Chapter 56 — Road to Hell — Locked From the Inside
Part 2
Oma
She struggled up and pushed away a Temple Guard offering to help her.
Meeda lay off to the side cuffed.
“Traitorous Bitch…” Oma seethed as her mind slowly reset itself from the fog of hypnogogic confusion
“We’ll take her to the brig…” the Temple Guard intoned beneath his white and yellow mask
“Not her you imbecile! Milaea!” Oma had been wondering when she would show up again…clearly they had been holding her back for when they were in desperate straits.
Shaking off her confusion she stormed to the main tactical station
“What’s the situation?”
“After you…fell…there was some confusion across the fleet…the remaining Ubese and Black Sun capital ships managed to escape…”
“And Valens?”
“The ships positioned for orbital bombardment were awaiting your order…a number of transports were detected leaving the far side of the planet….along with the bizarre vessel…we were not in a position to intercept in the confusion.”
“Fools!” she seethed “You shouldn’t rely on me for every order!”
She had been
too dominant in her takeover of the Order…had no time to find adequate second officers.
“Did we at least get a tracker on the Ubese…:”
“We did Sentinel…once it drops out of hyperspace we’ll have them.”
She could not – would not - allow this to turn into another defeat – the Order could not afford it.
“Have Master Tnbu and
Ordo Endures assist in the recovery efforts, make it clear the
Jedi drove the Black Sun from the system…and it was Chancellor Ovriths approval of auxiliary forces that enabled it,”
Oma would not forget to keep the Politicians happy so long as she needed them.
“We press on in pursuit of the Ubese…and get those stupid cuffs off Ordo,”
<<<<>>>>
Goush
“HELL!”
His fists slammed on the arms of his command chair the stars spun in kaleidoscopic twirls around his
Blood Remembers.
Once more his ships had taken damage he couldn’t pay the repairs for…he was already working off the last lot from Myrkr on this job!
“This is how they trap you…” he seethed to no one in particular “Get you reliant on their mercy…debt bondage…Hutts, Vigo’s all the same…you wake up one day and you’ve been their patsy for a decade and have nothing but an empty belly and ramshackle half functioning ship to show for it….”
“Where to captain…” the navigation officer probed cautiously as the countdown to real space drained away with his prospects of ever getting out from under the Vigos thumb again.
Shaking off his irritation her replied
“Set course for the Rendezvous Xithar gave us, hopefully we can finally settle the account, then Nar Shadda, we’ll sell some of the trinkets we took at Hondo station, try and get some gear for home…”
Goush gazed on the empty trophy racks as they approached the jump point. Damn the Anathema thrice over…their insatiable hate for the Ubese had caused generations of suffering and showed no signs of abating.
<<<<>>>>
Meeda
“Do we have the co-ordinates…” the Sentinel demanded tapping her foot in irritation.
“Working on it…”
bitch the analysis program flickered though possible destinations before Meeda’s eyes as she glanced to the long range scanner every few seconds wary of the Black Armoured creatures showing up nearby.
Finally the scrolling options pinged,
“Here…Cularian System…almost nothing on it apart from the name,”
“Not a known black-port, Mercenary?” the Jedi queried in an insulting tone as if Meeda knew every smugglers secret hide out…fair enough she knew a lot…but that was the job.
“Not that I know of…even if it is a Mando ship showing up won’t be out of place,”
Oma sneered
“Follow them…” Oma swiftly turned to leave the bridge her orders given
“Sentinel…” Meeda protested, knowing she was on thin ice after the fractured events of the last few hours.
“…Is it really wise to follow them into an unknown system…it could be a trap…a Black Sun fortress we don’t know about…” The deal was getting worse, once word got out Clan Ordo was working for Jedi they might never live it down…her best bet was to get all the credits out of Oma she could while limiting any further confrontations.
“They are fleeing randomly, desperate to escape justice…you have your orders Mercenary…”
The last word spoken like a curse felt strangely hurtful
As if we have any choice after the Dral’Han you obsessed bitch…Her bridge crew looked at her expectantly
“You have your orders…set course for Cularian system at the next jump exit…”
Meeda flopped in her chair, hands still raw from the stun cuffs, throat sore and voice hoarse from Oma’s telekinetic choking…hopefully it would be just what they thought, an empty system, they hit the Ubese from behind…
She trailed her hand along the eye of aversion etched into her breast plate…the wyrd of Oma was becoming obsessive, the Black Armoured creatures…compulsive pursuit of Ubese…trapping herself in her own wyrd of destruction…and dragging them down with her.
<<<<>>>>
Goush
The docking clamp hissed open with refuse gases as Goush impatiently tapped his thigh plating. The Cularian system was the designated rendezvous for after Goush had helped Tsen destroy the Sons and become Vigo.
So far he had seen no other ships in the system, only a raggedy old orbital power station with solar panels that looked as old as the planet, sensors only picked up a few odd floating bits of ancient wreckage at LaGrange points about the system.
As the rusty brown door slid open Goush almost fainted at the sight of the figure entering. His mouth behind his helm wide…he had expected some crotchety hideous old mechanic a grade above the type you saw at Mamzer Station…instead…
“Welcome Goush of Toush Uba…” the silken voice from moist ruby lips set amidst perfect curves of alabaster skin massaged into his ears.
“It seems you’ve had a hard time of it…” the tall feminine figure approached him, gleaming in polished gold and royal reds that shamed every inch of
Blood Remembers as unworthy of hosting such divinity.
“But it’s all over now…” she trailed a hand across his mask “Now you are blessed to be in the bosom of the Goddess of the Sublime…”
Yes…a Goddess truly a goddess….“…and the Profane…” the last words implanted in his brain along with her fingers.
<<<<>>>>
Oma
They slashed out of hyperspace at a midpoint over the orbital plane of the Cularian system, the
Mythosaur, Four Vengeance Class Frigates and Two Cruisers backed by three Consular Class Corvettes full of Jedi primed for battle – more than enough to deal with Goush already damaged force.
“There it is…around the fourth planet…the Ubese Destroyer, two cruisers and a frigate…in geosynchronous orbit near a solar battery platform…no heat signatures from the engines, they’re all powered down.” One Mandalorian noted as the bridge bustled under the watchful gaze of the Temple Guards.
“I have a bad feeling about this…” Meeda whispered
“Micro Jump in, send your fighters to disable them then we board…”
“We should blast them from range…” Meeda suggested
Oma shook her head
“We have them with their pants down and appendages out – we take them to Coruscant in chains then the galaxy will see the Jedi are not beaten…”
Oma could feel Meeda’s doubts, she thought Oma was obsessed, but such a petty mercenary couldn’t possibly comprehend the political goals this action would achieve – with Goush on trial for Myrkr the Chancellor got his front pages and in return she would get further authority to expand the military arm of the Order.
“...No more delays,” she added as she swept quickly toward the hangars intent on being the first to take an Ubese head.
<<<<>>>>
From the grainy green washed out footage sent from the
Mythosaur to the Meteor class transport Oma watched the Jehavey’ir assault ships pound the destroyer with bolts of ion, arcs of electricity erupting all over the already damaged destroyers hull.
“Limited life signals on the ships…tracking proton trails to the surface…orbital scan shows only one structure a few transports, looks like they went ground side….strange there is only one structure on the surface…some kind of tower” the Mando Tactical officer explained.
“Ordo take the ships in orbit, I will attend to the ground forces,” Oma ordered as she assessed the readouts on the black tower – the scans were unable to get much, it appeared to be made of a hardy composite of some kind – likely the remains of an ancient fortress or bomb shelter that Goush used as a hide out.
“He can run but he can’t hide…” she whispered mostly to herself – his ships must be too damaged to put up effective resistance and he deemed his chances better by fortifying himself planetside – he was getting desperate, backed into a corner and that made him dangerous….
She glanced around to the Temple Guards and Sentinels in full battle gear
Not as dangerous as two dozen Jedi determined to make a point.<<<<>>>>
Meeda
Docking was swift the Mando’s breaching of the hull practised and proficient, with a blast of energy she entered the eerily silent ship backed by Yon and half a dozen other super commando’s – the first of six such teams slicing into the port hull simultaneously.
“Just like at Uba,” She noted over the internal comm as they met no immediate resistance “They use defence in depth…”
Odd they haven’t vented this section yet…gravity still active and lights still on“Stay alert, mag lock your boots, keep the suits vac tight - have your visors set to quickly adjust to dark, they’ll try and surprise us by switching off gravity, lights and venting atmosphere just before they strike…”
Cautiously they moved forward linking up in the X junctions with the other teams to form three 12 man squads.
The blast doors were all open, systems not flickering form the ion barrage were humming away indifferently.
Blood Remebers reminded her of the
Mythosaur, old but well maintained, still she passed a number of recent patch jobs, oil spills and acid leaks on the somewhat brown plating that was covered in the patina of age and dried particles spewed from the vents providing recycled air at higher nitrogen levels suited to Ubese biology.
“Boss…” Yon interrupted peering into a small room off the side of the main ventral corridor
Inside was a magno-solder iron still on abandoned on the workbench beside a lukewarm cup of caf and busted capacitor that was being repaired.
“…Left in a hurry…might’ve abandoned ship, life signals could be rodents…”
Meeda shook her head
“No they left someone behind…how far o the bridge?”
“Thirteen metres forward two levels up…”
She rolled her shoulders and tightened her grip on her rifle
“Dask make sure our way out is secure, Yon, Karv lets move.”
<<<<>>>>
Oma
“Coming up in range in 5…4…3…2…”
“Fire,” she commanded.
The Besalisks broke from formation, abandoning their 30 degree descent angle to plunge almost vertically down, laser cannons and shock wave generator rods unleashing on the Ubese transports below and a 25 metre perimeter around the landing zone.
The empty transports crumpled inwards under the effect of the sonic waves from the generator rod clusters, metal wilting like petals as the Basilisks screeched back skyward at the last moment to avoid their terminal velocity splattering them into wreckage the likes of which they had just created.
The rapidity and precision gave Oma a new appreciation for Jedi like Revan who had faced the Neo-Crusaders in ages long past and a curious sense of triumph at how far the Mandalorians had fallen since then, from galactic terror to mercenary bands.
“No life signals they must all be inside, preparing to come around,” the Basilisks droid brains effortlessly turned the pilot intentions into movements sliding round to allow them to unleash a quick run to test the black tower itself.
There was no counter fire, no flak nor turrets – but nor did the Besalisks cannons seem to do any damage to the monolith into which the Ubese had fled.
“Set down nearby, Captain Berkan your commandos will secure the perimeter and entrance while my Sentinels head inside” Let them cower in their hovel, nothing would stop her now from restoring the Jedi’s lost pride – fitting taking down Ubese with Mando support, both ancient enemies under the Jedi heel once more.
<<<<>>>>
Meeda
As they traced the length of the central corridor they found more signs of sudden abandonment, still warm caf in thermos-canisters, tools left in piles beside sparking junction boxes…and still no sign of anyone.
“This ain’t right…” Yon noted as they reached the last set of blast doors before the bridge, the breach team moving up with the laser lance to slice it open
“They wouldn’t just abandon ship like this…”
Oma’s explanation that they were going to make a last stand planet side seemed convincing at first but as they delved deeper into the ship it made less and less sense –
Blood Remembers had clearly take a number of hits, and while the systems they had scanned were far from optimal, it was nothing a quick jury-rig couldn’t get operational in time to make another jump.
Her visors auto tint darkened the glum brown pannelin of the ship even more as te fiery white laser lance cut through the blast door. A fist sized panel flopped out and the Mando beside the breached shoed his grenade launcher into the opening, pumping out three quick canisters – smoke, gas and flare into the bridge beyond.
“Firing in!” Karv called over the comm, implementing a similar tacitc on the bridges starboard door.
“Now!” Meeda ordered. Two men behind her rushed up to the bast door as the green gas seeped out the small hole amidst flashes of blinding flares and obscuring smoke. In their hands the grav hammer- practised eas set it up on the door, a quick whirring charge and.
“BREACH GO GO GO GO” the hammer designed for industrial mining crumpled the door inwards spewing the smoke they had launched back out – but they were ready in sealed suits with visuals switched to thermal to avoid the bright but heatless flares they had launched in.
She was first in as was fitting for the leader, her rifle sweeping over the semi-circle rows of consols finding no heat signatures apart from the dull greens of the machinery. She kept her feet moving forward as her torso twisted seeking a target…
surely they haven’t abandoned the bridge as well?The answer to her question was worse that she’d feared.
At the back of the bridge around the command throne was a huddled mass of warm bodies, some standing, most rolling about oblivious to the anaesthetic gases they had launched in.
The light of the planet below beamed through the transparisteel, past the empty rusted trophy rack onto a veritable orgy of some kind.
Scores of blood shot leering eyes stared from sunken faces that scraped and clawed at their own flesh in depraved acts of devotion that painted the grated metal decking a brown red mingled with whites and clear slicks from their frenetic unrestrainable trysts.
Meeda was at a loss for words, Karv entering the other side stared in confusion along with the rest of the commandos they paid not attention to anything but biting, pinching, creasing, fondling, penetrating each other as if under the spell of some God of Lust.
Yet as she watched the spectacle unfold she saw things that were…wrong…shoulders that branched in strange ways, bony outgrowths that looked jagged, distended limb and elongated jaws that lapped toward oversized sensual organs.
One finally seemed to comprehend her presence after staring for several seconds, a wet growl from its throat and the others began to cease their dalliances reluctantly…
A flash of claws that were suited more to a Barabel than humanoid Ubese as the creature lunged at her….
“OPEN FIRE!”
<<<<>>>>