Chapter 4.

IMPERIAL CITY SPACEPORT,

FIRE & RESCUE STATION #1

(15 MINUTES EARLIER)

The two paramedics waited for the mechanic to join them after he had finished his routine maintenance of the Trast Heavy Transports air ambulance. And, once he had down at the table, in between them. the more senior-ranking paramedic began dealing out the sabacc cards. It was uncharacteristically quiet for this particular shift. But, that was only because everyone else had unexpectedly been given a day off with pay! Something to do with some important state visit occurring nearby. But, unfortunately for this trio, their shift supervisor had been a stickler for the rules. Telling the representative from the Imperial Security Bureau (firmly-yet-politely, of course) that a mandatory minimum of three personnel had to be on duty in the station house at all times. So, they became the lucky ones who "volunteered" to remain behind!

All his frustration vanished, however, when he spotted the beautiful dark-skinned woman who came walking into the station. A doctor, judging by the white smock she was wearing and the green droid of the 21-B series accompanying her.

"May I help you, Miss. . .?"

"Doctor! Doctor Nashira. And, the answer is 'yes'. I need to borrow your ambulance for a little bit.

The three men chuckled, accordingly, before the senior paramedic replied (with a semi-disappointed grin):

"I'm sorry, ma'am. But, that's not possible! All air traffic around this area, for five square miles, has been either grounded or re-routed, until further notice. By order of the ISB."

"I see," muttered Nashira. "In that case; 21-B-19?"

Whereupon, the erstwhile medical droid triggered the release of a Prax 7 dart pistol from a secret compartment in his left arm. Firing one tranquilizer dart a piece into the two startled paramedics! While Nashira whipped out her Stokhli spray stick, once more; ensnaring the mechanic in its electrochemical mesh! She then finished the job by walking over to where the latter had collapsed and kicked him in the head with her insulated boot.

Upon confirming that all three men were unconscious, she whipped out a comm-link from the left-hand pocket of the smock.

"We're in. How does it look?"

"We're ready to go when you are," replied Passel Atrubble.

"You sure you can handle the Nautolan's bodyguard?"

"With Papanoida's help, yes. If nothing else, Snoke will finally learn a long-overdue lesson about stealing bounties from the Crimson Novas!"

Nashira frowned. "Our _only_ target of interest is Vader! Save the score-settling for afterward."

"Don't worry," the Koorivar reassured her. "I will."

Passel Atrubble shut off his comm-link before withdrawing his amputated cranial horn and smiling at it.

"Ten more minutes, old friend. And, then, the Mustafar Massacre will be avenged."

Ten minutes later, as Captain Snoke bowed (in courteous response to Darth Vader's somewhat surprising compliment), a siren began blaring. So, naturally, everyone in attendance instinctively looked in the direction from where that sound had originated! What they saw was an air ambulance rapidly approaching the shuttle craft landing pad. And, just as instinctively, the storm trooper honor guard assumed defensive fire positions. Aiming all their weapons at the repulsorlift medical vehicle.

As a result, no one saw the three intruders that flew in from the opposite direction.

Two of those figures were riding swoops. That is, illegally modified airspeeder bikes popular with street gangs on the Outer Rim planets. But, in this case, these two particular swoops had been slave-circuited to Justin Papanoida's cyborg headband. Allowing him to remote-control them virtually by thought! This, in turn, allowed Atrubble to use both hands in wielding his G-71 grenade launcher.

"Foop! Foop! Foop! Foop!"

Three of the G-20 glop grenades that he subsequently launched went sailing in the direction of the visiting Lord Garn and his small entourage. Immobilizing them in a gelatinous mass that rendered even Captain Snoke unable to draw his T-6 Thunderer, no matter how much of his superhuman strength he exerted! The fourth grenade, however, never reached its target.

Darth Vader merely evaded it by leaping straight upward; somersaulting at the arc of that leap, and then landing on the roof of the Imperial shuttle.

This, in turn, made him an irresistible target for Wurrrdafookwee. The one-eyed Wookiee had already devastated half the honor guard by shooting them down, from above and behind, with the aid of his bowcaster and a modifiedYinchorri flitter pack! But, the Sith Lord's defensive actions caught his attention. So, Wurrrda re-directed his flight path, and line of fire, accordingly. Yet, for every explosive quarrel that he fired in the Sith Lord's direction, Vader's lightsaber was just as quick to deflect them into the ground, to the left and right of the landing pad. All, that is, except the last two. Those he batted upwards toward the engines of the rapidly approaching swoops!

Consequently, they crashed to the ground, forcing their riders to jump off at the next-to-last second. Following which, they landed in somersaults that were not entirely painless.

The surviving storm troopers among the honor guard immediately trained their weapons on the Koorivar and the Wroonian. Unfortunately, for them, this distracted from the still-oncoming air ambulance! Nashira, having accomplished the initial distraction, had turned off the no-longer needed sire. Consequently, she was running silently when she fatally bowled over the aforementioned storm troopers. . .

. . .before ramming the vehicle into the Lambda-class shuttle's front landing gear.

The ensuing vibration from that crash was strong enough to unbalance Darth Vader. Making him fall to the ground, as well! This, in turn, allowed Papanoida to unsling a SoroSuub Firelance blaster carbine from his right shoulder and fire off a heavy stun blast. Giving Atrubble the perfect opportunity to whip out his cranial horn, hold it in his right hand like a vibro-dagger, and then run towards the seemingly helpless Sith Lord.

"Look at me well, Vader," gloated the self-dehorned Koorivar. "I will be the last thing you ever see... before I gouge out your eyes."

tbc