"Jett, hand me a hydrospanner," Kadira instructed from beneath the Vanguard's sleek belly. She was once again ignoring instructions to rest and recuperate, instead choosing to do some minor work and repairs on her ship. Apparently she wasn't all that trusting of Laniff's piloting skills, since he had been the last one to fly the ship. Jett had given up arguing with her two hours ago, settling instead for doing any heavy lifting or tiring work. It had been his one condition, and so far Kadira was holding to it.
Jett handed her the tool without comment, his own gaze exploring the ship as he actually took the time to admire it. He had flown a multitude of different ships, ranging from small fighters to larger freighters, but the Vanguard was in a class of its own. He had never seen another ship like it, the clean lines and sleek exterior were distinctive and eye catching, with a security system that kept most beings from venturing too close.
"Where in the galaxy did you get the schematics for this ship?" Jett asked, running one hand along the side. He had seen Kadira deactivate the ship's security protocols, or else he never would have ventured to do even that much.
There was a clang from beneath the ship, followed by a muttered curse before Kadira answered.
"I got them from a collector on some backwater world. I ran a smuggling run for him, and it was his form of payment. He thought he was getting the better end of the deal. He was under the impression that the plans were too old and obsolete to be of any use, so when I asked for them instead of credits he was thrilled," she added, her tone almost sounding smug, though it was hard to tell since her already rasping voice was muffled from being underneath the ship. "Shab, I hate Coruscant. You should see what the smog and gunk in the air did to these filters," Kadira added, sounding distracted for just a moment before she returned to explaining the Vanguard's origins. "I had to run a few more jobs in an old clunker before I finally got up the creds to have it built."
"Who built it for you?" Jett asked, lifting one eyebrow curiously. He had never heard this much of the ship's story before. All Iam ever said was that it was custom built, and had cost a boatload of credits.
"MandalMotors," Kadira answered simply. "I handed over the specs for a few of the weapon systems in return for a lower fee, else I never would have been able to afford it," Kadira said, sliding out from beneath the ship and smiling wryly. "But she's worth every credit."
"You're pretty attached, aren't you?" Jett asked. He had intended the question to be humorous, but Kadira's serious eyes belied the half smile she gave him.
"I got the Vanguard at a time I needed her the most," Kadira said finally, standing up and running one hand along the ship's side. "I had just left the Empire to come to Mandalore, and Iam was being a shabuir about everything at the time. He had a lot of bitterness then, and Laniff was off on a hunt for the man who killed his buir. Anytime I did hear from him, he wasn't in the best of moods. So it was just me and my project, and it was something I sorely needed." She offered Jett a smile that held sadness instead of its usual humor. "I'd lost both my Corellian family and my belief in the Empire. I needed something to lose myself in, and the Vanguard provided just the thing. Not sure what would have happened otherwise."
"You grew up in a large family?" Jett asked quietly, thinking of his own vod, the brothers he had lost in the Clone Wars. It had been years for the rest of the galaxy, but to him it still felt incredibly recent. One of the downsides of being encased in carbonite for that long, he supposed.
Kadira was shaking her head. "Not really. I was an only child, but my father worked for the Corellian military so it was like a very large extended family."
Her 'father'. He noticed the word, noticed she didn't use the word 'buir', or even 'dad'. Just father.
"He was rarely home, so I didn't see him much. He was a good man, just… distracted. My mother was a fighter pilot," she grinned at some memory the words had brought to mind. "She's the one who taught me to fly, made me love ships and everything about them."
"What was her name?" Jett asked, drinking in the information. He'd never had the same kind of family she was describing, and he was curious. Not that he would have traded his brothers for anything, but…
"Ishea Corvani," Kadira replied. "She was one of the best, and everyone knew it… She was killed in a speeder accident the day after I woke up from my accident. She was on her way to see me in the med center," Kadira said, the humor leaving her tone as she touched the scar on the side of her face. "That's part of why I left Corellia. SpecOps was still there, like a larger family, but… Nothing was the same. I couldn't stay any more, not with all the memories there, so I left."
"And ran into Laniff," Jett offered with a smile, trying to lift her mood.
It seemed to work, because Kadira laughed. "Remind me to tell you that story some other time," she said. "But for now, grab me one of those clean filters. I'd rather the inside of my ship not smell like Coruscanti air longer than it absolutely has to."
Hours later, Kadira sat at the table with her feet propped up on a nearby chair, her head tilted as she listed to Iam and Laniff. She had run out of minor repairs to do on the Vanguard, and Jett had finally insisted she come inside and actually rest. She'd compromised and sat down in the middle of Laniff and Iam's planning session for finding Alaida in the military base. They needed to somehow convince the woman to tell them what she knew about Shaen. They were all staring at a holoprojection of the base, made as accurately as Ran was able to with the limited information he had.
"We could storm it."
"You storm the base, Laniff, and she'll be out of there before we even break through the lines. She's a planner, she'll have something set up to get her out before we can get to her… If we had more time, we could scope the layout, find wherever she might try to get out, but…" Kadira shrugged then winced, regretting the motion almost immediately. "Thing is, we're going to have to go subtle."
Laniff groaned, leaning his head back against his chair. "I had a feeling you were going to say that," he grumbled. "I hate being subtle. It's no fun."
Kadira saw Jett's smile, but she and Iam were quiet, noticing the strain in his voice. Kadira saw Laniff and Iam exchange a subtle glance filled with understanding, and she frowned, wondering what was going on. Something was wrong, she could tell that much.
"…Ever consider sending someone in?" Jett suggested finally. "I can pass as a stormtrooper, see if I can get to Alaida."
Ran was already shaking his head. "They're not using clones, and they have a fairly accurate count of the troopers at the base. It's very high security for such a small place, my guess is it's run by Imperial Intelligence. They'd figure out you weren't one of their own and the game would be up. "
"What about air ducts? They're not going to be living without fresh air in that place, no matter how locked down they are," Laniff suggested hopefully, indicating on the holoprojection where air ducts were visible. It was one of the few details Ran had acquired about the building. "Kadira's small enough to fit in one of those ducts, she could slice in once she's inside and open the doors for us. She'd squeeze out of the ducts and be out before all the fighting went down.
"I appreciate the compliment, vod, but I'm not tiny enough to fit through those ducts," Kadira said, shaking her head. "I couldn't even get my shoulders through. And I really, really don't want Alaida Dain to capture me because I got stuck in an air vent. That would just be embarrassing."
"We need something she won't see coming," Iam said finally. "Something straightforward and simple, and so brazen she'll never guess what we have up our sleeve. It can't look like anything you or Ran have ever done before, Kad'ika. If it is even similar, she'll know and she'll run and we'll lose precious time looking for her instead of Shaen Mog."
Kadira leaned forward, steepling her fingers in front of her and tapping her chin. She saw Laniff glance her way but ignored him, an idea forming.
"What if we don't just sneak Jett in? We sneak someone else in too, act like Jett has a find that Alaida needs to see to herself," Kadira said finally. "Have the Vanguard standing by, and once two people get in, we do a flyby, scare the osik out of them just enough that they lock down the base. If two people can be alone with Alaida before then…"
"We'll be sealed in a room with her. No one in, no one out," Laniff finished the thought, a slow grin spreading over his face.
"And whoever is flying the Vanguard can keep up the assault as long as it's needed," Kadira added. "Keep it locked down."
"We don't have the leverage," Ran said, shaking his head. "The only people she wants badly enough to risk letting an armed group into the base are you and I, Kadira. And if one of us comes in, she'll be on her guard. No unknown troopers past the gates, no way to sneak in weapons. This would be a two person job, it would have to be, and you aren't in any shape to take her on in hand-to-hand combat."
"Not to mention my hand-to-hand is osik," Kadira admitted wryly, waving her hand in dismissal of the idea. "Ok, but we need something, some way to get in-"
Ran's comm beeped, interrupting her. Ran stepped away to take the call, then suddenly went rigid.
"What?" he asked into the comm, before turning back to the group. Without a word, he strode forward and pressed a button on the side of his comm, sliding it to the center of the table and stepping back. "Say it again, Jonika," he said, his eyes fixed on the comm device.
::I have a contact who swears the base you're trying to get to is about to come under heavy attack. I don't know how he knows it, but he does… If you're going to talk to her, I suggest you get off your backsides and get there now.:: Jonika's voice came through the comm, sounding strained. ::I doubt they'll stick around once they start getting fired on.::
"Well, there's always the idea of playing rescue squad," Laniff said cheerfully. "Kad'ika, how fast can you get us there?"
Kadira worried her lower lip with her teeth for a moment, calculating in her head. "…A couple hours, if we leave now. But we'll have to take a new hyperspace route, one that's been only theorized. No one's been brave enough to try it yet."
::Are you seriously thinking about taking the path I think you are?:: Jonika asked, somehow managing to sound both concerned and excited. ::You, my heavily armored friend, are insane. Genius, but insane. You have no idea how many people have opted out of flying that route, no matter how big the bonus they were offered.::
"It's the only way to get there in time," Kadira pointed out with a small smile.
"What's wrong with this route?" Jett asked, sounding wary.
"...It passes fairly close to a black hole," Kadira admitted after a moment of silence. "But no one knows if it passes too close. Theoretically it doesn't, but it's close enough and there are enough variables that even the most daredevil pilots I know avoid it. The advantage is once we have Alaida, we can haul jets back the way we came and no one will follow. At least, if we don't get torn apart just getting there."
There was a minute of absolute silence as they all looked at one another, each waiting for someone else to speak first.
"…Shab," Laniff spoke finally, speaking for all of them. "Well… we're gonna die anyway at some point. My vote is we risk it. If we make it, great. If not, we at least get to die famous. The first and only ones to try this route. Jonika, I'm counting on you to write us tavern songs and spread our fame if we die," he said cheerfully.
::So long as I don't have to go with you, it's a deal,:: Jonika answered, sounding relieved.
Iam blew out a breath and nodded. "Let's get moving then. Kad'ika, you'll be piloting on the condition you stay on board the Vanguard once we get there. I'm not willing to risk you getting shot again. Especially since we don't know who it is that is attacking the base."
"You think it might be Shaen?" Jett asked.
"Wouldn't take much for him to figure out that Alaida could possibly direct us right to him," Iam pointed out. "He's proved he has a mind for strategy, so I'm not willing to rule it out."
Laniff glanced around before rising to his feet. "Buir, I have a question."
Iam turned, eyebrows raised as he waited for Laniff to continue.
"Do I get to bring the big guns?"
Kadira was sitting in the pilot's chair with her arms crossed when Jett came into the cockpit, so focused on her ship's readouts that she didn't even notice his entrance. Every so often, the Vanguard would shudder and she would lean forward to inspect the readouts closely, her brow furrowed in concentration and worry. She was obviously more nervous about this flight plan than she had let on.
"I have something for you," he spoke finally, realizing she was too focused on making sure her ship wasn't about to be ripped apart by a black hole to pay any attention to anything else.
She turned, startled, before lifting one hand to her shoulder and letting out a hissing breath as she doubled over. Jett took a concerned step forward but she waved him off.
"I'm just a di'kut who hasn't figured out not to move too quickly," she assured him, her voice dry. She took a moment to catch her breath before she looked back up, raising her eyebrows questioningly.
Jett smiled slightly and presented a rifle for her inspection. It was smaller than her Deecee, and as she lifted it from his hands he could tell she felt the weight difference. This one was far lighter, though it lacked the high tech attachments she normally used.
"I know you can't lift your Deecee with your shoulder in the shape it's in, and you seem to prefer rifles over pistols. Consider it repayment for the pistol Spike took when you were captured," Jett said with a shrug. He hoped she couldn't see how nervous he was as she ran her hands over the rifle, hefting it to her shoulder and back down again repeatedly to get a feel for the weight. Not once did she flinch, or drop the weapon as she had when she'd attempted to fire her Deecee back at the bastion. She had apparently forgotten the rifle had a kick when it fired, and that very fact had driven the buttplate back into her injured shoulder. Laniff had berated her soundly for trying to shoot the heavier rifle, but Kadira had replied with her own tongue lashing that had both Iam and Jett trying not to smile. She was finally starting to act like her old self again. Jett had made certain this rifle had no recoil, and wouldn't damage her shoulder if she shot it.
When Kadira finally looked up at him, she was grinning. Jett felt himself relax almost instantly, not realizing until that moment just how worried he had been. It was a difficult thing, to try to hand someone a replacement rifle. Especially when they were as attached to their old one as Kadira was to her Deecee.
"I've never seen a trigger like this," she said, flipping the rifle over to examine the lever action. Attached to part of the large loop action was a small screw that would impact the trigger whenever the lever was worked. It would keep her finger from being punctured if she was trying to load and cock the rifle quickly, as she wouldn't even need to have her finger near the trigger to fire. Much like her scout blaster, she also wouldn't run the risk of her gloved hand getting stuck in the trigger guard.
"It's been modified," Jett explained, stepping closer to point out the changes. "When you open and close the lever, the rifle will fire. The only limit on how fast you can fire is how fast you can work that lever. There's a safety, but you know not to depend on it. Also, it has a very large clip, it loads in the side here," Jett explained, turning the rifle so she could see the loading port, "And just snaps into place. After that, you're good to go. You can also take the screw out when you don't need to worry about firing rapidly, and you're back to having a normal lever action rifle."
"Why is it so much lighter?" Kadira asked, continuing to look over the rifle carefully.
"It was a prototype, never went into large scale production," Jett explained. "My squad was one of the few to get them. It's made of a lightweight material, and the fact it's a lever action cuts down on a lot of the tech that your Deecee has that makes it so much heavier. This rifle is just as accurate, if less fancy than yours."
Kadira was still grinning when she looked back to him. "Thank you, vod."
Jett smiled in return, glad to have given her something she seemed to enjoy so much. She turned back to the Vanguard's console as Jett took a seat in the copilot's chair. Every so often, he saw her reach over and run one hand along the rifle's stock. Yes, he had definitely chosen well from among the small armory he had managed to recover of his own gear. The rifle was in good hands, and better yet Kadira had a weapon she could rely on.
::Alright everyone, get ready. We'll be coming out of hyperspace in about two minutes, and then things are going to get bumpy. Best we can tell, the base just came under attack. Jett, Laniff, and Iam will head out and find Alaida, get her to the ship. Right now, she has the option of either coming aboard or taking her chances with the attackers. I think we all know what she'll pick,:: Kadira's voice came over the intercom system of the Vanguard and Laniff paused for a moment to listen to her instructions.
Ran and Kadira had been coming up with a plan, making use of what intel they had. They had decided to keep it straightforward and simple, relying on Alaida's knack for survival. If that failed, Laniff would stun the woman and drag her aboard the Vanguard by force. They needed the information the woman had on Shaen. It was their only lead, and they weren't going to get another chance at this.
Laniff slammed his rifle's magazine into place with a snap, glancing over at Iam to see the man checking over his own Verpine rifle. The older man gave Laniff a thumbs-up, which Jett soon copied after checking his own weapon.
"If you need air support, let me know," Kadira said, ducking out of the cockpit and looking them over. Laniff could see how badly she wanted to join them, but the fact she didn't insist on coming was further proof of how much her injury was still paining her. "Ran will be keeping an eye on your scans and the intel your HUDs send back to the Vanguard. We'll try to keep you all updated and a step ahead of whatever shabuir is hitting the base." She smiled at them, a look that told them just how much she wished she was going with them. "Oya, vode."
Shaen jerked around sharply as his ship's systems began blaring a warning signal. Another ship had just dropped out of hyperspace, and it wasn't one that belonged to the base below. He had made certain all of those were present and disabled on the first run of his one-man assault on the base. The military encampment's small size worked to his advantage from the air – it only took one ship to wreak havoc. Already, two out of the three buildings had collapsed and were in flames, and the third was dangerously close. But none of it would matter if reinforcements arrived. He wasn't outfitted for a ship-to-ship battle, his own vessel wasn't designed for it. He waited for his scanning devices to transmit data about the incoming ship, tapping his fingers impatiently against the console.
As his scans at last picked up the ship, Shaen cursed at the image that appeared on the screen in front of him. It was the Vanguard, no mistaking it. Kadira Sal's ship was the most distinctive he had ever seen, and that fact that his scanners registered barely any information about it other than its appearance only confirmed it.
How her team had managed to find him so fast, he had no idea. But he was going to have to hurry his assault of the base if he wanted to silence Alaida Dain before Kadira's team reached her. The Imperial Agent knew too much about him for Kadira's team to get a hold of her. If they did, he risked information coming to light that needed to stay buried. The more that her team discovered, the more likely they were to tie him to his real purpose. That was something he couldn't allow. Not when he was so close to destroying Iam Sal. He had come too far to let it end here and now.
Shaen gritted his teeth and tapped in a few commands on his console, increasing the shielding on his ship as much as he could without compromising the heavy fire he was pouring on the base below. He needed to hurry, it wouldn't take long for the Vanguard's systems to pinpoint him, and then he'd be in real trouble. Though how in haran they had found him so fast was a mystery in itself. They must have been working furiously to find him after Caida's death. He should have known taking out someone so close to them would have major consequences.
He cursed again. Somehow, he always seemed to underestimate Kadira's team. If there was anyone who had known his plans, any way there might be a leak, Shaen would have suspected someone was feeding the group information. But the only ones who knew about this hit were himself and Spike, and there was no possibility the other man would ever help Kadira's team out. Besides, an informant would have informed them of the bomb placed in Caida's speeder. Shaen allowed himself a small smile as he fired a missile onto the base below, remembering the ball of flame that had consumed Caida's speeder. The life of Kadira's partner would have been far more important to Iam Sal and his small clan than an Imperial who may or may not help them. No, the Sals were simply lucky. They stumbled across the right information at the right time, and it had managed to lead them here.
He would just have to make certain there was nothing left for them to find.
A/N: So for those of you who happen to be old-time Western fans, you might recognize the idea for Kadira's new rifle from "The Rifleman" series, with Chuck Connors. It's what inspired Kadira's new lever action. If you haven't seen the series, I recommend looking it up :D
Also, as always, thank you so much for your patience through my delay and writer's blocks. I appreciate it greatly!