathetic organics will only delay the inevitable," and finally, after wading through what almost felt like a sea of Wampas, the Stormlord reached his goal. A private chamber aboard the ship, sealed shut from with within. That however was no obstacle for the Stormlord, who simply phased out of the physical realm.
"Hold this position until I return," he commanded his guards, who were still hacking away at any Wampa that dared get within arm's reach. With that said, the Stormlord stepped through the door like it was not even there, solidifying once he had stepped inside the chamber. At first, he could not see what was hidden in this chamber, but he could feel. A dark energy, the likes of which he had never felt before. It writhed and pulsated like a living being, its malicious tendrils reaching out beyond the chamber that contained it to ensnare the hapless beasts that inhabitated this ship.
"so you're what's controlling these creatures. Impressive, but ultimately futile," he commented as he eyes thoroughly scanned the dark room, his sensors tracking the unknown energy source. There! A dark shape hunched over in the corner! For the briefest of moments, the Stormlord made himself ready for combat, but halted himself once his sensors brought up data on the unknown target. No heartbeat, no heat signals, no breathing, no movements. It was just a corpse. Must have been a Sith Lord in life, judging by his highly ornate armor.
But this served to confuse the Stormlord, for his readings indicated that the unknown source of energy originated from him. No wait, not from him, but from something in his possession. As he drew closer, his readings all focused on something clutched in his hands. Not that he needed the readings anymore, as he could see with his own eyes something pulsating with red light, tightly clutched towards the corpse's chest in both hands.
"Must have been something very important to you," he stated as he kneeled before the corpse, staring deep into the eye lenses on the Sith Lord's helmet. "But you no longer need it," as he said this, he reached out with a hand and began prying the stiff fingers open. He met a slight resistance, but he just applied more strength behind his pull and ripped the fingers off the hand. At last did he behold that which had drawn him down here, and it caused him to freeze up in astonishment as he beheld a pyramid-shaped construct, for it was something he instantly recognized.
"A Sith Holocron," he breathed out in awe as he slowly took it in his grip and raised it up to eye level. He had read much about this almost mystical artifacts, of the wellsprings of knowledge that they might contain within. Long had the Stormlord wondered about the knowledge of the Force, always believing that such knowledge would forever be out of his reach. Until now. Now, he was holding a piece of the Dark Side in his hands, and he wanted to see what laid within.
"Open," he commanded eagerly, but was ignored by the Holocron. He was not Sith, nor Force sensitive, and the Holocron would thus not recognize him. Not that it would stop the Stormlord from taking what he desired. With but a thought, eldritch lightning travelled up his arm and into the Holocron, trying to force it open. For God only knows how long, Necron techno-sorcery battled against Sith mysticism for dominance. And in the end, techno-sorcery triumphed. With almost child-like glee, the Stormlord plunged headfirst into the vast reservoirs of knowledge stored within the Holocron. And what he saw within was beautiful, and reignited the fire in his soul.
So captivated was he of his discovery, that he became blind and deaf to everything else around him. Transmissions from both Trazyn and Szeras were ignored as he remained lost in his own world. Even when the last Wampa aboard the ship was slain did he refuse to stir from his trance-like state. In the end, his minions grew concerned enough that Szeras himself came down, ordering the guards outside to tear the door open.
"Master?" Szeras asked hesitantly as he stepped inside with cautious steps, instantly spotting the Stormlord standing motionless over a corpse, bathed in a red glow from a pyramid-shaped device clutched in his hand.
"Master, is everything alright?" Szeras tried again, but was thoroughly ignored by the Stormlord, who refused to take his eyes off the Holocron.
"Master!" Szeras tried more firmly again, and this seemed to snap the Stormlord out of his trance as he turned to face his minion.
"Szeras, was there something you wanted to report?" he inquired, sounding completely nonchalant despite having being all but lost to the rest of the galaxy for over an hour. Szeras was unsure how to feel about that, and tried to voice his concerns.
"The ship has been cleared of Wampas, my lord, but we grew concerned when-"
"Excellent!" the Stormlord jovially interrupted Szeras, not giving the cyclopean Necron a chance to speak again as he continued. "Then I want every scrap of data aboard this vessel downloaded onto our memory banks. Also, dispatch more search parties to look for more Sith vessels. Leave no stone unturned, is that understood?" while still worried about his master's condition, Szeras programmed loyalty would not allow him to disobey him here.
"Perfectly, my lord," he answered.
"Good! Now if there's nothing else I'll retire to my quarters, and I do not wish to be disturbed unless it's of vital importance," the Stormlord announced before striding past a bewildered Szeras with eager steps.
"Master…" Szeras finally manage to get out just before the Stormlord vanished around the corner. "Are you well?" the question stopped the Stormlord dead in his tracks as he turned to face Szeras once again. Even though he was wearing his skull-shaped helmet, Szeras knew without any doubt that the Stormlord was smiling widely at him.
"Never been better,"
