Chapter 18 Out of the Frying Pan...
It
was very cramped quarters in the cab as it sped out of the city.
Shondra was trying to nurse her wounds and navigate at the same time,
while Andromeda had to try and convince Tolian that the shot to her leg was
nothing more than a flesh wound.
With Shondra navigating, the cab was able to avoid several Imperial
checkpoints and roadblocks.
Just the same, Zaron was trying to scrunch down into his seat as low as
was possible to hide. It
wasn’t until they had safely made it beyond the city limits did they begin to
breathe a little more freely.
“If I hadn’t mentioned it before, I want to thank you for what you
did back there,” Shondra said, finally speaking.
“You’re the Blackhawks, aren’t you?”
“Yes, we are. It
was our pleasure,” Luse shook her hand as he introduced himself.
“I’m Luse. The
quiet shadow here is Maharet, the hunk of muscle is Gorr, the timid one is Zaron,
the talented Force guy is Kosh.
Tolian is our group commander and the dramatic one is Andromeda. She’s
our pilot.”
“You have a good team, Luse.
You could probably give the Grey Griffins a real run for the money!
I knew Mon Mothma did right to send you,” Shondra smiled for the first
time, but it didn’t last long as she was reading something over the cab’s
communication computer.
“Well, Blackhawks.
Looks like you’re stuck here for a while.
There’s no traffic getting on or off Derilyn.
Full martial law is in effect,” Shondra reported.
There was a long pause as her words sank in.
“So exactly how stuck is that?’ Zaron queried.
“We’ll have to see when we get there,” Shondra replied.
“It’s so desolate out here.
I really see nothing of value here.
You’re saying that there’s a base hidden out here?” Gorr was
looking out over gutted buildings and twisted metal girders, half collapsed
buildings, neglected streets and piles of rubble.
“That’s the beauty of it, Gorr.
As a matter of fact, it’s right through there,” Shondra indicated a
pile of rubble almost directly in front of them.
It concealed a path that led to what looked like a makeshift garage.
“I can appreciate the subtlety,” Maharet commented.
“I can just barely make out the sentries.”
“Not to worry.
We’ve already been spotted.
They’re expecting us now,” Shondra smiled as they pulled closer.
She got them out of the cab and then herded them onto a turbolift.
As the lift began to descend, Shondra began again.
“Lemme tell you about what I know.
There’s a pirate gang operating in this sector known as the ‘Khuinmin
Survivors’. Their
mission in life is to cause much pain and suffering to the Empire as much as
possible. Basically,
they give the Empire hell by raiding its cargo convoys.
They’ve also got their own death warrant out for Captain Dadefra, who
currently commands the Brazen;
apparently, he led an attack several years ago and nearly wiped out the pirate
gang. I got to
meet with some of them on Korad and made a deal.
I have to find a way to get the shipment schedules for the three Star
Destroyers. With
this information, the pirates will have a chance to raid the Imperial Shipping
at will, while the Rebellion benefits simply because the raids will force the
Empire to divert all of its resources to countering their attacks.
Then Rebel cells all across this sector will have a chance to develop a
foothold and perhaps threaten the Empire’s rule.”
The turbo lift doors quietly hissed open into a dimly lit hallway that
smelled heavily of droid lubricant.
Dozens of resistance members seemed heedless of the newcomers and were
scurrying about. Andromeda
was staring about wide-eyed, wondering how such a place could exist beneath the
barren ruins above. She
noticed that Zaron was doing the same thing.
“Pretty neat, huh?” she said quietly and gently jogged his shoulder.
Anti-Imperial graffiti covered the walls and crude blast doors that
marked entranceways. Power
cables and communication lines were dangling from places in the ceiling.
Zaron took note of the wandering droids looking a bit battered and
antiquated.
Shondra silently made her way to a room that was clearly the command
center; a room cluttered with computers and strategic holographic maps.
Shondra walked over to a short middle-aged woman and clapped her on the
shoulder.
“Friends, I want you to meet Dnalla.
She’s the eyes and ears of this place,” Shondra introduced.
Dnalla smiled a warm, genuine smile.
“I’m so glad you could come to our aid.
The struggle here on Derilyn has not gone well; losing Shondra would have
made things even worse for us.
Thank you so much for returning her safe to us!
Of course getting information from off world has been difficult in the
best of times, but now we are completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy.
From what we do know, it seems that General Hul is stopping all travel on
and off the planet. Fortunately,
one of our agents is a maintenance worker at Tekar’s Imperial Monitoring
Garrison. I’m
hoping that when he checks in we’ll have a better idea of what’s going on,
but that won’t be for a few hours yet.
So, please! Make
yourselves comfortable.
Take time out to familiarize yourselves with the base.
Eat something and get that scratch looked at Lieutenant.”
Andromeda’s eyes widened.
“Remember? Your
faces got plastered all over the planet.
You are very wanted by the Empire right now!” Dnalla smiled as if the
prospect of being wanted was some form of flattery, but it was clear that she
was smiling because they were good enough not to get themselves caught.
“This way, Lieutenant.
I’ll show you to our infirmary,” a blue protocol droid had made her
way up to Andromeda. “My
name is N2-3P0. Please
feel free to direct any questions you have my direction.”
She began to lead the way and Andromeda willingly followed.
“Allow me to give you the two-credit tour,” Dnalla gestured around
her. “I’ll
also introduce you to some folks here that are a great help to us.”
She began to lead the way down the hall.
“I’m sure you’ll want to clean up, get a warm meal and rest a
little, so I’ll show you the mess hall and somewhere to where you can relax in
peace,” Dnalla began to rattle off, going a mile a minute, pointing to various
doors and passages.
“Off to the left here is the computer and droid workshop.
We’ve got a great talent working in there—a Gamorrean, believe it or
not. Great
soldier, smart and will take your money if you get into a sabacc game with him.
Off to the right are the hangar bays where we’ve got great pilots and
mechanics, and we’ve even managed to get a hold of some great talents, and
each and every one of them are good soldiers and great assets to our cause,”
Dnalla rattled off proudly.
“And don’t forget me,” a young man seemed to materialize out of
nowhere at Dnalla’s shoulder.
“Dineas! Of
course not,” Dnalla said smoothly.
“Blackhawks, meet Dineas D’Ink, our infiltration specialist.
We weren’t expecting you back so soon!
Have you been debriefed already?”
“Oh, yeah. No
problem. I’ll
be giving you a copy of the report soon.
So! The
Blackhawks, huh?” Dineas barely gave them a glance and seemed to turn up his
nose. He gave a
shrug of “whatever” and continued on his way.
“Don’t mind Dineas.
He thinks he’s the gift of the universe, but he really is good at what
he does, so we decided to keep him,” Dnalla apologized.
“Tell you what.
Why don’t I just show you straight to the Mess and when our other agent
gets back and debriefed, I’ll let you know what’s going on.”
“Sounds fare to us,” Tolian spoke for the group.
She showed the way, showed them where the trays were stacked and left
them to their meal.
“He was only around for two seconds and that Dineas guy gave me the
creeps,” Luse pointed out.
“Just ignore him.
Don’t let him stir up trouble,” Tolian advised as they got into line
for the food.
“Funny, I thought trouble was our middle name,” Gorr quipped.
“By the looks of this place, I’d say they are hurting for a few good
soldiers,” Maharet muttered.
“Did a little sneaking around, did you?
So what else have you learned?”
Luse asked.
“Not much,” she returned as she picked out a few items and put them
onto her plate.
“I’m not getting any bad vibes, and Dnalla seems pretty proud of what
they’ve got going out here.
Pretty darned impressive considering it’s Derilyn,” Kosh said softly.
“No kidding!” Gorr chimed in.
“Llellandra, you’re awfully quiet,” Tolian remarked.
“What? I’ve
got nothing to add, unless you want me to go off on how creepy that Dineas guy
is. Arrogant,
smug, mightier than thou—”
“And right up your alley,” Zaron cracked and ducked just in case food
came flying his way. It
did, however, garner him a dirty look as they took their seats at a nearby table
and dug in. They
made small talk about the day, Shondra, General Hul, the event at the arena and
their daring escape. They
had just finished with their meal when N2-3PO came shuffling in and right up to
their table.
“Greetings, Blackhawks!
I have been informed to tell you that Shondra requests your presence in
our briefing room, and I’m to take you there,” she gave a little bow.
“Oh, good! I’m
glad she’s feeling better!
Yes, we would be delighted that you escort us to her,” Tolian spoke for
the group. They
quickly got up to follow, as she was shuffling away at a rather brisk pace.
She led them down one hallway and then another, took a left, then a
right. She
finally stopped outside a large door with the label of “Debrief 1-A” on it.
She then rapped on the door in three, short taps and then backed away.
“Shondra knows that you are now here.
She will come out and get you momentarily,” N2-3PO bowed again and then
continued on her way, leaving the Blackhawks standing in the hallway.
Thankfully, there wasn’t long to wait.
The door opened and there was Shondra, who quickly ushered them in.
“These are the infamous Blackhawks that I have had the privilege to be
working with. They
are very reliable and very good at what they do.
I vouch for them, as they would make a very desperately needed addition
to the team, even if only temporarily,” Shondra went on.
“Blackhawks, Dnalla you already know.
This is our agent we have working the Imperial Monitoring Garrison, Pter
Venteck,” Shondra introduced.
“Blackhawks, I invited you here to this debriefing because we believe
we could use your talents for a very important mission,” Dnalla began.
“I realize I may be asking too much, but if it weren’t so important
and the fact that we are sorely short handed on personnel…”
“We would be more than happy to help,” Tolian spoke for the group
again. Andromeda
gave him a wry smile. He
just had a big heart—or a death wish.
“You have no idea what this means to us.
We couldn’t begin to thank you enough!” Dnalla said gratefully.
“There’s a reason for the crackdown planet-wide, and it’s not just
that you guys managed to embarrass the governor in front of
everyone—brilliant, by the way.
There’s something big going on up at the space station and they are
calling it ‘Operation: Elrood’.
Security’s been tightened and there’s a million military shuttles
going back and forth. They’re
getting every military tech and engineer they can get their hands on up into
orbit. Everyone’s
tight lipped about what’s happening,” Pter began.
“I’m must a maintenance guy and I can’t get into the communications
and computer centers during my shift.
But I can help you get into the base.
I work the night shift and we’re conducting our periodic maintenance
program. I can
use that as an excuse to shut down some of the security measures without raising
suspicion. I can
give you half an hour to get in and out of the building.
If you can get a computer whiz inside the computer centers, we can find
out what’s going on!”
Pter was all business.
“Boy, you are handy to have around!” Luse made light.
“And this gentleman is Melvor Khamp,” Dnalla indicated an older
gentleman that had been silently sitting there, merely listening to the
proceedings. “He
has been a great asset to us, helping us in finding ways to strike against the
Empire in honor of the fallen because of them.”
Andromeda looked over at the elder man, and was wondering if he was all
there. He had a
slightly glazed look to his very sad eyes and seemed to be lost in thought, but
he stood up, gave a gracious smile and began to speak, low and with passion in
his voice.
“Blackhawks, I cannot begin to tell you how thankful we are that you
are here. It was
not so long ago that our world was free.
Back then, I was an engineer for the Empire and before that the Old
Republic…I was proud to be part of the Empire.
I never believed the stories I heard about the atrocities.
“Then, I learned the truth.
My world—encouraged by Senator Wuxod—had been protesting recent
directives from the Emperor.
After one too many impassioned speeches, Wuxod disappeared.
Derilyn became a hotbed of rebellion; it was whispered that the world was
ready to secede from the Empire.
Because I was from Derilyn, I was under suspicion even though I had done
nothing wrong.
“Without warning, an Imperial fleet arrived here.
Orbiting Star Destroyers bombed the city of Paran out of existence.
That city was my home.
Over 500,000 people died there, including my entire family…but they
have not been forgotten.
We honor their deaths by calling ourselves ‘Friends of Paran’,” he
said, seeming to be even sadder than before and sat down again.
“Now that you’re here, you can help us in striking a blow against the
Empire,” Dnalla continued for him.
“It just so happens that the Imperial Monitoring
Garrison at the Tekar starport is a major military communications
post.”
“Yes.
And despite my best efforts, we’ve been unable to infiltrate this
base’s computer system to get information,” Pter chimed in.
“But that just might change now.”
“Your timing is nearly perfect!
When the Garrison was built, it was built over an ancient system of
aqueducts and storm drains that were emptied and drained and filled in.
Just a couple of weeks ago, we discovered a passage that was still intact
that ran to the Garrison and to the starport,” Dnalla began.
“It happens to have an access that is in the antenna field directly
across from the Garrison.
Since it looks like security will be more involved in keeping perimeter
and city lockdowns, it will be easier to get in there.
Pter can assist you in getting inside the Garrison by shutting down some
of the building’s security measures on the pretense of performing
maintenance.”
“Once inside, you’ll need to try and accomplish several
objectives,” Melvor spoke up.
“First, you must retrieve all datafiles pertaining to ‘Operation:
Elrood’. This
is the codename for the current situation at the Derilyn Space Defense Platform.
Second, you must download all files pertaining to Imperial shipping in
the sector. Third,
you must upload a file I’ve prepared for you.
This file will establish credible false identities for yourselves and
Shondra Del. You’re
posting as starship engineers who’ve been reassigned to the Defense Platform.
This will get you off the world so you can continue the flight elsewhere.
“Finally, you are to install and implement a specialized computer
chip—a ‘slicers’ key—in the Garrison’s central computer.
This chip will enable our agents to slice into the Garrison’s computer
to retrieve, upload or change datafiles.
As you can imagine, this could be a valuable secret weapon in the war
against the Empire. However,
for the key to work it must be installed from inside the base.
This key has an important piece of virus software that deletes all system
records of computer activity in the past 24 hours.
Therefore, while the Empire will know that their machines have been
tampered with—I think that’s inevitable—the destruction of the logs means
that they will have no idea which files have been altered, uploaded or
downloaded. While
in time they will be able to figure out which files have been altered, we have
several days to act before they can put all the pieces together.
By that time, the pirates will know all the Imperial shipping routes and
you will be away from Derilyn.”
One could see the determination and passion of it etched into Melvor’s
face.
“You have several pieces of equipment at your disposal.
Floor plans, computer schematics and detailed instructions have been
downloaded into this datapad; study them well and then get some rest.
You go in under the cover of dark starting at 2200 hours this evening,”
Dnalla handed over a datapad, a computer chip—no doubt the slicers’ key in a
shock-proof casing and one portable plasma cutter with three fuel cylinders.
She then set out a medpac for each of them along with a secure comlink.
There was also a CS-12 Stun Master with two charge packs and a Line
Master TLG. Maharet
held onto the Stun Master and Andromeda was holding onto the Line Master.
“Sounds good then,” Tolian said as he handed the datapad and chip to
Zaron and the plasma cutter to Luse.
“There will be quite a few of us,” Shondra said.
“While you guys are doing your part, another team will be securing your
escape options. That
will be Dineas’ team.
To get to the Garrison from the antenna field, you’ll have to climb
this tower here.” She
indicated the map.
“Then launch the grappler to the roof of the Garrison and slip across
that way. Pter
will have left a satchel that has uniforms and ID badges and a security
cylinder. He’ll
also leave instruction on how to bypass some of the security measures, so find
the satchel first before doing anything else in case you trip any alarms,”
Shondra continued. “You’ll
get down to the fourth floor via the air shafts, where you’ll be able to do
your thing with the chip.
When you’re done, head back up to the roof and back over to the antenna
field. There
should be an escape vehicle, or you might have to use the storm drain and come
back here.”
“Sounds good,” Tolian said again.
“So we’ll meet back here then.”
“Get some rest.
Good luck to you, Blackhawks!” Melvor gives them something of a salute
before they all leave again.
“I need a quiet place to study all this,” Zaron put in once they were
out in the corridor.
“So, Blackhawks!
All ready for this evening?” Dineas was walking toward them.
Andromeda felt a hand on her shoulder.
She didn’t bother to see who.
It must have been easy to read the dislike on her face.
“Yes we are! Just
got done being briefed, as a matter of fact,” Luse began smoothly.
“Briefed? Really?”
Dineas looked confused for just a brief moment before re-applying the smile to
his face. “So
it’s going to need a grappler and a plasma cutter?”
“Uhm, yes,” Andromeda said quietly with a touch of sarcasm that was
lost on him.
“I don’t suppose Dnalla has told you all about me, right?
I’m excellent for infiltrating places, like Imperial Garrisons and
such,” Dineas began. “That’s
it, right? I’m
sure you’ll need my expertise at getting in, or for doing whatever it is you
need doing. I’m
really the best there is.”
“I’m thinking you should take that up with Dnalla,” Tolian said
smoothly and returned Dineas’ smile.
“I just might,” Dineas returned, seeming disappointed by something.
He turned on his heel and walked back in the direction he came.
“I don’t like that guy’s face,” Andromeda muttered.
“Something slimy about that guy,” Luse said.
“Hiding something,” Kosh said.
“Don’t trust him,” Zaron said.
“He reminds me of a school bully.
Did you see how sharp his smile was?”
“Yup. Don’t
trust him any further than I can throw him, and I probably could heft him a good
distance,” Tolian muttered.
Andromeda smiled.
It was a few hours later when they were assembled in their designated
meeting spot. A
final equipment check and they were off to the storm drain to carry out their
mission. Dineas
had shown up with a young man by the name of ‘Sneeze’ and a young woman
named Kailage.
“We’ll be securing the escape vehicles,” Dineas announced to them
as if his task were the more important one.
“Good!” Andromeda snapped, realizing that it seemed to fly out of her
mouth on its own accord.
Tolian’s hand was on her shoulder again and she clammed up.
“Let’s get going, shall we?” Tolian said smoothly.
It was a long and very quiet walk for the two kilometers it took to get
to the other end in the antenna field.
Zaron had studied the map extensively, so he knew exactly which way to
go, since the tunnels branched off everywhere.
They reached the end—literally.
A building had been built overhead.
Tolian pulled out the plasma cutter.
“Looks like we’ll have to dig our way through the foundation.
Doesn’t look too bad.
Mortar, brick, permacrete and no problem!” Tolian said cheerfully.
“Dig-a-dig-dig,” Luse muttered, pulling out a pry bar and began
chipping away. “Just
hope this noise doesn’t bring trouble.”
“Wouldn’t worry,” Gorr went to town, making quick work of the first
layer of mortar and bricks.
“We’ll be quick.”
It was a concerted effort, but they eventually made a hole big enough for
them all to fit through.
“It would appear that we are in some kind of maintenance shed,” Kosh
commented. “The
cellar.”
“Yes,” Luse agreed, trying to get bits of permacrete out of his hair.
“How observant!” Dineas muttered.
“Wow! I’m
in heaven!” Zaron was looking at the surrounding crates and boxes filled with
aging cables, computer accessories and sensor components.
“Focus,” Maharet growled softly.
“Locked door, of course,” Tolian was at the grated door and was
already fiddling with the lock and had it opened easily.
They climbed the stairs only to find another locked door—a blast door
with a standard Imperial lock.
“I’ll get us through this one,” Luse stepped forward and began his
work on the lock that opened with little trouble.
A darkened hallway stretched before them and the main entrance was at the
other end.
“Looks like they’ve all gone home for the night,” Gorr noted the
locked office doors lining the hallway.
“Good thing,” Tolian muttered as they approached the blast door.
Tolian stepped forward and began his work on the lock.
There was only a brief moment of “Blast it!” out of Tolian before the
door slid silently open.
“Looks like a patrol,” Gorr pointed out in the distance.
“Doesn’t look like they’ve spotted us yet, but they’ll sound the
alarm when they find the door open and no one here.”
“You didn’t trip a silent alarm or anything, did you Uncle?”
Andromeda asked. Tolian
shrugged in response.
“You guys go. I’ll
take care of them. There
should only be a few. I’ll
catch up with you!” Luse hurried them on.
Maharet was about to protest, but she could see the patrol coming.
The only relief was that they had not been spotted yet.
“Whoa,” was all Zaron could muster as he looked out on the antenna
field. There
were dozens of communication platforms and an array of towers that reached
skyward. There
were hundreds of sensitive relays and monitoring devices that hung suspended or
clung tenuously to the impossibly thin supports.
From here, the Imperials were receiving millions of reports and sensor
readings each day.
“Tower 14. There
it is,” Kosh pointed to one of the towers in front of them.
“We’ll meet you back here.
Hurry up,” Dineas sneered and left with Sneeze and Kailage in a
different direction.
They quickly and quietly made their way to the base of the tower and
began to climb, but before they got anywhere, Kosh was still on the ground.
He had tripped, calling attention to himself and two troopers that were
hastening over.
Kosh wasn’t worried as he quickly and silently dispatched them and
turned to join the others still climbing up the tower.
It was only a moment later that Luse came running to join them.
After a few minutes of climbing, they finally reached the top.
They had the bird’s-eye view of the complex.
Looking down, they could see the road that was between them and the
Garrison. There
was a patrol making its way along it, only pausing at the occasional guard tower
that connected the length of fencing on either side of the road.
“Lovely,” Andromeda muttered quietly.
Luse was in the process of aiming and launching the grappler that easily
hit its target, leaving a tightrope to get across.
“Tell me, just how high up are we?” Zaron asked timidly.
“A good 30 meters, I’d say,” Andromeda answered, her eyes fixed on
the ground below, watching for a good moment to attempt the crossing.
Zaron made a little choking noise, but that was all.
“Let’s go,” Tolian said.
“Gorr, you first.”
Gorr made quick work of getting across, managing to wrap a leg around the
rope and pulled himself along.
Kosh went next, followed by Andromeda and then Maharet.
Zaron had his eyes shut the entire way, but he made it across.
Tolian brought up the rear.
There was a heart-stopping moment when Tolian’s leg slipped, but he
managed to hold on and get across.
It took everything Andromeda had not to scream, but let herself feel the
relief once he was across.
“Try not to scare me like that again,” she whispered to him as she
gave him a hug of relief.
“I’ll try not to,” he apologized.
“Everyone, we need to hunt for that satchel that Pter said he’d leave
for us.”
“I believe I have located it,” Kosh held up a satchel.
Inside of it was the promised uniforms, ID’s, security cylinder and a
datapad that was immediately handed over to Zaron.
They carefully picked their way around a multitude of junction boxes,
antennae and maintenance panels as they made their way to the designated
ventilation shaft. The
rhythmic sound of fan blades could be heard in the shaft.
They quickly donned the uniforms.
Zaron held out the pad to hear Pter’s message.
He pushed the button and Pter’s image could be seen.
“I’m glad you’re here.
The ID badges and the security cylinder will get you past the security
desk on the fourth floor, but they can’t get you into the computer lab.
They also aren’t valid for anywhere else in the building except the
employee lounge in the basement.
You’ll have to crawl through the air shafts to reach the fourth floor.
When you’re ready to begin, hit the ‘transmit’ button on your
comlink twice, but do not send a message—ISB will pick up on the transmission within
seconds. Be sure
to signal me before you touch the vent covers—they have sensors and alarms.
After you’ve signaled me, you’ll have 30 minutes to get in,
accomplish your mission and get out.
After that time has elapsed, I have no choice but to restart the security
systems and fan blades in the shaft.
Good luck.” The
message faded.
“Alright then,” Luse made a move toward the vent cover.
Tolian hit the comlink and within seconds the sound of the fans shutting
down could be heard. Between
Luse, Maharet and Andromeda they managed to get the cover up and off.
A careless misstep by Andromeda had her falling and knocking over the
propped up cover that fell with a very loud bang!
Everyone froze, not daring to move.
There really was nowhere to run to or to hide.
After a few tense minutes with no ISB showing up to arrest them, they let
out their collective breath and continued on.
The fan blades were still moving, albeit much slower than they had been.
Still, the blades looked dangerous.
One by one, they made it through, holding their breaths and crawling
along the confined space until they had found the desired shaft that would let
them all the way down to the fourth floor.
Luse and Gorr secured the grapple lines and they silently made their way
down with no incident. They
found the vent for the fourth floor and began to crawl along it.
Voices could be heard below them as workers made their way through the
halls, oblivious to those in the vent above.
The vent came to a junction, making a four-way intersection.
Through the slats two ISB officers could be seen and an occasional
janitor droid making its way by.
The two are talking just loud enough for Luse to make it out.
“It’s quiet like usual.
Go on. I
can watch the security desk by myself,” one said.
“You sure? I’m
just going to take a little stroll,” said the other.
“Going to visit that cute programmer down on three?” the first
teased. They
parted ways. The
first went to his desk and the other took one of the lifts that lined the hall.
Once he was gone, Luse gave the signal and jumped down through the vent,
easily overpowering the poor guard at the security desk and hid him in a broom
closet.
They quickly made their way down the hallway, noting that the lights were
off in the offices that lined the hall, but the lights were still on in the
computer lab down at the end.
“Better hurry this thing up.
If someone notices the security kiosk empty, it just might trigger an
alarm,” Maharet commented.
“We’ll be fast, then,” Gorr said as Luse began to work on the lock.
Andromeda made her way back down to the security desk and sure enough, a
lone officer was happening by.
“Evening!” Andromeda said, pretending that nothing was going on down
the corridor behind her.
“Evening,” the officer returned, taking a look over Andromeda’s
shoulder. “What’s
going on down there?”
“Maintenance,” Andromeda said smoothly as an alarm briefly buzzed at
the desk. “Just
testing and calibrating the computer lab lock.”
“Right. Carry
on,” the officer continued on his way, back onto a turbolift.
Andromeda let out a breath of relief and went back to join the others.
“Cutting it a little close, don’t you think?” Andromeda hissed at
Luse.
“I got it!” he returned and the doors slid open.
The doors slid open to a circular room that had six tiers of work
stations. The
computer core was in the center.
There were only four technicians on duty.
Before the technicians could register what was happening, Gorr tackled
the nearest one, and Luse had already subdued two of them.
Andromeda fired off a stun bold and scored a direct hit.
“Okay, Zaron! You’re
up!” Tolian handed him the chip.
“All fine and good, but there’s a force field here.
It’s not completely invisible, but I need to disable it before I can
get to the core,” Zaron was kneeling on the floor examining one of the little
generators.
“Can’t you just shoot it?” Gorr asked.
“No, you have to shut it off.
Shooting it would only incur more security and alarms galore,” he ran
over to a workstation one of the technicians was standing at earlier.
There was a cascading shimmer as it suddenly disappeared and Zaron wasted
no time in installing the files on the chip, downloading the virus and uploading
all the other needed files for Imperial shipping.
Zaron made sure that the new ID files were properly uploaded so that they
could safely get off Derilyn.
It took a little more doing to get the files marked with the
‘Operation: Elrood’
There was a smile of satisfaction as he watched the text scroll over his
datapad. Glowing
schematics of a Star Destroyer flickered across as well, showing severe damage
to its drive systems. Attached
to this file were schedules and personnel files for the repair crews.
“Wow. So
that Star Destroyer in orbit is the Brazen!
Who knew! Pirates
really did a number to it!” he mused out loud.
“Hold on, the Brazen?
One of the Empire’s most feared symbols of power is up there sitting as
vulnerable as a womprat?” Andromeda looked amused.
“Just imagine what kind of blow the Rebellion could deal with this
information!” Tolian said.
“Got it all yet?”
Zaron’s pad beeped in confirmation.
“Got it. Now
let’s go!” Zaron was already heading for the exit.
“Oh, now that can’t be a
good thing!” Gorr pointed at a nearby monitor.
The screen was showing Imperial Troops coming towards the building.
“It would appear that we are being surrounded,” Kosh came away from
the window. “It
could be that we tripped one alarm too many.”
“Back to the shaft!” Gorr was already racing back.
“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Luse was already trying to herd them
out. As they
reached the security desk they could see that the lights on the turbolifts were
lit, all stopped on the second floor, and now the third.
“The vent might take too long!” Kosh pointed out.
“You got a better idea?” Andromeda was trying to thwart one of the
lifts by trying to lock it down.
“Climb up the outside,” Kosh pulled out his lightsaber and cut a
sizeable hole out of one of the transparasteel windows.
“Or, we can slide back to the antenna field where our get away is
supposed to be,” Luse pointed over.
“Look. We’re
high up enough to avoid the fencing.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Gorr had retrieved the grappler from
where it had been left in the vent and taking careful aim scored a direct hit to
the tower across the way and secured it.
“I can’t get a hold of Dineas,” Tolian announced.
“Could be we’re being jammed.”
They didn’t want to waste anymore time and climbed onto the secured
line, trying to move as fast as they could.
They were about halfway there.
The escape vehicle was in sight.
There was Sneeze and Kailage sitting in it, but Dineas was nowhere to be
seen. And then
there were the Troops pulling Sneeze and Kailage out of the vehicle.
So there they were, dangling over the road that ran between the Garrison
and the antenna field. Maharet
pointed down towards the road at a convoy of troop carriers were heading in
their direction. The
transports were covered, so that any occupants within would not have spotted
them dangling overhead.
“On the count of three,” Tolian said just loud enough for all of them
to hear. “One,
two, three!”
They all let go, timing their fall to land on top of one of the passing
carriers. As
they hit the canvas top it ripped and they literally fell into the laps of the
Navy troops within. Andromeda
had the bad luck of landing with a glancing blow and was hanging off the side.
Zaron had managed to land on the front end and was clinging to the front
window.
The transport began to zig and zag dangerously, as the driver’s vision
was now obscured. The
startled troops had just enough presence of mind to start in with fists flying.
There were about six of them plus the driver.
No one really thought to pull out a blaster, it was all a brawl-fest with
feet and fists.
Andromeda managed to pull herself up on board, but not before she took a
kick to the back of her legs, knocking her down again.
Luse was having fun with hitting one senseless and then passing the
unfortunate trooper to Maharet who promptly threw him
out. Kosh
and Gorr were holding their own and the troopers were actually going toe to toe
for a bit.
Andromeda had made her way up to the front and took on the driver who was
doing what he could to dislodge Zaron who was clinging on for dear life.
She was able to tear the driver away and helped Zaron on board to give
him better footing. She
then took over the controls.
Their little take-over had attracted the wrong kind of attention.
Blaster fire began coming at them from different directions as the other
transports had gotten wind of what was going on.
With no one left to punch, Luse took over the gun that was mounted on the
cab roof and was returning fire.
As they blasted past the gate Andromeda turned it down the road to try
and get back to the base at Knellis.
“Uh, guys, I could sure use some suggestion as to where to go.
According to the chatter they’re setting up an Imperial Roadblock.
That’s a crash barrier and at least eight or more troopers hunkered
down behind it to try and blast us to oblivion!” Zaron called from his seat
next to Andromeda.
“No problem,” Andromeda opened up the throttle and pushed on the
accelerator. “Hang
onto something!”
“Are you nuts?” Zaron squeaked.
“You’re going to try and go around?”
“Nope. We’re
going to plow right through.
Here we go!” Andromeda
gunned the engine while the others took some form of cover as best they could.
The transport crashed right through the barrier, only knocked off kilter
slightly, but Andromeda recovered with no trouble and gave a whoop of joy and
exhilaration as she continued onward into the night.
“Well, that was pretty exciting,” Zaron commented.
“That’s why you’re not the pilot,” Luse said with a chuckle.
“Well, all, the com is a little garbled, but let’s just say it’s
safe to say that there’s an APB on us—again,” Zaron related.
“We need to ditch this thing.
Llellandra, pull over the first chance you get and we’ll go it on foot
or find something else to get us there,” Tolian instructed.
“You got it!” she finally reduced her speed for the first time and
brought the transport to a standstill.
“The base at Knellis isn’t far—less than a kilometer, if we
haven’t gone in the wrong direction,” Kosh said.
“That should be it over there—that light in the distance. We’re hoofing it. Let’s go,” Tolian led the way.
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