Marauder Initiative (A Star Wars Story) Part 1

[barraganap]

[COLOR=white]No muscle growth in this one but it IS coming. Part 2 will be posted in a few minutes.[/COLOR]

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[COLOR=white]PART 1[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]The gleaming background of stars was shattered with the instant appearance of the RAS Marauder as it pierced the invisible hyper-realistic barrier between hyperspace and normal space. The vessel's 752 meter hulk quietly glided towards the light blue mass of gas clouds before it, en route to its clandestine destination.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]Marauder's captain, a strongly built man of six feet and nearly 220 pounds of solid muscle, glared out the forward bridge viewports, mulling over his secretive mission and its possible implications for both himself and his crew.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]"Captain Ganth, we are approaching the Ryyk Nebula" stated the helm officer from the lower deck of the bridge. "Estimate arrival at Ryyk Research Station in approximately 30 minutes."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]"Thank you lieutenant, proceed on course and transmit our level two authorization when requested by the station," replied Ganth.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]The location of the Republic's Ryyk Research Station was a closely guarded secret within the Republic government and military alike, having been hidden from the prying eyes of the galaxy as a whole nearly 4,000 years ago. It was during the Mandalorian Wars that the station was constructed as an out-of-the-way location for the Republic military to conduct clandestine research designed at giving them the upper hand when serious threats to galactic security showed themselves and open conflict was inevitable. Since the onset of the Clone Wars a few months back, Ryyk Station had both begun new projects commissioned by secretive elements within the military and renewed development on older projects that had been shelved due to a lack of necessity or for the absence of practical applications.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]One such project was the purpose behind the Marauder's current presence in the nebula. Apparently Captain Ganth's crew, to include himself at some point, were to be the "next step" in Republic's ever-evolving line of defenses against the Separatist movement. The Captain had an idea of what was in store for himself and his crew but was actually lacking specifics from the chain of command. He knew his ship had been repurposed as a type of "advanced special forces" vessel, but the Republic has no such divisions as of current, and there was no talk of instituting any by the Senate or even the Jedi Order. Stranger still was the absence of a Jedi Knight or Master on his vessel, as most ships had Jedi in command at some point or another, but apparently the Marauder was an exception to that accepted standard.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]*****[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]Thirty-minutes later, the bow of the Marauder rested attached to one of the several docking ports of the research station, prepared to debark the Captain and the commander of the Marauder's clone trooper compliment, which surprisingly enough, was under one thirty-second of what it should be for a vessel of the Marauder's size. This too was apparently part of the Marauder's clandestine mission.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]Captain Ganth strode through the docking port of the Marauder and into the reception vestibule of the station. Standing several feet away were three persons to greet him and his troop commander. The first was a gray-skinned Khommite and the Chief of Research on the station named Doornik-24. The others were a human and a Kaminoan, both assistants to Doornik-24 and the project leads for what was being called the "Marauder Initiative".[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]"Welcome aboard Captain, Commander," stated Doornik-24 in a very stereotypical monotone khommite tone. "I must recommend we dispense with introductions and proceed to my office for your direct briefing on the project at hand and your role within it."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]"Any chance I'll get more information than my chain of command was willing to provide?" asked Ganth, hoping to get a full read in and open disclosure on what exactly himself and his crew had been volun-told to do.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]"Of course Captain," piped in the kaminoan Toala-Nu. "We will be briefing you on all aspects of the project and everything it entails. I can say though, from my experience of human culture, this is a project you and your crew are sure to approve of and be eager to participate in."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]"Yes, I'm sure we will be." stated Ganth flatly.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]*****[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]It had taken nearly three hours for the three researches to fully explain everything entailed within the Marauder Initiative, and though it got off to the slow start, Ganth and his Commander were quite interested in the material after they had gotten into the thick of things.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]The project was slated to run in three sections, labeled as Phases I through III. Phase I was comprised of genetic stabilization for the clone members of the Marauder's crew and some slight genetic "preparations" for the regular human element. This was the simplest of the phases and would be completed prior to the departure of the Marauder from the station.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]In addition to Phase I, the Marauder would have over 200 tons of supplies and equipment for the program transferred over and set up prior to leaving. The research station's crew would be handling the transfer and set up so there was no need to worry much over that portion. The equipment itself included new types of armor for the onboard trooper element, new uniforms for the ship's crew, added flash-learning terminals and training aides, an indoor range/training field to be installed in one of the ship's expansive cargo bays, and nearly fifteen tons of weight-lifting and physical training equipment. Phase II, however, was where things started to get interesting.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]For Phase II, each trooper and crew member would be given a series of five injections, each designed to build upon the previous and purpose-created to enhance physical strength, size, stamina, coordination, reaction times, and mental acuity. It was determined that by the end of Phase II, no trooper or crewman would be the same person they were when they started.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]Phase III took it a step beyond and incorporated a derivative of the micro-organism known as the midichlorian. These would be injected and genetically bonded to each person in an attempt to heighten one's mental acuity further and exaggerate all senses, allowing for more concise reactions during combat situations.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]*****[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]Phase I had gone off without a hitch. The tons of equipment had taken nearly three days to set up fully, but everything was in place and securly attached to decks and bulkheads as required. New uniforms and armor had been distributed to crew locker rooms and outfitting compartments, though everyone was puzzled due to the fact that none of them fit anyone on board. Everyone seemed extremely happy with the new weight-training accommodations, for which [/COLOR]
[COLOR=white]the ship now sported seven separate but equally equipped gym facilities spaced throughout the vessel for easy access at all times. Toala-Nu had also transferred aboard for the purposes of overseeing the second and third phases of the project. Her presence was also necessary to oversee the application of the project to the roughly 3% of the crew that was non-human, to include a few Zabrak, Nikto, and various other species of near-human decent.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]Captain Ganth sat at the desk in his quarters looking over the report for the completion of Phase I. Every crewman and trooper had undergone the necessary genetic stabilization or preparation treatment to ready them for Phase II and things seemed to be going off without a hitch. Despite his own anticipation of the completion of the project, namely for selfish reasons, he smiled to himself as he though about the prospects of Phase II and how it would change his men, inevitably for the better. MUCH better...[/COLOR]

[michaelv2]

Ahhh. Star Wars and muscle growth, two of my favorite things! :-)