Angel of Death

[Nomad]

In darkness of the night​

I spied him in a tree​

Sat I froze by the sight​

He was looking at me​

The summer's heat became a chill​

The angel of death at his kill.​

Hidden Republic Asteroid Facility Thirty-Two-Alpha
Unknown Space - Past Csilla

How far would the people of the Galaxy go out of their way? How willing were the people of the core to explore the vast unknown, past their comfortable borders? For hundreds, even thousands of years, the people of the Galaxy refused to move forward. Content with what they had, content with what they were. There was no reason, even for the Chiss, to risk exploring further into the void, to face death head on, to challenge it. It was odd, then, to find a signal, originating further than where the Chiss were known to wander. Even stranger was the fact that this signal was from the Republic itself. Why, then, did the Republic not heed its call? Why was it so easily ignored?

Because the signal had not been seen for almost nine-hundred years.

There was no explanation. No record. No rhyme, nor reason. Just a signal, hundreds of years old, bouncing from the border of death itself. Would the galaxy hear this call, to see this mystery for themselves? Or would this signal be ignored, and lose itself in the vast comfort of known space?

Would the Angel of Death, on this day, prevail?

 

[Akio Kahoshi]

Akio's ship, freshly retrofitted as per the agreement with the Republic, was venturing carefully into the Unknown Regions. Little was known as to what happened to the chiss, but given Atrisia's location near to the Unknown Regions it made sense to seek them out and ascertain what use, or threat, they were to the Republic and Atrisia. Unfortunately the location of Csilla had always been a guarded secret, one that had never been given to the Atrisian sector's moff. His search for clues was going about as he had expected. The Galaxy was a large place, and it was easy to hide a planet in it.

"Sir, we're receiving... an odd transmission."

"What is it?"

"Old Republic signal. Clone Wars period."

Given that their own codes were not much newer, it was not a surprise to Akio they still had such things recorded. After all, the Empire was just the natural progression of the Republic. It was still odd to find, especially out this far. At the very least it spiked his curiosity. "Track it down." It did not take long, and within an hour the hidden base had been localized. And soon a bording party had entered, looking to see what the Republic had hidden away in this lost asteroid from the distant past.

 

[TiCira D'Arr Hawk]

Knight's Helm.
Unknown Space

"What is it?" came Tris's soft worried voice, her dark blue eyes widening at the quiet drifting asteroid space station looming in their viewport. They'd picked up the signal days earlier, and ever the curious ones, they heeded the call. However... all was certainly not what it seemed.

"Not sure." Ti'Cira said in a reply, her fingers curling over the soft cushion of the pilot's chair, tendrils of hair brushing her cheeks as she nodded over to Tris. "No one's hailing back?"

Tris shook her head from right to left quickly, biting her lower lip as she replied "No."

Ti'Cira took a deep breath, then gave a nod. "Bring us in..." that's when she took a step away, already turning to leave the cockpit. "... I'll get suited up.... let's see what's inside."

 

[Nomad]

The asteroid facility was much larger than the outside of it led to believe. Though none but the creators knew this, it was designed as a fortress, but unfortunately never got completed. Weapon hardpoints were left empty, with only the bear minimum of equipment keeping the facility running. Even the lights were forced to be dimmed in order to conserve energy. Still, the core of the facility was massive. The fact that it wasn't being used to power lights, weaponry, or even gravity would make one wonder what exactly the facility was powering.

There would be no movement within the facility should anyone enter. The only time the base would acknowledge a presence was to flicker on the dimly lit lights, in order to give the boarding parties at least some sort of vision within. Hall after empty hall would lead to more and more empty rooms. Terminals would refuse to operate, while certain doors would just refuse to open. The deeper into the facility one would go, the more of the same emptiness they would find. The only difference would be the decrease in temperature the deeper into the core of the facility. In fact, scanners would most likely pick up the freezing temperatures found in a much larger room within the center of the base.

The room was cold for a reason. As the lights flickered to life, it revealed the rows upon rows of pods, surrounded by an icy mist. If one took the time, it would be discovered that there were two-hundred and fifty filled pods in the room. Though the ice, frozen for years over the glass, blocked from view the contents of the pod, a humanoid shadow could be observed. Un-moving, as if dead, save for the panels found on each pad. The only way the outside world would know if the humans found in the pods were alive or dead was the flickering of their vitals.

An army of humanoids, frozen for hundreds of years, had yet to be found. Would the visitors be brave enough to wake them from their slumber?

 

[TiCira D'Arr Hawk]

There was a small hiss as the Helm locked into place, the airlock clicking with a firm seal. From under the curved pane of her space suit's helmet visor, Ti'Cira gave the sealed door a questioning look. Her gloved hand rose and gently waved the scanner across the door, the tiny lights over her display flashing green.

"It's a good seal," she said through her helmet comm. That it was sealed meant that whatever items were inside were still intact. "Going to try and slice in."

[Roger that] Came Tris's voice crackling in her ear.

With a small grimace, Ti'Cira strode over towards the small console beside the door. Basic life support systems meant that there was still a bit of power. Clipping the scanner in her belt with her left hand, she pulled the small data slicing device with her right. A small cord was then clipped to the side panel of the console, and in a few moments, she sent a data spike into it. Various sigils and numbers suddenly went streaming down her display. A series of five red lights flashed on top of it, only to slowly turn green one at a time.

It was then that the sudden echo of warning klaxtons wailing overhead blasted overhead.
[We got someone out here! Something big!!! ] came Tris's voice. There was a shuffle of noice. "Who?" [I can't tell!!... Just.. come back I don't like it!]

Ti'Cira gave a grimace. She wanted to go inside, but it was too risky. "They notice us yet?"
[No.]

"Keep it that way." Nextime, she told herself. It was too risky. Too many scavengers out here and well... their safety was paramount. Taking the small device from the console, Ti'Cira put it right back against her hip, already backpeddling back to the Helm.

"Let's go."

 

[Akio Kahoshi]

There were certain things that were just considered common sense in the military. One of them was that when searching potentially hazardous locations, the highest ranking officer was not part of the search party. Leading from the front was all well and good, raising morale by showing that you're willing to field the same dangers as the common soldiers, but it did not outweigh the strategic loss of the commander if he died.

So naturally as the boarding party used breaching charges to bypass the sealed airlocks, Vice Admiral Kahoshi was right there alongside them in a spacesuit. It was a calculated risk really, based on the scans of the hidden facility revealing no active defense systems. Which was not to say they might not trip over a cord and activate some kind of hidden defense mechanism, so they would just have to watch for any wires along their path.

Through the halls they went, stormtroopers pointing their E-11s in all directions as they defended the Admiral's-and their own-life. After the first room they had set up a temporary airlock to prevent should the shuttle need to withdraw, but given the unknown state of the facility Akio kept his suit sealed. Eventually the maze of unresponsive systems and sealed doors lead them to the core room, where the boarding party paused as they took it in.

Moving through the room, they realized what they had. That they appeared to still be alive was remarkable. "Uh... what do we do now Sir?" asked the stormtrooper lieutenant in charge.

"I suppose we wake one up. Be ready."

Moving over to one of the pods, Akio pushed the button he believed would activate it, then stepped back.

 

[Nomad]

With a might hiss, condensation clouds were released out of the pod. The warming process took several minutes, but eventually the glass started to retract, revealing the humanoid within the pod. The liquid that had been keeping the human, for that is certainly what the thing inside the pod was, alive had instantly evaporated upon contact with the oxygen in the air. The fog dissipated quickly enough, revealing the chiseled features of the nearly naked being within. If anything could describe what lied within, it would be a male human, built like a soldier.

Several seconds after the pod completely opened, the body of the soldier started to float forward. A few seconds later, and his eyes suddenly opened. With a violent gasp and a sudden seizure forward, the soldier's shock was quite apparent. Spamming and flailing in the low gravity, the soldier knocked into the closest soldier. With no armor on his hands, the flailing arm did no real damage to the Stormtrooper, thought the surprisingly powerful hit forced the trooper backwards several inches.

As the awakened soldier convulsed within the air, the troopers stood back, for their own safety and the soldiers. About a minute later, the soldier calmed, the last of his convulsions seeming to have left his muscles. All that could be seen were the violent rise and falls of the man's chest as he gasped desperately for oxygen. His lungs burned, not used to actual gas finding it's way into his organs. The low gravity finally brought the man down to the ground, where he sat on his hands and knees, still gasping as if his life depended on it.

His mind started to return to him. His brain now correctly processed the images that were being presented to him, though they were not clear. He could identify that there were humans before him, several bearing weapons at him. Though his mind wanted to react, his body refused such actions. As he blinked several more times, he made out more details. The humans holding weapons, they wore white armor. The first thing he recognized were the T-shaped visors. His first thought was that they were clones, allies from the Republic...but then he realized they were different. The armor and insignia, he didn't recognize them.

"Aragaa." He tried to speak, but his throat was so dry that inaudible words could not be created. Trying to calm his breathing, the soldier tried to stand, but quickly failed. "W...wa...wate....water..." he managed to mutter, just barely audible as his vocal cords cracked and resisted with every vibration. Hopefully, the soldiers would understand.

 

[Akio Kahoshi]

The stormtroopers were quick to prop up the soldier. They, like Akio, recognised what they had discovered from their Imperial history lessons. More importantly, the stormtroopers knew that this man was one of their predecessors. Without the clone troopers there would be no Stormtrooper Corps. That, and surviving frozen like that for so long, earned automatic respect.

"Get him water," Akio ordered.

One of the stormtroopers was carrying an emergency pack as was required for boarding missions like this, as was to be expected of anyone under Akio's command, and from inside he withdrew a canteen and brought it to the clone's lips. Akio pulled off his helmet, feeling the frigid air against his skin. Blue eyes that separated him from the rest of the Atrisians studied the clone.

"We need to get him back to the ship, its too cold in here."

 

[Nomad]

As soon as the water was placed in front of him he viciously took it from the trooper's hand. It wasn't a sign of disrespect, more like a sign of desperation. Bringing the bottle to his lips he poured as much as would fall. Drinking only so much, he let what his mouth couldn't hold flow down his chin, and then to his neck. At first, the dry, cracked surfaces of his neck protested to such a sudden change of environment, but as soon as the water hit his track, intense relief flowed through his body.

As soon as the bottle was spent, Nomad tossed it to the ground, once more gasping for breath. Simple functions like breathing in between drinking were tough. His body was still turning itself on, forcing Nomad to not truly understand his limits. At least now, though, his thoughts were clearer, and his throat felt better.

"Th...thank you," he managed to mutter between gasps of air.

It was then he noticed that his muscles were still slightly spasming. No...he was shivering. Cold. That's what he was feeling. It was cold in here.

"C-c-cold," he managed to spit out, sounding like a child. He hated himself, for being so weak, but so far these men had been kind. Perhaps, perhaps they were allies, not enemies. Every instinct told him to tread carefully, but what could he do? If they wanted to kill him not amount of preparation would prevent that from happening in his state. "C-cold..."

That's when his body gave out, and everything went dark.

 

[Akio Kahoshi]

"Asleep this long, first thing he does is take a nap. Lift him up. Carefully."

The stormtroopers made their way with their charge back to the shuttle. Following behind, Akio had replaced his helmet and had gave a look back to the rest of the pods. He did not like leaving them, but one known element was enough. Once he learned more from this, then he would decide what to do with the rest of them. It was something that weighed heavily on his mind as they walked.

When they got back to the ship the clone was taken directly to the ship's infirmary where he was gone over with multiple tests and given an IV to flush his system with badly needed nutrients. In the meantime the Admiral returned to his work, waiting for the doctor to call him when the patient awakened. For safety he had left a few stormtroopers there as well. They had no idea how the clone would react.

 

[Nomad]

A groan. It was quiet, and almost inaudible, but it was enough to grab the attention of the nearby naval nurse. Walking over, she placed a hand on Nomad's forehead. She was starting to wonder if she had just imagined the noise when Nomad's eyes snapped open. A violent gasp startled the nurse backwards. Nomad's body had taken enough time to recover their motor functions, so the adrenaline being pumped through his system actually had a purpose. He sat up, his eyes darting quickly around the room. Where was he? How did he get here? Was he in danger?

"Ah!" he shouted in pain, clutching at his head. A flood of memories charged through him. Geonosis. Blaster fire, killing off his brothers. Jedi falling from within the dust. "AHHH!"

He stood up, shoving the IV aside, sending it crashing through the floor. He fell to his knees, still clutching this head within his hands. By now, the entire medical staff was moving towards Nomad's location, along with several unarmed security guards. Nomad had easily shoved aside the nurses and doctors, but the security guards easily subdued his weakened body. He struggled for a few seconds before his body gave up. He went limp, breathing hard for air. After a few seconds of no resistance, the guards loosened their grip, and ultimately backed away from Nomad. The clone sat up, his back against the side of the bed.

"...where....where the hell am I?" he asked, finally opening his eyes, one hand still messaging his temples in an attempt to alleviate his headache. "Is...is this a Republic vessel?"

 

[Akio Kahoshi]

When the clone awoke, Akio was alerted. While the clone was freaking out, the Admiral was making his calm way to the infirmary. It was not like rushing would make the turbolifts move any faster, no matter how lofty his position within his own military was. Eventually he made it there though dressed now in his proper uniform that so nearly resembled the Republic uniforms of old, and was just in time to overhear the clone's question.

"This is, and is not, a Republic ship soldier. Come with me, you have been out of the loop for awhile."

Afterward a spare uniform was produced for the barely clothed man. Luckily it was not hard to find the right size, the basic bio stats for his model of clone was still in their older records. Atrisia lacked the ability to produce clones themselves, but the data had never been purged. Once he had been dressed, he was brought up to the admirals stateroom, and offered a chair. Akio's steward produced a warm cup of Atrisian tea and some finger sandwiches and snacks given the probability that the man was hungry.

"I am Vice-Admiral Akio Kahoshi, commander of the Atrisian Navy," he introduced himself. "What is your name and rank?

 

[Nomad]

The gravity of the man's words had not truly hit Nomad as he was dressed. What did he mean, this was and wasn't? Was this a ship from an independent government that was attached to the Republic? He had heard of them, but none were fully combat ready, at least to his knowledge. The clone's and their army were the only active military personnel that were on the front lines. Ships like this shouldn't be wandering space, it just didn't make logistical sense. They should be kept as planet security, as per Republic defense policy against the droid army. If the Seperatists learned that ships were wandering from their posts...

Was it really his place to say, though? He was merely a Captain, that was all. Judging from the uniforms, this was a Republic ship. Though, the uniforms were different in some way. Perhaps it was just the material, or the way they crew wore their uniforms. It was just felt...different.

Straightening out his uniform as he entered the room, Nomad looked around. It was then that Nomad picked up on not only what the Vice-Admiral said, but the rank bars that he wore. For a second, Nomad looked flustered. He recovered almost immediately, though, straightening his back and bringing his hand up in a pristine and perfect salute.

"Captain Nomad, Republic Commando designation Nine-Zero-Five-One." His voice, though still slightly raspy, was strong as he spoke. "Currently assigned to Republic Clone Company Six-Sixty-Six."

His company. His squad. Were they being defrosted as he spoke?

"Vice-Admiral, if I may inquire, I'm not familiar with the Artisian Navy. How are you and your crew associated with the Republic?"

 

[Akio Kahoshi]

"It is... a very long story Captain," Akio started.

"The Republic you knew ceased to exist 855 years ago. Many of the details were lost, but we do know that Grand Master Mace Windu and other Jedi attempted to remove Chancellor Palpatine from office shortly before the Republic won the war. General Skywalker stopped them, but it affected the Republic significantly. Afterward Palpatine with the backing of the Senate restructured the Republic into the Galactic Empire. After Emperor Palpatine's death twenty some years later the Empire began to fall apart, new governments rose and fell. However the Empire, the legacy of the Republic, never completely collapsed. Then four hundred years ago a plague hit the Galaxy hard. Atrisia closed itself off, and when we reemerged a few decades ago found no trace of the Galactic Empire. So what you see is all that is left of the legacy of the Galactic Republic."

He let his words sink in for a little bit. It had to be a shock to hear. The Republic had existed for 25,000 years. It had to be completely incomprehensible for anyone that lived near the end that it would ever not exist. Of course he had not yet told the whole story, he did not want to get to far along. After a sip of tea, he was ready to continue.

"However, when we re-emerged there was a new organization calling itself the Republic. It holds no direct ties to the original, but they seem to have attempted to keep most of the basic ideas of the original. I am sure you would be able to find more inconsistencies than we, having lived during that time. Still, of the Imperialist states spreading throughout the Galaxy it seemed the most likely to be of use to us so Moff Shu, oh Moff is a military governor rank created by Emperor Palpatine, decided to sign a treaty with them. It is ironic that the final successor to the Galactic Republic is now a protectorate of this new Republic, but it was necessary at the time.

"But this brings us back to you, Captain Nomad. I have not yet woken your brothers, I had to meet with you first. While I have no intention of leaving them frozen, I had to make sure doing so would be safe. My doctors tell me you seem to have survived the cryostasis well, and I am prepared to give you and your brothers a home in the Atrisian Empire if you would like. Whether you stay or not is of course up to you, but my planet would consider it a great honor to consider you children of Atrisia."

 

[Nomad]

It was a testament to Nomad's training that he was still standing. Eight-hundred-fifty-five years. He heard the words after that, but they were more of a blur, mixing together. Nomad's mind registered them, and he was sure he'd have questions about them later, but for now all his mind could focus on was staying sane. Nearly nine-hundred years had passed. Could he believe it? Should he believe it? His mind started racing as he felt balance leaving him. Though he stumbled against the chair behind him slightly, he forced himself to remain standing. How could he have been asleep for nine-hundred years? A pulse of pain coursed through his head, forcing the clone to wince. His hand came up to the bridge of his nose as he pinched it. Every time he tried to reason, to overcome the panic he was feeling, his headache worsened.

Calm, he thought to himself, placing his hand against the chair behind him to steady himself. Don't let your mind destabilize.

"Vice-Admiral," he finally managed to stay, focusing his efforts into talking rather than trying to comprehend his situation. "If I chose to believe what you have just said, then you have inherited the chain of command. For the time being, as per Republic protocol, I and my unit are yours to command."

Focus on protocol. When the headaches started, that was what he was taught to do. Protocol would put less mental stress on him, and his psych would degrade at a slower pace. Still, the gravity of the situation was tough to control.

"As my superior officer, I'm required to report my own condition, but it is of the highest classification within Republic command," he finally muttered, obviously still in pain as he sunk back into his chair, his muscles failing him. "As clone with accelerated aging and brought up through flash training, my mental psych quickly degrades under stress. As I have not received proper medication within nine-hundred years, the condition is worsening." He paused momentarily, the pain spiking for several seconds. "I, along with my men, require an injection every month. The medication, or at least records, should be found within the medical wing of the facility you found us in."

He groaned in pain again, having almost reached his pain tolerance limits.