Dogma could only watch the security monitors in horror as the Yuuzhan Vong tore apart everything they touched. Despite being under the cover of the Brotherhood, a large asteroid broke from Balmorra's planetary ring and embedded itself into the bow of the Resolute II. From that chunk of rock, dozens of Vong warriors awakened from cryosleep, surrounded by the technology they loathed so much.
"They're destroying everything…" He trembled.
Fives grabbed his brother by both shoulders. "Hey, Dogma, buddy. This is no time to freeze up, alright?"
The other ARC shook his head. "I- I- I know, Fives… I'm just… I'm just scared." He admitted.
"Information: Many mammals, when distressed, tend to fight more aggressively. This could prove useful."
"Not now, HK!" Fives snapped at the droid.
Dogma's eyes darted side to side, his breaths started out shallow, but became more and more erratic until his was hyperventilating. He collapsed where he stood as Fives struggled to catch him.
"He's gonna be a liability!" Sev shouted from the war table on the bridge as he himself was also tearing pieces of metal and wiring from the ship.
"He's fine!" The ARC trooper defended his brother once again, desperately trying to wake him. He then grabbed both sides of Dogma's head. "Dogma, listen to me. We're gonna be okay, brother. But I need you to stay strong for all of us, okay?"
He took a deep shuddered breath and gulped. "Y- yeah. Okay…"
"Hey, droid! You got a blowtorch?" The sniper commando shouted from across the room.
"Confirmation: Correct, meatbag. Query: What are you making?" The droid asked back as he walked over.
Sev had placed several pipes and rods down on the table into a curved shape, with a rubber cable casing connecting both ends to form a bow. "We can't use standard weapons, we have to improvise. Now, I need you to connect the discs at both ends." He asked.
HK aided in the construction of the makeshift compound bow, using round cogs at both ends to aid in retracting the rubber wire when pulled back for even greater draw strength. Sev then laid out the makeshift arrows he had assembled from small, sharpened, narrow rods along with plasteel shards for fletching. "Now, I don't have many of these. Only a dozen. But if we can keep them from reaching the bridge, then the plan can go ahead." He informed the ARC troopers.
A sudden jolt of the entire ship threw everyone of balance. HK was the first to rise and walked over to a nearby console for analysis. "Contradiction: The plan cannot commence without a stable fuel line keeping the Resolute II airborne."
Fives rushed over to look at the same console. "What?!"
"Information: It appears that the Yuuzhan Vong have ruptured the main fuel line to the engines. Observation: We are slowly descending."
Fives and Sev ran over to the main controls, trying to get any response from the ship. "No, no, no, no! We're right over the city!"
Dogma slowly rose from the ground and walked towards the remote engine control console. "Backup thrusters have an isolated fuel supply… We… We can use them to move us outside the City wall…" He hesitantly suggested.
Fives ran up to him and grabbed him by his head with both hands and planted a heavy kiss on his forehead. "Dogma! Good thinking!"
Sev pointed towards the Vengeance through the window. "Hate to break it to you, sir. But without us, there's no destroying that."
Fives groaned as he paced back and forth, the alarms blaring throughout the ship weren't helping him focus. "HK, how long until the reactor detonates?"
"Information: Without the primary engines in use, the chance of an overload is very unlikely, meatbag."
He then joined Sev in studying the Vengeance. "Okay, new plan. HK! You and Dogma stay here and pilot this ship as far away as you can, the head to the escape pod."
Sev then placed his makeshift bow on his back. "And us? What're we doing?"
The ARC commander smiled. "You and I are gonna board that ship."
"Clear that table!" The jet commander ordered one of the security droids that was occupying the medical center of the citadel. The droid did as commanded and with one mighty swipe of its arm, cleared the operating table of all equipment so that the commander could lay Pryde down.
The commander then opened a holo link to the Vengeance. "Captain. Operative Pryde is injured, there seems to be enough equipment here to patch him up, but I'll need medics down here."
Reyes looked past the jet trooper towards Pryde, who was struggling with the pain of his injuries. He then looked back to the commander. "Was the operative successful in his data retrieval mission from the foundry?"
The commander's shoulders slumped. "… No, sir. He had no data disk on his person."
Captain Reyes didn't even pause. "Then fix him. But commander… no anesthetic. He must know the consequence of his failures." He then ended the call.
The commander turned to the three droids that surrounded him. "Spread out. Find what you can. Cybernetic replacements, patches, anything that'll get him moving. His comfort is of no concern to the captain."
A terrifying roar from the other side of the medical center wall caught the commander's attention. There were barks, cackles, screams that embodied anger and rage. "What the…" He began to ask aloud as he hesitantly walked towards a small keypad that rested on that particular wall and pressed the only button available.
The wall faded, revealing that it was not a wall at all, but in fact, a thick glass window that had been tinted to hide the one armed monster within. "What are you?" He asked. The creature didn't even acknowledge him, instead it looked towards the droids and began to punch at the glass with his remaining left hand, barking and screaming as he did so.
The commander was clearly uncomfortable with the creature before him, so he turned to one of the droids. "You! Kill this thing." He ordered.
The droid complied, it pulled back its arm before landing a solid punch against the blaster proof glass, slowly chipping away at it, causing it to crack after every single hit. After every punch, the monster returned his own set of punches, further damaging its cell. The droid then pulled back its arm for one final blow which shattered the glass cell before it, but when it did, the creature grabbed its arm and used his feet to pry the metallic arm from the droid's socket. He then proceeded to use it as a weapon to repeatedly beat the machine, caving it's head inwards until sparks and flames spewed from its eye sockets.
The jet trooper stepped back in a mixture of shock and fear. He then raised his own large flamethrower at the creature. "Stay back!" He warned.
The creature ignored the jet trooper and instead charged for the second droid stood at his side, driving the jagged edged metal arm through its chassis, rendering it inoperable. He then swung the arm towards the trooper, causing the metallic hand of the severed arm to strike him across the face, shattering his plasteel helmet in the process. The trooper attempted to flee using his jetpack, only for the creature to throw the droid arm like a javelin, landing a direct hit on the fuel tank, killing him in the explosion.
The third and final droid was busy attempting to graft a cybernetic patch onto Pryde's face as he lay panicked on the operating table. The creature shot towards the droid and knocked it in its back, as it struggled to get back up, the monster grabbed it by its head and ripped it from its body, tossing it aside. He then walked up to Pryde and studied him, his injuries weren't severe, the pain would subside, his reactions to it were those of weakness. Yet, he felt some strange sympathy for this pathetic creature before him, he felt no need to nurture or to care for him, but to teach.
"Up…" He finally spoke for the first time since his imprisonment.
Pryde looked at the one armed alien before him, absolutely terrified for his life.
"Get up. Do not make me ask a third time." He spoke again, causing Pryde to flinch. But he did as he was asked, not wanting to die on a table. His legs trembled as he continued to bleed out all over the floor, the creature then ripped a piece of his crab shell armour from his right chest plate, revealing a purple ooze like substance underneath. He then threw the ooze at the fallen captain, which spread across his body and made its way into his wounds. Pryde collapsed to the floor, screaming in agony, flailing around like a fish out of water to cope with the excruciating pain that coursed through his body. After a few seconds, the pain stopped, and Pryde climbed the operating table to stand to his feet, his injuries were gone, but his wounds had already scarred over thanks to the biological technology.
The Yuuzhan Vong then held up the severed head of the security droid he decapitated and threw it to Pryde, who caught it with both hands. "Do not let the demons taint you with their parts. Grow strong from pain."
Pryde swallowed his fear at the creature before him. Even with one arm and no weapons, he took out a squad of droids, literally single handedly. "What do you want?" He asked plainly. He no longer cared for his current objective. As far as he was concerned, he had already lost everything. His rank, gone. His job, gone. His standing with his family, gone. Reyes was happy to let him suffer for his failures, despite this whole invasion being a flawed plan to begin with. This arc dampener needed to be tested further and finely tuned to deactivate just the Czerka weapons. But no, he was too quick to attack in an attempt to acquire the technology for himself. Pryde was done with the Empire, he was done with Cayde, he was done with Barriss, all of it.
The Yuuzhan Vong continued to study the broken man before him, staring into his eyes and seeing no purpose. He could use that. "You reside here in this galaxy, you know it's military strength. Come with me, and together, we can bring it's people to their knees."
There was much to consider, but at the same time, there wasn't. To deny such an invitation was to invite death as a result. Pryde knew deep down that he would never see his son again, if he aided this alien in his goal of galactic domination, then perhaps he would then be in a position to spare him. This was his only option. "What is the name of your species?"
"I am Tolok Naap of the Yuuzhan Vong. I heard your name, already. Pryde..."
Cayde, Rook and Jinto Kast had managed to evade detection as they flew over the city. Luck was in their said as many of the TIE fighters were unable to pass through the Chorus' energy shield, the droids had worked tirelessly to fix the breach caused by the Wolfpack, but could not prevent the small number of shuttles that had already passed through. They came up close to the citadel office, veering towards the outer landing platform where they could see an Imperial shuttle already stationed there.
The trio landed behind the shuttle and took cover, they couldn't see any troopers or droids guarding the ship, but they couldn't take any chances. The director then turned to his new mandalorian allies. "Last time I was here there was only one droid, it could be more now. Standard weapons don't work, so make use those ZX flamethrowers." He advised.
"I'll clear out the ship." Jinto informed them as he rushed around up the ramp to commandeer the shuttle. A series of grunts and slams could be heard, followed by an imperial pilot rolling down the ramp. Rook then ran forward and proceeded to kick the downed pilot until he fell over the landing pad and plummeted to his death.
"Anyone else?" The Director sarcastically asked, clearly uncomfortable with the sight of death.
"Let's go. Probably won't be long until the figure somethings up." Rook instructed.
Without any arguments, the group made their way through the tower side entrance, passing through the narrow corridor until they came to the entrance of Cayde's office. Rook made a gesture with her hand, counting down from three, two… one…
When they entered, two droids either side of the entrance grabbed both Mandalorians and kept them restrained, leaving the director to fend for himself. However, the ancient revolver pointed at his head ensured that he stayed absolutely still. The redheaded man in imperial armour and a cape just smirked at the sight before him.
"Director Durann." He began. "I must say, for the face of your company, you've proven to be quite illusive."
Cayde looked at the armoured man, then glanced over to his desk where his cybernetic arm was layed out on the table. It was hooked up to a series of computers, each console was manned by a group of engineers, clearly attempting to hack into the limb. He then looked back at his captor. "Sorry, I don't believe we've met. You are?..." He trailed off while still attempting to appear formal, holding out his only arm for a handshake.
The man continued to smirk and lowered his weapon. He knew he was in a safe position, he even enjoyed watching the Director's mandalorian allies struggle in captivity. "Captain Armund Reyes, Imperial navy. I expect your full cooperation and surrender."
Cayde laughed nervously at first, then suddenly broke into a stern stare into Reyes' eyes. "How? You're outnumbered. We have more men, we have more ships. You may have disabled my weapons, but you've disabled your own too." He said with confidence.
Suddenly, through the window of the citadel office, everyone in the room could see the Resolute II slowly move away from the battle above, leaving behind a tail of smoke. Leaving the Brotherhood to fend off against the Vengeance above the city shields as both cruisers were slowly running out of projectile weapons.
Reyes, taking the opportunity, loaded his weapon and resumed aiming it at the Cayde's head. "Well, it appears that your forces are dwindling, Director. And I have one of the few working guns in this city. You will give me what I want, otherwise…" He trailed off, then immediately adjusted his aim to Cayde's left and fired his weapon. Striking Jinto Kast in the head, shattering his visor as blood quickly seeped through the cracks and down his neck onto his chest.
"JINTO!" Rook screamed as she continued to struggle in the droids tight grip.
"More of your people will die. So, give Czerka over to me." Reyes continued.
Cause stepped to the right, now standing between Reyes' gun and Rook Kast. "Never."
The captain chuckled. "You don't think you're expendable? It's only a matter of time until my engineers access all the secrets you keep in that arm of yours. I'll get what I want either way, Director. In fact, I'll tell you what. You can give me every Czerka access code now and I'll allow you and your people to leave, or you can watch everything you've built slowly die while I take it by force… Then, once its mine, I'll kill you, that treacherous mandalorian, and everyone who lives here. You can't save Czerka, but you can save them."
This was the same choice that Pryde had given him back at the foundry, give up everything or everyone dies. He hated this, the Vong, the Empire, Pryde, Reyes, all of it. If he could find a way to save everyone, this was certainly the time to try, of not, at least it would buy everyone more time to find a new plan. The Resolute II is clearly too damaged to destroy the Vengeance, and the Brotherhood can't take much more.
"Captain… There's something you need to know… about why we're here, making the arc weapons… why we're operating from the unknown regions."
Reyes did flinch from his position. He continued to keep his weapon pointed at Cayde. "I see you've chosen option number two… Very well, Director. Seeing as you and your friends don't have much time left, I shall humour you. What is so important that you would sacrifice your people to tell me?"
Cayde took in a deep breath, he then looked back at Rook, she was still distraught by the death of her kin that she barely looked him in the eye, but he could see that she knew what was about to happen. He was going to tell Reyes everything. But before he could, the lights went out, the only light in the room entered through the windows.
Reyes grabbed Cayde and shoved him towards his desk so that they could see what was going on. "What the…" The captain began before opening his comm. Every light in the city was out, the shield was down.
"NI-L8, why did your droids disable the power grid? You were supposed to only take out the shield!"
"No droid units are currently at the power grid. We have encountered resistance from Gungan combatants in the room prior to it. Sensors also pick up two lifeforms boarding the Vengeance." The imperial protocol droid answered from on board the Vengeance.
Gungans? It had to be Tanuk's men who delivered the plasma defending the reactor, but then how did it shut down? And those lifeforms boarding? It could be anyone but whoever they were, it would buy everyone else more time. Cayde couldn't stop himself from letting out a small smirk, anything that inconvenienced Reyes brought a smile to his face.
Reyes took notice of this and stuck the director in the temple with his weapon, knocking him down and causing him to bleed down his face. "You think this is funny?!" He asked rhetorically as he kicked Cayde while he was down. The engineers working on the arm stopped what they were doing without power and looked at each other with unease as their captain continued to beat him senseless.
"I will NOT be undermined! Not by you! Not by the Jedi! Not by Pryde or Tarkin! No one shall deny me my destiny!" He continued to shout after every punch and kick. Sweat was dripping down the captain's face, down the bridge of his nose and onto the floor. His hair became messy and dropped from its combed over style down the side of his face. It was clear to everyone in the room that he was becoming unhinged, erratic, dangerous. But he was the one with the gun and the droids so no one, not even his own engineers, said anything.
Cayde could barely move. He was beaten and bruised, left on the floor to rot, barely breathing. If the captain didn't put him out of his misery now, then his end would certainly be soon.
The bunker beneath Chorus City was ripe with fear and anxiety. Word of the Vong's attack on the Resolute II had made its way around the community through word of mouth, further frightening the children that resided within. As Barriss and the clones worked tirelessly to tend to the wounded and comfort the young, a sudden alarm blared out that no one recognised. Then, the power went out. As soon as the darkness took over, every clone trooper had activated their head torches, along with laying out dozens of temporary chemical glow sticks, illuminating the room in a bright green aura.
"What happened?" Boil asked over the short-range comm. He was in the biker along with everyone else, but elected to tend to the children.
"Power generators must be offline. We're stuck down here." Barriss concluded.
Vindi began tinkering away at his wrist computer, he then managed to find Barriss in the gentle green light and whispered in her ear. "We must get ze generators online! Without power, we will lose life support in less than ten minutes. Too many people in one area, panicking and breathing heavily will only quicken our deaths."
She turned to the Doctor. "We can't do anything from here… wait!" She held up a finger before Vindi, shutting him up as she opened her comm.
"Korkie… I don't know if you can hear me, but I need you. The city power grid is offline, it has to be Boost. Stop him and get the power back!" She pleaded. When she heard no reply, there was a good chance that her message never got through.
She knew that the clones and civilians didn't have ten minutes to spare. There were screams, cries, murmurs and chatters. The oxygen in this room would barely last five. She had one more idea, but she knew it would be difficult. Barriss walked over to the power conduit for the bunker and used the force to rip off the main panel, tossing it aside.
"What are you going to do?..." Vindi asked hesitantly, unsure if he even wanted to know the answer.
Barriss placed her hand on the conduit, closing her eyes and sensing for any sign of energy. When she found nothing, she looked back at the Doctor. "This might be a long shot, but do you have any medication that leaves the patient aggravated as a side effect?"
Vindi looked over at his emergency supplies as he tried desperately to see in such poor lighting. "Antidepressants cause various mood swings… that would be ze best option…" He trailed off as he grabbed a syringe from a case. "Why would you want this?"
"Just give it to me!" She snapped.
Vindi knew better than to question the wisdom of a Jedi, or the anger of a sith. He instead, complied with Barriss' wishes and gently grabbed her neck, injecting her with the drug she desired. She then closed her eyes and elected to ignore the living force and focus solely on her own thoughts. She could feel the fear surrounding her in the minds of every man, woman and child in the bunker. She was upset at the events that unfolded, it made her scared herself, it made her angry, it made her feel weak, vulnerable, angry. Angry at the Vong for all they had done, angry at the empire for putting everyone in danger.
That anger, that hatred, channeled through her hands, through her fingertips and into the conduit. Then, there was light. Cheers could be heard throughout the bunker, she could feel the relief of everyone around her, but chose to ignore it. For if she faltered in her hatred, she would be unable to channel it. She had to remain focused on her anger towards those who've wronged her and everyone she cares for.
There was an anomaly within the cheerful crowd. A feeling of anger and rage that felt so alien yet so familiar, she could sense where it was emanating from, the temporary clinic. She used this individuals' hatred to fuel her own and keep the room alight, but she was also able to peer into their mind. There was nothing but darkness at first, then suddenly, she opened her eyes.
Through their eyes, she saw the bridge of a Republic frigate. What felt strange about this was the absence of clones, of soldiers, there were just a pair of pilots in pre war brown uniforms. She looked up at the window as they emerged from hyperspace before what looked to be a garden world, she then looked to her left and saw a beautiful young woman, shorter than herself with hair that was platted and looped up behind her head, her skin was caramel in colour, her features were perfect. Atop her head, there was a mesmerising amber jewel. It was then that Barriss recognised who this young girl was.
It was Depa Billaba.
She then looked down at her hands and saw that they were a familiar dark brown colour. She had to be sure of her theory and looked to her right, luckily there was an inactive monitor that acted as a mirror. She looked at her reflection and concluded that she was in the body of Mace Windu.
When was this? She wondered to herself. She continued to stare at her reflection in an attempt to find out. Windu was Korun, a species of human with dark, smooth skin and thick, black hair. People from his home world aged better than any other type of human in the galaxy. Even now, Mace was in his mid fifties, but without the hair he had now, he could easily be mistaken for a man half his age. It humoured Barriss that he maintained a hairless style even in his younger years, he looked the same now as he did in the clone wars.Then then looked to Billaba her height should have been indication enough. She was a Padawan, this must have been at least fifteen years ago, before the clone wars.
Her vision then faded to black once again, this time, she reawakened in a small apartment, sat at a table across from a man and a woman, she glanced down at their hands and saw them intertwined. Upon further inspection, she saw rings on both hands that indicated that they were husband and wife. They both looked incredibly unhappy, but what could cause such emotion?Her vision went black again and reformed to show a small child, a toddler by the looks of her. She was certain it was a her, she could see it in her beautiful hazel eyes. It was at this moment that Barriss realised what this memory was. Windu and his Padawan were taking a child into the Jedi Order.
She looked up and realised that they were leaving with the child, boarding the ship. She then looked back at where they had come from, there was a small village less than a mile away, this child must have been from there. In the distance, she could see a figure running and screaming, it sounded like another child. A boy, older than the one she held in her arms. She couldn't control her actions, she was moving as Mace had done in this time and boarded the ship, fortunately though, he continued to watch the little boy run up to the ship.Then, the pilots initiated takeoff. The young child was close enough that Barriss could see his face, there was something familiar about him, what caught her attention more were the tears in his eyes. As they left the planet and the boy faded out of view, she turned her head and looked down at the toddler.
"Master?" Depa began. "That boy didn't want us to take her."
She didn't have control over her own voice. What came out was a harmonic mix of her own voice and his. "I know, Padawan. For everyone else in the galaxy, to lose a sibling would understandably cause great sorrow. We must never give in to such emotions, neither must this child if she is to become a Jedi." She then held up the baby in both hands and looked her straight in the eyes.
"Jona Durann. Welcome to the Jedi Order."
Barriss suddenly snapped back to reality, she was still powering the bunker, keeping everyone alive. But she couldn't escape the knowledge she had learned. Windu was the one who brought Cayde's sister into the order. He must feel responsible for her death. Its why he's been so indifferent towards him. Seeing the Director reminds him of what he did and he hates himself for it.
These very conclusions were more apparent in Mace's mind than ever. He opened his eyes within the bacta tank, the fluid blurred his vision, he did not know where he was, only that he was battling a Yuuzhan Vong warrior. Now he was here, surrounded by people he couldn't see. He closed his eyes and reached out through the force, still focused on a mistake in his past, on Jona… on Cayde. Through that connection, he could sense fear. Nothing but pure, potent fear.
It was coming from Cayde.
Not again. He would not let anymore harm come to the man he wronged so many years ago.
The sound of breaking glass and rushing water caught everyone's attention, some gasped in shock, the few women in the group screamed. Vindi rushed over to the Jedi master who was kneeling in the glass, slicing clean cuts all over his legs.
"Master Jedi! What happened?" The doctor asked as he frantically swept most of the glass away with his boots.
Mace said nothing. He only lifted his head and ran towards the door, wearing nothing but the robes below his chest. His eyes were burning yellow with hatred, not for anyone else, but himself. If the Director died here, it would be because he led them to Balmorra. He revealed himself on Cato Neimoidia, he's responsible for what happens next. There will not be another Jona because of him. Not today.