Prologue
DarthOne
☦️
Storm of Silver
Summary:
As the Clone Wars enters its third bloody year, the Republic and the Confederacy fight on with little clear end in sight. Meanwhile, on the fringe of space, a terrible silver legion from another time and place is at last ready to put it's plans into motion. Ones that will threaten the future of the galaxy itself.
Chapter 1: The Derelict
Bathed in the light of its yellow-green star, the planet Florrum was a sulfurous brown orb against the star-specked black vastness of outer space. Here and there, splashes of green could be seen upon its surface. Each forest stood out in stark contrast to the rocky deserts that covered most of the surface. While in many ways more forgiving than worlds such as Tattoine, Florrum was still a harsh and thoroughly unpleasant place to live. Only the tough, the desperate or the stubborn would come here. Not to mention the clever, or alternately, the stupid.
Unsurprisingly, the pirates that had made this world their home were a mix of all of these traits.
Had anyone been watching, and been in the possession of particularly good eyesight, they would have seen a lone spacecraft pulling away from the planet and heading out past Florrums' barren moon.
This ship, a Flarestar-class attack shuttle named Raptor 1, was roughly saucer-shaped. Its main hold, a boxy protrusion attached to the underside, had been specially modified to include a short tunnel, leading to a sealed boarding tunnel and docking collar on its main ramp, which was down. Its other notable feature was the pair of laser canons that jutted from the front of the hold like the antenna on a moth. A comparison that seemed all the more fitting given Raptor 1's color. Which was a faded white, as the ship's paintwork had seen better days. Both the top and bottom of the saucer were marked by a red symbol in the crude likeness of a scowling face; the sigil of the Ohnaka Pirate Gang.
The Flarestar's engines continued to burn a fierce yellow as it accelerated towards a shadowy bulk of a derelict starship drifting slowly inwards from the outer limits of the system's edge. With Florrum between it and the world's star, the derelict was almost invisible. Save for when it blocked out the tiny pinpricks of the many distant stars and by a faint metallic gleam of the light of those stars reflecting off its hull. However, despite this, even the most casual observer could tell that Raptor 1 was utterly dwarfed by this newcomer to the Florrum system.
As it drew closer to the derelict, the Flarestar slowed. Now resembling moth fluttering around a slumbering Alderannian bear, the tiny ship maneuvered around the abandoned vessel. It's floodlights pointing at sections of the huge hull as the pilots searched for some kind of access point.
When, eventually, an airlock was found, the assault shuttle stopped, slowly turned in place so that it's rear now faced the airlock. Then, the assault-shuttle began backing up. Its pilots taking care to line up the retrofitted docking collar on the rear ramp below slowly reversing. Until, with a loud clank, the collar magnetically sealed itself onto the hull of the derelict.
-SW-
From his spot in the middle of the gaggle of ten other pirates, Jiro of the Ohnaka Gang tried to peer over the heads of the people in front of him with growing annoyance. This wasn't helped by the feeling of his once carefully styled mohawk of black hair being flattened further against the top of his head as he did so by his spacesuit's helmet.
From where he was standing Jiro could see that the inner airlock door to the derelict was roughly in the shape of a triangle, but with the top point sliced off. Both door and hull were made out of a dulled silver metal. One that didn't look quite like anything Jiro could have sworn he'd ever seen before. So, in short it was identical to the outer airlock door.
Like with that door, a Nekto by the name of Caton Jasha had used a plasma cutter to slice metal panels off the wall and connect an access tuner to the various cables and whatever else that controlled the airlock door. The only difference that Jiro saw was that, unlike with the outer door, Caton had only needed to slice out one panel to find the right cabling, instead of two.
Any early hopes Jiro might have once had that this door would prove easier than the first had died what was probably only a minute ago, but in fact felt like an hour.
Jiro settled back on his heels and heard his boots, magnetized like the other pirate's, clank in his ears through the contained atmosphere of the suit. Like the other ten pirates who'd been sent out on this little trip by the leader and namesake of the Ohnaka Pirate Gang, Hondo Ohnaka, Jiro wore an industrial enviro-suit with a fishbowl helmet of glass and metal. And like the rest, his was grungy and faded. Its color once might have been deep green, but it now looked closer to the color of stagnant water. Which Jiro could have cared less about, as he would have the tightness under his arms.
No, what annoyed him the most was that the suit, for some inexplicable reason, smelled faintly of Dabohn beans. A food that, as a Weequay, Jiro found utterly disgusting.
Still, Jiro had to admit to himself that things could be worse. He could still be on the tunnel connecting Raptor 1's main hold to the docking clamp. He shuddered, remembering the ribbed material of the floor bouncing like a swinging bridge with each step.
But even that beat the other plan. The other option, which had been discussed when one of their patrols had first spotted and scanned the derelict two days ago, would have been to enter through some of the hull breaches that had been spotted towards the strange vessel's rear. Where they would have to undoubtedly get past wreckage and any blast doors that had been sealed when whatever had probably had caused the ship to be abandoned had happened.
Not for the first time, Jiro absently wondered what exactly had caused the ship to be abandoned. Could it's hyperdrive had failed so badly that it had exploded, forcing the ship to fall out of hyperspace in the void between stars?
Jiro's thoughts were interrupted as Gwarm, the Hondo's red and yellow-skinned Weequay second command, spoke up.
"Well? Can you get us in or are we going to have to blast our way inside?" he demanded, having evidently grown tired of waiting.
"Of course I can!" Was the immediate reply. Caton sounded almost insulted at the idea. "Good news is that there's still some power running, same as the outside door. With any luck, I can...Huh. That was easier than I expected."
Caton had not even finished speaking before the door slid upwards. Shoulder mounted flashlights from those in front of the group of pirates stabbed into the blackness beyond. Revealing a short metal corridor that led forward for a short direction, become splitting off into two directions on both sides.
With a grunt, Gwarm matched inside. "Pitt, Sabo, Caton you're with me. Everyone else, go with Jiro. Meet back up here in two hours." And with that Gwarm walked off, the four other pirates he'd named almost scrambling to catch up as they followed towards the right-hand corridor.
Jiro noticed the other Weequay had one hand on the butt of his holstered blaster pistol, before turning to the rest of the pirates.
"Well you heard the boss, let's go."
As he began to lead his group down the corridor and down the left-hand passage, Jiro decided that the inside of the ship looked unquestionably unimpressive. Save for a few dark squares on the roof- which he took to be light sources of some sort- the corridor was completely unadorned. Just panels of the same dull silver metal the airlock door and the hull had been made of.
He wondered if it was some sort of alien alloy, unknown to any but the race who built this ship. The thought brightened his mood considerably. If it was, they might be able to fetch an even bigger stack of credits or spice than they'd thought they would by selling samples to the Republic. Or Separatists.
"Got to say, I've never quite seen a ship like this before." Jiro heard Teemu Charr commented over local comms after some time had passed and their path had taken several twists and turns.
"Which is why Hondo wants us to check this thing out and see if there's anything valuable we can strip out before selling this thing for scrap metal." Jiro reminded her.
"Provided that he doesn't change his mind and decide to try and patch this ship up for our own use." Taz Crane said, the Nekto's dark red complexion looking almost brown in the dim lighting.
"I don't know about him doing that, but I'll tell you one thing." Shin-Wan Fel, a Weequay like Jiro, chimed in.
"What?"
"I'm starting to doubt that we'll find anything. I don't think I've seen a ship so bare-bones before."
"You think this thing was built by a race of monks or something?" Teemu asked Shin-Wan as the five pirates reached another sealed doorway. Pulling a plasma torch from her belt, she began slicing into a likely looking panel on the wall near the door.
Shin-Wan barked a laugh. "I doubt it. I've never met any monks who weren't wealthy and barely bothered to hide it. Take those Jedi-worshipers on Jedha. You think they got that temple and all those statues from thin air? I wouldn't be surprised if they were selling some of those 'magic rocks' of theirs under the counter as gems. No, I think if this ship was built by monks, you'd have plenty of decorations and such."
"Well, you're probably not wrong," Teemu said, prying the panel off the wall. She evidently found what she'd been looking for. While Jiro watched, Teemu replaced the plasma torch on her belt and swapped it for the access tuner.
For several long moments, silence reigned as Teemu worked. Jiro found himself looking back the way they'd come.
"I still don't understand why we haven't packed everything up and left Florrum already." Bren Ming muttered to himself.
Jiro bit back a curse. He had a pretty good idea of how this was about to go. Even if he hadn't heard Bren complain about this before, it would not be the first time he'd heard similar mutterings of concern.
"And why would we be doing that?" Jax Zem asked, the Bith's voice uncharacteristically deep for one of his species.
Bren shot Jax a look as if he'd lost his mind. "Because we kidnapped Count Dooku, one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy, less than two weeks ago for ransom. Not to mention that whole mess with those two Jedi, or has everyone else besides me forgotten about that?"
"Dooku and the Separatists got bigger problem than hunting us down right now. Same with the Jedi and the Republic. Now quit bellyaching," Jiro commanded confidently, unable to keep the irritation from his voice. Plus, despite his outward confidence and the words of Hondo, he didn't quite believe that the Separatists would not come after them for revenge.
As for the Republic, Jiro was less worried about them. If they actually cared or were capable of doing anything about the lawlessness in the Outer Rim, they would have done so long ago. Maybe if they had, the whole galaxy wouldn't be at war. Which would have been a shame for pirates like himself.
"I'm just sayin' that-" Bren started.
"Just stop saying." Teemu snapped from where she stood and beating Jiro to it. Having finished her work with the access tuner, Teemu was removing the connectors she'd attached to the wiring within the wall, "Now help me get this door open. That is if you can keep your mouth from running for less than five seconds."
Had anyone there bothered to look up right then, they would have seen several metallic silver grubs, all identical, all about the size of large rats, scuttle by behind them on the roof of the corridor. Each of these strange creatures were heading towards where the pirates had boarded the derelict.
Of course, if anyone had seen this unusual sight, they would have been swiftly dealt with by the metallic creatures.
-SW-
CENTRAL COMPUTER CORE OF CYBERSHIP AH7-65-9G
ASSIGNED TO 145TH BATTLEPHALANX
˃ continuing to track unknown humanoids ˃ successfully allowed aboard ˃ access to vital areas successfully restricted
˃ unknown humanoids ˃ armament ˃ threat level minimum
˃ cybermatts ˃ confirmation ˃ pilots of docked shuttle neutralized
˃ chances of power increase being detected ˃ less than 5 percent
˃ priority imperative
˃ initiating stage one
˃ increasing output of reactor two to required levels
˃ reviving first task-force
-SW-
Several decks below where the pirates had entered the ship stood a vast dim room. Containing within it were rank upon rank and row upon row of metal sarcophagi with frosted armor-glass lids. It was but one of three similar rooms in the heavily armored hull of the ship.
The silence within the tomb-like space was broken. First by a low hum as the artificial gravity generators for that compartment switched on. Then the controls arranged alongside each high-tech coffin chittered and burbled electronically for a few moments. Lights on those flat surfaces winked in complicated sequences.
The sterile environment within each container was broken as, with a hiss of depressurized air, the lids slid back. Revealing tall plastic cocoons. Within each and beneath the layers of milky-transparent plastic wrappings could be glimpsed a silver form with a blank, inhuman face. Each figure was greater than the average human in stature, but not gigantic. All were remorseless soldiers, devoid of hope, devoid of fear, never surrendering.
Brains that were part organic and part computer stirred to life. As the sleepers awoke from their slumber, their bodies twitched and jerked. In the gloom, a pair of red eyes glowed dimly on each metal face.
A chorus of crackling sounds filled the room as the silver figures began tearing through their protective shrouds with a strength that was more than human. Until they freed themselves with ripping, shredding armored hands, and clambered out of their suspension capsules.
At last, sixteen or so figures stood upright, still as statues. But this was only a tiny fraction of those who were contained in this place and still slumbered on in hibernation.
For a moment, the silver men stood in silence. Performing automatic internal systems checks. Absorbing the information transmitted to them by the ship's central computer. But only for a moment, until one of the figures turned to face the rest.
"Set weaponry on stun. We will capture as many of the alien intruders alive as possible. They may have information that will be of value. And they must be assessed to discover if they are suitable for conversion. Our forces must grow if we are to survive and conquer." It ordered in a deep voice that only sometimes revealed that its owner was now more machine than organic.
Here the speaker turned to address another of its kind, which stood in the next row over and had turned to face it as well. "Lieutenant, take half of our forces to secure the alien's shuttle and cut off any potential lines of retreat. The rest will come with me."
"Yes, Leader." Replied the other in a similar half-mechanical voice, though it was not as deep.
Then, moving with unity and precision that would make parade-ground instructors the galaxy over green with envy, the tall silver figures turned as one and split off into two groups. The only noise they made was a quiet mechanical whirring sound and the almost equally subtle clank of footsteps as they marched from the cavernous room and into darkness.
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Author's notes:
Read! Enjoy! Review, whether to tell me what you liked or to scream at what you didn't! Also, this didn't have any sort of editor or beta reader, so if anyone's interested in helping me out in that area, feel free to speak up!
In case the mention of Jedha wasn't a clue, this is set in the Disney version of Star Wars. If only because the events and characterization of the CGI Clone Wars series do not fit with those in the 'classic' Star Wars Legends books, games and comics set during the Clone Wars very well. That said, I do genuinely like the CGI Clone Wars series.
Given that Doctor Who canon is a bit of a mess at the best of times, I'd like to mention that I'm using the book Cybermen by the incomparable David Banks as a major source for this story. As well as the Big Finish Audioplay Real Time and other classic Cyberman stories, such as Earthshock.
All that said, however, I will be doing my best as the story goes on to make it more accessible to people who aren't as familiar with Doctor Who.
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