The underground transport car soon came to a halt at the next platform. There, a group of officers was waiting to greet the new arrivals. Admiral Benvole rose as he stood next to his Padawan, waiting for the pod to come to a complete halt. He discretely handed Addick a small com link.
"Take this."
Donovan took the small device and wrapped it around his left ear tucking the speaker piece into it.
"Greetings Admiral. I am General Mang. We have been expecting you."
"Hello General, this is my companion, Lieutenant Garbo." Addick bowed respectfully as his superiors shook hands. He looked up at the small band of officers and storm troopers as he waited for his master's plan to begin. "No use delaying any longer, can you show me the prototype?"
"Of course. Follow this way."
Two group marched across the metal platform and exited into a narrow hallway. Benvole walked with his hands folded behind his back as Arbine Addick had done so many times. Donovan stood in the rear of the pack as it snaked its way through the base.
"Tell me, General, how do thing function here?"
"Well, Admiral, I am proud to say that this is by far the safest and securest facility this side of the galaxy. We have never had one security breech or potential attack, but we are always cautious. The Rebellion doesn't even know we exist, last I've heard." General Mang looked up at the much taller Admiral. He was a short man with a round face but still had the appearance of authority with his rugged cheeks and stiff brow. The Admiral looked down at him as they walked.
"No, I assume not, it's fairly well hidden."
"Tell me Admiral, how have things been lately?" The General was making small talk to appease his guest. Land-based troops didn't see much action on Kannto, especially in a research facility.
"Not too bad. Things have been quiet lately. In fact, most of the fleet is not even at ready stage, in truth, we would have a hard time fighting a Rebel attack, but we do not suspect one anytime soon. Especially since 3rd Fleet is having incredible luck with their search and destroy missions."
"Interesting." The short General pretended to be intrigued, Benvole looked down and squinted one eye condescendingly.
The group marched down a seemingly endless hallway while the General continued his sucking up for Admiral Benvole. Addick trailed the bunch looking around cautiously. Benvole, hands still folded behind his back would occasionally flash a finger at his young padawan indicating to him something of importance like a water main, or a breaker panel. Addick was in a zone, watching his surroundings as he followed his master; the hallways were tight, low ceilings as if they were in the bows of a submarine with thin slits of light on the ceiling panels. Pipes and wired ran together across the walls, colour coded. They passed countless Storm Troopers and maintenance personnel; droids of all kinds hurried about shouting out commands to each other in beeps and coded whistles. It was strange being underground in a place like this, no sign of daylight or the outside world, even the tormenting storm which was raging outside was almost undetectable in most sectors of the base. They walked onward.
"This is the weapon storage sector. Most secure sector in the base, no one gets into any room without a pass card. Guards have every square inch on visual observation." The General boasted as he made gestures with his hands. The Admiral was not amused.
"I see." He said calmly.
As they continued, Addick looked down at the steel grate below his feet. Far below, he could see a hangar where TIE fighters were parked, droids making repairs and pilots waiting casually.
"General, how many fighters do you have here?"
"Very few, we are a research facility, most of our defenses are for land attacks. We have a good amount of armour and troops on the other side."
Benvole turned his head briefly, silently scolding his Padawan for making a verbal interruption. He then pointed left to a sign labeled transports, surface, main hangars and weapon storage, all with appropriate arrows. Donovan made note and continued along with the pack.
"Here you are Admiral, the pride of the Empire, the TIE Interceptor!" General Mang spread his arms widely as he stood in front of a huge glass window several stories above the Interceptor hangar. Benvole and Addick looked down at the foreign craft as the hosting party stood back with smiles. The TIE Interceptor was like something out of a nightmare, it had sharp wings that formed a eerie crescent, giving it an evil look like some sort of bird of prey beginning its descent. The cockpit was small and sturdy, nestled between the large black wings. It was sleek, long and thin. Designed to be maneuverable, it surely looked the part. Addick was in awe. The TIE fighters he had seen just a few moments before, seemed like childish models compared to this deadly black hawk of a spacecraft. "Pretty, isn't she?" the General boasted. Donovan did not move his eyes from the Interceptor, Benvole turned slowly and walked toward General Mang.
"Is it ready for flight?"
"Ready when you are. As soon as the fleet arrives, she's all yours."
"I want to see it up close."
"Sorry, Admiral. Moff Garinn is the only one who can give orders to access hangar 327."
"Well then, I will speak to him."
The General turned to a Storm Trooper standing behind to his right. The trooper picked up a com link with his right hand and called in. Admiral Benvole turned back around to see Donovan still peering at the Interceptor.
"I'm sorry Admiral, Moff Garinn is presently meeting with the security board, they should only be..."
"You will take me to Moff Garinn now." Benvole interrupted his small-stature colleague as he pointed his index and middle fingers directly between his eyes. General Mang could not make excuses; he was under the control of the Force.
"I will take you to him." He turned and headed down the hallway motioning for his assistants and guards to follow.
"They do not need to come with us." Benvole waived his left hand as he spoke calmly. General Mang stopped and shook his head softly as he presented his palm to his troops. Somewhat surprised by these orders, they filed out the other way, returning to their previous duties. "Are you coming, Lieutenant?"
Donovan turned and followed.
Shortly after, Benvole flashed a glance at Donovan. The young Jedi nodded his head slightly in compliance and quickly ducked away into an adjoining hallway. He quickly collected his thoughts and headed for the control terminal on that deck. Walking briskly, so as not to attract attention, he soon came to a room labeled 'control room theta sector', he checked in both directions to make sure that no one was looking and ducked inside.
"Who are you?" A young Imperial was sitting attentively at the controls.
"I am Lieutenant Garbo, I have been transferred to this sector."
"I wasn't notified, stay there, I'm calling it in." The operator grabbed for the com link and placed it to his mouth as he rose, eyes locked on Donovan. "Yes, this is CR Theta..."
The moment he began to speak, Donovan extended and open hand and, using the force, grabbed the com link out of the operators hand in into his own. The operator was stunned to see what had just happened, but didn't have time to comment as Donovan quickly jumped across the desk and laid a sharp kick to the young man's jaw. He stumbled backwards and landed in his chair. Donovan checked his back to make sure no one had heard anything, then spoke into the com link disguising his own voice as the operator.
"Yes, I was wondering, who do I need to talk to in order to get a droid down here. I could use an extra hand."
The voice on the other end was hesitant but answered back.
"Uh... I'll see what I can do, I don't see any here, no promises."
"Thanks." Donovan placed the com link on the console "deception is a weapon..." he remarked to himself as he grabbed the operator by the collar throwing his sleeping body onto the floor and freeing the chair for his own use. "Sorry, friend."
Donovan pushed a series of buttons on the console. He knew exactly what he was doing as if he had been doing it for years. Soon, a holographic image of the entire base appeared in the center of the room. It rotated slowly indicating systems with corresponding colours. All sectors were shown in green indicating their full functionality.
"Now, lets do this." Donovan adjusted his chair, gave the door a glance and began to disable the security relay systems. He was anxious and somewhat nervous, but he was not fearful, his Jedi instincts helped to compose his behavior in this situation. Donovan Addick was focused on his goal. He began typing away at the keys, checking his progress on the hologram projection.
Meanwhile, Admiral Benvole was making his way to meet Moff Garinn. Soon they arrived at his Garinn's meeting room. They entered the room in somewhat of a rush as Moff Garinn was caught off guard. He spun around to see who had barged in.
"General, what's going on here?" Garinn asked puzzled as he looked at Benvole.
"This is Admiral Benvole, he is in charge of the 4th Fleet, and overseeing testing operations in space for the Interceptor."
"Yes, I know who he is. I told you I would be along shortly."
"Sir, it was my fault, I insisted. Do not punish our little friend." Benvole looked at General Mang as a father might look a son who had just been caught with his hands in the cookie jar. Mang ducked his head in shame. "Thank you, General, I will no longer be needing you." He waived his hand at the General as Mang proceeded to exit. Moff Garinn pulled out one of the many white chairs in his oval -shaped meeting room.
"Well, Admiral.." he began as he sat down "you have found me, so now what do you wish?" Moff Garinn leaned back in his chair in a sort of lazy arrogance. He was an older man, dressed in military garments and well decorated. He wore a thin, white beard that wrapped his fragile-looking jaw line.
"Well, I wanted to see the Interceptor up close." Benvole took a step toward him, his tone was polite, as he had already attracted too much attention, he wanted to make sure he followed all the rules.
"Why is that? Did the General not show you to her from the viewing deck?" Moff Garinn gently rocked himself as he played politics with Benvole.
"Yes, he did, but I want to see it up close. This is my operation now; once the fleet arrives, the Interceptor will be out of your hands. I think its only fair that I can have a look up close." Benvole was convincing, not authoritative.
"I suppose. I will summon the Security Council, they should be along shortly. In the meantime, I think you should wait here. My droids will give you anything you like." Garinn leaned forward in his chair and pressed a few buttons on a tabletop console. "Attention." the intercom sparked to life "This is Moff Garinn, I would like all members of the Security Council to meet with me immediately. Thank you." He released his finger from the intercom button and leaned back again, staring at the Admiral in skepticism.
"Do you have a pilot for me?" Benvole broke the silence
"Yes. We have a few. Has the fleet arrived?"
"They will be along by nightfall, its early."
"I see." Moff Garinn began to rock again in his chair as the door opened. Benvole turned calmly to see a dozen storm troopers enter the room and spread along the walls, rifles in hand. He looked back at Moff Garinn, raising one eyebrow. "Do not be alarmed, its standard security procedure."
"Of course." The Admiral responded sarcastically.
After the troopers, entered six other men dressed in military uniforms. Varying in age and rank, the men sat down at their chairs and all looked up at the Admiral who stood sturdy and composed before them.
"For those of you who don't know me, I am Admiral Benvole. I am commanding the 4th Fleet during testing of the TIE Interceptor. I have called us together like this because I wish to see it up close."
Everyone spoke briefly amongst themselves and then silently looked up at Moff Garinn who sat with his hands touching by the fingertips with a strange smirk on his face.
"We will show him the TIE. He can see it if he wants." The group was in shock that Moff Garinn would be so lenient with is virtual stranger. The council was weary but they followed their leader as he rose and headed for the door, storm troopers on either side of the parade.
Donovan Addick worked in haste as sector after sector of the hologram went from green to red. Soon the entire base was disabled. Any alert would now be localized to that sector only. He watched as the hologram soon vanished completely then jumped up and headed for the door. He paused before opening it, listening to the hallway for any passer-bys. The hallway was empty as Addick ducked into the long passage and began to walk toward the junction with the sign labeled surface. A smile danced across his lips before receding as he once again, became focused on the danger lurking to every angle.
Admiral Benvole walked in the center of the small precession, storm troopers boxed the officers in like a Roman Legion in Tortoise formation. In front of him, a member of the Security Council, names Captain Maeli argued quietly with Moff Garinn. Benvole used the small distraction to contact his Padawan.
"Addick, you there?" Benvole whispered to himself as he pressed a small button on the com link which remained hidden behind his ear. Donovan heard this and being somewhat startled, ducked into a doorway to respond.
"Yes, Master. I'm here." He whispered as well, with his finger to his ear.
"How did things go?"
"Everything his fine. What's next?"
"Get to the surface. Create a diversion. Anything to get the attention off me."
"Are you in the hangar?"
"Shortly."
"Excuse me, Admiral, are you ok?" the youngest member of the Security Council, Lieutenant Argand, asked from behind.
"Yes, I'm fine, just had a small pain in my ear, it comes back from time to time."
They continued down the hallways passing Storm Troopers and personnel of all kinds, who stood rigidly at attention when the group passed.
Donovan trotted quickly and silently through the vacant corridor. The cold steel pipes overhead seemed to stretch for miles and the thin slits of light from above seemed to cast living shadows as he moved. Soon he reached the junction and the marked sign. He took a step for the surface but hesitated seeing the sign for weapon storage. He darted in the other direction down another long hallway.
The Security Council and Admiral Benvole reached the hangar bay entrance. Here is where the complex system of locks and codes was installed. The Storm Troopers fanned out as the seven members of the Council lined up in front of their respective locks and keypads. First was the young Lieutenant, he reached into his jacket and pulled a small green and yellow electronic key attached to a thin metal chain hung around his neck. He inserted the key as the pad lit up in a subtle red glow. Admiral Benvole discretely glanced at the Lieutenants fingers as he punched in the 9-digit code, he then looked up at to make sure no one had seen his spying. Captain Maeli followed suit in the exact same manner, as did the rest of the men. Moff Garinn was last, everyone looked up at him as he slowly inserted the key and entered his code. He then stepped back as everyone watched the huge metal door slowly rise. Behind it, another blast door was parting to the left and right revealing an energy shield, pale yellow in colour, sparking across the hallway. Moff Garinn pushed a button on the wall panel as the energy shield fizzled into nothing. The group entered the hallway.
This passage was not like the others; it had white tiled floors and was well lit. It smelled sterile, like a hospital and there was no visible piping or wiring. Footsteps echoed like thunder through the silent tranquility of this high-security sector. Benvole looked around as he walked, still surrounded on all sides. He saw several small cameras in the ceiling and as he passed each one, he made slight motions with his fingers, bending them upward, harmlessly capturing every movement of the ceiling above them.
"The hangar is just down this passage, Admiral." Moff Garinn remarked.
Donovan had reached the weapon storage. He crept in the shadows as he could see the main doorway to a warehouse-style room just a few meters in front of him. Five storm troopers guarded the main doorway, equipped with rifles, standing at attention, two on each wall, and one in the center. Donovan closed his eyes and took a deep breath for concentration. He then emerged from his hiding spot and walked directly at the guards.
"Halt." The guard in the center shouted as the others turned to face the young Lieutenant. "Do you have a pass card?"
"Yes, I do." Donovan reached into his coat and took out the card from the Admiral's suite back at the spaceport. He handed it to the guard confidently.
"What is this? This is not a security pass card. Who are you?" the four guards from the sides surrounded Addick in a box formation, pointing their standard issue rifles directly at his chest. He stood confidently. "I'm calling you in. What's your name?"
"I am Lieutenant Garbo, I'm with the 4th Fleet."
The guard hesitated and then dropped the pass card to the ground as he grabbed his rifle with both hands. Donovan threw up his arms to either side, hurling the four guards into the walls with tremendous force, knocking them out cold. The remaining Storm Trooper was stunned by the sight of what he just saw as he took a small step backwards before firing. With lightning quick reaction speed, Donovan grabbed his lightsabre, and deflected the blast right back at trooper. The shit hit him directly in the chest knocking him to the floor, dead before he hit. Donovan looked in all directions before retracting his laser blade and tucking it back onto his belt concealed beneath his jacket. He grabbed the bodies two at a time, and dragged them by the arms to a small alcove of the hallways, out of view from the light. He then adjusted his uniform, straightened his hat and walked casually into the weapon storage room.
The moment he stepped into the room, he saw more storm troopers. The place was flooded with them, some standing still, others moving about in patrol, some moving wooden crates onto small trucks for distribution, never had he seen anything like it, he spun around quickly behind tall crate, to hide himself from view and he formulated a plan.
"Think. Think. What would Master Benvole do?" he thought for a moment. Then he emerged from the hiding spot and walked across the room to where a storm trooper was standing. The trooper did not recognize the young Jedi, since to him, Addick looked just like a storm trooper.
"Switching time already?" the trooper asked in the classic muffle of Imperial drones.
"You are relieved of duty." Addick responded as laid a crisp punch right in the trooper's face. His head snapped backwards as he stumbled to the floor. As he struggled to get to his feet, he was met with Donovan's boot again smashing directly against his face. The ghostly figure lay motionless on the floor. Donovan dragged the body to behind a large row of crates. He was now breathing heavily and beginning to sweat a bit.
"Master was right, deception is exhausting." He said to himself quietly. He looked around seeing crates of all sizes containing everything in the Imperial Arsenal; Blaster Rifles, Repeating turrets, missile launchers, even AT-PTs were stored there. He grabbed a pack from the floor as he ducked behind some crates to fill it. Donovan chose a little bit of everything, a few thermal detonators, some timed charges, and a few spare rifles. He slung the pack over his shoulder and casually walked out the door, just as he had come in, using his powers of deception to mimic a storm trooper.
Once in the hallways, Donovan broke out into a sprint. He reached the junction in no time and headed up to the surface. The stairwell was tall and tight; metal stairs with grated surfaces were all that he could see in all directions, he took off upward. Within moments, he reached a door marked "surface area J3". He took a breath to calm himself and pushed through the door. Donovan paused in shock. The raging storm overhead was completely blocked out by a type of force field. The swirling winds and torrential downpour splatter harmlessly against the mighty, invisible dome. He could hardly believe his eyes, even on Sioul, he had never seen anything so capable of keeping out a storm of that magnitude. The weather shield was generated from a small pillbox style structure to the right of the entrance. The surface area was barren, white sand and a few footprints, probably most often used as an emergency exit. Donovan headed toward the shield generator.
The Admiral and the group had reached the hangar doors. Thick metal doors with the logo of the Galactic Empire painted in bright red against the grey steel. Moff Garinn turned to face the Admiral as the group pauses.
"I hope it is everything you expected, Admiral." Moff Garinn moved toward the door and pushed a large round button on the center of it. The door began to whine and rumble as it parted to reveal the Interceptor Hangar.
The Interceptor was even more spectacular up close. While its size was nothing impressive, it was like no other ship in the fleet, sleeker, faster, designed to be nimble, and painted to inflict fear reminding all who oppose it of the true power of the Dark Side. It was polished to a evil luster, the canopy glass was like a mirror, showing 8 equal images of its exterior like the eyes of some poisonous spider.
"Amazing." The Admiral said simply
"Years of research and we finally have a prototype. No one dare oppose us now, this is the most advanced space fighter in the galaxy. The Rebel Alliance doesn't stand a change against it." Moff Garinn spoke confidently about his work. Benvole walked over to him and starred him down with his deep brown eyes. Garinn was cautious of the intimidating figure before him.
"Do not be so quick to judge your opponents. I think the years spent underground have left you with false impressions as to the strength of our enemies." Benvole pointed a finger at Moff Garinn, a sign of disrespect for a commanding officer, but Garinn was not offended.
"It is expected for you to be dubious, you will see during testing, you will see."
"I'm going to look up close." Benvole turned and walked toward the evil-looking craft as he touched his left ear to contact his Jedi accomplice. "Donovan"
"Yes, master, I am here."
"Are you on the surface?"
"I just arrived. What should I do?"
"Think of something. Something big, make sure you get attention of a lot of people."
"Ok, give me a minute. Where should I meet you?"
"Don't worry, I will find you." Benvole broke communications as he walked around the back of the Interceptor examining its exterior features. He touched the body and looked under the wings and every angle he could. He then returned to Moff Garinn and company. "Tell me about her."
Donovan moved toward the pillbox, dug safely into a small basin of white sand. He noted a small door set diagonally to the wall leading him to the interior. The door was old and somewhat rusty as it took Donovan a few tries to him to pull the door open, he entered the small underground bunker and looked around. Inside he saw a multitude of wires and monitor screens. Console panels and old broken droid parts lined the walls.
"What a mess." Donovan said to himself, he looked around for the controls to the shield generator. He fumbled through the messy room and found himself in front of a control console of some kind; looking at its dusty rusty keyboard, he shook his head. "Oh hell." He said to himself in frustration. He reached around for his pack and placed it on the console. Donovan reached inside and pulled out a few charges, transferring them from his right hand to his left arm. He looked up for a good place to stick them and immediately spotted a thick braid of wired heading to the room of the bunker. He stuck on there, set the timer, and placed a few more around the room. Having given himself only 2 minutes, he grabbed his pack and tossed it onto his back, running out of the bunker, he was tripped by something sticking slightly out of the sand, and fell face first to the ground.
"What the...?" He got to his feet, dusted himself off quickly while examining the metallic stub. Upon further investigation, he observed it to be a water main stub. A smile crept across his face as he again put down his bag of Imperial goodies and reached for his lightsabre. He sparked the brilliant purple flame to life and with one smooth swoop, slashed the top off the stub, inside were 3 valves at the tops of 3 long pipes, leading underground. He holstered his lightsabre and reached in the bag for a thermal detonator. Donovan eyed the shiny silver orb as he pressed the button to arm it. Its lights flashed and made a low-tone hum as it fell down the pip shaft. Donovan grabbed his back and rushed for the stairwell leading back to the complex. He floated down the stairs with record speed and agility, turning every corner and hitting every landing without a sound, within seconds, a monstrous boom could be felt above him as the walls shook and water began to pour uncontrollably down on his head. He continued down the remaining steps until he came to the door from which he entered.
He busted out of the door into a flooded hallway. Water was pouring from every wall and the ceilings, people were running left and right trying to escape and to repair the situation. A blue light soon flashed to life accompanied by a warning siren. It was an emergency situation, but no one knew it was sabotage. Moments later a second blast echoed throughout the base, the generator station charges had reach their time limit. The blast could be heard well below the surface and even the walls of hangar 327 shook slightly.
"What was that?" A Storm Trooper from the group asked another.
"Get on the com link and find out!!!" Moff Garinn barked in an aggravated tone
"We should get back." The Admiral suggested. Moff Garinn nodded as the group hastily exited the hangar disregarding formation.
A few seconds later, while the group was still in the long white hallway, a response came over the com link.
"Sir, this is engineering, we have major flooding in weapon storage sector. Coming from the surface apparently."
Moff Garinn grabbed the com link from the storm trooper
"What do you mean from the surface!?" He nearly lost his composure angrily shouting at the voice on the other end.
"Some sort of explosion on J3, the shield generator was destroyed, water is flowing in from the storm." The voice on the other end was urgent in tone, as Moff Garinn grew angrier at each passing minute.
"Lock down that sector. Put all other sectors on maintenance alert, code blue." Moff Garinn increased his speed as the group broke out into a slow run to get back and see to the situation. A few seconds later the voice returned.
"Sir, there's a problem. All security relays are down. We can't make contact with any other sector!!."
"AAAAAARGGH" Moff Garinn screamed as he threw the com link against the wall smashing it into thousands of tiny fragments. "What the hell is going on!! Who has been messing with the security relay!? Get to that sector, see what the problem is." Moff Garinn was waiving his arms wildly as he sent 8 of the 12 guards ahead to fix the problem, they ran off stomping their white plastic boots against the tile.
"Could it be an assault?" One of the security advisors asked
"Doubtful, we would have shot them down the second we saw them on scan. No vehicles or ships could make it this close, we have the whole planet on alert for Rebels." Moff Garinn was still frustrated but he was trying to make sense of the situation.
"A Jedi Knight" Benvole spoke clearly and without emotion. The entire group turned and faced him in shock.
"A Jedi Knight?" Garinn looked at his puzzled.
"I heard rumors when I landed that there were some Imperials talking to a Jedi Knight. I didn't believe it, but it looks like their work." Benvole was a good actor, placing urgency in his tone as if he truly cared about his Empire and the base being assaulted. "It's possible we've got a traitor on the inside."
"Blast!! Come on!!" Moff Garinn and the group ran down to the end of the hallway where the security doors were located. He slammed his scrawny old fist against the button as the doors slowly opened. He instantly jumped into the connecting pathway and grabbed for the first intercom he saw. "Attention. Attention. This is Moff Garinn, Jedi Knights have entered the base, all personnel on full alert. Watch out for anyone suspicious!! Deadly force authorized!! Code Red!!" he didn't bother to hang up the intercom and continued his aggravated march down the hallway, his council and the Admiral following.
Donovan heard this announcement and felt his heart drop into his stomach. "Oh Damn!!" he said to himself as he saw the blue light shift to red and the siren change its tone to full alert. He was wearing a dirty and wet uniform and carrying a backpack, it took only seconds for someone to spot him.
"Hey, You!!" A storm trooper called him from the other end of the hallway. Donovan looked to see a small platoon rushing at him; instinctively he drew his lightsabre and faced the pack. "There he is! Fire!" They opened fire but it was no use. Donovan deflected all the blasts with pinpoint accuracy sending them right back to their origins. Seven troopers lay dead in the hallway as Donovan quickly turned to see about 20 more heading toward him. Lightsabre still lit, he bolted down the hallway and turned a corner only to find a dead end.
"Dead end! No!" he quickly looked around to his left and right and above him.
The Storm Troopers came rushing around the corner but did not find Donovan. They looked around puzzled, examining the walls for openings and such. Without warning, Donovan Addick swooped down from the piping above landing directly on an unsuspecting trooper. The others turned and readied their rifles to open fire. Donovan grabbed the unconscious body at his feet and used it as a human shield while he backed out of the dead end. Just as he was in the intersection, he summoned the Force, and hurled the body of the slain trooper, already riddled with blaster fire, directly at the platoon like a ball against pins. He used the brief instance to draw his sabre and slash a series of pipes running along the wall, as the platoon followed, they were scalded by water and steam shooting out of the ruptured pipes. Donovan escaped down the hallway.
The confusion of storm troopers running about and sirens glaring was plenty of distraction for Benvole to contact his Padawan on his hidden com link. He touched his ear again.
"Donovan, where are you?"
"Dammit Benvole, what's going on? How did they know about us."
"I told them"
"What!!"
"Don't worry, just tell me where you are."
"I'm on the green deck of weapon storage. Where are you?"
"Hangars, directly below you. I'll meet you in moments."
"Have you gotten the keys?"
"Yes, don't worry about it." Benvole took his hand away from his ear as he peered to his left observing a maintenance closet left open amid all the chaos. "Stop!" he shouted abruptly as the group stopped. "Gentlemen, I will be taking those keys now." Benvole said calmly as he extended his left hand, palm up.
"What are you talking about? Guards!" Moff Garinn was confused and upset, he didn't feel like playing games. The four Storm Troopers made a wall between Garinn and Benvole with their rifles placed just inches from his chest.
"You can either give me the security keys, or you can make me angry. I don't advise making me angry!" he snarled at the group as his seemed to burn a hole in the Moff Garinn's face.
"Destroy him!!" Moff Garinn's command was too slow. Benvole instantly grabbed his lightsabre from his belt and with one swirling semicircular sweep, sliced the guarding rifles in half, he immediately slashed back with greater force cutting through the four storm troopers like paper. He stood there huffing slightly with an evil looking expression, teeth showing and lip curled like a vicious wild wolf. His pale blue lightsabre illuminated his face on one side and caste a shadow down the entire hallway of the Jedi's dominating figure.
"I will be taking those keys now!!" He switched off his lightsabre as he showed both of his palms to the seven men, starring in disbelief at the traitor Jedi admiral. He closed his eyes as the entire group was lifted several inches off the ground. They gasped for air but could not breath, they struggled to move, but could not, Benvole had them locked, the Force was at his command. He held the men still, hovering lifelessly above the ground, and simultaneously lifted the security keys from around their necks, drawing them into his open hands. They keys floated gently into his hands as he closed his fingers around the metal chains.
"Thank you for the tour, gentlemen." He said calmly. Benvole then dropped his hands to his side as he sent the group flying across the hallway crashing into the open maintenance closet and slamming it shut behind them. With liquid agility, he drew his sabre, and completed a dive-roll across the hallway gently swiping the doorway with his lightsabre, instantly welding it shut. Benvole took off down the hallway to meet Donovan.
A few decks above his master, Donovan Addick was having problems of his own. Storm Troopers seemed to be coming in droves, from ever angle down every hallway. He was soon met by a group of Storm Troopers on small hoverbikes mounted with turrets. They saw him and instantly turned and began to fire, he managed to deflect a few shots before sliding away down a narrow passageway. He knew could not repel that type of fire alone, with just a lightsabre, so he reached once again into his bag of tricks. Donovan tucked his lightsabre back into his belt as he now clutched two flash grenades. He spun from his hiding spot and hurled one of the grenades directly at the bike in front him. It worked, momentarily as the storm trooper was knocked off his bike and now lay in a pile on the floor, but two more were speeding right for him, he ducked back into the crevice. He spun back into the hallway and flung the next one directly between the two bikers knocking them into each other. As the three troopers struggled to reach their feet, Donovan rushed toward them, lightsabre in hand and proceeded to slash them all with no opposition. He grabbed one of the downed bikes and rode down the hallways.
Benvole ran through the lower levels searching for the connecting stairwell to reach his Padawan. He encountered little opposition since the security relay systems had been cut. No one on that deck knew what was going on except the men in the closet. He soon heard loud crashing and sounds of blasters above him.
Donovan had run into yet another platoon of Storm Troopers. He fired at them with his mounted turret and took out the front row, one of the back row troopers managed to land a direct his against his bike instantly disabling it and sending it crashing to the floor in a heap. Donovan quickly evaded fire by hurling the bike at the troopers taking out three of the on-comers. He scurried to his feet and ran the other way down the narrow, darkened mechanical hallway.
Benvole took his lightsabre and carved himself a circular manhole in the low ceiling of the hangar deck hallway. He Jumped through the steam and electrical sparks and found himself in another empty hallway, he looked left, and then right and saw a sign for stairs. He wasted no time as he sprinted to the stairwell t help his Padawan. He kicked in the stairwell door and rushed up two flights. He emerged directly behind a pack of Storm Troopers pursuing the young Jedi and exchanging fire. Benvole quickly put away his blade and used the power of his uniform to alter his appearance into that of a Storm Trooper. His skin quickly swirled in the look of liquid metal and hardened in the polished white of the Imperial Armour. As he followed the pack, he grabbed a rifle that had been discarded during the chaos. Donovan had taken cover behind a small transport car and continued to exchange blaster fire with the seemingly endless sea of Storm Troopers, he had no idea his master was behind them waiting to assist.
Donovan was pinned behind that flat transport car. Troopers laid continual fire on him as he hid behind the drivers area. Admiral Benvole checked his rear and seeing no reinforcing troops, one by one, he blasted all the troopers with well-placed shots to the back, instantly killing them. When the smoke cleared, Donovan emerged cautiously and looked to see what had happened to his attackers. Much to his delight, he saw his master standing before him, clutching a Storm Trooper Rifle and smiling contently.
"Thank you, master."
"No time for thanks, we must hurry." Benvole turned and motioned for his student to follow. They ran downstairs through the now smoke-filled stairwell.
"Is everything clear down there?" Donovan was not looking forward to more skirmishes.
"It was when I left." Benvole answered honestly, but he knew the speed of the Empire, troops would waste no time in securing every inch of the base. "Luckily, you took out the relay, or the entire base would be coming after us. This is only one sector, we got off easy."
They ran back to the hallway where Benvole had cut the hole in the floor, which was now being examined by several storm troopers. The two Jedi stoped short from their sprint as the troopers looked up.
"Hey! What's going on here?" One of the troopers shouted at the duo. Benvole walked calmly toward the bunch.
"Just wait for my signal." He whispered to Donovan "Well, it looks as if...NOW!" he instantly drew his lightsabre and pulled and amazing somersaulting flip over the heads of the unsuspecting soldiers. Donovan drew his, as the two Jedi wasted no time slashing their way through the group from both sides. After only a few seconds of battle, the two Jedi stood right above hole looking down. Just as they were about to jump down, they heard footsteps fleeing that area.
"Master, look!" Donovan shouted as he pointed down the hallway at a lone trooper who had witnessed the whole brawl. The Jedi were two far away and too late to stop the trooper from hitting the emergency alarm on that sector. He slapped a bright yellow button and again the hallways dimmed to red and sirens filled the otherwise tranquil air.
"Lets go! Hurry!" Benvole motioned his apprentice to follow him through the floor. They jumped down just in time to see the hallways filling up with guards and storm troopers from every doorway and corridor. "The hangars are not far from here. This way." The duo turned and ran but was soon stopped in their tracks by a dozen or so storm troopers. They flung their weapons into ready position pointing the sleek black rifles at the two intruders.
"Freeze!" several of the Storm Troopers shouted in cadence. Benvole and Addick swung their sabers into defensive position and began deflecting a volley of rapid-fire blasters. The Jedi were frozen in place, and found themselves for once, in a static position, vulnerable from behind. Donovan heard footsteps behind him and quickly threw a glance to see a dozen or so more troopers rushing down the hallway.
"Master, they're closing in!" Donovan was nervous as he screamed over the cacophony of blaster fire and lightsabre humming.
"Steady." Benvole was extremely calm for such a potentially fatal situation. The storm troopers arrived from behind and lined up in formation about ten meters behind the duo. "Jump!!"
In the blink of an eye, Benvole and Addick had jumped to the roof and clung to some pipes, safe for a brief instant. The storm troopers, whose reactions were far too slow to see what had just happened, opened fire on their supposed targets. The blasts passed right through the air where the Jedi stood and landed squarely on the front row of the first group of attacking troopers.
"Ready....down" Benvole and his apprentice dropped back to the floor and continued to repel the aggression. Benvole released his blade with his right hand and extended it toward the fallen attackers while he deflected shots with his left. A rifle wobbled across the floor before jumping and sailing directly into his open hand. Benvole sprayed the remaining attackers quickly ending any threat they may have posed. He spun to the rear and assisted Donovan in shielding himself from fire. Benvole, still clutching the rifle in this right hand, fired a hail of laser blasts, sweeping across the front row of enemies. The remaining few who were not instantly killed, turned to flee. Donovan threw up his hand and the troopers immediately had their feet swept out from under them as if the floor had suddenly turned to the slickest ice. The rolled over to their knees and before they could get to their feet, the Jedi had cut them down all in one swipe. Master and student glanced at each other.
"We must hurry." Benvole pointed down the hallway in their original direction. The Jedi jetted down the hallway faster than any man or machine. Within seconds they were at the adjoining hallway for the hangar bay. "Hangars are this way, come on." They turned the corner only to see a small army of storm troopers blocking the entrance to the hangar bay. They jumped back behind the corner before they were noticed.
"Master, there are too many, we've got too find a way around."
"No, that is the only way in. We need a distraction to get them to break up." Benvole looked around, the sirens still blaring and the red light flooding his eyes, he noticed a closed door labeled "discard". He moved toward the door, Addick stayed at the corner junction and peeked his face around to make sure they were not noticed. Admiral Benvole took his sabre and sliced a crude oval across the face of the metal door. He kicked in the makeshift window revealing a room filled with broken droids and defunct electronics equipment. He scanned the room for something he could use as a diversion. Soon he spotted a small observer droid, black with wheels, the size a shoebox or so. He picked up, tested the wheels to make sure they still spun, and exited back into the hallway.
"What have you got in that pack?"
"Just some small arms, a few blasters, thermal detonators, timed charges." Donovan explained as took it off his back and began to open it.
"Just give me a blaster." He handed Benvole a small blaster. Not as long or powerful as the rifles carried by the storm troopers carried but it would suffice for Benvole's plan. "Observe. The Jedi is resourceful, always remember that."
He crept over to the hallway junction and peeked his head around the corner. He set the droid down and placed the blaster on its back. Benvole closed his eyes as the droid slowly began to roll toward the group. Donovan snuck a glimpse from his safe point, he watched as the droid rolled right into the center of the mob, attracting the attention of almost everyone. The brigade of Storm Troopers watched as the droid came to a complete stop in the center of the mob, right in front of the entrance to hangar 327. Puzzled, the troopers exchanged glances at one another and shrugging their shoulders. At that moment, Benvole opened his eyes widely as the blasted jumped off the droid's back and began firing widely in every direction. The troopers ran in every direction to avoid the posses weapon firing as it spun on three axes. Some lay dead in front of the door, others ran directly toward the Jedi.
"Be ready." Benvole looked at Donovan who nodded acceptingly. Seconds later, a wave of storm troopers came rushing around the corner to evade the deadly blasts from the rogue blaster. Donovan and his master snapped into action as they cut down the small pack before ever being noticed. "Come on!"
They rushed for the door to hangar 327, Donovan stood guard holding a storm trooper rifle while Benvole rushed to unlock the complicated security system protecting the TIE Interceptor.
"You sure you can open this?" Donovan asked his master who was already busy at the console
"Of course, just keep us safe." Benvole reached into his pocket and picked out the pile of keys. To his dismay, they all looked exactly the same, he hadn't separated any of them. Addick saw this.
"Which one is which!?" he said nervously.
"Don't worry, everything is under control." Benvole himself was a bit nervous, he closed his eyes and let the Force guide his fingers to choose the correct key. He plucked one from his palm and stuck in into its slot. It fit, the light turned on as he quickly stamped out the access code on the panel below. "One down..." he murmured to himself.
Donovan was busy blasting Storm Troopers left and right. They kept coming and he kept blasting them, the endless lines marched on right into the teeth of his fire. Luckily, he had a made a bit of cover for himself using the doorway to the hangar. It was not enough to prevent the onslaught.
"Master, there are two many. Please hurry!!" Donovan screamed in terror to his master, now on his fourth key.
"Give us a shield. Focus." Benvole never seemed to loose his cool, he was confident in his abilities and the abilities of is Padawan. Donovan closed his eyes and threw his left hand up to the attacks to that side. Their blasts seemed to ricochet of thin air, they could not pass the invisible Force shield Donovan had summoned. He looked to his right, dropped the rifle, and flung his palm toward that end of the hallway. He was now standing in the middle of the hallway with both arms extended in opposite directions. His muscles were straining as he gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes in pain. His concentration was pure and his mind was focused, but he could not keep this up for very much longer. Donovan looked and felt as if the entire weight of a planet was pushing against him from either side, and he was struggling to hold it up. The Storm Troopers, somewhat puzzled by this feat, continued to pelt the invisible barrier with their blasters but to no avail.
"Master, .... Please hurry... I, I ...can't"
"One more Donovan. Focus, just one more." Benvole rushed as he fumbled with Moff Garinn's security and punched in his code. The giant doors peeled open and the electric field fizzled away. Benvole grabbed his apprentice around the waist and hurled him over his left shoulder as he took off down the long, white hallway. Donovan was barely alive as he struggled to open his eyes and gasped for air. "You're almost out of here, don't worry!" Benvole retreated down the hallway as he swatted at laser blasts using the lightsabre in his right hand, balancing Donovan with the left. He danced from side to side, evading enemy fire, which left black burn marks all over the clean and polished hallway. After narrowly evading enemy fire time and time again, they reached the large metal doors with the Imperial Logo on it. Benvole glanced at the switch using the Force to open it since he had no free hands. Donovan was recovering fast.
"Can you walk?" Benvole asked his student hastily
"Yea, put me down, I'll be ok."
Benvole dropped Donovan against the wall of the hangar bay. Donovan was still weary and dizzy, he rested his head against the wall as he took slow breaths. Benvole pressed a series of buttons on the doors control panel from inside the hangar and instantly a red magnetic barrier appeared between him and the storm troopers on the other side. Much like the invisible wall created only minutes earlier by Donovan, this magnetic field deflected all bombardment from the Imperial weapons, but it was only temporary. "One minute, no problem." He said to himself.
"Donovan?!" Benvole shook the young Jedi by the shoulders. "Get in the Interceptor, get the hell out of here!!" Donovan struggled to his feet as his eyes focused on the black fighter. He walked slowly towards it, wobbling a bit, still recovering. "Get in, I'll start the launch sequence." Donovan stumbled up the ladder as he opened the cockpit canopy. Benvole ran over through an open door the control room. Quickly pushing buttons, Benvole pressed his left ear to contact Donovan.
"Think you can fly this thing?"
"Yea, I can fly anything, just give me a minute, my head is still spinning."
"You have 30 seconds before that magnetic field collapses! I suggest you use the time wisely."
"What about you? Master, I can't leave you here!"
"I'll be alright, meet me at Sioul, be prepared."
Benvole closed the door to his control room from the inside. He pushed a few more buttons illuminating a long, dark tunnel from which the Interceptor would exit. Rings of light even spaced lined the walls of the tube; huge metal rested in the ceiling waiting to slam down on any escape effort. Donovan shook his head as he looked around the cockpit at all the controls.
This was no X-Wing. This was the most advanced fighter in the Empire, there were countless buttons and dials and indicators of all kinds all facing him, waiting for his command. A bit overwhelmed, Donovan grabbed a helmet sitting between his legs and threw it on. He plugged in the Oxygen tube and grabbed the flight stick with his right hand.
"How do you start this thing!?" He said to himself in a frustrated manner. He began scanning the dash for the right button but had no idea. "May the Force guide me." He whispered to himself, closing his eyes and extending his finger. In a blind shot, he slapped the right button and the Twin Ion Engines roared to life echoing wildly in the closed hangar.
"Good job kid, now get out of here!!" Benvole said to himself as he watched the magnetic shield vaporize into nothing as a hoard of Storm Troopers rushed in.
"Alright, now lets move!" Donovan shouted to himself with enthusiasm, he pushed on the throttle controls and pulled back on the stick. The Interceptor shot off down the huge tunnel.
Benvole watched as troops rushing towards him from every angle. He quickly searched for an alternate escape route since the door would lead him right into the arms of the enemy. Scanning the walls, Admiral Benvole was lucky enough to find a small ventilation register. He grabbed for a pistol, which lay on the console of that room and blasted the grate. With Jedi agility, he sprung up the wall and pulled himself into the vent shaft just as the Storm Troopers had shot the door down. He found himself in a cramped and dark crawl space, he wasted no time in leaving that area where he could be pursued.
Donovan held his breath as the foreign craft hurled itself through the underground chute at amazing speeds. The bands of light passed over his head in a hypnotic strobe effect. Still feeling somewhat dazed, he gripped the control stick tightly with both hands and he carefully maneuvered his way out of the underground fortress. Quickly he learned to control the fearsome pod and after a short while, a beam of light came shooting through the canopy window and into his eyes, daylight. Donovan held it steady as he shot out from the side of a cliff in a flash of light and a sonic boom. A group of nomads looked up in awe at the magnificent machine that flew past them.
"YEAAAH!" Donovan let out a joyous whelp as he amused himself by hitting a quick barrel roll in the overly-nimble craft. He pulled up on the control stick and headed into orbit. The storm had passed and the skies were clear, he lifted off into the thin reaches of the atmosphere as he watched the pale blue of the Kannto sky, fade into the blackness of deep space. Within moments, he was into hyperdrive, headed for home.
"Take this."
Donovan took the small device and wrapped it around his left ear tucking the speaker piece into it.
"Greetings Admiral. I am General Mang. We have been expecting you."
"Hello General, this is my companion, Lieutenant Garbo." Addick bowed respectfully as his superiors shook hands. He looked up at the small band of officers and storm troopers as he waited for his master's plan to begin. "No use delaying any longer, can you show me the prototype?"
"Of course. Follow this way."
Two group marched across the metal platform and exited into a narrow hallway. Benvole walked with his hands folded behind his back as Arbine Addick had done so many times. Donovan stood in the rear of the pack as it snaked its way through the base.
"Tell me, General, how do thing function here?"
"Well, Admiral, I am proud to say that this is by far the safest and securest facility this side of the galaxy. We have never had one security breech or potential attack, but we are always cautious. The Rebellion doesn't even know we exist, last I've heard." General Mang looked up at the much taller Admiral. He was a short man with a round face but still had the appearance of authority with his rugged cheeks and stiff brow. The Admiral looked down at him as they walked.
"No, I assume not, it's fairly well hidden."
"Tell me Admiral, how have things been lately?" The General was making small talk to appease his guest. Land-based troops didn't see much action on Kannto, especially in a research facility.
"Not too bad. Things have been quiet lately. In fact, most of the fleet is not even at ready stage, in truth, we would have a hard time fighting a Rebel attack, but we do not suspect one anytime soon. Especially since 3rd Fleet is having incredible luck with their search and destroy missions."
"Interesting." The short General pretended to be intrigued, Benvole looked down and squinted one eye condescendingly.
The group marched down a seemingly endless hallway while the General continued his sucking up for Admiral Benvole. Addick trailed the bunch looking around cautiously. Benvole, hands still folded behind his back would occasionally flash a finger at his young padawan indicating to him something of importance like a water main, or a breaker panel. Addick was in a zone, watching his surroundings as he followed his master; the hallways were tight, low ceilings as if they were in the bows of a submarine with thin slits of light on the ceiling panels. Pipes and wired ran together across the walls, colour coded. They passed countless Storm Troopers and maintenance personnel; droids of all kinds hurried about shouting out commands to each other in beeps and coded whistles. It was strange being underground in a place like this, no sign of daylight or the outside world, even the tormenting storm which was raging outside was almost undetectable in most sectors of the base. They walked onward.
"This is the weapon storage sector. Most secure sector in the base, no one gets into any room without a pass card. Guards have every square inch on visual observation." The General boasted as he made gestures with his hands. The Admiral was not amused.
"I see." He said calmly.
As they continued, Addick looked down at the steel grate below his feet. Far below, he could see a hangar where TIE fighters were parked, droids making repairs and pilots waiting casually.
"General, how many fighters do you have here?"
"Very few, we are a research facility, most of our defenses are for land attacks. We have a good amount of armour and troops on the other side."
Benvole turned his head briefly, silently scolding his Padawan for making a verbal interruption. He then pointed left to a sign labeled transports, surface, main hangars and weapon storage, all with appropriate arrows. Donovan made note and continued along with the pack.
"Here you are Admiral, the pride of the Empire, the TIE Interceptor!" General Mang spread his arms widely as he stood in front of a huge glass window several stories above the Interceptor hangar. Benvole and Addick looked down at the foreign craft as the hosting party stood back with smiles. The TIE Interceptor was like something out of a nightmare, it had sharp wings that formed a eerie crescent, giving it an evil look like some sort of bird of prey beginning its descent. The cockpit was small and sturdy, nestled between the large black wings. It was sleek, long and thin. Designed to be maneuverable, it surely looked the part. Addick was in awe. The TIE fighters he had seen just a few moments before, seemed like childish models compared to this deadly black hawk of a spacecraft. "Pretty, isn't she?" the General boasted. Donovan did not move his eyes from the Interceptor, Benvole turned slowly and walked toward General Mang.
"Is it ready for flight?"
"Ready when you are. As soon as the fleet arrives, she's all yours."
"I want to see it up close."
"Sorry, Admiral. Moff Garinn is the only one who can give orders to access hangar 327."
"Well then, I will speak to him."
The General turned to a Storm Trooper standing behind to his right. The trooper picked up a com link with his right hand and called in. Admiral Benvole turned back around to see Donovan still peering at the Interceptor.
"I'm sorry Admiral, Moff Garinn is presently meeting with the security board, they should only be..."
"You will take me to Moff Garinn now." Benvole interrupted his small-stature colleague as he pointed his index and middle fingers directly between his eyes. General Mang could not make excuses; he was under the control of the Force.
"I will take you to him." He turned and headed down the hallway motioning for his assistants and guards to follow.
"They do not need to come with us." Benvole waived his left hand as he spoke calmly. General Mang stopped and shook his head softly as he presented his palm to his troops. Somewhat surprised by these orders, they filed out the other way, returning to their previous duties. "Are you coming, Lieutenant?"
Donovan turned and followed.
Shortly after, Benvole flashed a glance at Donovan. The young Jedi nodded his head slightly in compliance and quickly ducked away into an adjoining hallway. He quickly collected his thoughts and headed for the control terminal on that deck. Walking briskly, so as not to attract attention, he soon came to a room labeled 'control room theta sector', he checked in both directions to make sure that no one was looking and ducked inside.
"Who are you?" A young Imperial was sitting attentively at the controls.
"I am Lieutenant Garbo, I have been transferred to this sector."
"I wasn't notified, stay there, I'm calling it in." The operator grabbed for the com link and placed it to his mouth as he rose, eyes locked on Donovan. "Yes, this is CR Theta..."
The moment he began to speak, Donovan extended and open hand and, using the force, grabbed the com link out of the operators hand in into his own. The operator was stunned to see what had just happened, but didn't have time to comment as Donovan quickly jumped across the desk and laid a sharp kick to the young man's jaw. He stumbled backwards and landed in his chair. Donovan checked his back to make sure no one had heard anything, then spoke into the com link disguising his own voice as the operator.
"Yes, I was wondering, who do I need to talk to in order to get a droid down here. I could use an extra hand."
The voice on the other end was hesitant but answered back.
"Uh... I'll see what I can do, I don't see any here, no promises."
"Thanks." Donovan placed the com link on the console "deception is a weapon..." he remarked to himself as he grabbed the operator by the collar throwing his sleeping body onto the floor and freeing the chair for his own use. "Sorry, friend."
Donovan pushed a series of buttons on the console. He knew exactly what he was doing as if he had been doing it for years. Soon, a holographic image of the entire base appeared in the center of the room. It rotated slowly indicating systems with corresponding colours. All sectors were shown in green indicating their full functionality.
"Now, lets do this." Donovan adjusted his chair, gave the door a glance and began to disable the security relay systems. He was anxious and somewhat nervous, but he was not fearful, his Jedi instincts helped to compose his behavior in this situation. Donovan Addick was focused on his goal. He began typing away at the keys, checking his progress on the hologram projection.
Meanwhile, Admiral Benvole was making his way to meet Moff Garinn. Soon they arrived at his Garinn's meeting room. They entered the room in somewhat of a rush as Moff Garinn was caught off guard. He spun around to see who had barged in.
"General, what's going on here?" Garinn asked puzzled as he looked at Benvole.
"This is Admiral Benvole, he is in charge of the 4th Fleet, and overseeing testing operations in space for the Interceptor."
"Yes, I know who he is. I told you I would be along shortly."
"Sir, it was my fault, I insisted. Do not punish our little friend." Benvole looked at General Mang as a father might look a son who had just been caught with his hands in the cookie jar. Mang ducked his head in shame. "Thank you, General, I will no longer be needing you." He waived his hand at the General as Mang proceeded to exit. Moff Garinn pulled out one of the many white chairs in his oval -shaped meeting room.
"Well, Admiral.." he began as he sat down "you have found me, so now what do you wish?" Moff Garinn leaned back in his chair in a sort of lazy arrogance. He was an older man, dressed in military garments and well decorated. He wore a thin, white beard that wrapped his fragile-looking jaw line.
"Well, I wanted to see the Interceptor up close." Benvole took a step toward him, his tone was polite, as he had already attracted too much attention, he wanted to make sure he followed all the rules.
"Why is that? Did the General not show you to her from the viewing deck?" Moff Garinn gently rocked himself as he played politics with Benvole.
"Yes, he did, but I want to see it up close. This is my operation now; once the fleet arrives, the Interceptor will be out of your hands. I think its only fair that I can have a look up close." Benvole was convincing, not authoritative.
"I suppose. I will summon the Security Council, they should be along shortly. In the meantime, I think you should wait here. My droids will give you anything you like." Garinn leaned forward in his chair and pressed a few buttons on a tabletop console. "Attention." the intercom sparked to life "This is Moff Garinn, I would like all members of the Security Council to meet with me immediately. Thank you." He released his finger from the intercom button and leaned back again, staring at the Admiral in skepticism.
"Do you have a pilot for me?" Benvole broke the silence
"Yes. We have a few. Has the fleet arrived?"
"They will be along by nightfall, its early."
"I see." Moff Garinn began to rock again in his chair as the door opened. Benvole turned calmly to see a dozen storm troopers enter the room and spread along the walls, rifles in hand. He looked back at Moff Garinn, raising one eyebrow. "Do not be alarmed, its standard security procedure."
"Of course." The Admiral responded sarcastically.
After the troopers, entered six other men dressed in military uniforms. Varying in age and rank, the men sat down at their chairs and all looked up at the Admiral who stood sturdy and composed before them.
"For those of you who don't know me, I am Admiral Benvole. I am commanding the 4th Fleet during testing of the TIE Interceptor. I have called us together like this because I wish to see it up close."
Everyone spoke briefly amongst themselves and then silently looked up at Moff Garinn who sat with his hands touching by the fingertips with a strange smirk on his face.
"We will show him the TIE. He can see it if he wants." The group was in shock that Moff Garinn would be so lenient with is virtual stranger. The council was weary but they followed their leader as he rose and headed for the door, storm troopers on either side of the parade.
Donovan Addick worked in haste as sector after sector of the hologram went from green to red. Soon the entire base was disabled. Any alert would now be localized to that sector only. He watched as the hologram soon vanished completely then jumped up and headed for the door. He paused before opening it, listening to the hallway for any passer-bys. The hallway was empty as Addick ducked into the long passage and began to walk toward the junction with the sign labeled surface. A smile danced across his lips before receding as he once again, became focused on the danger lurking to every angle.
Admiral Benvole walked in the center of the small precession, storm troopers boxed the officers in like a Roman Legion in Tortoise formation. In front of him, a member of the Security Council, names Captain Maeli argued quietly with Moff Garinn. Benvole used the small distraction to contact his Padawan.
"Addick, you there?" Benvole whispered to himself as he pressed a small button on the com link which remained hidden behind his ear. Donovan heard this and being somewhat startled, ducked into a doorway to respond.
"Yes, Master. I'm here." He whispered as well, with his finger to his ear.
"How did things go?"
"Everything his fine. What's next?"
"Get to the surface. Create a diversion. Anything to get the attention off me."
"Are you in the hangar?"
"Shortly."
"Excuse me, Admiral, are you ok?" the youngest member of the Security Council, Lieutenant Argand, asked from behind.
"Yes, I'm fine, just had a small pain in my ear, it comes back from time to time."
They continued down the hallways passing Storm Troopers and personnel of all kinds, who stood rigidly at attention when the group passed.
Donovan trotted quickly and silently through the vacant corridor. The cold steel pipes overhead seemed to stretch for miles and the thin slits of light from above seemed to cast living shadows as he moved. Soon he reached the junction and the marked sign. He took a step for the surface but hesitated seeing the sign for weapon storage. He darted in the other direction down another long hallway.
The Security Council and Admiral Benvole reached the hangar bay entrance. Here is where the complex system of locks and codes was installed. The Storm Troopers fanned out as the seven members of the Council lined up in front of their respective locks and keypads. First was the young Lieutenant, he reached into his jacket and pulled a small green and yellow electronic key attached to a thin metal chain hung around his neck. He inserted the key as the pad lit up in a subtle red glow. Admiral Benvole discretely glanced at the Lieutenants fingers as he punched in the 9-digit code, he then looked up at to make sure no one had seen his spying. Captain Maeli followed suit in the exact same manner, as did the rest of the men. Moff Garinn was last, everyone looked up at him as he slowly inserted the key and entered his code. He then stepped back as everyone watched the huge metal door slowly rise. Behind it, another blast door was parting to the left and right revealing an energy shield, pale yellow in colour, sparking across the hallway. Moff Garinn pushed a button on the wall panel as the energy shield fizzled into nothing. The group entered the hallway.
This passage was not like the others; it had white tiled floors and was well lit. It smelled sterile, like a hospital and there was no visible piping or wiring. Footsteps echoed like thunder through the silent tranquility of this high-security sector. Benvole looked around as he walked, still surrounded on all sides. He saw several small cameras in the ceiling and as he passed each one, he made slight motions with his fingers, bending them upward, harmlessly capturing every movement of the ceiling above them.
"The hangar is just down this passage, Admiral." Moff Garinn remarked.
Donovan had reached the weapon storage. He crept in the shadows as he could see the main doorway to a warehouse-style room just a few meters in front of him. Five storm troopers guarded the main doorway, equipped with rifles, standing at attention, two on each wall, and one in the center. Donovan closed his eyes and took a deep breath for concentration. He then emerged from his hiding spot and walked directly at the guards.
"Halt." The guard in the center shouted as the others turned to face the young Lieutenant. "Do you have a pass card?"
"Yes, I do." Donovan reached into his coat and took out the card from the Admiral's suite back at the spaceport. He handed it to the guard confidently.
"What is this? This is not a security pass card. Who are you?" the four guards from the sides surrounded Addick in a box formation, pointing their standard issue rifles directly at his chest. He stood confidently. "I'm calling you in. What's your name?"
"I am Lieutenant Garbo, I'm with the 4th Fleet."
The guard hesitated and then dropped the pass card to the ground as he grabbed his rifle with both hands. Donovan threw up his arms to either side, hurling the four guards into the walls with tremendous force, knocking them out cold. The remaining Storm Trooper was stunned by the sight of what he just saw as he took a small step backwards before firing. With lightning quick reaction speed, Donovan grabbed his lightsabre, and deflected the blast right back at trooper. The shit hit him directly in the chest knocking him to the floor, dead before he hit. Donovan looked in all directions before retracting his laser blade and tucking it back onto his belt concealed beneath his jacket. He grabbed the bodies two at a time, and dragged them by the arms to a small alcove of the hallways, out of view from the light. He then adjusted his uniform, straightened his hat and walked casually into the weapon storage room.
The moment he stepped into the room, he saw more storm troopers. The place was flooded with them, some standing still, others moving about in patrol, some moving wooden crates onto small trucks for distribution, never had he seen anything like it, he spun around quickly behind tall crate, to hide himself from view and he formulated a plan.
"Think. Think. What would Master Benvole do?" he thought for a moment. Then he emerged from the hiding spot and walked across the room to where a storm trooper was standing. The trooper did not recognize the young Jedi, since to him, Addick looked just like a storm trooper.
"Switching time already?" the trooper asked in the classic muffle of Imperial drones.
"You are relieved of duty." Addick responded as laid a crisp punch right in the trooper's face. His head snapped backwards as he stumbled to the floor. As he struggled to get to his feet, he was met with Donovan's boot again smashing directly against his face. The ghostly figure lay motionless on the floor. Donovan dragged the body to behind a large row of crates. He was now breathing heavily and beginning to sweat a bit.
"Master was right, deception is exhausting." He said to himself quietly. He looked around seeing crates of all sizes containing everything in the Imperial Arsenal; Blaster Rifles, Repeating turrets, missile launchers, even AT-PTs were stored there. He grabbed a pack from the floor as he ducked behind some crates to fill it. Donovan chose a little bit of everything, a few thermal detonators, some timed charges, and a few spare rifles. He slung the pack over his shoulder and casually walked out the door, just as he had come in, using his powers of deception to mimic a storm trooper.
Once in the hallways, Donovan broke out into a sprint. He reached the junction in no time and headed up to the surface. The stairwell was tall and tight; metal stairs with grated surfaces were all that he could see in all directions, he took off upward. Within moments, he reached a door marked "surface area J3". He took a breath to calm himself and pushed through the door. Donovan paused in shock. The raging storm overhead was completely blocked out by a type of force field. The swirling winds and torrential downpour splatter harmlessly against the mighty, invisible dome. He could hardly believe his eyes, even on Sioul, he had never seen anything so capable of keeping out a storm of that magnitude. The weather shield was generated from a small pillbox style structure to the right of the entrance. The surface area was barren, white sand and a few footprints, probably most often used as an emergency exit. Donovan headed toward the shield generator.
The Admiral and the group had reached the hangar doors. Thick metal doors with the logo of the Galactic Empire painted in bright red against the grey steel. Moff Garinn turned to face the Admiral as the group pauses.
"I hope it is everything you expected, Admiral." Moff Garinn moved toward the door and pushed a large round button on the center of it. The door began to whine and rumble as it parted to reveal the Interceptor Hangar.
The Interceptor was even more spectacular up close. While its size was nothing impressive, it was like no other ship in the fleet, sleeker, faster, designed to be nimble, and painted to inflict fear reminding all who oppose it of the true power of the Dark Side. It was polished to a evil luster, the canopy glass was like a mirror, showing 8 equal images of its exterior like the eyes of some poisonous spider.
"Amazing." The Admiral said simply
"Years of research and we finally have a prototype. No one dare oppose us now, this is the most advanced space fighter in the galaxy. The Rebel Alliance doesn't stand a change against it." Moff Garinn spoke confidently about his work. Benvole walked over to him and starred him down with his deep brown eyes. Garinn was cautious of the intimidating figure before him.
"Do not be so quick to judge your opponents. I think the years spent underground have left you with false impressions as to the strength of our enemies." Benvole pointed a finger at Moff Garinn, a sign of disrespect for a commanding officer, but Garinn was not offended.
"It is expected for you to be dubious, you will see during testing, you will see."
"I'm going to look up close." Benvole turned and walked toward the evil-looking craft as he touched his left ear to contact his Jedi accomplice. "Donovan"
"Yes, master, I am here."
"Are you on the surface?"
"I just arrived. What should I do?"
"Think of something. Something big, make sure you get attention of a lot of people."
"Ok, give me a minute. Where should I meet you?"
"Don't worry, I will find you." Benvole broke communications as he walked around the back of the Interceptor examining its exterior features. He touched the body and looked under the wings and every angle he could. He then returned to Moff Garinn and company. "Tell me about her."
Donovan moved toward the pillbox, dug safely into a small basin of white sand. He noted a small door set diagonally to the wall leading him to the interior. The door was old and somewhat rusty as it took Donovan a few tries to him to pull the door open, he entered the small underground bunker and looked around. Inside he saw a multitude of wires and monitor screens. Console panels and old broken droid parts lined the walls.
"What a mess." Donovan said to himself, he looked around for the controls to the shield generator. He fumbled through the messy room and found himself in front of a control console of some kind; looking at its dusty rusty keyboard, he shook his head. "Oh hell." He said to himself in frustration. He reached around for his pack and placed it on the console. Donovan reached inside and pulled out a few charges, transferring them from his right hand to his left arm. He looked up for a good place to stick them and immediately spotted a thick braid of wired heading to the room of the bunker. He stuck on there, set the timer, and placed a few more around the room. Having given himself only 2 minutes, he grabbed his pack and tossed it onto his back, running out of the bunker, he was tripped by something sticking slightly out of the sand, and fell face first to the ground.
"What the...?" He got to his feet, dusted himself off quickly while examining the metallic stub. Upon further investigation, he observed it to be a water main stub. A smile crept across his face as he again put down his bag of Imperial goodies and reached for his lightsabre. He sparked the brilliant purple flame to life and with one smooth swoop, slashed the top off the stub, inside were 3 valves at the tops of 3 long pipes, leading underground. He holstered his lightsabre and reached in the bag for a thermal detonator. Donovan eyed the shiny silver orb as he pressed the button to arm it. Its lights flashed and made a low-tone hum as it fell down the pip shaft. Donovan grabbed his back and rushed for the stairwell leading back to the complex. He floated down the stairs with record speed and agility, turning every corner and hitting every landing without a sound, within seconds, a monstrous boom could be felt above him as the walls shook and water began to pour uncontrollably down on his head. He continued down the remaining steps until he came to the door from which he entered.
He busted out of the door into a flooded hallway. Water was pouring from every wall and the ceilings, people were running left and right trying to escape and to repair the situation. A blue light soon flashed to life accompanied by a warning siren. It was an emergency situation, but no one knew it was sabotage. Moments later a second blast echoed throughout the base, the generator station charges had reach their time limit. The blast could be heard well below the surface and even the walls of hangar 327 shook slightly.
"What was that?" A Storm Trooper from the group asked another.
"Get on the com link and find out!!!" Moff Garinn barked in an aggravated tone
"We should get back." The Admiral suggested. Moff Garinn nodded as the group hastily exited the hangar disregarding formation.
A few seconds later, while the group was still in the long white hallway, a response came over the com link.
"Sir, this is engineering, we have major flooding in weapon storage sector. Coming from the surface apparently."
Moff Garinn grabbed the com link from the storm trooper
"What do you mean from the surface!?" He nearly lost his composure angrily shouting at the voice on the other end.
"Some sort of explosion on J3, the shield generator was destroyed, water is flowing in from the storm." The voice on the other end was urgent in tone, as Moff Garinn grew angrier at each passing minute.
"Lock down that sector. Put all other sectors on maintenance alert, code blue." Moff Garinn increased his speed as the group broke out into a slow run to get back and see to the situation. A few seconds later the voice returned.
"Sir, there's a problem. All security relays are down. We can't make contact with any other sector!!."
"AAAAAARGGH" Moff Garinn screamed as he threw the com link against the wall smashing it into thousands of tiny fragments. "What the hell is going on!! Who has been messing with the security relay!? Get to that sector, see what the problem is." Moff Garinn was waiving his arms wildly as he sent 8 of the 12 guards ahead to fix the problem, they ran off stomping their white plastic boots against the tile.
"Could it be an assault?" One of the security advisors asked
"Doubtful, we would have shot them down the second we saw them on scan. No vehicles or ships could make it this close, we have the whole planet on alert for Rebels." Moff Garinn was still frustrated but he was trying to make sense of the situation.
"A Jedi Knight" Benvole spoke clearly and without emotion. The entire group turned and faced him in shock.
"A Jedi Knight?" Garinn looked at his puzzled.
"I heard rumors when I landed that there were some Imperials talking to a Jedi Knight. I didn't believe it, but it looks like their work." Benvole was a good actor, placing urgency in his tone as if he truly cared about his Empire and the base being assaulted. "It's possible we've got a traitor on the inside."
"Blast!! Come on!!" Moff Garinn and the group ran down to the end of the hallway where the security doors were located. He slammed his scrawny old fist against the button as the doors slowly opened. He instantly jumped into the connecting pathway and grabbed for the first intercom he saw. "Attention. Attention. This is Moff Garinn, Jedi Knights have entered the base, all personnel on full alert. Watch out for anyone suspicious!! Deadly force authorized!! Code Red!!" he didn't bother to hang up the intercom and continued his aggravated march down the hallway, his council and the Admiral following.
Donovan heard this announcement and felt his heart drop into his stomach. "Oh Damn!!" he said to himself as he saw the blue light shift to red and the siren change its tone to full alert. He was wearing a dirty and wet uniform and carrying a backpack, it took only seconds for someone to spot him.
"Hey, You!!" A storm trooper called him from the other end of the hallway. Donovan looked to see a small platoon rushing at him; instinctively he drew his lightsabre and faced the pack. "There he is! Fire!" They opened fire but it was no use. Donovan deflected all the blasts with pinpoint accuracy sending them right back to their origins. Seven troopers lay dead in the hallway as Donovan quickly turned to see about 20 more heading toward him. Lightsabre still lit, he bolted down the hallway and turned a corner only to find a dead end.
"Dead end! No!" he quickly looked around to his left and right and above him.
The Storm Troopers came rushing around the corner but did not find Donovan. They looked around puzzled, examining the walls for openings and such. Without warning, Donovan Addick swooped down from the piping above landing directly on an unsuspecting trooper. The others turned and readied their rifles to open fire. Donovan grabbed the unconscious body at his feet and used it as a human shield while he backed out of the dead end. Just as he was in the intersection, he summoned the Force, and hurled the body of the slain trooper, already riddled with blaster fire, directly at the platoon like a ball against pins. He used the brief instance to draw his sabre and slash a series of pipes running along the wall, as the platoon followed, they were scalded by water and steam shooting out of the ruptured pipes. Donovan escaped down the hallway.
The confusion of storm troopers running about and sirens glaring was plenty of distraction for Benvole to contact his Padawan on his hidden com link. He touched his ear again.
"Donovan, where are you?"
"Dammit Benvole, what's going on? How did they know about us."
"I told them"
"What!!"
"Don't worry, just tell me where you are."
"I'm on the green deck of weapon storage. Where are you?"
"Hangars, directly below you. I'll meet you in moments."
"Have you gotten the keys?"
"Yes, don't worry about it." Benvole took his hand away from his ear as he peered to his left observing a maintenance closet left open amid all the chaos. "Stop!" he shouted abruptly as the group stopped. "Gentlemen, I will be taking those keys now." Benvole said calmly as he extended his left hand, palm up.
"What are you talking about? Guards!" Moff Garinn was confused and upset, he didn't feel like playing games. The four Storm Troopers made a wall between Garinn and Benvole with their rifles placed just inches from his chest.
"You can either give me the security keys, or you can make me angry. I don't advise making me angry!" he snarled at the group as his seemed to burn a hole in the Moff Garinn's face.
"Destroy him!!" Moff Garinn's command was too slow. Benvole instantly grabbed his lightsabre from his belt and with one swirling semicircular sweep, sliced the guarding rifles in half, he immediately slashed back with greater force cutting through the four storm troopers like paper. He stood there huffing slightly with an evil looking expression, teeth showing and lip curled like a vicious wild wolf. His pale blue lightsabre illuminated his face on one side and caste a shadow down the entire hallway of the Jedi's dominating figure.
"I will be taking those keys now!!" He switched off his lightsabre as he showed both of his palms to the seven men, starring in disbelief at the traitor Jedi admiral. He closed his eyes as the entire group was lifted several inches off the ground. They gasped for air but could not breath, they struggled to move, but could not, Benvole had them locked, the Force was at his command. He held the men still, hovering lifelessly above the ground, and simultaneously lifted the security keys from around their necks, drawing them into his open hands. They keys floated gently into his hands as he closed his fingers around the metal chains.
"Thank you for the tour, gentlemen." He said calmly. Benvole then dropped his hands to his side as he sent the group flying across the hallway crashing into the open maintenance closet and slamming it shut behind them. With liquid agility, he drew his sabre, and completed a dive-roll across the hallway gently swiping the doorway with his lightsabre, instantly welding it shut. Benvole took off down the hallway to meet Donovan.
A few decks above his master, Donovan Addick was having problems of his own. Storm Troopers seemed to be coming in droves, from ever angle down every hallway. He was soon met by a group of Storm Troopers on small hoverbikes mounted with turrets. They saw him and instantly turned and began to fire, he managed to deflect a few shots before sliding away down a narrow passageway. He knew could not repel that type of fire alone, with just a lightsabre, so he reached once again into his bag of tricks. Donovan tucked his lightsabre back into his belt as he now clutched two flash grenades. He spun from his hiding spot and hurled one of the grenades directly at the bike in front him. It worked, momentarily as the storm trooper was knocked off his bike and now lay in a pile on the floor, but two more were speeding right for him, he ducked back into the crevice. He spun back into the hallway and flung the next one directly between the two bikers knocking them into each other. As the three troopers struggled to reach their feet, Donovan rushed toward them, lightsabre in hand and proceeded to slash them all with no opposition. He grabbed one of the downed bikes and rode down the hallways.
Benvole ran through the lower levels searching for the connecting stairwell to reach his Padawan. He encountered little opposition since the security relay systems had been cut. No one on that deck knew what was going on except the men in the closet. He soon heard loud crashing and sounds of blasters above him.
Donovan had run into yet another platoon of Storm Troopers. He fired at them with his mounted turret and took out the front row, one of the back row troopers managed to land a direct his against his bike instantly disabling it and sending it crashing to the floor in a heap. Donovan quickly evaded fire by hurling the bike at the troopers taking out three of the on-comers. He scurried to his feet and ran the other way down the narrow, darkened mechanical hallway.
Benvole took his lightsabre and carved himself a circular manhole in the low ceiling of the hangar deck hallway. He Jumped through the steam and electrical sparks and found himself in another empty hallway, he looked left, and then right and saw a sign for stairs. He wasted no time as he sprinted to the stairwell t help his Padawan. He kicked in the stairwell door and rushed up two flights. He emerged directly behind a pack of Storm Troopers pursuing the young Jedi and exchanging fire. Benvole quickly put away his blade and used the power of his uniform to alter his appearance into that of a Storm Trooper. His skin quickly swirled in the look of liquid metal and hardened in the polished white of the Imperial Armour. As he followed the pack, he grabbed a rifle that had been discarded during the chaos. Donovan had taken cover behind a small transport car and continued to exchange blaster fire with the seemingly endless sea of Storm Troopers, he had no idea his master was behind them waiting to assist.
Donovan was pinned behind that flat transport car. Troopers laid continual fire on him as he hid behind the drivers area. Admiral Benvole checked his rear and seeing no reinforcing troops, one by one, he blasted all the troopers with well-placed shots to the back, instantly killing them. When the smoke cleared, Donovan emerged cautiously and looked to see what had happened to his attackers. Much to his delight, he saw his master standing before him, clutching a Storm Trooper Rifle and smiling contently.
"Thank you, master."
"No time for thanks, we must hurry." Benvole turned and motioned for his student to follow. They ran downstairs through the now smoke-filled stairwell.
"Is everything clear down there?" Donovan was not looking forward to more skirmishes.
"It was when I left." Benvole answered honestly, but he knew the speed of the Empire, troops would waste no time in securing every inch of the base. "Luckily, you took out the relay, or the entire base would be coming after us. This is only one sector, we got off easy."
They ran back to the hallway where Benvole had cut the hole in the floor, which was now being examined by several storm troopers. The two Jedi stoped short from their sprint as the troopers looked up.
"Hey! What's going on here?" One of the troopers shouted at the duo. Benvole walked calmly toward the bunch.
"Just wait for my signal." He whispered to Donovan "Well, it looks as if...NOW!" he instantly drew his lightsabre and pulled and amazing somersaulting flip over the heads of the unsuspecting soldiers. Donovan drew his, as the two Jedi wasted no time slashing their way through the group from both sides. After only a few seconds of battle, the two Jedi stood right above hole looking down. Just as they were about to jump down, they heard footsteps fleeing that area.
"Master, look!" Donovan shouted as he pointed down the hallway at a lone trooper who had witnessed the whole brawl. The Jedi were two far away and too late to stop the trooper from hitting the emergency alarm on that sector. He slapped a bright yellow button and again the hallways dimmed to red and sirens filled the otherwise tranquil air.
"Lets go! Hurry!" Benvole motioned his apprentice to follow him through the floor. They jumped down just in time to see the hallways filling up with guards and storm troopers from every doorway and corridor. "The hangars are not far from here. This way." The duo turned and ran but was soon stopped in their tracks by a dozen or so storm troopers. They flung their weapons into ready position pointing the sleek black rifles at the two intruders.
"Freeze!" several of the Storm Troopers shouted in cadence. Benvole and Addick swung their sabers into defensive position and began deflecting a volley of rapid-fire blasters. The Jedi were frozen in place, and found themselves for once, in a static position, vulnerable from behind. Donovan heard footsteps behind him and quickly threw a glance to see a dozen or so more troopers rushing down the hallway.
"Master, they're closing in!" Donovan was nervous as he screamed over the cacophony of blaster fire and lightsabre humming.
"Steady." Benvole was extremely calm for such a potentially fatal situation. The storm troopers arrived from behind and lined up in formation about ten meters behind the duo. "Jump!!"
In the blink of an eye, Benvole and Addick had jumped to the roof and clung to some pipes, safe for a brief instant. The storm troopers, whose reactions were far too slow to see what had just happened, opened fire on their supposed targets. The blasts passed right through the air where the Jedi stood and landed squarely on the front row of the first group of attacking troopers.
"Ready....down" Benvole and his apprentice dropped back to the floor and continued to repel the aggression. Benvole released his blade with his right hand and extended it toward the fallen attackers while he deflected shots with his left. A rifle wobbled across the floor before jumping and sailing directly into his open hand. Benvole sprayed the remaining attackers quickly ending any threat they may have posed. He spun to the rear and assisted Donovan in shielding himself from fire. Benvole, still clutching the rifle in this right hand, fired a hail of laser blasts, sweeping across the front row of enemies. The remaining few who were not instantly killed, turned to flee. Donovan threw up his hand and the troopers immediately had their feet swept out from under them as if the floor had suddenly turned to the slickest ice. The rolled over to their knees and before they could get to their feet, the Jedi had cut them down all in one swipe. Master and student glanced at each other.
"We must hurry." Benvole pointed down the hallway in their original direction. The Jedi jetted down the hallway faster than any man or machine. Within seconds they were at the adjoining hallway for the hangar bay. "Hangars are this way, come on." They turned the corner only to see a small army of storm troopers blocking the entrance to the hangar bay. They jumped back behind the corner before they were noticed.
"Master, there are too many, we've got too find a way around."
"No, that is the only way in. We need a distraction to get them to break up." Benvole looked around, the sirens still blaring and the red light flooding his eyes, he noticed a closed door labeled "discard". He moved toward the door, Addick stayed at the corner junction and peeked his face around to make sure they were not noticed. Admiral Benvole took his sabre and sliced a crude oval across the face of the metal door. He kicked in the makeshift window revealing a room filled with broken droids and defunct electronics equipment. He scanned the room for something he could use as a diversion. Soon he spotted a small observer droid, black with wheels, the size a shoebox or so. He picked up, tested the wheels to make sure they still spun, and exited back into the hallway.
"What have you got in that pack?"
"Just some small arms, a few blasters, thermal detonators, timed charges." Donovan explained as took it off his back and began to open it.
"Just give me a blaster." He handed Benvole a small blaster. Not as long or powerful as the rifles carried by the storm troopers carried but it would suffice for Benvole's plan. "Observe. The Jedi is resourceful, always remember that."
He crept over to the hallway junction and peeked his head around the corner. He set the droid down and placed the blaster on its back. Benvole closed his eyes as the droid slowly began to roll toward the group. Donovan snuck a glimpse from his safe point, he watched as the droid rolled right into the center of the mob, attracting the attention of almost everyone. The brigade of Storm Troopers watched as the droid came to a complete stop in the center of the mob, right in front of the entrance to hangar 327. Puzzled, the troopers exchanged glances at one another and shrugging their shoulders. At that moment, Benvole opened his eyes widely as the blasted jumped off the droid's back and began firing widely in every direction. The troopers ran in every direction to avoid the posses weapon firing as it spun on three axes. Some lay dead in front of the door, others ran directly toward the Jedi.
"Be ready." Benvole looked at Donovan who nodded acceptingly. Seconds later, a wave of storm troopers came rushing around the corner to evade the deadly blasts from the rogue blaster. Donovan and his master snapped into action as they cut down the small pack before ever being noticed. "Come on!"
They rushed for the door to hangar 327, Donovan stood guard holding a storm trooper rifle while Benvole rushed to unlock the complicated security system protecting the TIE Interceptor.
"You sure you can open this?" Donovan asked his master who was already busy at the console
"Of course, just keep us safe." Benvole reached into his pocket and picked out the pile of keys. To his dismay, they all looked exactly the same, he hadn't separated any of them. Addick saw this.
"Which one is which!?" he said nervously.
"Don't worry, everything is under control." Benvole himself was a bit nervous, he closed his eyes and let the Force guide his fingers to choose the correct key. He plucked one from his palm and stuck in into its slot. It fit, the light turned on as he quickly stamped out the access code on the panel below. "One down..." he murmured to himself.
Donovan was busy blasting Storm Troopers left and right. They kept coming and he kept blasting them, the endless lines marched on right into the teeth of his fire. Luckily, he had a made a bit of cover for himself using the doorway to the hangar. It was not enough to prevent the onslaught.
"Master, there are two many. Please hurry!!" Donovan screamed in terror to his master, now on his fourth key.
"Give us a shield. Focus." Benvole never seemed to loose his cool, he was confident in his abilities and the abilities of is Padawan. Donovan closed his eyes and threw his left hand up to the attacks to that side. Their blasts seemed to ricochet of thin air, they could not pass the invisible Force shield Donovan had summoned. He looked to his right, dropped the rifle, and flung his palm toward that end of the hallway. He was now standing in the middle of the hallway with both arms extended in opposite directions. His muscles were straining as he gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes in pain. His concentration was pure and his mind was focused, but he could not keep this up for very much longer. Donovan looked and felt as if the entire weight of a planet was pushing against him from either side, and he was struggling to hold it up. The Storm Troopers, somewhat puzzled by this feat, continued to pelt the invisible barrier with their blasters but to no avail.
"Master, .... Please hurry... I, I ...can't"
"One more Donovan. Focus, just one more." Benvole rushed as he fumbled with Moff Garinn's security and punched in his code. The giant doors peeled open and the electric field fizzled away. Benvole grabbed his apprentice around the waist and hurled him over his left shoulder as he took off down the long, white hallway. Donovan was barely alive as he struggled to open his eyes and gasped for air. "You're almost out of here, don't worry!" Benvole retreated down the hallway as he swatted at laser blasts using the lightsabre in his right hand, balancing Donovan with the left. He danced from side to side, evading enemy fire, which left black burn marks all over the clean and polished hallway. After narrowly evading enemy fire time and time again, they reached the large metal doors with the Imperial Logo on it. Benvole glanced at the switch using the Force to open it since he had no free hands. Donovan was recovering fast.
"Can you walk?" Benvole asked his student hastily
"Yea, put me down, I'll be ok."
Benvole dropped Donovan against the wall of the hangar bay. Donovan was still weary and dizzy, he rested his head against the wall as he took slow breaths. Benvole pressed a series of buttons on the doors control panel from inside the hangar and instantly a red magnetic barrier appeared between him and the storm troopers on the other side. Much like the invisible wall created only minutes earlier by Donovan, this magnetic field deflected all bombardment from the Imperial weapons, but it was only temporary. "One minute, no problem." He said to himself.
"Donovan?!" Benvole shook the young Jedi by the shoulders. "Get in the Interceptor, get the hell out of here!!" Donovan struggled to his feet as his eyes focused on the black fighter. He walked slowly towards it, wobbling a bit, still recovering. "Get in, I'll start the launch sequence." Donovan stumbled up the ladder as he opened the cockpit canopy. Benvole ran over through an open door the control room. Quickly pushing buttons, Benvole pressed his left ear to contact Donovan.
"Think you can fly this thing?"
"Yea, I can fly anything, just give me a minute, my head is still spinning."
"You have 30 seconds before that magnetic field collapses! I suggest you use the time wisely."
"What about you? Master, I can't leave you here!"
"I'll be alright, meet me at Sioul, be prepared."
Benvole closed the door to his control room from the inside. He pushed a few more buttons illuminating a long, dark tunnel from which the Interceptor would exit. Rings of light even spaced lined the walls of the tube; huge metal rested in the ceiling waiting to slam down on any escape effort. Donovan shook his head as he looked around the cockpit at all the controls.
This was no X-Wing. This was the most advanced fighter in the Empire, there were countless buttons and dials and indicators of all kinds all facing him, waiting for his command. A bit overwhelmed, Donovan grabbed a helmet sitting between his legs and threw it on. He plugged in the Oxygen tube and grabbed the flight stick with his right hand.
"How do you start this thing!?" He said to himself in a frustrated manner. He began scanning the dash for the right button but had no idea. "May the Force guide me." He whispered to himself, closing his eyes and extending his finger. In a blind shot, he slapped the right button and the Twin Ion Engines roared to life echoing wildly in the closed hangar.
"Good job kid, now get out of here!!" Benvole said to himself as he watched the magnetic shield vaporize into nothing as a hoard of Storm Troopers rushed in.
"Alright, now lets move!" Donovan shouted to himself with enthusiasm, he pushed on the throttle controls and pulled back on the stick. The Interceptor shot off down the huge tunnel.
Benvole watched as troops rushing towards him from every angle. He quickly searched for an alternate escape route since the door would lead him right into the arms of the enemy. Scanning the walls, Admiral Benvole was lucky enough to find a small ventilation register. He grabbed for a pistol, which lay on the console of that room and blasted the grate. With Jedi agility, he sprung up the wall and pulled himself into the vent shaft just as the Storm Troopers had shot the door down. He found himself in a cramped and dark crawl space, he wasted no time in leaving that area where he could be pursued.
Donovan held his breath as the foreign craft hurled itself through the underground chute at amazing speeds. The bands of light passed over his head in a hypnotic strobe effect. Still feeling somewhat dazed, he gripped the control stick tightly with both hands and he carefully maneuvered his way out of the underground fortress. Quickly he learned to control the fearsome pod and after a short while, a beam of light came shooting through the canopy window and into his eyes, daylight. Donovan held it steady as he shot out from the side of a cliff in a flash of light and a sonic boom. A group of nomads looked up in awe at the magnificent machine that flew past them.
"YEAAAH!" Donovan let out a joyous whelp as he amused himself by hitting a quick barrel roll in the overly-nimble craft. He pulled up on the control stick and headed into orbit. The storm had passed and the skies were clear, he lifted off into the thin reaches of the atmosphere as he watched the pale blue of the Kannto sky, fade into the blackness of deep space. Within moments, he was into hyperdrive, headed for home.