Star Wars: Darkest Hour

[Corinthian]

"No sir. There is nothing to brief them on. These students cannot help the Empire. To be concise, sir, these students have all the potential of a dirty rag armed with a length of string and a pebble. Actually, I may be overstating the case."

 

That probably wasn't going to go over well. Blunt honesty and good metaphors rarely make vastly senior commanders happy.

[The Betrayer]

"You disobeyed direct orders from those higher in the chain-of-command? I expect better of a Clone Wars veteran! Or is Order 66 getting to you?"

 

"Brief them now, or I may be inclined to write your name on "the List"."

The students gasped. "The List" was a list sent by the Grand Moff to the Emperor every month. In it are the names the Grand Moff suspect to be treacherous, demanding immediate termination. Grand Moff Yal was famous for misusing it.

[Tysyacha]

Since Alpha Commander Kyr'am seemed to be either deep in thought or asleep for the time being, his head lowered, Chasi Vtorie thought she'd sneak out and find Nylen...

[The Betrayer]

Grand Moff Yal has it all planned out on his head.

I was always the greatest strategist. While this clone briefs this unsuspecting class, I would tap into the force and locate this Force Adept.

[Tysyacha]

"Excuse me," Chasi told the Alpha Commander, "but unless I hurry to the cafeteria, I probably won't get anything to eat for lunch. I'm not going to have the vegetable matter slop that the chef droids keep serving when they can't think of anything more creative, but they always offer bantha jerky and energy bars for the kids who have a hearty appetite but no credits." She gazed at Kyr'am and took his metal-plated hand. "I'll be back," she promised.

 

Chasi left the empty classroom and sauntered toward the smell that plagued most of her days at the educational facility around this time. She was quite determined to find Nylen and try their plan again, for better or for worse. Ditching school was punishable by a week's worth of detention, being put to work scrubbing the facility's refreshers by hand with only a cleansing cloth, but in this case Chasi felt it was worth the risk. She didn't like how the swarm of unruly students had suddenly formed up into long queues before the Imperial enlistment tables. Nylen wouldn't be in such a line--or would she?

 

"Nylen?" she called, her eyes darting around. "Nylen?" Chasi tried to pinpoint her best friend through the Force and found a seething, restless presence. Wandering through the large cafeteria crowd that still had not fallen into line, she located Nylen grumbling over her steaming plate of vegetable matter.

 

When she saw Chasi, Miss Moranity abandoned her so-called lunch, stood up, and grabbed Chasi's hand. "This time we're getting out of the building," she said. "Let's go. As for a week's detention, I'll do the mirrors if you wash the latrines." Always looking out for number one, Chasi thought with a wry smile, but outwardly she nodded her head and let Nylen steer her toward the not-often-used side doors of the educational facility. The front was too risky.

[Cyborg Ninja]

Kyr'am pulled himself together and rose to his feet. It was times like that when he and Vader could relate. The had both lost the ones they loved and relied on the other to keep going. He placed his helmet back on his head and walked to the cafeteria, where Grand Moff Yal was suppose to be. He found Yal speaking to a fellow ARC. Kyr'am walked up to the Grand Moff and saluted.

 

"Grand Moff Yal, its always and honor to see you sir. Lord Vader personally informed me of your coming so I'm here to assist you in anyway I can."

[Corinthian]

"I'm not under your chain of command. I report directly to Imperial High Command, and they will naturally have to clear my submission to 'The List'."

 

He snorted. Political bigwigs always had an overinflated perspective on their own value, not realizing that in a galaxy of quadrillions of individuals, they were very small fish, easily replaced. Amusingly, it would also be childishly simple to grab this arrogant blowhard by the neck and play shockball with him until his bones turned to jelly.

 

The thought brought a broad grin to Kando's face before he began his little lecture.

 

"The First Galactic Empire is dedicated to preserving the peace and security of all worlds within it, but even the Great Empire, which spans over a billion stars and contains somewhere in the vicinity of one quintillion individiuals, relies on the common soldier to enforce peace.

 

The Clone Wars are over. But they will not be the last conflict the Galaxy faces. Who will stand in the breach for the next war? The Grand Army is gradually retiring for the rest of our short lives. Who else will stand against the forces of Anarchy and total chaos, if not you? One soldier could make the difference in the Galaxy between Order and the total annihilation of civilization.

 

Many enemies stand against the Empire. Subversive elements within the Empire have already committed acts of terrorism and sabotage on many worlds. On Abregado-Rae, a fuel depot was nearly destroyed by a kamikaze speeder loaded with Nergon-14. On Corellia, six armed men attempted to assassinate the Diktat. On Kuat, a plot to destroy the Star Destroyer Relentless with explosive charges was narrowly averted. Who stopped these mad plots? It was not the Grand Army. It was courageous citizens, human and non-human, male and female, who gave their courage, their commitment, and in some cases, their lives to defend the safety and security of the Empire, the finest citizens of the Empire. All of you have what it takes to be the Empire's Finest."

 

He stepped back, almost drained from the speech. Public speaking was not his forte, or Jango's, and it showed.

[The Betrayer]

"Don't think your little speech will save you, soldier. You are not considered important just because of your position as a so-called "ARC trooper". I have enough grounds to detain you for treason, soldier, so I suggest you watch your back.

Now, Commander Ky'ram, I trust you can do better? I need you to brief this people on the recruitment."

[Corinthian]

Kando's left eye twitched. In a blink of an eye, he produced a vibroblade from his boot and held it in a CQB stance.

 

"I have spent three years fighting Separatists on every piss world in this Galaxy, and the past eight months leaning up after you and your kind's screwups. I am not interested in listening to you threaten me, Moff, so let me give you a piece of advice - shut up, go back to your ship, and leave this sector, before I demonstrate to you why ARCs are the deadliest soldiers in the Republic, and why the Emperor will probably turn a blind eye to me melting your face off."

[The Betrayer]

Grand Moff Yal pressed a little button on his back, a distress call to all available soldiers.

 

And soon enough, 10 stormtroopers were at his location.

 

"You were saying?", said the Grand Moff.

[Cyborg Ninja]

Kyr'am had stayed quite still during the whole situation that was until the storm troopers arrived. A fellow ARC pulled a vibroblade out on Grand Moff Yal and we ready to strike, as were the storm troopers.

 

"Grand Moff Yal I feel calling one soldier on another will not look good infront of all these possible new recruits. Let this ARC go free and I will take his punishment in return." Kyr'am stepped in hoping to stop the confrontation.

[Tysyacha]

Everything would have gone perfectly according to Chasi and Nylen's plan--that is, only if the latter had not seen "the most incredibly hot and handsome engineer alive"! Nylen had a perma-crush on one certain Mon Calamari male, Yul Tirrand, but for some odd reason the alien seemed not to return her feelings in kind. The thing was, Miss Moranity was attracted to 'strong, silent types' above all else, and out of all the students at the educational facility, Yul was the strongest and most silent. "Hey!" Nylen cried, sprinting at full speed towards the startled Mon Calamari. As for Chasi, she shook her head.

 

What about getting out of the building? What about resisting the Empire? What about 'evil is evil is evil, and it must be destroyed'? I guess it all goes by the wayside when a petty schoolgirl infatuation is thrown into the mix.

 

Chasi turned and almost collided with a group of soldiers surrounding a--who was that? He wasn't one of the educational facility officials, a Clone, or even one of the Sith. He was dressed in a very official-looking uniform, however, and standing at crisp attention. Fortunately, he seemed not to notice her, for his attention was fully focused on two Clone troopers--one an ARC and one Alpha Commander Kyr'am himself. Chasi's face turned pale.

 

"Excuse me, Alpha Commander," she said humbly, "but I'm ready to--hear the story of the Clone Wars now." Chasi hoped and prayed that he'd listen. She had heard of his offer of sacrifice, and if any Clone did not deserve to die, it was he. "My stupid friend is over there trying to get some Mon Calamari engineer into her study group--and her undertunic. You know what I mean." She noticed the soldiers all around them, and she started to panic. Should she use the Force to push the soldiers back so she and Kyr'am could escape?

 

Feeling that move would be too rash, she stroked the metal-plated small of the Alpha Commander's back. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge. Come with me.

[Corinthian]

A classic Corellian Standoff. With a quick slash from his vibroblade, the Grand Moff would be having some very serious problems involving his jugular and carotid arteries.

 

Another ARC, a Captain or Commander by the looks of him, stepped forward and tried to dissuade the Moff. Kando snorted.

 

"I've reached my limit. I won't be a pawn to politicians or anyone else. We gave our lives to defend the Republic during the Clone Wars, and now people like this...bastard have turned the Galaxy upside down. I've had enough."

 

He grabbed the Grand Moff by the arm and flung him forward, into the Stormtrooper's line of fire, then with a quick three-sided cut, dropped a chunk of transparisteel. It was a long way down, but it was either that or face execution or reprogramming for gross insubordination.

 

Any easy choice for any ARC. He kicked his way out of the window, smirking at how thoroughly he had probably just screwed over the recruitment efforts here. That speech still hung in his throat. They should have hired a better writer, really.

 

He relaxed and prepared to drop into a roll as he approached the moving sidewalk twenty feet below. This was going to hurt.

[The Betrayer]

Grand Moff Yal woke up 30 minutes later, his head still hurting from the impact to the Stormtrooper's armor.

He saw Commander Ky'ram, obviously helping him recover.

 

Commander Ky'ram and the Stormtroopers have given him a dose of Medkits, and he was now recovering, nothing serious.

 

"Where's that ARC trooper? I'll have his head for this!"

 

He saw the broken window, and the pieces of the puzzle were together.

 

"He escaped? YOU LET HIM ESCAPE?"

 

"I'll deal with you later. Commander Ky'ram, dispatch a battle group to track him, I want him taken to me alive. Contact the Annihilation, I've had enough of this mission."

[Cyborg Ninja]

"I've reached my limit. I won't be a pawn to politicians or anyone else. We gave our lives to defend the Republic during the Clone Wars, and now people like this...bastard have turned the Galaxy upside down. I've had enough."

 

Though his words were rebellious sounding they were very true. Kyr'am watched as the ARC thrw the Grand Moff into a stormtrooper. Though he jumped, a little a small smile formed from under his helmet.

 

"I want you to track that clone down, bring him back alive." Kyr'am order to half the troops and they left.

 

Kyr'am used his medkit to fix up the Grand Moff's arm and any other injury he may have taken.

 

"Commander Ky'ram, dispatch a battle group to track him, I want him taken to me alive."

 

"Its already taken care of half of your men are tracking him as we speak, and these remaining troops will escort you back sir. If you'll excuse me I must speak to this child about the Clone Wars and our glorious Empire."

 

Kyr'am exited the cafeteria and waited for the girl to come out.

 

"Ah, the di'kut's friend, is there something I can do for you miss?"

[Corinthian]

Kando gasped in pain as he felt tendons drawn to their limit in both arms as he grabbed the edge of the platform. He had fallen maybe twenty feet, not enough to break his arms or dislocate them, but more than enough to really, really hurt. He hauled himself up from the abyss, glancing around. This was it. No more working for the Empire. That little rebellion up there had been the proverbial last straw.

 

He needed to make distance. No way he'd make it off Coruscant on public transportation, he'd need to go to ground. First, though, he needed a weapon, and he needed some camouflage.

 

Kando weighed the odds. His new apartment was probably having stormtroopers descending upon it as he stood there, but he needed the advantages of a few items of equipment he could get there, namely, his helmet, his personal sidearm, and his allowance of credits. All would come very much in handy for surviving. It would be a race.

 

A Coruscant SkyCop wasn't too far, writing up somebody a ticket. He crept up behind him.

 

"Excuse me, Officer."

 

The Skycop turned, an inquisitive expression on his face.

 

"Yes, Trooper?"

 

A right cross dropped the Skycop to the platform, and a hook took the motorist out. Kando shrugged. It wasn't very nice, but he needed the transportation. He grabbed the Skycop's blaster and keycard, hopped in his speeder, and took off towards his apartment. He'd need to be in and out within two minutes.

 

More than enough time.

[The Betrayer]

At the Annihilation..

"Finally, I am back. I need to talk to the Emperor."

Grand Moff Yal calls for his Captain, and tells him to start communication with the Emperor.

 

A few minutes later...

 

A hologram of the Emperor appears, scaring the Grand Moff a little bit.

"What do you want, Grand Moff?"

"Sir, the mission is successful. As you have foreseen, there is a Force Adept on Coruscant. Due to certain rebellious actions, however, I was unable to pursue this Adept further."

"I see. Good. Very good, Grand Moff, or should I say Grand Admiral Yal?"

"Sir are you promoting me-

"Yes, from now on, you answer only to me. You have direct sovereignty above all the Empire, unless overruled by my sovereignty. Is that clear, Grand Admiral?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, your task is now to track this Force Sensitive and bring him to me. I'll be sending along some of those in the Emperor's hand. They will aid you. You are dismissed, Grand Admiral."

[ForceFightWMe12]

"You realize that it's been at least a year since I've seen him, right?" he asked, raising a slight eyebrow. Slowly shaking his head for a moment, he sighed as he tried to recall that last occasion. "He had been helping us hunt down an insurgent cell on Alderaan - I was still a first lieutenant at the time - and it took us probably about a month and a half to get a real lock down on the group. Without going into too many details, the operation went off without a hitch, partly in line with Alec's intelligence assistance. Or...that's what he called himself, anyway. Alec Greenwood."

 

Chasten shrugged lightly, glancing over her shoulder at a passing trio of troopers in their snow-white armor. They saluted to him in passing and he nodded in return, his eyes turning once more to the woman before him. "He didn't say much before he left," he said, "But that mission was the last that we worked with him. After that, he kept mentioning something about the Deep Core worlds, and requested reassignment. Apparently, even I don't have clearance to get that information."

[The Betrayer]

A datapad was given to Grand Admiral Yal the next morning, detailing:

================

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

================

Your hunt for the

Force Sensitive is to

be lead by Commander

Ky'ram.

================

 

He went to Coruscant to tell the ARC trooper.

[Writer]

Katri was taking notes on Niven's memories of his interaction with 'Alec Greenwood', but the mention of said interactions having taken place a year earlier made her pause. Imperial Intelligence had sent him out that long ago and yet they'd not informed his family of his disappearance until now? Shaking her head, Katri decided that would not do.

 

"Core worlds, huh?" she said thoughtfully. Despite her job as a mercenary for hire, Katri knew very little about the Core. When she worked on Imperial Center, she always had to ask for directions and that was the only Core world she could remember visiting with any frequency. Perhaps someone more familiar with the area...

 

"Sgt. Niven," she said finally, "how familiar are you with the Core worlds?"

[ForceFightWMe12]

"I would say I know them fairly well..." he answered slowly, eying her suspiciously. He didn't know what she was thinking - there was no way that they would reassign a sergeant to assist a no name mercenary in her search for an AWOL soldier. Not even if he'd worked with that same soldier on missions in the past. They had grunts to do that! "I've been stationed throughout many of them for the past few years. Why do you ask?"

[The Betrayer]

Grand Admiral Yal sent a message to the Coruscant Barracks.

"This is Grand Admiral Yal of the Annihilation, I will land in Landing Zone 090 after 4 hours. Please inform Commander Ky'ram of my arrival and ensure he personally meet me upon landing."

"This is CB, we copy, we'll send a message immediately. Have a safe trip and all hail the Empire!"

 

I'd have to rest. The next day's gonna be a long one, thought the Grand Admiral to himself.

[Writer]

"I'm gonna go a little out on a limb, here," Katri started. Frowning, she shook her head. "No, I'm not. Hold on, Sergeant. I need to make a call."

 

Moving some distance away, she took a small black comlink Imperial Intel had given her. It took a few moments for the other end to answer. "I trust this is important?"

 

"It is," Katri answered sharply. "The lead you gave me told me the name 'Alec Greenwood' and said he'd last seen him a year ago. My question is, how in all Hells did you decide to..."

 

"Ms. Haalen, this is why we tried so hard to recruit you," the Intel agent interrupted. "We've run out of leads. Chasten Niven was the last one and we saved him so you'd have something to go on."

 

"It's not nearly enough," Katri grumbled. "One sighting, one helpful Alec Greenwood... one year ago. Niven mentioned only one more major, useful fact... but even that wasn't terribly useful. Deep Core worlds. Now, I don't know exactly what that means to you, but what it means to me is that I'll be needing a guide. I barely know the Core, and since Niven claims to have been stationed on many of these worlds at one time or another, I've half a mind to recruit him."

 

Long silence. "We would... ah, we'd prefer it if you didn't."

 

"I don't give a damn what you'd prefer," Katri spat. "If I'm going to do the job you hired me to do, I'm going to need all the help I can get."

 

"There are others who've been stationed in the Core, perhaps..."

 

"And perhaps some of them have seen our ellusive 'Alec Greenwood', right?" Katri snorted. "Perhaps isn't good enough. I've got one confirmed and I'm determined to bring him along."

 

Another long silence. "Are you always this stubborn?"

 

Katri grinned. "He'll need my level of security clearance."

 

"Tell him to meet you at the Imperial Intelligence branch nearest your location in an hour. It'll be waiting for him."

 

Smiling triumphantly, Katri returned to Sgt. Niven. "Do you like your current job enough to keep at it for many years to come... or would you like to take a bite of something that's a bit more of a mental challenge?" she asked bluntly. Instead of waiting for an answer, she went on, "Unfortunately, you and I are both discovering there's not that much choice. Meet me at the nearest Imperial Intelligence branch in an hour."

 

She turned to go, but a sudden thought stopped her in her tracks. Turning back to Niven, she looked puzzled. "Eh... where is that exactly?"

[The Betrayer]

Coruscant.

 

Grand Admiral Yal has just landed on his shuttle, and sure enough, Commander Ky'ram with 4 other ARC troopers was standing there, waiting for him.

 

"Ah, Alpha Commander Ky'ram. I trust you received my message? Not talking with schoolgirls again, are you? Who are these others with you?"

[ForceFightWMe12]

How did he like his job? "Actually--" he piped, but he didn't get much more out than that before she steamrolled right over him. His expression grew exceedingly more dismal as she continued, already knowing what she had just left to do. When she asked for directions, Chasten reluctantly sighed, and shook his head. "Head down this hall to the door on the right, and follow the walkway to the big black building at the end." he answered - more like muttered, really. How in kriffin' hell....

 

The soldier didn't know who this woman was, but he was certain now that he was going to find out. She was evidently more than just a mercenary turned bounty hunter, and Alec's mission was apparently of more importance than he let on. Otherwise, how else would she have immediately gotten permission to reassign a Sith sergeant to be her guide?