Proving Grounds [Complete]

[Lord Zedd]

The enormous city-verse of Coruscant was an amazing sight to behold. Buildings seemed to stretch endlessly into the atmosphere, and cars sped by, both on land and at various altitudes in the sky. Zedd was pained to admit that he was blown away by the spectacle. It was a sharp contrast to the plain white Nexus, and it was a step towards understanding the vast power held by the rulers of this realm. The verse reminded him of Eltar, the planet in his own universe that had been the birth of the conflict between good and evil – at least on the galactic level.

That was a long way away, and a long time ago. Staying in the moment was crucial. If this place was to be his, it would be no easy feat. The three grunts that had loitered through the Nexus were more than a match for him presently, so there was no question that any attempt to claim this land as his would currently be met with devastating failure and humiliation. There was always more than one way to skin a beast, however. The path was clear and simple: infiltrate and learn.

As soon as he could get through this unbearable line. What in the hell could possibly be taking so long? Zedd groaned in frustration as he waited for his turn. After several minutes he found himself at the front of the line of vistors, where more of the white armored clowns were standing guard with not only rifles, but other various tools.

“Welcome to Coruscant,” the lead Stormtrooper said, with just a hint of boredom in his voice. “Stand right there for scanning.”

“Scanning?” Zedd barked in annoyance. “What could you possibly need to scan from me?”

The Stormtroopers hesitantly looked between each other, and the lead one shook his head. A fresh arrival to the Omniverse was always an obvious sight.

“All new arrivals to Coruscant are scanned and IDed,” the Stormtrooper calmly explained, though he took a slightly more defensive posture. “It’s just protocol.”

“How absurd,” Zedd bellowed, but he did not budge as one of the other stormtroopers approached and swung an odd instrument around him. “Your feeble technology cannot begin to grasp the depths of my power.”

“Nothing abnormal detected,” the Stormtrooper reported with just a touch of surprise in his voice. “Pretty run of the mill guy, actually.”

“Insolent…!” Zedd stopped himself only to compose himself. He  snarled as the Stormtrooper still took several steps aside. “I’ll have you know that I ruled my domain with an iron fist before being deposited into this hellhole.”

The lead Stormtrooper could only roll his eyes behind his helmet. “Well, that was there.”

“Your Empire is still in need of my aid,” Zedd ignored the man’s tone, his voice still determined. “How might I begin to show you the path to true glory?”

Once again, the Stormtroopers exchanged glances. Their emotionless helmets couldn’t prevent them from knowing each other’s expressions. Was this guy for real?

“Well, the EPD is always looking for assistance,” the head Stormtrooper finally said. “They have a station not far from here. You’re clear to enter the city, I just have to advise you to keep the peace. Shouldn’t be much of a request if you want to work for us.”

“With you, ingrate,” Zedd was fast to correct him, but the Stormtroopers were already done with this guy. They waved him along, and Zedd merely scoffed, but at the same time eagerly walked past them. There was nothing more to be gained from chatting with the peons.

The dark lord began his stride into the Imperial city. The thought of working for this Empire repulsed him to his very core, but he was willing to make the sacrifice if it could help him achieve his goals. He just had to look at the positives. It was nice that some soon-to-be deposed Emperor had already built him a glorious city.

[Lord Zedd]

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.

[Lord Zedd]

Zedd peered into the room where four stormtroopers sat lounging about. These were supposedly his enforcers for the task he’d been given, but he couldn’t help but feel unimpressed by their immediate appearances. The humans were chatting amongst themselves with their helmets off as they made themselves comfortable on the couches in the break room. Indeed, the camaraderie between the four seemed strong. Disgusting.

“How many kills do they have between them?” Zedd asked as he watched them through a hallway window.

“None,” Captain Desh answered. “They’re fresh faces, new to the Omniverse and just finished their training. They’ve done just a bit of routine patrol work since starting.”

“You give me inexperienced pawns?” Zedd asked, clearly upset by this situation.

“You want some real muscle? Prove you can handle it,” Desh shrugged, then looked to Sergeant Sull as he approached the two. “Besides, these four just might surprise you.”

“Tell me about them,” Zedd commanded. The sergeant looked a bit miffed by the tone, but his captain just gestured for him to go ahead.

“That one is Knox,” Sergeant Sull explained, pointing to the man with short dark hair. “He’s very well utilized behind the controls of any vehicle, but he’s also a pretty good shot. Scrappy, too”

Zedd studied Knox for a moment. The man seemed unremarkable in every way. There was admittedly benefit in an unassuming appearance, but one would need to talent to utilize it. Zedd figured the man lacked even that.

“That guy is Cade,” Sull continued, pointing to the black skinned member of the group. “He’s the most experienced of this little quartet. He’s got a little prior military in him from before this place. He’s a good with a gun, and a great fighter from his brute strength alone.”

Zedd’s gaze shifted to the bald headed, dark skinned man. Through all the bulky armor it was quite difficult to tell that he would be physically stronger than the others, so he just had to take the sergeant at his word.

“This girl is Grace,” Sull said as he looked to the slightly paler, redheaded girl. “She’s definitely the greenest of the bunch. Passed everything, but lowest scores. This just isn’t her scene, but I guess you have to find work where you can.”

An audible snarl came from Zedd as he watched the girl adjust the bun her hair was tied up in. She had better not slow him down.

“And lastly, that’s Laci,” the sergeant gestured to the girl with tanned skin and shoulder length golden hair. “No military experience, but she was an athlete before joining us. She has a bit of learning to do, but physically she’s can handle just about anything thrown at her.”

Zedd emitted another frustrated sigh as he looked over the group. They were all  in their early twenties, and held various amounts of inexperience. This was absurd. He needed warriors if he was to make any progress in the world, and he had instead been given mere children in pretend armor.

“You cannot be serious,” Zedd growled.

“I am serious,” Desh replied, looking to the former dark lord. “And one other thing Sull forgot to mention. Unlike you, they’re secondaries. They can’t manipulate Omnilium and if they die, they’re dead for good. If you treat them as expendable, I’ll do the same for you. Understood?”

“Yes, I am supposed to babysit while doing your dirty work,” Zedd replied, grimly. “Why do I need them, anyway?”

“Because I think the best way to draw out the Bulldog will be to set a trap,” Captain Desh answered. “I told you about the initiation we got word of. The only thing we know is that a couple of gang hopefuls will be coming up to Tier 3 from the lower levels. Their task is to murder a woman in Sunrise Park. Put Grace or Laci in plainclothes, and the rest of you ambush the attackers. I’d feel more comfortable with Laci being the decoy.”

“Use her as bait, but don’t let harm befall her? This is absurd,” Zedd’s frustration was clear in his voice.

“You’re welcome to try any methods you like, but I want all four of my Stormtroopers back,” Desh countered.

Zedd shook his head. This would be the fastest route, even with the hoops he needed to jump through. “Very well. ‘Murder a woman’ are the only terms we know for this pathetic challenge?”

“Getting away with it is where they will be sneaky,” Desh shrugged. “Tier 3 isn’t as secure as the two levels above it, but it’s still considered one of the better places in the Omniverse. A murder isn’t as easy there as it is on the lower levels. Putting a condition like that prevents them from just grabbing the first opportunity they see. They’ll recon her a bit before moving in.”

A moment of silence fell over them as Zedd contemplated this ridiculous assignment. He’d waited and lurked for a year before overthrowing the Machine Empire, just before arriving here. He clearly had to display more patience in infiltrating this Empire. Now, he would have to show even further restraint just to get ahold of the string that he would use to unravel the Omniverse. He had survived worse injustices, though. He would endure this, too.

“I will bring before you the battered, but alive body of this ‘Bulldog,’” Zedd announced. “In exchange, I will join your Empire, and experience all the benefits that come with it.”

“You’ll be on the payroll, and we’ll know you can handle it,” Desh agreed, then banged on the glass window. The four Stormtroopers looked up in surprise, having not noticed the three in the hallway.

Zedd rounded the corner and entered the room alongside Captain Desh and Sergeant Sull. Even through his emotionless mask it was easy to tell his displeasure with the situation. The four stayed seated on their couches, not bothering to stand to greet them. Zedd didn’t know if it was blatant disrespect or just laziness. Both were just as bad.

“Listen up,” Sergeant Sull proclaimed almost immediately. “This prime, here, is Zedd.”

“Lord Zedd,” he quickly corrected the man.

“Zedd is running a mission for us,” Sull ignored Zedd’s interjection. “And you four are going to help him. He knows the details, and will make the plan and assign you as needed. Any questions?” He waited for a moment, but when there was no answer, he continued. “Good. They’re all yours, Zedd.”

The four looked on in silence. They didn’t seem fearful at this new assignment, or excited either. They just appeared to accept this task. For some reason, that angered Zedd, too. Perhaps he had simply reached his breaking point, already. Oh well. He wasn’t one for big speeches, and he didn’t need one anyway. There was no need for a demonstration of leadership. He was in charge, and they would have to live with it. He was content to keep his words few.

“Get up. Follow me.”

[Lord Zedd]

Lord Zedd waited on a small balcony, with Knox on one side of him and Grace on the other. Somewhere else, Cade sat with a higher vantage point. In the middle of the Tier Three park they had secure overwatch on, Laci was jogging about in a tanktop and a pair of running shorts. She had reasoned that she might as well get her daily workout in, if she had to loiter around and wait to be ambushed.

It seemed like so long ago now that Zedd had orchestrated the overthrow of the Machine Empire and made a glorious return to his castle. It had been stolen in an instant, and now he was stuck with these insolent Stormtroopers and their petty gossip.

“I’m just saying,” Grace’s voice squawked from behind her helmet’s voice modulator. “You and Laci would make a really cute couple.”

“Come on, though,” Knox shook his own masked head. “I have to work with her. What if it goes badly? We’ll have to deal with that every single shift.”

“Don’t focus on the bad, think about the good!” Grace provided a counter-point.

“You must talk about something else,” Zedd broke his silence, unable to bear another painful second of this banter.

The two Stormtroopers paused, having momentarily forgotten that the dark lord could actually speak, given his complete silence since the break room he’d "introduced" himself in. They glanced to each other, then back to the prime that refused to look anywhere but the park below them. They gazed out as well, to make sure Laci was covered, before continuing this conversation.

“So, where do you come from, Zedd?” Knox asked. “Before the Omniverse, I mean.”

Zedd sighed softly and wistfully. “I was once the ruler of an endless domain of evil. Entire species lived or died based on my whims. Now I am here.”

“It’s not so bad,” Grace shrugged. “At least, compared to what I know. Coruscant is really nice, the Vasty Deep is supposed to be the perfect vacation spot, and the Dataverse is the Internet on steroids.”

“Yes, I have observed this Dataverse,” Zedd acknowledged, tapping the side of his red visor that was now synced to it. “I am unimpressed.”

“You? On the Dataverse?” Grace giggled softly as she looked over the walking horror show. “What in the world would you search for?”

“I studied something called the Omniverse Villain Leaderboard,” Zedd explained. “It should be useful information, but none of those scum are anything impressive.”

“The Omniverse…Villain…” Grace slowly repeated, shocked that something so blatant could exist.

“Dude, you can’t be posting on sites like that,” Knox interjected. “It’s clearly a set up.”

“A set up for what?” Zedd queried, looking over his shoulder at the Stormtrooper.

“I don’t know, to be honest,” Knox admitted after a second of consideration. “But nothing good can come of a place like that.”

“Yea, you’re not allowed to use the Dataverse without checking with us, first,” Grace agreed.

Zedd’s visor flared a crimson red. How dare they chat with him so casually, and to top it all off give him orders as well? His first instinct was to disregard Captain Desh’s instructions and exterminate these inferior beings, but their hand held radio keying up prevented him from dwelling any further on that wondrous idea.

“Alright, I got four people closing in on Laci,” Cade’s voice suddenly said over the static of the radio. “Sketchy looking bunch.”

Zedd gazed out at the park, locking his vision on the four that Cade had described. They did indeed stand out, with their ragged clothing and shifty gait. It almost looked like they were asking to be noticed in a nicer place like this. Their mistake.

“We’re looking at them,” Knox confirmed, not immediately noticing Zedd leaping from the balcony. “Laci, keep some distance and we’ll sneak up on the….Zedd’s gone.”

“What?” Cade’s voice came back over, but the other two armored Stormtroopers were quickly scrambling to follow the prime.

“Just move in!” Knox replied as he and Grace began descending the ladder towards the park.

Laci turned around as soon she heard the chatter in her earpiece. Sure enough, there were four men approaching that surely didn’t belong in such a clean and cared for place. Their clothes were ragged and their hair was unkempt. She was shocked she hadn’t noticed them earlier, but that was probably a part of their initiation, too. She paced several steps back, and reached behind her back for her concealed pistol in the waistband of her shorts.

Her heart was pounding, though. Was she going to have to shoot one of them? She’d heard the lectures and scenarios as she went through her Stormtrooper training, but all of that seemed to vanish as she faced a real life or death situation. One of them had a knife in their hands. She actually forgot all about her teammates, but could only bring herself to pace backwards, and didn’t draw her gun, yet. Her eyes widened in fear.

One of the thugs smiled as he approached. “We’ll make this real quick, gir-“

Lord Zedd stepped in between the group and bashed one of them in the head with his staff. The thug hit the pavement and blood sprayed from his head, but the other three could only gasp in horror at the being before them. It looked like something had crawled out of a horror movie and set foot onto Tier Three.

The hopeful criminal wielding the knife panicked as he thrust the knife forward and plunged it into Zedd’s abdomen. To the man’s continued terror, the dark lord did not even flinch. His head shifted downwards, and it was possible that he might be gazing into the man’s eyes. It was too difficult to know for sure, through Zedd’s facemask.

Zedd shoved the man backwards, then stepped after him and impaled the criminal with the spiked end of his staff. The surviving two screamed at this point, but when they attempted to retreat they turned to see the barrels of Knox and Grace’s blaster rifles.

“Laci!” Knox immediately shouted. “Are you alright?”

“Yea,” Laci said, still shaken as she drew her own pistol and trained it on one of the criminals. “Yea, I’m fine. Thanks.”

Zedd had no time for the woman and her inexperience. He marched up one of the men and grabbed him by the neck, hoisting him upwards. The criminal gurgled as he struggled against the pressure on his windpipe, and the other prisoner as well as the Stormtroopers watched Zedd carefully.

“Tell me where I will find the Bulldog,” Lord Zedd demanded of the gasping outlaw.

“I’ll never tell you anything, you Imperial freak show,” the man wheezed through the steel grip on his neck.

“That’s on you,” Zedd gave a simple retort.

He applied just enough pressure to destroy the man’s windpipe and snap his neck with a sickening crack. Upon doing so he discarded the man’s corpse like garbage, and approached the final surviving initiate. The man’s eyes were wide in terror, and he was caught completely off guard when the Prime swung his staff upwards. Zedd caught the man under the chin and knocked him off his feet, onto his back. As Cade finally joined the group, Zedd stood over the man.

“I will ask you the same question,” Lord Zedd demanded. “Where do I find the facilitator of these flimsy trials?”

“If…if you kill me…” the man gasped from the floor. “…then you will never find the Bulldog.”

“He will send more, and your death will mean nothing,” Zedd pointedly reminded the man as he raised his staff for the killing blow.

“Wait! Wait!” the criminal suddenly begged as he saw his life flash before his eyes.

“Talk. Now!” Zedd matched the volume of his victim’s voice.

“He’s at a bar in Tier Four! It’s called the Spoony Bard!” the man stuttered out. “He was supposed to meet us there to give us further instructions.”

A low cackle escaped Zedd’s steel facemask. “I hope you’re not lying, but to be fair, it’s really none of your concern any longer.”

Grace yelped in surprise as she watched Zedd drive the staff into the man’s skull. Knox and Cade exchanged concerned glances, as well, able to read each others expressions even through their heavy masks. They were really supposed to follow this guy?

“I suppose it is time to descend one more tier,” Zedd decreed as he ripped the staff from the final deceased gangster. “Come, minions. We have much to do, still.”

Laci gulped as she holstered her pistol. The four watched silently as Lord Zedd marched off.

[Lord Zedd]

The decline in quality had been noticeable between tiers, but the jump from the third to the fourth levels of Coruscant felt the most jarring. Zedd found himself much less impressed with the Imperial verse at this point, knowing that the Emperor was only displaying absolute control of a smaller area, and the other stories had scum running loose in his own domain. It was tempting to utilize the outlaws instead of the Imperials, but he knew he’d do far better working with the mightiest force.

“So, what do you think, Zedd?” Laci questioned from behind her freshly replaced Stormtrooper helmet. She continued to adjust the armor a bit as they walked, having thrown it on in a hurry.

“I find it humorous that the ’great’ Emperor does not have his own basement in order,” Zedd scoffed as they walked.

Knox shot a glance to Cade, who simply shrugged in response. There was no telling what this guy was talking about. Laci had only been inquiring about the plan of attack. Zedd caught their attention as he stopped across the street from their destination, and they formed an unorganized pack behind the prime.

“Wait here and intercept anyone who flees,” Zedd ordered. “Cover all the exits.”

“You’re going in alone?” Grace asked, the skepticism apparent in her voice.

“Of course,” Zedd responded as he marched forward without another word.

The Stormtroopers shuffled off to find a less visible spot, as this tier was far less welcoming to them than the higher ones. Lord Zedd, meanwhile, felt no such reservations. He marched straight forward, keeping a tight grip on his staff as he approached the building. He paid no mind to attention he garnered from the bystanders on the street. A bouncer stood by the door, and he didn’t have to strain his eyes to spot the demonic prime’s approach.

The man stepped forward to intercept Lord Zedd, but the prime had already raised his staff. A lightning bolt shot from it and struck the man in the chest. The bouncer sailed backwards and hit the door, forcing it open. Zedd never broke his stride as he stepped over the body of the bouncer, and entered the building. There was already a large group of patrons standing to meet the threat that Zedd posed, but that didn’t faze him either.

“Hello, cretins,” Zedd addressed the crowd that was focused entirely on him. “Which one of you is ‘the Bulldog?’”

There was an eerie silence. Zedd braced himself for the ensuing violence that normally erupted from such moments, but he was a bit surprised to see a man in a heavy trench coat walk forward from the crowd, laughing as he did. Zedd couldn’t resist the urge to let out a cackle, either.

“So, you are the peasant I’m hunting,” Zedd said as he sized up the man. Pale skin, bland hair. Truly, the man blended in.

“Yes, I go by ‘Bulldog’ in many circles. I’m impressed you found me so quickly,” Bulldog confessed. “It’s a bit of an honor to have one of Doctor Gero’s bioweapons sent to apprehend me.”

“The good doctor wishes he could craft something like me,” Zedd instantly replied. Whoever the hell that was, anyway.

“A prime, I would assume then?” Bulldog looked almost disappointed by that news. “Another hopeful Imperial lackey. I suppose these are your proving grounds, just as much as theirs.”

“Call me whatever names you prefer,” Zedd abruptly shouted. “I have little time or patience for such trivialities. You, Bulldog, are coming with me to the upper tiers. Your little recruiting and initiation scheme has come to an end.”

“Do you want to know why I’m so effective at this?” Bulldog asked, a grin plastered on his face as he spoke.

“Did…did I ask?” Zedd answered, taken a little off guard. “Because I don’t.”

Bulldog suddenly tossed a glowing orb of Omnlium from his left hand, and caught it in his right. As soon as the rainbow shaded substance make contact with his skin, it dissipated into his hand once more. Zedd understood what that meant, even as a recent arrival in the Omniverse. It was still an unimportant detail.

“Because I can bring in the fresh meat all day long,” Bulldog finished his explanation.

Maybe that would be intimidating to any other person. Maybe Bulldog just wasn’t as menacing as he thought. Either was possible, but Zedd continued to not care. His response was to raise his staff once more and unleash a lightning bolt into another criminal’s chest. The man flew backwards with a gurgled scream, and the others in the room looked down in horror as the man gave his final, pained breaths. That was how Zedd preferred to get into one’s head.

Bulldog ordered the remaining patrons to attack, though they were truthfully already in motion by the time the command left his mouth. Zedd, too, was in motion. He swung his staff around and tripped the nearest man to him, then stabbed the bladed end at the next closest. The others quickly surrounded him, stabbing and attacking with whatever tools they could.

As he watched the scene unfold, Bulldog took a few steps backwards. There was no organization or order to it, it was just a clear cut brawl. Still, they attacked Zedd with everything they could. Chairs were broken over the red monster, and broken bottles and knives stabbed into him. None of it hindered the being. Zedd systematically slew each and every one of them in turn with skilled movements of his staff. Soon, there only remained two primes.

“Were they all summoned by you?” Zedd taunted as he approached the Bulldog with the same casual gait he moved with before, as though he’d not just slaughtered a full room of people. “A man’s minions are a reflection of himself, I’ve always said.”

With Zedd seemingly exposed and open to attack, Bulldog rushed forward and materialized a sword in his hands. He stabbed it forward, but Zedd swatted it aside with his staff, then quickly grabbed the man by the throat. Bulldog gasped from within Zedd’s steel grip, but continued to smile.

“The possibility of endless power, but no clue how to use it,” Zedd continued to mock his foe.

Bulldog’s smile became just a bit wider, and then there was the sound of a gunshot. Zedd looked down to see that his abdomen had been pierced by a powerful handgun, clutched tightly in the Bulldog’s other hand. The man tried to laugh from within Zedd’s grasp, but found that he couldn’t. His smile vanished as he looked up at Zedd’s visor. The wound appeared to be barely an inconvenience for the dark lord.

Zedd hurled the man to the ground causing him to drop both of his weapons. Before he could recover, Zedd stomped on the man’s back, eliciting a roar of pain and agony. As the four Stormtroopers entered the bar, Zedd paced around the downed man, so he could tower over his head. He ignored his frustration that his orders weren’t followed for the time being, and instead basked in the fact that he had what he needed.

“Well, Bulldog,” Zedd announced to the downed man. “As much as it pains me to say something so frivolous, you are under arrest in the name of the Empire.”

[Lord Zedd]

Cade dropped down and quickly handcuffed the prime they had been hunting, while Zedd focused his attention on Knox. Even without facial expressions, Zedd’s anger was easy to see.

“Why have you ignored my most basic instructions?” Zedd questioned in seething rage.

“Because there’s a whole shit pile of bad guys coming this way,” Knox urgently answered.

“What!?” Zedd roared as he approached the door, their insubordination immediately forgotten.

Just as he got near it, the entrance to the bar exploded with gunfire, which was enough to make even Lord Zedd leap backwards. He tightened his grip on his staff as he moved to a window, instead. He slowly peaked his head around it to see criminals and gangsters of varying appearances, all heavily armed and creating a perimeter around the building.

“Oh, did I mention that we called for back-up as soon as you made such a stupid entrance?” the Bulldog taunted as Cade pulled him to his feet.

“You probably could have been a bit more discreet,” Laci quietly agreed.

“Maybe have knocked instead?” Knox suggested as he looked out another window at the crowd, while staying on the opposite side of the door from Zedd.

“Be quiet, you inept grunts,” Zedd ordered, then looked to the Bulldog. “That goes double for you.”

“You’re all as good as captured,” the Bulldog did not slow his gloating down. “Except you, prime. I might have to pull some strings and see you banished after this.”

“I don’t know what that means, but I love the sound of it,” Zedd said as he turned to look at the prisoner. “Perhaps after we extract all the information we desire from you we will see that you suffer such a fate.”

“Dude, he is distracting you and they are closing in,” Knox said as he watched the perimeter shrink, and the criminals approach.

“Just ignore him, Zedd,” Grace agreed.

“Stop telling me what to do, dammit!” Zedd demanded as he looked back to the crowd intending to bring death their way.

“Well, you better do something, then!” Cade shouted from behind the apprehended prime.

Lord Zedd let out a growl of frustration as he formed a glowing ball of energy at the top of his staff. He then popped around the corner and unleashed another bolt of lightning from his weapon, but this one caused a greater explosion at the target area. People screamed and panicked at the ensuing carnage, but enough of them also kept the presence of mind to open fire. Bullets slammed into the side of the wall and through the doorway, so Zedd was quick to take cover again.

“Not sure that did much good,” Knox commented.

“I don’t see you doing much with that blaster rifle of yours,” Zedd retorted.

Knox shrugged. It was a good point. He held the blaster through the doorway and blind fired into the crowd. Someone yelled as they were struck, and the others scattered. Knox continued to fire, and Zedd took the time to charge up another attack of his own. It was holding them off, but they knew it wouldn’t last much longer.

“Back door is clear!” Laci suddenly shouted above the gunfire as she rejoined them, having run off to observe the other exit points. “We can make a run through the alleyway.”

“Let’s go, then!” Cade said as he grabbed their prisoner by the arm. “Where’s the nearest elevator?”

“Just a few blocks,” Grace remembered. “We’ll have to move fast.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Laci agreed. “Zedd, did you hear that!?”

“I make the plans and I give the orders!” Lord Zedd shouted as he mimicked Knox’s strategy, pointing his staff through the doorway and firing an attack without looking. “I do! Do you understand that!?”

Grace threw her arms up in frustration, but Knox shook his head as he stepped towards the others, firing a few more shots out the door.

“Cool! We’re going!” Knox announced. Damn this lunatic they'd been assigned to.

Bulldog only put up a few token struggles before realizing that he was definitely coming with this group. Zedd jumped backwards as the gunfire intensified. They were getting closer. The Stormtroopers followed Laci, and Zedd reluctantly trailed after them. He thought about taking a moment to swear his intent to return to this tier and eradicate all life in retaliation for this injustice, but the intense barrage of lead made him decide it would be better to just surprise the residents of this level with that later on.

Laci and Grace exited into the alleyway, each covering a different direction with their raised rifles. Cade and Knox dragged the captured prime out next, followed by the dark lord they were supposed to be taking orders from. Seeing the route was secure, Laci waved her left arm briefly and the group advanced.

With Bulldog playing limp in their arms and making it difficult to move him, Knox and Cade were forced to all but drag him, along with having to listen to Zedd grumble about not murdering all the inferior pests from the back. Though they didn’t say anything, neither were at all thrilled about the prospect of getting into a fight while they were stuck dragging this difficult individual.

Grace, meanwhile, could feel her heart pounding as they all advanced. The gun was trembling in her arms, but she kept glancing to see that Laci looked like she was in total control. It was hard to read the others through their Stormtrooper armor, but she felt like she was the only one freaking out about the prospect of a gunfight erupting.

They rounded the last corner, and the elevator that would lead them upwards was in sight. The Bulldog renewed his struggles, knowing this was his last chance to escape. It slowed the progress of Knox and Cade’s dragging considerably.

“There they are!” a voice suddenly shouted.

“Get to the elevator!” Cade barked, knowing it was mere seconds before they were overwhelmed.

“Nonsense!” Zedd rebuked him. “We fight them here!”

The six turned to a small mob rounding the corner. Everyone froze for a brief moment. Clearly this man had more friends, or summons, than anyone realized. Whatever their source, they were all coming for this prime, and they were coming in great numbers. Gunfire rang out once more, while Grace frantically mashed the button to open the large elevator doors.

“…Get to the elevator!” Zedd changed his tune. This crowd was too much even for him.

The doors opened and Grace jumped in, followed quickly by Laci. The two women returned fire while Knox and Cade pulled the gangster in. As soon as they were in, they threw the Bulldog into a back corner, and joined their female teammates in the barrage of fire. Zedd finally stepped into the elevator, and Grace hit the button to close the doors. Everyone got a few more shots out before the elevator sealed itself and they departed for Tier Three.

“Was he hit?” Zedd demanded, looking to the captured prime.

“I don’t think so,” Knox shook his head.

Zedd walked over to prime as the four Stormtroopers pulled off their helmets so they could breathe a bit and get some air. He looked down at the Bulldog seeing no blood or vital injuries. He was dazed from hitting his head when the two men had thrown him, which Zedd was admittedly fine with.

While the others recovered from such a trying experience, Zedd simply waited. There was no rush of adrenaline from the encounter with the mob. He was used to such battles over the eons, and was already plotting the next one. The scum of the lower tiers would be a fine way to gain his power, so he was sure he’d see them again. Perhaps he wouldn’t make such a flashy entrance next time. He’d ponder his next descent to the lower tiers when it was needed, though. What mattered for the moment was returning the prisoner to Tier One, so he could begin to reap the benefits of Imperial citizenship.

[Lord Zedd]

Captain Desh glanced to his doorway once more. There had been plenty of interruptions today, but this one took the cake. The elusive outlaw called the Bulldog was suddenly in his doorway. The man’s arms went behind his back, clearly cuffed together. Before Desh could say much more, the man was thrown at him. He didn’t quite cover the distance, and instead bashed his head on the captain’s desk and fell unconscious to the floor. Desh looked up once more to see Lord Zedd standing triumphantly in the doorway.

“That is the one you seek,” Zedd plainly stated, leaving no room for a theoretical argument.

Desh saw no need to dispute it. “It sure is. That was pretty quick, Zedd.”

“Lord Zedd,” the prime was fast to correct the man.

“Right, yea,” the Imperial captain acknowledged blankly. He wasn’t terribly concerned with the semantics, with one of the more notorious outlaws in Coruscant lying on the floor of his office.

“Now, you will grant me all the benefits of an Imperial citizen,” Zedd commented as the captain walked around the table to survey the prisoner. “I have held up my end of the bargain. For your sake, I hope you hold up yours.”

Captain Desh merely circled the desk as he looked down at the fallen man. Once again, Zedd’s thinly veiled threats didn’t really phase him. The prime was only dangerous because of his delusions of grandeur, but at the same time seemed to understand that he wasn’t as mighty as he wished. His personality surely indicated that he had been mighty in a previous realm. But that was there, not here.

“Yea, yea, welcome to the family,” Desh absent mindedly said as he used his foot to roll the prisoner over, and get a good look. He nodded as he held up his handheld radio and keyed it up. “Need assistance in my office. Prisoner transfer.”

Zedd continued to stare hard into the Imperial captain. “Now I will take the legion of your finest troops.”

“Here’s the thing, Zedd,” Desh said as he looked back to the prime. “We don’t really hand out the keys to this supercar to just everyone, but we’ll let you check the oil and put air in the tires.”

“I do not understand your ridiculous analogy,” Zedd immediately replied.

Desh chuckled lightly. He figured it would go over the man’s head. “One mission doesn’t gain you unending trust. Besides, the space marines aren’t going to follow a fresh prime. Keep your four, and keep working.”

Zedd could be heard growling, but Desh remained unphased by the unique Prime. He’d figured him out, for now. He was willing to help, so long as it gained him power. What would happen after he gained too much power and had to be dealt with? Well, that was a job for someone who was too important to have an office this close to the Nexus gate.

“Keep doing good work, and I can see about getting you and your people additional training and equipment, and maybe some more man power,” Desh continued. “But you’ve got to do good work and earn it. In the meantime, Requisitions will get you set up with a place to crash.”

A deep, annoyed sigh escaped Zedd’s face mask. This would have to do, at least until he mustered up enough Omnilium to bring Goldar, Scorpina, and others loyal to him to this world. The dark lord was proud, but he was no fool, either. Weapons and training relevant to this realm were to be accepted eagerly, not rebuked. It may be meaningless where he came from, but now he had to play by the rules.

“Sound good, Zedd?” Desh broke his concentration.

“Lord Zedd,” he quickly and harshly corrected the Stormtrooper once more. His patience was running thin.

Desh only smiled. “I guess we’ll see.”

Zedd turned and left without another word, just as two Stormtroopers arrived to take the Bulldog into custody. Those were terms he could accept.

[Lord Zedd]

With the fall of night, the night life of Tier Two was wide awake and going strong. Bars and clubs welcomed in patrons from all walks of life, while the music blared and the drinks flowed. Cade found himself in a club high above the city, dressed casually and free of his Stormtrooper armor. He stepped out of the elevator and looked around for a second before spotting Laci waving to him from a table. He was quick to make his way over to where she was seated alongside Knox and Grace. Just beside their table was a glass wall that allowed them to survey the beauty of Coruscant's second tier in the midst of the night.

“Ladies, gentleman!” Cade smiled as he took seat reserved for him, and grabbed the drink that was already waiting on him. “This is the part of Coruscant I can get used to.”

“Food’s on the way, and so’s another pitcher,” Grace said, conveying her agreement.

“Didn’t invite Zedd, right?” Cade was quick to ask.

“Hell no,” Knox instantly replied. “That crazy dude just about got us killed today.”

“It’s a good thing we stuck together and bailed out of there,” Laci reasoned between sips of her drink. “I don’t think that’s the last time we’re going to be doing that.”

“Me either,” Grace agreed. “He’s dangerous.”

“What the hell are they thinking, pairing us with that lunatic?” Knox remarked, glancing over just slightly as the next pitcher was delivered to their table.

“I heard from Sull that Zedd was told he’d suffer serious consequences if anything happens to us,” Grace said as she poured herself another drink.

Knox and Cade looked to each other and scoffed.

“Cool, so that doesn’t do us any good if we’re already dead,” Knox laughed as he rolled his eyes. How else could he take such news?

“Sure says what they think of us to team us with that clown, though, doesn’t it?” Laci pondered aloud after a bit of laughter herself.

“This stormtrooper thing is not what I wanted to be a part of, anyway,” Knox agreed. “I guess it shows.”

“Yea, then what do you want to do?” Cade asked as he leaned back a bit.

“You seen those crazy ships they have flying all over the place?” Knox said, without missing a beat. “X-Wings, TIE Fighters, all kinds of cool technology. I want to fly one of those. They’re not easy to get behind the controls of, though. You’ve got to work for it.”

“I’m in the same boat,” Laci agreed. “Those Titans, Mechs, whatever they’re called? I want one of them.”

“And here I just want to fix stuff like that,” Grace chuckled. “And they gave me a gun!”

The four laughed again, before turning their attention to Cade. Laci grinned as she pried him for answers. “What about you, Cade? What do you really want to do here?”

Cade shrugged. “I don’t know. Not this.”

“Hell yea. I’ll drink to that,” Knox laughed as he raised his glass. “Here’s to the misfits!”

Everyone cheered and tapped their glasses together. It was a long night celebrating the fact that Zedd didn’t get the four of them killed, somehow. They told stories, shared dreams and aspirations, and joked about how much they weren’t looking forward to putting that white armor back on. As the night wore on, they made the choice to head back to their respective living spaces and prepare themselves for another day under the command of one of the most unstable primes they’d ever seen. There was no telling what level of adventure it would bring.

They just knew that with as much as they’d had to drink, it sure wouldn’t be pleasant.