08-30-2016, 02:04 PM
Captain Desh sat at his desk in one of the many substations of the Empire Peace Division. His decorated Stormtrooper helmet sat off to the side of the numerous amounts of paperwork he was forced to deal with, from little things like acquisitions to more notable incidents like use of force. It was tedious work that needed to be done in a timely manner, but he couldn’t help but be relieved to see one of his subordinates, Sergeant Sull entering the small office.
“Please tell me something interesting is going on,” Desh mumbled as he brushed a paper aside, and replaced it with one devoid of ink.
“As a matter of fact,” Sull began slowly, looking to his supervisor. “We have one that might need your input.”
“Oh?” Desh perked up at the thought of something to break the monotony.
“We’ve got a Prime in the lobby, say he wants to help out and join up,” Sull explained.
Desh shrugged. There was a standard procedure for this. “Tell him he’s got to prove himself like all the others. Send him after that guy that’s been running gang initiations.”
“Well, uh, that’s the thing,” Sull scratched the back of his head. “This one’s a bit unstable. Searle ran into him at the Nexus, and the guys scanning at the gate did too, of course. Everyone’s reports say this dude was running his mouth about his great power and how everyone’s going to bow before him and what-not. Let’s just say there’s a lot of warning flags.”
Desh paused for a moment, then chuckled as he stood up. “So he wants to kill us all, like a lot of primes that wander through the gate, except this guy has the decency to help us a bit, first?”
Sull shrugged. “That’s one way of looking at it.”
“I’ll go talk with him, get him informed about where we want him,” Desh mulled aloud. “He might need some help, though, if we send him after Bulldog.”
“I’d hate to divert real troops to him, in case this is just a ploy to lead good soldiers into a trap,” Sull crossed his arms as he presented the counter point.
“We still have those four rookies hanging around?” Desh asked after a brief pause. “The two guys and two girls that needed to be assigned a unit?”
“Yea, they’re somewhere in this building,” Sull remarked, following that train of thought.
“Go get them while I talk to our new friend,” the captain decided. “He’ll get the four fresh rooks, that way he can’t mess us up or learn much about us. It’ll be easier to put him down when the time comes.”
“Yes, sir,” the sergeant replied as he departed the room.
Captain Desh exited his office as well, heading towards the entrance to the substation. It was a bit of a gambit, but he’d learned to play with whatever hand you were dealt. There could be a promotion in this, if it worked out. If it didn’t, then at least he could claim he’d shown initiative.
He’d forgotten to ask what the fresh prime looked like, but he didn’t worry too much. They usually stood out. Sure enough, as he rounded the corner he could already hear a deep voice raving about something, and he soon found himself face to visor with an individual that looked like they were ripped right out of a horror movie. It was a bit unsettling, even for such an experienced veteran. He bit his tongue, and pressed on with his job, despite the sight before him.
“I’m Captain Desh, Imperial Stormtrooper Corps,” the captain introduced himself very briefly.
“Lord Zedd,” the once-galactic overlord introduced himself as briefly as he could, visibly disgusted to make pleasantries with this inferior being.
Desh nodded, ignoring the self-appointed title. “So, you want to join the Empire?”
“If this is where the real power in the Omniverse is, then I desire it for myself,” Zedd merely replied.
Desh again found himself bobbing his head in acknowledgement. This one really was a strange case. “Alright, well, you have to prove yourself first.”
An exasperated sigh escaped the metal grates of Zedd’s facemask. Jumping through hoops for peons sounded like the worst kind of tedious busywork. Still, if he must demonstrate his prowess, he would prefer to do it in the way he was most skilled.
“Very well,” Lord Zedd reluctantly conceded. “Who must I slay in our name?”
“Here’s the deal. We put up with all types of people, from rebels to criminals,” Desh explained, brushing past Zedd’s eagerness to commit murder, for the time being. “The catch is that they aren’t as well supplied or staffed as us, yet they continue to make headway down below. Any idea why that might be?”
“Because you’re incompetent,” Zedd ventured to guess.
“Close,” Desh sarcastically replied, once more holding his tongue. “There’s a runner between lots of organizations. He equips them with gear and also handles a lot of the recruiting and initiations. It would seem like quite the large task, but we suspect he’s a prime, just like you. That means we can will up equipment and personnel, when he’s not recruiting already present secondaries.”
“And you want me to eliminate this supplier?” Zedd scoffed. “Is that it?”
“No, we want him alive. He’s in touch with many organizations, so the information he gives us could be invaluable,” Desh quickly corrected Zedd. “Bring him back here intact, and you’re in.”
“How droll,” Zedd was immediately bored by the prospect of a nonlethal mission. “What of his associates?”
“Anyone that’s not employed by us or an innocent bystander is fair game,” Desh explained. “Do all the damage you like to the cells below in the process, just bring us this man.”
“Very well,” Zedd reluctantly accepted these terms. “Provide me with a detailed report on him and also a legion of your finest troops.”
“We’ll give you four Stormtroopers and see how you handle them,” Desh chuckled, to Zedd’s silent fury. “We don’t know much about him, to be honest. Calls himself the Bulldog. Don’t know any true associates, either. You’ll have to do some digging.”
“Tell me something useful, at least,” Zedd demanded, though it came out more like a plea.
“Word is there’s going to be a gang initiation he orchestrated, down on Tier 3 this evening,” Desh explained. “If you can detect it and thwart it, you just might be able to make one of them talk.” The captain could tell the odd prime was unimpressed, but that was his problem. He merely waved Zedd along. “Come on, let me introduce you to your new best friends.”
Zedd watched the Stormtrooper depart before following after him. His insides burned with rage at this injustice. He was so far above such menial tasks, especially with the support of such useless grunts. This was going to be more difficult to stomach than he’d thought.
“Please tell me something interesting is going on,” Desh mumbled as he brushed a paper aside, and replaced it with one devoid of ink.
“As a matter of fact,” Sull began slowly, looking to his supervisor. “We have one that might need your input.”
“Oh?” Desh perked up at the thought of something to break the monotony.
“We’ve got a Prime in the lobby, say he wants to help out and join up,” Sull explained.
Desh shrugged. There was a standard procedure for this. “Tell him he’s got to prove himself like all the others. Send him after that guy that’s been running gang initiations.”
“Well, uh, that’s the thing,” Sull scratched the back of his head. “This one’s a bit unstable. Searle ran into him at the Nexus, and the guys scanning at the gate did too, of course. Everyone’s reports say this dude was running his mouth about his great power and how everyone’s going to bow before him and what-not. Let’s just say there’s a lot of warning flags.”
Desh paused for a moment, then chuckled as he stood up. “So he wants to kill us all, like a lot of primes that wander through the gate, except this guy has the decency to help us a bit, first?”
Sull shrugged. “That’s one way of looking at it.”
“I’ll go talk with him, get him informed about where we want him,” Desh mulled aloud. “He might need some help, though, if we send him after Bulldog.”
“I’d hate to divert real troops to him, in case this is just a ploy to lead good soldiers into a trap,” Sull crossed his arms as he presented the counter point.
“We still have those four rookies hanging around?” Desh asked after a brief pause. “The two guys and two girls that needed to be assigned a unit?”
“Yea, they’re somewhere in this building,” Sull remarked, following that train of thought.
“Go get them while I talk to our new friend,” the captain decided. “He’ll get the four fresh rooks, that way he can’t mess us up or learn much about us. It’ll be easier to put him down when the time comes.”
“Yes, sir,” the sergeant replied as he departed the room.
Captain Desh exited his office as well, heading towards the entrance to the substation. It was a bit of a gambit, but he’d learned to play with whatever hand you were dealt. There could be a promotion in this, if it worked out. If it didn’t, then at least he could claim he’d shown initiative.
He’d forgotten to ask what the fresh prime looked like, but he didn’t worry too much. They usually stood out. Sure enough, as he rounded the corner he could already hear a deep voice raving about something, and he soon found himself face to visor with an individual that looked like they were ripped right out of a horror movie. It was a bit unsettling, even for such an experienced veteran. He bit his tongue, and pressed on with his job, despite the sight before him.
“I’m Captain Desh, Imperial Stormtrooper Corps,” the captain introduced himself very briefly.
“Lord Zedd,” the once-galactic overlord introduced himself as briefly as he could, visibly disgusted to make pleasantries with this inferior being.
Desh nodded, ignoring the self-appointed title. “So, you want to join the Empire?”
“If this is where the real power in the Omniverse is, then I desire it for myself,” Zedd merely replied.
Desh again found himself bobbing his head in acknowledgement. This one really was a strange case. “Alright, well, you have to prove yourself first.”
An exasperated sigh escaped the metal grates of Zedd’s facemask. Jumping through hoops for peons sounded like the worst kind of tedious busywork. Still, if he must demonstrate his prowess, he would prefer to do it in the way he was most skilled.
“Very well,” Lord Zedd reluctantly conceded. “Who must I slay in our name?”
“Here’s the deal. We put up with all types of people, from rebels to criminals,” Desh explained, brushing past Zedd’s eagerness to commit murder, for the time being. “The catch is that they aren’t as well supplied or staffed as us, yet they continue to make headway down below. Any idea why that might be?”
“Because you’re incompetent,” Zedd ventured to guess.
“Close,” Desh sarcastically replied, once more holding his tongue. “There’s a runner between lots of organizations. He equips them with gear and also handles a lot of the recruiting and initiations. It would seem like quite the large task, but we suspect he’s a prime, just like you. That means we can will up equipment and personnel, when he’s not recruiting already present secondaries.”
“And you want me to eliminate this supplier?” Zedd scoffed. “Is that it?”
“No, we want him alive. He’s in touch with many organizations, so the information he gives us could be invaluable,” Desh quickly corrected Zedd. “Bring him back here intact, and you’re in.”
“How droll,” Zedd was immediately bored by the prospect of a nonlethal mission. “What of his associates?”
“Anyone that’s not employed by us or an innocent bystander is fair game,” Desh explained. “Do all the damage you like to the cells below in the process, just bring us this man.”
“Very well,” Zedd reluctantly accepted these terms. “Provide me with a detailed report on him and also a legion of your finest troops.”
“We’ll give you four Stormtroopers and see how you handle them,” Desh chuckled, to Zedd’s silent fury. “We don’t know much about him, to be honest. Calls himself the Bulldog. Don’t know any true associates, either. You’ll have to do some digging.”
“Tell me something useful, at least,” Zedd demanded, though it came out more like a plea.
“Word is there’s going to be a gang initiation he orchestrated, down on Tier 3 this evening,” Desh explained. “If you can detect it and thwart it, you just might be able to make one of them talk.” The captain could tell the odd prime was unimpressed, but that was his problem. He merely waved Zedd along. “Come on, let me introduce you to your new best friends.”
Zedd watched the Stormtrooper depart before following after him. His insides burned with rage at this injustice. He was so far above such menial tasks, especially with the support of such useless grunts. This was going to be more difficult to stomach than he’d thought.
![[Image: zedd2018.png]](http://epiqz.com/mysigs/zedd2018.png)