The Fluid Motion
Chapter 44.7:Catching Who?
I own not those situations I borrow from Disney Properties, Lucas, Mechalich or Thomas Benjamin DeMayo. This is a dramatization from my mind on a character created from the meld of table gaming and so on. Special thanks to ideas Drew Karpyshyn and Tim Lebbon fermented. Special thanks to Morihei Ushiba who formed Petre with his wisdom. Like any mind construct this is an exercise and my own work building on other ideas from the past.
This is a Zeison Sha story, set in what is known as the Star Wars EU.
Tatooine
.2 BBA
The bounty hunter assault team stopped on a spot that gave them "thermal cover" (exhaust vents) shadow cover (place to hide/ get close) the hill was backlit so no one could see. And judging from the reaction inside there probably would not be issuing forth from mere shadows on the hill. But the large bowl of the main moisture farm was problematic. To get to the house one either had to be a sand demon or just drive up.
Kua Wan just drove up in a speeder with Derien and Grrtak. He got out walked up and knocked on the door. Nothing happened at first but Derien and Grrtak scattered so Kua Wan fired his jetpack. The Grenade explosion where he USED to be irritated him greatly.
In the air he looked around to see if any other hunters were doing their own thing. What he saw was NOT his plan, but six hitting the back door. Four were firing grenade launchers and six others began hitting the house with armor piercing rounds. When he landed Derien tackled him and a trap door opened so they slid into a holding cell next to a holding cell with Grrtak roaring. They were looking at a Starkey droid next to Bevel Lemlisk who looked at them from across the room.
"Question, do you think those idiots have made enough flash and racket for the Punisher to rain on us or do I have to put a neon sign out there?"
"Why would you want turbolasers?"
"At this distance which is only orbit, a turbolaser has the accuracy of an axe splitting an egg, but it would make a mess of my "guests" inside and outside, upstairs. It would also allow me to finish this tunnel and your exit from Anchorhead in a certain craft. You see, I am near a mineshaft." He waved toward a hole in the wall. "Allowing the empire to blast this place to rubble will collapse this room sealing it off." He pressed a button "That should be enough provocation." Then he got up "I think it's time to leave, you can ask questions on the way." Their cells opened and he waved them toward his exit.
Kua Wan was stunned thinking things out and Grrtak took the lead in questioning.
"I am sorry the natives had a Jawa stature Jedi, but even I and this Mandalorean have to crouch."
"What possessed you to…" Grrtak asked.
"Chose this location? After I designed the Crescent's body and reactor, well, I knew I was expendable and this world with its lawless collection of population was the obvious choice. So many factions here even with the Hutt in charge, it was a way to get reasonable security. No ground control, no problem sneaking in."
"No this house."
"Over the last stable mine tunnels makes sense. Most smugglers know they exist. This spur is a dead end but it only took the better part of a year to clean the air. I had hoped to spend my retirement in it. Until I got bored that is." He answered.
"And you are leaving with us because?" Derien pressed.
"Let's get one thing straight, I am considering it, I have yet to make up my mind." Lemelisk said decisively.
"Why?" asked the Starkey.
"An organization I still do not know aided my "retirement" trip." He said sourly "They offered no explanation why and said "payment will be requested some time later." He paused holding up a glowstick looking at a junction and the marks on it. "Recently a representative came to me to discuss "my options." The representative returned a week later with these two droids and a message. Those two droids have filled my house with would be attackers who got in before I initiated total lockdown after my manservant died defending us."
"What was the message?" Kwa Wan asked.
"He said "Trust the Mandalorean." So here I am, we saw who was leading and the two droids vouched for the Wookie and Sister Slaughter here." he waved "So if I get us or you to Anchorhead, what is the plan little man?" Bevel added "Because I really did not wish to leave here, their grand hunt of me be damned! There are no safe places in the universe!" He led them to a blast door recently installed. It opened to a room huge room surrounding a bunker with another blast door on the other end. The bunker was stocked with enough food, water and weapons with a pair of blast doors, shooting ports and other hard points to last a good 30 years.
"In here we could be safe for years, but that is not the plan is it?" Lemelisk said as the thump of turbolasers was felt throughout the rock.
"Our plan was to get you and your plans to the Rebellion." Kua Wan said.
"I made a copy of them." he pulled up a file on a terminal "This is the last copy, on this node." He pointed to the glowing stick. "It is the original blueprint and technical file. I have made extra notes on this file. Take it and go, I thought having it would provide me some safety. It appears I was wrong." He waved "This is not the life I imagined but it will be better than other fates." He looked at the droids "Take that one with you. It still stinks of blood from its last bounty killer encounter."
"You are sad?" Derien asked with insight.
"I expected the Crescent to be used maybe once as a demonstration, probably on Chandrilla, to stop the Rebellion in its tracks." He pulled up a video "I know not the Clone wars Captain or any of the staff. But the Crescent was ordered to fire on the planet that held the slaves who built it. That ship, and the YV-666 that snatched up my escape pod was a wakeup call. They saved that planet and somehow wounded the Crescent. But make no mistake, Ral Unitus himself ordered the test fire with a grin. He plans on using it on ANYONE HE DEEMS EXPENDABLE OR AN ENEMY or just pisses him off." He sighed "Take the video, you will see, we were to test it on the asteroid k-11 and then the words "let's just see what it does to that star destroyer." His own people! he fired on! It gets sicker from there. I'll stay here and if I come up with any other weaknesses, I'll let you know. Galen Erso designed a weakness directly in the belly of the beast. Take the datapad, it has the map out."
"I can just copy the map and the recording file here." Kua Wan plugged in.
"What was its weakness that time?"
"It got damaged" he forwarded the tape "When the captain of the cruiser stuck its nose in the gun barrel. They will have changed the shielding from "ray" to "particle plus ray" or full as you non-engineers think of it and estimated repairs should take 10 more days as you can see it was severely damaged." The view of the spectacular blast from an escape pod took out the escort star destroyer which had been firing on the cruiser followed by an ion shot coming from off camera. A couple of turbolaser bolts and a YV stowing something rolled into view.
"They fished me out and two more star destroyers jumped in forcing the Togruta captain to leave." He sighed "The new shield will need disabled. How? No ideas."
"How did those people know when it was to be tested?" Kua Wan, Derien and Grrtak asked simultaneously.
"I have no idea other than I was sitting in a trap he set. So Ral Unitus was pleased, it's on the recording. "There's the Sha flying the Crow, right on schedule." So I imagine they fed intel to someone just to draw that faction out." he flipped a switch and Derien felt a piece move in the Force as Bevel said "This calls the Bando Gora in the clear for a "rescue" from the house. The proverbial "neon sign" I described. I hope that bunch gets pummeled. Their "protection" is lousy and the creepy minions the Zabrak Savage employs, grotesque."
"You brought art down here?" KuaWan pointed at a picture and a figurine.
"Yes, I had them for years, for some reason Væske's work makes me feel calmer and happier."
Kua Wan pocketed the data in his "unbreakable" carry box. Derien looked at the painting and Grrtak stroked the figurine of a sea creature all of a sudden locked up. Kua Wan touched them to bring them out of whatever reverie they were in before leaving.
"You let us know anything you figure out." Kua Wan said with understanding almost as if… the Starkey's looked at him strangely. Yeah, time to leave.
"That I will." Said the sad old man.
Kua Wan followed the datapad quite a ways away down the tunnels before he stopped turning to his helpers to speak.
"So what did you see in the seascape or fish?" He asked the two. They looked at him before Derien asked "How did you know?"
"I've seen it before." He held up the wrist datapad playing a scene with Adrianna Dooku, Leo Organa and two mercenaries in black cloaks on the floor.
"Do you need help flying? Little Brother?" Adrianna said.
"Just lay back on the cots and strap in, all is taken care of." A voice they recognized as Jahn's tenor spoke.
She and Leo lay down next to each other looking into their eyes with the rush of success. Then they glanced at something on the bulkhead above them.
"Aww gank!" they exclaimed before zoning out.
The camera turned and showed a painting on the bulkhead above them of Jahn, his wife, his kids, a pregnant girl, his father, his mother straddling a light to dark transition behind her as Adrianna did the same, her brother Alon, sister Ral Gorgon and the Emperor Dooku even further in the darkness before the vid switched off.
"I recognize Jahn's work or more pertinent, its effects on the Force sensitive population." Kua Wan stated with emphasis. "What did he tell you?"
"Other than be at peace?" Grrtak shrugged "Nothing." Derein nodded in agreement.
"I want you to promise me, be careful with his art!" Kua Wan stated fiercely.
"Sir, does that include me?" the Starkey droid asked.
"I put nothing past him." Kua Wan growled stomping off to lead the way out. "Bad enough we were supposed to get both the designer and the tech, he had to put that "choice" wrinkle in there."
"Sir, the Listener says, "choice forms fate, fate forms other's destiny, this is the failure of the dark side. By stripping choice away, they limit growth this possibility is actually the strongest one with more good outcomes." So that is what he feels we are struggling to regain for people, choice." And the Starkey paused in speech "He could no more take choice from us than start bearing young. It is why he knew that Adrianna would latch on when to grow, she needed him away and he her. Both of them."
"Yeah, I heard that before too, after they woke up." Kua Wan muttered.
The foursome reached a repulsor tram and boarded. At least an hour later they stopped emerging in someone's root cellar. The tram on autoreturn left them quietly as they made their way out.
A block away they took a deep breath. "So this is Anchorhead?" Derien said as they looked around at a less smelly but dustier freight port and hunting outfitter post with buildings much like Mos Eisley, mostly adobe but a few ancient prefabs were not uncommon.
A commotion caught their attention in a café as Network News and Nal Hutta programming were showing the "devastation" of the "Bando Gora Mos Eisley riot". Dead numbers shown and pictures of dead "civilians peacefully going about their lives" flashed in rapid secession. The time stamp showed it was one hour ago and the "blame" was on the "Bando Gora chemical weapon" a green mist was shown.
"A galactic order to detain all Bando Gora and their allies has been approved in the Senate and through Nal Hutta." The announcer mentioned before switching to other fare.
"Maybe now the crime rate will decrease and jobs will increase." Was one echo throughout the crowd. The four walked away to the spaceport straight to the ship awaiting them. Kua Wan laughed when he saw a familiar Phoenix Hawk. They opened the ship and boarded seeing tied up sleeping Bando Gora.
"Oh Snap! Derien said if we had time…"
"We will space them later." KuaWan said as they fired up the engines and began their ascent. Once in space they saw the Punisher continued firing turbolasers at spots on the ground toward Mos Eisley and further west surrounded by TIEs fighting smuggling ships.
"I will say this, I am quite glad we have this wonderful distraction." Derein said while Grrtak agreed.
"Sir I have a flight plan to Rebel base 5 and calculations loaded for the first jump so we can begin our journey."
"Plug it in and execute." Kua Wan said.