The Crumbling Orb EPISODE VII: Return of the Aparoids
Chapter 1:
In Coruscant, Ken was looking out a window watching the busy streets and Federation fleets gathering around in the sky.
"Ken." Thane said walking in.
"Hey Thane, everything okay?" Ken asked.
"Decorus is asking for you down at the council room, the holoscreens are all on patched to each planetary leader." Thane said.
"The big meeting then huh?" Ken said.
Ken and Thane headed out and down the nearby stairs.
"Got bad news, one system isn't responding to the meeting and they have been ringing them for three hours." Thane said.
"Aparoids?" Ken asked.
"We aren't sure yet." Thane said.
A few Federation soldiers passed them with rifles in their hands.
"Everyone looks on edge." Ken said.
"Some people haven't slept for a week and have to take medicine to stay awake." Thane said.
Ken noticed Hide who waved at him and followed behind them.
"Guess we are heading to the council room?" Hide asked.
"We are going to meet Decorus, he's waiting along with the planetary leaders on holoscreens." Ken said.
They met Scourge and Atton who were waiting at the doors to the council room.
"Any news?" Hide asked.
Atton looked down as his arms was crossed.
"They lost contact with fifteen systems at the north, south, east, and west outer rims." Scourge said.
"Let's head in and see what we can do." Ken said.
The group walked into the council room where there was over a thousand holoscreens floating around in the air with faces of system leaders and some of the screens switched to other leaders and back to the leader of the former sector it showed.
Decorus and Tali looked over to Ken and the others and beckoned them in.
A few Admirals was sitting in chairs while their guards was answering holo calls from different systems of blackouts.
"The Aparoids have arrived." Ken said.
"We don't know that yet." One admiral said.
"Come on, don't be ignorant, it is them." Decorus said.
"Doctor Arentei, what do you say to this matter?" An Admiral asked Arentei who was sitting nearby.
"Our scientists believe that if we could get a sample of these creatures we could perhaps create a virus to destroy their queen." Arentei said.
"Why not all of them?" A planetary leader asked.
"These Aparoids seem to be a hive mind from what we studied of them in dark space. They move together other than independently. She could issue orders to them telepathically and then they carry it out. Say fifty of them move to one system at the same time and another group of fifty moves to another system at the same time as the other, but they are going to two different systems. It works like a hive mind, we kill the Queen, we kill all of them." Arentei said.
"Is this theory or fact?" A planetary leader asked.
Arentei was silent.
Decorus saw the worry on her face and spoke up.
"It's the only other option we have, we should try to gather as much DNA from an Aparoid as possible." Decorus said.
"We need more than just DNA, we need the whole embryo, we need at least fifty percent of one's body so that we have enough to work with." Arentei said.
"Those things are massive though." Ken said.
"We can't just obliterate one or we will lose chunks of the DNA and Embryo's we need." Arentei said.
"We will just make one shot through ones head then." Tali said.
"To be honest with you Admiral, if we could get one's brain it would help our research but I know that would be impossible." Arentei said.
"We will goal for either one then." Decorus said.
"Admirals with your permission, I'd like my fleet to join Decorus and Tali please." Arentei asked.
"Permission granted, I think you will be safe with the fifth fleet." An Admiral said giving a nod to Decorus.
Decorus gave a nod back.
"I have twelve Munificent Frigates that will come with us along with us." Arentei said.
"What about a lab?" Ken asked.
"I forgot, I need a secure place for me and my scientists to set up. We shouldn't set up in a hanger, it would be too open." Arentei said.
"We got an empty cargo hold on the Ebon Hawk if you need a lab." Hide suggested.
Atton shrugged.
"It's fine with me and I'm sure Joker won't mind." Atton said.
"Then it's settled." Decorus said.
Meanwhile, Eto was walking out of an elevator with a group of aliens and looked around at the busy street.
Eto saw Federation soldiers with a few Geth patrolling but they didn't seem to worry about the citizens and just kept their eyes on the sky.
Eto passed a few of them and headed to a nearby landing pad where she handed a few credits to a droid that began to print her a ticket.
"Look who I find." Joker said.
Eto turned her head to see Joker.
"Walking with your condition I see?" Eto asked.
Joker gave her a glare.
"You caused one hell of a lot of damage." Joker said.
"And I don't want to cause anymore." Eto told him.
Joker shook his head.
"I can't fight you, and I know I can't win." Joker said.
"Don't down yourself, you can do anything if you put your mind to it." Eto said.
Joker looked confused.
"I thought you was our enemy?" Joker asked.
"You could say Ken knocked some sense into me- literally." Eto said.
Joker looked at the droid.
"Give her back her credits, I'll take her where she needs to go." Joker said.
The droid handed her back the credits and Eto followed Joker.
Joker took his time as Eto noticed he was struggling to walk.
Joker noticed her watching him.
"Don't pity me okay? It helps me to move around a bit." Joker said.
"Why are you out and about here?" Eto asked.
"Morning breeze and thought to fart in that breeze." Joker said.
"Hillarious- no really why?" Eto asked.
"Getting the Ebon Hawk loaded up with supplies and I thought to perhaps get out and look around while the Federation prepares us." Joker said.
Joker and Eto walked around the corner to one of the hangers that had the Ebon Hawk stationed inside.
There was a few scientists pushing in supplies through the bay door.
"Woah what's this?" Joker asked.
"We are apart of Arentei's team, we was given clearance to set up a temporary lab in your cargo hold." A scientist said.
Joker looked at Eto.
"Guess they found something." Joker said.
Suddenly they felt the wind begin to pick up through the hanger and outside they could see people confused as the wind suddenly grew.
Eto looked at them and then she heard a soft hum which was growing louder every second.
"Joker." Eto said.
"I know." Joker said.
Joker waved to the scientists.
"Get the equipment in quickly! They are here!" Joker shouted.
Eto looked out at the exit of the hanger seeing the horizon.
"Eto, a hand please!" Joker yelled.
"Coming!" Eto shouted back.
Eto ran to him and the scientists and using her appendage powers she helped push the equipment in as quickly as she could.
Octavia was on her phone in the Ebon Hawk and saw Eto walk in.
"Woah you-" Octavia began to say.
"I'll explain later, help us quickly." Eto said shoving her out the cargo door.
Octavia rolled her eyes and picked up a crate heading in.
Eto looked around the ship to see if anyone else was inside to help them and she heard a noise from a closed blast door in one of the sleeping quarters.
"Ohhhh Draykey, that beautiful body on top of mine, oh my." Stolas said.
Stolas was looking at a hologram of Drayconivous while rubbing himself.
"Oh Dray, oh **** like one of your whores! Make me **** when you ******** and I ****." Stolas was saying.
"Stolas!" Eto shouted.
"Egad!" Stolas said fumbling down.
Stolas opened the door.
"Eto!" Stolas said surprised.
"I need you to help us- oh god put something on!" Eto said looking away.
"Traitor!" Stolas shouted.
"Helping traitor! Now get out here and help us!" Eto shouted.
"Dad- oh god!" Octavia said covering her eyes.
"I hate to interrupt you all but I'm going to get the ship's engines primed." Joker said.
The scientists got the remaining supplies inside.
"Okay we are filled with supplies and the lab people got their equipment set up." Joker said.
Everyone heard a louder humming sound and then they began to hear screaming.
"Oh shit." Joker said.
Meanwhile.
Decorus and Tali along with the other Admirals got up from their chairs with a polite bow to one another.
"We should head to our fleets and-" One Admiral began to say until hearing the humming sound.
Everyone looked around.
"Sir, five fleets are reporting-" A soldier began to say until...
A solar beam went right through the building and vaporized three of the Admirals and sixteen soldiers including the one speaking.
Everyone was knocked away from the blast and the ceiling began to collapse.
Ken got up helping Hide up and everyone else was getting up looking at the torn ceiling.
Outside was over forty Aparoid Moths in the sky and sending down solar beams from the tips of their abdomens.
"Holy shit! They're here!" Atton shouted.
"We need to get a move on, hurry everyone!" Decorus yelled.
Everyone left the council room and were heading out of the door of the building.
Two Aparoid Moths hovered lower to the streets in front of them and small crawling Aparoids jumped from their wings and down to the streets to attack civilians.
"There are different versions of them!?" Ken asked.
"Seems so, come on we got to go!" Decorus said.
Decorus got on his comlink.
"Joker, I'm sending our ping to you, hurry and pick us up!" Decorus shouted.
"Already on my way!" Joker shouted.
Arentei stayed behind Ken.
"I'll keep you safe okay?" Ken said.
"Thank you." Arentei said.
Scourge ignited his lightsaber and sliced down five Aparoid crawlers.
"Pathetic insects." Scourge said.
They saw one Aparoid Moth send down another solar beam right into a skyscraper and took it down completely.
"Dude, that's messed up!" Hide said.
An Endurance Class in the sky began to descend while firing at the Aparoid but two Aparoids nearby flew over the Endurance and sent their solar beam power at the ship wiping out it's shields and then the Aparoid it was targeting turned around and sent a solar beam through the ship making it explode completely.
"Those things have thick skin it seems." Scourge said.
"We will need to use heavier firepower." Decorus said.
"The Aparoid Crawlers look like they are six feet, perhaps six feet and a half feet long. The Aparoid Moths on the other hand look like they are two kilometers in height." Arentei said.
"That's bigger than our normal-sized battleships." Decorus said.
"Size doesn't matter." Tali said.
Decorus grinned.
"Don't make a joke, not now." Tali said.
Atton shot at an incoming Aparoid Crawler and it took ten shots until it fell over dead.
"Things are still killable at least." Atton said.
The Ebon Hawk flew overhead and turned around and hovered above the steel floor of the street with its top cannon firing at one of the nearby Aparoid Moths.
Everyone headed to the Ebon Hawk but Ken stood there looking at the destruction around.
Hide ran over to him and put his hand on his shoulder breaking his thoughts.
"Ken." Hide said.
"I know." Ken said.
Ken and Hide headed to the Ebon Hawk and Hide noticed a Qiqirn salesman trying to get away from the chaos.
"Hey! Need a lift!" Hide called out.
The Qiqirn ran to their ship and climbed in.
"Seroroon thanks you!" The Qiqirn said.
The Ebon Hawk's doorway closed and the Ebon Hawk headed through the sky passed starfighters and Aparoids and to the fifth fleet that was in a defensive position with a few other fleets taking out some Aparoid Moths.
There was sixteen floating bodies of Aparoid Moths but still a lot more scattered around.
"This is madness." Hide said.
The Ebon Hawk entered Decorus' flagship.
"We are inside, prepare the fleet to move toward the moon." Decorus ordered on the comlink.
"We need an Aparoid Moth." Arentei said.
"I was afraid you'd say that. We can't get close enough without them wiping us out." Decorus said.
"Then we need to confront one, alone." Arentei said.
"That seems impossible since they are all together." Ken said.
"Nothing is impossible." Eto said.
Ken and Hide was shocked to see Eto and there was dead silence.
"I'm going to make an excuse and go to the bathroom." Joker said walking off from the awkward silence.