Vader Unleashed 008

Hoth, the permanently snowbound planet was famous as the hiding place of the Rebellion. In this era, a massive space battle had broken out between the Republic & the Empire. Experimental weapons, and thousands of ships had been deployed in this clash between the two governments. As such, a massive starship graveyard had built up on the surface. Many bounty hunters, smugglers and gangsters flooded the system in search of riches. As the drums of war sounded once more, both factions established outposts on this icy hellhole. Their goal was to plum the broken ships for lost hyperspace lanes, and other info that would aid in the war. 

Whilst this knowledge held some allure to Vader, it ultimately paled in comparison to his true objective. 

Located somewhere on Hoth was an ancient Rakatan Monument. A structure built with an AI to speak the glory of the ancient alien Infinite Empire forever more. Unfortunately for the AI, the Rakatan's lost the ability to commune with the Force, and faded away into obscurity. Turned out, naming themselves infinite wasn't the best idea. For Vader, this pillar was his ticket to another world. 

The AI held the coordinates for Belsalvis, a planet rife with powerful technology. Specifically, it held the Mother Machine. An AI imprisoned in a science facility of epic magnitudes, it had the capabilities to birth life, and had been used to create slaves for the Rakatans. For Vader, he could use the machine to reforge his body, to remake himself better, stronger, faster than he had ever been. 

From the memories he inherited from the will he crushed, Vader was well aware that the ‘players’ could free this AI, and earn their gratitude. But he was no ‘player.’ His ambitions were much greater than the constraints of a game. Mechu deru was not a toy, but a tool through which he exerted his will. A will that would dominate the Mother Machine, and bend her to do his bidding! In the future, not only would he possess an army of loyal droids, but custom crafted, Force Sensitive minions. 

His time instructing the Inquisitorious had prepared him for this eventuality. Droids were a welcome addition to his army, but they were binary, and limited by their coding. To truly rule the galaxy, one needed competent underlings. Sidious had shown him the weakness of his Empire, Vader would never allow such incompetence to fester in his. 

Standing at the viewport of a descending shuttle, Vader’s silhouette was black like the void of space, only a few internal lights gleamed off his black clad figure. Clouds whipped past the shuttle's wings as it rapidly passed through the atmosphere. They were torn asunder by the shuttle’s repulsorlift wake, and disappeared as the ground rapidly came into view. A pair of twin flanking TIE escorts screamed through the gale, cutting paths through the snowstorm towards the Rakatan Monument. 

Inside the cockpit, the pilots dared not speak, all was silent in the face of Vader’s obsession. This mission would be accomplished, or heads would roll. 

Only the cadence of Vader’s breath filled the silence. It was steady, mechanical, unrelenting. Although with his new modifications, he could enable a silent mode, Vader allowed this deep breath of his to remain. It served as a reminder of his failures, and served as a tool to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. 

During this search for the monument, the shuttle passed over the Shipyard Graveyard. Hundreds of cracked hulls of long-dead capital ships lay strewn across the ice like the bones of dead ancient gods. Whilst snow covered most of the vessels, some peaked through, showing jagged, rusted towers jutting up from the ground. Some bore the sigils of the Old Sith Empire; others, the faded emblems of the Republic. Among the twisted metal and debris, many small work camps had formed, and scrappers were hard at work. 

Beyond the ruins, deeper into the mountain range, the Force called out to him. A vision of a monument frozen deep underground came to mind. 

The whispers of the ancient Rakata, dormant for millennia, had begun to stir again.

The Jedi were present, and had awoken it. Meanwhile, the portends of shadows swirled about, lying in wait. A Sith lurked nearby. 

He could feel them both.

A flicker of irritation passed through him. The arrogance of the old orders, always believing themselves above consequence. His presence was like a mailed fist, open and without restraint. Yet neither force was willing to do battle with him? The arrogance! 

Vader gazed at his steward, this was intelligence he had not been aware of. There would be answers. Should he lose the monument to Jedi interference, his steward would not survive his wrath. 

As if sensing his thoughts, Vaneé, who had been typing away at a console and turned around to bow at him. 

“My lord.” Vaneé rasped, “Surveillance confirms five Jedi at the summit of the monument. They are conducting what appears to be a pacification ritual. The ice is melting. Many mercenaries are covetously eying them from a distance, my informants tell me they intend to seize the structure for the Sith.”

Vader was silent a moment in thought, before he came to a conclusion. 

“They seek to seal it.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“They will fail.” Vader spoke with finality. 

“And the mercenaries?” Vaneé asked cautiously.

Vader crushed his fist, a chill entered the cabin much colder than the permanent winters of Hoth. 

“Very good, my Lord.” Vaneé cruelly smiled at his lord's decree. “Your battle droids shall finally experience live combat…I am most thrilled to witness their battle capabilities.” 

“Soon, my sensechal, soon.” Vader all but purred. 

C-3PO had been the dream of a child, a prototype built to uplift Anakin Skywalker and his loving mother out of slavery. These new wardroids, his KIA's would be the nightmares of all who denied the majesty of Lord Vader. 

As he was lost in his thoughts of grandeur, the shuttle shuddered as it pierced the final layer of atmosphere. The landing zone appeared ahead: a massive mountain top rife with broken ships, and the tip of a strange obelisk rife with pulsating alien glyphs sticking out of the ice. This was his destiny. The promise of a body reforged-one better than the original-awaited. 

Vader turned towards the landing ramp, his cloak billowed out behind him, he ordered his minion once more. 

“Deploy the droids. Maintain a perimeter. No comm signals. No transmissions. This monument is mine.”

“As you command, my master.”

The shuttle finally landed, and the ramp hissed downward, and the shrieking wind of Hoth violently blew a gust inside. Daylight peaked inside, revealing Vader, and a dozen blackclad, beskar armed, Mechu Deru enhanced, KIA model wardroids. A pair of Lambda class transports swiftly descended in unison, and deposited 20 more wardroids apiece. 

Vader stepped into the wind, and crunched the snow with the weight of his armor. 

The storm howled, but his enhanced modifications meant he was without discomfort. All around him, black-armored droids marched wordlessly into the snow, and  forming a phalanx around their master.

Up ahead, a group of mercenaries wearing winter gear approached. A human male brandished his weapon, and a shivering, albino Trandoshan hissed in what appeared to be a threat. 

“Hey, frak off, this is our dig sight!” The man yelled. 

“Yesss, but your clothing, perhapss you are a Ssith related to our employer?” The Trandoshan asked. 

“Deal with them.” Vader casually ordered, not bothering to break his stride. 

“Hey, you-!” The Human got out, only to be shot dead in an instant. 

The Trandoshan rolled forward, evading a red blaster bolt, and unsheathed a vibroblade. As the weapon swung towards Vader, he walked headfirst into it. The weapon's macromolecular edge snapped in half, then broke into pieces with a wave of Vader’s hand. 

“Your weak construct is insignificant compared to the Force.”

Striding past the Trandoshan, he didn’t spare the albino a glance. Yet his crushed fist was like a signal, and the broken weapon fragments hurtled towards the lizard at high speeds, putting him out of his misery. 

The mercenary camp came alive with activity, and explosions bloomed as a firefight broke out. KIA's ran rampant, and blood slicked the broad fields of white like paint on a canvas. Ignoring the chaos, Vader never once halted in his stride, his ambitions were grander than these paltry men. 

In the distance, high on the summit, he could feel the Jedi Masters, they glittered like stars, nearly every one of them reminded him of an average council member from his day. The average Jedi from this era were much stronger than most. Obi-Wan would barely qualify to sit on the council, whilst the likes of Kit Fisto or Ki Adi Mundi were considered average Jedi Masters. 

He welcomed the challenge. 

And far closer, crouched in the derelict ruins, he sensed the illusive shadow. The Sith was lurking in the darkness, and unlike Maul, this one was a true Sith Assassin. He could anticipate that this creature was a master of trickery, redirecting the mind, and possibly invisibility. 

The ancient dark and the fading light were converging at this one focal point. Each side vying for the same goal. 

The monument would soon be open.

And Darth Vader would be the first to grasp its knowledge in ten thousand years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Atop the mountain summit overlooking the Shipyard Graveyard, the Jedi had been putting their all into the ritual, yet an uneasy chill filled the air. Despite this sense of foreboding, they were not made of weaker stuff, and hope had not abandoned them. 

Even so, as strong as one's will was, it could not be denied that he was coming. The wind stilled as a foul presence approached the mountain top, and the chill in the air thickened, as though the mountain itself were holding its breath.

Master Nomi Tyrell lifted her eyes from the Rakatan obelisk. The glyphs had begun to dim, and the warmth she had spread into the ice began to wither. The threads of harmony unravelled as this new, unwelcome presence made himself known. Giving up on sealing the structure, she now conserved her energy for the coming conflict. 

“Be strong, my Jedi. Recall the Code. We shall defeat this monster together.” Tyrell's voice was like the coming of spring, her voice cleared any doubts, and melted away the icy tendrils of despair. 

At the same time, a powerful stamina enhancing, morale boosting ability was carried with her words, the powerful supporting ability, Force Valor was pressed upon all those who were present. 

As this sunny disposition began to embolden the Jedi, a dark figure shrouded in the misty clouds of the mountain began to slowly ascend the slope. 

Darth Vader-the name pressed into their minds-emerged from the shroud of obscurity, not charging, nor sneaking, but striding forward with the slow inevitability of one continent crushing another under heel. Snow crunching under his boots, cape fluttering in the wind, and the sound of his breath unnaturally heard in this gale, it all came together to form a man clad in dark ominous armor. The unnatural pressure of his presence twisted the flow of the Force like a black hole bending starlight.

Behind him, following in his wake, was an army of freshly painted black armored wardroids. Crimson colors splashed upon them, their lifeless red eyes scanned the Jedi for any weaknesses. 

Tyrell frowned, the Darkside was seeped into every gear and bolt. This would not be an easy fight. 

“For the Republic!” A rallying cry went out, and everyone prepared for battle. 

The Jedi Masters instinctively formed a perimeter, their blades snapped to life in a ring of light. The air vibrated with the tension of what was to come.

But Vader said nothing, not even deigning it worth his time to waste words with the dead. The droids surged forward as his dark will commanded them forward. 

Armed with blasters & power staves like the Magna Guard who fought for Grievous, the KIA droids fought with all the battle experience, and ferocity that Vader had accumulated during the Clone Wars. His Mechu Deru piloted them like one might direct a unit in an RTS. 

The battle was quick paced and brutal. Every angle of attack was covered, with multiple blaster bolts coming at odd, unexpected angles. Lightsabers met power staves, and deflected bolts with ease, these Masters were not so easily conquered. Yet when tragedy seemed to strike, and a Jedi’s blade failed to cut through the tough beskar exterior, he extended a hand, and a bright blue bolt shot out. The Lightside ability, Disable Droid struck the construct, and short circuited it! 

Several more instances of the Jedi using the Force to overcome adversity occurred one after another, each event either crippled or destroyed a droid. It was only thanks to the KIA wardroids numbers that prevented Vader from being jumped by the group of five. Slowly but surely, the freshly minted kill bots were being whittled away. Powerful against ordinary beings, or those newly initiated in the ways of the Force, few creatures-these droids included-could withstand the combined might of four veteran Jedi Masters fighting in tandem. 

Tyrell, standing next to the Rakatan monument, met Vader's gaze across the battlefield. She had not taken action yet, and had stood opposed to the dark lord, standing guard for her compatriots whilst they dealt with the droids. 

“You cloak yourself in darkness, but I can feel the pain in your soul.” She said, her voice serene, but firm. “You burn like a dying star, and your mind is the furnace. I sense a deep loss in you, of love gone unresolved. The Jedi can help you. Forsake this torment, do not allow yourself to wallow in this self destruction.”

Vader halted, his calm, icy demeanor suddenly began to bubble like magma. 

“You speak with such certainty. If you had known what I had done, could a Jedi forgive me?” Vader mocked. 

She tilted her head. “Are you so afraid of forgiveness? I pity you, Vader, that you refuse to change when kindness is so readily offered to you. Know that Nomi Tyrell shall be the one who brings you peace within the Force.”

Vader’s breath was deep, each one ragged as the black lens of his mask regarded her as a fool. His answer was clear. 

Raising a hand in a sweeping gesture, he flicked his fingers contemptuously, and the Force howled.

A blast wave urged outward from Vader with cataclysmic force. Tyrell’s fellow Jedi were thrown backward, several of them tumbling like leaves in a gale. Snow, stone, and frozen debris ripped free from the peak in an explosion of chaos.

A colossal avalanche thundered down the mountainside as the shockwave fractured entire shelves of ice.

But Tyrell stood her ground.

She bent her knees, pressing her hand into the snow, and the Force answered her call.

With a sudden, elegant motion, she surfaced atop the wave of collapsing ice, riding the avalanche like a surfer riding the waves of an ocean. Her cloak billowed around her, and her eyes burned with serene focus.

She raised both hands, and the snow around her froze mid-air, crystalizing into sharpened javelins. 

With a cry of command, she spoke a phrase in ancient Tythonian, and a thousand razor-edged shards of ice snapped into formation, hovering around her in a great ring. Tyrell then hurled the formation toward Vader like a hurricane. 

The icicles whistled through the air with murderous intent, the dark lord was surrounded on all sides. 

But Vader remained unmoving.

He raised his lightsaber, its hot red glow acted as a focal point in this vast wasteland of snow and ice. Visions of a magma world pressed upon Tyrell's psyche, and she firmed her lips as steam billowed out from Vader’s cape. The air bent inward, and the Force collapsed around him, forming a spherical barrier of crushing hot pressure. The ice shards melted into valor as they collided with this invisible wall, and burst into bright white clouds. 

Vader took another step forward, this time, the snow around his boots melted as a slow to arouse rage began to awaken. 

Borrowing the power of the avalanche, Tyrell landed gracefully back on the summit, and continued its momentum to collide with the man in black. 

In response, a deep bass chuckle came from the mechanical madman. 

“Good. Do not disappoint me.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~

AN: I have no schedule for this, but maybe Vader Unleashed could semi unretired. Depends on how popular it is tbh.