LOTF: Resurgence/Chapter 8

Yula woke up with a massive headache, slowly opening her eyes to discover herself in a dimly lit room, with Decien studying her curiously. She struggled to move, but her arms and legs were bound to the tilted metal table on which she laid, mostly upright. She was still in her robes, but her comlink and lightsaber had been confiscated. She scanned the rest of the room, finding nothing other than a small table to the right of Decien where her possessions had been placed, along with Ganner's journal and lightsaber. Seeing that she was now awake, Decien walked over to Yula, bringing them face to face. She saw herself reflected off of his peering eyes, beaten and tired, but inwardly Yula still felt the same determination she had from the beginning.

Decien began. "I've already pieced together your story from what your friends have told me. You lot have led very interesting lives." He turned away again to pick up Ganner's book from the table and flip through some of the pages. "You could have controlled the Galaxy, and yet you turned it down. Why?" Decien watched Yula, expecting an answer, but she remained silent.

"Wasteful, wasteful, wasteful, all of you. Why doesn't Antimatter Squadron do something about the Empire? Why didn't Ganner? How can you wield such power and skill, and yet, believe yourself not to be in control?" Decien threw down the journal. "You're all fools, blindly following prophecies, what the people above you tell you what will happen, and then you set out to make sure it happens, exactly how they want, no matter what. Why not twist fate? Did you not tell me destiny was on your side?"

"I know that Ganner will come back. I know that he will defeat you." Yula defiantly responded.

Decien chuckled. "Will he defeat me? And if you are trapped here for the rest of eternity, and there is no one else to bring him back, how do you plan on carrying out that vision?"

"I will break free. The Force will guide me." Yula refused to surrender. Decien leaned in towards her and whispered into her ear. "Yula Ardinn, you don't have to break free. Join me." He stepped back to observe her reaction.

Yula was caught off guard by the offer. He wanted her to help him? She did, however, entertain the thought of working with him to understand his motives and plans, if only ever so briefly. In the end, her resolve did not break.

"You think I would ever join the Empire after everything they've done?!"

"You don't even have to help them, just me," Decien countered. "You know the Galaxy is in peril. You know what it will take to stop it. I can help you."

"Never. Never again will I be manipulated for some evil cause, not by you nor by anyone else. You shall not break me." She declared.

"Very well, Yula." He turned away from her again, disappointed. "You are so blind. You interpret the future and you see it as the only interpretation; you are offered freedom yet choose confinement. Such is the Jedi way, I suppose."

He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and partially activated it, a single red blade flashing to life as Decien turned his head to look at Yula. "The Jedi teach that there is no death, only the Force. We both know it's not true." He turned the rest of his body and approached her, his saber poised to strike her chest.

"I'm sorry, but this is the fate you chose."

The blade surged forward. Decien impaled Yula, and she looked down in shock to see the mortal wound which her body couldn't even process. He swiftly pulled the blade out, and she saw the world begin to quickly fade, being overcome by blackness as death reached out to her. She tried to move her lips to form words, but she lacked the strength, and found herself gasping for air.

I had a destiny, she tried to tell him. I was going to save everyone.

She looked up again in time to see Decien press his left hand to her temple, and the last thing Yula Ardinn ever felt was the unspeakable torture of him ripping her mind away from her. At last, it was over, and she drifted outwards forever into the Force.

...

"Neural link reestablished. Praxon, wake up."

Praxon opened his eyes, his head pounding, finding himself lying on a bed in a compact, empty cell with a solid metal door. His mind quickly reconnected with DX-245, and he began observing the droid's surroundings as the droid did the same. DX-245 was stowed away in the smuggling compartments of the Fortune Destroyer, unbelievably cramped. It was fortunate DX didn't feel discomfort.

It was about six years now since the two had first been linked together in an experiment in neurological control by Taran Ragnan and Cyana Bastra before escaping and joining Antimatter Squadron. In their time together, they had become practically one entity, operating together with unmatched efficiency, such that Praxon had now reached the conclusion that DX-245 was essentially now, if he had not already been, a sentient being. Praxon had become more withdrawn from the others over the years, barely speaking, but he didn't mind.

''"Where am I?" ''Praxon inquired.

"I'm not sure," DX admitted. "Since this compartment is scanner-proof, I have been unable to observe my surroundings since we were downed."

They quickly mulled over their options, but their conclusion was obvious: DX would have to break his cover and mount a rescue. The droid pushed with his legs, removing the compartment cover more forcefully than intended and sending it crashing into the ceiling. "Great," Praxon sarcastically thought. DX then sat up and immediately activated his scanners, detecting no life forms in the ship or immediate area of it. Qorbin must have been moved. He made his way to the cockpit and looked out. The Fortune Destroyer was currently docked in a hangar, sharing space with a few TIE Interceptors. Using the controls of the ship, he determined that the ship was indeed operable, and had likely been repaired. "Why?" Praxon wondered. "Your analysis is as good as mine." The droid responded. He had a habit of responding to Praxon's thoughts, however private they were meant to be. It wasn't intentional, of course, but merely a side effect of their link.

Suddenly, Praxon had an idea. DX-245 felt it, analyzed it, and put it into action. He activated the ship's holoprojector and opened a line with Ranulph Darkhitch, who immediately responded. "DX, where are you?" he asked.

"I am unsure. An Imperial hangar of some sort. I have linked up again with Praxon, who is watching. He is detained, likely somewhere here."

Ranulph's image began typing on an unseen console. "Tracing your signal now... Looks like you're out somewhere near Kamino. If you can get me hooked into a computer, I can be of more assistance."

"Understood. I'll patch you into my systems, and proceed through the area."

DX turned off the holoprojector, but established a direct comm link with Ranulph. After doing so, he turned and opened the Fortune Destroyer ' s ramp, and went down it. The hangar contained not much else other than what DX had already seen in the way of decoration. There were more TIEs loaded up, and two Stormtroopers guarded the entrance to an elevator. To the right of the hangar was another entrance, guarded by a lone soldier, which likely lead to the hangar controls. Scanning the room, DX-245 identified 3 holocameras, one above each entrance and one behind the Fortune Destroyer, on top of the magnetic shield separating the hangar from space. Processing the appropriate response quickly, DX-245 sprung into action.

His left arm switched to rotary mode, and DX quickly fired off a volley of shots towards the two Stormtroopers, quickly eliminating both them and the camera above. Simultaneously, with his right arm, the sniper arm, he fired off two precise shots at the camera's lens and the soldier's head. Both shots rang true, and DX was already moving for the last shot before the last soldier had even hit the ground. Activating his back-mounted thrusters, DX quickly took off into the air and fired the last sniper shot at the third camera, hitting it squarely and disabling it before he landed again on his mechanical feet.

"Umm... That was a lot of blaster fire. Everything okay out there?"

"Affirmative," the droid responded. He proceeded into the control room, where there was an unmanned console that controlled the hangar shields and doors. "Patching you into hangar controls," DX said. Within a few moments, Ranulph was able to remotely access the controls, and then, most of whatever other systems were linked into it.

"I'm in."

Ranulph's voice began to speak over an intercom in Praxon's cell. ''"All right. This is a lot. You are all currently the guests of Imperial Facility 406-P, a research station, but the research files here are blocked off to me. I can't get a view on you either, but I see the schematics for the station here. You're all in the detention level, and the hangars are three levels above. There's an armory one level below you, but you'll need to get past any guards in the cell block first. Doors up in ten seconds. Good luck." ''Praxon quickly made sure his right eye was functioning properly and ready for combat. "I will remain and secure our extraction," DX informed him. The cell doors opened.

There was already a Stormtrooper in front of Praxon's door, and his right eye quickly assessed his next moves. Praxon tackled the soldier as soon as the door slid up, and his hands reached for the trooper's blaster, which Praxon managed to wrestle away from him. He fired two quick shots into the Stormtrooper's head, then looked up to another Stormtrooper standing in front of Asura, preparing to take her down. Praxon shot him down too, and turned the other way towards the end of the hallway to see a brown-haired, goateed man Praxon had never seen before thrown out of the cell, hitting the wall on the other side. Hans walked out of the cell from which the man had come, and Cade followed suit in the next cell over.

"Who's that?" Cade asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Hans replied. Suddenly, an alarm siren blared as red lights flashed up and down the cell block.

"Blast!" Ranulph exclaimed. "You've got more troopers inbound." Praxon turned back towards the other side where the large blast door opened to reveal a second squadron of five stormtroopers. Asura grabbed the other fallen stormtrooper's blaster and opened fire, as did Praxon, nailing two of the troopers and engaging in a heated firefight as shots flew past him and Cade and Hans ran for cover. "Ranulph!" Hans yelled from behind Praxon, "Shut down that lift! Praxon- toss your blaster!"

Praxon turned and threw it, and Hans quickly caught it, shooting down two more Stormtroopers with ease. The last one stopped firing, and after a moment, all four mercenaries walked out of their cells towards him. He dropped his blaster to the ground, putting his hands on his head as Hans fired off a single shot to the skull, sending him straight back onto the floor, lifeless. Cade and Asura glanced at each other as if to object, but no one spoke; instead, Praxon and Cade silently looted two more E-11s and got onto the lift, illuminated in a contrasting blue and flashing red.

"We're skipping the armory, Ranulph. Get us out of here." Hans ordered.

"On it."

The door closed, and the lift slowly rose, the alarms still blaring. For a moment, Praxon questioned his success. Had it really been so simple? They reached the next level and continued forth, unhampered, in silence. At the next level, Cade finally spoke up. "Something's not right," he declared, but their ascent continued to the last floor eventlessly. Finally, they reached the hangar level, and the doors opened. DX-245 stood before them, ready to escort them. The team, who had all been tense, at last relaxed and each took their first step towards the door when it suddenly slammed shut. "What the--"

As Ranulph's communication was shut out, so was Praxon's link to DX-245, leaving him suddenly blinded. The Inquisitor's voice now mocked them over the intercom.

"Really? You thought it would be that easy? I'm hurt."

"What do you want from us!?!?" Asura questioned.

"I want you to witness the most important moment in galactic history. Won't you come see it?"

Antimatter Squadron prepared to face their destiny as the lift slowly began to reverse its course, descending into the depths of Imperial Facility 406-P.