NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 153: Chapter 153
---Victor POV---
Rendering all the assistance we could to those affected by Lala's creations, we made a hasty getaway and relocated to the Algrand-Republic border. Satisfied that we had given the Devilukeans the slip, thanks to our Blink Drive, I took a moment to examine the unusual metal used to power the machine. Roughly the size of a 90's boombox, the lump of mysterious metal turned out to be a mixture of Badassium and Uru. While that was a surprise in and of itself, what startled me more was the power output it had. Second, only to my Void and Zero Point Modules, the metal alloy generated one hundred times more energy than the Sun did every second.
(AN: For those wondering, this is how much power the Sun outputs every second: 3.8 x 1026 W)
'While this will certainly revolutionize how I power my technology moving forward, it does leave me with some serious questions. First, where the hell did the Devilukeans get the material in the first place? Second, how did its creator manage to fuse the two metals in the first place? Lastly, does this mean Terra is not the original cradle of humanity?', I thought, pondering these questions. "Ionica, are you absolutely certain the Devilukean Empire has never paid the Imperium a visit?"
"One hundred percent certain, yes. Neither the Emperor of Mankind nor our vast archive has any information about them.", Ionica assured me, tapping Ahsoka on the shoulder. "I hate to be a bother, but can you share what you know about them with me? My superior wants a detailed report so we can advise our people to be wary of them."
"Of course, I do not mind in the slightest.", Ahsoka agreed, swiveling her chair around. "So, to start with, Devilukeans all have uniquely shaped tails…"
Certain now that Terra was not the original Earth, that meant the Imperium of Man resided in an unknown galaxy that was strikingly similar to the Milky Way. While it did not really matter in the grand scheme of things, I wondered why the Emperor was so hellbent on making everyone believe it was true. Laying claim to the cradle of humanity did not grant the Imperium any influence over those that lived outside the galaxy. At best, it was just to brag about it, but that did not fit the Emperor's usual line of forethought.
'When I have a moment alone with him, I will ask him directly about it. It does not affect our plans moving forward, but it would certainly be cool to know.', I thought, studying the metal closely for a few more minutes.
Gleaning all the information I could from it with Jarvis' scanners, I decided to investigate its manufacturing method at a later date. Focusing on the tasks ahead of our group, I had Jarvis bring up the additional information we were sent by the association regarding our contracts. Skimming through the data, trying to get an idea of where we should start looking for them, an excerpt at the end of the data caught my attention immediately.
"…please be warned that the members of the Orion Syndicate have been reportedly seen in the region. We ask you to please report any encounters you have with them.", I read aloud, "Are they fucking serious!? Why the hell was this information not given to us when we were reviewing the contracts with Amelia?"
"Welcome to the world of professional bounty hunting!", Samus laughed dryly, "Legally, they are only required to give us the details provided on the contracts themselves. It is common for bounty hunters like us to pay the association or information brokers for additional intelligence regarding our contracts. Had I done it on my last job, I would probably still have a ship right now. Unfortunately, since the contract came from what I thought was a reputable source, I did not feel the need to waste my credits on it."
"What is the Orion Syndicate?", Serana inquired.
"It is a powerful criminal organization that is operated almost exclusively by a race of people called Orions. From arms dealing to slavery, they commit countless atrocities throughout this region of the universe every hour of the day.", Bo-Katan commented, with a disgusted expression, "Their main stomping grounds are the Algrand Empire and Galactic Republic, but they have been known to occasionally attack other neighboring galactic nations as well. Usually our military forces keep them in check, but thanks to our military being divided between two fronts, the eastern fringe of the Republic has been left to fend for itself. It really pisses me off!"
"It sounds like the large number of contracts we saw was caused by more than just a large influx of space pirates.", Deirdre commented as she finished polishing the hilt of her blade. "Since the Republic is incapable of defending its constituents properly, we should step in to help the people here."
"I wholeheartedly agreed!", Angelica seconded, with a resolute nod, "We cannot allow the people to suffer because of the incompetence of their leadership. Until we receive permission to enter the Algrand Empire, let's track down every pirate we can find and obliterate them!"
Enthusiastically agreeing with Angelica's words, everyone was onboard with her suggestion. While I agreed that something needed to be done, simply hunting down individual groups of pirates was far too inefficient. Believing we should instead focus our energy on places where criminals offload and resupply their vessels, I felt our time would be better spent crippling their infrastructure and taking out those who we came across in the process. Pitching my suggestion to the group, the group immediately voiced their agreement with me.
"Let me see here…", Bo-Katan said, pulling up a map of the sector we were in, "If I were a criminal organization, I would utilize abandoned space stations or derelict military installations to operate out of. They already have large space docks and need only a bit of work to bring them back online again. With that in mind, there are only three locations that fit this description. The former Aeris Colony, Drifter's Rest Dock, and Fort Paragon."
"Which is closest to us?", Clarice inquired.
"Fort Paragon is only twenty light years north of our present location.", Bo-Katan answered. "To be safe, we will want to have the New Genesis hang back. If there are criminals there, they will bolt the moment they catch sight of her."
"Fair point, we will take the Endless Horizon in to have a look.", I agreed, charting a course that put us roughly five light years away from the fortress. "If they have taken up residence in the base, I want all the illegal slaves extracted before we obliterate the place. I will not consign them to the same fate as those filthy pigs."
Activating our cloaking field, I punched in the coordinates of our destination and got us underway.
---Fort Paragon---
Created over two thousand years ago, during a particularly brutal period in the Algrand Empire's history, Fort Paragon served as a crucial part of the Republic's secondary line of defense against their rapidly expanding neighbor. Shutdown a few decades after a much more moderate regime took over; the Republic had planned to destroy it but never got around to doing so. Converted into a black market by the Orion Syndicate a few hundred years ago, it now served as a haven for corrupt politicians and criminals alike.
Mooring my flagship at the very edge of the docks, I gave clear instructions to massacre anyone who dared to try to forcibly enter my ships. Bringing only a few people with me, Aela, Amallyn, Bo-Katan, Roxanne, Samus, and I disembarked the Endless Horizons and made our way inside. Greeted by the stench of decay and despair, as we exited the airlock, Roxanne began to feel very queasy.
"No need to hurry; take a moment to collect yourself. You will get used to this putrid stench in a few minutes.", Bo-Katan assured her, "I felt the exact same way the first time I came to one of these shitholes."
"Sometimes I wish I did not have a heightened sense of smell…", Roxanne laughed, with a pale expression.
Using magic to deaden her sense of smell temporarily, Roxanne began to rapidly recover from her queasiness. Once her stomach settled, we continued onward and explored the market a bit, wanting to see what all was here. While the lion's share of the arms and armor on offer were inferior to what I possessed, a few relics caught my eye. Lifted from archeological sites and undiscovered ruins from around the Republic, each item was priced exorbitantly high as the sellers felt collectors would pay top dollar for them.
Purchasing everything that caught my eye, after a bit of haggling with the vendor, I utilized my ability to manipulate technology to falsify payment transactions. Seeing what they thought was a lump payment entering their accounts, none of them would live long enough to receive the transaction error messages later today.
'Once all these bastards are dead, I will use their financial accounts to compensate the illegal slaves equally. The money will not erase the trauma they have endured, but it will make their lives significantly easier for decades to come.', I thought, maintaining a stone-faced expression, "Anything catching your eyes, ladies?"
"Not really; most of the offers are garbage compared to what I am carrying.", Bo-Katan stated, monitoring the tail we picked up shortly after entering the market. "More importantly, I am concerned that our followers are not making a move against us. They clearly want to capture us, but they are acting too timid for my liking."
"Haha, I believe the reason for that is fairly obvious.", Aela stated with a playful smile, "Put yourself in their shoes; would you want to risk a fight with Victor over us?"
"That is a fair point; I had not considered that.", Bo-Katan admitted with a light chuckle. "I am so used to operating alone that when stuff like this happens, it feels like I am heading into an ambush or trap."
"I understand that feeling.", Samus said, looking around the immediate area. "If we are done here, we should continue to the slave auction. Judging by how the crowd is moving, I think the auction is about to begin."
Agreeing with her assessment, the six of us began pushing our way through the crowd toward the main roadway. Following the surge of people toward the massive stage, a rather portly Orion stepped out from behind a curtain to kick things off. Giving the crowd a quick overview of the slaves they had on offer today, the curtain slowly swung open revealing hundreds of terrified men, women, and children. Beaten, bruised, and wearing little more than rags, each of them had a large metallic collar strapped to their necks.
"Are those what I think they are…?", I inquired, clenching my fist in anger.
"Unfortunately yes, those are high explosive collars. The Galactic Republic uses them at Supermax facilities to keep inmates in line and prevent escape attempts.", Bo-Katan confirmed, "If we teleport these people away from the stage before defusing the collars, their collars will detonate within five seconds."
"Something must have happened recently for them to fork out the credits for those collars. Each one costs a little over half a million credits, and that is assuming you can find someone selling them. Usually they only jam teleporter frequencies and have a lot of guards monitoring for suspicious people.", Samus commented, noticing that the security guards were all sporting newer arms and armor. "Based on my observations, someone in the Republic's government is helping the Orion Syndicate run this place."
"Does not surprise me in the least…", Bo-Katan scoffed, shaking her head in annoyance.
"Well, if teleporting the illegal slaves out is not an option, what should we do?", Aela inquired as the auction began.
Unhooking a young brother and sister duo from their chains, two Orion workers dragged them forward for the bidders to look over. Feeling the bidder's unsettling gazes beginning to fall upon them, the young girl hid behind her brother, who was trembling in fear. Angered by the girl's reaction, one of the workers ripped her out from behind her brother and pushed her forward.
"DADDY!! MOMMY!! SAVE ME!!", she screamed as snot and tears began streaming down her face.
As the two siblings began to cry, the crowd began fervently bidding on them. Listening to the disgusting animals bid on the petrified children, I subconsciously drew my lightsabers off my waist.
"Endless Horizons, deploy all our troops to seize control of this fortress. Not one of these pathetic excuses for sentient life is allowed to leave here alive!", I growled, as my murderous aura began to make everyone in the vicinity fall silent, "New Genesis, block all communications within three light years and prepare to fire upon any vessel that attempts to flee the scene."
Acknowledging my orders, both ships began to act immediately as I engaged my lightsabers. Discovering that I was a Jedi, the bidders began to flee while the guards moved in to subdue me. Taking a single step forward, I slammed my foot into the floor, causing the entire fortress to violently shake. Turning the first two rows of guards into red mist with a swing of my right arm, the people who had been tailing us attempted to attack me from the rear. Intercepting them, Bo-Katan blasted two of their heads off while Aela and Roxanne decapitated the remaining three with their swords.
"Do you think you will get away with this!?", the auctioneer shouted as a series of explosions shook the fortress. "The Orion Syndicate has powerful backers here in the Republic; you will pay dearly for your transgressions. If you value your position and status, turn around and leave now!"
"Is that supposed to be a threat, little boy?", I commented, appearing before him in an instant.
Having gravely underestimated me, due to my build and size, the Orion began to profusely sweat and tremble. Slowly craning his neck back, he nearly fell over trying to meet my gaze.
"Holy fuck!!", he shrieked, falling on his backside. "What are you?!"
"My name is Victor von Stark, a Jedi Sage and a Primarch of the Imperium of Man!", I informed him before crushing him into green paste with my boot. "Ladies, if you would, please give these bastards the fitting end they deserve!"
Nodding their heads in acknowledgment, the six of us began hunting down every last scumbag while the illegal slaves watched us dismantle the entire operation.