Andean, Haal homestead
The discussion in the last ten minutes had not gone as Jes had wanted it to go. Not at all. Both Art and Kinnar were set on helping to free Marin. Only Esper had sat there in silence. Listening intensely. Jes was absolutely against this idea. They had already risked enough for them. No one else should get hurt or even killed on their account.
Art would have none of it. Jes had argued he had a wife to think about but Art just started laughing and Esper waved the comment away. Marin had been like family to Art and Esper. Esper sharply said that she wouldn't let Art back in the house if he didn't do anything to get Marin out. Art was going to help.
Jes had tried to convince Kinnar to go home and warn his parents about what was going on but he wouldn't hear it. He argued that he had worked in the spaceport comm center for the last two summers helping out his uncle and learning about the equipment they used there. He knew the building inside out by now. Jes couldn't argue with the value of that information but still wasn't about to let a fourteen year old boy risk his life on a dangerous rescue operation. Kinnar ended by saying angrily that Marin would have done the same for him.
Jes gave in mostly because he could see that whatever he told them, they would go after Marin anyway. He'd have to stop them both and he realized he didn't have the time or the resources to do this. He'd rather have them work with him then let them go out on their own.
That ended the discussion. Now they were on their way to town to try to assess the situation at the comm center while Esper made sure the surrounding farms were informed about Insel and the Empire.
Jes and Art were in art's speeder and Kinnar on his swoop bike. In the meanwhile night had fallen and it had turned pitch black outside. They parked a few blocks from the spaceport and climbed the roof of a building from where they had a clear view of the front of the comm center and had enough cover to stay hidden. Jess took out his electrobinoculars and peered at the building in front of them.
"I see one patrol outside, two guards on the front entrance. Kinnar, is there anywhere in the building that would be ideal to keep a prisoner? Somewhere without windows and easy to lock down?"
"Well, it's not very big, really. All of the offices have lots of windows so there's always an overview of what's going on outside. Even most of the office inner walls are lined with glass. But there is what they call 'the tech vault' in the basement." Kinnar said.
"The tech vault?" Jes asked.
"Well, it's not an actual vault. But it's actually just a couple of locked utility rooms where they keep backups and spare equipment." Kinnar explained. "It's the only windowless part of the building as far as I know and the doors are code locked."
"Ok, that'll be our best bet then. You don't happen to have any of the codes do you?" Jes asked.
"Sorry, only authorized personnel had access and I bet they changed the codes if they locked Marin in there. "
"Yeah I think so too. But it was worth a shot. Well, it is what it is. We'll have to improvise. You mentioned a back entrance? Any other entrances to the building?" Jes asked.
"Well, there is a service elevator which has a door on the back and offers direct access to the basement. However, it can only be accessed from the inside. The back entrance is still your best bet if you want to get to the basement from the outside. "
"Well," Art said, "we saw the back is also guarded. And they got the place lit up like a Coronet City rush hour. So even getting there poses a challenge. "
"Right. " Jes started.
"See, what I find strange is that they must have figured out by now that they lost the troopers they sent after Kinnar. Yet they decided to dig in rather then send reinforcements to find them. Which tells me they probably do not have as many men here as they want us to believe. With the space port on lock-down greatly limiting options for escape, and reinforcements on the way, digging in would be the tactical approach. That does mean that the odds are probably not as heavily against us as they might seem. Not yet at least. We're still going to need the element of surprise on this one though."
"Which will be kind of hard because they're probably expecting us." Art said. "Didn't you say they might know who you were?"
"Yeah, I expect they do. So we're going to need one hell of a distraction and a lot of luck. Well, at least we're almost out of time. " Jes said.
"What do you mean, at least?" Kinnar asked surprised.
"When you're almost out of time it's often easier to choose the way forward. We must pull this off before the empire gets here. " Jes said grimly.
"Any ideas?" Art asked?
"Is there any way to cut off power to the landing area of the space ports? I expect the reinforcements will need the port operational. So if we manage to take it out, they will have to divert some of their attention to restoring the power. Maybe we can try to overload the generator or something?" Jes asked.
"I have a better idea. " Art responded. "There are emergency redirects in the power grid so parts of the grid can easily be bypassed in the case of a flash flood in the rain season. We only need to disable 2 of the junction points and that part of the space port goes dark. The emergency power supply will kick in however. " Art explained.
"Yes, but since this is not a military facility I expect emergency power will be focused on safety and comm systems, not the landing pads and flight control. It will most likely also disable most of the lighting which might also give us some advantage. How hard will it be for them to turn the power back on?"
"Well, they'll need someone with knowledge of the grid's emergency system. Some of the engineers working at the port for example. But if I destroy the consoles at the junction points they will have to override them manually. My guess is this will give you at least half an hour." Art explained.
"Perfect. Now, to tip the odds in our favor a bit more we're going to need another distraction. Art, We might be able to use your speeder. Can we rig it to ram the front gate on auto pilot?"
Before Art could answer, Kinnar spoke up.
"No problem. I'll have it programmed in a few minutes. "
"Sure," said Art. "Whatever it takes. But won't they be able to see it's empty? Won't they even expect it to be a diversion?" Art asked.
Probably, but that won't matter. As with the power grid, they cannot afford not to check it out. Remember, I expect them to be short-staffed. The thinner we spread them, the better our chances. And with good timing and a little bit of luck, the crash will cause some chaos. My plan is that I go in alone to get Marin. I'll need to be quick. Based on the size of the building, the number of troops we can see and the probable location where they keep Marin, I expect to be in and out within two minutes. The second diversion might buy me some extra seconds when I need them. We'll all be in direct contact through these field comm links I borrowed from you Art. " Jes explained.
"Kinnar, you'll be my eyes and ears from the outside. I need to know exactly what happens. How many troops are dispatched to the power failure, any new patrols that might appear, the presence of guards near the entrances, stuff like that. You'll need to find a high place with a view from the side so you can see the courtyard and the back of the complex, like that building over there. " Jes said pointing to a building to their right. "I will also let you know when to trigger the second diversion. Can you do that?"
"Sure Mr. Darrin, no problem. " Kinnar confirmed.
"Good. Make sure they don't see you and you have a way out for if they do, and call me Jes ok? "
"Ok Jes!" Kinnar said.
"Now, Art, when you have disabled the junctions you get yourself out of there as fast as you can. You'll be too far away to be of any direct help. And if all goes well, we'll be out of there before you can return."
"Understood. " Art confirmed.
"That brings us to extraction. My plan is to get Marin out of here through the back and make for one of the transport shuttles we use to get supplies from Mirakeii over at the hangar. I hope the blackout will provide enough cover for us to escape. I think this is as good a plan we're going to come up with. "
"Not a very solid plan though…. " Art said skeptically.
"I know. We'll have to make it work. Listen. I don't know if we'll see you again afterwards but I want to thank you both for your help and your friendship. And Art, please relay this to Esper as well."
"Sure, you're more than welcome. You've both been part of our family for the past two years. Just get away safely. " Art said.
"Jes?" Kinnar asked. "Tell Marin she's been a great friend and that I'll miss her. "
"I will Kinnar. And I'm sure it's mutual. "
"Let's get ready. "
They inconspicuously parked Art's speeder two blocks from the main gate. While Kinnar and Jes started to reprogram the beckon call on the speeder Art started to make his way to the first power junction. They setup the speeder so that triggering the beckon call would send it full speed into the guarded main gate of the airport. A signal from Kinnar's comm would trigger the speeder.
Thirty minutes later they were all in position.
"I'm at the second junction. Looks clear. Just give me the signal, and all goes dark. " Jes heard Art say over the comm.
"I'm on top of the storage building you pointed out Jes. I have a good view of the back of the comm building and the front courtyard. Still two guards at the back entrance. " Kinnar said.
"I see them. I'm at the back of the building. Art, finish the bypass and give me a heads up when it's about to go dark. Kinnar, keep telling me everything you see. Let's go!"
A few minutes later Art was ready to pull the lever on the second power junction.
"Okay, shutting down second junction in three, two, one..."
Andean colony, Spaceport communications building
Major Aries stood in the security monitoring room when the power went out and all the screens went black. A moment later the emergency generators kicked in and the room was lit with the eerie red glow of the emergency lighting. Only about a quarter of the monitors came back on, those showing the critical areas of the spaceport.
"Let's begin. " he said to himself and keyed the comm. "Report."
"Sir, " a young uniformed intelligence officer appeared on the screen.
"The space port seems to have lost power. Emergency power has kicked in but the landing pads have no power. The seventeenth taskforce is due to arrive in eighty five minutes. They'll need the pads and the hangars for deployment. " the officer said.
"We have some of the technical staff in confinement. Get them here. I want to talk to them. " Aries said calmly.
"Yes sir. " the officer replied and the screen went black.
A few minutes later two spaceport engineers were walked in the room by two storm troopers, accompanied by the officer. They looked around uncomfortably until Aries spoke up.
"The blackout. It seems to be local to the space port and I believe it to be the result of sabotage. How could this have been achieved? Quickly please, if you want to see your families again."
One of the techs spoke up nervously:
"They.. eeuh... they might have disabled the main generator at the power facility. The space port has its own generator there."
"The main generator is guarded and is operational at the moment. There must be another way. "Aries replied."
"The emergency bypass system." The other tech said. "We use it in case of flash floods during the wet season to bypass a particular area by rerouting power junctions. "
"How hard would it be to bypass the spaceport?" Aries asked.
"Well, not very hard. Provided you know what you're doing. You'd only need to reroute two of the junctions. Both within three kilometers from the spaceport. " he added.
"How long before you could get the power back?"
"Well, with the right parts, depending a bit in how they were disabled, it should not take more than thirty minutes to an hour. These systems are built to be replaced easily. " The engineer explained.
"Sir, if I may? " The officer interrupted. "We could detach some troopers from the forty-second to escort the techs to the junctions. " the officer said.
"No. The forty-second stays in position. We need to draw them out. Send the forward perimeter patrol to escort the techs. Get that power back online, ASAP. " Aries spit out.
"Yes sir. You two," the young officer said to the two guards, " get back to your post. You, engineers. Come with me. We're going to get the parts you need. " As they left the monitoring room Aries still stood looking out the window.
"Let's see what you brought to this fight Mr. Darrin. " He said to himself.
Andean colony, Space port comm building, exterior
"Okay, lights are out on most of the spaceport. " Kinnar observed.
"Emergency power is kicking in on some places. Comm building has partial power. Landing pads still dark Jes, as you expected. "
"Good. Any troop movement yet?" Jes asked.
"Not yet. They're moving around a bit nervously though. Wait. The courtyard patrol just went inside the comm building." Kinnar said.
"Okay, let's give them a minute. " Jes said.
"They're coming back out. Two people in what looks like engineers uniforms are with them. And a gravsled packed with equipment. They're moving towards the main gate. "
"They're probably going to fix the junctions. Good. Kinnar, let me know when they're out of sight. That's when I'm heading in. " Jes said.
"Will do Jes. "
A small room
Marin was still a bit dizzy from the stun shot she'd taken in her back. Amazingly she'd suffered no other injuries when she unconsciously fell from her swoop bike. Her back felt like she'd been attacked by a rancor though.
How was she going to get out of this one. She had woken up on a military style field bed in this small room. There were no windows and the steel walls were lined with empty shelves. The door was locked and it looked like there was no way of opening it from the inside. Must be some kind of storage room. She'd repeatedly tried pounding on the door but there was no reply. What was worse was that she had no idea how long she'd been out so she also had no idea where she could be. For all she knew she was already aboard an imperial star destroyer.
She'd learned enough from her past few years of running and hiding not to panic in situations like this. She tried to find inner strength through some Jedi meditation techniques. Next to attempting to suppress some of the pain in her back and head she might learn something about her situation by letting her mind flow through the Force. The Force, which was ever present, quickly presented her with a comfortable feeling. She didn't sense the distinct feeling of the emptiness of space. As her pain faded to the background and she fell deeper into trance, the subtle motions in the force around her became clearer. There was life all around her which told her she was on the surface of a planet. Probably even still on Andean. This familiar feeling gave her hope. Hope that help might be out there somewhere. She also felt hostility. Probably Imperial soldiers and guards nearby.
Was there something she could do? Without direct contact she wasn't nearly powerful enough to influence the minds of others. So she wouldn't be able to just make someone open the door. They also knew they were dealing with a Jedi, so small chance they would be fooled by mind tricks at all. She was suddenly awoken from her deep trance when the lights went out. A few seconds later the room was dimly illuminated by a small red emergency light. She suddenly realized this might be part of a rescue attempt. "Ok," she said to herself. "Let's see if the force will guide me here. " and she closed her eyes again.
Andean colony, Space port comm building, interior
"Ok, I've reached the basement." Jes whispered while he observed the dimly lit hallway. At least the blackout provided him with minimal cover here. It was quite a wide hallway lined with five doors on each side.
"There are two storm troopers on guard by the third door on the right. Is that one of the tech vaults you spoke of Kinnar?"
"Yes, that one and the one across from it. "Kinnar replied over the comm. "
"Ok" Jes answered and he knew he had no time to lose. He sneaked through the hallway clinging to the wall using the cover of darkness to get as close as he could get before being spotted. He lined up his blaster and shot the closest trooper cleanly in the head, his heavy blaster easily puncturing the troopers helmet. He rushed to the second trooper hitting him in the chest with his shoulder bringing the startled trooper sprawling to the floor. He kicked the blaster rifle from his hands and pulled his helmet from his head. He then pulled the trooper upright having one arm in a choking position around his neck and a blaster to his head facing the door controls.
"Open this door and you will live. " Jes said with his voice strained with effort.
"Arghhhh...Reinforcements will already be on the way. If you shoot me, you'll..arrhg.. never get the door open in time. " the trooper gasped.
"Not something you should be worrying about. Last chance. Open... the door. " Jes said with tone that implied impending doom.
The trooper shot a quick glance to his colleague who lay motionless on the floor and reluctantly typed in the door code. When the door opened Jes quickly knocked the trooper out by hitting him on the back of the head with his blaster. He carefully peeked into the room. "Marin? You in here?"
"Jes! " Marin said with surprise and relief.
"Where are we? What happened?"
"We're in the space port comm building. The rest of the story will have to wait. We need to get out quickly."
"Jes?" Kinnar asked over the comm. "You need to get out of there fast! There is a lot of movement on the first and second floor. They're already in the stairwell!"
"Ok Kinnar, where do we go?" Jes asked calmly.
"Quickly, Get to the supply elevator. The entrance should be right next to the stairwell you came in on. It should take you directly outside the back of the building. "
"All right Kinnar, and trigger the second diversion. Hopefully it'll buy us some time."
Sure thing Jes!. And there's...wait. Jes? l, I think I hear something. Someone might be coming!"
"Get out of there Kinnar, now! Don't worry about us. " Jes said. There was no more response.
"Kinnar? What's he doing here?" Marin asked while they hurried towards the elevator.
"I couldn't stop him from going after you. Figured I'd rather have him helping me then out here by himself. " Jes explained.
"Stubborn as always. So where are we going to go?" Marin asked.
"Imperial reinforcements will be here soon so we need to get out of here quickly. I figured we make for the transport shuttles in the hangar and escape to Mirakeii. We should still have some time before the power comes back on. We then..."
They were barely two steps out of the elevator at the back of the comm building when two huge floodlights were switched on directed straight at them.
"That's far enough." A cold, calculated voice spoke out from the brightness and a slender young man wearing a black military uniform stepped into the light. When his eyes had adjusted to the light Jes also saw the officer was flanked by five storm troopers with their blaster rifles pointed at them.
Jes instinctively started to raise his blaster but stopped when the officer said:
"Don't do anything stupid Mr. Darrin. Not even a Selonia Ghost could outdraw all of us. "
"Great, a fan. " muttered Jes and he lowered his blaster.
"Now, we're only after the girl Mr. Darrin. If you put your blaster down and surrender, you have my word you will not be harmed. "
"You seem to have me at an advantage mister..." Jes asked, hoping to stall a bit in while he frantically tried to figure out how to escape.
"Major Aries, imperial naval intelligence. Now, drop the weapon and surrender. This is your last warning. " The Major said, now with a far more commanding voice.
"What happened to 'we're only after the girl?" Jes asked.
"That was also meant to imply we don't need you alive. " the major answered.
"Now, your weapon. Drop it and gently kick it this way. "
This guy was serious, Jes instantly knew. He was also right. No way Jes would take them all out before they would open fire. He didn't see any way out, and started to slowly lower his blaster. "
Marin was surprised. Not because of the ambush. But because she wasn't panicking. Instead, she felt calm. She heard Jes say a few words but they sounded far away. It felt like she was aware of every detail that was going on. Her own heartbeat, slight movements in one of the trooper's stance. He felt nervous, she could see it. Maybe his first time in the field? The other troopers were not as tense. They clearly didn't expect any action. She also felt the cold confidence of the officer. She saw Jes kick his blaster in the direction of the imperials. It seemed to take forever to cross such a small distance. Then she saw it. She saw one of the left troopers go down. But it hadn't happened yet.
A blaster bolt from one of the high buildings behind the space port. But they hadn't shot yet.
she realized she'd seen a glimpse of what was about to happen and knew she didn't have any time to lose. She had to act. She hoped that Jes, with all his combat experience, would instantly know what to do. Yoda had once taught her to move objects using the force. Time still slowly creeping by, she concentrated. Gathering all the power from within her. She felt awake, stronger than ever. It was almost like master Yoda was at her side.
She focused on the right two troopers, closed her eyes. And the instant the shot came she launched all the power she collected in the direction of the troopers.
Everything happened at once. The left most trooper went down from the shot, the right most troopers flew ten meters away, the sheer force knocking them out The trooper right next to the officer had instinctively aimed at the incoming fire from behind. He also fell down with a blaster wound in the chest. Jes had immediately tackled the surprised officer who, for a moment, was startled. While they were wrestling on the ground Marin realized there was one trooper left. It was the rookie. She saw him on one knee raising his blaster towards Jes.
Everything Jes had taught her came back. The advantages of being small, versatile and easily underestimated against the disadvantages of being fully armored and carrying a large weapon in a close quarters fight. She'd never felt so certain of what she was doing. She quickly rolled towards him and launched a powered kick to what she hoped was a weak point in the armor, the knees. The trooper clearly hadn't expected an assault from the girl. Fighting to keep his balance, he tried to raise his blaster rifle but a few quick punches sent him falling to the ground. Marin quickly rolled towards the blaster rifle the trooper had dropped during his fall but just as she was picking it up she saw from the corner of her eye that the trooper had drawn a sidearm and was aiming at her. Just as he was about to fire he collapsed forward. Marin saw Jes standing a few meters to her right. He had apparently recovered his blaster and it was still pointing at the downed last trooper.
"Marin, are you alright?" Jes asked.
"Yeah..." she answered a bit hesitantly. "I'm not hurt. "
"Good, let's move. Backup will be here soon. "
"Who do you think it was on the rooftop back there, Art?"
Jes, who swore under his breath that he'd broke his comm in the struggle, said: "I don't know Marin. But I doubt that he made it back so soon from the power junctions. Whoever it was, he or she did create us an opportunity, let's not waste it. Come on, and take the rifle. We might need it yet." And they started to jog towards hangar five.
Andean, Space port exterior, rooftop
"They're moving further into the spaceport! It looks like they're alright!" Kinnar said, putting down his electrobinoculars.
"Should we go follow them?"
"No," answered Esper, checking the hunting rifle.
"I might be a decent shot but I'm no soldier. I think we will be more trouble than help when we move in closer. We helped them out of the ambush, they're on their own now. We should get out of here quickly though, backup is probably on the way. "
"I hope they make it out of here. " Kinnar said, putting the electrobinoculars back in his pouch.
"I hope so too Kinnar, I hope so too."
Andean, Space port hangars
The hangars of the space port were square buildings with a large open courtyard inside which contained the landing pads. They reached hangar five without further trouble.
"Good, the shuttle's still there. " Jes said.
Jes, being one of the people who used it regularly to make runs to Mirakeii, knew all the necessary codes to get it off the ground. He'd also spent time familiarizing Marin with the basic controls in case he was unable fly."
Just when he keyed in the code to open the access hatch he saw storm troopers entering the hangar building.
"Drat! Marin, give me the rifle, quickly! You get inside and start up the shuttle. I'll try to keep them off us!" Jes said, the urgency in his voice didn't escape Marin.
"Ok, on my way!" And as Marin quickly made her way to the cockpit Jes started to open fire on the storm troopers. Luckily this hangar was made to support far larger vessels than the shuttle. This meant that there was a lot of open space between Jes and the doors through which the storm troopers entered the hangar. The blaster rifle gave him the perfect tool for suppressing fire, keeping the storm troopers pinned down for now. A moment later the head lights and signal lights of the shuttle turned on followed by the steady hum of the shuttle's engines. "Ready for lift off!" Jes heard Marin scream over the sound of the engines and blaster fire. "OK GO, GO! I'll be right in!" And as he lay down a final spray of blaster fire towards the troopers he jumped inside the shuttle as it lifted of the ground. He ran towards the cockpit and jumped in the pilot seat, next to a heavily breathing Marin.
"Excellent Marin! I'll take it from here. Let's get out of here." And while the troopers fired pointlessly at the shuttle's durasteel hull, it started its climb out of Andean's atmosphere.
"We did it!" Marin shouted.
"Let's hope we we're in time. " Jes answered.