A/N: Okay, final chapter of Underworld, which is not the end of this story line. This is the shortest chapter of the story, but sequel will be coming out soon in the near future, but I have a few notes.
Fairly Important, Please Read.
1)This story is complete, but I will publish and Epilogue if there is enough interest in one. If this chapter get's 10 reviews, I will publish an Epilogue.
2)I am taking suggestion for actual names or titles for JV-FR13 for the next story. I have a few Idea's of my own, but I'd like to heat suggests.
3) I will like to thank everyone who has review my story, but in particular I would like to thank a few reader's in particular.
WindPardox, RadicalCat, SeleneRaven1999 Specter 8, and Classic Cowboy have all reviewed more than any other reader and have made me feel like my work is truly appreciated. They took the time to review on several chapters and Classic Cowboy and Windpardox did so for almost every chapter. I truly appreciate you taking the time to do so.
I truly appreciate every review I have received, but these reader's in particular went a bit further than most, Thank you.
Disclaimer: Star Wars is property of LucasFilm and Disney, I own nothing.
Chapter 12
Four Days Later
Tracing the large scar that graced the Mandalorian Iron of the helmet, Sabine found herself wondering , not for the first time, where this helmet had come from. New Mandalorian iron had been fairly rare in recent years, and she knew for a fact no Mandalorian would ever part willingly with such a valuable piece of equipment.
The scar in the metal was superficial, not enough to damage the helmet's integrity, but it was both a clear indication of the new alloy the Empire at been attempting to make, and the strength of the JV-FR13 creature in order to do any damage to it. Even a lightsaber blade couldn't cause any serious damage to Mandalorian iron.
Moving on from the scar, Sabine started fiddling with the electronic components. They weren't like the one's in her own helmet, but they looked close enough that she should be able to rig up and interface.
The helmet project had been her escape from all the heavy thoughts pressing down on her mind. Tyber being the heaviest thought that infected her mind. She now worried that she would never be out from under the influence of the drug. But she at least had the idea he'd never be able control her again, but it didn't help that she was still under the influence of his brain washing drug, which coincided with a great amount of grief at his death, and guilt over her own relief at his death. The fact that these feeling were complete fabrications of an experimental drug, did nothing to ease her feelings. The only thing she could do was escape into her little project.
Concentrating on the helmet again, she hissed in pain as her finger received a painful shock from a circuit she had failed set properly. Sticking her finger in her mouth and sucking on it, she mentally cursed herself for her carelessness.
Checking to make sure the important part's weren't damaged, and confirming they were indeed intact, she went back to work.
"This is worse than we originally thought." Hera said as she finished, finally, going through the data pad Ezra had managed to save when Tyber had been killed. Tyber had, unsurprisingly, downloaded all the technical data from the station, not just the blueprints of the building, but every single piece of scientific data available on the station. Each of the experiments had been bad enough on an individual bases, but they were not , as they had originally assumed, unrelated projects. While the information had made it clear that each project runner had not been aware of the other projects, there was in fact a larger goal at hand than any of them had been aware of.
Each project was part of a greater whole, the end result was to be a new Imperial fighting force. The toughness of JV-FR13 in a shock tropper, the healing components of the new medicine for the more mundane soldiers, the new armor for the soldiers and ships, and a whole list of other projects, including new sophisticated AI, new ship and vehicle designs, new blaster models and more.
The drug, was in her opinion, the darkest out of all the experiments. Not only how it was made, but the result of its use. The scientist who developed it made a point that not only would it make a standard Storm Trooper not only much harder to kill and increase their physicality to much higher levels, but would make the soldier's taking it entirely dependent on the Empire. Once it was in their system, they would be in for life, leaving or betraying the Empire would mean certain death, the Empire wouldn't even need to execute them or send anyone after defectors, they would simple have to cut off use of the drug. It would make for a brutally affective means of controlling the massive legions of storm troopers, and, Hera thought grimly, civilian populations if they ever managed to mass produce a synthetic version.
The idea of a whole army armed with stat of the art armor, blasters and a pure medical physical advantage was a scary thought, and what was worse, Hera couldn't breathe a sigh of relief even after the destruction of the facility. Communication data indicated many of the project's had much of their technical data sent out to other labs. They had, at best delayed the whole project for maybe a year. This project would have to become a larger focus of the Rebellion, and she didn't like the idea of Empire ever getting this idea off the ground.
Hera was pulled out of her own thoughts by a knock on her cabin door and Kanan's voice came through the door. "Hera, come here, there is something you need to see."
The newsfeed sent chills down Ezra's spine.
"The suspect killed two civilians and eight of the Storm Troopers that tried to subdue him." The news caster said. "Using a large blade, the suspect butchered the stall owners and the brave Imperial men who tried to stop him. The perpetrator is reported to be dressed in ragged looking clothing, and mask of unknown make or model. Witnesses put him at approximately seven feet tall, and withstood several blaster shots, indicating body armor underneath his clothing. Citizens are urged to notify an Imperial Storm Trooper or officer if this man is sited, and is not to be approached under any circumstances."
Apparently unable to take any more, Hera switched off the news feed, Ezra was silently grateful that she had done it, the implications were staggering. Looking around the room, Ezra noticed without fail, the pail faces of everyone of his crew mates.
"It can't be." Sabine was the first to speak. "He's dead, nothing could of survived that, the vacuum and the radiation..."
"Surviving the vacuum could be explained easy enough, he'd hardly be the first being to be able to live in the vacuum. " Kanan said rubbing his chin "But nothing, as far as I know, can live though unshielded Hyperspace travel, the radiation alone would of killed him after just a few seconds, he was exposed from Kamino all the way to Lothol, frankly we shouldn't of had body to bury."
"But he's dead Kanan." Ezra said pleadingly, "Dead and buried, he can't be back."
They had buried the thing four days ago, even if it had survived the trip, it would of surely suffocated under six feet of dirt. That thing was bad enough on an Imperial research station, but now if it was on Lothol, well it had already killed two civilians, it didn't care who it took out, it was, as Zeb had eloquently put it on the day the buried it "set to murder."
"We need to check the spot we put him." Zeb said standing up quickly. No one spoke as they made their way to the cockpit of the Ghost.
They had left the area where they had buried JV-FR13 not long after burying it, and they had not thought to inspect the area.
The trip only lasted a few minutes, but it felt much longer. The site that greeted them, did nothing to ease any of their minds.
The makeshift grave had been clearly disturbed. It didn't look like someone had dug it up, the disturbed soil was not piled neatly to one side, but rather it was scattered all around the hole with a fair portion still remaining in, as if something had exploded out of the grave, tossing what had covered it up.
"But he's dead." Sabine said in a voice telling everyone present that she knew what they were looking at, but didn't want to believe. JV-FR13 was alive, and on Lothol, and they had brought him here.
"Well it's alive, that's not the question, the question is what we are going to be doing about." Hera said in as much of a matter fact voice she could.
"Nothing at the moment." Kanan said, much to the shock everyone present.
"But Kanan, we.." Sabine began before Kanan cut her off.
"I don't mean permanently Sabine, we obviously can't do anything right now, we don't know where he is, and even if we did, our last encounter with it showed we aren't even close to understanding how to kill him. We need to know more about him." At this Kanan turned to Hera "Go through that data pad again, find anything you can on JV-FR13, any sort of weakness it had that they discovered in their tests."
Kanan turned to Ezra after this. "While Hera look's into JV-FR13, you are going to come with me, we have something to do."
Ezra felt his heart race as he and Kanan unloaded the ships speeder bikes. He knew Kanan was capable of sensing emotions more effectively than him, and was now worried he was getting wise to what he had done. Ezra was feeling much more guilt over the incident on the station than he would have originally thought he would have.
He didn't doubt Kanan knew something was wrong with him, but for the first few day's back, he had left him to his own devices, but know he was certain he was going to confront him about it.
Kanan stopped and turned to face Ezra."Ezra, I know something is bothering you, and I would like to know what it is." Ezra felt his heart jump into his throat, this was it "But, you are also a young man, and have seen more than most grown men, I would like for you to able to confide in me, but I also respect your decisions with you own personal feelings. If and when you are ready to talk about what's bothering you."
Ezra felt lightheaded with the sudden drop in his heart rate and sudden wave of relief, that was twinge with guilt that Kanan trusted him in such a complete manner. But his as soon as his relief came, so did the confusion.
"You didn't lead me out here just to talk about that, what else is going on?"
Kanan didn't say a word, but instead pulled out a small container, one Ezra was far to familiar with.
"The Holocron." Ezra whispered to himself, the thing that started the whole chain of events that put them in their current mess.
"We're going to hide it somewhere the Empire will never find it." Kanan said simply as he climbed onto his speeder, Ezra doing the same, and within moments they were off.
After an hour of silent travel, Ezra saw a familiar rock formation. "The Jedi Temple? Why hide it here?"
"It's the most secure location that I've encountered ever sense the fall of the Order." Kanan said climbing off his speeder. "Non-Force User's can't get in, and I doubt a dark side user could either, and with Lothol being so far out of the way of the galactic center, well that works in our favor as well."
As they approached Kanan added almost as and after thought "The light side presence her should also mask the dark side aura this thing gives off."
Closing their eye's, Ezra and Kanan raised their hands, while the stone grinding as it turned and rose. Opening his eye's Ezra saw the familiar entrance to the Jedi temple.
Looking at each other, but not saying a word, they walked into the temple.
Even knowing what the temple was, Ezra still felt and eerie feeling in his stomach as he entered the place. He did not want to enter the temple's deeper level's with Kanan. After the last time he was in the Temple, he didn't want Kanan to witness what he may see this time, Tyber appearing before him, accusing him of killing him, and a specter of JV-FR13, were not exactly something Ezra was hoping for.
But Kanan didn't seem intent on traveling deeper into the temple than necessary. "We don't want to risk getting lost in here. We aren't here for anything other than hiding this holocron, nothing more, no deed to risk getting trapped.
Ezra was more than happy to agree with this plan, while he didn't doubt the holocron would be safer deep in the bowls of the temple, getting lost or trapped was a real possibility.
After getting as far in as they could without entering the trial chamber, Kanan started to feel along the wall of stone, looking for something. Ezra was about to ask him what he was looking for when Kanan let out a sound of triumph and pulled a lose stone out of the wall.
Taking the holocron out of the box, Kanan placed it in the hole and replaced the stone. Ezra understood what he was going, a little extra insurance if anyone did manage to get in, make it harder to find out where it was hidden.
Replacing the stone, Kanan turned to Ezra again. "Well, that's one less thing to worry about fir now, let's get out of here."
Ezra didn't need to be told twice and followed Kanan out of the temple.
"Let's get back to the ship, see if Hera has had any luck with that data pad." Kanan said mounting his speeder.
Ezra took a moment to watch the temple slide back into its hidden position. Burying the Holocron felt mildly cathartic in a way, like they were putting the entire incident with Zann in the past, buried , out of sight and out of mind. His spirit felt somewhat lifted with the last tie to Zann on the ship was now buried in the temple, Ezra felt like a weight in his chest had let up slightly.
But there was still JV-FR13, which was still loose, dangerous and still a fairly powerful reminder of his own guilt. One monster was gone, buried but another worse one was now on the loose.
With one problem now gone, they had another one to deal with, which was frankly much more straight foreword than the issue with Tyber.
Sighing as he climbed on his speeder and followed Kanan back to the ship. For all the feeling currently rolling around inside him, Ezra knew the JV-FR13 had to be dealt with, living reminder of what he had done or not.
The sun was starting to set as they left the temple and Ezra, tiredly wondered if his life would ever get back to some semblance of normalcy, or if it ever could.
A/N: Thanks for reading Underworld, remember to review, if I get enough to indicate interest levels an Epilogue will be coming, and again, thanks for reading.
