*Cough* *Cough*
Eh, hello again. I've decided my muse hates Fall, it disappeared last year too. Now for my epic come back, which isn't that epic. Since I was gone for so long I decided to give you something short and post it now instead of making it part of the next chapter. Hopefully the next chapter comes sooner (like Sunday perhaps). I have high hopes as the chapter is just sitting in my head yelling "Write me!" May the Force be with my muse.
I realized I forgot the disclaimer, so Disney do not send the mysterious Knights of Ren after me for forgetting to remind my wonderful readers that Star Wars belongs to you.
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It had started off as a normal day. He woke up, kissed his wife and brought his kids to school. It had been a boring day at work. He drank two cups of caf and had spent his day testing software. Unfortunately, nothing went wrong so he had to content himself with being bored, very bored. It was night by the time he prepared to head home, not that it actually was dark. Coruscant continued to be bright for its entire rotation.
He blinked and the light beside him went dark and he slowed.
An ocean of darkness descended before him. Every light going out…
He felt fear, real honest fear for the first time. It was ugly, menacing and thrilling. He wanted it to go away. His stomach hurt. He couldn't breathe. He needed to move. Breathe… Need to breathe. His mind was yelling at him to move. His muscles wouldn't go. He was afraid and then it intensified. He could see something coming.
Move… move… Kriff! Move!
He could move again, but it was too late. Far too late. It was too late for everyone.
Everything was blissfully silent. Serene. Somewhere he knew something was wrong. He had heard something. What happened? The pain came and he couldn't think of anything else.
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The child looked around in confusion as the lights went off. The lights weren't supposed to go off. It was something that didn't happen. The lights were always on, that was how things worked. Only in her room were the lights supposed to be off.
"Sam," she whispered and hoped that maybe Sam was playing tricks again, "Sam, I'm scared. Please turn on the lights again… Sam!"
Then she remembered Sammy wasn't there. Sammy stop hiding. Where are you? It has to be you. "Sammy!"
Someone was next to her then, whispering.
"Mommy," she cried out in relief. Everything is going to be alright. Mommy is here.
She hugged her mother and didn't let go, even as her mother tried to get her to release her small hands. They had moved to position themselves behind a booth. She could see the lights coming from a cruiser. But she didn't fear. Mommy is here. Everything will be alright.
She basked in the safety of her mother's embrace as the lights neared. She could see the pilot's face. A panicked look, like the one her mother wore when she played hide and seek in the store. Hide and seek is fun. She wondered who he was looking for.
When she heard the screams she just clung tighter to her mother. She could hear glass shattering and had the feeling that something was wrong. It's okay. Mommy is there. Mommy will keep me safe. Something was stinging and she could feel her mother's hands pulling her in closer. Mommy will keep me safe.
Everything will be fine.
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They were supposed to have drills for this. They did have drills, but it was like having a drill for finding yourself sucked through a wormhole and landing in an alternate universe. It wasn't supposed to happen. The drills were a fun useless exercise, until they became reality.
The first indication something was wrong was when the lights went out and the place was swamped in darkness. Unusual.
The second indication was that the window he was stationed next to emitted no light. It was pitch black. That never happened.
The third indication was the backup generators whirring online. The impossible was happening.
Then it went from Oh-Kriff to Sith spit. It was a burnout. There was no power. And the doors of the prison cells were opening. Coruscant's detention center, holding the most dangerous criminals was about to be a murder fest.
By the pale light of the backup generators, the guard looked outside of the central tower. The prisoners were rushing out. He swallowed. The impossible had happened, they weren't prepared, and the prisoners were free.
He may just be a guard, but he knew his duty. Force may I make it through this day. Please let me see my family again. Besides him stood his friend, an old partner. They nodded to each other, both understanding the risk and necessity of what they were going to do. It was their job, but for the people. They would protect their family. They would protect their friends. The would protect the innocents. They would die trying or keep the prisoners contained.
"Ready Fein?"
"Of course, you?"
"Will I ever be?"
They looked at one another and nodded. Their faces tight.
"Call the clones."
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The healer stared at the screen in confusion.
No Signal
That wasn't supposed to happen. He was on a medical center which could access multiple signals. A precaution against sabotage by the Separatists. For there to be no signal meant that multiple towers had to be destroyed. He had a signal just a couple minutes ago. He fingered the comm. Perhaps it was temporary. Perhaps he was overreacting. It's nothing. It's a simple malfunction. I'll call in the techs. They'll have it running in no time.
"Technology support please. My console crashed," he commed.
There was some shouting in the background as his request was relayed and the dread in his stomach began to build up.
"Healer Walccra, your screen doesn't happen to say by any chance, 'No Signal'?"
It can't be, "Yes sir, but it can't be. All the towers would have to be knocked out."
"Healer, nobody can get a signal. Even our long range distance communicators. We are for all purposes alone."
He felt the force tremor around him and he could feel various voices crying out in confusion, "What could have happened?"
"Current belief is that the Separatists have launched a large scale attack. We are preparing to defend the station."
"But sir, the wounded. Without access to the Galactic Database how are we supposed to help them?"
"Any suggestions are welcome Healer Walccra. We still have our communicators so we are listening for signals and preparing units to be deployed if necessary."
He nodded as the man rambled on, "Sir, I'm coming down there. I want to see if any of the Jedi codes still work. Deploy units to the closest systems and see what happened. Make sure to send a technician for those with towers to see if anything can be fixed or salvaged."
"But healer, if this is a Separatist attack we need to prepare ourselves and sending our men would be suicide."
He looked at the console again and shook his head, "If the Separatists have managed to amass such an army it wouldn't matter what we do. Our patients will die without access to the database, but every planet makes contributions to the Galactic Database. If we can get just one tower running per sector then there is still hope and we can actually coordinate a counter attack. Doing nothing would be murder."
He could hear a sigh on the other end of the com, "It will be done."
"Good," he whispered. I need to meditate.
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Sidious smiled in delight as he felt the fear forming throughout the galaxy. How weak they all are. So susceptible and stupid. You just take away their ever so dear communications and they fall into disarray. Weaklings, all of them.
He felt someone warily approach him. Good. Fear me, for you are weak.
"My lord," the subservient voice came, "What are your orders?"
He smiled slightly, it felt good to have such power. The being of course meant if he had suggestions. The Separatist leaders were still technically in command. Just a bit longer. He had things to do.
"Release the droids. Let them strike fast and deadly. Without communications there will be no way for them to stop us."
He frowned slightly this time. Communications brought hope to the weak, but also spread fear.
"Set up our own towers to broadcast our victories and deeds. Let them fear us."
"Yes my lord, is there anything else?"
He shook his head and lowered the hood over his head, "I have things to do… alone. Consider it… research."
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I hope you enjoyed the rather short chapter. Once again sorry for my absence. I admit reviews saying somewhere along the lines of "Please Update" helped to kick my muse out of its lawn chair contemplating the summer. While "Please Updates" serve no purpose when posted on the day I update, feel free to PM me or just annoy me until I update if I'm gone longer than a month. On that note:
I solemnly swear to never abandon a story and always finish it (eventually).
