//------------------------------// // Criminal Underworld // Story: The Dragon and the Force // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// “You’re sure you can get us onto the planet?” Spike asked for what must have been the hundredth time since they had exited hyperspace and started their final approach to Coruscant. Seugtai was probably starting to get frustrated at the constant question, as was evidenced in his voice as he answered yet again. “For the last time, the war has given mercs an almost unlimited amount of freedom to travel wherever jobs are. The Sith are a lot pickier, but the Republic can’t afford to be. Anyone who can display a valid mercenary code can get down to designated points on the planet.” “Or get close enough to the system scanners to make us invisible to them,” another man chimed in. He was currently plugged into the ships main computer, while his bionic hands flashed across the keyboard, all twenty fingers a blur of feverish motion. Spike had seen him around the canteen on many occasions, boasting his skills as a slicer for all to hear, now Spike was glad that he had listened to the boasts, it would make getting to the prison and breaking in far easier, and if the Force willed it, would mean they could escape with the prisoners they chose before the Republic even knew what was going on. “You best be up for this then,” Spike nodded. “I’m heading below, make sure everyone is formed up and ready, Seugtai, signal the other ships and tell them to stay close. If any drop out of formation this whole thing goes up in flames.” “Spike, I get it, go,” Seugtai assured him, waiting for Spike to awkwardly slide down the small ladder before letting out an exasperated groan. “He seems on edge,” the slicer quipped, not stopping typing as he looked round. “But I guess given the circumstances that’s fair.” “He’s not used to working on the grey side of Republic law, Brains, that’s all” Seugtai shrugged. “It’s his plan though, he’ll fight to see it through, no matter what the cost is.” “I’ve seen him fight, you’re one of the first people to get a hit on him,” Brains continued. “You haven’t seen him fight yet,” Seugtai chuckled darkly. “And believe me, that nick from my gun is hardly the first or the worst he can take. I’m not worried about him getting hurt, us on the other hand, we can very easily get hurt, so turn around, stop talking, and keep their sensors busy.” “Oh don’t worry about that,” Brains smiled cheerily as he snapped his head back around. “I have a very nice deception program all ready to go once we past the first layer of sensors and before we reach the second. And a contingency program, just for a bit of fun.” “Stick to plan A, we will pull this off.” *** Spike grabbed his hammer from where he had leant it against the wall before going up to the cockpit, heading for the hold. The ship was nowhere near the size of Harmony, but it was still large enough to accommodate Spike, Seugtai, Brains and the ten gladiators who had come with them. Spike knew all of them by name and arena moniker, and had even fought alongside a few of them. They had been lucky enough not to fight against him, and all were now itching to prove their worth in combat once more. The others who had decided to come with them, some forty odd souls, were spread across the six other ships that were following them, ranging from a converted blockade runner to civilian grade freighters. Hardly an all-conquering army, but between them they had a few weapons. A few of Spike’s weapons were now in the hands of the gladiators, those who were unable to get theirs before they left having first pick, while the rest were given out to those who could fight and knew how to use them. The only ones that Spike had kept for himself was his hammer, and his double ended mace, the two weapons being far too large for anyone save for Spike to wield. “Or a Wookie,” Moonstone mentioned softly, appearing beside him and sitting on his shoulder, the upper tip of his folding wing just by her ear. Spike instantly stopped, turning his head to glare at her for a second, before raising his voice to the gladiators. “I want this done clean, someone fires on you, knock them the fuck out, do not kill guards. If a prisoner attacks you, go nuts, but don’t start anything, any willing to join us is a valuable asset right now.” “We get the plan, Guardian, you can stop going over it,” one of the gladiators laughed, sharpening a sword as he spoke. “My name’s not Guardian, it’s Spike, how many times,” Spike growled. “Call me it again, and you and I will have an issue.” “Fine, point still stands though, Spike,” the gladiator smirked. “Whatever. We’re going through the first scanner field, be ready to exit in force,” Spike nodded, before heading to one of the few cabins big enough for him and sitting down, sighing as Moonstone hopped off his shoulder. “They’re not soldiers Spike,” she warned. “Good fighters maybe, but disciplined? No.” “Yeah well, I’ll have to teach them discipline,” Spike shrugged. “But their skill in combat is like nothing I’ve ever seen, better than some Jedi. I can’t think of much that’s scarier than an army trained like that.” “There’s less than a dozen of them, the rest are untrained, and soon will be criminals, rapists and killers. You can’t say that’s a good basis for your raiding force.” The tone she had adopted was the same as it always was when talking about this plan, layered with scorn and disgust, but also weary resignation. “Early days,” Spike assured her. “And besides, there are plenty more gladiators on the Outer Rim. Once we have an established base of operations and a few more ships, we can potentially look into recruiting some. Maybe liberating those who aren’t there of their own free will.” “One step at a time,” Moonstone let out a chuckle. “Oh yes,” Spike let out one of his own. “Now we just have to hope that Brain’s is all he says he is.” *** Sir, seven ships have been admitted through the first scanner ring, coming up on the second any moment now,” a Republic tech called out, turning his head slightly to talk to his commander. “Looks like all seven are displaying merc…sorry, scratch that sir, all seven carry commercial codes. Running them through the system.” “Make sure you fully verify the codes and divert them to the commercial districts, landing pad niner niner four.” “Roger sir, codes check out, hailing the lead ship,” the technician called out once more. “Attention vessel code 575JDT48954B, this is sector nine tower control. Your access codes show green across the board, divert to point seven three two and continue on quarter burn to landing pad niner niner four. Do not deviate from your flight path or you will be redirected or fired upon.” “Thank you tower control, diverting course and setting engines to quarter burn,” the pilot replied through the headset. *** “Alright, they brought the new transponder codes,” Brains smiled to himself. “And considering we’re almost a mile off course and we haven’t been shot down yet, I’d say we managed to trick their sensor ring.” “Good,” Seugtai smiled beneath his helmet, activating the ship groups PA system. “We’re five minutes out. The prison is in a ten-mile dead zone, so no eyes on us. Any ships with weapons take point and fire upon sensor towers and communication array’s, then focus on any turbolasers. Once they’re down, hit the landing pads running and storm this place. Any questions?” Nothing was said over the radio link, Seugtai cracking his neck as the ships slid into position, the few weapons they had cycling rounds and warming up their gas reserves. They were flying low now, the ships’ small sizes making it possible to skirt the ground, concealing them from an easy visual scan until they were right on top of the prison. “All ships, open fire,” Seugtai snarled, letting his laser cannons shout as they fired at the prison. *** Spike felt the ship shudder as it fired, the powerful weapons overpowering the ships meagre dampeners in atmosphere. For almost a minute, the firing continued, before the ship juddered to a halt. With a hiss, the back door flew open, Seugtai sliding down the ladder from the cockpit as Spike broke into a run, flaring his wings as he stepped into the sun of Coruscant once more. The prison was smoking from numerous holes in the external walls, turbolaser emplacements and stun cannons were hanging from the walls in tatters, while the communications array had simply ceased to exist. There was also a large hole in the external wall of the prison, rubble still falling and settling even as Spike crested the mound. A few guards were there, three of them slowly trying to get to their feet, reaching for stun blasters, while one was laying on the floor in a pool of blood. A quick pulse of magic told Spike that the man would make it, before he twisted, sweeping the legs out from under two of the guards, sending them crashing to the floor again, before bringing his hammer into the chest of the final one. He pulled the blow, but he still heard one rib break, the man crumpling into unconsciousness almost instantly. “Grab the rifles and stun batons,” Spike ordered, flicking one of the weapons up into his hand, before tossing it to one of the gladiators. Without waiting to hear any complaints, Spike set off at a walk into the prison, doing his best to remember the layout from his time here. He had only been through these corridors a few times, but he remembered enough of it. A few guards tried to get in their way as they sprinted down the corridors, but precise stun bolts and a few painful sounding blows with blunt weapons saw to it that not one of the gladiators that were leading the charge fell. “Seugtai, take five of the gladiators and as many of the others as you need and take the control room,” Spike barked loudly. “Shut off that damned alarm and wait for my orders from there.” “You six, with me,” Seugtai roared back, gesturing to a group of people as five gladiators peeled off to join him. Together the group disappeared down one of the side passageways. Snapping his head back to the front, Spike saw one of the blast doors sliding down into position in front of them, as the alarms finally kicked the automated lockdown system into action. A few of the gladiators started to slow as they saw the thick metal slab starting to block their path, but Spike sped up, drawing the magic from within him and channelling it along his arms, before letting out a roar of flames. Instead of the normal unfocused gout of flames however, the flames were stopped by a shield Spike had thrown up, diverting them from their path, and covering Spike’s right arm, wreathing it in impossibly hot flames just as he lashed out at the door. Lightsabers could easily cut through doors this thick, their precise blades making it easy for a force user to slice through all but the thickest of bulkheads. Spike didn’t have his Lightsabers anymore, nor was he precise, but what he did have was power, and his fist punched through the metal like it was nothing, his fist exiting the other side, before a pulse of magic expanded the flames outwards, right into the doors frame. In a few seconds, the door simply melted away, the gap easily big enough for Spike to charge through, the others tentatively following him. “That’s one hell of a trick, Spike,” one of the Gladiators chuckled, barely breaking stride as he kept pace with Spike. “You don’t know the half of it,” Spike grunted, refocusing his magic again and igniting his arm once more, before lashing out at yet another door in his way, this one meeting the same fate as Spike charged through, skidding to a halt in the middle of the mess hall, the others doing the same as they looked up at the gantry that lead all the way round the room, that was filled with guards, rifles pointing straight at Spike and his men. “Fuck,” Spike hissed, mentally kicking himself for making such a stupid mistake, before half closing his eyes, concentrating his magic. “My my, I almost didn’t believe the camera footage when I first saw it,” the commandant of the prison called out, a smirk written across his face. “I didn’t know you liked your stay here so much. You’ll get to experience it again. Now, drop your weapons.” “Not going to happen,” Spike called back, not looking up at the Commandant, getting a few odd looks from his men, all of whom were looking nervous as they toyed with the ideas of putting their weapons down or bringing their rifles up to fire at the guards. “Don’t be stupid, Spike!” the Commandant roared. “I have thirty men up here with me, I have better weapons, and I have the high ground. You’re not winning this, and while I don’t know how many shots you can take, I know your men are not nearly as tough. So, one last time. Drop your weapons!” “Spike, orders,” one of the Gladiators hissed quietly, his grip tightening on his sword. “Take aim!” the Commandant ordered, his own grip tightening. “Spike!” the gladiator roared again, raising his shield. “Fire!” the commandant roared at the exact same time. Before any could fire however, Spike let out a roar, his body tensing up as he raised off of the ground, his eyes glowing with magic. A few shots rang out from the guards who were not reeling in confusion, but each one froze in mid-air almost as soon as they left the barrel. A moment later, every one of the guards cried out in pain as their weapons liquefied in their hands, the resultant slurry not quite hot enough to cause serious burns, but still causing pain. As the last drop of sludge hit the floor, Spikes men let out a roar, firing with their own weapons or scrambling up the ladders at the side of the room to engage the guards. The sounds of fighting and pain echoed around the room, even as Spike fell back to the floor, panting hard as he struggled to support his weight. He could feel the tiredness that came from magic exhaustion threatening to overtake him, blackness already entering the edges of his vision. By the time he finally felt capable of standing again, the fight was over, many guards lying on the gantries as a result from the stun guns, while yet more were groaning weakly from being thrown off of the gantry. Spike winced as he saw that a few had landed in awkward positions, limbs and even a back bent in a way that most species bodies were simply not meant to bend in. If he hadn’t been exhausted already, he would have chastised those who followed him, but as it was, he let out a weary sigh as he stood up. “That was impressive, Spike,” Seugtai called out as he jumped down from the gantry, landing heavily and approaching Spike. “Remind me why you don’t open with that?” “Because it’s tiring, and I didn’t even know I could do it,” Spike shrugged. “You get the alarms then?” “I did, and downloaded the systems command system to a datapad,” Seugtai nodded, handing the datapad over to Spike. “Most of the guards have been dealt with, and all communications in and out of the prison have been cut. The rest of the Republic won’t know what’s happening here for at least an hour.” “Give orders for the men to round up all the guards and take them to empty cells, then secure the shuttle bay. We’ll unlock it once we’re ready to leave,” Spike ordered. “Then we’ll start getting the prisoners out. Slowly, and make sure the men are well armed. Kill any who try to get out of their cells without joining us, relock the cells of those who wish to stay. We’re not forcing anyone into this who doesn’t want it.” “Already done,” Seugtai nodded. “This is my plan too, but there are a few prisoners I want to see to personally, up in solitary.” “I don’t see any names on here,” Spike muttered, looking down at the datapad. “Numbers only. I don’t know who we’ll find up there, I didn’t exactly see much of it when I was here.” “You know the wing though?” Seugtai asked as the pair started walking. “Yeah, just about,” Spike nodded. “I was let out for meals, separate from the other solitary members, we weren’t allowed to see each other in case we made secret plans. I didn’t even get exercise time thanks of my wings.” “So any idea who else is going to be in solitary now?” “The worst kind of killers imaginable, powerful crime lords, that sort of thing,” Spike shrugged. “Everyone here is bad, to be in solitary you have to be worse.” “No wonder you were in there then,” Seugtai chuckled, before trailing off at a glare from Spike. “It was a joke, Spike.” “Better be,” Spike snapped, before stopping in front of a door and glancing at the datapad. “OK, prisoner 1157364. Female. Been here almost 42 years. Step back prisoner, try anything, you die.” As he spoke, Spike pressed a few buttons on the datapad, the cell door unlocking and swinging openly, the dark cell lying beyond as a soft laugh echoed from within. “That’s a new tact for the Republic. Death threats is it…now…” The woman trailed off as she walked into the light, her eyes going wide as she saw Spike, her one hand clenching into a fist. “Fuck off, really?” Spike deadpanned with a snarl of his own. “You’ve been here all along?” “Yes, thanks to you,” the woman snapped, blowing some of her short, greying hair out of her eyes. She had been beautiful once, that much was obvious, and she still had some of that beauty left, but years of captivity and the simple turning of time had clearly not been kind to her, and deep set wrinkles now criss-crossed her face. “Guessing you two know each other then?” Seugtai asked in amusement, looking between the pair. “Oh yes, that we do,” the woman snarled. “How the Jedi life, slave?” Spikes own lips twisted into a mixture between a snarl and a smirk as he towered over the smaller woman, before answering her. “I was never your slave. How’s the remaining arm, Herank?”