In Progress Remnants

This is taken from a RP forum. The events are basically that the X-Parasites have overrun and infested Coruscant. That's literally all the context you need to understand this.

My intent is not to advertise (although admittedly that's a nice bonus), but to get some additional feedback on this.

Each chapter will get its own post, which shall be linked in this post. Each shall be listed as Chapter x because I am not creative enough to give each part names. This sucker can and will get violent, so yeah.

Chapter One

Chapter Two: Electric Boogaloo

Check left, check right. No signs of enemies on either side. With this he quickly darted back and grabbed his weapon, an old blaster rifle. He didn’t waste any time settling it; once he had his finger on the trigger, he was off. With the blaster rifle in tow, another check was made. There was still no sign of anything on the streets, and so in a burst of speed the man ran to the shop, closing the door behind him almost before he cleared it. Now could breathe more easily, but only for a moment. He was on a mission.

The man darted throughout the store, gathering provisions and stuffing them into the bag slung across his back. Food, water, and a few cartridges of ammunition all went into the duffle. He filled it as full as he dared, and then made his way out of the store. He was halfway across the street when he felt pressure on his arm. The man was roughly spun about, and what he saw filled him with dread. At first glance it may have been thought to be another human. It stood on two legs and held itself upright… But the similarities ended there. The creature wore a purple exoskeleton that had the appearance of armor, with spaces in the underbelly and along the backs of the arms and legs where the hide was green. As it stared the man down, the creature hissed menacingly.

The beast bent in close to examine its capture. The man meanwhile tried his damndest to avoid making any eye contact with the invader, but had minimal success. The creature had made a quick circle about him- He knew this because occasionally he would feel a claw prod here and there. After its first check, the creature made another go-around. This time if found particular interest in the man’s bag. It was forcibly ripped off his back and thrown to the ground. He heard some of the contents rolling out, and before he knew it the creature was in his face again. There was no avoiding looking into those emotionless insect eyes from this distance. The two stared each other down for several minutes- Man and beast, until finally beast made the first move.

It was a long series of growls and guttural sounds, varying in pitch but always sounding horrendous. The man knew some of various alien languages, but this… This was unlike anything he had ever heard before. The sounds seemed completely random, more akin to an animal’s cries than any spoken word. After the babble, both sides stood silent. The man finally realized the creature was waiting, but by this time it had already moved forward. He felt tremendous pressure on his arm, and before he knew it he was laid out on the ground, a foot on his back. There was only one conclusion for this now, and as he waited, the man grit his teeth and willed himself that he would not cry out, would not move.

From such a close range, the creature could not miss. And it opened its lobster claws and fired into the man’s head. Energy blast after energy blast raced forward, tearing through flesh and burning the metal walkway. With each shot, the creature seemed to be more overjoyed, until finally it walked away from the fresh kill. The beast moved quickly, obviously overjoyed.

Hiding in an ally, a man and a woman had watched the scene. Neither moved to help after the creature had walked off- It had fired so much, the scout’s head was effectively vaporized. They could see from their hiding place that the neck was burned from the laser fire to the point that it did not bleed. Silently, both moved back to their hideout. It pained her to not retrieve the body. He knew that they needed to move before the creature directed its allies towards its kill.

-----

<WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE STILL CRAFT ON THE RUNWAY? MOVE THEM!> As General IL-825 spoke, others moved to carry out his orders. The pirate’s black exoskeleton stood out amongst the sea of purple. This was good- It helped distinguish him, and the old pirate hierarchy was still used amongst the X. The black pirates were elite generals- Not quite on the level of those such as Ridley or Kraid, but they were up there. Amongst the X, though, the rarity of such specimens placed them higher on the chain of command. IL-825 had command of the entire planet when higher-ups were not around; he was currently prepping for the arrival of the highest-up.

After several hours, the fightercraft that were docked on the runway had lifted off and were now patrolling the skies. A few of these were flying in very large circles in order to hide the fact that they were just up in the sky for appearance’s sake. There was a large amount of chatter as pirates lined the runway. All of a sudden, one pirate pointed into the sky, and its sighting was confirmed by several others. It was a distant black shape far up in the atmosphere, a shape which was continually growing larger as it flew downwards. Before long, pirates were driven back on both sides of the runway due to the reentry heat that still radiated from the fighter. As the craft neared the ground, landing gear extended, allowing the craft to slow down safely. When the spacecraft finally came to a stop, the cockpit opened and a figure leapt out. All voices hushed for a moment, in respect it would seem. The clanking of metal boots against metal reverberated throughout the silent air. A voice finally broke the air- The slight digital alteration easily identified its owner.

“All right, that’s enough gawking. Everyone to your posts.”

-----

<And so you see, Commander, restructuring of the planet’s factories is going on schedule. We will have it producing weapons and vehicles within the month.> IL-825 was trying his hardest to sound professional, to sound grand, to sound confident. He was hoping that his sheer nervousness was hidden away, unseen to the world. But still, who had more right to be nervous than he? Not five feet away from him was the SA-X: Not only was she the most powerful of their number, the Commander of their army, and the leader of their people, but she was also the trunk of the tree. All the X in the multiverse could trace their lineage to her.

“General, you’re daydreaming again.” IL-825 nearly yelped at the realization, and so he hurried on through his status reports on various planetary systems and activities. IL tried to rush past the communications room where military activities were coordinated. He was almost to the next area when he heard words that chilled him to his core.

“General, come here please.” Fear grabbed at him, tried to drag him into a blind run far away. Loyalty compelled him to go as he was called.

“What is this I see about survivor groups? I believe I specified in no uncertain terms that I wanted this planet completely in our grasp. You assured me that you could do this.” IL-825 had abandoned all pretenses and was quaking. Surely she couldn’t possibly have assumed that they actually could kill or infest every non-X in such a short timeframe. He had run missions to the planet’s underbelly! These survivors were the exception, not the rule!

“What I want to know most, General, is about this group here,” the SA-X had moved away from one screen and was at another, pointing at a specific list. It was split into several columns: CODENAME, ESTIMATED SIZE, TYPE, and THREAT LEVEL. At the top of the list was a group called Priority One. It was the only group with a threat level of “Dangerous”. IL tried to stammer out an explanation, but he found that all that occurred was that his mandibles clacked noisily.

A few moments passed that to the pirate general seemed like years, as the SA-X went over the data the screen presented. Just shoot me, he thought. It would have been better than this agonizing wait. If the SA-X was good at anything, it was psychological punishment. Finally, she spoke.

“As far as I am concerned you are now just an ordinary trooper. If you manage to perform well in what lies ahead, then maybe, maybe you can work your way back up the ranks. Go back with the troops outside. I will join you momentarily.”

“C… Commander?”

“I have a plan.”

“Clear, get on in before some show!” She spoke in a soft whisper. Battle rifles held ready, the two men silently entered the building after their one last sweep of the perimeter. It was necessary whenever they moved headquarters. The enemy was literally everywhere. A behemoth of a man was the first to walk in- Tall and insanely muscled, with a practical knowledge rare amongst denizens of Coruscant pre-infection; Naut was a natural for the Rebel Alliance and had served them well. That training had allowed him to survive the hell that was what had become of the planet. After he entered the seemingly decrepit building, the second man followed. While not as purely monstrous, Boss was still a well built specimen, physically fit and highly intelligent. He had to be. If you were neither of those things, than Lord Vader simply had no more use for you. Once both men were inside, the door was slid shut silently as possible.

Inside was a quiet hive of activity, as various small knobs of survivors set back up the equipment they had been able to grab before the surge of creatures attacked their previous headquarters. They had managed to get everyone out alive this time, again, but all knew that they were living on borrowed time. They were a varied lot- Humans alongside various other races, united under the banner of survival.

“Boss, we’re all in place. I’m going to try to get in contact with the supply depot again, notify them that Business Sector A-12 is no longer safe.” The former Imperial nodded at the statement and continued to check on his force. Everyone was tired: Tired of running. Tired of having to watch their backs and their steps. Tired of the checks to confirm they had not fallen victim to the yellow jellies that flew everywhere, that would kill you and turn themselves into you within a few hours. But there was nothing they could do. They were the largest group of resistance on the planet, and yet even for them making a break for the spaceports would be suicide. The handful of unguarded spaceports were halfway across the planet, across countless miles of enemy territory. And though fighting the conquerors was largely futile, at the very least they annoyed them. It kept them frantic, kept them wasting resources that could be used in so many more harmful ways.

“Everybody, get settled in and rested up. We’re taking down one of their transports tomorrow.”

-----
A group of spacecraft tore through the still air of the neighborhood areas. Three purple, spheroid craft with tails behind them escorted a pair of large bulky ships that undulated as they flew. At the helm of each was a Space Pirate-X, highly trained in this exact activity. The ATCs had been modified from their original purpose as troop transports into a supply role- The sitting quarters in the back had been stripped bare so as to provide more room for foodstuffs, weapons, and the various other supplies X produced at their factories and needed at installations. The high nutritious value of the Space Pirate rations that were a majority of the supplies made them prime targets for insurgents, and so the transports were fitted with a small-scale shield generator in addition to their standard heavy armor and rapid fire energy cannon.

<GAM-887, isn’t this a bad idea? Lieutenant told us to stick to the flight path.> The voice crackled over the squadron leader’s coms. A hoarse series of clucks bleated out in response, the Space Pirate’s form of laughter.

<And what’s he going to do about it? Complain that we got through a few hours earlier? Now shut up and fly, transport jockey, or I just might remember that incident with the hornoads.> There was no further banter on the subject.

-----
It was ideal cover. There was only one direction from which they were exposed and could be seen, but they had their stolen rocket launchers aimed in that direction, towards a very particular airway. It was directly en-route from one hub of enemy activity to another, and spacecraft activity had been detected. This would be the perfect ambush point.

Behind them, a pile of rockets was stacked carefully. Each wielded a stolen rocket launcher, on which they had practiced for days so that reloading would be quick and natural. Once they started shooting, the enemy would waste no time in vaporizing them. They needed to down all the craft before they could turn around to shoot back. And for their escape, a speeder was parked behind the hideout, hidden from view.

“Are they coming?” This was Corona’s first combat mission. She was nervous. The old Imperial armor she was wearing didn’t seem like it fit right, and she still wasn’t entirely confident with a blaster. The massive Naut terrified her, and the young Jedi that was tagging along with them always gave her the creeps. That he was the only one of the three unarmored, and that the only weapon he had on him was that dingy little lightsaber of his did not make her breathe easier .

“They should be coming any moment now, if that coms feed we hacked into is correct.” Despite the worrying word “if”, the cool tone with which Boss spoke eased her mind a little. She quietly picked the rocket launcher back up, made a quick check of the weapon, and waited. Once the attack started, things would get vicious very quickly. She needed to keep a cool head. That was the one thing that was stressed above all else.

-----
Five craft entered the restricted airspace of the Command Center, Tiamat anti-air cannons trained on them until the five pilots confirmed their identities.

<Are you ever going to learn to stick to the flight path?> The question was posed to the flight leader, who was now out on the ground and assisting in unloading the transport’s supplies. The two were good friends, having fought together when Coruscant’s natives started to recognize the infestation for what it was, and started to resist.

<Ah, you remember the push on District Twenty. Command is all about them shortcuts. Sides,> The flight commander looked to each side. The worker pirates were busy out of earshot, and the other pilots were assisting them to speed things up. There was nobody who would hear a little whisper. <I got a direct order to take that alternate route. From the Commander herself!>

-----
“Alright people, pack it up. Our intel was wrong.” The sun was starting to dip low over the horizon, which meant the various feral beasts the conquerors employed would soon be out and about. They had a tendency to be far more vicious than any ordinary soldier they employed. It was time to pack up and get back to base.

She couldn’t help but notice Boss’s attitude. He took every mission personally; it was a small part of why they had as many successes as they did. To see him this way never failed to devastate. The thought crossed her mind to go say something, but she pushed it aside. Disarming those missiles for transport was a tricky enough business fully concentrated on the task.

“Blaster fire! Get down!” Naut’s sudden cry brought them all crouching down, weapons drawn, in a maneuver that had become reflex long ago. Sure enough, now that they were listening they could hear the sounds. The distinctive hum of the invader’s weapons charging, followed by the blast. And now that they were listening, the rapid pews of the E-11 blaster could be heard in response. Boss finally looked over the barricade to see the commotion. He could barely make it out from the distance, but it seemed like a small group of the invaders had someone pinned down. There was no discussion about it. The group hopped into the speeder. Boss always tried to lend a hand.

-----

Red pirates are the elite. Each had proved his worth a dozen times over, and had been rewarded accordingly. Their exoskeletons were tougher, their weapons were more brutal. And three of them had been on patrol when they came across a lone human. The human had turned and fled when it sighted them- That and the fact that it was out here alone was all they needed to identify an enemy. Blaster fire filled the air, as the pirates fired their weapons and the human responded with one of its own. The human wasn’t firing very accurately, but the laser bolts hurt and that was enough to keep them back, along with the knowledge that the human weapons of this world had limited ammunition. The human would run out of shots soon enough, and when that happened the pirates knew they could move in for an easy kill.

So focused on they on the task at hand, though, that the pirates did not notice the hum of the speeder until it was too late to do anything about it. The vehicle crashed through the pirate squad, sending them all sprawling in different directions. A figure in a tan robe leapt out of the speeder after this, bringing a metal tube from his belt. As he landed, he jabbed the lightsaber towards one of the pirates, igniting it as he plunged the weapon. The pirate let out an ear-shattering scream, as it lost its form and became its natural form. The lightsaber burned the parasite severely, and within seconds the creature was no more.

Padawan brought his blade up after dispatching the invader, watching the other two pick themselves up. Neither seemed particularly concerned that they had lost one of their own, but it was so hard to read these creatures. One on his left turned to its brother on the right, and a series of horrible sounds passed between them. It was their language, but it was so alien that he couldn’t even begin to imagine how to interpret it. Whatever one on the left had said, the one on the right had apparently agreed to. Padawan suddenly realized that he was being flanked.

A quick slice behind him, and the creature suddenly found itself without a head. As the head rolled from the body, both were obscured by the air until naught but the yellow jelly remained. Padawan wasted no time in stabbing this, and found himself satisfied at the scream the creature let loose.

“Two down, one to-“ Padawan never finished his statement, as the last invader had taken the few seconds he was occupied to close in. He felt powerful claws grab onto his arms and force him down on the ground. He felt a huge surge of pain as the creature squeezed, likely trying to make him let go of his lightsaber. Without his weapon, he would be helpless, easy prey. He had not been in training long enough to learn how to use the powers of the Force…

No… NO!

Padawan felt another squeeze on his arm. If this kept up much longer, it would be broken, and he would be worthless. Another squeeze…

“Now!” A barrage of fire erupted from the speeder. The invaders had been too distracted by Padawan to pay much attention to the vehicle, and now Naut, Boss, and Corona were launching their attack. The creature let go of Padawan to turn back to face these new aggressors, but right before it could charge its weapon, the lightsaber’s blade found itself on the other side of its torso. As the last creature withered away to nothing, Padawan collapsed.

“Alright, it’s safe now! You can come out!” Boss called out as loudly as he dared. There could very well be another patrol not far away, and the sun wasn’t getting any higher. A few seconds passed, and then the person walked out into the open. It was a young woman, wearing some kind of light armor. Her brown hair fell to her shoulders, and she had a hesitant smile.

“I guess if you were with them you would have shot me by now.” Boss chuckled, and then motioned towards the speeder.

“Come on, we have room. And help us get him in the speeder, he’s hurt.” Within a few minutes, everyone was in the speeder, which was being taken on a memorized route to get back home as quickly as possible.

“You’re going to have to tell me what you were doing out there.”

“Now, that’s a story...”