STAR WARS: FUTURE
PROLOGUE
The guard slid on his heavy boots, resting them on the cold durasteel floor. He gave himself a final look in the mirror: armour plates secured onto bodysleeve? Check. Helmet in good condition? Check. Everything seemed to standard, so he turned and left his bunk room, stopping at the gun rack to pick up his A280 blaster rifle and 3 gas canisters, enough for 1500 shots.
He had an assignment today: escorting some special guest on a tour of the Prism. The Prism was a behemoth of a facility floating in deep space. Nobody else but the council itself knew where it was, so the news of a visitor was strange to say the least. Here they housed some of the worst scum the galaxy had ever endured. They were all Force sensitives. Every last one of them. The residents were rogue Jedi who turned their coats alongside Dagon Saar after the Qindar'ii War. Made up of 12 levels, the more powerful and dangerous they were, the deeper in the belly of the Prism they went.
He exited the guard quarters and turned right into a brightly lit corridor leading into the main hangar where two other guards and Sentinels awaited their guest. Sentinels always gave him an uneasy feeling. Tall, masked, bedecked in white and yellow trim and clutching their double bladed lightsabers. He'd never seen them eat, speak or even seen their faces. They stood at attention facing the hangar entrance, still as air. He ignored them and moved to his fellow guards who were resting on a pile of containers.
"Does anyone have an idea of whose coming?", asked the guard.
"No idea. It's probably some Council member coming to check on old Dagon.", responded Desin, a grizzled veteran of the War who took this prison gig. "If I were one of these Jedi, I'd have lopped Dagon's head off and spared us all the trouble."
"Why don't you ask one of them Sentinels? They might know what's going on.", said Chaz with a grin. Chaz clearly hadn't bothered to dress until maybe ten minutes ago. He was still fastening his plates as he was talking.
"You best finish getting ready before Rancor sees you. You know he's going to be on edge, especially with a guest coming." The Rancor was the name given to the Warden of the Prism. A leathery, cantankerous old Rodian who wielded control with a rather petulant attitude. They were all laughing at jokes at the Rancor's expense, until he heard the quick, finicky steps of the one in question.
"What are you fools doing! Get off your backsides and stand attention! Master Bahn is incoming." So that's who's coming here, thought the guard. He, Desin and Chaz stood near the Sentinels, shoulder to shoulder and clicking their heels together as they stood attention. A silver grey transport ship emerged through the blue-white gas clouds and approached the hangar's life support shield. It came to rest, its ramp extending and a cloaked Jedi stepped out, striding down. When the Jedi took their hood off, they were faced with a blonde haired, blue eyed woman. A beauty. The Rancor scampered to the Blonde Jedi and in his squeaky cadence said: "Master Bahn. I hope your journey was safe. Welcome to the Pri- "
"I want to make this journey short, Warden. I have a holo message from Master Skywalker detailing why I'm here." The Jedi slipped her hands into her sleeve and produced a silver-green holodisk. It blinked into form a large, bearded man in the typical Jedi garb spoke with a clipped Coruscanti accent:
"Greetings Warden Roono, it's me Master Skywalker. If you are seeing this, then Master Bahn has safely reached you. I have had concerns regarding the securement of Dagon. I don't think they are adequate and you must seek to reinforce them. Now before you protest remember that the Prism is entirely under Jedi jurisdiction. The Republic does not have any control over operations. Master Bahn will oversee these improvements and will keep a line of communication with us here on Coruscant."
Once the message had been delivered, the guard turned his eyes to see that the normally pale green hue of his skin, turn a crimson red. This is going to be great.
"Your security measures may be inadequate?! Your damn Grand Master insults me, insults my prison and then threatens me all in one statement?! How dare you! I ought to have you sent right back to that Temple of yours." The Rancor was in a full tantrum state. Hurling his verbal assault with a volley of spit right at the Jedi. However, she stood still and strong. Her face completely blank.
"Warden, these are direct orders from Grand Master Skywalker. Are you refusing to follow that order, Warden?" she said, giving Roono a withering glare from her ice blue eyes. Roono stuttered and stammered and then meekly acquiesced. Desin and Chaz exchanged glances with the guard. None of them had ever seen Rancor bend over so quickly. It was enjoyable to watch him be put down a few pegs.
"Now, if there aren't any more objections. Shall we proceed?" The party then made their way through the facility, pushing on towards Level 12. Rancor attempted to make small talk with Bahn, but he only received short answers and soon silence. The Sentinels were flanking Bahn, making sure to stay within arm's reach of the Jedi. It's like they're obeying her command now. They haven't even so much as glanced at Roono.
The party then arrived at blast doors, marked with bright, neon red lettering stating: WARNING! APPROACHING LEVEL 12. ALL INMATES ARE CONSIDERED EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. ALL SECURITY PERSONAL ARE PERMITTED TO SWITCH TO LETHAL SETTINGS. The Rodian entered an entrance code, angrily muttered into the radio and the heavy doors groaned, croaked and drew open. They then went down the elevator passing by ray-shielded prison cells, row after row until they reached the lowest floor. Exiting the elevator, and walking down the corridor, watched from above by guards armed with Z6 rotary cannons, heavy battle droids from the War heat seeking turrets, more guards heavily armed roaming the corridor and even more Sentinels dotted along the area.
The guard noticed there were no visible switches on the door. He saw the Jedi motioned her hand and the first blast door parted to an inner cell blocked off by a double ray shield. The cell was as simple as could be: one bed, one toilet, one set of table and chair and a chute for meals to be delivered through. Inside, there was Dagon. A muscled man, a human, sat cross legged on the floor in a meditative position. His hair, a dirty brown-black had grown to the small of his back and his beard reaching his navel. His eyes opened to reveal a pair of yellow orbs, two pools of mag. There is no humanity in those eyes. Whatever kindness he may have held, has died a long time ago, thought the guard.
"Hello there, Suli. You look as radiant as the day I was imprisoned. Although, you were only a Padawan then if I remember." He said in a smooth, confident cadence.
"It's Master Bahn now, Dagon." she replied. Dagon let out a low chuckle, certainly to anger her. "You are a Master now? Mace must surely be desperate, if he promoted you to that position. You must know that you're nowhere near up to the task?"
"Be silent. Warden, do a diagnostic of his cell and do not let your eyes leave him." she commanded. The guards were ordered with a quick yelp to begin diagnostics and so they did. The guard couldn't help but feel something off about Dagon, how casual and cavalier he was. He started the diagnostic to focus his mind. Ray shield condition: optimal, Blast door mechanism: optimal, Meal registry…five days since last withdrawal? He hadn't eaten in five days? The food given to the inmates was laced with a chemical given by the Council, they were never truly informed as to its use. When he last asked, he was simply told it was for "control purposes".
"Oh Master Bahn," called Dagon, mockingly: "Did Mace teach you the primary role of being a Master?" Bahn ignored him. "We were knighted by fire, during war. The first rule we were meant to follow was to always make sure you stay focused on what's in front of you."
The entire floor was then suddenly torn up, flinging the Sentinels, Master Bahn and Roono away. The floor was hurled towards the left and centre modules where Desin and Chaz were. Desin dodged before the chunk careened into the module, disabling the first ray shield. Chaz, along with the module was crushed. Leaving a spray of blood, bone and circuits, disabling the second shield. Dagon was more a blur than man sprinting out of his cell only to pushed back so forcefully he damaged the back wall of the cell.
"Get out all of you! Raise the doors we'll deal with this!". Desin grabbed the guard by the scruff of his neck, hit the button to raise the doors and ran out. The guard saw igniting sabers before the doors closed.
The guard tripped over his own feet as he tried to stand. He looked down and saw Roono's twisted body. His neck bent to the left at a sharp angle, the bone jutting out his flesh. His legs crushed by the debris, with his torso riddled with shrapnel. The alarm was blaring, piercing through his ears and splitting his brain. The corridor was a scene of pandemonium, guards scrambling to positions, droids being primed to attack and turrets aimed. He finally stood and a fellow guard tossed him rotary cannon since he must have lost his rifle.
"Get over here, quickly!" Desin shouted to him. The guard scrambled as fast as he could with the heavy cannon on his back. He scrambled behind the barrier and aimed right at the door. Two yellow blades penetrated out of the doors, melting the steel. The blades began to cut a door shape within the door itself before the blades retracted.
The door piece flew out of its cut and launched forward, taking down the overhead walkways as it did. Men, droids, turret and steel crashed on the ground in one twisted heap. Then a figure wielding four yellow blades emerged from the smoke and advanced forward.
"OPEN FIRE!" The corridor was engulfed in a wave blue, red and green bolts. The guard unleashed his cannon upon Dagon, but it was all for nought as wave of bolts was deflected away from their target. Dagon moved his blades in blur of yellow, it was if he had a shield in front of him. Guards were dropping dead from deflected bolts, Desin was clipped in the neck and he spun violently before crashing to the floor. The guard turned his head to help him but was struck in the shoulder and back. Dagon had already advanced at them, attacking and cutting down everyone and everything before him. Some men had flanked around him to a blind spot. Shoot him already! But Dagon released a crackling web of blue lighting at them, the sound of frying mixed with screams, before delivering a push which brought destroyed the entire corridor.
The guard attempted to hide behind a steel pillar, but his body went hard and stiff, he couldn't move and his body jerked upwards floating towards Dagon. He stared into the guard's eyes with his yellow, Sith eyes.
"What's your name, soldier?" asked Dagon. The guard remained silent. His tongue was caught in his throat. "Man of few of words, huh? I don't like men of few words." Dagon raised his blade to the guard's throat.
"I... I. It's Pax. Pax is my name." he stammered the words out.
"Now, Pax I have a very special assignment for you. I need you run back to Coruscant and tell my dear Master Skywalker that I'm coming home. Be quick about it son.' He dropped Pax hard on the floor and waved him away. Pax turned and ran as hard and as fast his bruised legs could carry him, all the way to the hangar, into the transport ship and setting course for the Core Worlds.