The Legacy points to the Future

[Ardgal Raxis]

Ardgal looked over his soldiers in their new, make-shift camp. It had been a long, hard grind their whole lives. The wars within the Wild Space and Outer Rim had been more than a choice, it had been their life, how they had earned their livelihood in this galaxy. It wasn't that they had a choice, or that he did either, it was their heritage. It was his heritage.

The general took a drink of the caf in his hand. It wasn't that he minded the danger, he loved the challenge, and a person became used to the feeling of death around every corner. There was no other life he knew.

But he wanted better for them than squandering their skills with as hard as they could to fight as hard as they could with out the equipment they needed. Ships, speeders, tanks, war-machines. These were the tools of their trade, more than the rifle and the armor, it was the heavy machines that helped to bring the soldiers home. So far they had to rent out or borrow--or make due with smaller weapons than what they really needed. Ardgal pulled his datapad out and looked over that list; ships, artillery, tanks, drop ships, cannons, shield generators, fighters, swoop bikes, and he added a base, stronger armor.

With a sigh he turned back into his office.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The general took a seat at his desk and began milling through what was needed next; finding the next job for his Alpha Company. He perused the shadow net, one of the main ways that buyers hooked up with the mercenary armies they needed to fill their dirty work. For over three decades Ordo, Ardgal's predecessor, had made it look so easy. The turn over rate from one job to the next was a matter of a few days at most--Ardgal remembered the longest his company had ever needed to wait for work was a week. But now as the general of his people, Ardgal felt so--under equipped.

The general's eyes alighted on one job. The buyer identified as Helio-057. The job was two million, the standard pay for a job of this size, and among 400 soldiers--that wasn't as large as it sounded. The requirement was strait forward enough; a drug lord had set up camp on Naboo in light of the post-Techo Union weakness, poverty and political turmoil, even this lovely planet was on the rocks. Ardgal put two and two together; the local forces were overwhelmed and were looking to outsource some of their work to clean up the heavy guns. He bet their weapons, armor and ships were rusting--something that wasn't too far from how Alpha Company looked right about now. The only difference was Alpha Company was trained and battle hardened. Ready and able to take down some of the hardest guns on the galaxy.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Ardgal tapped on the the offer and typed out a quick message:

Helio-057--Saw your offer and your problem with the drug op on Naboo. I have the skills and troops you need to finish this job. Up the offer to 2.5 and you have a deal. Attached are a few of our credentials.

The commander added a few videos and news clippings of their work, there were no faces in any of them, just face plates. It would be enough to get the idea across. The general shook his head, thinking for a moment. If they wanted to, Alpha comany could probably even storm the Naboo palace and take whatever riches they had left. But that wasn't how they acted. That was a theft without excuse. Ardgal's thoughts were interupted by a reply;

Hello, AR. I like your work, attached are the files on the subject and the objective. Route out his entire operation, use whatever force you deem needed. Send me the account number to file the credits into and we will begin the transfer over the next few days.

Ardgal quickly typed out the required information. He felt a rush of euphoria before he drained his cup of caf and tossed it aside. They had work to do.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The trip to Naboo took three days. The Corvettes that Ardgal's men had acquired had rather lacking hyperdrive capacities, and even weaker power cores. Repairing them was... on the list too. Low, but on the list. The time, however, gave Ardgal a chance to throughly look over the info and do some extra research. The target was a drug lord called Thaliss. He was a massive man, decadent, well built, who had no problem flaunting his wealth. Finding his home was all but impossible. A few simple slices and hours of computer work revealed that he loved the women, the arts, and fine objects. A few more hours of work and back tracking gave Ardgal a list of possible objects Thaliss had won in auctions.

A cross-reference of winners and their bank accounts and personal information narrowed that list down even further, from a few dozen to a dozen itself. Buying patters, vocal patterns, accents, and vocabulary choices narrowed the list in half. How so? All of Thaliss' employees were from Naboo, the whale of a man didn't do any of his shopping himself. Ardgal cross referenced their account numbers, and found the most logical answer, finding the only one who paid all accounts from a Nubian bank account.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Ardgal's intense study lead him to the Twi'lek known as Monroe. The day the ships set down on Naboo, Ardgal decided to pay the man a visit person to person. As his army set up camp in the swamps of Naboo, Ardgal took a speeder ride to a nearby small town. It was quint, and moderately wealthy, which immediately sounded alarms down Ardgal's spine. This planet was destroyed from war and economic down turn--yet this small town looked as normal as any other. There was certainly a criminal element in this.

Ardgal found Monroe's home in the suburbs and parked on a side road a few blocks down. He strolled to the Twi'lek's apartment. To the outside world he looked like another business man in a button up shirt, blazer, and slacks carrying a small file of paperwork. He casually circled around back and let himself into the home though the back door. The house was empty. Ardgal took a seat on the sofa in the main living room and waited.

When the door opened and Monroe saw Ardgal sitting there waiting, all color drained from his blue face. He looked at the general with a stunned face for a fraction of a second, but only a second before he hardened his expression, "What the hells are you doing in my house?"

Ardgal waved to the armchair on the other side of the couch, "Have a seat. We need to talk, Mr Monroe."

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The blue alien took a seat opposite to Ardgal, scowling. He was not happy, but even more than that, Ardgal was afraid, he was worried.

"I will make things incredibly simple for you," Ardgal said adjusting his seating more comfortably. "You are going to show and tell me where Thaliss' home is."

"I have no idea who you are talking about," the alien lied shaking his head, "You have the wrong man."

Ardgal reached into his file and tossed a picture on the coffee table between them. Monroe stood beside Thaliss amid a flurry of opulence and prostitutes. "Is your memory jogging now?"

Monroe gave the image a hard look before letting out a hard sigh, "Ok, ok, I met him once. But only--"

"You should be more careful with your social media," Ardgal reproached him, tossing another set of pictures on the table, one after anther after another of Monroe in social settings with his boss over four years, "I believe we can cut the bull crap, Mr Monroe and start talking information," Ardgal inclined his head slightly, eyeing the sweating twi'lek, "So here is what we are going to do. You are going to write out where Thaliss lives. After that your going to write out where all of your boss' operations are. Yes, I know what he does, and you are going to tell me where he grows it, stores it, processes it, and ships it."

"And why would I do that? All you have are pictures of me and a drug lord, all that will get me is at most a few years in the Nubian criminal system."

"True, that is what those would get you," Ardgal agreed with a nod, "But that's not all I have." He tossed the rest of the file into Monroe's lap, "That, however would make you wish you were dead when they Nubians get their hands on you."

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Ardgal made his way back to the speeder, file tucked under his arm. This time he had not only his black mail info, but also the intel on where all of Thaliss' operations and home were. Unfortunately, when the police arrived, they would find Monroe dead after a home invasion gone wrong. When he arrived back at the base, Ardgal was pleased to find that his Alpha Company had already finished setting up the base.

The commander retreated to his headquarters and checked the co-ordinate against what was left of the satellite imaging. Some of the orbiting cameras had fallen from disrepair, others had been stolen or shot out of the sky by joy-riding fools, but there were a few in place for weather usage, enough for Ardgal to get a proper image Thaliss' sprawling mansion, fields of drugs, warehouse, and processing plant. They were not too far away, and each within three miles of the other. That would make getting things done easier than not. He zoomed in as close as he could and began mapping them out. Each rock, each hall, each brick could be the difference between life and death, success an failure, and whether or not each of his vod would come home or die in the assault. Ardgal wasn't about to take things like this lightly. It was his duty, his calling, his life's work to provide for his men, and to make sure they all came home.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The planning process took three days before Ardgal was pleased with his efforts. He had ironed out idea after idea, every possible eventuality had been planned for. Of course, there were any number of things that could go wrong, and Ardgal knew it. Sometimes you didn't count on a man with a blaster showing up at the last minute. Or an influx of the guards doubling the resistance. But that's what training was for. The words of Ordo echoed in Ardgal's ears; the best plans don't fall apart during the unseen. They adapt and get better.

The commander quickly donned his Martix armor, the same as his troops were doing right now. How many times had he done this? Thousands, hundreds of thousands even perhaps. He could, and had, done it in the dark, surrounded by strangers. When he was finished he sent off the detailed instructions to each of his four divisions of Alpha Company. The instructions were clear, down to the room and second. Each man had their place and they knew it--they would do well and bring themselves home. Ardgal had every bit of confidence in them.

He grabbed his disruptor rifle from the side of the wall and strode out to his speeder. It carried him across the land to his position. Nightfall was beginning around them, obscuring the movements of Alpha company. This was always Ardgal's favorite time of the day. His father had always said that the monsters that came out at dusk weren't really monsters. They were just soldiers getting ready to protect every Raxis across the galaxy, guardian angels ensuring they slept well at night. Ardgal smiled. They were the monsters now.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

He crawled low to their first objective; the plantation. The massive farm was surrounded by hundreds of acres of field enclosed from view by hills all around. Once this place had been an honest farm, selling and growing gains, vegetables, and fruits. But when the economy went low, the family that owned it had to give sell out, and Thaliss had been more than ready to step in and fill the need.

"Red team in position," said a voice over Ardgal's comm.

"Green Team in position."

"Orange Team in position."

He heard then saw the quartet of men come up around him, "Blue Team in position."

"We are go," Ardgal said softly into his mic. "Good luck, vod."

He rose with the men around him and made the quiet charge down hill. Twilight around them covered their approach to the barbwire fence that surrounded the property. One of the soldiers with Ardgal pulled out a fusion cutter from his belt and began to cut away at the fence, carving their way with a golden hue of light.

"We have an incoming patrol," said Red team. Pause, "Patrol neutralized."

"That's a good copy, Red," Good work, vod. The metal came away. "Blue has breached perimeter

"Orange copies, moving to follow."

"Green has breached, moving in."

Ardgal rushed as quietly as he could across the field. Their first target was the shed where they kept the farm equiptment. Ardgal checked th chronometer in his HUD. They were making good time.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

As the soldier with the fusion cutter worked on the door, cutting it free for them, Ardgal and the three other troops covered, keeping an eye open for enemy movements. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, making Ardgal cooler, calmer, more alert and faster. He was used to the feeling, as his father had taught him, the cool head was the one who walked out of the combat alive. Words he had come to live by.

"Blue has breached shed, moving in," the soldier at the door reported.

"Thats a good copy," Ardgal whispered checking his chrono again. They were doing good, just making it in time.

The crew rushed in, it wasn't too hard to find what they were looking for. There were four drones that were in charge of watering the fields of this plantation. Every six hours they moved to water the precious crop with a mix of vitamins, miracle grow, water, and fine oils. It had been the secret to Thaliss' success. But now it would be his down fall.

Ardgal pulled a tank from his backpack and unscrewed it, pouring the contents into the closest drone. The contents were a super condensed version of naplam. By itself it was highly volitle, able to be set off by the slightest heat if they weren't kept in cool teperatures. In the water, it would dissolve enough to set the whole field into a brilliant ball of fire.

"Empty."

"Empty."

"Empty."

"Empty."

"Empty," Ardgal echoed before tossing his canister aside. "Good copy, blue, move to plant charges. Its a blow out sale, Everything must go."

"Roger, General," said the Sargent in a irked voice. Please, your jokes... please.

Ardgal climbed down from his perch and moved to plant a fist full of thermite at the left corner. He moved along the back wall, placing the charges like gifts under a tree, waiting to be opened by children on winter solstice. When he had placed them all, he rushed to the door, meeting the squad.

"Blue, we have patrol," said Green squad, pause, 'Patrol has been neutralized. Silo is set to blow. Ready to rondevoux at White House."

"Good copy, Green, we are moving to Rondevoux position," Ardgal said with a nod.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The plantation home loomed before them like a massive fortress waiting to be stormed. Ardgal gave the other troops a nod as they waited for his order behind this rusty tractor. They had to be ready, to be sure. There most certainly would be blood in this, and they had to be quick, so Thaliss didn't get any forewarning.

"Orange are you in position?" Ardgal asked.

"Yes, general, waiting for your orders, sir."

Ardgal looked to his troops around him, each gave a thumbs up. "Blue and Green moving in position. Do your work, Orange."

The nine men began scurrying into position, into the twilight light. Orange squad, tucked neatly away across the wide space between Blue, Green, and the plantation began sniping off the enemy in view. Ardgal could see their handy work as bodies dropped near the door, from windows, and around the back porch. Anyone foolish enough to stand by in the open--or unlucky enough--went down with a single slug thrower shot and a clatter to the ground.

"Blue breaching, going in," Ardgal said before charging through the door into the kitchen.

A quartet of men playing cards at a table were caught off guard, going down in a hail of blaster fire before they could grip their pistols. The team moved on, past it into the next room. The man in the hall dropped with a blaster shot to the skull. The two men at the base of the stairs went down with a shot and a rifle-whip. The woman on the stairs went down with a single shot to the stomach. Green raced up stairs as Blue finished down stairs.

"The drones are a go," Red echoed, "They are moving into position."

"Good copy," Ardgal grunted moving to the next room.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

They must have heard him coming by the clatter of his armor or the falling of the bodies. When Ardgal turned the corner a man leapt from behind the door, brandishing a blaster pistol. The general didn't even have time to think as his rifle butt came up to his chin with a hard thwack. As the man stumbled back one of the soldiers beside Ardgal dispatched him with a trio of shots. The other four in the room were dead before the body hit the floor. "Lower level clear."

He waited a moment before Green reported, "Upper level clear."

"Charges planted," Orange reported.

"Good work, move out for the next mission."

All in all it had taken less than ten minutes, and that was good. They had to hurry, they were live.

The general and his team rushed the mile to the next position in ten minutes. The warehouses that made up the processing plant for these drugs was a horrible warehouse maze that had been a factory once--for speeders. Now it was a drug factory. He waited as his teams moved into place, giving the dimly lit, sparely lit theater a few final glances. The biggest problem would be the patrols.

"Red in position."

"Yellow in position."

"Orange in position."

The teams had doubled, with twice as many in them. This base was bigger, much bigger, and the resistance would be harder.

"Green in position."

Ardgal looked at the eight new men with him, giving them a nod, "Blue moving in position.

"Copy that, Green moving to the streets."

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The bodies along the perimeter before them dropped as Ardgal watched Red and Orange go to work, giving Blue and Green the cover they needed to get to the base. They were each going in from opposite sides, hopefully clearing this place out before the enemy had time to alert Thaliss. At least, that was the plan.

Ardgal moved in through the first chamber, where bales of the product were stored after their intitial delivery. The twelve men who had been talking there were caught off guard, their bodies hit the ground with a satisfying clatter. Every dead body that isn't vod, is a good body. Ardgal followed up a set of stairs to a crane. It was normally used to carry pallets of this worthless crap up into the next silo where it was dried. The best part was from this platform, they could control the entire main room where twenty men and women were at work boxing and bagging this garbage. Surly guards stood at each door, some cross along the tables of workers, glowering.

"Blue in position," Ardgal said softly.

"Green ready."

"Orange in position."

Ardgal fired the first shot, and one of the guards lurched against the corrugated metal wall. 'Go, go go."

Orange and Green stormed into the building, rifles blazing. The troops with Ardgal went to work, picking off the guards and sending them into chaos. Orange and Green only had to work on taking out the dozens of workers, wielding crude weapons and picking up anything they could and charging the warriors madly. One made for the door, Ardgal took him down with a shot that tore his chest open, "Guard the doors, Blue, we can't let them alert the enemy."

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

"I doubt they couldn't hear this racket," the Sargent on Green grunted as he tossed aside one of the workers, before carefully adding, "sir."

"Follow the plan," Ardgal ordered, "We will count on surprise until otherwise."

The room was soon clear. Ardgal and his troops did as the had on the plantation's warehouse and placed charges at all the points they could; support braces, load bearing walls, and corners of the buildings. Satisfied, left the building littered with bodies, meeting up with all the other soldiers thus far. Ardgal checked his chrono. They were a few minutes behind schedule, the shoot out had taken longer than he had anticipated but they were doing well.

"Move out to the Mansion," he ordered before leading the mile long jog to their next objective. Here, the others were ready, waiting. Flame throwers, reciprocating quad lasers, mortar launchers, and assault rifles were all present. The Four hundred here were ready for a massive fight. And rightly so. The Mansion was fortress in its own right.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

"Unit 1 in position."


"Unit 2 in position."

"Unit three in position."

Ardgal set aside his disrutor rifle rifle for an assault blaster rifle. It was softer per shot, but the auto fire would even things out, and it had less of a kick, "Unit four is in position," he pressed a button on his gauntlet. The ground shook with a tremendous roar as the charges they had set off ignited in a tremendous explosion. The fields they had soaked with napalm took fire, lighting the sky with a gorgeous, like a second sunrise. A sunrise of blood.

"Mortars, begin hitting the walls," Ardgal ordered. "Fire at will."

Gorgeous flaming mortar rockets soared through the air the short distance into the wall. The flaming barrage hit the walls with a heavy slam, each one pounding it away, reducing the walls and the men on them to dust. Guns on the corners, ready to cut through infantry, were reduced to twisted heated metal. The screams of surprise were drown out by the screams of the rounds soaring through the air.

"Move in, take it all down," Ardgal ordered, and he once more led the charge forward into the belly of hell.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The battle cry of Alpha company could be heard just before they clamored over the rubble into the court yard from all four sides of the half mile in radius fortress. Guards had taken cover from behind planters, benches, fountains, and the buildings that dotted the picturesque landscape. A fierce firefight ensued as the warriors swept forward. Rifle raised, Ardgal sighed a man behind a bench. Their eyes met for a moment as the man popped over from cover. It was the age old moment. As old as combat itself. Sometimes the faster man survived. Sometimes it was just luck. Other times it was just a matter of the environment. Ardgal pulled the trigger, his shot rang true. The general leapt over a planter, coming face to face with one of the defenders. The man fired wildly terrified and missing traggically. The soldier brought his rifle down in a quick strike that sent his carcass clattering to the ground.

Ardgal turned and spotted one of his soldiers pushed down by a guard. The thug reared his rifle back for the final strike--Ardgal stopped him with a shot to the hip, chest, and head. As the body clattered down, the soldier gave his general a grateful nod, Ardgal nodded back, it was every vod for his vod. That was what the fight was about.

A flurry of blaster fire tore through the streets as one of the guards mounted an E-Web turret.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The soldiers in the courtyard scrambled for cover, each diving for the hard ground gain they had taken. The blaster bolts tore deep into the stone flooring, tearing it apart and threatening to destroy their bodies. One E-Web of course, was enough to pin down an entire operation if it was well placed.

Ardgal quickly reloaded his rifle, his mind running through his next plan. He looked to the soldier to his left hidden with him behind the planter. "Give me your thermal detonators."

The young man did as he was told, Ardgal took his two and this man's two, quickly tapping them together with a few loose bits of thermal tape he had left over from the planation. It never hurt to have to much of this stuff on hand, and now was on occasion that proved that right. With a tap of his finger, Ardgal primed each of the thermal detonators before slipping a pea-sized remote detonator in the center thermal tape holding it all together. The young soldier gave Ardgal a puzzled look from behind his visor.

"Can you cover me?" Ardgal asked.

The soldier nodded.

Ardgal quickly popped over the planter as his comrade gave a flurry of blaster fire. The general lobbed the massive explosive package towards the building holding the E Web turret. He ducked for cover again before activating the remote detinator. The explosion rocked him to his core, shredding through the Turret, leveling the building and three more around it.

"Clear!" shouted one of the other soldiers. And the attack continued.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The team breached the central home, much like a hold of an ancient castle. Blood covered the floor as Alpha Company tore through the enemy with extreme prejudice. Bodies of guards and enemy mercenaries littered the floor like flies as they fought desperately to defend their crime boss. Servants and slaves who surrendered were handcuffed and escorted to the courtyard. They would be tried later by the locals. For Ardgal that didn't matter right now, it was about getting to the end of this all.

The fight led Ardgal to the bottom level, where the "safe room" was that Thaliss had retreated to. The demolitionists moved to open it, smearing thermal tape on the weak points. Ardgal and the others stood by, vigilant. A few of the mercenaries were foolish enough to try a counter asssault that was repelled like swatting flies. They were getting desperate. Ardgal knew he would feel proud later, when this was all over.

"We are clear to breech," One of them reported.

"Go," Ardgal ordered, raising his rifle.

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

The door swung wide with the boom, as the dust cleared, Ardgal could see the massive Thaliss there, with his closest guards and prostitutes. The guards fell with a flurry of blood, their master lurched, screaming on his dais of pillows, begging for his life, "Please, please, stop, I will give you anything just dont--dont--"

Ardgal strode forward towards the crying mess of blubber, "In the name of the Naboo government, and in the name of the people you have harmed," Ardgal shouldered his rifle and drew his blade, "I rid thee from the the galaxy, may the gods have mercy on your soul."

"No, please, no, you want money? I got money, lots for--" Ardgal lurched forward, driving his blade into the man's throat, and ending his words.

The husk of the body fell silent in a round mess. Ardgal flicked its blood off his gauntlet disgusted before turning back to his troops, "Gather what you can. Anything of value can be auctioned; books, art, furniture, anything at all. This is the main payment we are getting so gather all you can. We will need it. Don't underestimate what anyone will spend a shiny credit on, just grab it all and we will see what we can sell off."

 

[Ardgal Raxis]

Dawn had broken across the war torn landscape before the Alpha Company was finished. The soldiers were meticulously through, cleaning through the entire compound three times over. Private libraries were raided, furniture was lifted and hauled off, paintings and sculptures were carted away. Guns, credits, armor, and jewelry were relieved from bodies, dresser drawers were raided for fine linens, even the curtains and appliances were removed. This was, as their general had said, the bulk of their payment, there was no need to leave a single tin cred behind, especially when they were struggling to make ends meet as it was.

When the gathering was done, the building was rigged with explosives. The Company strapped their loot onto speeders and carried them away, back to their base. When they had left, the team detonated the explosives, sending the tomb up in a ball of fire. Back at their rally point, Ardgal began going through with his offices and cataloging what they had gathered. The weapons that were useless to them, they would sell off. The amror, clothing, appliances, jewelry and art would all go too.

"What is this?" Ardgal asked picking up a chrome cylinder that had been tossed aside.

"Its a lightsaber, sir, it was found in one of the private studies on a pillow," one of the officers informed him.

Ardgal tucked it away in his pocket and nodded, 'Alright then, carry on."

There was something about it that looked strangely familiar, as if he had seen it before, somewhere. In a text book, or history. He shook his head, it couldn't be, that was--

"Sir, what shall we do with this?" asked one of the officers breaking Ardgal from his thoughts.

Later that night, he looked back through is references in Thaliss' recent purchases. He found it, an image of the lightsaber among the druglord's most recent and filthy acquirement. He read the description aloud, "Bastila Shan's lightsaber. Used by the ancient Jedi Master and companion of Revan, this light--" his voice fell short as he read the description. A rare sense of awe over took him at the history he held before him, at what this weapon has seen. It was indeed, worthy of more respect than rotting away in some grimy drugdealer's private collection.