Excavation
Commander Jackson and Commander Ferld stood at attention as the figure of Admiral Schaffner illuminated on the holotable of Courage's bridge.
"I'm glad to see you both make it out in one piece," Schaffner smiled. "I assume the Twilight was lost?"
"Yes, Admiral," said Ferld. "We were able to evacuate our remaining crew onto the Courage before setting the Twilight on a collision course with that Harrower dreadnought. Her hyperdrive was busted, so she was a sitting duck. I owe Commander Jackson for his brilliant planning."
"A wise move. Good work, both of you," Schaffner acknowledged. "However with your retreat, we no longer have eyes on Earth's gravity well. Our newest relay station in the Unknown Regions was able to detect your distress call coming from Earth, but the station's sensors are unable to monitor Imperial activity from such a distance outside the Sol system."
Schaffner paused, then continued, "That's why I will be sending in Jedi Master Satele Shan as a scout."
Satele Shan walked in and appeared on the hotoimage display. The Jedi Council member turned to the commanders on the other end of the call, arms crossed behind her back.
"I reviewed the probe droid data that you sent," said Satele. "This 'artifact' situation is now more complicated than originally thought. The images showed the outline of a vast underground network that may or may not hold the item that the Sith Emperor is so interested in."
"How do you know so much about their operation, Master Shan?" asked Jackson.
"Republic spies discovered encrypted messages on the Imperial network as soon as two Jedi Knights reported rumors about a mission for the Emperor," Satele replied. "All decodable information was transferred to Republic High Command and the Jedi Council."
Schaffner explained further. "Master Shan will infiltrate Earth's gravity well with her light corvette and gather as much intel as possible."
"I must protest, sir," said Commander Ferld. "A Sith Lord wiped out an entire Jedi strike team and an army platoon in the Japan region. I speculate that the Harrower would have dispatched its entire ground force division by now. On top of that, there's a global pandemic involving 'undead' creatures and the near-collapse of a civilization. I think it's too risky for a lone Jedi Master in a light corvette."
"I appreciate your concern, Commander," said Schaffner. "I have gone over this myself with Master Shan, however she's willing and ready to take on this task."
"It is our duty as Jedi to put our lives on the line for the good of the galaxy," said Satele, "especially when the Sith Emperor is involved himself."
Commander Jackson added, "If you end up going planetside, Master Shan, please be careful. That Sith Lord seems to be very powerful."
"I have a strong feeling of who it might be," Satele acknowledged.
Yamanashi, Japan
In a medium-sized city 60 kilometers away from the outskirts of Tokyo and next to the northern base of Mount Fuji, an Imperial excavation team was working hours straight trying to find the quickest path through the Earth's crust to reach the underground anomaly. The team consisted of 200 men and multiple armored troop transports outfitted with mining equipment.
The troop transports are huge ground vehicles with massive wheels and tank-like armor. Their frontal pairs of anti-troop blaster cannons were replaced with large drills the size of pickup trucks. One transport was getting into position to start the tunnel leading deep into the earth. This site is one of four areas set up for excavation.
The transport driver looked down at his datapad. "We've got the go-ahead. Start up the drills."
The operator in the seat to the right pressed two buttons that activated the drills. Six drills, four just above the front wheels and two at the roof, spun slowly at the head of the transport on standby mode. The operator checked the drill speed and turning forks before giving the clear sign to the driver and the sergeant major in charge at this site.
"I never once thought I'd see myself mining for the Empire," said the operator.
"I know," said the driver just as he moved the transport forward. "Shit's been getting weird lately."
"Couldn't the Retribution have blasted its way through this disease-ridden planet with its main guns?" asked the operator. "I mean we're soldiers, not miners."
"I think it could, but we don't know what's down inside this 'anomaly'. There could be something important," said the driver. "Plus the heat would melt anyone or anything trying to work in the area."
"You've got a point," said the operator. "I would rather be shooting stuff like those 'undead' freaks."
The drills hit into the dirt at the bottom of the large man-made trench dug out for the transport. The slope helped to position the vehicle at a downward 30-degree angle. This is the steepest that the transport's brakes and transmission can handle. The driver waited until the transport submerged itself fully into the ground before continuing the conversation.
"You were saying that you'd rather be shooting these 'undead'," the driver recalled. "But how do you know that they're freaks? You haven't seen any in person yet."
"Is that a serious question to ask?" said the operator. "Anything dead that's walking around is a freak. I bet Razor Squad would agree. I heard they're in an infected zone right now."
"I was asking because I don't quite understand the 'dead' part of the name," said the driver. "Like did they die and come back to life, or do they just seem dead?"
"Seem dead?" asked the operator.
The driver explained over the roaring sound of the drills. "You know cryogenic chambers, right? They freeze your body until your metabolism is brought to a halt, but not killing you obviously because your body needs so little energy to live at that point. It could be a similar thing with this disease; it might slow down a person's metabolism until they're comatose, then it hijacks the brain and controls the person."
"But how would the body be able to move if there's no metabolism?" asked the operator. "These things are walking around attacking uninfected people."
"I have no clue," said the driver. "It's just a theory."
Tokyo, Japan
Takashi stepped out of the dropship once the troop bay doors opened. He stood next to Rei and Kohta on his right and a Sith Warrior on his left. The other group members stepped off the other side of the troop bay and turned toward the front dropship containing the bulk of Lord Terus's task force. Twenty Sith Warriors and twenty of Retribution's most bloodthirsty army troopers made up the Imperial team under Terus's command. Takashi and his friends only recognized Terus once he walked out into the open, for only his mask distinguishes him from the other warriors.
"Sergeant Mok, take your men to the sidelines," ordered Terus. "I want our flanks secure."
"Yes, my lord," said Mok. He gave the signal for the army soldiers to form up on him.
Terus then addressed the civilians. "You will only fire your weapons if any of the infected come dangerously close to you. Leave my men to the killing."
Terus then noticed Saeko's vibroblade. "As for you, stay put with the others. I do not want you stealing bladework practice from my warriors."
Saeko gave a slight nod.
Terus also noticed the outfits and weapons of Rika and Tajima. He decided to approach them himself.
"You two are not civilians," Lord Terus speculated. "What is your occupation?"
"Prefectural police," said Rika. "Sniper division."
"Law enforcement," Terus acknowledged. "Let me see your weapon."
Rika handed over her sniper rifle without hesitation but not without feeling uneasy. She hates it when other people touch her gear, but she wouldn't object against this bearer of dark power. Terus examined the rifle closely, feeling its weight and eyeing through the scope. He even examined the ammo in the clip.
"An interesting slugthrower," said Terus. "I imagine it has good range and power despite its primitive characteristics. Join Sergeant Mok and his men, I want to see both your weapons in action."
Terus handed back the sniper rifle. He did not notice Asami as a police officer due to her changed clothing and her bearing a blaster pistol instead of her discarded revolver. While he walked back to the front of the task force, Rika and Tajima formed up with the nearest army team.
"Standard trek formation," Terus shouted to everyone. "Now young ones, lead the way."
[…]
Two kilometers into the trek and there were still no zombies in sight. Saya and Saeko walked directly next to Lord Terus, the former giving directions and the latter pointing out landmarks and cultural venues for points of reference. Takashi, Asami, Kohta and Rei stayed silent most of the time letting the other two do most of the talking. The civilians including Rika and Tajima have enviro-hazard masks on to help filter the polluted air that was now too dense for mere scarves to effectively dilute. Unlike the head gear of the Imperial troopers and the Sith Warriors, these hazard masks aren't the most comfortable.
Kohta wiped some dust of the visor over his eyes. "Man, these straps are itchy."
Takashi adjusted the straps running along the sides and top of his head. "Yeah. I think a cheap bike helmet is more comfortable than this."
Kohta returned his gaze forward. "You know, I'm starting to miss my rifle. I mean my new pistol is very nice, so powerful and accurate, but I miss shooting things from a distance. There's something satisfying about landing a perfect headshot from over 300 yards away."
"Yeah, and the big boom that goes with it," Takashi understood.
Rei was looking off to the side not paying attention to their conversation. She was staring at something in particular.
Takashi noticed her gaze. "Is there something up, Rei?"
"My mom and I went to that coffee shop when my dad was on business trips," said Rei. "Every summer during middle school, we would visit Tokyo and eat out at that place. They served the best mochas and lattes in the entire city."
"I recall you being a big coffee fan," said Kohta.
"Yeah, I've been drinking it since I was twelve," Rei stated. "My parents had tons of coffee to help get through their night shifts, so I basically grew up around it. Plus I love the taste of it."
"I think it's been a while since you've had any," said Takashi.
"Don't remind me," Rei rolled her eyes, suddenly developing a craving for the beverage.
Her craving faded when she heard the faint but noticeable sound of zombies not too far away. Her friends soon noticed the sound, and Lord Terus already had his head turned in that direction even before Rei.
"Malgus was right," Lord Terus said to himself, deepening his senses. "I can just barely sense them."
Terus ordered the whole team to halt.
"Sergeant Mok, take the balconies," ordered Terus.
The black-armored sergeant led his army teams inside the buildings. Terus called over a few of his Sith Warriors.
"Attack down this road here," said Terus. "Staggered line. I don't want any of these creatures slipping by unnoticed."
"As you say," said one warrior. "These things bear an odd presence. Very faint. It's almost sickening to sense."
"Which gives us more reason to tear them apart," said another warrior.
The warriors gathered down the road that Terus highlighted. A few hundred meters away, thousands of zombies groaned in the direction of the smoldering wastelands that was once cityscape. They instinctively stayed put over a kilometer from the molten surface, attracted to the sound of burning matter and the explosions from last night, but turned off by the intense heat.
"Remember, do not get in our way," Terus reminded his civilian guides.
Takashi and his friends nodded. Terus gave the signal to charge at the abominations ahead in a staggered line formation. The warriors dashed off like race cars with their enhanced speed, faster than motor vehicles on a highway. Lord Terus ran the fastest as he was the most eager to kill, dashing at one hundred meters per second. As he approached, he can feel the air temperature rise considerably. Terus noted that if the zombies were twice as close as they are now, they would likely begin to catch on fire.
The warrior leader reached the first zombie within three seconds. He slashed down on top of the creature's head, cleaving the body in two almost vertically. He strengthened himself not only to unleash devastating strikes, but also to shield himself from the steaming air. Terus now understood why the zombies approached no closer than where they are now. The lord slashed five more zombies to death before the horde noticed his presence. They walked and stumbled in his direction, feeling threatened by his dark side signature.
The creatures' reaction grew stronger as several dark siders now leaped on top of them with blades in hand. Moments after the beginning of the carnage, Sergeant Mok and his men began to open fire with their blaster rifles from balconies overhead. Rika and Tajima sniped from the very back of the army formation, not wanting to get closer to the heat. The Imperial soldiers withstood the heat just as good as the warriors down below thanks to their helmet air filters and inner skinsuits.
Further back, Takashi led his friends down the road toward the onslaught. They felt the heat quicker than anyone else, being both unarmored and down on the road. They stopped 150 meters back, only halfway to the battle.
"So hot…" Asami said out of breath from running. "Can we move back?"
"Yeah…*cough cough*. Why don't we do that?" said Kohta, nearly passed out.
"We should stay here," said Takashi. "Someone might need our help."
"Like who?" asked Saya. She backed away startled as zombie bodies were launched their way from a powerful Force push.
Red lightsabers spun and slashed as more zombies poured in from the adjacent roads. Like against Malgus, the zombies are more stimulated among the dark siders than when hunting human prey. The horde was noticeably irritated as the front members got closer to their supernatural enemies. Lord Terus noticed this as well. He dug deeper into the dark side, strengthening his presence. More zombies now went after him specifically over the other warriors.
"So you like the dark side, huh?" Terus shouted at the closest one hundred zombies.
He lifted a fallen pillar and threw it into the crowd with a gesture. "Or perhaps you detest it? Fear it?"
Power built up within Terus that was sensed by the other warriors. The army soldiers continued to fire upon the zombies from balconies above, giving their Sith commander the support he requested. But the butchering was now about to become a devastation as the warriors caught on to Lord Terus's intentions.
"Let's see how well you creatures suffer!" Terus yelled as he unleashed his special Force ability.
His power of Alter Environment is uncommon amongst the Sith, especially among the warrior caste. Terus put his power into the already high air temperatures and brought the atmosphere in front of him to a boil. Zombies quickly faltered as the air began to burn their skin and lungs. The increase in air pressure also busted eardrums, hindering the zombies' keen ability to detect sound. Zombies fell one by one as the air boiled their brains and crushed their flesh.
Other warriors joined the fray with their own abilities like Force lightning and telekinesis. Tens of thousands of zombies suffered from atmospheric manipulation, lightning and thrown objects in a blazing spectacle of death. Once the warriors had some more kills of their own, Terus focused the air pressure into a dense column that spanned the road. He twisted the air pressure around like a wheel, creating a local tempest that pelted the zombies with tornado-like winds. Bodies and debris were consumed by the funnel as Terus pushed it further down the road. By this point the army soldiers and their police allies stopped firing as the air currents ripped the entire street apart.
What was left of the gigantic horde was a scattered mess. Bodies laid on the street, both nearby and hundreds of feet away, with many having been tossed in the air and landing elsewhere. Some even landed on nearby balconies, and more having slammed into the sides of buildings only to fall dozens or hundreds of feet back down. A fully intact corpse was rare.
The rest of the destruction was either from the other warriors or the army troopers, and it was hard to tell which ones were destroyed first. Not like that mattered. All the Sith cared about was the destruction of their enemy and the satisfaction from their violent acts. Several warriors cheered and raised their lightsabers to the sky, some army troopers on the balconies shouted a victory call. Some warriors and troopers looked down on the zombies with such disdain that they didn't celebrate; the creatures did not feel like worthy opponents.
Earth orbit, Sol system
Satele Shan's light corvette exited hyperspace half a million kilometers away from Earth. She can see Earth's moon two hundred thousand kilometers to her left in her field of vision out the bridge viewports. The bridge of her ship is more like a supersized cockpit with a full viewport than an actual bridge, since she and her utility droid co-pilot take up the entirety of the crew space in the room. Satele hit a few buttons to power up the ship's long-range sensors for surveillance of the planet's gravity well. The system scanned a few times while the ship approached the planet, and there were no Imperial ships detected in orbit.
Finding this rather strange, Satele waited until her Defender-class Jedi corvette was close enough to scan the planet's surface accurately. She did not risk searching on the comm frequencies for fear of broadcasting her ship's signal unnecessarily. The utility droid spoke in loud beeps to notify of an Imperial ship that matches the profile of a Harrower-class dreadnought. Master Shan looked at the scan result that appeared over the same landmass that Commander Jackson's data noted as "Japan". She maintained the corvette's altitude in Earth orbit, knowing her ship is nearly undetectable to the dreadnought's sensors due to the atmospheric interference between them. Satele's small and stealthy corvette brings a completely different set of advantages than the massive battlecruiser, ones that suite Jedi senses and piloting skills.
She decided to bring her corvette through the atmosphere on a flight path that will maximize her stealth over Japan. The corvette's nose plummeted down toward the planet, and soon the craft hit the upper atmosphere with a fiery entrance. The droid worked the secondary systems as the sensors went temporarily haywire from the heat of atmospheric entry. Once the flames subsided, the droid updated the radar information to Satele's viewscreen while she flew over the Japanese landscape. She followed the highlighted path given by the droid that took her over mountains and between valleys of Japan's landscape. She continued along this path until a massive city appeared in the distance. The cityscape spanned a vast flatland between two mountain ranges and a bay that led out to the nearby ocean. She can now visually see the Harrower dreadnought a hundred kilometers away, hovering over the far side of the bay like a grand overseer.
Satele decided to set her ship down at the last cliffside before the flatlands, knowing that getting any closer will alarm the Harrower's powerful radar regardless of her ship's stealth countermeasures. She turned the corvette around once to adjust the ship's long-range analyzer in the right direction for scanning. The ship descended to the plateau and landed with the four large landing gears extended. Satele deactivated the main engines and powered the analyzer to full capacity, maximizing the scanning range well past the city. She wants to see the full extent of the Sith occupation so far on this planet.
Tokyo, Japan
Darth Malgus meditated in his makeshift meditation chamber. He sat cross-legged on the hard floor of the new Imperial command base constructed using Retribution's mobile fabricators. These vehicle-like machines are able to land on a planet and unfold to form small military outposts, or attach together at one location to form one larger base. The machines formed together at a demolished portion of downtown Tokyo to accommodate Malgus's desire for a meditation chamber. His anger filled the room, rebounding off the Sith crypted walls to return to his dark core. He let his emotions fill him completely: his passion, his hunger for conflict, his desire for more power, and his hate for what the Sith Empire has become. But even his hate for the Treaty of Coruscant didn't compare to the hate he had for his lover's death.
Over the past few years, the death of Eleena Daru still burned in his heart. In fact it grew since then. The decision to kill the beautiful Twi'lek was the key to Malgus's large gain in power and command over the Force. He gradually grew stronger every day, slowly but surely. He emanated a constant storm of power, and he was the calm eye of that tempest. The eye of controlled hate. He felt as if he is the Force itself rather than just a user of it. It is uncertain whether anyone before him has ever attained a constant wholeness with the dark side.
But his thoughts of Eleena quickly changed as he felt something far off in the countryside. It was faint but noticeable. He wouldn't have been able to feel it if he wasn't meditating, but there it was…a tiny Force signature that was trying so hard to conceal itself. He knew it wasn't from his own kind, for they wouldn't hide from him nor would they feel so different. Upon inspection, Malgus knew what it was.
It was a presence of the light side of the Force.
Malgus stood immediately and looked in the direction of the presence. By the exceptional refinement of the mask, Malgus knew it was a Jedi Master. He marched out of the meditation chamber to hunt down this Jedi.
Yamanashi, Japan
The driver of the refitted ground transport slowed the vehicle as a call came in on the comm system. The operator in the right-hand seat opened the call which came from their supervisor.
"Stop the drills," ordered the sergeant major. "Return to the surface."
"Why?" asked the driver. "We just passed three hundred meters underground. We were on a roll!"
"Another dig team found a tunnel already dug out at an estimated depth of 1.3 kilometers," said the sergeant major. "They believe it is an abandoned Japanese dig site."
"Alright then. I'll bring the transport back up," said the driver.
The operator scratched his head. "The Japanese were looking for the same thing as us?"
"Is that surprising?" said the driver. "They live here after all. They probably detected this anomaly thing years ago."
[…]
On the cliffside a few dozen kilometers away from the dig team, Satele eyed her ship's radar which detected an incoming Imperial dropship. Confused as to how they could have detected her ship, she quickly double checked all the main systems for any lapses or errors that could have compromised her stealth. All systems checked green. She then knew that something else, or perhaps someone else, found her.
"Wait here. Keep my comm channel open," Satele ordered to the droid co-pilot.
The utility droid beeped in acknowledgement of its command. Satele got up, exited the cockpit and proceeded to the boarding ramp. She began to second guess herself, contemplating whether she should have fired up the engines and fled, but she wants to know how she was detected with all her systems perfectly in order. Plus she does not know if there are any artillery traps set up to shoot down her corvette.
She stepped out the airlock once the ramp lowered. Walking down the slope and onto the grass, she looked up at the Imperial dropship that hovered a hundred feet above the ground. She then sensed a presence that was hiding itself from detection; a very powerful and distinct one. She felt this presence before, being all too familiar with its savage hate. Before the troop bay door opened, Satele knew who it was.
Darth Malgus leapt out of the troop bay and fell the full way without slowing himself. The ground cracked and caved under his strengthened feet, throwing up a pile of rock and dust. He sneered at the Jedi, returning the favor by playing the same masking trick as her. Except his was even better.
"I thought you would have arrived at this planet sooner," said Malgus. "Before the Jedi strike team I disposed."
"I'm trying to help rebuild the Order after the attack on Coruscant," Satele stated. "But now your actions require my full attention."
"Your Order will never recover," Malgus mocked. "You should have all been dead. Like the ones who perished inside the Jedi Temple."
Satele stared at Malgus for several moments. "You're the one who killed Master Zallow. Many believed he died under the weight of the collapsed temple, failing to escape in time. But you killed him yourself, didn't you?"
Malgus smiled. "By my hand."
Malgus then activated his lightsaber. "You will fall before me just like Ven Zallow. You will finally face the death that I should have granted you on Alderaan."