Chapter 12: Arrival
Artika Egg Army Base, 26th June 3239, 20:30 pm
The outer doors of the Egg-Army base swept open as the Inquisitor, flanked by Tundra and the officer he had placed in command as a 'temporary replacement' for Colonel Okada, stepped out into the freezing cold of the outdoors, although the only one bothered by the drop in temperature was the officer.
"A-Are you sure we can't m-meet them inside?" The officer stuttered, frosted breath coming forth from his mouth. "It would certainly be much warmer."
"You should have thought of that before accompanying us, Major." The Inquisitor said pointedly, icy breath coming from his mask. "It is not my fault you have a gross lack of fortitude for this sort of thing."
"A-Apologies, Inquisitor. It shall not happen again." The Major replied.
"See that it doesn't." The Inquisitor said, affixing his glare on the officer, under which the officer visibly fought to contain his fear. Turning away in disgust, The Inquisitor simply stood there, with his arms behind his back, looking as formal as was possible. Cold didn't bother him. It never would. In fact, he found it great, seeing the benefits of cold weather for the lungs.
Tundra stood a little to the Inquisitor's right, not seeming bothered by the cold at all. Then again, he had lived in this climate for many years, and he was not about to let the cold bother him now. Further bolstering his warmth was the clothing he was wearing.
The Major, however, was nothing short of freezing. Though he fought not to allow his discomfort to be visible, he could not help a small shake every now and then.
None of the present individuals knew how long it was, though for the Major, it felt like several hours, they caught sight of something in the sky, something headed right for them.
The Inquisitor noticed this, and smiled behind his mask. They had come.
The object in the sky soon took the shape of a Lambda-class T-4a Shuttle, its sleek white frame almost making it stand out in the night sky, which was clear of blizzards. For the moment. Almost as quickly as it had been seen, the shuttle began its descent, the trihedral foils moving upwards until they were in landing position, at which point, the shuttle made landfall.
The ramp leading into the shuttle opened, and the Inquisitor's smile widened.
"Welcome to Mobius." The Inquisitor said.
Tundra had to steel himself to avoid being intimidated.
Descending the ramp were two other Inquisitors, one of them masked like the Grand Inquisitor, but differing in size and stature.
The Inquisitor that was most of the way down the ramp was without a doubt female. Her face could not be seen, as it was hidden behind her mask, which was similar to the Grand Inquisitor's. But what could be seen was her stunning figure, hidden behind similar attire to that of the Grand Inquisitor's. It was lithe and agile, slightly built, but well compacted, like an athletic runner. Attached to her belt were two lightsabers. Aside from that, she was short, standing at perhaps five-foot ten.
The other Inquisitor was the precise opposite, standing at about seven feet tall, and powerfully built. He was wearing a similar ensemble to that of the female Inquisitor, but completely sleeveless, exposing the enormous arms of the being. As well as that, he had no helmet, showing that he was a Zabrak, pale yellow of skin colour, with red Sith tattoos marking his face. His eyes gleamed a seething yellow, a common occurrence with users of the Dark Side. Hanging from his left hip was clearly a double bladed lightsaber.
Tundra especially eyed the Zabrak Inquisitor. He looked like he could tear the female Inquisitor completely in two. Furthermore, he was finding it hard to retain his composure with three Inquisitors standing before him.
The female Inquisitor took a few more steps and knelt, as did the Zabrak. "Grand Inquisitor. It's an honour to fight by your side."
The Grand Inquisitor chuckled. "It's an honour to finally be able to fight at yours." He motioned with his hand. "Come. We have much to discuss. And bring the Shadow Guards too."
"Shadow Guards-?!" The Major blurted out just as eight of said guards followed the newly arrived Inquisitors out of the shuttle.
The Shadow Guards bore a striking resemblance to Emperor Palpatine's Royal Guard, but were far different in clothing colours. Most of their clothing was as black as night, with the only difference in colour being the single strip visor that allowed sight, which was a seething blood red.
Tundra blinked in surprise. Just what was going on?" Shaking his head to clear it, Tundra followed the new arrivals inside the base, finding himself having to drag the Major in with him.
Egg-Army Base Command Centre…
The three Inquisitors surrounded the holo-map, with only Tundra and the Major present. Displayed on the map was a map of the Artika Prison, still in a similar state to how The Grand Inquisitor had left it during a renewed attack on the prison the previous day, which had merely been to soften up the enemy forces and remind them he was still there.
"Looks like you've done some damage." The female Inquisitor said as she circled the map.
"Not as much as would be my preference, but yes, some damage indeed." The Grand Inquisitor replied.
"So what is the plan now?" The Zabrak Inquisitor said in thickly accented Basic.
"I am planning an attack on several fronts tonight." The Grand Inquisitor replied. "At midnight, one of our AT-AT Walkers will move forward with a company of troops and attack their front flank, with me and several Shadow Guards in the lead. You and your companion will lead two Shadow Guards and a platoon of Snowtroopers each in via two side entrances our probe droids discovered last night, one on either side of the prison." At this, he allocated a side to either Inquisitor, who nodded approval.
"Where do my men come in, Inquisitor?" Tundra demanded.
"Your men will join me in the frontal assault." The Inquisitor said.
"Good." Tundra said.
"Unfortunately, their leader won't be you." The Inquisitor growled as he tore his lightsaber from his belt, raised it up high, and brought it down on Tundra, slashing the portly, elderly walrus from his left shoulder to his right hip.
Tundra instantly stiffened at the sudden move and fell to his knees, as several Egg-Army soldiers watched in horror. Looking up at The Grand Inquisitor, Tundra could only grunt: "Why?"
"Your usefulness to me has run its course." The Grand Inquisitor declared simply, raising his lightsaber once more and beheading Tundra with a single stroke.
Everyone save for the other Inquisitors, stood staring at the Grand Inquisitor with horror as Tundra's now headless corpse toppled to the floor.
"As I said, his usefulness had run its course." The Grand Inquisitor reiterated as he returned his lightsaber to his belt. Turning to the Egg-Army soldiers present, The Grand Inquisitor ordered: "Spread the word. You and your comrades are under my command now."
The soldiers all nodded nervously, and exited the room.
"Harsh… But I understand your reasoning." The female Inquisitor remarked.
"As do I." The Zabrak Inquisitor added.
"Glad to see you both agree." The Grand Inquisitor stated. "Now, all there is to do is plan for what is to come after we eliminate the Jedi."
"Yes…" The Zabrak said, almost trancelike.
"What is to come after we eliminate the Jedi?" The Major asked.
"Stay, and you'll find out." The Grand Inquisitor said.
Meanwhile, Artika Prison…
Roman stepped out into the courtyard and surveyed the area, a perturbed look on his face. It was only a few minutes ago that he'd felt a large disturbance in the Force. It had been if someone he knew had suddenly been struck down without warning. He had since ascertained that everyone he knew and cared about were alright, alongside Tails and Roth, since both had felt the disturbance as well, being Jedi.
"Roman?"
Roman turned to see Ashley standing in the doorway, looking nothing short of concerned. "Yeah?"
"What's wrong? You've been acting really strange for the past few minutes." Ashley inquired.
"Sorry." Roman said. "I just felt a large disturbance in the Force. Like… someone I know was suddenly struck down without warning."
Ashley's eyes narrowed. "Well, whoever it was, I'm sorry for the loss."
"Until I find out who it was, don't be." Roman said. "No use mourning for the dead until you know who it was." Roman turned and folded his arms, looking out from his position.
Ashley trudged over, sensing something else was wrong. "There's something else, isn't there?"
Roman sighed. "I just have this feeling."
"What kind of feeling?" Ashley asked.
"A bad one. I've got a bad feeling in my gut that something bad is going to happen. And it's going to happen very soon." Roman elaborated.
Moving closer, Ashley turned Roman to face her, saying: "Well, if that's the case, then we'll face it together. As we always have." She sealed the statement with a gentle kiss.
Roman pulled Ashley closer as the kiss intensified, as their bodies began to heat up considerably.
Breaking the kiss, both lovers shook their heads to clear them.
"Damn…" Roman remarked to himself.
"Wow…" Ashley said before she locked lips with Roman again, this time jumping up and wrapping both legs around her boyfriend's waist.
Suddenly, Roman broke the kiss, frowning.
"What now?" Ashley said, starting to grow annoyed.
"I just realised something." Roman said.
Ashley's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"That tonight could be our last. If my gut proves right, this could well be the last night we have together." Roman replied.
Ashley bowed her head. Roman raised a strong point. A thought came to mind that made her blush, but her expression soon turned into a warm smile. "If that turns out to be true… Then how about we make tonight one to remember?"
Roman gave her a confused look before realising what she was getting at. If tonight was their last, then he'd want the same. Nodding, he brought his lips to hers, and Ashley once again wrapped her legs around Roman's waist as they headed inside.
Once inside their room, Roman pinned Ashley against the wall, as she said:
"Don't even think about stopping." She said.
Roman didn't, and for that night, only the shadows witnessed what came to pass between them.
Now, were I good at writing scenes involving sexual content, I would, but I'm not, so don't get your hopes up. Plus, this fic is rated T, so were I to write scenes of a sexual nature, the admins of this site would likely flock like birds to my account and take down the stories I have worked hard to bring to you from the inner depths of my mind.
Moving on from that, please leave your reviews (NO FLAMES!), and May the Force be with you. Always.
T-Rock14
