In the Beginning (Closed/Invite)

"Recon team Gamma. We've got movement, three klicks beyond the divide. Orders?"

There was war. There had always been war.

"Provide location and intel, do not engage."

No one knew why any more.

"Understood. Transponder frequency keyed."

The more intellectual might comment that both sides fought simply because they had always fought.

"Taltilus Command; Prep Unit Omega. Seldova Pass, grid reference twelve-niner. Eyes on the ground. Intel streaming."

Outspoken intellectuals were a rare occurrence.

The war had cost them the planet, the skies, the moon and stars. Once bustling cities lay in ruins and the lush fields and forests had withered and died. All that remained were deserts and battlefields.

Beneath the ruins and sands, earth and rock, life survived. As hellbent on mutual destruction as the warring super powers were they planned for the worst with meticulous efficiency. Tunnels were bored into the earth, chambers the length and breadth of great cities excavated, machines to draw warmth and power from the very core of the planet were constructed.

All it took were the bombs to fall and they fell, fell by the thousands. In three hours of annihilation it was done, mutually assured destruction- For all those that were not chosen or lucky.

Even the end of the world couldn't sate the festering hatred and the fighting continued in their subterranean domains. Through lightened tunnels and dark warrens they killed and fought for what little habitable territory there was while the civilian populace lived in fortress cities, fed lies and propaganda, in constant fear from those 'Beyond the Divide'.


Recon worked in two man teams. There simply weren't enough men to cover the countless tunnels that lead from the thousand mile deep trench that they called The Great Divide which served as the border between New Bassinia and the Sandan Coalition territory. Gamma were a seasoned pair, they were more often than not tasked with scouting beyond the divide and that's where they were now, hidden on a high rock shelf the wide natural tunnel called Seldova Pass.

"You get a headcount, Hal?" Murr asked in a whisper to his partner, the other Recon soldier just shook his head from his prone position, over looking the temporary staging area below.

Camp fires burned softly in the gloom between tents and transports, while soldiers in a murky grey uniforms and armour went about their business. Hal lowered the low-light binoculars and shuffled back cautiously from the edge before elbowing himself up onto one knee beside Murr.

"Best I can tell," He began, his head and face half covered by a black helmet and goggles. "They have about two hundred infantry down there, I saw some light armour and the usual mess of transports."

"Any thoughts?" Murr asked, peeking over the rocks that shielded them from view.

"Well, they could be bulking up their border defence or it could be the vanguard for an invasion force." Hal said with a shrug as his gloved fingers fought with the wrapping of a ration bar. "Or, they could be out for a picnic. Its a nice day in subterrania for it."

Murr could only smile as his friend won the battle, bit into the bland ration bar and chewed with gusto. A vibration coursed up his arm and he thumbed the button on his wrist communicator.

"Recon Gamma." He said softly into the receiver.

"Gamma, you are on a secure channel. This conversation and all details of the conversation are classified top secret Umbra." Came the professional female voice.

Murr and Hal exchanged a mutual look of 'What the hell?'.

"Understood."

"Understood."

"In less than an hour a combat transport will arrive and its cargo will then deploy. You are to live stream the footage back to us at Command. Listen very closely, this is of grave importance; under no circumstances are you to interact or in anyway betray your position. Once the transport departs again, you are to make your way back to Command for a debriefing. Are we clear?"

"Clear."

The comms operator ran a hand across the holographic control board, checking the signal strength of the recon teams transmitter before severing the audio link and calling up the vid-feed from Sector Twelve.

"Professor Adel," She said with a customer service smile to the silver haired, middle aged man. The camera could only partially see the stark white lab which had been dubbed as Sector Twelve, in the background techs and lab assistants as well as other scientists bustled at the banks of terminals. This was their big moment, the one they had been working toward for the last five years. "Transport has been dispatched to Sector Twelve, as per your instruction. They will arrive in ten minutes."

"They'll be ready Command, those bastards across the Divide won't know what hit them." Adel grinned confidently.

"We certainly hope so, Professor."

The transports used in the vast underground world were purposefully built for the metal rich earth around them, each had a bank of magnets surrounding its cylindrical shell that held it aloft and propelled it forward. One such transport held steady at the massive blast doors to Sector Twelve, its rear boarding ramp lay open and black armoured soldiers moved into it.

"Helmet cams?"

"Check."

"Vitals?"

"Check."

"Command input?"

"Check."

"Transport eight, departing." The transmission sounded throughout the command room and then the dark cylinder shot away from the closing blast doors and into the barely lit tunnels.

"The moment of truth..." Adel said ominously while pacing before the helmet cam-feed monitors.


Camp fires flickered, the smell of cooking pots began to fill the air and the lumbering strides of the SR2 mechs on patrol around the perimeter sent vibrations through the stone. It was an experience they all knew well, Pathfinder Company consisted of less than one hundred souls and yet out of the entire Sandan Coalition forces they had explored more of the subterranean world they called home. It was their job, their sole task, to locate and retrieve pre-war technology for the betterment of the people.

Why they were currently so close to the Divide was way above Sergeant Mastivs pay grade. Usually he and any non-com only found out their orders when they were in the mission area, that he hadn't been briefed yet was telling but also troubling. It would be only a matter of time until they came across Bassinia scouts and they were not equipped for a full scale engagement so far from reinforcements. Just how close to the Divide was this lost technology?

"Sir," Mastiv nodded as one of the Lieutenants passed by their camp fire and then turned to an older man, perhaps forty or so years of age. "Whats the word, SS?" SS, or Corporal Stephan Steins, had made it to Captain twice in his career and had been busted back down to private. The stories as to why had become muddled over the years ranging from killing a General to refusing an attack order but no one was really sure what was myth and what was fact. SS wasn't inclined to set the record straight, quite happy to let his name go down in the Company legends. One thing was for sure, he'd seen it all and had an uncanny knack for hearing things he shouldn't.

"Ah well, you know I don't like to gossip sergeant," Steins began.

"Lords forbid!" Mastiv exclaimed with a look of feigned shock.

"But," The old soldier had a gander around them just in case an officer was within earshot. "I hear our lovable neighbors in Subterrania have a new weapon, isn't that joyous news?" He spat with expert aim into a nearby fire barely missing the bubbling cooking pot.

"Oh yeah SS, I'm practically jumping for joy over here..." They grew quiet for a few seconds, each man filling the break in conversation with nervous ticks that they could spot on the other; SS, liked to crack the knuckles on each finger with his thumb one after the other while Mastiv made quiet popping sounds with his lips, finally he asked the question that made them both uneasy. "...Just what kind of weapon?"

"They don't know, all I've heard was that a few years back something came down on the surface and those bastards got there first. I heard from some of the intelligence boys that whatever they found vanished off the grid as soon as they hauled it home. I don't like it, something just..."

"Doesn't feel right.." The Sergeant finished his sentence, he had been feeling it too. It were as if there was an unease in the tunnels, that made the hairs on his neck stand on end as if something were watching them, the feeling had lingered in the pit of his stomach for months.

"Yeah...just watch yourself Sarge." And with that he was off into the gloom leaving Mastiv filled with an even deeper sense of foreboding.

Four of them had survived out of three hundred test subjects, only four. The number lost seemed inconceivable to the common man but to a scientist such as Adel, working in a field far beyond the edge of their science, it was merely a statistic. The margin for error had been great as were they all when you strode the dark path of new scientific breakthroughs. Failures were expected, no, they were counted on and they had failed numerous times in the last five years until they made a breakthrough that was purely by chance.

A female subject, less than sixteen years old when the gene-therapy and augmentation trials began, an oversight in the initial screening process- the minimum age for acceptance was eighteen. She was the first to show all the characteristics they had hoped to imbue; Increased reflexes, tissue regeneration, increased muscle mass and bone density, telekinetic and telepathic abilities.

It was everything the alien research had spoken of and when the council saw the medical findings all the moral issues that came with the path they found themselves on were callously swept aside in the pursuit of the perfect soldiers to finally end this war.

Children from the ages of eleven to sixteen were taken, from where Adel never asked or even considered asking, and brought to Sector Twelve. There they underwent the process that would make them more than human and even then the fatality rate was extraordinarily high.

So they had four, four beings of preternatural prowess. Were they worth so many lives? Adel and his staff were just about to find out.


The transport slipped through the tunnels in a blaze of electrical discharges, the flat circular magnets that encircled its hull tilted and adjusted independently of each other in response to the sensor readings of the metal rich tunnel walls to keep the craft stable and moving. It was the only swift method to navigate the warren of natural and man made passages and despite safety parameters the craft was at top speed, taking turns and bends on a knife edge.

"We're approaching target area, prepare to unload." The pilot said through the crafts radio to the dozen lab technicians and four silent, black armored soldiers.

"When they're on the ground, pull us back out of the engagement zone. You don't want to be caught in the crossfire." Came a response from one of the Sector Twelve staff.

"Understood." Seldova pass loomed before them, the great maw of its opening like the jaws of an ancient beast. The transport swung its tail-end out and it coasted along on its side for a few hundred yards, ahead they could see the flicker of camp fires and the dark shadow of SR Mechs on patrol. The craft let its tail-end move to complete the 180 degree turn and the rear boarding ramp swung down upon its heavy hinges, the lip of the thick metal cutting into the ground as the transport pulled out of its turn. From it lept the ebon soldiers, soaring forty or so feet into the air they landed in a perfect line formation.

"Okay, we're clear. Bring us to a hover, we need to monitor and collect data." A tech said as they reached the mouth of the pass.


"We've got movement!" Was all Mastiv heard before the thundering strides of the SR's drowned out all sound as they passed moving toward the Divide side of the camp. The almost relaxed atmosphere that had existed before turned into frenzied movement. Squads formed up at predetermined firing points, heavy gun emplacements were unpacked and mounted and in minutes they had formed a defensive line.

Mastive was running toward the right wall of the pass, his squad trailing behind him with their rifles held ready. He came to a skidding stop at a jutting outcropping of rocks and set his shoulder against it, his rifle brought up to fire between two jagged points and the scope pressed to his eye. The rest of his squad took up similar positions against the outcropping and then they waited.

"I don't see a damn thing..." Mastive informed his squad, the enhanced cross hairs of his scope sweeping the entrance to the pass, all he could see was darkness and the four bulky bipedal mechs spread out at the fore of the defensive line ready to unload their missile and gauss cannons at the first sign of the enemy.

"Popping flare!" The warning came down the line and the Sergeant switched his scope from night-vision to regular. A fffshhh filled the air and then blossomed into luminous green light that zipped overhead and out into the darkness where it began to dip and eventually...

"Hostiles!" He heard and refocused his scope, sweeping it backwards and forwards until he saw them, silhouetted against the flare.

"Four hostiles, 9 O'clock!"

The control room was tense, all eyes were fixed upon the cam-feeds, all except Taylors. It wasn't an easy task, infiltrating Sector Twelve. The background checks and the constant surveillance made it almost impossible to operate below the radar, to feed information to the rebel movement that had existed almost as long as the war itself. It was the only true organization in these dark times where nationality meant little. They had all lost too much, too many loved ones, to this meaningless fight for the tunnels they called home. It had to end and if the men at the top couldn't see that, then they would take it upon themselves to get the message across; Stop the fighting before we lose what little is left.

He had prevailed in his task, his only regret was that he had not been able to corrupt the security systems sooner before Adel has unleashed his abominations. He could only imagine what hey would do with these killing machines and what would become of the Alien they had captured five years ago.

He looked to his watch and took a moment to calm his heartbeat, a few more minutes and this base would be under siege and perhaps then, after all their precious tools of war were destroyed, they'd get the message.

"The enemy is in full retreat, sir."

"Seven minutes. Utterly remarkable." Adel grinned and turned to face Taylor, whatever he had planned to say was lost at the sight of the pistol.

"Just sit tight Professor, it'll all be over soon." The infiltrator said, circling around the work stations so he had them all in his sights.

"You'll never get out of here alive, you know that!" Adel growled in outrage just as the lights and monitors went dark, only to be replaced by the dull red of the emergency lights.

"No power, no security system and if there's no security system..." The words trailed off into the sound of distant gunfire.

"You have no idea what you've done!" Adel screamed, his face a ghostly mask of fear in the crimson glow and Taylor wasn't ashamed to admit that it brought him a touch of pleasure. When he thought of the terrible things that had come from the revered Professor Janus Adels mind, it was all he could do to stop himself from putting a bullet between his eyes.

"I know exactly what I've done," Taylor responded. "I'm putting a stop to your madness and warmongering!"

"That isn't what I meant, you fool!" He spun on a computer terminal and rattled away on the keys but the screen never so much as flickered with life. "Yo-you...shut down auxiliary power..." The mans voice was barely a whisper as he stepped back slowly from the screen and gripped his head with both hands.

"You didn't think I'd give you a chance, no matter how remote, to restore the systems did you?" Taylor said with far less confidence as he looked at the expression of pure terror on Adels face.

"We need to get out of here..." He took a step toward the doorway behind Taylor and stopped as his former computer tech reaffirmed his grip on the pistol. "Listen to me, you know what we've been doing here. You know about the Omega Series and you've just witnessed what they can do..."

"And? They're forty miles from here, even they can't cross that distance in time to stop us!"

"The thing they came from, the blueprint for their abilities! Its here!"

"The Alien? We know its here, my men are already on their way to release it." So thats what he was afraid of, Taylor mused, that the Alien would take revenge on its captors.

"Then your men and everyone else that gets in its way are dead, Taylor.."


It is cold

The door to the central chamber was twelve inches of metal, every wall was reinforced, it was in all senses of the word a prison, but a prison with out power is no prison at all if you had the right tools for the job and they did. They hefted the massive laser drill down the body littered hallway, it took six of them-three on each side-to position it by the door. Fortunately it relied more on the powerful magnetic locks than pure deadbolts to keep interlopers out or whatever was inside kept that way. The laser took time to charge and set up on its tripod, so the rebels took up defensive positions down the corridor, which curved away to the right past main control and the smoking husk of a security checkpoint.

The facility relied far too heavily on automated defences and they had taken full advantage of the light personnel and the absence of the abominations the facility had spawned to strike. Now it was pretty much under their full control, a blow that the government would hardly forget. If they could attack them here at a place that was their closest guarded secret then where else could they attack? Where was safe?

The laser gave a judder against the stout man positioned behind it and then an intense beam of orange lanced out from its nozzle and slowly they worked it around in a rough man-sized oval dead center to the door. Gun fire blazed further down the hallway but was brief and faded quickly, they were well entrenched in key positions and unless they rolled in SR2's there was little chance they would be stopped.

Noise

The metal bubbled and blistered under the extreme heat and slowly but surely they cut into the flesh of the door. It was tense, the waiting in silence with only the hiss of the laser to comfort them. What would they find? What was this alien Taylor spoke of? Would it even speak their language or be able to survive in their atmosphere? They'd find out soon, they had cut past half way and now eyes darted between the door and their assigned watch direction. Anticipation was at its peak.

Too much noise!

"Gods damn it!" The drill operator cursed as the beam flickered and died leaving a smoking trail and cooling metal upon the half cut entry point. "Its over heated! Need to give it time to cool down before we can cu-" The twelve foot circle of pure metal shoot from its hinges, taking out the laser and its operator as it clattered and gouged into the floors and walls of the hallway until it bounced out of sight leaving only fallen rebels scrabbling to ascertain what had happened.

It stood there naked and wet, dark hair lay flat upon its head and muscular arms hung limp at its sides like those of a marionette that had lost its strings. It staggered half a step to the left and then another to the right before regaining some sense of equilibrium. When it finally raised its head, eyes the colour of emerald shone out at them from a face that flashed between emotions. All these expressions seemed to converge into an inhuman scream as it raised it hands to its head and clutched it as if it would come apart did it not intercede. The six rebel soldiers first felt a tremor like a small pulse radiating from the creature and then they were caught in it, their skins peeling and bubbling from a heat source that they could not see before they simply went up in balls of unnatural fire that snuffed out just as quick leaving only ash and blackened bones to fall to the floor.

If it knew what it had done, it did not show it. It took one unsteady step after another, over the ash and bones, the spent shell casings and dead bodies. Its progression was labored as if its legs were not quite awake but it knew where it was going, that much was clear.

"We can't stay here!" Janus pleaded with their captor, the terrible sounds eminating from the corridor just outside had them all worried but he more than most; He knew what was coming, it had taken dozens of men to put that thing back into the stasis chamber they had awoken it from. Now it was free and it was coming for him. Even now behind these thick walls and even thicker doors he could feel it watching him as if it were inside his head, lurking in the darkness just out of sight.

"Taylor! Please!" A womans voice, frightened and every bit as pleading. It gave Taylor a stab of guilt, a spy he may have been but he had worked with these people for half a decade most of them knew nothing of the terrible things that happened in Sector Twelve and even less were committed to the on-going war. It was just a job, one that fed their children and kept them off the streets.

"Go, all of you." He said with a motion toward the door. "And..."The apology hung upon his lips but he stifled it- it was too late for sorry. "I only came for him, no one else needs to get hurt." The gun leveled at Janus and remained there as the others left with a much haste as they could muster.

"I hope you brought an army..." The Professor said, his voice hoarse and flat. "You'll need one to get out of here alive."

"It won't be long, once we secure the docking bay we'll be leaving here together." Taylor took a set at one of the work stations and swiveled it to face the Professor. "Sit."

Minutes passed in silence, no gun fire or screams of pain echoed throughout the complex. It was a quiet as a crypt, so when the control room door slid aside on its well oiled runners the sound was like the toll of a funeral bell. Taylor turned first, pistol poised to fire but hesitation at the sight of a naked man in the doorway was his undoing.

Janus could only look on with muted horror as the rebel spies head twisted around like a bottle top and he fell to the floor. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak and his eyes would not tear themselves from the contorted neck and lifeless face of Taylor.

The footsteps were soft upon the carpet and with bare feet it hardly made a whisper against the fabric but Janus heard them, heard them like the beat of a war drum.

He was ready for it, ready for vengeance for retribution. He felt a hand upon his shoulder and braced but all he felt was a gentle push and his chair rolled aside, with him on it.

The shock was more than enough to stun him but to see the alien at the console he had previously been blocking was more disconcerting. It simply laid a hand upon its dark screen and a moment later it came to life. A minute, maybe less, and whatever work it had set to was done. The screen darkened once again and it turned those eyes, the green so brilliant it seemed to glow, upon Janus.

"This is it...finally it.." He thought and found himself beyond fear or sadness at what was about to transpire. He felt cold, like a void had swallowed up his soul.

"What am I?" It spoke, for the first time since its creation while atop the facility, in a section no longer used, a powerful transmitter bored through the stone and earth decades ago sent out a signal to the stars.

ISDII Chimaera

The navy operation to commence harrassment tactics in the outer rim territories centered around Bothan Space and the borders of Wild Space had been in its second month of operation with no meaningful results to note. The overwhelming firepower of an Imperial Star Destroyer combined with the support of an Interdictor cruiser was a waste of resources hunting supply lanes. In fact, it was so redundant that the ship was in constant need of resupply from the main Imperial fleet for non-civilian needs such as ammunition. Luckily, they had no need of any major stop-overs.

All this was about to change, however, when the comms crew handed over an unusual signal from a presumably unknown planet.

It all started with a debate in the port side crew pit.

The captain was not on the bridge at the time, the First Officer was in charge and to help administer the vessel, Valerius Morlenoth was his second in command. The Captain's chair was at the back of the bridge and so the bridge crew pits and the central walkway was for the young Lieutenant to keep an eye on. The Lieutenant was not one to ignore infractions and his uptight nature was the talk of amiable criticism this quickly in his assignment in the Captain's personal staff. He was not hated by his fellow bridge crews, however, due to his willingness to not see certain infractions that comes from simple cameraderie. The judgement fell whether it affected combat efficiency or not.

The discussion between the comms crew and their immediate NCO, a deck officer, had gone presumably unnoticed by the young Lieutenant. The knowing look between the First Officer and the Lieutenant, however, dissipated any illusion as to the secrecy of the discussion. The comm crews' insistence and the deck officer's refusal to even consider his charge's concerns, however, caused a loud clack of heels as Lieutenant Morlenoth turned about face and took two steps back the way he had come to tower over the three men.

"Lieutenant, is there something you wish to share with the Commander and I?"

"Yes, Lieute..."

The sharp glare at one of the comms crew silenced the warrant officer. Morlenoth had asked the Deck Officer, not the crew.

"The Warrant Officer has picked up a signal from the borderlands of the Wild Space region, an uncivilized planet with but a number for the system. Probably some primitive species has managed to enter the space age."

Stealing a peek from the consoles, Valerius noted something odd about the transmission. As he craned his neck to point the "right" way up, he nodded.

"Indeed, Lieutenant, since when does a primitive species enter the space age with extensive knowledge of Imperial codes?"

The subsequent meeting with Captain Pellaeon and the rest of his staff were mixed. Some, including Valerius himself seemed uneasy of this settlement in the wild space. An old Imperial research station could have sent the signal, their transmitter must have been faulty, no coherent message could be desciphered from what little they had received...save that it was in code and the codes resembled an Imperial one. One used by confidential units at the height of the New Order. If they had been left behind by the main forces, it was their duty to pick them, and more importantly, their research up and return it to the Core.

The smaller minority lead by the First Officer had reservations, it could be a trap, more importantly, to take Chimaera out so far from its operating zone was against the orders of the Admiralty.

In the end, the debate came down to which way Pellaeon wished to go. The captain had simply decided to go visit the source of the transmission. Fully expecting a trap.

"Something unnatural." Janus responded coldly and with more venom than he intended but his tone didn't seem to register with the Alien.

"Unnatural..." It seemed as if it were turning the word over in its mind, examining it and perhaps trying to determine its meaning. So much had changed since he was under the Generals command, before the Worldcraft fell from hyperspace and crashed. Before, everything was so clear and precise. He would be ordered to kill and he would kill, then he would sleep until he was needed again. Now it felt like his mind were spinning, so many thoughts burned inside him that he never knew he had before-that he never cared to have. He was a soldier, a weapon and all he ever needed to know was what his objectives were.

"Where is the General?"

"General?" The Professor inquired. "You were the only soul alive on the vessel we found." Was the honest response but he felt his eye continually being drawn to the console it had accessed. "What did you do?" He asked motioning toward the dark screen.

"Protocol Delta."

"Rescue?" The Alien shook its head in response to his question.

"Purge."

Valerius sat in front of the various members sent to discuss the issue. As the youngest member of the Captain's staff, he should have been relegated to more mundane duties, but his unique status with his fellow new recruits in the officer corps made him the perfect candidate to liaise with the different commands within the self propelled fortress that was an Imperial Star Destroyer. The conference room they had borrowed for the purpose of their discussion was a small one with a single table. At the head of the conference table sat Lieutenant Valerius Morlenoth representing both Naval command as well as the Captain's Staff.

To his left sat Sub-Lieutenant Johan Ashford of Starfighter command while to his right sat Second Lieutenant Olav Jeremiah from the Stormtrooper corps. Next to Jeremiah sat Second Lieutenant Strauss Radek of the Storm Commandos. Second Lieutenant Karl Sturm of the Army Command sat next to Ashford while Second Lieutenant Julius Vladimir of the Engineering Corps sat nervously next to the cyborg AT-AT pilot.

While in the mess halls and when they were off duty, the six of them made quite the easygoing and relaxed group. Taking friendly jabs at each other and controlling each other's actions as best as they could. But in here, when they were here on account of their connection to Valerius, they were a serious group the rival of any such formation. What made them useful was that they all came from the different sections of the Chimaera and together formed and represented the very force of the Star Destroyer.

"We recently received a transmission from an unknown source in the edges of Wild Space. We are the only warship in the area to intercept and decode, alongside go to this system."

Radek raised an eyebrow before commenting, "Its in Imperial code?"

Valerius nodded as he continued despite the confused look on Jeremiah and Ashford. "They were in old Imperial codes used by the research groups undergoing experimental projects. Luckily, the Chimaera had been in several situations where we needed such codes. It's disguised as a medium level clearance Imperial code but with slight differences so that the Rebels do not notice anything amiss...in case they are intercepted. This one was from a cycle shortly before Endor. The captain has decided to check the situation out fully expecting a Rebel trap and ambush. I want all of you to report to your respective commands and silently prepare the entire ship into full combat readiness."

The shudder of the sublight drives dissappeared suddenly as the ship entered hyperspace.

"We will be there in an hour, gentlemen, get moving!"

"Purge...." Now it was Adels turn to turn a word over in his mind, many scenarios that would fit came and were dismissed. The base had no self destruct system, there weren't any weapons that it could access remotely to take out a complex of this size either. Purge, he could only ask.

"Purge what? Our databank? The facility?" The alien looked slightly bemused at his assumptions, if it were at possible to tell given that it seemed to change facial expressions every half second like it couldn't quite decide what they were or which one suited the situation.

"The planet." A simple answer, given without any hint of emotion for the magnitude of those two words. Janus felt like the world had just dropped out from beneath him, he had brought this upon them. He had convinced the council to allow the creature to live, to study it and replicate it. The blame, if the creature were to be believed, fell squarely upon his shoulders.

The ISDII Chimaera exited hyperspace into a planetary system of no great significance. A small yet active star, a half dozen or so planets in orbit, a minor asteroid field, the standard fare. An astrologer may have found some great interest in some of these celestial bodies, but the Chimaera was not an exploratory vessel and had no such specialists on board. Frankly, the Empire and the Navy as a whole was more interested in containing the crisis in the known galaxy, never mind finding new parts of it that would cause further problems.

"The signal appears to be coming from the third planet in the system. Weak signs of life and plenty of evidence of conflict that took place in the past. Either that or they are natural ruins from millennia ago."

"Lieutenant Morlenoth, are the codes prepared?"

Valerius nodded once in reply and Pellaeon seemed satisfied.

"Send the message."

---

This is the Imperial mark II class Star Destroyer, Chimaera of the Galactic Imperial Navy. Anyone receiving, respond.

---

The transmission repeated itself, its signals too weak to reach beyond the edges of the system, but strong enough to reach whoever had sent the initial call. In the end the signal had been too weak, the crew had been unable to make any sense of the original message, too much of it lost. Perhaps it was natural interference, perhaps the original message had not been powered sufficiently. Perhaps it was due to distance. None could pin the exact reason down. Now that they had reverted into the system proper, they commenced a sweep. A pair of TIE Scouts had been sent ahead of the vessel, to ascertain whether any other of the planets held any life advanced enough to betray an Imperial installation, and also to check for traps. The Captain had never ruled out the possibility of ambush.

"Anything?"

"None, Lieutenant...wait...reports coming in from Rho 1. No major signs of life in the outer planets of the system. One abandoned observation facility detected in the asteroid field between the fourth and fifth planet."

Valerius nodded as he turned to face Captain Pellaeon. the captain nodded and the Commander ordered the helmsman to set course for the inner four planets. Ten minutes and a short microjump later, they had safely arrived over the third planet. Rho 2 had already reported by then that this was the only planet with any extensive signs of life, though initial scans revealed hardly a beast lived aboveground.

"Your orders, Captain?"

Pellaeon considered the options for a moment, before he finally made his decision.

"Send down some probe droids onto the surface. See if we can establish any contact with the natives. We also need to figure out the environment down there. We may need to equip ground troops with Rad-trooper gear."

Time seemed to tick by at a mockingly slow pace for Adel, the alien merely stood before the console; waiting. For what the scientist could not say, could not fathom, thus far his mind had not peeked from behind the wall of fear that had risen up at his captors arrival.

The hand remained upon the console and after who knew how long it flashed to life once again and a hiss of static with broken words that he could barely hear, such was the weakness of the signal. For the first time the aliens expression settled upon one emotion, it sent a chill down Adels spine to look upon that perfectly pure smile.

"What was that?" He asked but the smile faded as the words left his lips and suddenly, quicker than he could follow, the alien was nose to nose with him. Its viridian eyes scanning every line upon his face, drinking in the shock and terror that he displayed. It was at this moment that Adels ear bud radio came to life with news that only made him smile.

Outside in the cavernous tunnels battle raged, the taking of the weapons R&D laboratory had been the starting pistol. Rebels rose up in the walled cities, buildings burned, great war machines were as slag upon the rocks. None of them-loyalist or rebel-noticed the four blurs that swept through the battlefield, cleaving rebels that impeded their path toward the lab. They could feel him, his essence filled their mind and drew them like a beacon. They were trained for this eventuality, Adel had made sure of it. He had drummed into their child minds so many years ago as the splicing process took hold and changed their bodies that above all else, should the lab be breached, their primary target would be the Alien.

And so they homed in upon their progenitor-the source of their powers-with every intention of ending his life.


There were few surface structures, few still manned at least. Decades of subterranean fighting and radiation storms had made surface warfare too costly but both sides did maintain a few sentry stations situated over the thinner crusts near vital areas below. Two men were assigned to each and each of the squat cylindrical pillboxes was armed with turrets should they be needed to deter any surface attacks.

There hadn't been any activity in several years, so much so that those assigned to these stations considered it almost a vacation. The men on duty today would not think so.

The visuals and readings from the planet was not a promising start to establishing contact. Radiation levels were above average and in areas dangerous for continued exposure. Repulsor technology appeared to function without problem so no magnetic fluctuations worth note was recorded. Gravity was standard galactic. The natives were...hostile.

"Thats the third probe droid. Minimal damage but every time they spot these bunkers, they open fire."

Pellaeon nodded as he looked to Valerius.

"Inform Colonel Hunds to commence the invasion. Kill those who resist, capture those who surrrender."

In the end, it was a hostile native population they will have to deal with first. Information was wholly lacking, whoever sent that Imperial code was not going to be found easily. They would have to take it from the natives. The probe droids they had sent down, a half dozen in total, had reported back at least one pillbox or bunker that shot at them. One of these six locations was to be secured with the deployment of environmentally sealed AT-ATs, escorting AT-STs and AT-PTs. Once a beach head could be secured, a prefabricated base was to be established and then Radiation Trooper loadouts for the Stormtrooper corps was to lead a breach into the underground network.

ISDII Chimaera Primary Hangar Bay

"AT-AT Barge 1 through 4 ready for launch!"

"This is hangar control. Barge 1 and 3, you are cleared for departure."

"Alpha Squadron here, ready to escort you all down to the surface."

"Second wave Sentinel shuttles seven through nine, prepare for launch right after Beta Squadron clears the hangars!"

"Confirmed, command. Cargo is strapped and ready to go."

Valerius and the rest of the staff on the bridge was briskly walking back and forth from the Captain to the crew terminals, reporting the regimented deployment of a force far superior to the technological level witnessed below. This was a show of force to deter any prolonged resistance to the Empire's authority. Overdoing it was a criticism they were willing to take.

In light of the lack of ambushes, their current priority now was to ascertain the nature of the initial call. To find out what had happened here and to take measures accordingly. To this end, the cooperation of the locals was the first priority. With no diplomats aboard and hostile natives below, they were left with but one option, to resort to the universal language of oppression.

The first wave brought down six AT-ST walkers and two AT-ATs. Escorted by a TIE Interceptor squadron establishing air superiority. The Second Wave added another TIE Interceptor squadron to fly over the landing area and a total of twelve AT-PTs. The Third wave brought down a further two AT-ATs and six AT-STs. The Fourth was a combination of Four AT-AAs, a whole company of Stormtroopers and the Prefabricated base.

Establishing a perimeter, the might of the Imperial Army prepared to find a way into the underground caverns where the natives dwelt.

Surface Observation Post; Seven-Beta. Above New Bassinia.

"There's another one!" The gunner called through his headset as the turret swiveled toward the black floating-almost spider like-machine. Down below in front of a bank of scanners and electronic equipment sat his partner. They were not having a good day.

The turret stuttered with a staccato of bullets that sent the machine skittering backwards, only for it to spin and regain its equilibrium and return fire with some kind of laser based weaponry. Thankfully the squat buildings walls were thick and that was the only thing that saved the gunner.

"I still can't get through! The lines are nothing but static!"

Across the expanse of wasteland their enemy reflections on the surface would be having very similar technical difficulties. None of them would be prepared for what was about to fall from the heavens.

New Bassinia, Captial Building: Office of the President.

"Mr President, The second, third, and sixth infantry divisions have turned traitor and joined the rebels. Reports indicate that the eleventh armoured division has also joined them. Their rate of advancement is worrying. We are shoring up our defenses around the political districts but I would advise that we move you to a safer location." The man speaking was mustached, his hair grey and cropped short. Around him were men all dressed identically and obviously the Presidents war council. They looked worried and the fleshy, bug eyed, commander-and-chief could see it from behind his desk.

"Prime Minister De'tar," The Presidents voice was high and piercing. "He is behind this, he has poisoned the minds of our loyal citizens!" The gathered men began to share a look between them, one that spoke of doubt. "You do not believe those Sadanian bastards are capable of turning our people against us!? Have they not sought to destroy us for hundreds of years!" Flecks of white spit had began to gather at the corners of his mouth as he screamed, his pudgy fists banging upon the desk top sending pens skittering to the floor.

"No! I will not flee! We will not be beaten! We will see these machinations of our enemies crushed under our righteousness!" By now the gathered were beginning to feel an uneasiness radiating from their Supreme Commander. It was something about his eyes, a spark of something manic.

Sadania City, The War Room.

"Civillian and industrial sectors have been taken by the rebel forces, we are also recieving reports that infantry, armour and artillery divisions have defected." The general, a tall man in green dressed uniform, pointed out the areas on a computer generated map of the fortress city. The Prime Minister held his hands clasped behind his back and seemed to view the tactical map with less care than the situation demanded. His city was burning, his armies were betraying their oaths and yet, his pale face and blue eyes did not show a hint of emotion.

"If I am to understand you correctly; We cannot halt the rebels." His voice was level and as he spoke every man in the room took note. They looked at each other, waiting for someone else to respond.

"Ye-Yes sir, at this rate the city will fall by weeks end."

"And we are sure that Bassinia incited this uprising?"

"Of that we are positive." Which was a total lie, but none of them here was willing to take the blame for not dealing with the growing anti-war movement over the last few decades.

"No army has breached our walls in two hundred years, no invader has stepped foot upon our sovereign soil. The response must be swift and it must be final." The temperature in the room had dropped several degrees as the Prime Minister spoke and like their counterparts across the Divide they felt an uneasiness settle upon them.

"Colonel, scouts have reported an entry hatch to our east, aprox. one klick. Man sized."

"Good, send down the stormtroopers one squad at a time at one minute intervals. Secure each and every cross-points and remind them that the first priority is to obtain information. If not from the locals we capture, from their databanks."

Valerius had been dispatched to serve as the primary go between for the different command structures undertaking this operation. Scans conducted by the TIE Scouts had already confirmed that no modern concept of sentient activity on the surface level or above existed on an organized scale. A single AT-AT could obtain ground superiority until the locals managed to formulate a complex logistical puzzle of bringing whatever was underground up to the surface. Defence of the prefab base was not a priority so they were delegated to the walker formations. The remaining infantry was to go down into the tunnel networks. All signs of life were condensed in various tunnels and larger caverns. Two of the largest were within this portion of the hemisphere.

"An update from the Chimaera. Extensive scans of comm frequencies indicate some sort of conflict between the various factions of the native forces. They are speaking a crude derivative of galactic basic. Communications sans interpreters should be easy to facilitate. Though there is a danger of being caught in the natives' crossfire."

"From what I can tell, Lieutenant, is that these natives are still using slugthrowers, as advanced as they may be, it is no threat against a Stormtrooper armour. Injuries, yes. But losses are not expected so long as we systematically annihilate any resistance to our presence."

"As you say, Colonel."

Breaching the multitudes of layers, the Stormtroopers entered with all the signal boosters the Chimaera had at her disposal. The troopers with these large comms signal boosters positioned themselves one hundred meters between each other and held their ground. Stun bolts flying at the slightest movements, they were uninterested in who they shot or what. Sentients, they dragged back up to the surface where transport vehicles awaited to shuttle them to the Landing Base. Escorted by TIE Interceptors maintaining air superiority.

A bead of sweat slithered down Adels spine as his composure withered under the emerald stare. Soon it wouldn't matter, soon this thing would meet its end at the hands of the very beings it had helped to spawn.

"You are in possession of classified Imperial Technology." The Alien said, his voice hushed as if it were a secret no one else could know.

Adel's face contorted into a sneer of contempt and he all but spat his reply. "Your Empire holds no sway here, Monster. Soon you will see that what you are and what I have created are world apart." As if on cue a whole section of the wall shattered inwards and four dark shapes darted through the cloud of dust and debris.

The naked alien flipped to the side as a tempered metal blade cut through the air millimeters from Adels face, the force of it sent him reeling backwards and onto the floor where he watched anxiously at the unfolding battle between the old and the new. Now he would see what his years of research and work had bore.

The armor clad soldier slashed after the Alien but the blade found no target, its intended had slipped under the arc of metal and brought himself inside his foes range. An arm of impossible strength slipped under the ebon covered bicep and braced against his bare shoulder ripped it downwards. The crack was deafening as the bone split in two and punched through the material. An elbow pushed the screaming super soldier backwards and a standing spin kick to his gut sent him rocketing from the ground and back through the broken wall and out into the corridor.

An unseen hammer ploughed into the Aliens abdomen and now it was he that spiraled off his feet, crashing through desks and chairs until he came to a stop by the far wall. The massive frame of the creature had barely settled before it was snatched from the ground by a telekinetic tendril and dashed against the wall again. He didn't move and Adel for all his scientific prudence allowed himself a smile.

The three remaining super soldiers moved in, their formation perfect to cut off any retreat that the broken and now bloodied alien could attempt. They were cautious however, the methodical deconstruction of their comrade had shaken them. They had never faced an enemy on par with them before.

The air became thick with every step they took toward their target, the heat seemed to rise but from no describable point of origin and Adel wondered if the air circulators had been damaged in the attack. That was, until, his three remaining creations burst into flames. Their bodies encircled and then engulfed, the fire moving like a serpent to ensnare and coil around them. The heat was unbearable, hotter than anything Adel had ever felt and then it was gone with a woosh.

Only Ash remained and the scientist knew his mistake.