by Yakov Merkin
“If you’re trying to find the rebel base, then why do you need a shuttle? Surely the run-down civilian craft you arrived on would be better served for infiltrating them.”
Corras shook his head. “I have a plan, Agent Mirelar, and that requires a shuttle,” he said sternly. “It also does not need any additional people to know about it.”
Galanel frowned. “What, you don’t think the major or myself can be trusted? Also, if you just came from leave, why are you flying a junker ship instead of one of your personal craft, and where did you pick up escorts without anyone being aware of your presence?”
“Agent, as I said, this is a very crucial operation, on a need-to-know basis. But if you must know, given recent developments, the rebel attack on the prison ship, and generally increased operations, I determined it wise to call some personal escorts in the event I was accosted in my travels by rebel pirates. Now, if you please, I need to make arrangements with the major.”
Agent Mirelar’s hand went to her sidearm. “I ran the investigation of that rebel raid, Director. We still have no idea how they learned its location and carried out the attack. I know exactly who was informed about it, and that was kept so quiet it was not mentioned in any database and only spoken of in direct conversation. How could you know about it, sir?” As if in slow motion, Corras saw the agent start to draw her weapon.
Blast it.
Reacting on instinct, Corras whipped out his own weapon and shot Agent Mirelar square in the chest.
The major cursed and began to draw his own weapon as he scrambled to his feet and reached for his comm.
Corras turned and shot him in the head, but not before the man managed to press something that caused an alarm to start blaring. While the alarm would not tell the base what exactly had happened, most of them would likely connect it to the new visitors—assuming no-one had heard the weapons fire. They had to move quickly.
“Revval to River Lark,” he said into his comm. “Be ready to repel an enemy attack; things have gone badly. Scramble communications, defend the ship, but he prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice. We are still going for a shuttle.”
The Nihlurans acknowledged, and Corras then turned to his escorts, who all looked a bit too eager for a fight. “The shuttle hangar bay is east of here, close to where the River Lark landed. Move quickly, and do not engage unless we are challenged or fired upon. Despite the alarm, odds are most of the personnel here do not know what exactly is happening yet. Understood?”
He received four nods.
Corras led the way at a fast walk, doing his best to look alert and ready for action but not overly concerned.
Unfortunately, luck was not with them, and they almost immediately ran into a squad of a half-dozen troopers, the guard shift’s rapid response team. “Director?” asked the lieutenant in command. “What’s happening? We heard reports of weapons fire, and now the alarm.”
“There was a rebel infiltrator, one who I was here to apprehend. “Unfortunately, things did not go entirely as planned, and there was a firefight. The major was killed before we were able to put down the rebel.”
The lieutenant looked a bit suspicious, but he nodded as he looked at the display attached to the arm of his armor. “If that’s the case, we should shut off that alarm,” he said while coincidentally blocking the exit.
Corras could see that he was bringing up the surveillance footage from outside the room; while it would not be completely incriminating, it was likely to lead the troopers to only one conclusion.
He raised his weapon and fired, joined by his escorts an instant later. Four of the troopers went down immediately, but thanks to their armor, two of them managed to scramble away and began shouting into their comms. Corras considered pursuing, but it was too late to stop word from getting out, and they needed every moment possible to get out of here.
“Now we run,” Corras said, then broke into a sprint.
They got as far as the closer landing platform, where the River Lark still sat, before the base’s defenders caught up to them.
“Take cover!” Corras yelled as he dove behind the meter and a half high barrier that surrounded the platform.
Corras fired over the barrier along with his escorts, but there were simply too many troopers, and they were pinned down here.
Suddenly, a familiar figure dove to safety behind the barrier next to him. “Problems?” Ayil asked with a grin as she blindly fired her pistol over the barrier.
“You could say that,” Corras grunted.
“Don’t worry, I won’t make fun of you, super-spy. Much. So, I suppose you will not make things easy for us and run back to the Lark?” She paused to fire again, and in a display of marksmanship that belied her laid-back attitude, hit a trooper in the face.
“We came here for a shuttle, and if we don’t get what we came for—and prevent word from getting out—this will be worse than a waste of time.”
Ayil ducked back down as a flurry of return fire came their way, several shots impacting close enough that he could smell the carbon scoring. “So, you want cover fire?”
Corras looked up and fired, striking a soldier in the arm and sending him to the ground, then cursed and ducked down as several others fired back. “That would be appreciated,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Consider it done,” she said with a wide, too-happy smile, and patted him on the shoulder before she started talking into her comm.
A few seconds later, heavy plasma fire from the River Lark’s ventral turret sprayed toward the troopers.
“Move, now!” Corras shouted, then vaulted over the barrier and sprinted toward the enclosed hangar that was about a hundred meters away. He kept himself low, anticipating incoming fire, but nothing came his way, at least not yet. The turret must be doing its job.
As they neared the hangar, however, their luck ran out, as a group of troopers, already behind cover, opened fire.
One of Corras’s escorts went down hard immediately, and he and the remaining three dove to the ground and began to fire wildly back as they tried to crawl forward. Corras found a relatively safe point behind a reinforced shipping container, then opened a channel to the ship. “We need some more cover here!”
“Just a second,” came the reply, and Corras flinched as more weapons fire shot by from another direction.
“We don’t have very many of those,” he muttered.
Thankfully, it wasn’t long until the sound of engines joined the sound of plasma bolts, and that was immediately followed by the very welcome sound of the rapid-firing turret, which forced the troopers out from their cover, and straight into the fire of Corras’s small group.
“Go!” he shouted. Spirits willing, the troopers somewhere behind them were keeping their heads down for the moment.
As they neared the hangar, Corras paused to rifle through the pockets of one of the dead sentries, and just managed to find the passcard that would let them into the hangar before more fire began to shoot by.
“Give me some cover fire,” he called over the weapons fire and the strong winds that had just picked up as he darted over to the entrance to the hangar.
A few moments later, the massive doors began to open, and the others rushed to join them, one taking a hit to the arm in the process.
“Help him along,” Corras called as he ran up the ramp of the closest shuttle. The River Lark wouldn’t be able to help them once troopers pursued them inside.
Once inside the shuttle, he sat down in the cockpit and began the startup sequence as he contacted the River Lark again. “We’re in the shuttle, River Lark. Get back into orbit, and watch for fighters. Keep jamming their long-range comms.”
“Obviously,” came Dran’s reply.
Corras shook his head. “Are we all in?” he asked.
“We’re in, and everything’s sealed up.”
Corras let himself relax, if only slightly, as he eased the shuttle up, then out of the hangar and accelerated up toward space.
“Four fighters, incoming!” Dran sent.
“Can you handle them, and keep them from escaping?”
“Keep them from escaping? I thought we were the ones trying to escape.”
“We have to make sure that word cannot get out; they know that I was here, and that I have defected.”
There was a brief moment of silence before Dran replied that he understood, and Corras took the time to arm the shuttle’s limited, but still effective weapons systems, and began to target the base. Its cannons and single torpedo launcher would only moderately protect it against space-based attackers, but against a ground target, they would be devastating.
“Lucky us,” said Dran, “the fighters seem intent on attacking us.”
“You take care of them, I’ll deal with the base.”
“More target practice is always fun,” Dran replied as the River Lark swung around and accelerated toward the fighters.
“Except you never sit in the turrets, Dearest,” Corras heard Liya shout from, presumably, one of the turrets.
Corras shut them out, and after taking a moment to reassure himself that this was the only option, opened fire on the base. He continued to fire until he had exhausted the shuttle’s torpedo complement, and the base was a smoking crater.
“Status?”
“Three down, one running, but he won’t get far. At least if Ayil can shoot straight.”
Moments later, Corras saw the small explosion of a dying starfighter, and heard Ayil yell something incomprehensible that sounded half like a threat and half like teasing to Dran.
“We are good, spyman,” Ayil sent shortly thereafter. “Unless you want to try and blow the entire planet up.”
“No, we’re done here,” Corras replied. “Let’s go, just in case any ships respond to that initial distress call.
He plotted the hyperspace jump, and only once the stars stretched before him did he let himself relax. They were one step closer.
CHAPTER 33
“Coming out of hyperspace in one minute,” said Jahl Naro, the still-grumpy smuggler who had been hired for the rescue. Due to the events surrounding the mission, his ship, the Eagle’s Talon, had been identified by the Empire, and a hefty bounty placed on the head of its captain. So he didn’t have much choice but to stay on with the rebels. Asharra understood his frustration.
“Thanks,” she replied, then sat up in the copilot’s chair and rested her hands next to the weapons controls. There were likely to be Imperial fighters protecting the moon that they were targeting, and in space combat, the advantage so often went to the one who reacted first.
“You alright?” she asked as the silence grew uncomfortable.
“No, I’m not,” he snapped back without turning his head. “I didn’t ask to get involved in this stupid rebellion of yours, and now I’ve got a bounty on my head big enough to allow a hunter to retire. I knew something was up when they didn’t want to tell me exactly where they wanted me to ferry people.”
“I’m sorry you were inconvenienced,” Asharra said with a quick glance over at him. “Some of us were glad for the help.”
Jahl looked over at her, and Asharra could see him recalling just what her relation to that mission had been.
“Sorry,” he said.
“Apology accepted,” Asharra replied. “So why are you here, then?”
“What?”
“Why are you here, on this mission? I heard your rant back on the base. I would have assumed you’d have preferred to stay and sulk.”
“Stay and—you watch it, Captain. A little gratitude toward the man who helped you escape an Imperial prison ship might be appreciated.”
“Thank you, Captain Naro, for being the driver. Still planning to avoid my question?”
“Turns out, you people have a shortage of decent ships, and they made it worth my while.”
“Worth poking the Empire again?”
He smirked. “Considering how high the bounty already is, flying you people around again isn’t going to change much. And this way, I at least get paid.”
“We’re paying you well, I hope.”
Jahl grimaced. “At this rate, I’m going to need to ask for a raise,” he muttered.
Asharra smiled as the ship shuddered, and dropped into realspace. Thankfully, there did not seem to be any fighters waiting for them.
“How about that, something going right for a change.” He visibly relaxed as he steered the ship toward the moon. “But I’d much rather talk about you than me,” he said. “How did a girl like you end up involved in this mess? And don’t give me the generic ‘the Empire is evil and oppressive’ spin. Everyone knows that, but only a few are crazy enough to fight them.”
Asharra laughed. “I’m not sure you’ve earned that story, flyboy. And seeing as you’re in deep already, why not help out some more once we land?”
“Oh, no. I’ve lived as long as I have for looking out for number one, and that means not taking any stupid risks, such as raiding an Imperial facility.”
“Scared of troopers, Captain? This place isn’t a military facility, just protected by a small unit.”
Jahl raised a finger. “Don’t confuse fear with common-sense self-preservation, sweetheart. I already told you, I’m here because of two reasons: I’m a wanted criminal, and you are paying me.”
Asharra leaned back, as there was no need to be ready on the gun controls, and crossed her arms. “No, I get it. Really. I’m more than happy to take all the risk. We do need someone to stay with the ship, after all, while the rest of us actually carry out the mission. Speaking of, I should go make sure the team is ready.”
Without another word, Asharra got up and headed to the back of the ship, well aware of the smuggler’s eyes following her as she did so. He was insufferable, but back on the prison ship he had been a different man entirely, which made him intriguing. Plus, he wasn’t half-bad to look at, either.
“Everyone ready?” she asked the team of twelve commandos. “We’ll be landing shortly, and the faster we get this done, the sooner we all get home.”
After receiving their acknowledgements, Asharra began to get her gear ready. She officially wasn’t supposed to take part in the ground operation, but she needed this. She had to make the Empire hurt for what she had endured, even if only in a small operation whose primary purpose was to trick the enemy into thinking that there was a major rebel action planned for this sector. There were a lot of ship manufacturing and repair facilities in the area, which this particular installation supplied with parts and raw materials, so it made sense as a target and a potential prelude to a raid on one of the large shipyards. And of course, if the opportunity arose, they might swipe some parts or weapons. Hopefully, there would be minimal fighting.
Asharra found a crate to sit down on, and pulled up a holomap of the facility on her wrist display. The interior of the facility itself was rather small, as so much of it was automated or run by Gurshen workers. The relevant areas for their purposes were really limited to the parts storage warehouses, the barracks where the Imperial security force was housed, and the communications room. Depending on how things went, they might also try and sabotage some of the heavy machinery.
Curious.
Asharra’s eyes were drawn to a structure just outside of the facility itself, next to several large excavation machines, it was most certainly not related to either the facility itself or the military. She called over the lieutenant in command of the team.
“Assuming resistance isn’t significantly heavier than we expect, I’ll take care of the digging machines here.” She pointed at the spot on the map. “I can take some of the explosives, and maybe a couple of the men.”
“Understood, Captain,” the lieutenant replied, and volunteered a pair of the commandos.
Why couldn’t she pull her gaze away from that spot? What was drawing her to it?
Asharra shook her head and shut off the holomap, then shut her eyes and tried to relax as she felt the ship enter the
atmosphere and land, apparently without incident or challenge. Perhaps Jahl was as good as he’d claimed.
Asharra rose and nodded to the two commandos she’d be leading, and jogged down the loading ramp as soon as it opened. This was an arid place, and strong, metallic-scented winds whipped at her hair and tendrils, and Asharra raised a hand to shield her eyes as she tried to survey the area.
They were maybe a few minutes from the main facility, hopefully out of sight of the troopers guarding the place.
“Maintain comm silence,” said the lieutenant, “at least until the shooting starts.”
Asharra nodded, and activated her holomap to get her bearings. She’d just about plotted a route that would take them around the main facility itself to the area with the machinery when she heard someone behind her. She spun toward the sound, hand going toward her sidearm, and abruptly stopped when she saw it was just Jahl.
“I’ve decided to come with you,” he announced. “Someone’s got to watch your back, make sure you don’t get into any trouble.”
Asharra rolled her eyes. “And what about the ship?”
Jahl grinned. “Don’t worry about a thing, sweetheart. I’ve got a clarion call, and can both call the ship to my location in addition to starting it up—and firing weapons—remotely.”
“Not worried about the danger any more?”
Jahl shrugged. “I think of it as showing my new partners initiative.”
“So that’s what this is about. You want more money.”
“And what’s wrong with that? Is it so hard to believe that I do actually want to help? I would not like to just be sitting on the ship, waiting for whatever to happen. Besides, I wouldn’t mind you owing me another one.”
Asharra smirked. “You’d better watch out; I could well even the score. I’m more interested in seeing how long it is until you’re complaining again.”
“We’ll see.”
Asharra shook her head and glanced at the lieutenant. “Ready?”
“Ready,” he replied. “Good luck, Captain.”
“To you as well,” Asharra replied, then watched as the main team, a mix of Revittans, Svetorans, Nihlurans, and Kavalans, vanished into the thick plant life surrounding their landing site.
