The Final Battle of IACC

[Originally posted by Acario] The day started as a typical Nabooian day on the Northern Beach. The birds were chirping, the Fambaas had just begun to make bellowing sounds, and the wind was blowing in a light breeze. Acario had pulled an all-nighter working on one of his secret projects in the bottom floor of the Inquisitorium. He had just completed the final piece of a special holocron he was constructing. It was something special to him as he viewed it's contents as the most important discovery in the last several decades. He secured the holocron in his meditation room and headed toward the turbo-shaft. Suddenly, a strange tremor hit the complex. Several objects in the hallway fell off the walls and crashed into hundreds of pieces. Acario rushed to the shaft in a hurried pace and proceeded to the top floor. Another tremor shook the complex and Acario could hear the mechanical components holding the shaft car in place were about to give way as sounds of metal could be heard whining, screeching, and rumbling. The car finally came to a stop at it's destination, the ground floor of the complex. No sooner than he stepped out of the car did another tremor hit sending the car down to the bottom of the turbo-shaft. Acario looked back and realized how much the Force was on his side today. Just moments and he'd be looking for another way out. He quickly surveyed the room but nothing but debris could be seen. In the debris, Acario noticed the remains of some of his droids and troopers that operated the facility. Acario could feel no movement in the Force near him, they must have all perished in the first tremor. He quickly ran outside and to his awe, he saw a fleet of rebel ships reigning down havoc that would make even the most dangerous Dark lord of the Sith pleased. The city hall was in rubble, the shuttle port had been devastated, craters littered the parade grounds and everything else was masked in smoke and fire. Acario jumped on his STAP, a prized possession he had acquired from his years of exploration, and headed west toward the old IACC. The old IACC was once a great compound with multiple bases, med center, troop baracks, PX and even a cantina for R&R for the troops stationed there, but all that was gone now and had been for some time. It too had seen a great battle and most of the facilities had been relocated to it's new location in the town that used to be known as Paradise Palms. As Acario neared the old IACC, he thought about using his personal comm device to warn others about the attack, but knew it would be to no avail. Most of the other members of the 47th had left on several missions to investigate leads off-world concerning the stolen plans and shield codes that had led to the destruction of the second Death Star. He would need to reach his ship to warn the others using the long-range transmitter on the Praetorius. Acario could see Y-wing bombers swooping in and devastating the earth below. One thing that kept creeping into his thoughts was how the attack even occured without warning. Naboo is guarded by several star destroyers and an early warning system. The star destroyers had just recently been deployed to meet up with the rest of the Imperial Armada at the Death Star, but how did the rebel fleet make it past the code? The RSF must have willing gave it up. As Acario lifted off in the Praetorius, he passed over Theed. Looking down outside of his cockpit window, he could see some sort of celebration going on down in the streets below. He knew the Empire had come to an end. He must warn his friends and push ahead with his secret plan. As he began plotting a course for Korriban, he began sending out distress signals to as many members of the 47th as he could. "Captain Obiradd,..." The lights of blurring stars slowed to a halt as the Praetorius came out of hyperspace. It had been only a few years since the Emperor had revealed to him the location of the ancient Sith homeworld of Korriban, but it had been sometime since Acario had last visited the planet since inquisitor duties had taken up a lot of his time. The simple fact that he knew its location was nothing short of honor bestowed upon him as a Grand Inquisitor. Korriban's coordinates were something of an enigma since they weren't recorded on any star charts anymore, something the Emperor made sure about, not even the standard inquisitors were given this information. Acario opened up the comm channel to the planet below, "TANGO-KILO-FOUR-FIVE-TWO-ONE, Come In. This is Grand Inquisitor Genteel, requesting landing permission. Transponder code is being submitted." The comm channel remained silent for a brief second and then crackled alive, "This is Tango-Kilo-Four-Five-Two-One. Welcome to Korriban, Grand Inquisitor. Landing codes authenticated, you're clear to dock." The Praetorius slowed to approach speeds as the old temple came into view. It was crude, ancient, and in a dilapidated condition, but it was to be expected from a structure so old. To be told, the temple could have been constructed by the ancient Sith in their glory days, or even the legendary Rakatas that were rumored to have provided the galaxy with hyperspace travel; either way, the years had taken it's toll on the temple that was a blend of rocks and technology. As the ship landed on the docking platform, Acario pondered the events that occurred just over four hours ago. The attack on Naboo was swift and devastating. Their must be a reason behind the alliance's bold move. Naboo was typically under heavy orbital guard since the Emperor maintained a private retreat there near Moenia. The strike could have only been successful without the usual Destroyers in orbit, but how did they know the defenses would be lowered. This is something he would need to know before he pushed ahead with his plan. But for now, he needed to keep his thoughts to the here and now. He was here to retrieve an artifact from one of the tomb vaults. Acario began making his way down through the valley. The whole valley was covered in the same red dusty rock that covered most of the planet. The valley was scarce of vegetation but not devoid of it. As he came closer to the tomb vaults, he could easily make out the statues of several ancient Sith lords. Korriban was the burial home to several prominent Sith lords, so much that it had been called the Valley of the Sith Lords for as long as anyone could remember. He had been collecting the ingredients for this ritual since news of the tragedy around Endor circulated through the Imperial remnants. There was but one more ingredient needed to complete the sith ritual, but it was more of a focus item rather, designed to harness dark side energy into a focal point. The timing for the ritual was still in question as there were some parts of the ancient tablet that Acario was following that was written in the lost language of the original inhabitants of Korriban. Translation for ancient dialects was something he would have to do manually due to the sensitivity of the matter and the rarity of finding a protocol droid that can read the ancient sith language of Zhiesj Sith'tar. As the Empire crumbed, many of the Empire's former bases were abandoned or re-occupied as fortified compounds for local warlords, most often former imperial moffs. This crumbling effect had turned the great empire into thousands of warring factions, almost over night. Acario's only concern was to retrieve the artifact before the Alliance or some other tomb raiders loot it. The local garrison wouldn't be able to be counted on anymore once they realized they no longer had an operational command structure. As he neared the entrance to the tomb that was said to contain the relic, a low growl could be heard from behind one of the rock formations... As Acario slowly angled his way around the formation to gain a better view, he spotted two red glowing eyes from the shadow at the base of the pillar. The tuk'ata leaped at him with amazing speed and power. Acario spun to his left while brandishing his saber and igniting it. The hungry beast landed where Acario had been standing only a second ago. With only a couple meters between him and the beast, he surveyed his surroundings and could sense two more sith hounds approaching him from the cave entrance. Acario could hear a faint a mumble between the beasts. They seemed to be speaking in the sith tongue, but nothing recognizable. Without a doubt, Acario knew these were more intelligent than any normal beast and also sensed a pack cohesion between them. The three hounds began circling Acario. He kept turning to keep what he perceived as the Alpha to his front, meanwhile focusing his force senses on the other two. Suddenly, one of the rear ones pounced into the air in his direction. Sensing him through his thoughts, he raised his saber behind him and the tuk'ata flew straight into the blade of the saber. Acario spun around and in one sweeping motion decapitated the injured hound. The other two swiftly joined the attack. Acario back-flipped into the air to regain some distance, not liking being flanked. Now, with both of his attackers in front of him, Acario extinguished his blade and holstered it back to his belt clip and with both hands, unleashed a hailstorm of lightning from his fingertips. The rage that was flowing through him focused the lightning between the two hounds. Still, it was not enough. The ancient sith must have known to breed these hounds to be resistant to lightning attacks. While the hounds withered in pain Acario slowly pushed toward them. Once he was within striking range, he dropped his right hand while steadily controlling the lightning in his other hand and drew his weapon through the force. He then dropped the force attack all together and with both hands drawn down the full power of his saber on the nearest hound killing it one swift blow to the head cavity. The last remaining hound, the alpha recovered from the lightning attack and pounced Acario knocking him to the ground. The alpha then reared up on its hind legs and Acario took advantage of the opening and slit the hound in half from the bottom up. The tuk'ata stood stunned for a moment and then fell as the two halves separated. Acario recovered his posture and dusted himself off and then pulled out a small pyramid-shaped device in his palm and entered the tomb entrance. As Acario entered the cave, he began reflecting on the events that had brought him to this cave. He remembered coming across this ancient sith holocron by mere coincidence while shopping in Coruscant’s underbelly. An old traveler was trying to sell off the item as a mere trinket, but the holocron had a mind of its own and kept scaring off potential buyers until he had showed up. Acario quickly recognized that this particular sith holocron predated all of the holocrons he had on hand at the Inquisitorium’s repository. Initially, he had thought to present this ancient relic to the Emperor personally, but decided to hold onto the device until he could study it some for fear that once the Emperor had it in his possession, that it might become part of his permanent collection. As fate would have it, the Emperor would die on the Empire’s second death star before he could present the holocron to him. He also recalled the events that preceded the attack on Naboo. The 47th had just received special orders from the Emperor to tie up loose ends and received data from Imperial intelligence to facilitate the orders. General Atomics had gone to the death star to personally address his concerns for the new orders with the Emperor. Meanwhile, Surface Marshall Jaxx had issued the directives at a special briefing. Immediately following the briefing, Captain Obiradd and Major Scelestus were to begin preparations for special patrols of their respective routine sectors. Captain Obiradd had left the medical bay in the hands of Acario’s younger brother, Astin. Kaz’lath, his personal engineer and friend had remained behind as well tinkering with some new droid components for the 47th. He thought about Astin and Kaz for a moment. When he was fleeing the battle, he had briefly noticed that those two buildings were one of the first ones reduced to rubble. He was unsure if his brother had made it out, or if he were even on the planet when hell broke loose. Kaz, on the other hand…had pulled an all-nighter, as well and he had just spoken with him a few hours before the attack had started. Acario took some comfort in knowing that the blast would have killed anyone inside instantly and death would have been painless. The other members of the 47th had been tasked to silence leads on some leaked information. The shuttle Tydirium had recently been stolen by rebel forces after a previous failed attempt and with it, clearance codes for the Shield generator around Endor. Also missing were the coordinates for the location of the new death star, also around Endor. The leads were traced to Bothan spies around several planets including Corellia and Talus. While, these events were taking place, Acario had stayed behind as part of the rear detachment to continue day to day operations. He then began thinking of his friends that were off planet when the attack took place. He hoped they had found some way to go underground as more and more imperial bases were abandoned or became battlegrounds for territorial controls by the remaining moffs. After some internal thought of the matters, Acario re-focused on his task. Somewhere up ahead in this tomb was an ancient amulet he needed. Rumor had it that this amulet had once belonged to Ulic Qel Droma before he betrayed Exar Kun. He was certain it was here as he could sense it calling to his soul. The tomb was eerily quiet. The only sound that could be heard was that of the wind whipping through the cavern. The place had a cold, empty feel to it, as if it were a bottomless abyss. Acario picked up a torch that he found and lit it. It had been there for ages it would seem but was in surprisingly good shape. Through the darkness, he pressed on following his instincts and his perception of the Force. There was something drawing him closer and he knew it was what he had come here for. He finally came to the end of the tomb and there, behind the sarcophagus, laid the amulet upon a pedestal. There was definitely something special about it. The pedestal, sarcophagus, and the floor were all covered in dust, yet the amulet had a bright shining glow to it as if it had been encased in a protective container. There was no dust or dirt to be seen anywhere on it. As Acario approached it, he could feel a strange reverberation coming from it. It was calling to him through the Force. He couldn’t tell if this was the same amulet worn by Ulic over four thousand years ago, but nevertheless, this is the amulet he had come to Korriban for. Acario, knowing the dangers of donning ancient Sith relics, placed the amulet into a satchel he had brought with him. The amulet called to his mind with whispers of power beyond imagination, still though, Acario refused its offer, for now. *** Acario approached his ship sitting on the landing pad of the Academy. “Deck Officer, prep my ship for take-off. I have urgent business to attend to.” “Yes, sir,” the deck officer replied as he began to run pre-flight checks on the outside of the Praetorius. Acario boarded his ship and made his way to the bridge. He placed the holocron he had been carrying with him inside the satchel along side the amulet. He could feel the power of both speaking to him. At first, there were two distinct voices whispering to him incoherently in a strange language. The voices continued and soon became a single voice. He had guessed that this must be the spoken tongue of the Ancient Sith, still though, he could not understand it. For now, he would try to ignore it. He had to ignore it. The fate of the galaxy depended on him. His friends depended on him. The ship lifted off and soon Korriban shrunk in the distance until it was just a twinkle in the background. Acario set in hyperspace coordinates for Coruscant into the nav computer. He then made some adjustments to the power amplifier for the communication transmitter. One last transmission would be broadcasted on the 47th’s encrypted channel. Acario already feared that the channel had been compromised, but he had to take the chance. He needed to meet with his comrades in person and let them know what he was up to. It was his only chance as he thought about the holocron he had made, but had left back on Naboo in the depths of the destroyed Inquisitorium. If he couldn’t contact his friends, the holocron contained the only hints as to his disappearance or death. “ATTENTION: All Units of the 47th IEF. This is Major Acario Genteel. I am enroute to Coruscant to rendezvous at our hidden facility there. I have a plan of action that should reverse the actions of the last few days. I will explain in detail upon my arrival. Genteel, OUT.” No sooner than Acario finished the transmission, the proximity alarms went off. The targeting computer announced “Ten bogies spotted within two kilometers.” Acario checked the radar screen and saw the signatures of ten X-wings and then a new blip appeared and revealed to be a single Mon Cal cruiser dropping out of hyperspace. Acario thought to himself, it couldn’t have been his transmission, the rebels appeared too quick. Someone down on Korriban must have radioed someone while he was in the tomb. Acario aborted the hyperspace countdown. He couldn’t risk the rebels following him to the rendezvous point, the survival of the 47th was much more important than he was. He thought of one last ditch effort, it had been common knowledge among most skilled dark side users that black holes by their very nature focus a tremendous amount of dark side energy into its focal point, the center of the event horizon. If he could get to Kessel, which happened to be the nearest black hole to his location, he had a chance to flow-walk and save the Empire. It was risky, but he had to try. Acario was taking heavy pounding. The turrets were being operated by the ship’s flight computer which had been modified to operate weapon systems in the absence of crew personnel. The turrets were doing well enough to keep the enemy fighters at bay, even taking one down. The Praetorius had more to worry about, though with the Mon Cal cruiser. The imperial gunship was armored well against fighters and other frigates, but was no match for a full blown cruiser. Acario punched in Kessel’s hyperspace jump point and weaved the gunship between missile strikes while waiting the final calculation. The Praetorius disappeared from view as the ship entered hyperspace. Moments later, it dropped from hyperspace with the Maw staring the ship down dead ahead. Acario programmed the flight computer to maintain a constant distance at the edge of the event horizon. *** Acario placed the holocron in the center of his ship at the base of a Sith statue. He placed the amulet upon his neck. Immediately, the avatar of the holocron appeared and the image pulsed for a few seconds before transforming into something much more ghastly. Something much older than the holocron or the amulet stood in front of Acario. It was a figure bearing a horned helmet. He could tell this was what was whispering to him and now he could understand. “Acario Genteel, you have been chosen to save the Empire from total destruction. Events are taking place that will destroy the Sith forever. This must not come to pass. You are to take this ship into the heart of the Great Maw that sits before you. There, you will be given power that is unimaginable. The dark side is powerful in you. Through us, you will become stronger.” The spirit fades away, but the whisper continues. Acario programs the nav computer to edge nearer to the event horizon. He then sits in front of the statue and focuses his thoughts on the past. He thinks of his time with the 47th, his childhood in his family’s palace on Alderaan, and his journey becoming an inquisitor. Strangely, other visions now enter his thoughts, things that have been, things that are to be, and the two being the same, somehow. In this vision, Acario also sees a great force bombarding a planet below with star destroyer type ships bearing a similar emblem of the Galactic Empire, but much different. Suddenly, as if some unknown force is guiding it, the ship reorients itself and is now pointing at the center of the Maw. The ship’s flight computer counts down over the intercom, “3, 2, 1…” In an instant, the ship hits the center of the Maw, and a tremendous blast of force energy is released from the black hole as it reacts with the amulet and the holocron which are now in tune with each other…