Chereads / STAR WARS: The Jaeger Saga / Chapter 26 - The Hunter's Wrath

Chapter 26 - The Hunter's Wrath

William and Andriana were lying in bed, the covers being the only thing keeping their naked bodies concealed. Some time had passed when she had dragged him away to the privacy of his quarters and....well.... one can assume.

Andriana was fast asleep, hugging William as she rest. William was staring at the ceiling of his quarters, his head laying on his cybernetic arm. He was about to wage a war against the people who had knew everything about him; they messed with his head, who knows what would happen if he ran into an ISB agent if they has some way to subdue him with a simple term. Just the thought made him shudder. Feeling him, Andriana woke from her slumber, her eyes lazily opening, only raising halfway. "Is something the matter?" She asked, her voice slurred, rubbing her cheek with one of her hands. William looked down to her, seeing how cute she was. He laughed lightly, wrapping his hand around her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze.

"Nothing is wrong, Andriana, I'm just thinking about stuff." was William's reply. Andriana placed her chin onto his chest, her eyes opening more as the two made eye contact.

"Stuff like what?" she asked, a soft smile being visible in the low light.

As William was about to speak, the ship violently shook, causing the room to rock violently. William's eyes shot open, as did Andriana's as they looked around to see if the panels of the room would begin to fall. William shifted on the bed, placing himself over Andriana's body to protect her if any such thing occurred. After a few more seconds of vibration, the room came to a still, the warning claxon began to blare. William jumped up as the red warning lights began to fill the halls, walking to his dresser and beginning to put on his jump suit. Andriana sat up, covering her body with the sheets, watching as William began to move. "Andriana, I need you and Verica to go with Desmonadon and head get on the other dummy Star Destroyer. The dummy Emperor's Conviction has the original's transponder on it, so who ever is attacking us right now will be tracking it." William said, slowing down as he slipped his arms into the suit, his new arm catching onto the arm. Without a beat, he ripped the suit at the forearm so he could freely use it.

Andriana grabbed her under garments and began redressing, listening to William. "Why should I have to go? I want to be by your side til-"

William zipped up the suit, then moved to Andriana, grabbing her shoulders more aggressively this time. "Andriana, I don't know who is attacking us. I want you to be safe. Please?" Andriana could see the tears that were building up in his eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt by them, or worse..."

Andriana, hearing how his voice wavered for a moment, grabbed his arms, making him look at her. She then leaned in and kissed him, an act to relax him. It worked, his eyes closing and holding her in a short embrace. She pulled her head back and looked back into his eyes. "Just come back to me alive, promise?"

William confidently smiled despite the tears that freely flowed down his cheeks. "I promise." And with one last kiss, William ran out of his quarters, leaving Andriana to collect herself.

She put her uniform back on, not bothering to straighten out the wrinkles and almost left the room. Before she did, however, she looked to where the desk would be, moving to it. The desk popped out, and a few items of importance came into view: the data disc that contained the Centurion schematics, William's cylinders which could become useful once more if they were needed, and a medal of the Imperial crest with his name engraved on the back. She grabbed the disc, a few of his security cylinders and the metal and ran out of the room, being the last person that would have stepped into it.

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William stepped off the lift, running towards the armory. On the way, he saw Draxacon commanding some of the Storm troopers, who had marked their armor with red to show their true alliance. From what William could see, the shoulder pads, gauntlets and greaves had been recolored crudely. William made the turn into the armory, stopping when he saw all of his Red Death in the room, forming a walkway that led to his armor. They saluted him, and William shook his head. "There's no need for that right now." He ran past the soldiers, the troopers lowering their arms as he said this. "I still need to free you all of your imprisonment." William said, stopping in front of his suit, reminded that these soldiers were little more than shackled slaves. To this comment, there was no response, and William began the process for the suit to be put on. The left arm was still damaged, but the circuitry and armor had been rounded off, and William noticed something as the suit rotated.

The armor had a new look to it; the metal looked fresh and shined brightly. William then raised his metal arm to study the armor's new glossiness and saw that both metal surfaces had the same reflective properties. William laughed, standing straight up as the suit became fully opened. "That Draxacon..." William stepped into the suit. Draxacon had taken the Mandalorian armor and infused it into his suit, which would prove useful. The stories he had heard was that Beskar could deflect a light saber, but this armor was only infused with the material, not pure Beskar. He wasn't about to go running into any sabers any time soon to test this out.

The suit closed, and William was prepared for battle, lifting his left arm to see that the cybernetic arm lined perfectly with the missing portion of armor. He then looked to where his helmet should have been, only to see that the helmet had been altered as well.

It was no longer similar to the Death Trooper's helmet, but it looked almost Identical to the helmets that the Clones had used. William couldn't help but wonder if Draxacon had simply taken Drekar's helmet and modified it to work with his armor. He was reminded he had no time to waste when the ship rocked once more, barely throwing the Red Death troopers off balance. William moved to the helmet and took it, placing it on his head. Although the thin visor from the exterior made one believe it would be difficult to see, but the truth was the opposite. The interior looked more open, and William found himself comparing his old helmet to this new one. Everything looked cleaner and less restrained, and there was also something else. He felt relaxed, as if there was something in the other helmet that would cause his emotions to alter, which wouldn't surprise him. They needed a loyal dog to attack the rebels, so why not put in something else that would make him a ruthless killer as he wore the helmet. He growled, removing the thought as he walked past his solders who fell in line behind him. The group began walking out of the armory, only to see Draxacon and his solders falling back. He ran over to William as his soldiers fired on what ever had boarded the ship.

"William, I just got word that Desmonadon, Andriana and Verica managed to get off ship and head for the second dummy ship. Where are they gonna go?" Draxacon asked, his voice muffled by the sound of blaster fire and by his own helmet.

William looked to his Storm troopers who were falling slowly, putting up a hell of a fight. "If Desmonadon takes command, and I'm sure he will, they'll probably head to this Rebel Alliance I learned about. Hopefully, Andriana will be safe with them." William felt Draxacon patting his back, the two men looking to one another again.

"They will be." Was all Draxacon said before their attention was drawn to the hall, Draxacon's troopers retreating towards William and his men. William focused on the hall they had been firing on and realized why.

For there was a soft red glow growing closer.

William turned to his troops, getting a head count. He had lost a few over the past years, but the most injuries had been taken on Mygeeto, leaving only twenty. How many had he lost? He felt terrible that he always viewed these troopers as expendable, but he could not mourn for those who died slaves. "Fourteen of you, go and secure the other hangar, make sure Draxacon's men can escape to the dummy Emperor's Conviction. Once We arrive, we head over and make a last stand on Mygeeto. They don't know about our Ace in the hole....hopefully." The last fourteen nodded, turning around and making their way to the other hangar, leaving only six troopers. "You six, form a firing line!" The men complied, moving in front of Draxacon and William, raising their E-11D blasters at the hall, the red glow growing larger. Draxacon and William raised their own weapons, William raising his right arm and bringing out his twin blaster, Draxacon raising his standard E-11 blaster.

A soft hum began to fill the hall as the red glow covered the durasteel hall, the lights failing as the glow encompassed them. William then saw the black boot land past the threshold, entering the hall they were standing in. He then saw the body who owned the leg, a strange circular light saber in her right hand, and her face covered by a black mask. A large cloak flowed freely behind her as she walked, and the air itself had grown darker. William then remembered that he had see that circular weapon before, growing slightly shocked.

"So, I suppose you grew tired of clerical work?" William grinned under his helmet, the woman stopping in the hall facing them down. William slowly walked past the line that had been made, the two staring at each other. The figure did not move, but the air grew tense, and William assumed that she was growing angry. She then raised her saber, pointing at William.

"You have stolen something that rightfully belongs to the Empire. I suggest you lay down your arms and surrender the plans." She said, her voice underlined with a growl. This woman was mad. William made no move, seeing the squad of strange troopers dressed in black armor follow her, holding old clone war era blasters.

"William, that is an Inquisitor! We need to move!" Draxacon said, causing William to look over his shoulder at his friend. The woman laughed, drawing William's attention back to her.

"Your muscle man over there is correct. I am an Inquisitor of the Empire, and I aim to put you down, traitor." She snarled at them, her troopers raising their blasters to fire. William could tell this fight was going to be difficult. The air only grew more tense as the two sides stared each other, all troopers ready to fire on the command of their respective leaders. William felt a bead of sweat slowly roll down his brow, watching for any slight movement this Inquisitor would make. He then heard Draxacon beginning to shuffle away, looking back to see he ran back into the armory. This was a mistake, for when he turned his head back to face the hostile, the woman was already mere inches away, her saber intending to decapitate him. Reflexively, he raised his left arm, knowing full well that it would have been a futile effort. To block a glowing sword with flesh-

His metal hand grabbed the saber, stopping it from cutting his head off. William's metal knuckle almost scraped against the visor of his helmet, but this was no real problem. His beskar hand had stopped the sword, surprising him and the Inquisitor, the woman releasing a startled growl.

"What! Impossible!" She shouted. William could feel her piercing eyes staring directly into his own despite the helmets that blocked their faces. She raised her free hand and opened her palm, William feeling some strange force pushing him back to his men. He released the saber and flew back, his men stepping aside. Seeing the man they were to serve flying by, the Red Death troopers opened fire, aiming for the troopers in black. The Inquisitor's troopers returned fire, the hall filling with flashes of red light. William fell to the floor, landing next to the armory. He looked in to see Draxacon carrying a sword. Drekar's Beskar sword. William knew what to do, reaching out and taking the hilt. He then held it horizontally to himself, deflecting the Inquisitor's saber, who was trying to swipe down at him. He struggled to hold the raging woman back, who was pushing against him with all of her strength, the light saber growing closer to his helmet.

The woman was then thrown off when Draxacon body checked her, pushing her off William and into the wall, the wall gaining a new body-shaped indentation. The Inquisitor fell to the floor and lied there, groaning. William quickly got up and looked to Draxacon, who nodded at him. William looked over to the small fire fight and saw that three of his troops had fallen, while six of the Inquisitors troopers had fallen. How ever, when one fell, they were replaced. "Troopers, Fall back!" William commanded, raising his right hand and opening fire on the black troopers. His twin blasters were more powerful than the E-11D blasters, and took down a few of these black troopers without trouble. The three Red Death followed orders, slowly jogging back as they continued to fire upon these troopers. One of them took a few bolts too many and fell, leaving only two. Draxacon began running as well, and William followed. As he looked back, he could see the Inquisitor slowly getting up, her helmet slipping off her head. Draxacon gave her quite an impact, as when the helmet fell, it split in two. Blood ran down her face, her platinum blonde hair messy and unkempt and stained red, only amplifying the crazy expression on her face. She looked up, raising her hand. William prepared to feel something, but instead felt nothing, instead turning to see that Draxacon was beginning to levitate.

William stopped firing an ran to Draxacon, who began floating towards the Inquisitor. William grabbed Draxacon's arm and pulled, resisting the will of the force. Draxacon gripped onto William's hand, as the hostile troopers stopped firing, allowing their leader to focus on using her power. She gritted her teeth as her left hand pulled on her desired prey more.

Draxacon looked at who had a grip on him, then back to William, who's hand was slipping. Draxacon looked to his belt, seeing the two Thermal Detonators hanging from his hip, and sighed. "If it's gonna be like that..." He forced himself to look to William, who only had a hold of his hand now. "William, go!" Draxacon shouted, hearing William gasp.

"No! I'm not leaving you behind!" He shouted back, his hand gripping harder. Draxacon shook his head, his free hand grabbing the two Detonators.

"I'll be fine, brother. Trust me." Draxacon looked back up to him, pushing his helmet off so William could see one final look at Draxacon. The one who revealed the truth to him. "I'll see you again." And with that, Draxacon opened the hand that William was holding on to, forcing William to lose his grip. Draxacon flew towards the Inquisitor, who steadied her blade to impale him. Just before his death was assured, Draxacon pressed the buttons on the Detonators, and took one in his free hand. He raised his right hand, and grunted in pain as the light saber entered through his torso and cut through his spine. With what ever strength he had, he threw the Detonator, the explosive causing the troopers to run away. The Inquisitor grinned menacingly, killing the brute that had inconvenienced her before seeing the other Detonator in his hand. She yelled before the bomb exploded.

William looked away as the bombs went off and quickly made his way to the hangar. He did not want to see what remained of his friend and brother in arms, if there was anything left to see.

William made his way to the hangar, seeing the Red Death troopers waiting for him. There was a single drop ship and a single TIE fighter left. William let out a sigh of relief, slowly making his way into the hangar. He was about to give orders to retreat, but as he opened his mouth, he felt something smack against his back, knocking him over.

He hit the hangar floor hard, groaning. What ever hit him was hot, and he could feel the heated metal against his jump suit. Thankfully, his suit wasn't giving him any critical damage warnings, just a simple heat warning. That was gonna leave a mark. He looked over to see something he was horrified to see.

Standing there, half of her armor missing, her cape torn and shredded, her face scorched and mutilated, the crazed Inquisitor stood, hunched over and panting, as if she was a true animal. The Red Death began opening fire, distracting the Inquisitor from William and forcing her to focus on the incoming blaster fire. As she was distracted, William began to get up, going slowly as to not draw the beast's attention. He watched as these troops fell from being force pulled to her and slashed with her saber to a well deflected blaster bolt. Once he had fully stood up, there were only four. William gripped his sword as she closed in on the last four people he could save and he yelled. There were no words, just a simply yell to grab her attention. It worked, her crazed eyes focusing on the man she was supposed to kill. She grinned, her blood coloring her vision red. She ignited her second blade and leapt at him, the blades rotating in a circular rotation, propelling her forward. She landed, rolling on the floor and going back to one blade, clashing with the beskar sword.

William held the hilt with both hands, looking to the last four. "GO! Head to the other ship! THAT'S AN ORDER!" William shouted, the last four troops following the order and boarding the drop ship. William placed his robotic hand on the circular hilt and pushed against her, where once she had almost forced him to fall, he was now forcing her to arch her back slightly as to keep the sharp blade from cutting her. "A light saber would kill you quickly..." William uttered to this woman, seeing that her once yellow eyes were now completely red with rage. "..but this will be slow."

The Inquisitor simply let loose a roar, pushing against William with all of her strength. Unfortunately for her, she had taken the massive body of Draxacon head on and an explosion to the face, and she was running on little more than her rage. William did not want to draw this fight out, for if it went to a duel, he would lose, be was struggling just to keep the sword from slipping from his hand. William groaned, moving the cybernetic hand onto the light saber, holding it like a rod. It didn't destroy his hand, but at least the beskar only made it feel like he was holding a high temperature item. He yelled as he pulled the blade away and swiped, the beskar blade finding purchase in her neck, imbedding itself into her throat. Her eyes widened, then she coughed, blood seeping from her mouth and painting her chin red. She gurgled as blood pooled inside of her lungs, and she went limp, letting go of her light saber and falling to the ground when William let go of the sword, her blood slowly pooling on the hangar floor.

William, still holding the light saber, gingerly rotated it to grab the hilt. Once he grabbed the center of the circular hilt, he let go of the blade itself, waving his metallic hand to cool it down. He looked around to see how this thing worked exactly, then found a strange switch. He flicked it, and the saber deactivated. He looked to the fallen Inquisitor and moved to her, grabbing the hilt and pulling it out of the woman's neck, a disgusting sound being made as the body lurched from the removal.

The drop ship had already began to leave when William struck his target down, so William made his way to the TIE fighter. He climbed up the steps and looked out the hangar, seeing the second Star Destroyer vanish into hyper space. He let off another sigh of relief, knowing at least Verica and Andriana were safe. He hopped in, somewhat confined in the small cock pit with how small it was already and his own suit. He closed the hatch ad activated the fighter, making his way to the false Emperor's Conviction, leaving his original ship to falter and enter orbit.

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The captain watched as his turbo lasers assaulted their target, chunks of the traitor's main vessel drifted apart. He grinned. If the damned Inquisitor didn't kill William, he would, by sending him into the vacuum.

The captain then saw one of the rip off Star Destroyers jump into Hyperspace, growing somewhat suspicious. 'Could the traitor William have been on that ship?' He thought to himself, his head tilting as he thought. Suddenly, he could not explain, something confirmed that he was not with a simple

no

The Captain shrugged, not questioning what this was. Maybe it was that force thing those traitorous Jedi worshiped. He did not order the bombardment to stop.

After some time, the captain saw the other Star Destroyer jump into hyperspace. Before he could wonder if William was on that ship, the same 'Force' answered him

yes

The Captain nodded, sighing. "I suppose I should contact Lord Vader and inform him his Inquisitor failed in her quest." He looked over to one of his officers. "Cease the bombardment and figure out where that second Star Destroyer jumped to. We must find the location of Captain Jaeger."