Division XI: Extraction on Scarriff
Scarriff. Status: abandoned Imperial occupied planet. Scarriff was perhaps the most important planet to the First Galactic Empire. Primarily because they had secured all of the important and top-secret information in the Citadel Tower. The training information for the Death Trooper legion, the location of the Darksaber, and even information related to the Death Star were secured in the Citadel Tower, along with a plethora of other information. The planet itself had a tropical environment, rowed with sandy beaches and vibrant jungles. An environment like this was good for keeping Imperial bases a secret from the rest of the Galaxy. Supreme Leader Snoke had discovered perhaps the most important information secured on Scarriff: the location of a long lost Sith Lord. Now, he needed a strike team to retrieve the information from Scarriff, and then, Snoke could drain the Force energy out from the Sith, continuing his own life by several hundreds of years…
Commander Phaedra entered the Supreme Leader's throne room, bowing before her master. She had been called by Snoke himself, as he had a very important mission to assign her.
"Commander Phaedra." Said Snoke.
"Supreme Leader." She replied, still bowing.
"My navigators have informed me of something of extraordinary importance that is currently secured on the tropical planet of Scarriff."
"Something of much importance, Supreme Leader?"
"The location of an ancient Sith Lord…"
Phaedra stood from her lengthy bow.
"Ancient Sith Lord?" She quickly asked.
"Darth… Malgus…" Snoke replied slowly, with a smile upon his face.
"Malgus…" Phaedra mumbled, "How is he still alive?!"
"Malgus was frozen in carbonate and given as a gift to the Eternal Emperor, Valkorion."
"You're saying that he is possibly still alive?"
"Without a doubt."
Snoke folded his hands and smiled.
"Supreme Leader, the planet of Scarriff has been in ruin for years." Said Phaedra.
"The location of Darth Malgus was not held in the Citadel Tower, it is currently secured in a top-secret, underground fortitude known as Imperial Base 3X."
"How did you come to knowledge of this information?"
Phaedra was raised from the ground, Snoke not moving a single finger. He brought her just a few inches from his face, breathing heavily as he did so (from his anger).
"I've lived longer than any fool boarded on this ship. My knowledge of the Galaxy expands by the mere second…" Snapped Snoke.
Commander Phaedra was tossed back to where she had stood, and she rose to a bow as to not anger the Supreme Leader any further.
"You will be in charge of this operation, Commander." Said Snoke, calming himself down.
"Affirmative, Supreme Leader." Phaedra looked up slowly, "May I ask, how will I find the Imperial base?"
"There is a prisoner aboard my flagship, dwelling in cell number seven, who has a vast knowledge of the Imperial activity on Scarriff. His great grandfather had worked as a Lieutenant General on Scarriff. You shall take the prisoner with you."
"Affirmative, Supreme Leader."
"Along with the prisoner, you shall also take with you young Varr, who dwells in cell number three. His time has come for him to reprove his loyalty to the Third Order and his Supreme Leader…"
"As you wish, Supreme Leader."
"Finally, summon Squad Leader Dravox and his squad of Storm Enforcers. That is all that I have for you, Commander."
"It shall be done as you wish for it, Supreme Leader."
"Good… Good…"
Varr lied on the hard, cold ground, sound asleep. He had been in the cell for nearly eight days now, longing for the day that his time would come to escape the uninviting prison cell. Abruptly, he was awoken by the opening of his cell door, opened by none other than Commander Phaedra herself.
"What… the…" Varr mumbled, stretching out his arms as he lied on the ground.
He glanced upwards to see the golden figure of Commander Phaedra.
"The Supreme Leader has ordered you to assist me on my mission to Scarriff." Said Phaedra, staring down superciliously at Varr.
"Ordered… me?" Asked Varr hesitantly.
"It surprised me as well." Remarked Phaedra.
Varr noticed his lightsaber hilt on Commander Phaedra's belt.
"Are you going to give me my weapon?"
"When the time draws near."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"What I just said."
"Smarta##..." Thought Varr.
After Varr had gradually exited the cell, he followed Phaedra to cell number seven, the cell of his previously close friend. Igor was also awoken by the opening of his cell door.
"What the h### do ya' think you're doin' you son of a-" Igor cut himself off, "Commander, my apologies."
Igor fell to the ground and kissed Phaedra's right golden boot. Phaedra kicked Igor in the face, knocking him back.
"OUCH! What was that for?!" Shrieked Igor.
"Flirtatious remarks…" Thought Phaedra.
"Disrespectful, ignorant slime." She then said.
"Why are you here, anyway?" Asked Igor.
"You are coming with us-"
"Us?"
"Yes, us."
Igor then noticed who was standing behind Phaedra, it was his old buddy, Varr.
"Son of a b####..." Mumbled Igor.
"Excuse me?" Snapped Phaedra.
Unpredictably, Igor charged out of the cell, knocking over Phaedra, and tackling Varr.
"YOU TRIED TO LEAVE ME BEHIND YOU SON OF A B####!" Screamed Igor, strangling Varr.
"GET… OFF… OF… ME…"
"FOOL!" Shouted Phaedra, hammering Igor off of Varr with her silver, pointed staff.
"OCK!" Yelled Igor as he hit the ground.
Varr panted fiercely, trying to catch his breath after nearly being strangled to death.
"I thought Ithorians were peaceful in nature…" Mumbled Phaedra.
"I THOUGHT WE WERE PALS, YOU TRAITOROUS B######!" Continued Igor.
"I had no choice!" Replied Varr.
"YOU CHOSE THE QUEEN OVER ME?! SON OF A BI-" *electricity sparking*
Igor's spastic body fell to the ground after being tased in the back of the neck by Squad Leader Dravox.
"Much obliged." Said Phaedra.
"It is only an honor, Commander Phaedra." Dravox said with a bow.
"The Supreme Leader has ordered you and your squad to assist me on my mission to Scarriff."
"I would be honored to, Commander."
"Gather your men, and take this prisoner with you. I will meet you at the main hangar."
"Right away, madam'."
Dravox bowed and tossed Igor onto his right shoulder, and he then made his way towards the main hangar.
"To disobey leadership is one thing, but to betray a friend is another…" Said Phaedra as she walked away.
Varr watched as she did so, pondering about what she had just said. What was her past like? He could not help but wonder…
Darth Ridor stormed towards the Supremacy III in his TIE Frighter; his sister sat in the seat behind his.
"How did you find me…" Said Adrianna softly.
"The Force had revealed to me of your hiding on Ovactus."
"How did you find out that I was being held captive on Gladius?"
"A bounty hunter led me to it."
Adrianna thought back to the armored figure who had tried to kill her while she lied defenseless in the Arena of Gladius.
"How did the bounty hunter know of my location?"
"Bounty hunters know the Galaxy like no one else could imagine."
"I suppose so…"
"Were you victimized while on Gladius?"
"I experienced unspeakable things…"
"B######s…" Mumbled Ridor; he became extraordinarily furious at what he had just heard.
At that silent moment, multiple starfighters of unknown legion appeared behind Ridor's TIE Frighter out from Hyperspace.
"What the h###?!" Said Ridor.
"Should I fire at them?" Asked Adrianna.
"That is the last thing that you should do." Replied Ridor.
"My apologies."
Then, a large modified YV-765 Light Freighter, known as the Hound's Tooth II (because of its rather odd shape), flew in front of the other starfighters.
"Blast… that's Bossk…" Mumbled Ridor, staring at the mirror showing the prominent starfighter.
"Another bounty hunter?!" Asked Adrianna.
"Precisely so." Replied Ridor.
Bossk had been alive for a couple of hundred years, as Trandoshans could live for a rather long time. However, he would only be able to live for about fifty more years or so.
*heavy accent* "You are under arrest, continue towards the closest planet."
"Why did they not decide to kill us?" Asked Adrianna.
"They want us for something…" Replied Ridor.
The sound of turbulent wind could be heard, thrashing against the side of titanium. Igor awoke aboard a Zeta-class Cargo Shuttle, in the sky of Scarriff. He stood up from his sleep, pressed his hands against the window, and stared out at the ruin of the Citadel Tower. The sight of vast waters and jungled beaches gave the ruin an unfitting impression.
"So… that was the Citadel Tower?" Asked Varr.
"Correct. Grand Moff Tarkin of the First Galactic Empire gave the order to destroy the Citadel Tower." Replied Phaedra, staring out the window along with him.
"Why would he destroy the tower? Did it not keep immensely important information?"
"Tarkin could not risk the Rebels leaking out that information… unfortunately… he was too late."
"I'd say it was a tragedy… but…"
"That same information freed the Galaxy from its slavery…"
"Exactly…"
Igor's hands slowly dropped from the window.
"My great grandfather died on this planet…" Igor said softly.
"Do you recall a secret base known as Imperial Base 3X?" Asked Phaedra.
"They built it exactly twelve miles west from the Citadel Tower… hidden under the three trees of stronghold."
"Three trees of stronghold?" Asked Varr.
"Out of all of the storms to take place on Scarriff, these ancient trees, for some bizarre reason, never fell."
"How do you recall all of this knowledge?" Asked Phaedra curiously.
"Ithorians have an excellent memory…"
"I can tell." Remarked Varr.
Ridor flew into the atmosphere of Trandosha: home of the Trandoshan species.
*heavy accent* "Continue forward to the tallest temple."
Ridor moved his eyes down onto the large temples, which were built in the middle of a woodland covered swamp. The limestone gave off an ancient tone, along with the vines growing about them. Large TX-D3 Autofire Cannons followed Ridor's TIE Frighter as it flew down past the massive temples.
*in Dosh* "Two men with me. As for the rest of you, depart from this area."
*in Dosh* "Roger that, sir."
Ridor landed on a landing pad near the largest temple; Bossk and two other Trandoshan starfighters landing behind him.
*heavy accent* "Exit your vehicle now."
Ridor and Adrianna jumped out from the TIE Frighter, and Bossk out of the Hound's Tooth II, with the two other Trandoshans following behind him.
"It's beautiful…" Said Adrianna, marveling at the ginormous structures.
*heavy accent* "Don't try anything stupid…" Said Bossk, aiming his Relby-v10 at Ridor. The two other Trandoshans also equipped their Trandoshan Blaster Rifles, which could disable themselves when in the hands of an unknown user. Ridor looked over at five more Trandoshans aiming their blaster rifles at him as they came out from the largest temple's entrance.
"As you command." Said Ridor.
Bossk chuckled and slowly moved forward.
*heavy accent* "Proceed into the temple." He said.
Ridor and Adrianna, without hesitation, moved towards the temple just a few yards away from them.
The Cargo Shuttle prepared to land onto a hidden, small landing pad that laid next to the entrance of Imperial Base 3X. The weather was turning quite inclement; gray clouds forming above them, strong winds blowing fiercely, and drops of rain falling from the misty sky. Igor pulled a CR-2 off from the weapons rack, and Phaedra handed Varr his lightsaber hilt.
"You are not getting off of this planet without us." Said Phaedra.
"Roger that." Replied Varr.
Commander Phaedra and her squad exited the shuttle, Igor (after strapping his weapon across his right shoulder) quickly running towards the base's door, which was built into the ground. Opening the door would require a code, that is if the door itself could still be opened, however.
"Do you remember the code?" Shouted Phaedra over the wailing wind.
Igor entered an eight-digit code, and the door opened, but only halfway.
"You have got to be kidding me…" Grumbled Phaedra.
Igor tried pulling the door open, but his efforts rendered useless.
"It won't open up any further!" He shouted, still pulling on the rusting, silver door.
"I guess that will have to do." Said Phaedra, sounding rather distressed.
Igor slid through the opening, with Varr following behind him. They landed onto a cold, rusting metal floor, staring down a dark staircase leading to a large metal door. Squad Leader Dravox's squad had a rough time getting through the opening, as their armor was a tad bit large for their current situation. Commander Phaedra herself had gotten stuck in the opening, kicking her legs as to try to free her from the uncomfortable enclosing.
"D#####!" She shouted.
Varr looked up at the door, focusing in on it, and with the gradual wave of his arm, the door had slowly opened, and Phaedra fell directly in front of Varr.
"You about panicked yourself to death!" He remarked.
"Silence!" She snapped back.
"You sure have it rough with the ladies." Whispered Igor.
"D### right." Replied Varr.
Rain drizzled down onto Varr and Igor, who were still standing over the opening.
"I'm sorry about what happened earlier…" Said Igor.
"It's fine." Replied Varr, looking over to Phaedra.
He was staring at her armored hips, admiring the stature of the Commander.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Said Dravox.
Phaedra grabbed the wheel latched onto the metal door, and she turned it rather slowly, as the wheel was quite heavy. Soon, the door had cracked open, and with her right foot, Phaedra kicked the door open a little further.
"I just got some serious chills…" Murmured Igor.
A hallway lied before them, lamplights attached to the ceiling. Phaedra flicked a switch next to her, and quite loudly, the lights flashed on, then flickering off and on afterward.
"Dude… this is f##### as h###..." Said Igor.
"What? Just a couple of lights?" Gibed Varr with a chuckle in his voice.
"Real funny…" Igor softly replied.
Phaedra and her squad progressed forward, passing through sections containing Imperial Terror Trooper armor. Phaedra stopped and stared at the hanging suit of terrifying armor.
"What in the Maker's name is this?!" Frantically asked Igor.
"Terror Trooper armor…" Replied Phaedra.
"Terror… Troopers?!"
"Correct."
Phaedra continued walking.
"You know, maybe it's best that we get out of this h###hole." Said Igor, catching up to speed with the rest of the crew.
Phaedra soon came to the door at the end of the hallway, which had a rusty warning sign plastered onto it.
"Here goes nothing…" Said Phaedra as she grabbed the door's handle.
*creeeeeeek*
Ridor walked up several limestone stairs, through the massive Trandoshan temple. Bossk followed behind them, with his fellow Trandoshan hunters, his Relby-V10 still aimed at the two Sith. They soon came to a large, red double-door.
*heavy accent* "Get out of my way…" Said Bossk with a growl, budging Ridor and Adrianna out of his way.
Ridor clenched his right fist in anger, but he knew that he had to restrain himself from killing the bounty hunter. Bossk shoved open the doors, and before them sat an eight-foot, bulky Trandoshan. A rather tall, wide and bronze crown lined with spikes laid upon his sizeable head. He sat upon a throne; he was the Trandoshan Emperor.
*in Dosh* "Master…" Said Bossk, bowing before his emperor.
The Trandoshan Emperor licked his lips, in a very reptile-like manner.
*in Dosh* "What have you brought me, Bossk?" Asked the Trandoshan Emperor.
*in Dosh* "The two Sith are members of the Third Order, master." Replied Bossk.
The Trandoshan Emperor slowly arose from his throne, towering over every individual who was in the room. He gradually progressed towards Ridor and Adrianna, the room vibrating as he did so. Once again, he licked his lips.
*heavy accent* "Bow… before your Emperor." Said Bossk.
"I DON'T BOW TO ANYONE-"
The Trandoshan Emperor grabbed Ridor with his large hand, staring in his eyepieces.
*heavy accent* "Ridor…" Mumbled the Trandoshan Emperor, dropping Ridor to the ground afterward.
The towering Trandoshan walked back to his throne and sat back down upon it.
*heavy accent* "The Trandoshan species is a failing people." Said the Emperor.
"I am sorry for that." Said Ridor, trying to keep himself alive.
*heavy accent* "You have two options, Ridor: To form an alliance with the Trandoshan Legion and the Third Order, or to become my personal bodyguard."
Adrianna looked over to her brother.
"Form the d### alliance…" She whispered.
At that moment, Ridor realized that the Trandoshan Legion would make a great ally to the Third Order, and a worthy enemy against the Resistance.
"Under my authority, the Third Order shall make an alliance with the Trandoshan Legion." Said Darth Ridor.
The Trandoshan Emperor chuckled, then licking his lips.
*in Dosh* "Bossk, at my throne immediately." Said the Emperor.
*in Dosh* "As you wish, master." Replied Bossk, quickly sprinting to the Trandoshan Emperor's throne.
The Emperor handed Bossk a paper, made from Doshan bark, which had already had some writing on it.
*in Dosh* "Hand this to Ridor, have him sign his name on this paper." Said the Emperor.
*in Dosh* "Yes, master." Replied Bossk, sprinting back to Ridor.
*heavy accent* "Sign your name here." Said Bossk to Ridor, pointing his figure to a line on the paper.
Ridor took a pen from Bossk's hand, and he signed Lord Ridor on the paper.
"It is settled." Said Ridor.
Bossk sprinted back to his Emperor and handed the paper into his clutch.
*heavy accent* "You may depart now, Lord Ridor." Said the Emperor.
"My gratifications to you, Emperor." Said Ridor.
Ridor arose from the ground, and he exited the temple, Adrianna following behind him.
*in Dosh* "Beautiful…" Mumbled Bossk, his eyes following Adrianna.
Soon Ridor and his sister had exited the temple.
"I'd say mission accomplished?" Said Adrianna.
"That… and so much more…" Replied Ridor.
The door, slowly, but surely, swung open.
"My God…" Mumbled Phaedra.
The walls were stained in a dark, red, crusting liquid. It smelled vulgar as if multiple corpses had been buried in the room for several decades. All the while, the dim lights flickered from above, giving off an overwhelmingly eerie feeling.
"What the…" Mumbled Dravox.
"THAT'S IT- I'M DONE WITH THIS RONTO SH-"
Dravox grabbed Igor (as he was walking away) and slammed him to the ground, aiming his weapon at Igor's face.
"You are not going anywhere, prisoner." Dravox said sternly.
"I-I am so-rry…" Replied Igor with a croak in his voice.
As Dravox freed Igor from his tight grip, Commander Phaedra took a few steps forward, and she began inspecting the room.
"It's a d##### maze." She said aloud.
A light tapping noise could then be heard in the relatively far distance.
"What is that sound?" Asked Varr.
Phaedra cautiously plodded over to one of the entrances of the maze. She glanced down to see a mangled armor suit from a Terror Trooper, crusted with dark blood as if something had ripped the trooper limb from limb.
"There is something far more sinister lying in these halls…" Said Phaedra.
At that moment, the slight tapping ceased, leaving only the sound of flickering lights from above. Dravox once again shoved Igor, against the wall, with his weapon.
"Which path is the correct path?!" Shouted Dravox.
Igor thought back to an old map, which belonged to his great grandfather, which he had seen several years back.
"This one." Igor said, pointed to the path right to Phaedra.
"Pray that you are right… for your sake…" Dravox said, releasing Igor once again.
"Move along, men!" Shouted Phaedra, motioning her right palm into the path.
The tapping noise commenced once again.
"The h###..." Mumbled Dravox.
Suddenly, the lights went out after the sound of a switch flicking, and the room became pitch black.
"AGH!"
Igor screamed, and he took off down through the maze's pathway, equipping the CR-2 off from his back, and firing it rapidly like some sort of maniac.
"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Dravox yelled, his voice echoing throughout the pathway.
"Son of a b####." Phaedra said.
Sixty seconds went by.
"I MADE IT! WOOOOO!" Shouted Igor.
Igor had caught sight of a sign that led him to believe that he had made it through the maze. He jumped in the air, continuously shouting, celebrating his seemed victory.
*CRUNCH*
"What the h### was that?!" Asked one of the Third Order Enforcers.
"The sound of bones crunching…" Said Varr.
He felt sick to his stomach; the sound of crunching bones was something that he had heard quite frequently when encountering Dargodons back when he was dwelling on Danvor.
"Is he dead?" Asked Dravox.
A large, mechanical-sounding footstep caused a loud clanking noise to send slight vibrations across the metal floor.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Murmured Varr.
Another footstep was then heard.
"Something massive is coming our way." Said Phaedra.
"MEN! READY YOUR WEAPONS!" Shouted Dravox.
Varr activated his blue lightsaber, and the rest of the group readied their weapons.
*CLANK*
The group progressed forward, cautiously.
*CLANK*
The hearts of Dravox's men beat wildly, their sound could be heard by everyone in the group.
*CLANK*
The sound of claws scraping across the maze's metal walls commenced as the clanks continued to send chills through Phaedra and her crew's spine. Varr sensed in the Force that something dastardly was approaching; the same thing which had slaughtered the Terror Troopers…
Ridor and Adrianna approached the Supremacy III, just coming out from hyperspace. A horrible feeling came to Adrianna's stomach, a feeling of dread.
"It is not too late to turn back… we should not be doing this…" She said.
"The Force leads me to destroy Snoke… once and for all." Replied Ridor confidently.
Adrianna was terrified of Snoke... After what he had tried to do to her... She knew what he was capable of doing to her and her brother. Snoke knew that they were returning, Ridor's anger grew to such an extreme extent that Snoke could feel the anger, the hatred, that Ridor had gushing out from him. Adrianna's heart beat fiercely, and tears began to stroll down her cheeks.
*sinister laughter*
Phaedra and her crew came across a blue-tinted window, a rather lengthy window. It was built into one of the maze walls, it seemed rather out of place.
"What is a window doing there?" Asked one of Dravox's men.
Phaedra moved closer to the window, the blue glare from Varr's lightsaber giving off a source of light for her to see through it.
"What in God's name…" She mumbled.
She froze there, terrified. A large, robotic face, staring back at her. Its jaw was crooked, causing its gaping mouth to hang wide open. Its teeth were stained in blood… and its arms... Large and bulky, and its massive hands ending with giant claws, in which its right hand was drenched in fresh blood. It just stood there, staring back into Phaedra's eyepieces. The thought came to Phaedra's mind that the mechanical terror of a beast may have been deactivated, but what else could have been making those frightful sounds? The sound of a mechanical, distorted growl was then heard by all of the crew; Phaedra's heart beat at such an intense rate that she could no longer think, but just stand in absolute, unfeigned terror.
*POW*
One of Dravox's men had shot himself through his face with his EFR-40 Blaster Rifle. Phaedra jumped back at the sound of the blaster firing, the edge of Varr's blue lightsaber blade scraping the side of her armor.
"Cowardly fool!" Shouted Dravox.
Phaedra looked back through the window, and the mangled face of the horrific beast still rested motionlessly. Phaedra then turned to her side to see one of Dravox's men get snatched into the air by what seemed to be a mechanical arm.
"AAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Bones snapped and blood-splattered, the crew heard the sound of robotic movement as if the jaws of the beast were crunching down onto the trooper's tough armor.
"Who the h### would design something like this?!" Asked Phaedra.
"The First Galactic Empire." Replied Dravox.
Phaedra looked through the glass again… and she saw nothing. The robot was gone.
"It is not there anymore!" Shouted Phaedra.
And as she turned around, a segment of the wall behind her collapsed, killing two of Dravox's men. The large robotic beast landed atop the fallen wall, and it released a terrifying roar that caused the entire room to rattle.
"RUUUUUUN!" Shouted Dravox's last remaining man.
He stormed through the maze as fast as he could, but he was running in the dark, and he could barely see anything. Dravox stood and switched his weapon into stun-fire, and he launched a powerful stun bolt at the beast's face. The mechanical monstrosity stumbled back a bit, rattling its head, but only to get furiously angry and release an even louder roar than that of before.
"S###." Said Dravox.
"MOVE OUT!" Shouted Phaedra, and she took off, running for her life.
"B####..." Dravox mumbled.
Dravox turned to see the beast charging up a powerful laser cannon (which was built into its mouth), and he turned to run as well. Varr attempted to Force push the beast, but it only caused the robust robot to stumble back slightly. Varr dashed forward and caught sight of another path, and he ran there for safety.
*WHOOOOOOOOOOOSH*
The robot's cannon had fired; a blindingly bright, blue beam streamed out from the beast's mouth, and it completely eradicated Dravox's last standing man. The beam chipped the side of Dravox's armor as he dashed into the safety of another path, and he turned his head to see the blinding beam.
"God help us…" He thought.
Phaedra had been running in the dark for nearly two minutes now. As she ran, she slipped backward on some splattered fresh blood… the blood of Igor.
"Blast!" She shrieked.
She caught eye of a "CAUTION" sign, which led her to believe that Igor must have thought the sign had "EXIT" written on it.
"Must be where they built that d### thing." She said.
She stepped forward and began walked through an old abandoned factory. Loads of building equipment, bacta tanks, and most interestingly: failed models of the robot that had been chasing her.
"Gargonox 'T' 'X' three-thousand six-hundred." She read aloud from a rusting sign.
She looked up at the most complete model. It sent chills down her spine, but she knew it was not activated. The beast's echoed throughout the maze as Phaedra stared at the deactivated model. She continued to gaze at the model, but as she gazed, she noticed an odd reflection showing off from the glass in front of the model. It looked as if a man with a blue cape and dark hair was standing behind her, but she could not make out the figure.
"What… the…" Whispered Phaedra to herself.
"Malgus is mine, Phaedra." Said the figure.
Phaedra spun her staff around quickly, and to her surprise, her staff clashed with a green vibroblade. The two locked their weapons together. The figure had a blue bandana covering most of his face, but Phaedra was able to make out the figure in the glowing light of the green vibroblade.
"Krennic…" She mumbled.
"Spot on, Commander." He replied.
"What are you doing here?" Asked Phaedra, staring down Krennic.
"Classified information."
"You're a traitor…"
"I can't let you live much longer."
Krennic dashed back and slashed at Phaedra's neck, only for her to block his attack.
"Fine. We can do this the hard way." Remarked Krennic.
"And what may that be?" Questioned Phaedra.
"Classified information."
Phaedra grew angry at Krennic's remark.
"B######!" She screamed, swinging her staff at his head.
Krennic rolled behind Phaedra, lifted the glass above a red button, and he pressed it. Phaedra turned around to see the Gargonox activate, its eyes glowing red, and a distorted growl coming from its mouth.
"Son of a blasted b####." Said Phaedra, slowly stepping backward.
"Best of luck to you, Commander." Remarked the Director once again.
He deactivated his vibrosword, and he ran back into the safety of the darkness.
Varr ran through the darkness, only finding solace in his bright, blue blade. He noticed that the mechanical monster had seemed to quiet down. He stopped for a second, catching his breath, and he heard absolutely nothing for the next few moments.
"Maybe it deactivated…" Said Varr.
But then, at that dreadful moment, as Varr continued to breathe heavily, he heard the sound of an extraordinarily loud clanking noise clash into the ground. Varr fell back against the hard, cold ground, and his lightsaber fell out from his grip, deactivating.
"BLAST!" He screamed, the sound of utter panic being heard in his emotion-provoking voice.
Varr calmed himself down, the Force aiding him, and he realized something: the sound of that loud noise came from the opposite direction of the mechanical menace, which meant only one thing…
"Oh s###!" He shouted out, still breathing frantically.
Phaedra fell back at the Gargonox plundering out from its space, crashing through the glass in front of it. Its eyes, glowing red, created a light that fell onto Phaedra.
"Blast.. Blast.. Blast.." She said repeatedly.
She backed up onto her feet, and as the Gargonox was readying to swing at her with its right claw, she thought quickly, and dashed out of the room, causing the Gargonox to miss its heavy blow. Phaedra dashed through the darkness of the maze, firing her weapon a few times to keep the Gargonox's attention. The Gargonox turned and stomped towards Phaedra, smashing through the bulky walls of the maze-like they were nothing, a powerful roar ascending from its mouth as it did so. And out from the nearly pitch-black darkness, a massive claw arose and smashed into the face of the Gargonox that was chasing Phaedra. The Gargonox smashed into the ground, heavily denting the metal floor. Its mouth gaped wide open, roaring powerfully, as Phaedra lied on the ground just a few feet away from it. She screamed loudly, and as she got onto her feet and began to run, the fallen Gargonox had grasped her with its right claw, the left claw on the head of larger Gargonox which had taken the fallen one down. It yanked Phaedra into the air as she screamed as loud as she ever had before.
"NO! S###!"
She cried wildly, unfeigned emotion reeking from the commander. She had gotten so terrified that she had pissed herself, and vomited into the inside of her helmet. Through her cries of terror, the larger Gargonox smashed its fist into the face of the fallen one, and it completely destroyed its head. The large arm which held Phaedra fell to the ground, and Phaedra, tears streaming down her red face, wheezed and panted in relief.
"THANK GOD!" She screamed through her tears and heavy breaths.
Her voice sounded quite wheezy, and she began to cough as more chunks of warm, brown vomit came out from her mouth. In that moment of relief, the larger Gargonox grabbed onto the arm of the fallen one, and he threw it across the maze.
*CLANK*
The arm crashed into the metal wall, smashing the front of Phaedra's helmet along with it. The claws of the arm had released Phaedra, and she pelted to the ground, scraping her armor even more. She continued to pant heavily as she took her mangled helmet off from her face, and she tossed it to the ground without any hesitation. She vomited once again, this time some blood mixed in with the reeking chunks.
"God…" She mumbled.
She fell to the ground, her dark blonde hair swishing as she did so.
Varr had still been lying on the ground, trying to keep himself hidden from all of the commotion. He still heard the sounds of metal clashing, but what he did not know was that that was the sound of the larger Gargonox ripping apart the one that it had destroyed. Varr had thought that Phaedra had died by the hands of the Gargonox, and at that point, he began to think that he was the only one that had survived.
"The Force has protected me…" He said to himself.
Varr had knocked the negative thoughts out of his head, and he began to think that it was still possible for Squad Leader Dravox to have survived along with him. Varr focused in on the Force, and his lightsaber hilt flew right into the clutch of his right hand. He activated the blue blade, and he made his way forward throughout the ruin of the maze.
Squad Leader Dravox lied underneath a large pile of rubble, which the Gargonox, which had been chasing Phaedra, had destroyed. He had awoken from a severe concussion, and he had thought that he was dead. But then he came to his right mind and concluded that he had survived the most intense scene of his entire life. He had been through bloody wars and vivid dogfights, but yet something quite like this. He pushed his way out from the destruction, and he made it back onto his feet. He looked over to his right to hear the sound of crunching metal, and then he made the wise decision to head the way which was his left. After a few moments of walking in the darkness, through the rubble of the maze, Dravox heard the sound of low breathing. Dravox ran over to where the breathing was coming from, just to lay his eyes on Phaedra, who was lying on the ground with her eyes closed.
"Commander! Are you asleep?" Asked Dravox, his hands on the sides of her light red face.
Dravox looked up to see Varr with his lightsaber approaching out from his left.
"Never thought I would say this, but glad to see that you made it out alive." Said Varr to Dravox, still on his knees, next to Phaedra.
"You're darn lucky you had the Force with you, or you would've been nothing but bits." Remarked Dravox.
"I can't disagree with that." Replied Varr.
Varr walked slowly over to Phaedra, examining her face. He looked back over to her damaged helmet.
"Is that the Commander?" Asked Varr.
"Without a doubt, wise guy." Replied Dravox.
Varr picked up Phaedra's marred helmet, and vile vomit dripped out from the inside.
"Disgusting…" Mumbled Varr, dropping the stench filled helmet to the ground.
"Looks like she had a rough time with Marty." Said Dravox.
"Who?"
"That's my nickname for that thing, Marty."
"Alright then."
Phaedra began to cough, and she awoke to the rather frightful helmet of Dravox.
"F###! GET OFF FROM ME!" She screamed.
She shoved Dravox to the ground and picked up her G-89 Heavy Blaster Rifle, aiming it at Dravox's face.
"What the h###, woman?!" Shouted Dravox.
"I thought you were a Terror Trooper!" Shouted Phaedra.
Dravox stood up on his feet, lowering Phaedra's intimidating blaster rifle.
"You're a lot hotter than I expected." Said Dravox.
"Excuse me?!" Shouted Phaedra.
She kicked Dravox down to the ground, causing him to grunt in distress.
"I did not have any doubts, Commander." Said Varr, watching in awe.
"I'd recommend shutting your trap right now." Said Phaedra, turning her face to Varr.
"Of course, Commander, my apologies."
Dravox once again stood to his feet.
"Look, we need to get the blast out of here." He said.
"I think I might know a way." Said Phaedra, turning towards the abandoned factory.
Phaedra, Dravox, and young Varr stood at the entrance of the abandoned factory.
"Wonder if Igor died here." Said Varr.
"There's not a doubt in my mind." Continued Phaedra.
Phaedra led the way into the factory, Dravox and Varr following behind her.
"Is your name actually Phaedra, Commander?" Asked Varr, staring at models of All-Terrain Defense Pods.
"Yes, that is my first name." Replied Phaedra.
"Interesting."
"Commander, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is your 'mission on Scarriff'?" Asked Dravox.
"To obtain the location of an ancient Sith Lord." Answered Phaedra.
"How ancient, exactly?"
"The Old Republic era."
Dravox was puzzled by what Phaedra had just said.
"How has he survived that long?" Asked Dravox.
"Apparently he has been frozen in carbonite."
"Unbelievable…"
The group of three came past some of the first models of the Gargonox.
"So they've made more of these d### things?" Asked Dravox, looking up at the fear-inspiring early models.
"I had one of those things chase me, I almost died, but I was saved by the more advanced model." Explained Phaedra.
"So you're saying these monstrosities can be activated as well?!"
"As far as I'm concerned, these models are too early in production to be activated."
"Marty sure has a lot of friends…" Mumbled Varr.
"Marty?" Questioned Phaedra.
"It's a long story." Said Dravox.
Soon the trio had reached an open vault leading deep into the ground of Scarriff.
"What's this?" Asked Dravox.
"This is what we're looking for, I guarantee you." Said Phaedra.
"How do you know that?" Asked Dravox.
"Just trust me." Said Phaedra, turning over to Dravox.
Her eyes pierced his soul, and he bowed before her.
"Of course, your loveliness."
"Well, let's pray that this goes well." Phaedra said with a smirk.
She jumped into the vault, Varr following behind her. He landed on her back, and then Dravox landed on his feet behind them.
"You need to take a shower, no offense." Said Varr.
Phaedra shoved Varr off from her and stood upon her feet.
"I'm very aware of that, fool." Snapped back Phaedra.
They stood on a floor of sapphire, and as they continued walking, they entered a room filled with almost unlimited riches and treasures.
"WE'VE HIT THE JACKPOT NOW!" Shouted Varr.
"SILENCE!" Shrieked Phaedra.
Varr jumped back into Dravox.
"Listen…" Whispered the Commander.
The sound of someone rustling through a pile of gold could be heard in the near distance.
"Krennic…" Mumbled Phaedra to herself.
"Who?" Asked Varr.
Dravox was quite confused himself, but he knew it would be wise not to say anything to Phaedra at all.
"Why would Krennic be here?" Thought Dravox.
A man in a dark outfit, with a blue cape and blue bandana, along with dark hair, backed out from a pile of gold and gems.
"This is just great…" Mumbled the figure.
Phaedra charged up her weapon and aimed it at the figure's back. The gold slipped through the figure's fingers as he quickly spun around, whipped out his DT-29 Blaster Pistol, and shot Varr in his left leg. Varr fell to the ground, the bolt had seared his flesh and pant leg.
"AGGGGGH!"
Varr screamed in pain through his clamped teeth, shooting slobber out from his mouth. Phaedra fired her weapon towards Krennic, only for him to pounce back into the pile of gold and gems. Phaedra's weapon rapidly fired, but absolutely none of the red blaster bolts had hit Krennic.
"S###!" Screamed Phaedra, cooling her overheated weapon.
Dravox equipped in his advanced EFR-40 Blaster Rifle and made his way over to where Krennic had been hiding.
"Come out from hiding you cowardly, slimy b######." Mocked Dravox
Krennic jumped out, rolling onto the ground, firing several bolts at Dravox. The bolts only chipped his armor, and Dravox chuckled at the slight impact.
"Idiotic fool." Remarked Dravox.
Dravox fired at Krennic, the heavy bolts firing at a rather slow pace. Krennic easily dodged them and tackled Dravox, equipping his green vibroblade afterward. Dravox kicked Krennic to the ground with ease, and after realizing that Krennic was readying for melee combat, Dravox equipped his 94-TXZ Ultra-Bolt Shock Baton. Sparks ignited from the black, club-like end, sparking vigorously. Unexpectedly, Krennic chucked a dioxis grenade over to Phaedra and Varr, blinding Phaedra from once again firing her weapon at Krennic.
"BLAST!" Shouted Phaedra.
She grabbed Varr's injured body and threw him out from the gas. Phaedra rolled beside him, coughing from the intense gas.
"D### that b######." Said Phaedra, attempting to catch her breath.
Krennic and Dravox locked weapons. As Krennic dodged back, Dravox swung at his head, only for Krennic to duck and slice at Dravox's heavily armored stomach.
"Your attempts are pathetic." Gibed Dravox.
"Don't speak so soon." Replied Krennic.
He rapidly slashed at Dravox, trying to damage his armor. It began to chip away, and Dravox began to grow nervous.
"Get away from me, fool!" Shouted Dravox.
He whacked Krennic with his sparkling club, knocking him back several yards. Krennic's body flailed in a spastic motion, sparks spurring from his arms and legs. And it was at that moment that Dravox aimed his EFR-40 Blaster Rifle at Krennic's torso, and he fired the weapon. The searing red bolt pounded into the torso of Director Jox Krennic, and his body ceased its movement as smoke billowed from his torso.
"He's dead!" Shouted Dravox.
Phaedra and Varr pushed their way through piles of riches, gagging as they did so.
"Are you alright?!" Continued Dravox, looking back at Phaedra and Varr.
Phaedra put her mouth to Varr's, breathing heavily into his lungs. As Dravox was distracted a smoke grenade rolled in front of his heavy boot, and in a moment Dravox was blinded by the gray cloud that emitted from the grenade. Krennic stood and dashed towards the end of the treasury. He cracked open a chest made of ruby, with a key that he had found earlier, hidden within a pile of gold and gems. Krennic pulled out a small container, which contained the map to Darth Malgus, and after confirming the authenticity of the map, Krennic slid it into his pocket. With a click of the device on his wrist, Krennic was able to speak with his master.
"I have obtained the map to Malgus, Snoke has failed." Said Krennic into his device.
*in Kaleesh* "Return to Kalee immediately. Well done, Director."
"It shall be done, my lord."
Krennic had survived the blast only through his protective bolt-proof vest. Although the vest had nearly been incinerated, Krennic had indeed survived…
Varr awoke to the dusty, but the beautiful face of Commander Phaedra. He coughed wildly as Phaedra rubbed the side of his face.
"You… you sa-saved me…" Murmured Varr, still trying to catch his breath.
"You are not getting off of this planet without us." Said Phaedra with a slight smile.
Varr felt his heart light up, as he had recognized that that was the same line Phaedra had told him when landing on Scarriff, but in the opposite context.
"Krennic's gone!" Shouted Dravox.
"WHAT?!" Screamed Phaedra.
"I don't know how! I swear I killed him!"
Phaedra began to panic.
"Oh f###..." She mumbled, putting her palms to her head, panting as she did so.
She heard the sound of gold being kicked across the room; it was Krennic dashing towards the exit. But what he had not realized was that the vault was now locked shut, for the opened chest had triggered the vault's door to close, locking the group inside the vault with no escape.
"Blast!" He shouted softly.
Krennic's escape had been ruined.
Phaedra, who had been charging towards Krennic's swift body, had finally reached him. Phaedra yanked Krennic to the ground and began punching and kicking him fiercely.
"GIVE ME THE D### MAP!" She screamed.
Krennic shoved Phaedra to the ground, activated his green vibroblade, and then slashed diagonally up her face.
"AGH!"
Phaedra fell to the ground; her left eye had been sliced off.
"It's over now, Commander." Taunted Krennic.
Phaedra moved her hand to her face to find that she now only had one eye. She slowly lowered her hand from her searing face, looking down at the bloodied armor.
*CRASH*
A massive, mechanical fist slammed down through the vault's door, and just a few feet beside Krennic and Phaedra.
"OH SH-"
The hand grabbed Krennic and pulled him out from the vault, slinging him into the air, and out of the factory. Krennic landed in a pile of rubble, the map flying from his pocket.
Krennic checked to see if the map to Malgus was still there, but to his surprise, it was gone.
"DRAVOX! GRAB VARR AND GET THE BLAST OVER HERE!" Phaedra screamed.
"RIGHT AWAY, COMMANDER!" Shouted back Dravox, without hesitation.
The ground shook and rattled as the Gargonox attempted to smash through the ground of the factory, to get into the vault. The Gargonox was created to destroy anyone who attempted to steal the map to Darth Malgus. Dravox, with Varr on his right shoulder, came into the sapphire room. He dropped Varr to the ground.
"Where is my lightsaber hilt?!" Shouted Varr.
Dravox handed the hilt to Varr.
"Thanks a lot."
"No problem, wise guy."
The Gargonox roared monstrously, firing a cluster of missiles into the ground.
"Blast!" Shrieked Phaedra, ash flying behind her greasy hair.
Phaedra once again equipped her G-89 Heavy Blaster Rifle, set the weapon into siege mode, and she fired a heavy blast at the Gargonox's terrifying face.
"WOOHOO!" She cheered, resting the weapon on the black, leather belt strapped diagonally down her back.
The Gargonox fell back; its jaw had been destroyed.
"Move out!" Ordered Phaedra.
She climbed out of the vault, with Dravox and Varr following behind her. They ran past the fallen Gargonox, slamming its fist just behind Dravox.
"Rest well, Marty." He said.
Phaedra, Varr, and Dravox ran out from the abandoned factory.
"This way!" Commanded Phaedra, after hearing the sound of Krennic's hectic voice.
Varr dashed in front of Phaedra, his light, blue blade giving Phaedra a light to guide her through a path in the maze's ruin. Little did he know, the Force was healing the wound on his leg over time. After nearly twenty-five seconds, the trio came across Jox Krennic, digging through a pile of rubble and debris, searching for the map.
"Your time's up, b######." Said Phaedra, readying to fire her weapon at Krennic.
Varr stood beside her, his lightsaber still activated, and Dravox on the other side of Phaedra, with his EFR-40 Blaster Rifle at hand. Krennic slowly stood up, both hands above his head.
"No, your time is up, Commander." Said Krennic hesitantly.
The Gargonox was back.
Phaedra turned to see the so-called "Marty" fire a cluster of missiles towards her and her group.
"Oh for God's sake!" She shouted.
Phaedra fired her weapon at the missiles, eradicating them all.
Krennic aimed his DT-29 Blaster Pistol at Phaedra's head, but as he fired, Varr deflected the blaster bolt. The bolt deflected back into Krennic's weapon, destroying the blaster entirely.
"Blast you, fool!" Yelled Krennic.
"We need to get out of here… NOW!" Phaedra said, turning around slowly.
The Gargonox charged towards the four "Imperials".
"I second that." Stated Krennic.
The director had gotten sight of the map's edge protruding out from the rubble, so he grasped it, and he ran off into the darkness.
"KRENNIC!" Screamed Phaedra.
The trio dashed towards Krennic, as the Gargonox followed behind them. As they ran, Phaedra tripped over some debris, and she fell to the ground face-first.
"Commander!" Shouted Varr.
Dravox ran off towards Krennic, leaving Varr to fend for himself.
"Leave without me! Kill Krennic!" She spurted out.
"You are not getting off of this planet without us." Answered Varr.
He closed his eyes and focused on the Force. He thought of the Gargonox killing Phaedra, the thought distressed him. The Gargonox roared, and the corrupted sound blew past Varr's ears.
*...wind rider….…*
Varr snapped, his anger fueled the Force, and he pushed out his hand. The Gargonox flew back against the end of the cellar, and in result of the stupendous pressure, the so-called "Marty" exploded, and the monstrosity became nothing but ash. Varr fell to the ground, and as he did so, a turbulent burst of air flew out from the aura around his body.
"My God…" Mumbled Phaedra.
Varr fell asleep almost instantly, leaving Phaedra practically alone in the dark cellar.
Dravox smashed Krennic's face with his armored fist, knocking him to the ground.
"D### you…" Murmured Krennic through his bloodied mouth.
Krennic escaped from the clutch of Dravox and dashed past the hallway which leads to the entrance. Dravox fired his weapon at Krennic three times, only to miss all three of them. Krennic climbed out from Imperial Base 3X, and onto the surface of Scarriff. It was storming quite tempestuously now, and of course, the three trees surrounding the entrance to Imperial Base 3X were still standing, only being bent by the blustering winds. He darted to his Neotrazer-Class advanced transport shuttle. Dravox soon came out onto the surface of the planet just as Krennic was about to board his shuttle. Dravox fired at Krennic, chipping the side of his shuttle. Krennic boarded his blue and black, slim, shiny shuttle, and he flew off from the surface of Scarriff, blasting off through hyperspace.
"B######!" Screamed Dravox, slamming his blaster rifle to the ground.
Darth Ridor and Adrianna flew into the main hangar of the Supremacy III.
"We have arrived." Said Ridor.
Adrianna wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks.
"I hate this…" She murmured.
"Let your hate, fuel your power…"
Ridor and Adrianna departed from the TIE Frighter. As they did so, a brigade of Third Order Purge Troopers stormed out from behind the stationary twin-ion engine starfighters.
"Lord Ridor, you are under arrest!" Said the brigade leader.
Adrianna turned her face to her brother.
"Victor, what are we going to do?" She asked softly.
Ridor turned to his sister, and then back over to the Purge Trooper brigade. He raised his right hand to his helmet.
"Exterminate them all." He replied, anger reeking from his voice.
Ridor clenched his fist, and an explosion followed afterward.
Snoke sat upon his throne, gazing at the black crystal fused into his ring.
"Oh, Vader, be careful not to choke on your aspirations…"
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