Imperial Army Chronicles: The Pursuant

Chapter Two Shortly after the briefing, orders were given to prepare for entry into the Taris system. Their specific destination had been changed, along with their primary mission; instead of digging in at the besieged forward containment post in the seventh sector, the C-4 Hawks were to land directly at the site of the torched settlement and were to remain mobile between the interspersed Republic encampments in the neighboring sectors as they saw fit. Taking this into consideration, Lieutenant Pryll had his men change their loadouts, as well, to accommodate the more mobile mission, and sent word out to repack based on scout specifications. Howitz was thankful; the thought of standing in a tower all day, repelling rakghouls while wearing thick B.A.S.T-ion armor, as they were previously intended to do, simply did not appeal to him. That, and this whole business with an Imperial battlecruiser in the area smelled a bit foul. Supply had already received word of the transition and were already redistributing armor and munitions stores. Howitz handed back his current suit and received a green set of camouflaged jungle-engagement gear. Lighter and more maneuverable than the tower defense set-up, it would have been perfect if it wasn’t such a bland shade of green. Nobody had ever seen foliage that mimicked that color, and it was a constant complaint that the manufacturer was not adequately coloring their products. No matter how many complaints were filed, however, new jungle deployment gear continued to flow in, and each piece sported that strange off-green that nearly every trooper complained about. Such is the problem with bureaucracy: it only takes one political connection to undermine a war effort, but all the voices of the military couldn’t even change the color of their leg plates. He donned the new set and checked his armaments nonetheless. Ja’tin did the same, as did the other fourteen men in the unit. Re-entry proceeded smoothly, and everything seemed to going well, until it came time for the landing sequence. Nothing had gone terribly wrong, but nothing had gone terribly right, either. In fact, the only reason that the landing sequence seemed odd was simply that nothing happened at all for a rather long time. In the time that their craft should have landed on the surface, it just hovered around, shifting its trajectory every now and again, as though the whole ground below it had changed to lava or something. Without viewports in the cargo bay from which they were to deploy, the Hawks became more and more agitated and restless as dozens of minutes passed without a landing. The grumbling continued in the cargo bay until, finally, the transport landed on something similar to ground. The Lieutenant came back into the cargo bay from the forward cockpit and gave the order to disembark and secure the site. His voice was a bit strained… not to the point where it may have been concerning to those in the bay, but definitely detectable by somebody with a keen perception. He capped it all off with: “If you find any survivors, we have a med crew en route to site, ETA: 24 minutes. Now, move out.” With that, the bay door began to hinge downward and form a ramp for the men to disembark upon. What they saw upon their entrance to this new stage horrified them all. Burned structural material and charred corpses littered the ground. Only a handful of structures still stood, but even those were anything but habitable or operable. The scorched hull of a freighter more or less laid prostrate and defeated upon the central landing pad, twisted and misshapen from what seemed to be an internal explosion. The men just stood there for a time and observed it all until their purpose returned and they set about their task of securing the settlement. “Ja’tin, Howitz, Clemz… on me!” shouted Corporal Stoward. “Weapons ready; we’re checking out this shuttle over here.” Howitz, currently overwhelmed by the destruction of the scene, hadn’t even noticed the clean, white republic shuttle resting on the other side of what used to be a hangar bay. Bringing his rifle to bear and falling into the small fireteam’s standard diamond formation, the four soldiers approached the vessel. Howitz had right flank in the group, as Ja’tin held the rear (being a Cathar, he had a natural affinity for backpedalling) and Clemz was left-handed (well-suited for the left flank). The first thing Howitz noticed was the body on the shuttle’s loading ramp. Well, at least the part that wasn’t hanging off the side of the ramp or had been picked over by the flighted scavengers of the Tarisian wasteland. Its right leg was separated at the knee, and what was presumably its shin was resting on the ground a few feet away from the ramp. As the formation made its way up the ramp, the rest of the unit fanned out across the settlement and continued their respective searches. There were no other bodies on the shuttle. All of the vessel’s systems were still engaged, but nobody tended them. The only thing out of place was the trail of haphazardly laid cables leading back to the engine space. Clemz immediately started to work on sifting through the ship’s logs as Ja’tin and Howitz followed the suspicious wires aft. “What the…” Howitz pondered as the two realized the purpose of the cables. “Ja’tin, Do you see what I see?” The Cathar, without even turning to Howitz, responded, “What, the feedback loop to the main pulse drive? Yeah… I think I just did.” Howitz pressed his communicator in his right ear as he nervously relayed the discovery to Stoward. “Corporal, this shuttle’s wired to self-destruct. We should probably get outta here.” Stoward responded with a less-than-worried tone, “Well, that would explain why the auxiliary system is engaged in parallel with the main, and also this control I don’t recognize. Keep your shirt on, though… Clemz and I are gonna power everything down real quick.” Ja’tin’s eyes widened as he audibly demanded “what?!!” and Howitz replied, “What if it’s boobytra…” before all the systems in the shuttle went dark. The two flinched in the engine space, waiting for the potential explosion that might have just ended their military careers. After a few explosion-less moments, however, they relaxed and made their way forward to the cockpit. “Are you insasne?!” Howitz barked at Stoward. “This thing might have been rigged to take out a search party…” Stoward whirled around and pushed Howitz up against the bulkhead. “That’s quite enough, private. Remember your tone when you address a superior. You’re still alive, aren’t you? Calm yourself, Clemz already verified the only in-line control was this manual regulator, and it was thrown together rather hastily. This was a last-stand situation that didn’t happen. Get a hold of yourself.” Howitz let his shoulders sink back to normal height and muttered “Aye Corporal” as he repositioned his rifle and made his way to the shuttle’s ramp. Ja’tin followed him, and the two took up observatory posts on the ground outside the vessel. “What could have happened here?” Ja’tin wondered, aloud. “There’s no telling.” Howitz replied, his voice dry and cold. “I mean, any evidence left here is either mixed with or buried by the rubble that now is this place. I have a feeling we’ll never know who did this.” “That’s because you’re looking for a ‘who’…” came a voice that practically materialized behind them. The two soldiers both whirled around and trained their rifles on its owner, “when you should be looking for a ‘what’.”

Chapter Three

Before them stood the humble robes of a hooded Jedi, one of small stature and a bod

y seemingly as thin as paper. The hood obscured the face behind it as Howitz and Ja’tin held their ground firmly, not knowing the visitor’s intentions.

“Your name and business here” Ja’tin ordered of the small robed person. “Now.” A hand rose from the figure’s side and grasped a side of the hood they wore. Pulling back the cloth, the visitor revealed the visage of a female Zabrak, one with naturally red skin and black tattoos across the face. Though her countenance reflected the image of a Sith, her voice was as soft as a flower’s petal as she comforted the two uneasy soldiers, “You have nothing to fear in me. I seek what you seek.” The two kept their rifles trained as Howitz reiterated his comrade’s order, “Your name and business here”, as though she hadn’t heard correctly the first time. “I am Jedi padawan Ance As’Sur” She stated with confidence in the face of two blaster rifles before her. “I am on Taris with my teacher, Jedi master Halon Kryn. If you want to know *what* is responsible for this atrocity, I suggest that you not kill me.” “By all means…” Ja’tin responded, still apprehensive of her face. It was not common for red-skinned Zabraks to occupy the ranks of the Jedi, or even be found in the Republic. Not unheard of, but definitely uncommon. “I believe the Lieutenant has established a base of operations over there” he continued, gesturing with his rifle. “I think the two of you should meet.” “Very well, then” The Jedi Ance replied cordially, and started walking toward the recently erected command tent without another thought. The two soldiers fell in behind her, rifles still sighted and their suspicions fully enacted. Everyone in the tent immediately halted their work in setting up a headquarters and stared at the black-and-red-face atop the tiny body that now stood in the entrance. The hairless, sharply-horned head seemed to alarm many of them for the brief second before Howitz and Ja’tin followed her inside. “Lieutenant” Howitz chirped, “This padawan says she has information for you.” The Lieutenant, himself a bit apprehensive, nodded and answered, “…Of course. Come in.” Ance walked right up to the Lieutenant’s desk and held out her hand for a handshake. She seemed small enough to fit into his pocket, yet he eyed her with a suspicion that he simply could not justify nor evade. “Lieutenant Pryll, at your service, padawan. Do you know what happened here?” “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I think I have some answers as to what made it happen” Her voice was soft, yet unswerving as she spoke. “My master and I have, for some time now, been tracking…” Her train of thought was cut off as the attentions of everyone in the tent directed themselves to the abrupt onset of blasterfire elsewhere in the compound. Accompanying the discharge of ordinance came a series of screams - some familiar, some unnatural - from a distance just within earshot. Ja’tin and Howitz, still near the tent’s entrance, exited quickly to assess the situation right before the Lieutenant’s comlink crackled to life. What he heard from the device was his worst fear realized. The distressed voice on the other end of the channel practically shrieked into the microphone. “We have Rakghouls! Rakghouls are in the settlement! (Scream) Falling back to regroup at the freighter on the landing pad (Screams) Where did they come…” The transmission ended abruptly and gave way to silence. Outside, Ja’tin and Howitz turned to see three of the creatures running toward the shuttle that Cpl Stoward and Clemz were still inside of. A few red bolts echoed down the ramp of that vessel as the cockpit lit up with intermittent red light from their weapons shortly before the cockpit became silent and still again. They turned to face the landing craft that brought them here, only to see the crew and guard overrun at its ramp. Two other soldiers and the Lieutenant ran out of the command tent, rifles drawn, and charged headlong at the landing craft in a bid to retake it and hopefully escape, but two dozen more monsters were approaching from that direction. Ja’tin started to follow them, but Howitz grabbed his shoulder and shouted over the blasterfire in the scene “Our odds are better with that shuttle!” pointing toward the white shuttle that they had disarmed earlier and had just been attacked by Rakghouls. “Alright!” Ja’tin yelled back over the din right before he saw the blur of one of the beasts leaping at him from his side. He tried to turn his weapon upon the animal, but there was no way he could respond that fast. Just as the creature was upon him, a red lightsaber blade flew out of the tent behind him, spinning through the air so that the tip of the blade cleared the Cathar’s forehead by a few centimeters, and decapitated the monster in mid-flight. The limp, dense body connected with Ja’tin, knocking him down and pinning him to the ground under its literally dead weight while its head rolled on past him. In a state of shock, Ja’tin froze under the creature’s body while the red weapon returned to the wielder’s hand, who had now exited the tent as well. Howitz set up cover fire from their rather exposed position as he screamed at his comrade, “Get up! Get to the shuttle!” Ja’tin finally snapped back together as Ance helped him get free of the rakghoul’s body. As soon as he was standing again, the three made a mad dash for the shuttle, firing before and behind them at the charging beasts. Ance ran up the ramp first and, after a few whizzing slashes, had dispatched the beasts aboard the cockpit. Howitz set up at the top of the ramp, firing outward as Ja’tin hurriedly activated the lift controls. One of the Rakghouls managed to land a grip on the edge of the ramp as it was closing, but only its arm was inside by the time the sequence ended. The hydraulics snapped the thing’s arm like a toothpick, leaving purple blood spattered all over the end of the ramp and a dismembered, misshapen limb on top of it. Ja’tin and Howitz then moved to the vessel’s cockpit, where the bloodied remains of Cpl Stoward and Pvt Clemz lay mutilated by their attackers. Howitz grabbed one foot each and dragged them backwards into the engine space. In accordance with Tarisian rakghoul containment policy, of which they had been briefed before their reassignment, two distinct shots rang out throughout the ship indicating that the victims were, indeed, dead. Ja’tin had busied himself with the task of rerouting the power through the thrusters again while Ance plotted a trajectory. Just as Ja’tin brought his head up from under the console, a giant, limber rakghoul collided with the viewport, creating a terrifying thud and forcing Ja’tin back to his seat on the floor. Regaining his composure, he shouted, “We have power! Get us airborne!” Ance depressed a few controls and tripped a few switches and the ship lifted off the ground. Howitz came back into the cockpit just as the ship lurched forward, throttle fully engaged on an eastbound trajectory. “Do we have communications?” Howitz asked. “We will need to notify the other nearby settlements of those things.” Ja’tin nodded and went back to fiddling with wires under the console. “I don’t understand. They said this sector’s been rakghoul free for about four years now. How did that… swarm… just appear?” “You think I know?” Howitz replied, sarcasm still intact. He was about to say something else to Ja’tin when he looked over to Ance. And when he looked over to Ance, he remembered the red blade. Whirling his rifle upon her, placing it flush with the back of her skull as she sat in the pilot’s chair, he said with a cool head, “Boy, do we have some questions for you.”

Chapter Four Ance sat calmly as the barrel pressed against her skull. Her voice unchangedly unwavering, she responded, “And I certainly have answers. However, it will be difficult to procure them from a corpse. I tell you again: I mean you no harm.” Ja’tin had by now figured out the train of thought that Howitz had been riding. “Alright, question one: How does it come to pass that a Jedi carries a red blade?” Howitz shifted his attention briefly to his partner, then back to the woman before him, his rifle remaining trained the entire time. Ance turned her head to the side, facing Ja’tin and looking him squarely in the eyes. “How does it come to pass that a Jedi wears red skin?” This query seemed lost on the pair, since it did not seem to immediately help her case. “How does it come to pass that a Jedi wields a double blade, or wears dark robes? How could a Jedi share any similarity with a Sith?” Howitz fidgeted unnoticeably, trying to hide his discomfort in this ongoing discourse. He still was uncertain as to the direction this woman was moving towards. “How then, could Sith and Jedi both use the Force? Can a Jedi use only a certain length of blade, and Sith a different length? Is it unmistakably wrong for them to share the same boot size?” Ance continued, her purpose becoming more clear. “Is it wrong for a Sith and a Jedi to be of the same species, or inhale the same atmosphere?” Ja’tin saw the ridiculousness in her words and countered, “Some differences are more prominent than others…” Ance cut him off short, saying, “The differences between a Jedi and Sith are not in their physical attributes nor the trinkets they carry; instead, their character, their mindset, and their actions are what define them in this life, as for any other being. For you to judge me by the weapon I use and the color of my ancestors is juvenile and unbecoming of anyone who supports what the Republic stands for.” “Please excuse us,” Howitz stated dryly, and only somewhat acknowledging the guilt trip, “for assuming based on observation. A red-skinned Zabrak Force-user wielding a red blade appearing just as rakghouls –once contained– assaulted our position without warning seems only slightly coincidental.” “Coincidence is but the shadow of fate” Ance continued. “A mere illusion. It helps to explain the unlikely or the unbelievable. Everything its course, and everyone their purpose. Coincidence is a fallacy.” “Then please explain” Ja’tin interjected, his voice low and his brow raised, “what your ‘purpose’ is in carrying that saber? It seems an unlikely choice, and if it’s not coincidence, then there has to be a reason you chose to carry it. Why not a blue, or a yellow blade?” “That is my own reason.” Ance stated firmly. “I have not made an attempt on your lives, nor have I given any reason for you to think me a threat. I have only given you my word and one action, which was to spare you from the rakghoul.” She paused as she stared into Ja’tin’s eyes, watching his reaction. “As I told you before, I mean you no harm. Now, can we make progress toward our mutual goals, or should we continue beating this dead nexu while Taris and the galaxy burn?” Howitz shot a glance at Ja’tin, who said nothing as he looked back into Ance’s eyes. He was certainly searching for any hint of deceit or treachery, but he could not find any. Howitz slowly lowered his rifle and leaned forward to depress the comms control. “Taris 8th Garrison, this is callsign Hawk. We are approaching your position and are requesting permission to land.” Ja’tin continued to look upon Ance, hoping to uncover some hint of ill will. Something just did not sit right with him about her. The comm panel lit up as a voice replied, “Received, Hawk. Codes verified; you have clearance to land.” At that, Ance turned to the controls and manually flew the shuttle for the last few kilometers of their journey. Passing over the garrison compound’s walls, Howitz noticed that only a few guards stood at post along the perimeter. Most of the anti-aircraft and anti-personnel weaponry lay dormant and unstaffed. With news of a rakghoul swarm several kilometers away, hopefully that would change. Upon landing, the three stood up from their seats in the cockpit and made their way to the landing ramp. The bloodied, purple arm had rolled about in the space, and had left a splotched trail all over the surface of the closed ramp. Lowering it, Howitz was relieved to be greeted by Republic soldiers. “Please follow us” one of the greeting party instructed. “The new commander wants you debriefed ASAP.” Ja’tin nodded and replied, “Of course.” The trio then set off behind the messenger, the two soldiers in step and the woman in between. ______________________________________________ “I know, gentlemen. I have been appraised of your situation.” The man’s voice was conciliatory, but with a tinge of desperation. The youth in his face and his voice only served to fortify his title of “interim” Garrison Commander. An up-and-coming officer who had come up a bit faster than scheduled, Interim Garrison Commander Havel had been following the Hawks’ mission and had heard their screams on the comms. The last thing he wanted at this moment was to debrief the survivors, but the responsibility fell to him regardless. “Appraised?!” Ja’tin shouted at him from the other side of a metal table. “You have been ‘appraised’ of our situation?!” “Private, I need you to calm down…” “Calm down?! Tell you what… You go get swarmed by rakghouls, step over your squadmates’ mutilated bodies, and barely escape with your life… then you can tell me to calm the frak down!” Howitz tried to get a handle on the situation. “Commander, what is being done about those things? Is a containment effort underway yet?” “Yes” Commander Havel replied, visibly relieved that somebody in this situation was keeping a level head. “We have a squadron of talons en route with a slash and burn payload. Total scorched earth in about five minutes.” Ance perked up from the corner she had been standing in during this time, her voice slightly mired by concern, “What about the evidence at the scene? If they glass the remains of that settlement, we won’t be able to continue the investigation.” “To hell with the investigation!” shouted the Commander. “We had been hunting that guy, that thing… for a solid month with nothing to show for it. He’s like a ghost! There’s no evidence to be recovered there, and even if there was, there’s only a herd or two of rakghouls moved in that say we can’t go there. Even if there was evidence, it’s lost to us either way. As Garrison Commander, my priority one is rakghoul containment. Everything else is secondary.” Ance retreated back into her corner. “We need everything you have on this guy… this terrorist” Howitz told the Commander. “It was our job to find him, and I intend to do just that. And to do that, I’m going to need all the files, reports, holos, and rumors about this guy, along with a handful of men to go after him.” “I can get you the files” Havel responded, plainly, “But we are already disparagingly short on manpower as it is. I’m afraid I can’t spare a soul. Even my secretary is holding watches on some nights.” Ja’tin, a bit calmer now than before, jumped back in, asking, “How soon can you get us your information on this guy?” Havel reached into his desk drawer and retrieved a data disk, handing it to the Cathar. “The whole file. Everything on subject ‘Bitt’ is on this disk. We had it compiled after the settlement was destroyed; it was meant to be delivered to your CO later this afternoon.” “Good” said Howitz, “Please excuse us, but you have heard our details and debriefed us. Are we dismissed? We have work to do.” “I would offer to help in this endeavor, but the state of the Garrison is perilous, at best…” “We weren’t counting on your assistance, Havel” Ja’tin said, obviously bitter. “You’ve made it clear that you would be of little to no help.” Taken aback, Havel stammered a few sounds, then replied, “Yes, gentlemen. You are dismissed.” “Good” said Ja’tin. “Now please, leave us alone with our little padawan friend. She says she actually *can* help us, so we need to discuss a few things.”