One-Man-Army, Senator Style
"Sahn Dalan, I presume."
As she heard Obi-Wan's voice coming through the comlink, she stopped breathing for several seconds.
That's what Anakin was talking about. That's why they had to get out of there as soon as they could.
The very man they had been trying to avoid since they had started their journey was there, in front of them, and he was arresting them!
Shocked and stunned, Padmè leaned back on the pilot chair she had been sitting in since they had left the spaceport and thought about what could happen from that moment on. A myriad of terrible thoughts raced through her mind since she knew what Imperials could do, and were allowed to do, by the new laws designed by the Emperor, to prisoners and people caught committing a crime.
She feared they would treat them as Anakin had been treated while in prison.
And, unfortunately, her fears became reality not much later than their arrest.
She heard a short dialogue, in which Anakin offered to be interviewed by Dalan, even if Obi-Wan had tried to persuade him not to do it, that he could go himself. But Anakin had been determined to spare his Master from something he knew all too well, and that he was sure he could bear. Because his fears mirrored hers.
Silently, he had allowed them to take him the Gods knew where and beat him like an animal, mock him, and he had silently endured their mocks and derision, but still she could hear every blow he received through the comlink. And it was almost impossible to stand.
Unable to control herself, she had started crying hard, most of all because she knew he had already been through this, and he didn't deserve it. At all.
But the last straw came when she heard him scream in pain. She felt the anger rise in her chest, like she had never felt in her life, not even when the Empire had risen or when she had found out Sidious' plan and what Anakin had done to try to tamper him.
He didn't deserve that.
And she decided to take action.
She had to do something, or they would have died in there!
Padmè leaned back on the chair and took a deep breath, trying to calm down a little. She had to do something, that was sure, but what? She wasn't a soldier, she had been trained in the use of various weapons and self defense but...
But she had a an advantage on her side. The surprise effect. They didn't expect anyone to come and save them. Maybe with some help...and suddenly she had an idea. A great idea, to say the least.
She didn't even check the hour to see if on Dantooine was day or night, she called the emergency contact their trusted hacker gave them and waited for her to answer.
She had to wait for a while, and while she did so, she took the time to check the hour on Dantooine. Well, it was roughly four in the morning there, she had all the rights not to answer. Or to be a little late.
"Do you think she'll answer?" she asked to Artoo. He swung his domed top towards her and beeped feverishly. The translation appeared on a small screen in front of her. I hope so, or we'll in great troubles!
Padmè could only smile. That little droid had a great sensibility when it came to the events of his owners. He was far more compassionate than his counterpart, Threepo. "I know. But I need her help, I can't go in there alone!"
I'm here if you need help!
"I know Artoo, but I need you here. If the plan I have in mind works, I need you to control the ship."
Oh, I almost thought you would leave me here with nothing to do!
"Never. You're just too important."
In that moment someone picked up the call on the other side. But it wasn't Lysveet. "Anakin?" Darrick's voice came through the comlink and it was a slight shock to hear him instead of the hacker. Most of all because he was panting as if he had been running the marathon.
"Darrick, what..."
"Padmè? What's going on?" he asked, suddenly his voice sounded a lot clearer.
"I...I was calling Lysveet but...why are you answering her emergency comlink? At night most of all!" well, she could actually imagine, but she didn't say anything.
"Well I..." he was terribly embarrassed, she could tell. "Listen, it's complicated. But why are you calling?"
"I...we have a problem. Dalan captured Anakin and Obi-Wan." she said, quite bluntly.
"What?" this time along Darrick she heard Lysveet screaming. "What did you say?" she went on.
"I...well, we were following a lead and we were going to investigate but yesterday I didn't feel well so they went by themselves and, well, they found out Dalan was in the same place just a moment before he captured them."
"Shit..." from the other side, Padmè could hear the swooshing of the bedsheets being pushed away as the slicer got up. "What do you need?"
"I need to get inside Drogheda Citadel." she told them.
"Alright. Just give me a moment..." she heard Lysveet typing furiously on her keyboard. "Here...I'm sending the plans over. How much time do you have to get them out?"
"Not much. The sooner I take them out the better will be."
"I guessed so. What do you want to do?"
"I..." Padmè sighed and glanced at the weapon cabinet, at her right. "A one-man-army attack. It's the only thing I can come up with."
There was a moment of silence on the other side. "OK, I think the same. What do you have? Weaponry, I mean." asked Darrick.
"I have my carbine, a couple of guns and an E-11 I scavenged from one of the Imperials back on Coruscant. It's the only automatic weapon I have."
"OK, that's a shitty weapon but we have what we have. Now, I guess you'd prefer going in as stealthy as you can. The best thing, from what I see here from the maps, the best access point is from the garbage dump, on the southern side of the mountain. It's not a fancy point of entry but there's a door that leads straight to the maintenance level. From there to the cells it's a matter of a couple of staircases."
"Alright, Artoo, the ship is yours, get us there!" Padmè stood up and grabbed the carbine and the automatic rifle. "Do you think I can do it? I'm not a soldier?"
"No, you're a wife whose husband is in mortal danger. You certainly can do it!" replied Lysveet. "Do you still have that set of in-ear complink I gave you before you left?"
Unconsciously, Padmè nodded. Then remembered they couldn't see her and sighed. "I still have one. Obi-Wan and Anakin took two of them. Why?"
"Because if you give me five minutes more I'll be able to control the security system and the CC cameras all over the Citadel, and guide you."
Padmè glanced over at Artoo, who was chirping loudly. Can she really do it? He asked.
"Artoo askes if you can really do it!"
"Of course I can!"
If Artoo had been human, his eyes would have been sparkling. Can she teach me how to do it? I can do it from a computer internal the network I want to control, not remotely!
Smiling, Padmè grabbed another cartridge of blaster shots and placed it in the satchel that hanged at her waist. "He asked if you can teach him how to do it from a remote computer."
They heard the hacker chuckle. "As soon as you get back here I'll upgrade your slicing software Artoo."
He moved around, bouncing a bit, as if he was jumping from the happiness.
Taking the carbine out of the cabinet and attaching the strap, she saw the explosive cash Organa had given them. "Do you think I could use a couple of thermal detonators?"
"Of course! The more fire power you have, the higher are your chances to survive." replied Darrick. "Ok, Lysveet is in. Are you ready?"
Padmè looked at the map on the ship computer screen. "Almost. Two minutes and I'll be there. Are there cameras on that side of the Citadel?"
"I've already sent them to a looping scheme. They won't notice your arrival. I also dampened the motion sensors, so you will be able to go around safely without them noticing they are turned off."
She pulled the lever and charged the weapon. In the end she was taking the carbine, the E-11 and a smaller blaster pistol hidden behind her back, the holster hidden under her shirt, and the two grenades. "Alright. It's time to see if a Loyalist Senator can be a pain in the ass for the Empire even in this case." she set the in-ear comlink and prepared to get down the ship.
Then, suddenly, she remembered something. Something her daughter had given her just before she boarded that very ship.
Her lightsaber.
She wasn't a Jedi, she didn't know how to fight using it but...it could cut pretty much anything. She was going into an unknown place, heavily guarded by Imperial and local soldiers and probably a lot of closed doors.
Almost scaring Artoo, who wasn't expecting her to rush away from the ramp a moment before he opened the ramp, she rushed to the crew compartment and grabbed her backpack. Quickly rummaging through her things, she found her daughter's lightsaber, as she grasped its tiny chromed hilt. She lifted it in front of her and pressed the tiny switch just below the emitter. The light blue blade came to life right in front of her eyes. It was slightly shorter than Anakin's lightsaber, or Obi-Wan's one, but it was logical. She would have her full length saber once she grew up.
She stared at the blade for endless seconds, part of her wanted to leave it on the ship, because she was terrified she could do something wrong with it, but she also knew it would be very helpful, in case she didn't find what she needed to open their cell.
Turning it off, she hanged it at her belt and walked back at the ramp. "Go on Artoo, open it."
Artoo opened the entrance ramp and let her walk down and go out before leading the ship to a safe place not far from there.
The area around the landing spot choose by her astrodroid was secluded and hid by high cliffs. From that place, she could see the back of the Citadel, roughly fifty yards above her. There were several openings in the rocky wall, probably hiding defense weapons and stuff. Looking around, almost instantly, she was able to find the door Darrick had been talking about. Hanging the carbine on her shoulder, she climbed the short path that led to the door. When she reached it, she tried the handle, but it found it locked. "Lysveet, it's closed."
On the other side she heard her typing. "Try now."
And it was open. "Alright, I'm in." Padmè closed the door behind her and heard the lock snap into position. "Now what?"
"Follow the staircase Padmè." said Darrick. "When you reach the top, turn left, there should be two doors. One is a weapon cabinet, the other leads to the maintenance level. Take that one."
She ran up the stairs and followed his instructions. The door was open and she stepped in easily.
The maintenance level was a sort of labyrinth, from what she could see. In front of here there was a long hallway with many doors on both sides of the walls. "Left or right?" she whispered.
"Right. Walk to the end of the corridor and open the six door door on the left. There's another staircase, go up and you should find a lift to the detention level."
"OK. Any sign of people incoming?"
"Not that we can see, but be careful, the CC cameras don't cover every spot of the base. We're following you on the screens but there are many void spots."
Sighing, Padmè took the carbine and held it in front of her. She didn't want to caught off guard and be arrested herself. Or worse, killed. "I have a bad feeling about this..." she whispered.
"I don't." replied Darrick. "Come on, we're here to guide you. Once you set them free, everything will be easier."
"I don't really know about that. They beat Anakin, quite badly." she said opening the door that led to the staircase. Slowly, she checked there was no one in sight and walked up.
"How do you know?" asked the Jedi on the other side of the line.
"He had the in-ear comlink with him, I heard it."
She could hear Darrick sighing. "Don't worry about it. He'll be fine. He's a tough guy. Just let him grab his lightsaber and he'll be good as new."
Then it struck her. If they had captured them, they must have taken their weapons too, obviously. And she didn't have a clue on where to search for them. But they would need them
"Lysveet, can you locate where the Imperials brought their lightsabers?" she asked, cautiously looking for signs of anyone incoming.
"I'm going...Darrick, would you please guide her while I search?"
"Anyway, why were you in the same room?" asked Padmè, chuckling softly.
The Jedi cleared his throat a couple of times before answering. "It's a long story Padmè." he said. "We'd better keep it for when you return here. Be careful, there's a soldier coming from the hallway on your right. Find a place to hide!"
Falling silent, Padmè looked around and found what looked like an utility room and hid in there. Closing the door behind her, she pressed her back against the wall and waited instructions.
"Damn it, he's coming in your direction!"
Sighing, Padmè raised her carbine and waited, holding her breath. "I hate killing people!"
"Steady Padmè, maybe you won't have to kill him." said Darrick. But what he saw on the computer screen in front of her, he didn't really believe what he was saying. "Wait he's..."
The door opened with a low his and the soldier stepped inside the utility room. With the help of the darkness, Padmè took a step towards him and hit him hard on the back of his head with the stock of her rifle, sending him on the ground, unconscious. Quickly, she dragged the motionless man inside and closed the door. Turning on her flashlight, he searched his body for weapons or anything else.
"Everything alright in there?" asked Lysveet.
"Yep, just fine. I managed not to kill him." she replied. "He's just a worker, I think, but he's harmed. And, he's not a local. He's an Imperial."
"How can you tell?"
"His ID badge. Says he's part of the construction crew that was deployed here."
She heard someone drumming on a solid surface on the other side. "I wonder what they want to do there!" stated Darrick.
"Well, right now, I care more about my husband and Obi-Wan. Have you found their weapons?"
"Not yet. I fear they haven't recorded them but...wait a sec...I think I found their cell."
Using a piece of rope she found in the room, Padmè tied the man's hands behind his back tightly, then tied his ankles too. She was thinking about gagging him but what Lysveet said caught her attention. "Where?"
"One level above you. Cell number 18. I'm trying to find out if there's a CC camera in there but it seems it's on a different circuit, it might take a while. Logically, their lightsabers should be in the sentry box just at the entrance of the floor, right outside the lift."
Mentally, Padmè thought about how to get in the sentry box. Suddenly, her thoughts flew back at one year before, when Anakin had done the same thing she was doing in that moment to save her and her colleagues on Daltarra. She hadn't thought about how he had arrived to their location, without guidance. Well, he had the Force to guide him, and a weapon slightly more silent than hers, but it was pretty much the same. She had never understood completely what he had done that day, most of all how, but as she spent more time in that suicide mission, she was slowly understanding what he had gone through.
"How many of them?" she asked then.
After a moment of silence, Darrick spoke. "Right now, nine. Two at the entrance, three in the box and four in the hallway. And on the way to the lift, thirteen possible encounters."
"Damn...now I understand what Anakin did last year!"
"Did you know that he threw up everything he had eaten for breakfast that day before coming to rescue you?"
Padmè smiled inwardly. "That's very like him!"
"He almost had an heart attack when we told him they had captured you. Anyway, what are you doing?"
"I'm making sure this one is not going to tell anyone there's an intruder in the Citadel for quite some more time!" she replied tying the makeshift gag she had made out of the handkerchief she had found in his pockets.
"You're tying him?"
"Of course I am!" she said standing up. "Is the way clear?"
"Yes, now it is. Go quick, I fear someone might go looking for that guy!" said Lysveet. "I'm still trying to locate their ligthsabers but it's not easy! Now I really fear they didn't record their location."
"Don't care now, I can look for them once I've reached the detention level. Right now I'm trying to sneak around as hidden as I can."
"And you're doing a great job. Get out of that room and it will be over sooner than what you think." replied Darrick. She heard him sigh. "I need a coffee." he said.
"Help me get out of here and you can go back sleeping. Or doing whatever you were doing before I called, which I think was mind-blowing sex, from the way you answered my call."
Lysveet stopped typing all of a sudden. "And you got that just by listening to his voice?"
Shaking her head, Padmè got out of the room bracing her rifle. "Lysveet, please, I have two kids and a husband I thought I had lost for eight years. I can recognize that kind of thing!" she had seen something in the few hours that had passed since the meeting between the Jedi and the Hacker, something going on between them. Now, after barely ten days, she had the certainty she had been right.
Darrick smothered a laugh. "Sorry Padmè. Sometimes I forget you have more experience than me in this field." he said. "Turn right here and take the second turn on the left. You should find the lift for the detention level there."
But she found a stormtrooper coming right in her direction.
Startled as much as he was, she stood motionless for an endless moment, just staring through the glass that covered his eyes on his helmet. He did the same, through the same lenses.
"What the..."
He didn't have the time to finish the sentence. Padmè was fast enough to raise her gun and shoot him before he did the same. He fell on the floor with a smoking hole in the middle of his chest. Just to be sure, she shot him again. "I hate killing people!" she snapped then.
"What happened?" asked the Jedi.
"A stromtrooper in one of the spots not covered by the cameras. That's what happened!"
"Damn...I'm sorry I didn't see him!"
"Don't worry, he's dead. Or at least unconscious. Is the way ahead clear?" she asked checking her weapon. She still had more than three thousand shots. That should have been enough.
"Looks like it is. But be careful and keep your rifle high."
She didn't have the time to take ten steps when Lysveet practically screamed in her ear. "Oh come on!"
"What?"
"Hurry up Padmè, Dalan is getting Anakin and Obi-Wan moved to Coruscant in less than three hours." she said, quite alarmed.
The only thought that crossed Padmè's mind was a long, unrepeatable sequence of curses in her native tongue. "Damn...are they moving them now?"
"Nope. According to their logs, they are still in their cell. And Dalan is in the commanding office, thirty levels above you."
Following Darrick's instructions, she found the lift. She didn't have time to go sneaking around. It was time for a full frontal attack.
"Alright, it's time to change tactic." she hang the high powered carbine on her shoulder and took the E-11, pulled the lever and removed the safety. "Forget the stealthy style. I'm going to create a hell of a trouble!"
"No wait Padmè don't haste things!" almost shouted Darrick. "You don't know what you'd have to face!"
Grunting in frustration, Padmè pushed the button for the lift. "Darrick, please I know you're worried but I've been chased by the Trade Federation, reconquered Theed, target of I don't know how many bounty hunters, and captured by the Empire. I know what kind of things I'd have to face!" she snapped, more harshly than she had in mind. "I know what I'm doing!"
The lift reached the detention level and two guards turned towards the opening doors. They were expecting everything, from their boss asking them to bring the prisoners upstairs to the guy they had sent downstairs to fetch the ammo they needed.
But they couldn't know that what they were facing was their death.
The last thing they saw in their life was the barrel of an automatic rifle held by a woman. The clone had seen many things in his life. He had participated to many battles in his life, but he had never thought that the end would come by the end of a former Senator coming to rescue her husband.
But, well, that's exactly what happened.
"With a cold blood Padmè didn't know she possessed, she pulled the trigger and killed the two guards in front of her.
Two quick and incredibly precise shots right between their eyes. They sagged on the floor, stone cold, without a sound a part for the clatter of their armors. "Two down, five more left." she said stepping out of the lift. "Where now?"
"Turn right. The sentry box is right that way. Use a grenade to make it quicker." suggested Darrick.
"Good." she grabbed the bomb from her utility belt and and walked towards the box.
"Be careful Padmè. They're coming!"
"And I'm ready to give them hell..."
She turned the corner and saw the sentry box. Quickly, she activated the thermal detonator in her hand and threw it into the box, then took cover behind the corner she had just turned. The grenade exploded sending shards and debris all around the place. The loud conflagration deafened her for a moment, she could barely hear Darrick's alarmed voice asking her if she was fine, even if she had covered her ears with her hands.
"Padmè?" he called repeatedly. "Padmè are you OK?"
"Yes..." she said above the noise. "I think I am. Are they dead?"
Darrik waited a moment as the smoke dissipated from the hallway. The camera was pretty much useless in that moment. When the smoke went away, he saw three bodies on the floor. Two clones and one of Dalan's personal men. And he was still moving. He was wounded, probably deadly hurt, but still moving. "There's one still moving. The one without the stormtrooper armor!"
Without hesitation, she stood up and grabbed the rifle. A quick split second to aim and the remaining man was dead. Five down, two to go. She didn't waste any second more. Avoiding the debris that the explosion had thrown everywhere, she entered in what remained of the sentry box and looked around. Most of the metallic structures were still intact, after all, thermal detonators had a high power explosive charge inside, but they were more dangerous for living beings, because of the high temperature generated by the device. The explosions of those kind of grenades weren't useful against ships, transports or for demolition in general. In fact, only the glass was broken, all the rest was in a rather good condition, everything considered.
She took a quick look around, then, not finding what she was looking for, she started a more accurate search, opening each closet and recess she could find. Until...
"Padmè what are you doing?" asked Darrick. As time went by, he was growing more and more worried about her safety and the outcome of that suicide mission.
"Looking for their lightsabers! Without them we're as good as dead!"
"Watch out, behind you!"
Without thinking, she grabbed the blaster gun behind her back and spinning in a swift motion she turned around and discharged half of the magazine on him, drilling his chest and creating seven smoking holes on his torso.
It's useless to say that when he touched the floor, he was dead.
Resuming her search, she finally found the two gleaming hilts in the top drawer of a file cabinet. She attached them to her belt and then exited the sentry box. "Where's their cell?"
"Walk straight ahead in front of you and turn right. Beware, there are still three guards there, waiting for you."
She glanced down that the grenade hanging at her belt. "Well, they'll meet a friend of mine." she said, grasping it and running towards the turn Darrick had signaled. A quick glance and she was the target of a shower of blasts. Holding her breath, she harmed the grenade and threw it towards the guards, then ducked and covered her ears.
Again, the blast was incredibly loud and made her ears ring. As the noise extinguished, she turned and checked the hallway. Through the smoke, she couldn't see anything. "I really hope they're dead." she grunted as the stood up and ran to the cell.
"They are, don't worry!" snapped Lysveet. "The grenade blasted practically under their feet. If they're not dead, they'll be in a couple of minutes."
Padmè reached the right door and, fumbling with the rifle, the three lightsabers she had hanging at the waist while trying to unhook them, she found herself shaking so much she could barely hold her daughter's lightsaber in her hand. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She had made it in the end. It had took a while but she had done it. It was useless to start shaking like that right at the end.
Breathing slowly, she ignited the blade and stuck it into the thick metal door above the lock, just as she had seen Anakin do with Jax's door. It was incredibly easy, far easier than what she had thought. She quickly cut a rather large part of the door, then she extinguished the blade.
The door opened, clearly pushed from the inside, and she saw Anakin sitting on the floor, in such a bad shape he was barely recognizable, and Obi-Wan standing beside the door. She threw them their weapons and took a step inside the cell.
"Let's get out of here before they call the backups!"
OK, now you also know what happened on the other side of "Sledgehammer". And what's going on with Darrick and Lysveet back on Dantooine... Hope you liked it, now I'm off writing chapter 22 of Red Rain! Have fun!