"There it is" Bo-Katan said sitting in the co-pilot's seat, "Jabiim".
"The planet's electrical storms my pose a problem for the ship's systems" Violet noted, "I advise putting up the shields and redirecting their energy flow outward".
"Already on it" Liliana told the droid, "You and Iron will need to take the ship out of here once we land. I don't want to risk my ship getting caught in one of the super storm cells".
"We will retreat to an orbital position and await your signal" Violet acknowledged.
The Forgotten Star landed and Liliana led Bo-Katan to the cargo hold.
"What's all this?" the mandalorian asked seeing the multiple rows of lockers both against the wall and lying on the floor.
"My gear" the smuggler told her, "Is your suit insulated against cold and wet environments?"
"Of course it is" the mandalorian replied.
"Well mine isn't" Liliana said opening the fourth locker that stood against the wall, "So before we head out I need sufficient protection".
"May I suggest your environment suit?" Violet asked, "Not the one you used on Korriban, but the other one".
"You were on Korriban?" Bo-Katan asked as Liliana reached for a light ash colored full-body suit with royal blue colored seams.
"Yeah, a week ago" Liliana answered stripping off her armored jacket and shirt, "A real paradise".
"I've heard a few stories about it" Bo-Katan said watching the smuggler undress, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly.
"I have a good one I could tell you" Liliana continued sitting on the footlocker in nothing, but her underwear, "But since you're more focused on my figure instead of my words I think I'll stay silent".
Realizing that she was staring Bo-Katan turned around, blushing brightly, "Just hurry up will you we've got work to do".
Sliding into the full body suit Liliana shivered as she felt the cold polyurethane fabric drag across her skin before setting into place and perfectly form to her figure. It was the first time she was wearing this piece for a mission, she had worn it once to make sure it fit and worked properly, but she never used it for its intended purpose. A water repellant fabric made up the outer layer that would keep her dry and the inner layer a thermal fabric that would keep her warm. It wasn't anything special, minus the water repellant outer layer and it was basically a thermal bodysuit that many military forces used in frigid climates. The only downside to the suit was it lacked ballistic protection thankfully it was thin enough that she could fit her armored jacket back over it.
"Are you done playing dress up?" the fiery mandalorian asked her.
"Almost" Liliana replied sliding her jacket back on and securing her blasters, "Just need to decide on my load out. Any idea what kind of opposition we might face? Or where Vizsla might be?"
"In the capital is all I know for sure" Bo-Katan answered throwing a quick glance over her shoulder relieved to see the smuggler dressed again, but still blushing when she saw how tightly the suit fit her, "I…I would assume he's being held in either the local militia base or the castle. The former leader of the Nationalist Army here used the old castle as one of his bases. He died to the Republic during their campaign here even though the Nationalists won in the end, but word is Count Dooku uses the castle whenever he's here".
Liliana froze for a moment the memory of her encounter with the Sith Lord was still too fresh in her mind. She had managed to survive and in the end outwit him, but it was luck alone that she had survived her injuries. She was supremely confident in her own abilities, but there was no doubt in her mind that if she wasn't so stubborn and lucky she never would have made it to a hospital even after the emergency first aid treatment by Violet.
"Hopefully you won't run in to him" Violet said, "Liliana just barely survived her recent encounter with him".
Bo-Katan turned on the droid, "What encounter?" she looked to Liliana, "You fought Dooku?"
"Fought isn't the word I would use" Liliana muttered reaching for her own throat, she could still feel the invisible hand of the Force when she was being strangled, "I ran into him while I was on Korriban".
"And you survived" Bo-Katan continued sounding a bit surprised, "What happened?"
"Long story, all you need to know is it's not something I want to go through again…I'm not so proud to deny that luck didn't play a big role in it. Here".
She handed Bo-Katan a few grenades and led her toward the exit ramp, "Alright time to get started".
Once they were off the ship they broke into a light run as Liliana's freighter took off and returned to orbit where it would be safe from the constant storms and electrical interference. Liliana took the lead telling Bo-Katan to stay close and down as they moved toward the city limits.
"I know how to sneak into a place" the mandalorian told her.
"I'm sure" Liliana answered just loud enough to be heard over the rain, even this close their comlinks were barely working due to the storm, "But if you want to take the lead go ahead, just don't yell at me if I start admiring your curves once I'm behind you".
Bo-Katan sighed and continued following the smuggler until they reached the city limits, the streets were empty, maybe it was what passed for night time on Jabiim or maybe it was a military issued curfew, but whatever the reason it would still be a good idea to stay out of sight for now. Dashing across the street the pair ducked under a store's unlit sign, a fire escape led up the side of the building to the roof. Five stories up and they were given a good look around the city though the heavy rain still obstructed their vision even with Liliana's goggles set to night vision.
"The castle is to the east" Bo-Katan said pointing to the edge of the city a good six miles from their location.
The smuggler hummed, "The military base is closer, but we're likely to find more resistance there. I would say check the castle first, but why hold anyone there?"
"It's all the information I have" the mandalorian defeatedly admitted, "All I know is he's here in the capital of Jabiim I don't know where in the city he is".
"Well the military base and castle are the only option, there's no other place that could hold prisoners, unless he's been loaded onto a ship that's no longer here".
"No he's here" Bo-Katan snapped, "He has to be I can't lose him".
"Why are you following him?" Liliana asked her, "I can understand wanting to reclaim the history of your people, but your methods are unacceptable. What Vizsla is doing isn't the way to go about it".
"I tried the alternatives" Bo-Katan grimaced, "The Duchess wouldn't listen, the guard wouldn't listen. No one would listen no one would believe that the new pacifist ways will only lead to Mandalore's downfall".
"And that's when you met Vizsla" Liliana assumed, "But do you really think his ways are justified?"
"Yes" the mandalorian snapped at her, "Even he tried the other ways, he offered to form and train a small militia that would protect Mandalore in case anything happened and the Duchess shut him down. The Mandalorian people have always been warriors and we should continue that no matter what".
"That doesn't justify killing innocent people".
"No it doesn't" Bo-Katan admitted, "But it was the only way for us to be taken seriously".
"And now all of Mandalore fears and hates you" Liliana reminded her, "Let's say there is a Separatist invasion one day and Death Watch manages to fight them off, the people's gratitude will not last long. They will remember what you had done before they'll still fear and hate you".
"But they will also see how strong we are and some will come to join us".
"And the cycle will repeat" the smuggler said taking her goggles and staring at the T-shaped slot in the mandalorian's helmet, "More will die, more will get hurt. I know there will never be anything between us, but I like you and I think no I know you can be so much more than a member of a terrorist group. There will always be another way".
"You don't know what we've been through" the mandalorian told her, "It doesn't matter anyway, let's just get on with this".
"Fine, my vote is on the military base".
Bo-Katan looked to the north setting her eyes on the nearby military base, "Agreed. Even if we don't find him there has to be something to give us a clue on where to look".
The pair took a running start before leaping to a nearby roof a walkway branched from that roof to another keeping them off the street for now. They were still on one of the tallest buildings so there was little chance of them being spotted. Of course they would have to return to the streets eventually, taking another fire escape down they were only a block away from the military base. A quick check of their equipment and they dashed across the street a pair of spotlights swept across the entranceway and a pair of battle droid sentries patrolled the walkway above the entrance, there seemed to be no blind spot between the droids and the lights.
"They have a tight patrol window" Liliana whispered seeing the droids walk and change direction right when the spotlights turned the opposite way, "We could take them out or try to make it past them".
"Taking them out would be the safest move" Bo-Katan replied keeping her voice just as low, "But what if they miss a check in call, then the base goes on alert from a missing patrol".
"Shoot out the lights and rush in, but we don't have a way of doing that quietly" Liliana said risking another glance at the lights.
A few meters outside the spotlight's radius they were concealed well enough in the shadows and even if the battle droids above had low light or night vision the heavy rainfall would conceal the two women well enough. That was the problem of waiting for a plan however, the heavy rain was starting to soak into Liliana's clothing, her weather resistant clothes could only last so long and she was already beginning to feel the chill sinking into her skin and coursing through her. They needed to come up with a plan soon try to rush the entrance or try to take out the droids and lights either way time was running out.
"Don't suppose there would be a side or back entrance" Bo-Katan said wishfully, "No" she continued shooting down her own idea, "That would be a weakness. Only one way in and one way out".
Liliana suppressed a shiver and inhaled a deep breath, "Fuck it" she said upon her exhale, "I'm going for it".
Inching closer and closer until she was less than a meter outside the spotlight's coverage she leaned forward and put all her weight onto her front leg. Another breath and another exhale and the light passed in front of her again and she kicked off her planted foot the jump start propelled her past the spotlight's coverage and she broke into a sprint running for the door. Sliding to a stop she turned and planted her back against the wall, she took a moment to take another breath and be thankful that the walkway above covered her from the rain. The smuggler waved for Bo-Katan to follow and by the time the mandalorian made it to her Liliana was already working on the door's lock.
"This is heavy security" she whispered, "Give me a minute".
The planet's constant storm was still interfering with her usual equipment leaving her to rely on the skills her father drilled into her. Slicing terminals wasn't one of her better skills though, she could easily break into the main code sequence of any terminal or console, but manually decrypting a sequence wasn't something she was good at even basic ones took her a few minutes where as her father could have them done within seconds. Times like this she relied on her equipment, but none of it was functioning properly just another reason to hate the constant storm and the world it plagued.
"Any time now" Bo-Katan whispered as a bad feeling made its way up her back.
The smuggler said something in a language Bo-Katan didn't recognize, but from her tone she was positive it was a curse of some kind. The sky lit up and the flash was followed almost immediately by a deafening rumble the center or the storm was getting closer.
"Hurry" Bo-Katan whispered again.
"I'm trying" Liliana told her entire body now shivering against her will, "Almost there".
Another flash of lightning and one of the droids above them started speaking, "This storm is beginning to really interfere with my optics".
"I know what you mean" the other had said, "Maybe we should radio inside and tell them we need to change shifts so we can get checked out".
"That's a good idea, let's go ahead and tell them".
"This is CT-0117 the storm is growing worse and our optic sensors are beginning to malfunction requesting an immediate shift change for diagnostics and repairs".
"Roger that CT-0117. Come on inside another patrol will be on its way momentarily".
Hearing the droids walking to the edge of the walkway and moving down the stairs Liliana swore again and kicked the terminal before patting Bo-Katan on the shoulder and motioning for her to hide behind the corner. It was too late to try hiding under the staircase so they moved to the right side where the walkway ended and moved behind the corner once again leaving them exposed to the torrential downpour. Liliana swore in her head again and again the shivering in her body was practically vibrating her and she noticed her breathing was becoming slower and heavier.
"Type in the code and let's get inside" one of the droids said loudly.
"I'm trying" replied the other, "But my optics are screwing up I can barely see the keypad".
"The code is 55310678544".
"I know what the code is I said I can't see".
Liliana closed her eyes for a moment running the number through her head again and again to memorize it. She never opened her eyes and her body began feeling heavier it wasn't until Bo-Katan patted her shoulder that she came out of her drowsy state.
"Come on let's move" the mandalorian told her.
Slowly Liliana managed to push off the wall and followed Bo-Katan and was thankful to see that she had memorized the code as well. The doors opened and they both slipped in and managed to hide just moments before the second pair of droids approached the door to head outside. It was quiet inside and Liliana was happy to see the storm's interference didn't reach inside her equipment was functioning again, her optics scrambler was ready and the other lights on her gauntlet were on as well.
"We're on equal footing now" she panted before a light cough forced its way out of her throat followed by another and then a third.
"Quiet" Bo-Katan hissed as the smuggler fought back against the forced expulsion of air.
"I'm fine" she snapped back, "Thanks for asking. You stay here and keep guard I'll go find the control room and take control of the security functions".
"And how do you intend to do that without being caught?"
The smuggler flashed her leather armband to her indicating the optics scrambler, "Optics scrambler. It renders me invisible to any kind of optical sensor, but it has a short range so it will only work on the one wearing it. I'll go find the command center you just wait here for my signal".
She handed Bo-Katan a comlink and ran off down the hall as the mandalorian took cover in a shadowed corner. Thankfully it didn't take long for the smuggler to find the control center a single knock got the droid inside to answer and Liliana dispatched it with a single well placed headshot. Dragging the droid corpse into the corner she sat at the central terminal and sealed the door behind her and began going through the main command functions.
"Alright let's see" she whispered to herself, "Camera feed".
Going through the root menu her eyes locked in on the title "Holding Cells".
Activating the feed she scanned through the cells one, two, three, and four. She saw someone inside the cell. She zoomed in with the camera only to see the man inside was dead, with multiple bruises and a single scorch mark in the center of his back it was clear he had been beaten and then executed and his body hadn't been removed. Switching her view to the next cell she saw nothing and continued to scan all the way to cell number ten, a much larger cell with only a single person inside.
A human male lying on the bed in the cell, his hands cupped behind his head and one leg bent with the other crossed over it. She zoomed in with the camera, it was Vizsla. His upper body was naked and he was covered in burn marks and bruises of varying sizes, he had been worked over by his captors, but he was alive and most likely very pissed.
Liliana backed out of the live feed returning to the main menu scanning over the list of commands in front of her she pulled up a map and drew a path from the holding cells to the main entrance where she left Bo-Katan. Only a few departments away from her location she could make it there in a few minutes so long as she avoided confrontation. There were two guard stations between the two points, but she was confident the mandalorian could easily handle an entire squad of droids.
She raised her comlink, "Bo-Katan I've found him".
"Where is he?" she immediately replied.
"Holding cells at the very back. It's only a few blocks away from you. I'll guide you from here and shut off the automatic alarms. Stay cautious though there are two guard stations between you and the holding cells".
"Copy that, if you see any patrols alert me".
Liliana watched Bo-Katan leap from her hiding spot and sprint down the hall blaster rifle held tight against her shoulder as she ran. The mandalorian warrior easily avoided the patrols in her way and got around them without being spotted, but that would end at the first guard post it was a small office and there was only one way past it. Liliana wasn't worried though, but she was surprised to see Bo-Katan do the exact same thing she would have done. The Mandalorian slowed down her run becoming a silent job before she crouched down and passed quietly under the window.
"Impressive" Liliana admitted, "I never thought you would ever go for such subtlety".
"Trust me I would vastly prefer to shoot my way through this place" Bo-Katan replied quietly as she got back to her feet and crept away from the guard station, "But that would only slow us down at this point".
"True" Liliana agreed, "Take the next right and then the second right after that there's guard patrol there be careful".
Following the smuggler's directions Bo-Katan dropped into a crouch at the entrance to the next corridor. The patrol was moving right toward her, there was nothing to hide behind she had no choice. On Liliana's word Bo-Katan rolled out from the corner stopping on one knee her blaster rifle already trained on the first of the three droids. The instant her roll stopped the first droid fell immediately followed by the second and finally the third.
"Pathetic droids like these are no match for a real warrior" Bo-Katan hissed, "Waste of time to even build them".
"They have some advantages" Liliana had to admit, "They don't feel pain though I have seen them show something akin to fear. They also greatly outnumber the Republic's Grand Army so take the good with the bad I guess".
"Whatever" Bo-Katan huffed kicking on of the droids as she walked by them, "Where do I go next?"
"The left right in front of you the second guard station is there and once you pass by that you'll be in the detention block. Head to the back of the block and take the right path and you'll be at the holding cells. Careful though the droid at that post heard your blaster shots and is going to investigate. It tried calling for reinforcements, but I intercepted the message".
"You're skill set goes beyond what I would have expected of a smuggler, expert marksman and fighter and pilot along with technical knowledge and a sense of stealth on top of infiltration. I'm starting to think you might be some kind of spy".
Liliana shrugged to herself, "Meh, I've heard it both ways. On your left".
Bo-Katan turned and fired in an instant her shot perfectly lined up with the droid's chest dropping it in one shot. The mandalorian moved past the dead droid and into the guard station it had occupied, taking the key card from the desk she waited for Liliana to scan the detention block and give the all clear. Once Liliana gave her the word she unlocked the detention block and moved in quickly sprinting to the end and entering the holding cells corridor.
"Vizsla" she called out as she reached the last cell.
Inside his cell Vizsla shot up into a sitting position and started at the shadows outside his cell, he recognized the voice, but it was so dark he couldn't even see Bo-Katan's silhouette.
"Bo-Katan?" he gasped sliding off his cot, "How did you get here?"
"I'll tell you later" Bo-Katan said her helmet's night vision allowing her to see, "For now let's get out of here. Where are the others?"
"Dead" Vizsla told her, "Executed like dogs an unfitting end for such warriors".
"Then it's just you and me then. Are you able?"
"Just give me your sidearm and I'll be fine" Vizsla said.
Bo-Katan handed him her blaster pistol through the cell bars before radioing Liliana to unlock the cells and turn on the lights so Vizsla could see.
"Who did you bring with you?" Vizsla asked shielding his eyes until they could adjust to the lights.
"Liliana Ashford" Bo-Katan told him.
"You brought her!?" Vizsla growled.
"There's a traitor in our ranks" Bo-Katan continued unfazed by his anger, "I don't know who yet and I had no other choice".
"You're welcome by the way" Liliana said into the comlink, "And I can hear you through the cameras. Now hurry up and get back here so we can leave".
"Great" Vizsla growled, "I get to deal with her again".
Liliana watched the two mandalorians backtrack toward the command room, she felt her body shiver and she inhaled a shaky breath before coughing four times. She started to have light aches throughout her body. She felt fatigued and her movements were already becoming sluggish and her eyes heavier.
She exhaled, "Of all the times to get sick…guess it was bound to happen, I haven't been sick since I was still at the orphanage".
She looked up at the monitors again and braced herself on the controls as she stood up, "Bo-Katan I'm calling in my ship to pick us up double time it".
"Make sure you disable the perimeter defenses" the mandalorian replied gunning down a pair of battle droids.
"Already done" Liliana told her, "All security systems except for the cameras have been disabled, I'm trying to lock down some areas to contain the droids, but I think someone's on to me the codes are starting to change".
"We'll be there in a few minutes just keep us clear for now".
"What I wouldn't give for a launcher right now" Vizsla grumbled, "I'd even settle for a grenade".
"There's an armory one block over if you want to make a milk run" Liliana told him.
"I'll pass" Vizsla replied, "Rather get out of here now".
"Agreed" Liliana said, "I'm locking the doors you just passed through there's a platoon heading your way twenty seconds until contact".
Liliana's comlink beeped and Violet's voice called out to her, "Liliana we have reentered the atmosphere and will be at your location in a few minutes".
"Outer defenses have been disabled you're clear to approach, we'll be on the roof".
Checking the camera feeds again Liliana directed the two mandalorians toward the roof access locking down the corridors behind them, but whoever was engaging her on the another end was unlocking them soon they would have the defenses back online as well.
"Have to stop them" Liliana muttered, "You're not the only one who can change protocols and code sequences".
Going through the command prompts Liliana changed the core codes beginning to switch them around, she mixed and replaced the codes for the bulkheads, fire suppression systems, facility alarms, everything. Every command she came across she switched it with another trying to keep her opponent off guard just long enough for the Forgotten Star to reach them. Bo-Katan and Vizsla were almost to the roof it was time for her to go to. She had one last card to play before she left, backtracking her steps through the code changes she found the code for the turrets on the roof and switched their codes again and rewrote their targeting protocols.
"Time to go" she turned and ran for the door entering the new code she wrote knowing it would only work once before the code was changed by whoever was fighting her on the other end.
The door opened and she ran out of the command room switching her optics scrambler back on. The roof access was nearby not even a minute's worth of a run all she had to do was get there. Rounding the last corner she watched several battle droid squads filing into the stairway leading to the roof readying her blaster and shot the first one directly in front of her. Grabbing the next one she pulled it backwards flinging it down the stairs and doing the same to the next. Forcing her way up to the roof she pushed, pulled and fired at everything in her way until finally she had made it.
Ramming her way through the door she turned and tossed a grenade down the stairway before kicking the door closed. Back outside in the permanent storm her optics scrambler shorted out again leaving her exposed, not that it mattered anymore. Joining Bo-Katan and Vizsla she could already see her ship making its final approach.
"Took you long enough" Bo-Katan said grinning under her helmet.
"Well I did do all the work" the smuggler retorted setting her eyes on Vizsla, "You're still alive I'm not sure how I feel about that".
Vizsla glared at her, "Like I care about your feelings. But your assistance in this matter is appreciated. You really would make an exceptional addition".
"Save it Vizsla" Liliana snapped cutting him off, "I didn't do it for you and for the last time I will never join you, now let's go".
Leading the two mandalorians onto her ship Liliana looked over her shoulder as the battle droids barged onto the roof and began firing only to be mowed down by the reprogrammed turrets which quickly overloaded and self-destructed.
"That's that then" Bo-Katan said helping Vizsla to sit down, "Got any medical supplies?"
"He seems well enough to me" Liliana replied crossing her arms, "I'll consider bringing some for him for now why don't you explain how you got captured in the first place".
"I was attempting to set an ambush for Count Dooku, but someone must have tipped him off he knew where we were".
"So he's still alive" Liliana sighed, "I was hoping he wouldn't survive".
"Survive what?" Vizsla grunted as he massaged one of his ribs.
"I fought him on Korriban, I won, but I barely survived".
"You fought him?" he seemed surprised, "And you won?"
"That hard to believe?" the smuggler gave him a superior grin, "I've bested some of your best warriors and you've seen me in action on multiple occasions. Of course fighting a Sith Lord is a different story all together. The only reason I won is because I outsmarted him, he thought himself above me so superior that I would never be a threat to him. I proved him wrong".
"If you can beat him then that's all the proof I need to know I can".
Vizsla tried to stand up, but double over and sat back down.
"And so the mighty fall" Liliana mocked, "All the proof I need to know I'm stronger than you" she shrugged, "Well that and the fact that I've beaten you once already. Tell me where you want me to drop you off and then go get some rest".
"Yavin 4 is our base of operations at the moment" Bo-Katan told her.
"Is it safe?" Liliana asked, "Remember there's a turncoat in your ranks".
Bo-Katan removed her helmet and stared at the floor, she was so focused on saving Vizsla that she had forgotten about trying to figure out who betrayed them.
"I know who it was" Vizsla said, "And when I find him".
Liliana cut him off again, "He's going to regret being born blah blah blah go get some rest already" Liliana turned to walk back into the cockpit, "I'm tired of talking to you" she muttered to herself.
Half an hour later Bo-Katan joined in the cockpit, "He's asleep now" she sat in the co-pilot's seat, "Thank you for your help".
"I'm not sure why I did it" Liliana replied, "I hate him and your organization".
"Then why did you?"
Liliana turned to her, "Maybe I was hoping I could convince you to turn away from the path you're on. You can be using your skills to help protect Mandalore instead you use them to terrorize it".
"I've already explained my reasons to you" Bo-Katan said a hint of anger in her tone.
"And I've already told you there are other ways to achieve what you want. Just because they didn't listen the first time doesn't mean they won't the second or third time you just have to keep trying. Prove to them that they need you, but you can't convince them if they are all terrified of you".
Bo-Katan turned away and looked out the viewport into the blue hue of hyperspace, "How long until we reach Yavin 4?"
"A couple of hours" Liliana replied, "You should get some rest as well you'll need it".
She sneezed and her breathing suddenly became faster and shallow.
"You should rest as well, you're tough, but you can't fight through a cold".
"You'd be surprised what I can fight through" Liliana replied with a light cough, "But if you agreed to join me I might retire to my room for a while".
"Never going to happen" Bo-Katan flatly refused.
"Worth a shot" Liliana grinned before sneezing again, "Go get some sleep we'll be there soon enough".
Liliana leaned back in her seat and propped her feet up on the console turning slightly onto her side to get comfortable in the lather chair.
"Guess I'll see you later then" Bo-Katan said standing up only to see that Liliana had already fallen asleep, "In other life maybe, or if our lives were different".