William punched the protective cockpit window out from the TIE he had used, grabbing the attention of everyone in the hangar as the circular object landed on the floor. They watched the armored man struggle to pull himself out of the ball-like vehicle, groaning as he pulled. Finally, he fell out, falling to the hangar on his back with a thud, causing the people to flinch. For a moment, he just laid there, trying to let the adrenaline rush die down. He was trying to piece together what had just happened, with the Emperor's Conviction being attacked, to that woman trying to cut him down, to Draxacon blowing himself up to let him escape, and finally how he was just able to cut her down. She seemed to be an experienced soldier, how else could Draxacon's soldiers fall so easily. The only explanation William could give was that getting slammed into the hall by Draxacon and getting a grenade to the face drove her slightly mental. That last confrontation she was little more than a raging beast, she wasn't thinking properly. Had she been more coherent, William was certain he would've fallen there.
The four remaining Red Death approached their leader, standing over him with their weapons holstered. This was the first time William had ever seen them with their weapons away of their own volition, which should have been impossible. William slowly stood up, groaning as he did so, and managed to sit in an upright position. The troopers then helped him the rest of the way, getting William on his feet. William looked at these four troopers, wondering what was going on. "uh, troopers, what seems to be the situation?" He asked, looking around at the four troops.
The troops then moved to form a line in front of William, taking their helmets off. William was surprised to see two familiar faces: they had been with him on their attack against the loyalist back on Mygeeto, the gunner and the tech. Unlike last time, however, there was some emotion detected on their faces, as well as on the other two, one who looked barely younger than a full adult, and the other looked like she could be the former's mother. Before William could speak, the gunner spoke up.
"William, Sir, we all would just like to say thank you." He bowed, then the other three bowed. When he stood back up, he began to explain to rid William of that confusion. "Allow me to explain. While these devices make us subservient, the Empire also programmed them to connect to one another. We were all connected the whole time. It was meant to..." he paused, his mouth contorting into an unpleasant frown as his eyes began to tear up.
As the gunner struggled to recompose himself, the tech took his place. "The connection was meant to encourage us to fight with all our strength, for when one of us died, the rest of us would feel it. We would feel what death felt like." her voice quivered as she spoke, but she cleared her throat and continued. "However, this also allowed us to connect with one another. The people we once were began to....merge, and eventually..." She then looked to the other three, the gunner finally collecting himself.
The four looked to William, and in unison, said, "We are one." It startled William, causing him to lose his footing momentarily, or maybe that was just due to the ship dropping out of hyperspace.
"So what, are you still people or are you some sort of artificial intelligence?" William asked, focusing on the woman who explained most of what their existence was.
"When our brothers in arms dies, their intelligence merged with the rest of us, and that cycle continued until there were six left." She began, the other three putting their helmets on. "We have organic forms, but at this point, we would be labeled as an Artificial Construct. We would also be considered a threat to the Empire if we ever fell into the wrong hands." She said a smile spreading on her lips ever so slightly. She began to put the helmet back on her head.
William nodded, realizing that this new construct will probably be a major help to anyone opposing the Empire. Suddenly he realized something she had said and quickly looked back to her. "Wait, you said six, but there is only four. where are the other two?"
She looked off to the side momentarily and then spoke. "They are currently guarding Lieutenant Andriana and that rebel Verica, on board the other false star destroyer the Imperial Insurgent." William sighed, at least Desmonadon could give the rebels a fighting chance. He wondered if Desmonadon also came up with the name of the ship or if it was Andriana; the name would be a grand insult to the Empire.
"Are they from the crew as well? The driver and co-driver?"
"The driver is there. The co-driver you speak of fell as we were retreating from the Inquisitor." This confirmation put sadness in William's heart. He had promised those four in particular that he would free them, and one of them had died right before his eyes. He took a deep breath and collected himself.
"With that, why don't we head to the bridge?" He suggested, his hand resting on the hilt of the beskar blade. The four troopers nodded, moving to the side to allow William to walk past them and head to the bridge.
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An Imperial shuttle approached a large black castle that sat above a lake of lava. From a distance, the structure almost seemed invisible; blending in with the molten river and dark surroundings. The shuttle approached a built in landing pad, the wings folding upwards and the landing gear extending. The vessel landed, and the ramp lowered, exposing three beings to the heat of Mustafar.
Two of those beings were Death troopers, mainly there to escort the third person, who began walking down the ramp. The person of interest was a dark skinned man who wore a High Admiral uniform with black armor; the High Admiral insignia welded to the chest plate. The three Imperials made there way across the rock bridge and to a door way, where an old man waited. The old man began to speak, his voice barely audible over the rushing lava below.
"High Admiral Gideon, Lord Vader is expecting you." The voice became more clear as Gideon approached the old man.
"I came as soon as he summoned me." Gideon commented, the two Death troopers taking a guarding position against the wall where the door resides. The two men entered, going deeper into the castle.
Gideon would have been walking at a faster pace if he didn't have to rely on this relic to lead him. "Did Lord Vader explain why he requested my presence?" The High Admiral inquired, hoping to maybe get an advantage on the Dark Lord.
"I'm afraid not. He just requested you here as soon as possible." The old man replied, putting a frown on Gideon's face. The High Admiral would just have to see what Lord Vader wanted in person.
The two eventually made their way to a large chamber with two walk ways that lead to a circular platform. This room also just happened to be over the lava river, so Gideon began hoping he had not done anything to upset the Dark Lord as he walked across to the platform. Once he reached the platform, a large door began to open, smoke seeping out as it slid. Lord Vader's figure could be made out, and it only became more imposing as he walked to the platform, the smoke parting in his wake. Lord Vader stopped where his walkway connected to the platform and spoke.
"High Admiral Gideon. I am pleased with how soon you arrived at my request." Vader's began, his voice lined with a deem synthetic tone. Once Vader finished his sentence, Gideon could hear him inhale, a shark and unnerving sound that would have made others flinch. Instead, Gideon just bowed his head slightly.
"It is my duty to serve, Lord Vader. Now, if I may ask, why did you summon me here?" Gideon replied, getting to the point without trying to seem rude.
Vader's armored form shifted slightly, something of a nod. "Ah, yes. I would ask for your assistance."
"Assistance in what, my Lord?"
"Killing Captain William Jaeger."
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William and his four Red Death walked onto the bridge, seeing that despite the ship being a replica of an Imperial vessel, the bridge looked anything but Imperial. green monitors and a central chair for the commanding officer, it reminded him of the command center of the base on Mygeeto. He was surprised to see Therlor Derez standing next to the chair, giving out commands. The sergeant turned and an expression of relief came to his face.
"About damned time. I already told you this ain't my forte." The sergeant says, stepping aside as William approached. Captain Jaeger moves and takes the place where Derez was, looking over the crew members imputing commands rapidly. One officer looked back to William, and this was the first time William could actually see their face and features. Before, while he was still loyal, they were just another person under his command. Now, the officer that looked to him had a soft feminine face with slight bags under her eyes. Her olive skin and blue eyes were somewhat common amongst the Empire, and her expression was neutral for all William could tell.
"Sir, we are over orbit of Mygeeto. TS-15 is trying to contact us." She informed. William nodded, moving to the chair. A projection then popped up, the tactical droid taking shape.
"Commander, welcome back. The base is prepared for any situation." Its monotone voice was a welcome sound.
"Good, open up all of the hangars. Our shuttles need the space, so deploy some of the Vulture droids and have them wait on the ships hull to launch a surprise attack on any incoming Imperials." William says. The Tactical droid nods, the hologram fading away. William then stands up, the bridge officers looking up to him. "Order all crew members to abandon ship. We're heading for the base on the surface." The officers quickly get to work, sending out one last command before moving away from their terminals to help organize unloading the vessel. Derez looks up at William, who moved to the main terminal. He activated the transponder, announcing their position to anyone listening. "That should drag them out here. Come on, Sergeant, I need you leading our ground troops." William and Derez, as well as the four Red Death left the bridge, the only active terminal being the one William had used moments ago.
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As TS-15 begins getting the base ready for Drekar's son, TS-14 walked off, entering the lift and heading to the hangar that that brat had destroyed. He slowly walked past the marching battle droids, ignoring the annoying chatter that they constantly spewed out. If he had a different body, he would have smashed those droids to bits. He was stuck in this body for now, however. But not for long.
Walking through the hole in the wall, he entered the wrecked hangar, seeing that the blast doors had slid open, and the Vulture droids walking over their fallen brethren to file out and fly towards the star destroyer. TS-14 ignored them all, moving to a section of the hangar wall, running his right hand against it. His hand suddenly fell into the wall, and he held it there for a moment. After that moment, a door shape formed in the wall, slowly sliding away for TS-14 to enter. The tactical droid did, and the part of the wall that had slipped away took its place once again, sealing and blending in with the rest of the hangar.