They were attacked twice more on the way back by Pavana's confused and disoriented men. Damon didn't see more wraiths -- not that that proved anything -- and hoped that if they were out there, they'd decided to leave him and his men alone. He'd heard Tam's cry for help, and was moving as fast as his wound would let him. Tam was scared, really scared, and he could feel that the boy's fear had caught Elayne and Proto's attention as well.
They met up with Reil and his squad, who were pushing a hovercart loaded down with more weaponry than Damon had ever seen in one place before.
"Found the armory, boss!" Reil reported cheerfully. "Sparky and Sparky2 helped me pick out the best stuff." The two stormtroopers with him were giving off an aura of extreme annoyance, something Damon felt he could identify with -- extended contact with Reil seemed to do that to people.
"Good job," he said shortly. Their commlinks crackled.
"We're going to seal the mines," Tholme reported. "We need you out of there now."
"Where's Mace?" Damon asked Errolt. Unconsciously, the crew of the Nova Viper had grouped together around him, sensing the tension in the air. Errolt's troopers were similarly tense, and Damon could sense that one misstep could end with a lot of people dead.
"Mace collapsed and seemed to lose consciousness briefly," Errolt stated, his eyes full of suspicion. "When he regained consciousness, he seemed to be hallucinating and said something about it being 'a horrible way to go' and that he 'wouldn't have told a soul'."
Damon felt sudden, sharp alarm from the other captain, Tholme. Was he connected to this in some way?
"When I asked him about the incident, he refused to answer and seemed to be hiding something. I've taken him into custody for the time being."
"Why?!" Mir burst out. "He's just a kid, you don't know what he's been through!"
"No, I don't," Errolt admitted. "But you do. It seems there's much you haven't told me."
"We didn't think it would be important," Damon said. His mind was working overtime. "In hindsight, we should have realized this would be too much for him."
"What do you mean?"
Damon's voice softened. "Mace's mother -- my sister -- died giving birth to him," he said. "He and his father were living on Temen III when the Ghull pirates hit it. He managed to hide, but his father was killed while trying to keep the pirates from finding him." Damon shook his head. "He was nearly catatonic when I found him -- kept repeating those words over and over."
"He said something about 'others'," Errolt said, relaxing slightly. Damon shrugged.
"I don't know. Might have been his dad's last words, maybe something else," he said. "I can't get it out of him either."
"And you're not suspicious," Errolt said skeptically.
"He saw his father die," Damon said curtly. "I'm not going to push him to remember that day." He shook his head angrily. "I can't believe it didn't occur to me he'd react like this. We shouldn't have brought him along."
Errolt studied him. He could feel the man's suspicion breaking down in the light of Damon's very real frustration with himself. I should've seen this coming.
"...Very well," Errolt said finally. He raised his commlink. "Lieutenant, Captain Caldera and I have resolved the situation. Release the boy and make your way back to base, carefully. We'll be right behind you."
"Yes sir!" There seemed to be an element of relief in the lieutenant's voice.
"I still think you're hiding something," Errolt told Damon. "But for now, we need each other."
"That we do," Damon agreed. "Now let's get out of here, before Pavana gets his act in gear and runs us down."
Within one of the many control stations nestled within the mine, a blue glow flew silently through the dark. Finding the terminal he was looking for, Proto powered the machine on and stared at the screen, menus seemingly navigating themselves, the blue glow of the data screen nearly overpowering Proto's own sensor light. After a few minutes of this mute conversating, the screen blinked out as the droid looked up suddenly and disappeared into the darkness again.
"Captain!" the Jedi Knight called out as he caught up with the rest of the crew. Tensions and blood pressure were high, only furthering the droid's concern. Looking carefully at Damon and Mir, the droid then studied the imperials. Everyone seemed concerned about something.
"Proto, where were you? We're moving out." Damon inquired, frustratedly.
"My apologies, captain," The droid modulated with a bow. "I was checking up on the mine's computer systems when I was interrupted by a.... distress beacon." Proto said slowly, guaging the group's reaction. Damon shot him an instantaneous sharp look, his warning tangible in the Force.
"A distress beacon? What is your droid talking about, captain?" Errolt asked, eyebrow raised, hand on his rifle. The other Imperials also shifted nervously. "We received no distress calls on our systems."
The Jedi cocked his head, "Truly? Then it must have been a malfunction. In any case, I have data that may be of some use to us in our fight. Most of the systems in the mine were scuttled, but one of the older rooms was operational. It mentioned emergency protocols involving a Mt. Shesser in the area. Specifically, it was a location to which evactuations were planned. It may be worth looking into."
"Mt. Shesser used to have an Imperial Outpost, abandoned during the early Pavana attacks. Was there any more to the information?" Errolt asked curtly.
"Well, there was a curious line mentioning a Project Archer, but the links from there were too corrupted to follow. Again, my apologies." Proto bowed again.
"Either way, we need to get back to base, I need to see if Mace is all right." Daman cut short any further conversation on the issue and walked forward, Proto following closely behind.
Tholme drifted away from the troopers that had survived the battle, his mind working quickly to determine what was going on, as they walked back to the Imperial base.He glanced up at the roguish leader of the non-imperial group.How could he and that boy have any idea about what was said in there?He knew he shouldn’t have gotten involved.And that boy had looked suspicious.
Could he have been bugged?He’d have to run a bunch of scans as soon as he boarded the Rogue Circuit.By then, he might not be able to find the imperials.They were a covert operation to subvert the planetary authority – they wouldn’t stay anywhere for very long.He made a mental note to get a comm message back to his crew soon.There would be a good chance that if he went for much longer without checking in that Zed would work himself up to disregard his orders and come looking for him.
Tholme blew out a breath in frustration and veered closer to the man – who was now surrounded by the rest of his people.They looked about warily – almost as if they were expecting some danger from the present company.I would too if they’d kidnapped one of my crew during a firefight. As he came within hearing distance of the group, the woman who’d spoken up to defend the boy turned her head and pointedly stared over Tholme’s shoulder.He glanced back.For some reason Grolsh, Welks, and Bander tended to form up behind him when he wasn’t looking.He had to turn and make a deliberate but subtle farewell.They shrugged, seeming to come out of a daze, and returned to their formation.
The woman was still fuming about the current situation, but she kept it out of her voice as she chuckled, “You’ve got them eating out of your hand.What’d you do – offer to give them some rifle training?”Tholme frowned, “I just put my life in their hands.That’s the kind of thing that happens when people start shooting at each other.”
She snickered, but her eyes were drawn ahead - to Ziro.If that was his real name.Or any of their names.This grouped seemed like they wanted to be there about as much as he did.They weren’t soldiers, but they sure knew how to handle themselves.He took a few strides and was pacing next to Ziro.The man was intently leading the way back to base, but he acknowledged Tholme with a curt nod.This was a straightforward man – possibly some type of military or defense training.And from the way that the others were suddenly keeping a very close eye on him, Tholme knew that this wasn’t a man to underestimate.
“Sounds like your nephew just had a flashback,” Tholme breathed out and shook his head slowly, “I’ve had dealings with many pirate types in my business.Villages destroyed, ships razed – I’ve even seen whole planets held hostage.You and the boy have my condolences.”
He held out a hand, “Captain Tholme So, of Ex-Tem Transporting, freelance trader.”
“I have no idea what’s going on here, but…”Stebs unlatched the shackles and looked at the boy.
Tam looked up into the lifeless black eyes of the man’s helmet.“What ‘s going on now?”
“I received orders to release you.”
The boy rubbed his wrists and turned back the way they had come.“Good, that means we can go back and help in the operation.”
The trooper held up two fingers.“First, I also have orders to continue escorting you to the base.Second, I don’t think you were doing anything of value there any way.The first thing I even saw you do was collapse on the ground and start saying potentially incriminating things.”
Tam was nonplussed to hear such words come out of a stormtrooper’s mouth.He was used to hearing barked orders and derogatory epithets shortly before agonized screaming.Actually, Stebs had been plenty derogatory, so Tam shouldn’t have been surprised.Imperials were all the same…
This Imperial gestured toward the base with the tip of his blaster.“So let’s keep moving, eh kid?”
Kid?Kid?Who did this buckethead think he was?Tam had a crucial role to play in the operation, and this… this Imperial was keeping him from doing what he could.Imperial thought was so self-destructive…
Tam was about to say as much when a wave of the Force crackled through him.It took him only a moment to recognize the sensation of being watched by malicious eyes.Instinctively, Tam dove for Stebs, knocking them both to the ground moments before a flurry of blaster bolts passed through the space they had just occupied.
Like a true buckethead, Stebs interpreted the action as an attack on Tam’s part.He threw the boy off and trained his blaster on him.Before Tam could utter a word of explanation, Stebs flipped the setting on his gun and fired a stun bolt right into the boy.The last thing Tam saw was a group of wandering Pavana soldiers bringing their own weapons to bear on the distracted stormtrooper…
Having recovered his shirt back in the torture chamber, Inex Jonn was able to use a sleeve to wipe the sludge off one of the shadowy corridor's directional plates, which showed a standardized, simple graphic of several stick people contained within a vaguely egg-shaped enclosure. Beneath it, an arrow pointed to the right.
"Escape pods, this way!" Inex announced and, despite his injuries, did his best to jog up the corridor.
The torture droid Ellex-Zerozero, however, was unconvinced, and stood stolid. "Negative. Pods incapable interstellar travel."
"Stay behind, if you like," Inex sneered at the droid, and turned to go. With frightening speed, Lex was upon him, once again brandishing his electrical prods.
"Whoa, whoa whoa!" Inex cried out, holding up his hands in surrender.
The droid kept its prods thrust outward. "Proceed to hangar deck."
Inex dropped his hands, and sighed. "Lex, you are very, very good at shocking people. Truly, you are the Mace Windu of electrical torture. But when it comes to thinking, I respectfully suggest that you bow to those with more experience than yourself."
The droid went silent, possibly trying to unsnarl the combined insult/compliment. Inex Jonn went on.
"I don't know when you were last allowed to visit the upper decks, Lex, but I can tell you that half of this station is positively crawling with Seema Mull's guards. And the other half is crawling with Obar Mull's guards. Particularly the hangar decks. Now, I've said I would get us a ship, and I will. But we will need to do it my way." He held up a hand in mock solemnity. "Shock me if I'm wrong."
Lex considered in stillness and silence. Then, "Lead."
Damon shook the other man's hand. "Captain Ziro Caldera, freelance transportation and shipping." He sighed. "I appreciate your sympathies. This situation has been very hard for Mace, especially." Damon gritted his teeth. "And our 'partners' aren't making things easy for us."
Tholme glanced at the Imperials. "I wouldn't have handled that situation the way they did, that's for sure."
"You'd think they'd be more appreciative of the help they've got," Mir commented, coming up beside them. "Especially against a guy like Pavana."
"I take it you're trapped here, too?" Tholme asked. Damon nodded.
"He came after us right after we landed. We managed to go to ground, but Pavana's got our ship," he said.
"And then he put a death mark on our heads," Mir said sourly. "Either we fight or we die, and it didn't take long to make that decision."
Tholme snorted. "I would guess not," he said.
"So here we are," Damon said. "And it's not been--" A sudden sense of alarm blasted him through the Force, and then...stillness. Tam?! He reached out for the boy, but couldn't seem to find him. Blast!
"What is it?" Tholme asked. "What's wrong?"
"I...thought I heard something," Damon said. He turned back towards the Imperials. "Errolt! How far ahead of us are Stebs and Mace?"
"A few minutes, why?" Errolt frowned.
"I think they've run into trouble," Damon replied. "Casca, Proto, with me!" Elayne and Proto were immediately by his side, both having already sensed what was happening. Mir glanced at the rest of the crew and Tholme, who nodded.
"We'll keep up as best we can," she assured Damon. "Just get going."
"Trouble?" Errolt said. "But we've already destroyed any resistance in the area!"
Damon grimaced. "Just shut up and follow us as fast as you can, and maybe we'll be able to save Stebs and Mace."
Before the Imperial could respond, Damon, Elayne and Proto moved into the shadows. As soon as they were out of sight, all three called on the Force to give them speed, hoping they wouldn't be too late...
"Captain, if this trend of events continues, our covers will not hold." Proto vocalized as the three Force-users sped through the forest, leaping over brush and dodging branches absentmindedly. Damon gritted his teeth as he replied.
"If this 'trend of events' continues, we'll all be dead, and our covers won't matter much, now will they?" The captain bit back, ever-focused on reaching Tam before it was too late. The three of them were nearing the position of their friend, and they could hear the sounds of battle ahead. The trees and brush were too thick to see through, and all they could do was hope things were going well.
"I am merely suggesting we prepare for such an event," The droid replied, having picked up the cynicism, but unsure how to respond. "I hope such preparations will be unnecessary." PRoto finished, as they reached the clearing.
Ahead the scene of battle blazed in full firefight, the Imperial Squad taking cover behind the thick forest trees, peeking out occasionally to retort the green bolts flung their way by an advancing group of six or seven of Pavana's mine guards. The Stormtroopers held their ground, but Pavana's men continued to close the gap, stepping over the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Over one body in particular.
"NO!" Screamed Damon at the top of his lungs, the sight of Tam's body face down in the dirt snapping the captain's eyes wide. Nearby, Stebs was also down, a smouldering hole in the back plate of his armored suit.
By the time his angry protest had registered with the minds of those around him, Damon's blasters were smoking. The closest guard began to crumble, a bolt having cored through his skull mid-step. In almost the same instant, the Captain drilled two more soldiers neatly in the chest. Four remained and seemed to react sluggishly to the newcomer. Damon stepped out of the bushes, giving no care to cover. Arm outstretched, he merely directed his weapon towards the next target, two bolts loosed, both hitting vital spots. Three more soldiers remained, still turning to face the now very real theat. The two furthest took flight, or at least tried to before they were gunned down by the blaster wielding Damon Aligeri. The last soldier, closest to Damon, charged forward out of shear desparation. The captain raised his arm and brought it down with impossible force on the man's shoulder, bones crunching under the Force-augmented blow. Damon finished the man with a blaster bolt.
To those watching, it seemed to have been both an eternity, and an instant. According to Proto's clock, the utter and total defeat of the ambush force had taken just under five seconds.
Breathing heavily, Damon holstered his weapon with a shakey hand. It took him a moment to bring it all together as he glanced around briefly, before running to where Tam lay.
Elayne followed the Captain, while Proto made his way quickly to the fallen Stormtroopers. Three of them were dead, holes deep into their armor and flesh. As he reached Stebs' however, his sensors gave him hope. "This one is still alive," he called out to no one in particular. "But in need of medical attention soon." The droid reached down and examined the blast mark on the man's armor. The angle of attack was poor indeed, charring and melting the plasteel armor, but avoiding any fatal injuries to the wearer.
By this time the other Stormtroopers had managed to pull together and move out of their cover, just in time for the arrival of their commanding officer, Errolt.
"All right, grip it a bit higher, and keep it tight. Now, aim above the target, then bring the sights down. Good. Remember, don’t flinch expecting recoil, keep it steady; feet apart, and . . .fire!"
Cali left off five shots in slow succession towards a target one of the troopers had kindly set up for her down one of the unused tunnels. Teece was giving her lessons, and slowly Cali was improving. Once Cali lowered her blaster, Teece went and examined Cali’s latest grouping.
Cali was anxious for her results. "Well? How’d I do?"
"Well you’re getting better. . . Still a long way from slinging two blasters at once though."
Cali had insisted on trying to learn to shoot both pistols at the same time at first. It took a great deal of cajoling, and one bad ricochet to bring her down to practicing with only one for now. Teece sighed, and rubbed the burn on her left arm. Suddenly Reil locking the girl in the cargo hold seemed like a perfectly reasonable response.
Cali’s expression brightened. "But I’ll be good enough soon?"
Teece considered her words carefully. "If you keep practicing; eventually."
Cali looked less than thrilled by that. "In this lifetime would be nice. . ."
Further conversation was interrupted by the return of the raiding party. Everybody crowded around the entrance to see who made it back. A wounded Stebs and an unconscious Tam were rushed in first to see medical care; then Errolt and Damon locked in an argument and hot on their heels; and then there was everybody else. A column of newly liberated Imperials made their way into the base. Tired, malnourished, and some savagely beaten, the troopers marched in, and there was a rush to make accommodations for them. The actual raiders filled in behind them haphazardly, mostly exhausted and concerned. At the back of the line however Reil, rode in triumphantly on a hover cart loaded with weapons and munitions, being pushed by two very irate Stormtroopers.
Corporal Boson was hunched over in suppressed fury. "How the frell did I let you talk me into this?"
Reil lounged on a crate of high explosives, tossing his answer over his shoulder. "Because I’m too pretty to do manual labour. And I outrank you."
"You don’t have a rank!"
Reil grinned but kept looking forward. "I’m a freelancer with Captain Ziro. We’re doing you boys a favour liberating your planet. You guys, on the other hand, are grunts, cannon fodder for our next operation. Quid pro quo, I outrank you."
"I’m a Corporal! And you used Quid pro quo wrong."
Reil turned to face the trooper, grinning madly. "And here I thought you didn’t like your nicknames."
"Wait. . ."
"I was about to start using your real ones, but since you’re so particular about it. . ."
"Dammit!"
Reil spotted Cali in the crowd as she waved at him. Reil hopped off the Hover Cart and turned to Higgs and Boson. "You two take this to the armoury, I gotta go see my adoring fans."
Reil made his way to Cali, who was standing with Teece apart from the crowd now that she’d gotten the pilot’s attention. Teece raised an eyebrow.
"That was quite the entrance. Any particular reason you felt the need to ride on the munitions cart?"
Reil laughed. "I was delivering carbines to the good girls and boys. So what have you two been up to?"
Cali was bubbling with pride. "Teece has been teaching me to shoot."
Reil shivered. "And that’s the second most terrifying thing I’ve ever heard. Thanks for that."
Cali struggled over conflicting impulses of indignity and curiosity. Curiosity won out. "What was the first?"
"I think you’re the father. . ."
Teece rolled her eyes. "Charming. So how was the mission? I noticed several people had to be rushed to the med station."
Reil’s good humour wore off at the notion of Tam in med station. "Yeah. Mace’s unconscious, and your Lieutenant, Stebs, he’s got a small crater in his back, but people think he’ll live. Aside from that there were a few fatalities, but no one important."
Teece grew very cold at Reil’s statement. "I don’t think the men who died would agree with being dismissed as ‘unimportant’."
Reil shrugged. " ‘S not like any of you’d get all choked up if one of us bought the farm. Besides, there was a whole depressing parade of bootlickers ready to take their comrade’s place. Hardly even miss ‘em."
Teece switched from being cold to outright hostility. "I’m glad to know it doesn’t matter to you if we live or die."
"What do you want me to do, speak at their funeral? I’ll be sure to read a nice poem, something with imagery. They’re dead, I didn’t know ‘em, end of story. And more importantly, people who I do know ain’t getting the best of treatment from you pal Errolt. The reason Tam and Stebs we’re attacked is because your fearless leader restrained Tam, and had Stebs march him back here to be thrown in a cell!"
Cali kicked Reil in the shin. Reil rounded on the girl. "OW! I am not ignoring you!"
Cali pulled him aside. "His name is Mace moron! Way to blow our cover!"
Reil froze in horror. "Oh. . . oh poodoo."
They turned to face Teece who had calmed significantly. "You know you don’t have to worry about the aliases with me. I know you’re names."
Reil winced. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."
Teece shook her head. "I’ve been with you guys since Rishi remember? You called each other by your real names all the time. Damon, Mir, Tam, Elayne. . ." Teece counted the names off her fingers.
Cali held up her hand to stop her. "Alright, fine, shut up. You made your point. If that’s so, why didn’t you tell Errolt when we gave fake names? You two seemed real friendly."
Teece didn’t meet Reil’s gaze. "Because it doesn’t matter who you are, so long as you can help Owara. Telling Captain Errolt that you lied to him would only cause trouble, and we all need to work together now if we’re going to survive this."
Cali scowled. "And if we ever decide to be less helpful, you can blackmail us with the truth?"
Teece seemed very sad to hear Cali say that. "You’re awfully young to be that cynical. Is it really so hard to believe that I won’t betray you?"
Reil sighed. "Yes, but it’s not like we have a choice in trusting you." He tapped Cali on the shoulder. "C’mon, lets go check up on ‘Mace’."
We're not mercenaries! We're. . . Soldiers of misfortune.
The escape pod was cramped, what with LX-00's bulk taking up a good deal of it. Inex Jonn endured the inconvenience as best he could, knowing it shouldn't last much longer.
"Your logic fails," Lex informed the Sakiyan flatly. "This pod will not take us anywhere."
Inex smiled patiently. "Have faith, my electrical friend, for we shall soon have a vessel of our own. You are lucky to have me as your guide."
Lex was nonplussed. "Ellex wants only to shock," it explained. "Our deal: Inex provides victims, or becomes one, himself."
Inex was about to reply, but was interrupted by a curt beeping from the pod's rudimentary sensors. "Do you see this blip, Lex?" he asked, motioning to the tiny monitor. "Mull Station has sent a vessel to intercept us. Pods like this one are expensive to replace... and neither Seema nor Obar Mull are going to let one go so easily."
"And we'll be returned to the station," Lex surmised.
"Incorrect," Inex Jonn rebuked him with a sly grin. "That approaching transport will dock with us, to determine what, or who, is inside this pod.
"And when they do," he added, "you'll be waiting for them..."
"Does the fact that we saved the lives of the entire squad accompanying Mace mean nothing to you?" Damon snapped, following Errolt back to the war room.
"You were saving one of your own," Errolt replied tersely. "I can't assume the survival of my men was anything more than a fortunate accident."
Damon was inclined to disagree, considering the great pains he'd gone to in protecting those troopers. He bit back the sarcasm that came to his lips. "It doesn't matter," he said bitterly. "We're here to help you, and it's not my fault if you can't see that."
"We couldn't have rescued these men without you," Errolt admitted grudgingly. "But you and your people answer to no one, and openly disrespect me and my men. Such a lack of discipline will hamper our efforts to liberate Owara."
"Yes, I can see how Imperial discipline saved the day when Pavana arrived," Damon said. "Regardless, I've got a proposition for you."
"What's that?"
"You're fighting against people that don't play fair. I don't either. You got a particularly hairy mission you need done? Send me and any of my crew that'll come with me," Damon said. "We'll get the job done, you won't have to risk Imperial lives and you won't have to deal with our 'insubordination'."
"I see," Errolt replied. "And you'll just place yourself in harm's way like that?"
"Captain, you're forgetting Pavana wants to kill my crew -- even Mace and Zana, who aren't even out of their teens yet. I'll face anything if it means they don't have to." He turned to the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to be there when Mace wakes up."
