Chapter 29
Shockwaves
I am considering turning this story into a saga, what do you think, should I keep it all in one story or spread it out among several stories.
Mara-Jade Skywalker lead their three new guests down the vast corridors of the Jedi temple towards the living quarters, where they had agreed to temporarily accommodate their visitors, the Master's council was still unsure about the intensions of these strange beings, their story was that they came from another dimension known as the Immaterium, or the warp and that they were fighting with legions of dark warp daemons, and losing, the entire Master's Council was sceptical with the statements but when Luke had probed their minds for any hint of deception he felt none, nor did he feel any wish to harm any of the Jedi, so he had agreed to give them sanctuary.
Mara had agreed with Luke's decision and stood by him when others like Kyp had expressed their concern, the entire order knew of the disagreements between Luke Skywalker and his former apprentice during the Yuuzhan Vong Wars, but those heated arguments had long since dissipated, Kyp didn't challenge the Grand Masters decision like he did back then, he simply expressed his concern and Luke took note, posting a Jedi Guardian to each Warp Angel, the three of them were behind the Warp Angels, their hooded forms following their charges like shadows.
Finally they came up to the door to their guests living quarters, she inputted a password into the pad next to the door and heard the hiss as the doors opened, she lead their visitors into the chamber and showed them around, the living quarters were fairly simple with four bedrooms, each with their own bathrooms, situated around a central chamber which housed the living area and kitchen.
"If you need anything just ask the Guardians outside" Mara explained, her voice formal.
"Thank you High Master Skywalker" River thanked with a bow "If we need anything we'll let them know"
Mara nodded and in a fluent motion turned and strode out of the chambers, leaving their visitors to get settled in, the three Guardians bowed as she left and she stopped to bow in return before striding down the corridor. As she rounded a corridor she felt a familiar presence and slowed her stride, a smirk curling her lips.
"I can sense you half way across the galaxy Luke" she said "I think I can sense you a few meters away"
Luke appeared out of the shadows, a smile crossing his features "Just checking up on you Mara"
"Look farm-boy" she retorted, putting emphasis on the last word "I don't need babysitting, I've gone through this once already"
"Yes I remember" Luke replied mischievously "I got several grey hairs the last time"
Mara sighed tiredly, feeling her abdomen cramp up slightly, calling upon the force she banished it before looking back up at her husband "This isn't like the last time Luke, I'm cured of the spore virus the Yuuzhan Vong infected me with" she then placed a hand on her stomach "It wont be as difficult as with Ben"
"I know Mara" Luke said as he walked up beside her "But you're going to take it easy this time, promise me that as the pregnancy progresses you will take a leave of absence until after the baby is born"
She gave him a look but was too tired to argue, instead she leaned against him as they walked, feeling the reassuring arm of her husbands placed around her shoulder "Okay, okay, I promise"
"Good" Luke said, grinning.
"Just one thing farm-boy" she added with a smirk "I remember saying something to you before Ben was born"
"Oh"
"I think it was…'Skywalker, you are my love and my life, but if you do this to me again, I will vape you where you stand'…" she turned to him, a slightly dark smile touching her lips "Well?"
"Ah, well, um" Luke babbled, suddenly looking a little afraid "I thought that was the hormones talking"
Mara giggled at her husbands broken sentences before elbowing him in the ribs, bringing him abruptly back to the present "Anyway I'll leave you with that thought, we have a few more visitors coming"
"So you did read Kyle's report" Luke said in mock amazement "First time for everything"
"You don't need to read the report farm-boy" Mara replied "The entire temple is in an uproar about it, a wormhole opening in the temporary capital, that leads to another galaxy altogether"
"I know" Luke replied "But with that opening it's like an entirely new connection of the force has come along with it" he shivered slightly, wondering if this wormhole was behind the shockwaves "Its so dark, so full of pain, fear, anger, hate, suffering and death"
"All of the emotions that come with war" Mara replied sadly, remembering her time as an Emperors Hand, when she fed off those emotions like they were an addictive drug, if it wasn't for Luke, Leia and Han she would probably have been the next Sith lord, like her fellow Hand, Lady Lumiya had become.
"Just keep your fiery temper in check Mara" Luke replied "I hear that these Imperium types can be quite difficult to get along with"
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The cocoon sat motionless in the fabric of the warp, a faint light beginning to show from within, making out the silhouette of the being under the weakening shell, with every thousand souls the creature got stronger, while the cocoon that was imprisoning it got thinner and weaker, another shockwave exploded outwards, destroying those Chaos ships and Daemons who were stupid enough to get too close thus adding their tainted souls to the rivers of trapped and tortured life energies that were penetrating the shell.
From the bridge of his battleship Anubis watched the now pulsing cocoon with a mixture of amazement and fear, he felt the tendrils of psychic shadow that were now extending from the shell, clawing at his mind and the minds of all nearby, several of the weaker traitor serfs were already dead, their bodies turning to dust as their lives were sucked from them, across the bridge a Chaos Sorcerer dropped his staff and fell to his knees, clutching onto his head and screamed as the eyes visors of his helmet shinned with multicoloured warp energy.
The Daemon Prince stood unmoving, his arms folded across his armoured chest and his eyes shinning with barely contained warp energy, he was simply putting on a show, making it look like he wasn't afraid but also giving a warning to the creature within the cocoon, he unleashed a charge or warp energy, making the tendrils clawing at his mind curl up and retract.
It wouldn't be long know, this new being would soon awaken, he could sense its strength reaching a pinnacle height and once this energy was discharged the space between dimensions would be torn asunder, the lines between the living and the dead destroyed, the shields between this dimension and the Immaterium shattered beyond repair, he looked up to the warped space above his battle fleet in time to see the massive, impressive form of the Dark God Khorne appear, blood oozing from his armour and his massive crimson blade held limply in his clawed hand.
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In the space above Ossus two Imperial-class Star Destroyers appeared from hyperspace, their wedge shaped designs shinning in the light of the systems sun, a few moments later the Imperium Mars-class battlecruiser appeared from a tear in the warp, its size dwarfing its smaller escorts. On the bridge of the battlecruiser Inquisitor Vallace surveyed the planet where the new main temple of the Jedi order was located.
It was a fairly beautiful planet, once a wasteland it was terraformed by the Yuuzhan Vong and turned from a planet with a toxic atmosphere and barren wastelands to a new world of lush forests and savannas, teeming with life, it was one of the only few good things that the monstrous aliens had done during the war. After the war the Jedi repositioned their centre of power from Coruscant to Ossus, in an attempt to distance them from the political system of the Galactic Alliance and properly continue their role as peacekeepers.
"Imperium battlecruiser Emperors Benevolence this is Ossus control" the operator's voice resounded through the bridge "We have been told of your arrival, you are cleared to proceed"
Vallace nodded and spun on her heel, stalked out of the bridge, her two Battle-sister bodyguards flanking her as she walked down through the corridors of the ancient battlecruiser to the hanger where her Thunderhawk shuttle was. She boarded the small ship, waving off the sharp salutes of the unit of Imperial Guardsmen that would be accompanying her, once everyone was inside the shuttle fired up its engines and exited the hanger, a pair of Thunderbolts flying escort, as they left the massive form of the battlecruiser behind she saw four sleek X-wing starfighters, their hulls painted in different colours and designs, fly up from the atmosphere and join the Thunderbolts as they began their descent through the atmosphere.
All the while the Inquisitor sat in her chair, protected by her safety harness and looking at the screen of an Alliance datapad that she held in her hand, she wasn't sure what the information meant and why it seemed so important to Master Sabbath but the admiral was adamant that the information get to the Jedi. All that she knew was that it had something to do with that girl, Alana, something to do with her midi-chlorian count, whatever that was.
She knew fairly well that the reason why she was going and not an Alliance officer was because of the Denon meeting, obviously that Jedi, Kyle Katarn had contacted his superiors about the meeting between the Imperium and the Alliance. She was also going as a representative of the Imperium, this would be the Jedi's first real contact and as well as giving the Master's Council this data she was also going to try and negotiate with them, the Jedi were one of the most influential orders in the galaxy and gaining their support would go a long way to having the Alliance trust them. That's what her mentor said anyway.
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Mara stood silently on the side of the landing platform where the Imperium shuttle was scheduled to land, the shadowy forms of four Jedi Sentinels, newly knighted just a few weeks ago stood behind her, she looked back at her assigned guard and smiled, they were nervous, their force auras were a mass of emotions and she didn't blame them, she had read up on the Inquisition and didn't like what she read, it sounded too much like Darth Sidious' own Inquisitorius, which were a secret branch of Imperial Intelligence, dark side adepts who were tasked with hunting down the Jedi and other, similar threats to the empire during its earlier years.
As the Thunderhawk came within sight Mara looked it up and down, it was a far cry from the sleeker Alliance and Imperial shuttles, in fact it looked ancient and battle scarred, its red paint was charred and chipped from dozens of near misses and ricochets, it landed clumsily and Mara considered that the vessel must have been difficult to fly, then again her experience with the Millennium Falcon had taught her that looks weren't everything.
Its ramp opened and the Imperial entourage stalked down the ramp, onto the metal platted deck of the landing pad, Mara moved swiftly towards the delegation, the four sentinels falling into step behind her. First to come down the ramp was a person who wore long black robes, vaguely reminiscent of the Sith, she held a long black staff, encrusted in gold with the form of a two headed eagle at the top, the robes parted slightly as she walked, revealing body hugging light armor which made Mara guess that this Inquisitor was a woman, next down the ramp were two other women, dressed in intimidating, slightly skintight battle-armor with large, deadly guns held against their chests, finally a squad of ten men followed, dressed in uniforms of different shades of green, a flak jacket and helmet, they were armed with some sort of blaster rifle, but Mara also saw that they had a combat knife and pistol attached to their waists.
Silently the ex-emperors hand sized them up in her mind, twelve guards for one Inquisitor, she guessed that the regular soldiers may not be much of a problem, she and her fellow Jedi could probably cut them down within five seconds, it was the Battle-sisters and possibly the Inquisitor herself that would be the problem, the lightsabres may not be much good against bolter rounds and their black armor may be resistant to blaster fire and possibly lightsabre strikes, she sighed, knowing that, unless something went drastically wrong, they wouldn't be fighting, but the experience she had gained during the Galactic Civil War and the Yuuzhan Vong Wars made her consider such things, old habits died hard.
"Welcome to Ossus" she greeted, bowing before the Inquisitor, her guards following suit "I am High Jedi Master Mara-Jade Skywalker"
The Inquisitor stopped and using her right hand traced the sign of an Aquila across her chest "High Jedi Master Skywalker, I am Inquisitor Vallace of the Imperium of mankind, it is an honor to stand on a world of the Jedi" She pulled back her hood revealing a strikingly beautiful young woman with long black hair and pale skin, her eyes were a deep, intelligent hazel which seemed to take in everything around her.
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Robyn knew immediately who this person was, Master Sabbath had told her as much before he left on the Firestorm, this was Mara-Jade Skywalker, Jedi Master and wife of the Grand Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker. At first Vallace thought that Mara was a master only because of her husband but Gabriel had quickly shot down those claims, saying that Mara fought long and hard and had become a master before she married Luke, she was also an incredibly powerful force-sensitive whose powers dwarfed even his own.
In response to Robyn pulling back her hood the Jedi woman did the same, long golden red hair flowed down to the small of her back as she pulled back her hood revealing a beautiful woman with smooth skin and near perfect features, her eyes were the deepest emerald green, seemingly looking into her very soul, the Inquisitor felt the confidence and power emanating from this woman, she also felt something else but couldn't figure out what.
"Inquisitor the Master's Council has gathered to greet you" Mara said, the tone of her voice warm yet formal "If you'll just follow me"
"Oh, yes, thank you Master Skywalker" Robyn said as she fell into step behind Mara and her guards, the battle-sisters flanked her but the Imperial Guardsmen stayed behind to guard the Thunderhawk.
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Deep within the confines of the warp the creature within the cocoon was stirring, the rivers of souls used to sustain it were almost depleted but Anubis knew that they would be enough, he heard a loud crash, then another and another, finally a section of the cocoon was busted open, showing a hand, claws extending from its fingertips punch out into the warp, a pair of wings were next to break through the cocoon, long and covered in black feathers, they stretched out, blocking out the multicoloured lights of the second eye, within moments the cocoon exploded outward, destroying several dozen warships. Anubis shielded his eyes and mind as another bright flash signalled the next shockwave.
This one was much more powerful and once it hit the Daemon Prince he and his entire crew were thrown to the back of the bridge, their mental shields unable to properly block the discharge of energy, the battleship was pushed backwards by the power, as was the rest of the battle fleet, dark daemons were thrown across the fabric of warped space, many splattering into the armoured bows of the Chaos cruisers and battleships.
From his perch above the scene Khorn only looked on, his features spreading into a sickening, blood drenching smile, the newest Dark God of Chaos had been born., shockwaves powerful enough to rip the fabric of space and time exploding outwards in his wake, from the darkness a pair of blood red eyes appeared and a psychic voice boomed out across both Eyes.
I am Shingai, God of Fear and I bring a new age of terror upon this galaxy!!!
He wore armour that shone with the thousands of different colours of the warp, the black wings that spread out from his back flapped, causing a powerful gale of warp energy to cascade outwards, he looked fairly human in appearance but his skin was a dead grey and his eyes shone red with warp energy that could destroy even the most powerful Chaos Sorcerer, to look into those eyes would drive a mortal insane with horror and fear.
He threw his head back and screamed a roar that caused another powerful shockwave to be unleashed across the second Eye and flow outwards across the galaxy, Khorn was unaffected but the Chaos warriors shielded their ears with their hands, trying desperately to stop the shrill scream that threatened to pop their ears and burn their brains. Several serfs and cultists screamed and fell down dead to the floor, Chaos marines whom had fought against the deadliest foes in the galaxy fell to their knees, trying desperately to shield their ears.
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On Ossus Mara felt the full extent of the shockwave, she fell to her knees, clutching onto her stomach instinctively to try and shield the baby, her entire body felt like it was being sprayed with blaster fire, she barely managed to glance over towards the Inquisitor who had also fallen to her knees, her staff rolling away from her as she held onto her head. The Jedi Sentinels and Battle-sisters also fell to their knees, some losing consciousness while others writhed in pain on the ground.
Across the entire temple Jedi padawans, knights and masters felt the shockwaves of energy, some falling unconscious while others screamed in agony, within the Council Chambers Luke felt the power before it struck and had his fellow High Masters create a force shield around their chambers, just barely keeping the shockwaves at bay, they tried to expand it outwards across the temple but the waves of power were just far too strong so they concentrated their barriers around the chambers and the crèche to try and protect the younglings.
Within the guest quarters the warp angels felt the power within the warp and were just able to raise their shields in time to try and keep them at bay, but the tremor of energy was far too powerful and their mental shields shattered, River dragged herself away from her convulsing fellows, she opened the door to try and find help only to find the three Guardians outside lying on the floor, writhing and convulsing in agony.
The aftershock followed, this one was powerful enough to tear the material realm apart, Mara felt a cold hue surround her, she forced her eyes open, ignoring the pain that coursed through her body, she saw nothing but a blue hue cloud her eyes. Her psychic senses spiking in warning Vallace forced her eyes open to see a blue hue surround Mara, her eyes widened in panic when she knew what it was, she dived forward, trying to tackle her out of the warp tear that was forming, she was a second too late as Mara disappeared in a flash of light.
From the chambers Luke felt Mara's presence vanish completely, he opened himself up in the force, searching desperately through the galaxy to look for her, there was nothing.
"Mara!!!" he screamed in panic, his concentration broke from the barrier he was holding together, his fellow masters strained to keep the barrier up without the most powerful Jedi among them.
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The shockwaves in the other galaxy weren't as powerful but every Psyker and force-sensitive felt it like a bolter round to the head. Revan and his Grey Jedi were able to sense it before it struck the fleet and brought up a barrier to deflect the shockwaves of tainted warp energy. Alana and Gabriel were immediately brought out of their meditation, feeling a powerful darkness descend upon his home galaxy.
Within her chambers The Healer, one of the original twelve Jedi, Grey Jedi and Sith to grace the galaxy felt the tremors of warp energy and immediately retracted her touch through the force, lest she be detected by the Chaos gods, she had only felt this kind of power once before, during the Force Wars when the forces of Chaos had invaded their home world. Her violet skin turning several shades paler.
A new god of Chaos had been born and his power was frightening, only a handful of beings in the galaxy, including the other four Chaos Gods, the surviving Eldar Gods, the C'Tan Star-gods, the Twelve Masters combined and the God-Emperor himself could match it. She needed to find her brothers and sisters, only if they came together could they stand a chance to protect themselves and their children.
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Deep beneath the Imperial palace of Terra, encased within the golden throne, the God-Emperor of humanity felt the power of the recently born fifth Chaos god and felt a strain on his psychic control, he enhanced his power tenfold, keeping this new power from striking his Imperium, the emperor had seen everything that had happened the last year and a half, he knew exactly what he needed to do, in order to face this new threat he needed to be healed, to escape this accursed throne and take up the mantle as God-Emperor of the Imperium, that was just the beginning, he also needed to gain the support of the Tau, the Eldar and the empires of the Galactic Alliance.
He gathered his remaining power around him and unleashed it towards the twelve high lords, he had not contacted a high lord in almost a thousand years, but the recent events had forced him to act, he put a thought into the heads of each lord of Terra, his voice booming with command.
The future of the Imperium is at stake, I must be revived!!!
What do you think of that, a new Chaos God has been born and all will feel his wrath, will the forces of Chaos take the SW galaxy by force or will the Alliance stand strong? What happened to Mara Jade? What will the High Lords reaction be to their Emperors orders? All of this and more will be answered, hope you enjoyed it, read and review.
Oh, and I didn't just choose the name for nothing, I named the Chaos God Shingai because it means Terror in Japanese.