Hello Everyone! Sorry for the wait, we're back with another chapter!
Now I don't want to say too much about this next chapter (or couple of chapters), other than I do understand that the other chapters were rather slow, I wanted do some character building, and just examine how everybody is reacting to their present situation, but I've done that now, and I wanted something to actually happen, here you go, the boring stuff is over, this is the good part, this is the part where shit goes down (or starts to anyway).
I don't want to say too much this time around, I'd rather let this whole part just speak for itself and I don't want. But... I've brought back another Legends species (if you can even call it that), it's not the Celaphids (they're my own creation but you'll see more about them in a bit), it's something else, something I've wanted the Disney canon to utilize for quite a while now but they just haven't. Basically, how this works is I have a big list of stuff that was in the Unknown Regions in Legends, like the Vagaari or the "Far Outsiders", and whenever I feel the story needs a special "something" I go through that list and see if there's anything interesting in there. I found I was failing to make this chapter interesting, it was just a boring "go get the coolant" mission, it felt like a video game sidequest. I hated it, I wasn't happy, and part of the reason this chapter took so long was because I hit a creative wall, so I went looking through my little deck of Unkown Regions stuff and I remembered that for a while I had wanted to use this, and then I proceeded to cackle maniacally as I realised what I was about to do. There's a few hints here and there as to what exactly it is, but I'll see if anybody actually knows what this thing is, it is one of my favourite elements of Legends, and neither canon has ever done anything with it, it was just sort of introduced and left to rot. I had a lot of fun writing this, I'm having a lot of fun writing the next chapter right now. Without further ado... Displaced: Chapter 6, I think you'll enjoy this one...
"Admiral, the first reports from our probe droids have come in. One of them looks extremely promising."
Faro inserted a data card into the desk holoprojector, and on to the display came an image of an asteroid field, large chunks of rock floated from side to side, but the centre of the image was a particularly striking object, a large, silver ship. Marooned in the asteroid field, it's elegant Chrome exterior was pelted with dark spots and yet shining against the void.
"I recognise that ship." Thrawn said,
"You do?" Faro asked.
"It's configuration is unique but it's design ethos is familiar." Thrawn replied, "It is similar in design to ships that were quite a disturbance to the Chiss. This a ship of the Celaphid syndicates. They are a reptilian species who operate a sizeable criminal organization within the Unknown Regions."
"So... sort of like the Hutts then?"
"Similar, but the Celaphids would view the Hutts as uncivilized by comparison, decadent barbarians, and they would no doubt take great offense to that comparison. But yes, you could compare them to the Hutts in terms of the size of their criminal empires. What is the vessels status?"
"Scans from the probe droid have indicated that the ship has taken heavy damage and that several escape pods have been jettisoned but it does appear that the engine compartment is intact. So it's likely that it still has an ample coolant supply."
"Excellent Commodore." Faro nodded as he keyed off the monitor and withdrew the datacard, handing it back to her. "Very well sir, I'll begin drafting up a retrieval mission."
"We can fly the Chimaera to the edge of the asteroid field, then send a DX-9 troop carrier into the field with some stormtrooper squads and a tech team to board the ship and extract the coolant, we can use the TIE Defenders as an escort to help it navigate through the asteroids." Faro said.
"Very good Commodore. Inform Captain Ayer and Chief Ormyn of the discovery, and have them prepare their teams immediately," Thrawn ordered, "and tell the Captain that I need to speak to him. I'll be sending something important with him."
"Yes Sir, what is it?"
"Our resident Jedi. you will contact him personally and bring him here. I shall need to speak with him too."
Faro paused, wondering why Thrawn wanted to speak with Ezra, but instead of asking she simply nodded, deciding to go ahead with the order.
"I'll do that right away sir."
"Sir, you wanted to see me?" Ayer said, stepping into the room and looking around.
"Yes, I did Captain Ayer."
Commodore Faro was studying the projector, which was now displaying a full holographic model of the so-called "Celaphid" ship they'd just found. The resolution had been cleaned up by the sensor teams over the past few hours, and on closer inspection it was a more sizeable vessel than the first images had lead her to believe. It was roughly the size of a Victory-Class Star Destroyer. It's curved rolling hull reminded Faro of Mon Calamari vessels, and it's silver-chrome hull was reminiscent of the equally elegant ships used by Naboo royalty.
Faros attention was soon caught by the noise of the door opening again, and she glanced over to see Ezra walk in, immediately noticing and examining the ship projection in front of them.
"This... doesn't look like another bioship." Ezra said, his sentence acting both as a statement and a question.
"You are correct. No, it belongs to another species indigenous to these regions." Thrawn replied, "one of our probe droids located this ship within a nearby asteroid field, and scanners indicate that the engine section is largely intact with several supplies and needed equipment on board."
"Do you have any idea why the ship is adrift?" Ezra asked.
"I have been studying the images, asking myself that very same question." Thrawn replied, he reached down and keyed the holoprojector to zoom in on an area of the ships hull.
"The ship belongs to a criminal organisation known as the Celaphid syndicates," the Admiral explained, "and these markings on this section of the ship appear to have been inflicted by Vagaari weaponry. The probe scans indicated a large cargo hold, and the heavy armour and weaponry on the ship suggest it was carrying some form of highly valuable cargo. The most likely scenario is that this ship was a flagship or otherwise important vessel belonging to a Syndicate leader when it was ambushed and attacked by Vagaari raiders. Outnumbered, and in their haste, the crew of this ship performed a poorly planned hyperspace jump and ended up arriving into this asteroid field after which it has since drifted deeper within. As for the crew, I would presume they entered the escape pods and have since perished in the field."
"You were able to get all that from just observing the wreckage?" Ezra asked, stunned by Thrawn's deductive reasoning.
"Many things can be deduced by simple observation. To be quite honest it often disappoints me how others don't notice these details."
"So if there's coolant there I presume we're going there to retrieve it, Sir?"
"You presume correctly, Captain." Thrawn said, before turning to Faro, "Commodore, please explain the plan for the retrieval mission to Ayer."
"Yes Sir," The Commodore said, her attention drawn away from the unfamiliar ship. "The ship is located within this asteroid field. So, we'll take the Chimaera, fly it to the edge of the field, and from there, we can send a DX-9 troop transport into the field to board the ship. A squadron of TIE Defenders will be deployed to clear the way for the transport. Once the ship has docked, the Stormtroopers will be split into three squads. Squad one will pursue the primary objective of going to engine room and securing the needed coolant supply. We do have some secondary objectives for the other Squads two and three. Squad two is to move up to the bridge, and recover any of the navigational logs, as well as any star-charts from the nav computer, it could prove useful in navigating uncharted space. Squad three is to go down to the cargo bay and see if you can salvage anything useful. If the vessel is deemed to have anything else of value after you retrieve the primary objective we shall consider whether to start a full salvage operation then be underway."
"Simple retrieval mission" Ayer said to himself, "Go in , get the coolant and scour the ship for anything else useful. Alright, I think my men can handle that."
"There is one more thing." Thrawn said, "The reason I called you here, Bridger, is because I would like you to go as well."
Ezra snapped to attention, suddenly aware the room was focused on him, he actually was beginning to wonder why exactly he was here. "Any particular reason?"
Thrawn sighed "It is a risk, the loss of our navigator could be potentially disastrous, but I'm afraid your Jedi abilities will be needed to help navigate through the asteroid field."
"Alright... but if we meet anything hostile once we're on the ship, I'm not sure what help I can be. I left my lightsaber back on Lothal, and I'm not much use without it."
Thrawn paused for a moment, pondering his next words, "I am, in fact, in possession of a lightsaber. The weapon of your deceased master, Kanan Jarrus."
"What!?" Ezra asked, shocked that Kanan's lightsaber had been here this whole time, it would've definitely been useful, "you've had it this whole time?"
Thrawn nodded, "Indeed, I had Governor Pryce hand it over to the Seventh Fleet while I was away on Coruscant. It was on the Death's Head when we... 'left' Lothal. I was planning on adding it to my collection but at the moment it is clearly of more use in your hands."
Ezra grimaced. Internally he was irritated that the Grand Admiral was going to treat Kanan's lightsaber as a mere curiosity, but there was a time and a place to raise these issues and now wasn't it.
"I'll go and prepare my men for the mission." Ayer said, turning towards the door. Brushing past Ezra before he similarly turned to leave.
"One last thing, Commodore." Thrawn said, "When we arrive at the asteroid field, send out a patrol squadron to do a reconnaissance sweep of the area. There may still be Vagaari in the area and I don't want to risk an encounter with any Far Outsiders lurking nearby, this mission is too important to risk them jeopardising it.
"I'll do that right away, Sir." Faro said.
"Control, this is Delta-1. We are ready for take-off."
"Acknowledged Delta-1 you are cleared for launch."
The DX-9 transport designated "Delta-1" engaged it's engines, dropping down from the vehicle storage bay and out the hangar door, gently gliding out of the Chimaera's launch bay before speeding up and flying out from underneath the warship, a flight group of three TIE Defenders accompanying it in an escort formation.
The DX-9 Stormtrooper transport was fairly plain in appearance, sporting a featureless grey hull, and doors for unloading troops situated at both the front and back of the craft. Two large struts at the top of the craft combined together a set of missile pods and sub-light engines. Overall it was the closest thing the Empire had to the LAAT gunships used in the Clone Wars, and being far more nimble than a Sentinel-class shuttle it was chosen to navigate the asteroid field. The ship contained a full passenger bay, capable of holding up to 30 passengers, but right now it was home to three full squads of Stormtroopers and a few dozen techs, two cockpit compartments were located on either side of the front ramp, strapped into the one on the right was an Imperial pilot, and strapped into the other, rather unusually was a Jedi.
Ezra leaned over in his chair, ignoring the Stormtroopers lined behind him. He stared down at the lightsaber in his hands intently. It felt... odd, holding his master's lightsaber again. He felt like he had no right to use it. It felt wrong utilising such a weapon, but unfortunately he'd made the mistake of leaving his lightsaber with Sabine on Lothal, and he was seriously beginning to regret that decision.
Lothal, heh. He missed his homeworld. In the few short months he'd been out here, so much had changed, so much was different. Things were so much simpler just a few months ago. It was him, the Spectres and the Rebellion vs the Empire, that was it. Now here he was, Kanan was dead, he was lost in an unknown part of space, forced to work with his mortal enemies just to survive, and now it wasn't just Rebels vs Empire anymore, there was a third party to consider: the elusive Far Outsiders which Thrawn kept alluding to. Were these creatures really that bad? Were they really worse than the Empire? Some part of Ezra just wanted them to show themselves already, the other didn't. When orchestrating his master plan Ezra figured he would do away with the Seventh Fleet, and the Rebels would go on fighting, but the introduction of the Far Outsiders had changed everything, the threat Thrawn claimed they posed had proven to be quite the wildcard.
No, Kanan would understand, a Jedi's usefulness was seriously hampered without a lightsaber, and Ezra doubted Kanan would object to him using this one if he was left with no other choice.
Would he though? What would Kanan make of all this anyway? How would he react in the situation Ezra now found himself in? How would any of the Spectres, the Rebels react if they found out a third party was now present? Would it be worth co-operating with the Empire? Would the Empire, in turn, be willing to cooperate?
Other matters troubled him, particularly his abilities as a Jedi, the humiliating defeat and harsh words of the Royal Guards still lingered in his mind. The Inquisitors had seemed to be such a monumental threat, and now here was a direct agent of the Emperor telling him they were nothing. It was only now he realised him and Kanan had never actually been a match for most of their opponents, it was only now he'd realized how low on the pecking order he really was. The crushing defeat was the final straw, it had caused Ezra to fall into a spiral of defeatism, seriously doubting his own abilities. Kanan had taught him everything he could, but the fact of the matter was Kanan himself never finished his training. Ezra was probably at the lowest he'd ever been at, and he had no idea where to go from here. He was never able to beat Vader, he hadn't been able to beat any of the Inquisitors, and even Maul was eventually defeated by Obi-Wan, the fact of the matter was that he was no match for... well anyone really, he'd only survived this far thanks to the Spectres, and now he couldn't rely on them anymore. Why was Thrawn even interested in recruiting him anyway? Ezra had struggled against Inquisitors, he'd utterly failed against the likes of Vader and Maul, Kanan had died before he could finish his training, and if the Far Outsiders were really as dangerous as Thrawn claimed they were, what could he possibly do to stop them?
He also didn't look forward to being enemies with the Imperials again, a few of them were genuinely good people, namely Faro and Ormyn, and it was going to be hard to avoid thinking about that when this is all over. The Empire itself was evil, but Ezra was beginning to realise there were people in it who weren't. Ormyn didn't care for politics, he simply needed a job and had a talent for ship design, Faro on the other hand genuinely believed she could change the Empire from the inside for the better.
Ezra sat back, the straps around his seat protecting him from the occasional bump for when the ship entered the field. For the past five years he'd had a concrete goal: liberate Lothal, and now that that was over he wasn't sure what he was going to do. His only option at this point was to just keep moving in his current direction, and hope that the force would be with him.
He glanced behind, most of the Chimaera's Stormtroopers simply didn't acknowledge him. Seated in rows beside and across from him, they were too busy checking their blasters or other equipment and what few glances he did get were obscured by the helmets. There were some murmurings but nothing Ezra could single out.
"Jedi, you there?"
It was the other pilot, seated in a separate compartment, the two had to speak using comm devices.
"Yeah… yeah I read you loud and clear." Ezra said, snapped out of his thoughts abruptly.
"Good, listen, I'm going to do most of the flying, you just do whatever it is you Jedi do and warn me of any incoming asteroids I can't see out my window, got it?"
"Alright, I can do that."
"Delta-1, this is Captain Fel" a comm in the cockpit said, "We're entering the red zone of the field. We'll cover you as best we can but be ready for any incoming objects and prepare for evasive maneuvers."
"Acknowledged, Defender 1, we're moving towards the target zone now."
The TIE Defenders glided gracefully through the field. Soontir Fel and his men blasting away at the asteroids, banking left and up past the transport to blast an incoming asteroid to harmless dust. Winding back and kicking into thrusters Fel took aim as another large chunk came at them and green bolts of energy were launched left and right from his wingmen, reducing the chunks of rock to harmless particles of dust. The transport didn't have to move much, thanks in part to the cover provided by the Defenders, and only needed to make the occasional adjustment to maneuver past incoming debris.
It wasn't long until the target came within sight, the Celaphid ship was hard to miss. It's chrome exterior was just as magnificent in person as it was on the briefing room projector.
"Defender leader, we've moved around to the main hangar on the bow and are moving in now ."
"Excellent work, Delta-1." Fel said, "We'll be waiting here until you're done."
"Flight Control Chimaera, this is Captain Fel, the transport has successfully made it through the field and boarded the ship."
Back on the Chimaera's bridge the Chief flight commander acknowledged and then stepped aside for his commanding officer.
"Defender 1 this is Commodore Faro, excellent work. Move to a safe distance and await the transport's exit."
"Copy that. Defender 1 out."
Faro breathed a sigh of relief. Half of this operation was getting into the asteroid field, and it had gone off without a hitch. If the rest of the operation went this well they would have their coolant in no time.
As the hanger hatch sealed and the shuttle touched down the Stormtroopers marched out first, flanking the hatchway together, blasters at the ready covering them. Their helmet overlay scanned for targets and data rolled across their heads up displays. The ship may have been abandoned but in the Stormtrooper Corps a trooper learns to never let their guard down. Ezra walked out behind them and squinted at the surrounding hangar. It was far too dark to actually see anything. The lighting had clearly failed, but fortunately life support still seemed to be intact. The Stormtroopers shone their torches from wall to wall, returning light to the hangar. Ezra took out his (or rather Kanan's) lightsaber and ignited it.
In it's prime, the hangar bay would likely have looked beautiful, the bright chrome walls were covered in elaborate swirling patterns, designed so the eye would naturally roll along them from end to end. Various figures and silhouettes, much of them Serpentine in appearance, were carved into the metal. It looked more like an art gallery than a hangar bay. Whoever designed this ship clearly had a fondness for aesthetic and Ezra could only imagine what it would've looked like at it's peak. As it was now though, the patterns almost seemed to hide from Ezra's sight in the dark as if they didn't want to be seen. The technical crew that had been on board walked out into the hanger with their gear and some hoversleds.
"Alright Troopers! Form up!" ordered Captain Ayer. Ayer was now full stormtrooper attire, an orange Captain's pauldron with the mark of the Chimaera draped across his shoulder, "We'll split into three Squads, Squad 1 will proceed to the rear of the ship and attempt to procure the coolant supply from the main engines. Squad 2 will proceed with me to the bridge and attempt to procure whatever information we can from the flight computer, as well as search for any other priority targets from the main computer. Squad 3 will secure the hangar then proceed down to the cargo bay and recover anything useful."
The Troopers split into squads of nine, each one headed by a Sergeant. "Jedi, you're with me, we're going to the bridge." Ayer said with as much hospitality as he could muster for a Rebel.
Ayer and Ezra took point, leading the rest of the squad through the long winding corridors and up towards the bridge. Ayer shining the way with his torch from the front of his blaster, Ezra holding his lightsaber as the familiar blue light illuminated the room. The corridors were just as elaborately decorated as the Hangar, with the same long winding patterns, and even the occasional dried up fountain.
Ezra and the Stormtroopers eventually found a broken terminal, flashing with a partial map. It was in a language they didn't understand, but the map was intelligible nonetheless, and they found were about halfway towards the bridge. They had resumed their walk for a few paces when Ezra stopped for a moment. A loud squelching noise meeting his ears as his foot met the floor.
He stopped and looked down to find that his foot had landed in a puddle of what appeared to be a thick, gray ooze. He crouched down, examining the substance, and immediately, his senses were bombarded with a sickeningly sweet aroma emanating from the puddle. It reminded Ezra of an overripe meiloorun, and he had to turn his head away and breath in some air.
"Excuse me Jedi, are we going?" Ayer asked, looking down at him.
Ezra looked back up, "Yeah, sorry. Let's go."
As they continued through the corridors Ezra began to notice more and more of the puddles. The gray slime gradually increasing in quantity until large parts of the floor were smeared with the strange substance, and with more slime, came more of the disgustingly saccharine scent, stronger and stronger.
"Oh, Yuck" One of the techs said, wincing at the smell. "What is this stuff?" Ezra asked.
"No idea, don't really care. As long as it doesn't interfere with our mission it's none of our concern." Captain Ayer said in response. Ezra couldn't tell if Ayer's apathy came from the fact that his helmet was probably shielding him from the smell, or if the Stormtroopers just naturally had a blunt and boring mindset.
The bridge, much like the rest of the ship, was a very form-over-function structure, almost comically so. More of the elaborate patterns lined the walls, a large throne overlooked the consoles and controls of the ship, and the whole command level of the ship looked more like a monarch's court than any standard command bridge.
"This is Squad 2, we have reached the bridge, Squads 1 and 3 have you finished your respective missions yet?" Ayer asked over his comm.
"Squad 3 here. Hangar bay is clear we're now moving to investigate the cargo hold." Ayer's comm beeped and clicked it to the next channel.
"Yes Captain Ayer, this is Chief Engineer Ormyn." Ormyn said, "our team has successfully reached the engine room. Brex is just in the middle of removing the coolant and preparing it for transport. I have a few of my other men stripping cabling and other equipment as well. We should be back at the Delta in no time."
"Excellent work. Try not to take to much and proceed back to the transport, we'll join you once we're done here."
Ayer put away his comm, thankful that the primary objective of this mission was going off without issue so far. He turned to the engineer. "Alright, engineers, we'll let you get to work."
The Engineers walked over to the console, torches illuminating the buttons and controls. Examining it and making sense of the complex set-up.
"Whoever was in charge of this ship abandoned it in a hurry..." One of the Engineers remarked as he examined the controls, "I wonder what caused them to leave so fast?"
The Engineers got to work, as the Stormtroopers and Ezra idly glanced around, taking in the details on the bridge. It wasn't long before terminals buzzed to life, and streams of information ran along the monitors.
"Chief Engineer, we've got access to the ship's main computer. We've got the ships layout, flight logs, star charts and everything... but I'm afraid it's in a language we don't understand."
"Probably the language of the people who built this ship." Ormyn said over the comm, "alright, transmit the data back to the Chimaera."
"And send the other groups the ships layout. It will make it much easier for them before we're done here." Ayer added in behind the tech as he holstered his blaster and began looking over the ships map for other points of interest.
"Yes Sir, right away." The engineer began to work away at the console, setting it up for transferring the data back to the Chimaera.
Officer Kalgen stood guard as two engineers attempted to slice through the door controls. Scans had indicated this room was particularly large, and was most likely to be the main cargo hold or a storage room of some sort. Kalgen waited for a moment, letting the engineers work, and finally stepped through as the door was carved up and thrown to the ground.
Kalgen's jaw almost hit the floor. This wasn't just a mere cargo hold, it was a treasure room. So this was what the Vagaari wanted, and what the Celaphids didn't want them having. Gold and Jewels and trinkets galore littered the room. Crates were knocked over, valuable treasures spilling onto the floor in a tidal wave of riches.
"Captain Ayer, we're in... you're not gonna believe what's down here, it's a full on treasure room sir!" Kalgen chuckled in amazement. The troopers and engineers poured in, similarly transfixed by the riches.
"Disregard that, Officer, is there anything practical? Anything worth hauling back to the ship?"
Kalgen rolled his eyes under his helmet. Ayer was notoriously to the point, but he did have one. They did have a job to do here after all.
"I'll get back to you once the engineers have done a sweep of the room, Kalgen out."
Kalgen idly looked around, letting his helmet cam record everything while waiting for the engineers to finish their work. He was amazed, he could probably take even just one of these treasures, sell it off somewhere, and have enough to retire to Alderaan or Cantonica and live in relative comfort for the rest of his life. His men, with nothing better to do, idly gawked at the impressive hoard in a similar manner, and murmurings of retirement echoed throughout the room.
"Find anything useful?" An engineer asked, he was far from Kalgen, on the other side of the room. The two men, dressed in their engineer uniforms, were scouring through the hold for riches of a different sort.
"Lots of gold, lots of jewels, some artwork, but nothing that could actually be of any usage." The other replied, dreams of wealth tended to be relegated to the back-end of one's mind when lost in uncharted space.
The engineer walked down through the boxes, until he stopped. "Wait..do you hear something?" His attention focused on a loud and noticeable dripping noise.
Drip... drip... drip... The engineer followed the noise, finding himself staring at a large tank, the kind used to store fuel or other liquids. It was heavily reinforced, it looked fitted to resist even a turbolaser. The engineer looked down, his eyes fixated on the source of the dripping.
A large hole, a leak in the tank, big enough for the contents to spill out onto the floor. But strangely, if the contents did spill out they were nowhere to be seen, the cargo hold was completely dry. Save for the single droplets falling out onto the floor.
The Engineer, his curiosity peaked, crouched down and crawled in under the tank. Looking up into the dark, he shone his torch inside...
He barely had time to scream.
"Alright, communications reports we've received all the data you sent us." Faro's voiced uttered from the comm, "we'll attempt to translate it but it probably won't be done until the transport returns. Finish up your sweep of the ship and then return to the Chimaera."
"Copy that. Ok, men, time to go." Ayer ordered, the engineers finishing their work and Stormtroopers forming up to leave. "Squad 3, have you finished searching the cargo bay?"
Ayer paused, waiting for a response, but none came.
"Sergeant Kalgen, are you there?"
Again, no response.
"Sergeant..."
"Sir!" Kalgen yelled, his breaths coming quick and shallow, and audible over the comms. His voice contained a panicked tone, and in the background Ayer could hear sounds of struggle and blaster fire.
"Sergeant!? What's wrong!?"
"We're surrounded sir! It's everywhere! Oh my stars it's… it's moving Sir! It's.. it's alive! It got the engineering team but I think our armour's protecting us!"
"What!? What's surrounded you!? Kalgen what is down there!?"
"I don't know, it's everywhere and-!"
Kalgen's speech was cut off, as his voice uttered an agonising shriek. The last transmissions from his comm contained a panicked Kalgen ordering something to get off him. Growls, gurgles and other sounds of pain abounded as the transmission fizzled out.
Ezra looked over at Ayer, having listened to most of the events and a look of dread on his face. Ayer activated his comm, and tuned it to the other squad's frequency.
"Squad 1, Sergeant Varn, get your people back to the transport and stay clear of the cargo bay. We are leaving this ship, now!"