Star Wars: Rebels: The Rising Darkness
Disclaimer: Star Wars Rebels and all Star Wars characters and Lore are not my property, as they are all owned by Lucasfilm and the Walt Disney Company.
A/N: Another sincere thank you to all my readers, especially all of my reviewers, favorers, and followers! Now without further adou, I hope you enjoy this latest installment. :)
Chapter 3: March of the Empire
As the Imperial Fourth Fleet moved into position in orbit of Ord Mantell, a full-scale planetary blockade, Fleet Commander Piett was inspecting the formation of troopers ready to board a dropship to the surface in the forward starboard hangar bay on the flagship, the Furious Vengeance. Off to the side was the dropship being prepped by engineers for their use. While the standard armor of a Stormtrooper was polished white armor around a black bodysuit, these troopers had the distinction of black stripes and other markings disrupting the white paint. They were the Imperial 338th Infantry Legion, one of the few remaining divisions in the Imperial army to be entirely comprised of traditional clones.
While initially the Emperor had discontinued the production of more clones after the Clone Wars and in the wake of the short-lived Kamino Uprising, fearing the perfect soldiers may one day be used against him as they were the Jedi, persuasion from influential voices in his inner circle allowed him to agree that special operations divisions like the 501st would retain their composition of clones from the greatest Mandalorian warrior in recent history, Jango Fett. Both the Grand Inquisitor and Vice Admiral Thrawn were pleased to count the 338th as the pinnacle of their ground troops, and their commander was himself a veteran from the Clone Wars. Upon his completion of inspecting the troops, Fleet Commander Piett approached the trooper in front, the orange pauldron over his left shoulder signifying he was the commander of the legion.
"Commander Alpha, formerly of the Advanced Reconnaissance Clone division, impressive display as always. I approve your troops as battle-ready," Piett spoke as he informed the clone officer, who wasted no time giving his affirmation.
"Acknowledged, Commander Piett! We're ready to deploy as soon as the orders come down," as if on cue, Piett reached up to his commlink relay in his left ear as a transmition came through.
"As you command, sirs!" the Imperial officer replied swiftly before shifting his attention back to the troopers, just as the massive dropship to the side opened its loading doors, "The fleet is in position, and the Grand Inquisitor and the Vice Admiral have made contact with our garrison in Worlport. Forward ground and armor divisions are to deploy immediately and establish a perimeter around the city. You are not to engage the insurgents for the moment unless you are fired upon. You will be acting as field commander until further notice, Commander Alpha. Is that understood?"
"Of course, sir!" the veteran clone replied without any delay. Turning to his men, he gave his own orders, "You heard him, men. Into our ride! Move it!"
"Sir yes sir!" the cloned troopers replied in perfect unison.
And just a few minutes later, the dropship maneuvered out of the hangar bay and joined other vessels of the same type from the other bays, eight in total all under escort from six squadrons of TIE fighters. The hulking transports moved down into the atmosphere flanked by their escorts, heading straight for pre-designated landing zones on the outskirts of Worlport. A lone Victory frigate had broken from the blockade just long enough to enter the upper atmosphere and deploy a large number of Imperial gunships, which could not be launched from their hangars in space. The airborne armada quickly had the war-torn city surrounded, the dropships proceeding to their landing zones without hindrance. And once they set down on the hills overlooking the cityscape beyond them, their doors opened and ramps extended, allowing the 338th and three other infantry divisions to disembark along with Scout Trooper units on their speeder bikes, and both AT-DP's and AT-ST's. The Scout Troopers and TIE escorts combed the grasslands further away from the city while the gunships flew over the city itself, analyzing the scene below and recording visual data to transmit back to the fleet. Soon a mobile command station was set up for Commander Alpha and his lieutenants to operate from, directing the forces on the ground. It wasn't long before Worlport was surrounded by land and air, the Empire severing the capital from the rest of the continent.
As all this was taking place, inside the luxury penthouse at the top of the center tower in the Ruby Sanctum Worlport Hotel and Casino, the Rebels had been introduced to Eiten Aygo. The brown and beige-haired Bothan wore a set of stolen Stormtrooper gauntlets and shin guards along with a stolen Imperial officer's chestplate, boots, and utility belt draped over his more formal administrative dress pants and shirt. A black eyepatch obscured his left eye, but his sky blue right eye was still visible. Having observed the arrival of Imperial reinforcements along with everyone else in the room, he was visibly upset at this turn of events.
"What a remarkable coincidence that within an hour your arrival to our city, a massive Imperial armada drops out of hyperspace and has us completely surrounded in a matter of minutes!" he glared viciously at his guests as he growled through his barred teeth. Kanan stepped forward to rebuke the accusation.
"With respect, sir, it is coincidence only. Come on, think about it, the Empire was bound to send its forces to back up the garrison, here."
Ezra warily eyed the armed guards around the room, silently awaiting the orders of their leader. Sabine and Zeb both took up fighting stances and kept their hands on their weapons, ready to strike if needed. Kavir stepped forward next to back them up to his superior.
"Lieutenant Governor, sir, I really don't think these offworlders are spies. I've read the reports on the holonet, they fit the descriptions. They also seem genuine. Perhaps we can give them the benefit of the doubt, right, sir?" the blonde resistance operative respectfully requested of the middle-aged Bothan, who after a long, tense moment sighed and relented.
"Fine, you have a point, Kavir."
"Sabine, Zeb, stand down," Kanan ordered, and his teammates obeyed. Ezra decided to speak up, next.
"Things just got a lot more complicated. If we're going to come out of this ahead, we'll need to work together," Kanan couldn't help a light smile that formed at the twinge of pride in the words of his young apprentice, and the Rebels didn't miss Eiten Aygo as he nodded in agreement.
"Yes, you're right, Human, in more ways than one. Unfortunately, the arrival of Imperial reinforcements does complicate matters considerably, but I can't imagine them making a serious move while I still have the top political officials on this planet as collateral. Stand by, I'll contact General Dodonna and find out if he's ready for his 'abduction' from the Imperial base."
Aygo walked over to a visual screen on the wall, linked by computers to the Imperial base. Activating it and tuning to the link himself, the Bothan soon established contact with the older man on the other line. He was an aging Caucasian Human with a full mustache and beard, black but severely greying in color. He wore the standard grey and black uniform of an Imperial officer, his rank plaque decorated with enough bars to signify his rank as a Major General, among top brass in the Imperial army. He spoke in a firm, gruff voice, signifying his years among the higher ranks of the military.
"Lieutenant Governor Aygo, I am pleased to hear from you. I wanted to warn you that reinforcements were incoming, but I'm beginning to worry our deception may be falling apart. Colonel Veers is demanding more of my time for the most menial of tasks in the base. I think he may be growing suspicious of me. Please tell me the Rebels arrived before the fleet in orbit did."
"Fear not, General Dodonna, it seems your would-be saviors are here with me. They just narrowly missed our newer arrivals. I take it you want our plan to proceed immediately?" Aygo inquired respectfully of his ally.
"Yes, that would be best. If anything, my sudden 'capture' may help tip the scales back in your favor. I would like to speak with these Rebels before we begin," the older general informed the Bothan, who nodded in affirmation before gesturing for the four Rebels to come over.
"General Dodonna, I'm Kanan, and this is Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb. We'll be 'capturing' you today," the Jedi Knight informed the would-be defector as he motioned to his team, and finished with a smirk. The general returned the gesture before replying.
"Good to meet you, I've heard and read a lot about you and your cause. I am most eager to join you. Lieutenant Governor Aygo will be guiding you on your mission to infiltrate the base. But before we begin, there's something I would like to tell you all," the older military officer told his would-be rescuers, asking for their ears before elaborating.
"What is it, general?" Ezra asked respectively, his focus undivided.
"I understand you may have suspicions and misgivings, and I cannot blame you. I have been with the Empire for a long time now, and I truly believed I was doing my duty to the people as I had with the Republic. But you know as much as I have come to realize that the Empire is not the Republic, and the people of the Galaxy are not better off under its rule. All I want now is to do my part in setting things right, and if you will have me, I will serve your cause of liberating the people of the Galaxy to the end of my days if need be," General Jan Dodonna told the Rebels with utmost sincerity. Ezra smiled in approval as he understood, and Sabine did too under her helmet despite herself. Kanan gave a solemn nod as well. The teenage Mandalorian gave her reply.
"I was an Imperial cadet for a time, general. I understand being taken in by the promises of order and peace the Empire makes, only to realize the truth later. If you are as sincere as you sound, I think you'll fit in well with the Rebellion," as she finished, Ezra had his own words to say.
"I agree, completely. Anyone who wants to stand with us is welcome, regardless of past affiliations," the young Padawan chimed in support.
"Let's get you out of there, general. Our ship is waiting at the spaceport," Kanan informed the older gentleman.
"Very good, I'll await your arrival. Aygo, my old friend, I turn this over to you," General Dodonna said as he turned his gaze to the rugged Bothan, who nodded in affirmation.
"Understood, general. We will begin immediately. Aygo out."
"Dodonna out."
As Dodonna cut the transmission from the viewscreen in his private chambers, he heard a knock at the door. Heading over to open it at a brisk pace, he discovered his own lieutenant waiting on the other side, Colonel Maximillian Veers. The textbook Imperial officer stood at attention in respect, saluting his superior officer, who returned the gesture.
"At ease, colonel. What do you have to report?" Dodonna asked his younger subordinate.
"General Dodonna, sir, the Grand Inquisitor's shuttle just touched down at landing platform B-2. We'll be needed in the command room immediately to meet with him, as he is the duly appointed representative of the Emperor in charge of quelling the uprising," Veers stated informatively and as a matter of fact, the tone of a well-drilled officer.
General Dodonna nodded without giving away his thoughts, which were those of uncertainty. He'd never met the new Grand Inquisitor, but having been in the company of Darth Vader before, the experienced veteran had seen a glimpse of what a practitioner of the Dark Side was like. He remembered the moment at once and gave his reply.
"Of course, let us go then, colonel. Time to settle this madness once and for all."
After Dodonna stepped out of his room, the door closing behind him, and began to steadily tread down the corridor towards the command room, Veers eyed him warily, the look in his eyes suggesting he knew something was amiss with his commanding officer.
"Yes, time to settle this indeed… general…" he whispered under his breath before following. Truly, much was about to be decided.
A few city blocks to the north of the Imperial base stood the Fabrico Worlport Chemical Processing Center, linked via underground pipes and tunnels to the company refinery and factory further south from the base. Together the two structures made up the largest medical serum and combat adrenal manufacturing center in the sector. Mined gasses were taken to the processing center where the physical particles were extracted before the chemicals were funneled over to the refinery and factory where they were cleaned and synthesized. With the civil war going on in the city, of course production had ground to a halt, leaving the two facilities empty with their machinery shut off. The network of pipes and tunnels, vents that normally pumped toxic and noxious chemicals between the two buildings completely unfit for skin to skin contact in their un-synthesized form, were for the moment completely hollow, the residue not even enough to invoke illness. And as structural layout would have it, these pipes and tunnels went directly under the Imperial base in the city above.
It was for precisely this reason Aygo had chosen the underground tunnels as the point of infiltration to the Imperial base directly above. Simple lock breaking and slicing was all it took to get inside the processing center. Accompanied by a team of elite Freedom Coalition operatives, Kavir Oslan among them, Aygo led the Rebels down through the narrow maintenance passageway and down into the tunnels. It was pitch black down below. Aygo and his men had their own flashlights, and Sabine used the floodlight on her rangefinder. Both Kanan and Ezra drew and activated their lightsabers as well. All around them were stilled fans used for funneling the chemicals, currently shut off. The smell in the tunnels was not pleasant, and Zeb was the first to voice his opinion.
"Ugh, the stench down here is repugnant! How long have these vents been cleared of fumes, anyway?" the Lasat warrior asked abruptly as he griped. Aygo answered without looking back as he continued leading the way.
"It's been over two standard weeks since our takeover of the government. All businesses within the city ceased operations within twenty four standard hours. These tunnels have been in service for decades, only shut off at brief intervals for routine and emergency cleaning and maintenance. What you're smelling is the stubborn chemical residue that remains stuck to the walls around us. It's foul-smelling, sure, but it's not toxic enough to cause us any harm."
"I've smelled the lovely fragrance wafting out of Ezra and Zeb's cabin on laundry day. This isn't much in comparison," Sabine added drolly, causing both the young Padawan and the grizzled Lasat to stammer in embarrassment. A couple of the resistance operatives snickered to themselves at the display.
"How much further to our entry point to the base?" Kanan asked Aygo, keeping the focus on the mission.
"About a couple hundred more feet. Then you and the boy can use your lightsabers to help us cut a hole through from above us. If our calculations are correct, we should be entering the base in a sublevel storage room, a good distance away from the barracks and anywhere else where most of the Imps will be dug in," Aygo said as he replied sharply.
Meanwhile inside the base above, within the command room, General Dodonna and Colonel Veers stood face to face with the Grand Inquisitor and HK-47, the ancient assassin droid scanning his surroundings in silence, his head moving back and forth slowly. The Grand Inquisitor gave no hint of his own thoughts away, his crimson eyes studying the two high-ranking officers playing host to him and his personal assassin. He had just completed his inspection of the base and had some misgivings to provide. His voice was cold, stern, and devoid of emotion. His tone was, no pun intended, inquisitive.
"This is an impressive outfit you have maintained, General Dodonna. Your forces are well-drilled and substantially organized. Nevertheless I feel compelled to ask given this display, how did you lose control of the entire city with the one exception of this base?" with this query from their honored guest finished, Colonel Veers gave a glance to his superior officer, finding himself eager for an answer himself before Dodonna provided one in a calm, explanative tone.
"With all due respect, Grand Inquisitor, the uprising caught all of us completely off-guard. We had been trying to contain the protestors as they grew more violent, but the coordinated effort that was led by the betrayal of Lieutenant Governor Aygo ensured that Governor Marensioun and the rest of his staff were illegally captured and imprisoned before we had a chance to make any effective countermeasures without risking their safety."
"Observation: the safety of the captured organics should not have made any difference in the clear goal of slaughtering the troublesome meatbags. If they were truly of any real significance, they would not have allowed themselves to be captured so easily in the first place. The spilling of their internal fluids and squishy components is merely collateral damage at this point," HK-47 wasted no time at all giving his critical opinion of Dodonna's course of action, much to the startled chagrin of said veteran officer. Colonel Veers remained silent as well, but his expression gave away his own surprise at the droid's clear and graphic perspective. The Grand Inquisitor gave his assessment next.
"The Emperor has made it clear he wants Governor Marensioun recovered alive if at all possible. I will reach out and humor these traitorous insurgents for a brief time before resorting to more… serious measures. In the meantime there is another concern I must address with the two of you. I've taken the liberty of looking over schematics of the base and all nearby installations for a sign of any weak point in the defenses. I found one; the system of vents running directly under this base between the two chemical facilities in Worlport. With the cession of their operations due to the uprising, those tunnels are susceptible to enemy infiltration. This risk cannot be allowed to remain unchecked," eyeing the general for a sign of reaction, the Grand Inquisitor then shifted his focus to Veers as the latter spoke up first instead.
"Yes, those tunnels have in fact long been a concern of ours. General, I would personally recommend we employ portable motion sensors at once in the sublevels to keep close surveillance over-" he stopped talking abruptly as Dodonna swiftly cut him off.
"That won't be necessary, colonel. I assure you, Grand Inquisitor, those tunnels are coated in two feet of durasteel alloy. I have it in strict confidence that the insurgents in league with Aygo don't have access to the kind of thermal explosives or industrial cutting tools needed to blow a hole or cut through something like that. Even if they were to try sneaking through the tunnels, I promise you it's a useless gesture."
"Sadly your words are not enough for me, general. All I've been hearing from you thus far are excuses and half-measures. Now that I am in command here, those will no longer suffice. I've already employed a more certain solution to shore up your defenses," with these words from the menacing practitioner of the Dark Side, General Dodonna felt his eyes go wide, but he quickly recovered to inquire with his guest.
"What 'certain solution' are you referring to, sir?"
"Statement: the master has ordered that the venting system resume function immediately. Loyal meatbags under his command have already seen to it. Addendum: a pity we will miss the dying screams and choking last gasps of any delightfully unfortunate meatbags that may be wandering below," HK-47 exclaimed in a whimsical tone. Dodonna was, all but for a brief moment, noticeably shaken at this revelation.
At that moment down in the tunnels, the loud clanging of industrial machinery echoed through the hollow space, ringing in the ears of the Rebels and their escorts. Kanan was the first to speak up, trailing off cautiously.
"That didn't sound good…" as if on cue once this was said, the various fans around them began to rotate again, and Aygo immediately called out with a horrified expression.
"Run! Now! The vents are back on! Any unrefined gas left in the facility behind us is gonna be pouring in from back there any second!" and with that, immediately, the terrified Rebels and operatives took off in a brisk pace down the tunnels, the fans all around them picking up speed.
"I thought you said production was shut down at both facilities connected by these tunnels!" Sabine frantically shouted to the Bothan, who was just as surprised as her.
"It is! The Empire must be on to us!"
"Either that or worse, and this was a trap from the start! Karabast!" Zeb growled.
"Keep moving! Keep moving!" Kanan repeated sharply.
"Yeah, no need to remind us!" Ezra commented as he ran at the side of his master. All the while behind them, an eerie green and brown fog was moving down the tunnels straight towards them.
Back up inside the Imperial base, the Grand Inquisitor and HK-47 departed the command room to head for the base's central control. As they did so, Colonel Veers quickly treaded after them, apparently seeking a more private audience with the duo.
A/N: Just letting everyone know, the next chapter is really where the action begins, and kicks it into high gear, along with the promised development for Ezrabine and Kanera. Thank you for reading! :)